"Xiaoyu, Xiaotong, where is your grandfather?"
A pair of twins who were catching grasshoppers in the field outside the courtyard raised their heads, took a look, clapped the soil on their hands and stood up.
Wu Tong said crisply: "Hello Grandpa Jiang, my grandpa is withering wood at home."
"Xiaotong, be good, I'm going to chat with your grandpa for a while." Jiang Qiao smiled and touched the little girl's head, then took out two fruits picked from the tree and handed them to her.
Watching him walk into his house, Wu Yu scratched his head and muttered: "Grandpa Jiang looks younger than his father, he is obviously an uncle."
"It's grandpa, we've been calling him that since we were little."
"But he is young!"
"Young people are also grandfathers!"
"My grandpa had white hair and a white beard, but he didn't."
"Then why don't you call him Uncle Jiang?"
"Last time I screamed, but my grandfather and father beat me up."
…
Jiang Qiao walked into the small courtyard with his hands behind his back. Wu Youcai was stabbing with a saw.
"I said your old arms and legs can't rest for a while? You might hurt yourself in a while, but don't blame me for not warning you."
"Go, go, I'm not old yet." Wu Youcai glanced at him as if he was disgusted, and started cutting with the saw again.
"The teapot is inside. If you want to drink water, go and pour it yourself."
Jiang Qiao was not polite at all. He went into the room and poured two glasses of water and put them on the stone table. He glanced casually: "What are you messing with again?"
"Xiaoyu wants an excavator, and Xiaotong likes music boxes."
"So you want to make one for them both? Why don't you buy it if it's so troublesome?"
The little old man sneered: "The things I bought are not as good as those I made myself."
Jiang Qiao took a leisurely sip of tea. This little old man was used to idleness when he was young. Unexpectedly, after he became a grandfather in old age, he also started to work as a carpenter. Now all the furniture in the yard is made by himself one by one. Sawed from wood.
"Kill a plate?"
"Not empty."
"You just created a new folder. It's empty. Hurry up. Don't tell me that I'm disrespectful."
"Blank!"
Wu Youcai put down the saw with a curse, kicked the wood to the side, then sat across from Jiangqiao and started to place the chess pieces, nagging as he did so.
"That's why I can't see you, his grandmother. You are obviously the same age as me and the white coat. We are both very old. Why don't you look older?"
"That's why you want to see me more. Do you know what it means to be old and never grow old? I'm reminding you."
"Get out!"
Jiang Qiao smiled and looked very helpless: "Actually, I have practiced a magical skill. Does Tianshan Child Elder know about it? That's why I look eternally young."
"Damn old man, I believe you." Wu Youcai pouted, and swung the red cannon in the middle, "Here's the headshot!"
"It's just these three axes that have been tossed over and over, can't you use some other tricks?" Jiang Qiao responded to Feixiang very calmly.
"Hey, hey, three axes are enough to deal with you."
"So you lose every time?"
Wu Youcai blushed and changed the subject: "Xiao Yu'er is still abroad and hasn't come back?"
"Yeah, doing research with a large group of scientists."
"It's really amazing, amazing."
Wu Youcai sighed with emotion, looked up at Jiang Qiao's extremely young face, and tugged at his face: "I don't know what good things you did in your last life, but you can marry the most beautiful wife in the world in this life, and The most intelligent daughter in the world."
"Probably saved the galaxy." Jiang Qiao laughed.
Before the game of chess was finished, the twins born to Wu Chengan rushed in shouting: "Grandpa, grandpa, look, I caught a crab!"
"Xiaoyu, be good, hey, for such a big crab, be careful not to get pinched." Wu Youcai quickly stood up and went into the house to get some silk thread to tie the crab's two pincers tightly.
"Okay, we won't do it today. You spend time with the kids first, and I'll go home to be with my wife."
Wu Youcai glared at him angrily: "Get out of here, get out of here."
"You still have to be careful in front of children."
"Bah, I get angry when I see you."
Jiang Qiao smiled and was not angry, and touched the heads of the two children: "Xiaotong and Xiaoyu, if you want to eat fruit, you can come and pick it yourself, okay?"
"Yeah! Goodbye, Uncle Jiang."
Wu Youcai patted his grandson's head gently: "You kid, call me Grandpa Jiang."
"Goodbye, Grandpa Jiang."
Jiang Qiao waved his hands and walked out of the small courtyard with a smile on his face.
"Grandpa, why did you scold Grandpa Jiang just now?" Wu Tong raised his face and asked in confusion.
Wu Youcai looked at the figure slowly disappearing at the door, his vicissitudes of face trembled slightly, and he murmured: "Grandpa, why are you scolding him? Grandpa has been envious of him his whole life..."
…
Fu Lu Shou Xi is so old that he even starts to stagger when walking, and his hair looks dull. He often lies in his nest all day long, and only weakly agrees when the scavenger calls their name.
The two old guys had bad teeth and couldn't eat anything until they made a rattling sound. Jiang Qiao usually fed them minced fish.
"Their time is coming soon." Fairy Bai gently combed their fur, with a hint of sadness in her tone.
"I know."
