For Zhu Jisheng and his Back at Dawn, there was not much difference between day and night. There were almost no customers, but it was not that there were none. In fact, there were still a few regular customers in his shop. They were a few young people who liked to explore new things. Whether it was the sculptures of Angkor Wat or the murals of Crete, they seemed to be very knowledgeable. They always acted like they were not short of money, intentionally or unintentionally.
But in fact, they did not buy anything. Every time they came to the shop, they loved all kinds of rare objects. Before they left, they said that they were short of money and promised that they would buy the objects they liked the next time they came. They asked him to keep it for them. But the next time they came, they seemed to have forgotten their promise. They would pick up other objects and praise them. They would take pictures with their mobile phones and post them to their WeChat Moments. They probably wanted to pretend that they were rich people who owned these objects.
It was like a popular saying on the Internet — You poor people know how to live. Although you can't afford it, you know everything!
He did not care whether they bought it or not. Every time they came, he would talk and laugh with them as usual.
Today, they came again. After a whole afternoon, they finally left with satisfaction.
The antique shop returned to its usual peace.
He did not usually talk much. Every time they came, he seemed to say all the words he could for a week.
The sun was about to set. The alley was shrouded in a layer of gray twilight. The smell of food drifted from the nearby houses.
"It's time to eat," he said to himself.
He went to the kitchen and cooked a small pot of noodles in a small pot. While cooking, he did not stay idle. He cut some minced meat, beat two eggs, put some daylily fungus, garlic, and oil to thicken the noodles. When it was taken out of the pot, he sprinkled some onion and ginger, and a few drops of sesame oil. A fragrant and authentic braised noodles were ready.
The weather was a little hot. He went upstairs and changed into a thin shirt. When he came back, he sat in the shop and enjoyed the delicious braised noodles.
Every time he ate the braised noodles, his life in the capital seemed to appear in front of his eyes. He missed it but did not miss it. Life in the old capital was gone forever. Even the old capital itself had been overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the modern world. There was nothing to miss.
He ate very slowly. After chewing carefully, he picked up the noodles with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
Something behind the screen moved.
"Come out and play. The thing you fear is gone," he said.
A Persian cat with a black top, a black back, and a black tail looked around nervously for a while before carefully walking out from behind the screen. Its eyes were like bright lights as it scanned the shop to make sure that there was nothing dangerous.
Seeing it like this, he felt sorry for it, but at the same time, he felt guilty.
After spending the harsh winter in a warm place in the south, he brought it back to Binhai City. It had immediately noticed the evil aura that shrouded the place and warned him. Maybe he should have left decisively at that time, so it wouldn't have been scared for so many days.
"Come, you should eat too." He placed a small plate on the ground. The plate was filled with sliced beef. Each slice was as thin as a cicada's wing, which showed his knife skills.
He cooked very little noodles, only a small bowl. Even if he ate very slowly, it didn't take long for the bowl to be empty.
His stomach was only half full, but he did not intend to eat anymore. He cheerfully stood up to clear the bowls and chopsticks.
"Meow."
The Persian cat had also finished eating the beef. It licked its mouth and stared at him eagerly. It was also not full and wanted to eat more.
"It's fine as long as you've eaten enough. Our ancestors once said, 'Dieting to get rid of illness, abstinence to prolong life.'" He smiled. "I still want to live a few more years, and you also want to live a few more years, right?"
The Persian cat was convinced by him. It stopped begging for food, jumped onto the table, and quietly lay down.
He quickly finished washing the dishes, wiped his hands, and sat back at the table. He picked up his phone and looked at his unread messages. Although he was old, his ability to accept new things was still very strong. The many apps installed on his phone could prove this.
After a long time, he put down his phone with a serious face.
The sun had completely set, and the sky outside was even darker.
There was an outdated newspaper on the table. The headline on the front page was the Ten Batches of Online Literature that he had written. Before publishing it, he had read it many times, and repeatedly deliberated over the wording and tone, but the final draft still did not completely satisfy him.
"It's still a bit rushed. It would be better if there was more time, don't you think?" He sighed softly, picked up the newspaper, and read his article for the N + 1 time.
