Preface
Autumn, October.
"I don't know what heaven is like, but judging from my life experience, the autumn in Peking is heaven."
Walking through the alleys of Dongsi Hutong, it's not crowded at this time. The clang of old-fashioned bicycles echoes through the air, and a white cat lazily eats in the sun. Hearing someone approach, it leaps onto the eaves, and a few laughing children run by.
The leaves of the ash trees were almost half yellow, and many young people came to take pictures next to the trees in the alley.
Among those people, she saw a young man wearing a beige jacket and carrying a black schoolbag, with a brand new five-star red flag sticking out of his side pocket.
"Have you watched the flag-raising ceremony?" Yang Ye walked over and asked.
The young man was taking pictures. He was very enthusiastic. He took out his camera and said to Yang Ye: "I have seen it. Do you want to go? I can show you the way."
"No, thank you." Yang Ye waved his hand. His accent sounded familiar, but she didn't want to ask more questions.
I didn't bring my crutches, so walking was a bit inconvenient. Fortunately, the weather was nice and sunny, and there weren't many people in the alley. If I walked slowly, I could always make it back.
The people in the alley have changed one after another, and the old neighbors she used to know are long gone. She saw two old men who looked about the same as herself, or even younger than herself. One of them was lying on a chair at the door with his legs crossed, basking in the sun, and he would sit up from time to time to chat a word or two. There were a few bird cages hanging under the eaves at the door, and the chirping of the birds inside was quite crisp.
The young man searched the area thoroughly. On his way back from the next alley, he saw Yang Ye standing in the alley, looking up at the sky. He said helplessly, "Why did you come out without saying hello?"
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a pleasant day.”
He held Yang Ye's arm and whispered in her ear, "Then I'll go back inside and get you a chair. Can you sit down and watch?"
"No need," Yang Ye waved his hand. Why bother going in and out? "Just take a few glances. I can't remember it if I see too much anyway."
"You came out without a cane and didn't call us. What if you stepped on a manhole cover and fell?"
"I've lived here for decades, how could I have fallen? There are several manhole covers and electric poles in the alleyway in front of my door. I know these things better than you."
"The decades you mentioned were a bygone era. Today's roads are changing every day. We have to look ahead."
She turned her head to look at the young man standing next to her. Although they had been together for several years, she felt a sense of familiar strangeness at this moment.
Familiarity is the familiarity with an era that has completely passed.
Strangeness is the detachment from the new era.
I have experienced those complete eras, and I know that the current era can no longer accommodate me.
Yang Ye opened her mouth, wanting to say a lot. But when she saw the new car that had just pulled into the alley, it had a logo she had never seen before, and a green license plate. They called it a new energy vehicle, something that had only been around for the past two years. It was completely different from the gasoline-powered cars she had ridden before.
"The old times are gone," she sighed as she looked at the old camphor tree in the alley that would no longer grow leaves.
No matter how well the alleys are preserved, there is no trace of their former selves. The courtyards where people used to run into and play have now become memorial halls.
The young man checked the message on his phone. "Xiao Xiao sent a message asking what you'd like to eat tonight so they can bring it back. Perhaps sesame hot pot with pork?"
"Xiao Chen gave me some white radishes yesterday. Let's shred them and make fried dumplings."
He joked, "Your taste doesn't seem like someone who has lived here for decades."
"I've also lived in other places for decades," Yang Ye smiled.
A few decades, when added together, is a lifetime.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
