I pretended to study the insect damage marks on the vines, but my peripheral vision was fixed on the stone bench.
Three minutes later, the old man's attention returned to the birdcage, and I slowly approached.
"Brother, the craftsmanship of your birdcage is exquisite. Is it an artifact from before the Liberation?"
The old man looked up at me, chuckled, and said, "Young man, you know your stuff?"
He patted the stone bench next to him.
The birdcage swayed on my lap, a suspicious layer of dust settling at the bottom.
It wasn't bird food, but rather fine lacquer powder.
I sat down and struck up a conversation with him: "Are you keeping a golden pheasant or a thrush in this cage? I noticed the bottom of the cage is lined with camphor wood chips, that's quite nice."
"I stopped raising them a long time ago."
The old man's fingers suddenly tightened, and the cage door clicked shut, startling a few hidden moths: "An empty cage... an empty cage attracts birds."
Does an empty cage attract birds?
I didn't know how to respond, so I just chuckled.
The old man turned his head, his cloudy eyes darted around, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a missing front tooth.
"Hey bro, I've never seen you before. Did you just move here?"
Just as Li Xiulan was about to speak, I gently nudged her elbow: "Yes, she lives on the third floor of Unit 2."
Li Xiulan paused for half a second, then broke into a wide smile.
"So you're our new neighbor! Hello, sir. My dad is hard of hearing, please bear with him."
Li Xiulan smiled ingratiatingly and moved closer to the old man, deliberately raising her voice and adding a hint of flattery at the end.
The old man on the stone bench was hunched over, his knees trembling, and his calves shook like leaves under his faded gray trousers.
My light fell on his trembling legs, and I began to speak with a smile.
"Brother, your legs are shaking quite a bit. Did you develop rheumatism when you were young? I learned massage from my master for a few days when I was young. He can take your pulse and rub your legs a bit, and I guarantee you'll feel better."
After saying that, he gestured with his hand as if to take the pulse.
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