This was a declaration of war, and it sounded the horn of traditional literary criticism against online literature. Unsurprisingly, in just a few days, his students and old friends all published articles in response. Some were published in print media, and some were published on Weibo, personal WeChat, and other new media. The topic was sent to the hot search at an extremely fast speed.
In these articles, most of them clearly stood on his side, and a small number of them temporarily sat on the fence and watched the situation, saying some ambiguous words. They probably felt that it was not appropriate to not say anything, but they did not want to offend either side. There were also people who were biased, and on the surface, they were criticizing both sides, but in reality, they were still biased towards him.
However, there were also some articles that clearly expressed their support for online literature. He did not know most of the authors of these articles. They might be young talents that had appeared in recent years, but their voices were still too weak, and they were insignificant in the literary world, where seniority was very important.
"It's easy to protect one's integrity at the beginning, but difficult to protect one's integrity at the end. I can't believe that at such an old age, I would still be involved in this mess. "He shook his head, and there was an indescribable feeling in his chest.
He had written this article too hastily. To a large extent, it was based on his impression of online literature that he had heard from others. He knew that he should have finished reading the online novel that he wanted to criticize before writing. That way, he would be able to write with a more targeted and clear conscience.
However, not only did he eat slowly, he also read slowly, and he liked to figure out every word and sentence. With this kind of speed, it was simply impossible to finish reading online novels that easily had millions of words. Moreover, he had listed more than ten online novels in his article, which added up to tens of millions of words.
Reading was like eating and drinking. Chew slowly, and the taste will be long; if you chew too much, you will not know the taste.
Read slowly, eat slowly. This was a family rule that could not be disobeyed.
Although it was only a small taste, he could still see one point from online novels, which was that there was no nutrition, and it was like fast food like instant noodles.
Poetry and books must be read, etiquette must be known, and children must be taught.
Nowadays, children read online novels instead of poetry and learning etiquette. It was like eating instant noodles all day long. In the long run, they would inevitably be malnourished, and their bodies would be weak. How could they aspire to be sages and have a heart for the country?
Therefore, he did not think that he had done anything wrong. He was just a little nervous because he had only a small taste.
He looked outside again. The sky was completely dark, and the rush hour had passed. The originally secluded alley was even more deserted.
"Well, it's time to close up. Close up and go to sleep." He put down the newspaper and stood up.
For most of the city residents, it was too early to go to bed. The office workers were still eating dinner, and the students had opened their books to do their homework. Many people's nightlife had just begun.
"Sleep when you go to sleep, lock the door, and check personally."
"Wake up at dawn, sweep the courtyard, and keep it clean inside and out."
Sleep at night, wake up at dawn to read. This was the ancestral rule, and it had been his habit for many years. Unless he was caught up in something important, he had never changed it.
The Persian cat had been lying on the table napping while he was reading the newspaper. At that moment, it seemed to suddenly notice something. Its ears twitched, and it stood up vigilantly, its eyes flashing as it stared at the darkness outside.
"What's wrong?"
He had already walked to the door and was about to close it when he noticed its strange behavior. His heart tightened. Could it be that the evil aura from before had returned again?
There was a black shadow moving on the wall opposite the shop.
"Don't be nervous. It's just a stray cat."
With the light from the street lamps, he could see that it was a few stray cats with different fur colors.
A cold snort came from the top of the wall.
He frowned. "Who is it? Who's there? "
In the next moment, the street lamps suddenly went out.
Then, darkness spread around like a tide, and all the street lamps in the alley went out.
Not only the street lamps, but the nearby houses also unexpectedly lost power.
The situation did not seem right, because the street lamps were independently powered by solar energy. How could they lose power at the same time as the ordinary houses?
Suddenly, there was a sonorous long cry from the top of the wall.
"The Ancestral Dragon Soul Dies Qin Still Lives, Zhu Xue Zhi Gao De Chaff!"
"A hundred generations of Qin Zhengfa, 'Ten Criticism' is not a good article!"
His face changed when he heard that. His chest felt like it had been hit hard, and he staggered back a few steps, his head ringing.
"What … You dare to call Zhu Xue … Chaff? Who are you? Come out if you have the guts! What kind of man are you to hide? "he shouted angrily at the darkness.
The voice in the darkness said, "Hide? Then what kind of man are you to hide in the dark and make insinuations? You're familiar with Zhu Xue. Haven't you heard Zhu Xi say that hiding resentment and shooting in the dark will bring disaster to your descendants? "
He heard the threat in those words, and he also heard that the other party was here because of his "Ten Criticism of Online Literature." But he had only told a few friends and relatives where he lived. How did the other party know?
"You don't have to threaten me. I have a clear conscience in the article I published. Online novels are not nutritious. I, Zhu Jisheng, want to set things right. I want young people to read Confucian classics, learn the words of sages, set their hearts for heaven and earth, and set their lives for the people!" He puffed out his chest and said calmly.
"Haha, that's a nice way to put it." The voice in the darkness sneered. "You're just sad about the decline of traditional literature, and you can't stand the flourishing development of online literature. The people love it, but you don't like it. Who do you think you are?"
Anger surged in his chest, and he was about to retort, but the voice spoke again.
"Oh, you don't have to answer."
He was stunned. What did he not have to answer?
The voice gradually turned cold, like bone-piercing ice. "I know who you are. You're the ninth!"
Although it was just a very ordinary sentence, Zhu Jisheng's heart suddenly beat heavily, and even his whole chest hurt.
His pupils dilated, and he sweated profusely. The most painful memory from decades ago came back again. It was like the Five Elements Mountain pressing on his shoulders, and it could crush him into powder at any time.
After the cold sweat, his body felt like it had fallen into an ice cave.
He thought he had long forgotten that memory, but in fact, that memory had always been hidden in the deepest part of his heart. Every piece of it seemed like it had happened yesterday, and it almost shattered all his dignity and glory.
"Meow!"
A simple sentence not only caused a heavy blow to his spirit, but even his Persian cat was trembling in fear. It curled up in the corner of the wall and stared at the darkness outside in horror. Even when it encountered the most terrible evil, it had never been so afraid.
"Seeing that your nature is not too bad, I won't make things too difficult for you this time, but you have to take care of yourself. Put aside your prejudices and read online literature. Don't go back to the King of Literature! Don't think about reversing history all day, or else the next time we meet, Zhu Xue will end with you! "
After the voice in the darkness said this, it quietly disappeared.
After a while, the street lights lit up again, and the power of the surrounding houses was restored.
There was no one at the top of the wall. He only saw a few stray cats swish their tails and leave calmly.
He could no longer support his nearly collapsed body. His trembling legs gave way, and he sat down on the ground. His thin shirt was soaked in sweat, and his mouth was wide open, breathing with difficulty.
"Hey, old man, what happened to you?"
After the electricity came back, a neighbor happened to pass by and inadvertently looked into the shop. He found that the usually gentle old man's face was as white as paper. He hesitated and ran in, not daring to touch him. Instead, he asked anxiously, "Do you want me to call an ambulance for you?"
"No … No need …"
He waved his hand weakly. "I … There was a sudden power outage just now. I just accidentally slipped and fell."
"Really?" The neighbor looked up and down at his legs. He didn't look like he had fallen, but it was true that there was a sudden power outage.
"Really, you go do your thing. I'm fine. I'll be fine after some rest." He forced a smile.
The neighbor saw that his face had regained some color, so he nodded and said, "Then if you're not feeling well, hurry and call an ambulance. Don't be so stubborn! Get up when you're done resting. The ground is too cold. "
"I understand. Thank you."
The neighbor was walking out of the shop, looking back three times. He suddenly asked from behind, "Right, before you came in just now, did you hear someone talking?"
The neighbor pointed at him. "I only heard you talking to yourself loudly in the shop. I was confused, so I passed by and saw you sitting on the ground."
He seemed to understand something and asked, "You only heard me talking?"
The neighbor nodded and said embarrassedly, "That … don't keep saying you, I'm not used to it."
"Okay, I understand … Right, I have another question. You … You, do you usually read online novels?" he asked.
"Occasionally, but I read pirated versions." The neighbor laughed. "Then I'll go first."
The shop returned to silence.
He stared at the street lights in the alley and suddenly laughed at himself. "The world is so big. Where can I hide from stray cats?"
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