"If it's on Ziweixing, I have many ways to extend their lifespan."
"Yue Ling, it's not your fault."
Jiang Qiao looked at the two cats that had been with him for most of his life and said softly: "Birth, aging, illness and death are the laws of all things in the world. No one can avoid them. They can follow you and live peacefully for more than thirty years. It is already ten years. I am blessed with blessings that cannot be cultivated in this world. I am blessed with good fortune, wealth and longevity."
"Meow~"
Fulu barely supported his upper limbs and licked the White Fairy's hands affectionately, just like when the fairy found them in the wild.
Everything has spirit.
In the next few days, Fu Lu Shou Xi seemed to know that his end was coming. No matter where Jiang Qiao and Bai Xianzi went, these two old guys would drag their old bodies along with them.
The last time must be spent with the most important people.
The next morning, when Jiang Qiao went to change the water for Fu Lu Shou Xi, he suddenly found that there was no movement in the cat's nest. The two cats were still sleeping together as before, but they could not wake up no matter what.
Jiang Qiao sat on the ground in silence for a long time, tracing their hair over and over again, as if they were young.
Fairy Bai didn't know when she appeared behind him and whispered: "They're gone."
"Well, he left while he was sleeping. He was very sensible and didn't disturb us."
"They've always been good kids."
Jiang Qiao carried the body to the big banyan tree where they used to climb, solemnly dug a hole and buried it with his own hands.
It turns out that Fu Lu Shou Xi is just an ordinary cat after all and failed to become a spirit.
Jiang Qiao looked at Fairy Bai with a confused expression: "Yue Ling, let's go back and stay for a while."
…
Unknowingly, the old couple are over eighty years old. Compared with others of the same age, their bodies are still strong, but their hair has turned gray. The fonts on their mobile phones are set to a large size, and they have to wear reading glasses to see clearly.
When the couple came to the door, the old couple was taking a nap at home. Jiang Qiao was frightened and thought that his parents had left quietly like Fu Lu Shou Xi.
"Bullshit, I'm in good spirits. It's just that I'm getting older and I'm a little lethargic." Jiang Tiancheng was so angry that he couldn't help but slap Jiang Qiao. This complete thing knew how to say some unlucky words.
Jiang Qiao was still a little worried: "Dad, if you and mom are uncomfortable in any way, you must tell us, you know?"
"Don't worry, your mother and I are healthier than you think." Mr. Jiang couldn't help but muttered: "I haven't seen Xiao Yu'er get married yet. Even if we get married, we have to wait until we have our great-grandson. , I just can’t bear to die.”
"What are you talking about? Dad, what are you talking about?"
"Where's Xiao Yu'er? You still won't go home this year? This kid is so busy that he doesn't know how to call his grandparents all year round. Don't you know that your mother will sometimes murmur her name when she sleeps?" The old man said. There was great resentment in my heart.
"Didn't I tell you that Xiao Yu'er's group of scientists are performing a top-secret national mission, just like when our country built the atomic bomb, and no relevant information can be disclosed."
When the country was mentioned, Jiang Tiancheng, an old party member, fell silent. He was a person from that era and understood that the interests of the country were above all else. How could a small family exist without the country
"That's it, then let Xiao Yu'er work hard inside. It doesn't matter whether he goes home or not. He must complete the tasks assigned by the country. That's the big deal."
"I know, I know."
Jiang Qiao and Bai Xianzi looked at each other and sighed helplessly. They couldn't tell others about Xiao Yu'er going to Ziwei Star, and there was no way to tell them.
After an early dinner, Fairy Bai took Mrs. Xia's hand and walked outside to the park. Mr. Jiang sat on the deck chair on the balcony and watched the sinking sun.
"I asked a lot of acquaintances about the tea you gave me, and we don't have some of the medicines here at all." Jiang Tiancheng suddenly said.
"Ah? Is there still such a thing? I don't know. Yue Ling gave it to me. He said that he would be healthy after drinking it." Jiang Qiao continued to pretend to be Hutu.
"The people I found are all experts in Chinese herbal medicine. They said they had never seen those herbal medicines. However, the world is so big and full of wonders that it is normal for them not to have seen them."
Jiang Tiancheng looked at him deeply and continued: "Sometimes I wonder if the fact that your mother and I can still have such healthy bodies at this age has something to do with the longevity tea you gave me."
"Does...does it matter?"
"Aren't you going to tell me clearly about Yue Ling?" Jiang Tiancheng changed the subject.
"Didn't I make it clear a long time ago? She is an orphan. She grew up in an orphanage and later worked as a tour guide on Fairy Peak. We gradually got to know each other because of some things at work."
"Fart! Yue Ling has never been a tour guide!" Speaking of this, Mr. Jiang became very angry.
He initially called the manager of the scenic spot and was told that there was no such person in the scenic spot.
Jiang Qiao lost his temper and said, "Dad, it turns out you already knew this."
"How can you hide your bad thoughts from your father? Come on, tell me, even if I die in a few years, I can rest in peace."
Jiang Qiao was silent for a long time and said, "Dad, do you believe there are gods in this world?"
"Believe it or not, how can socialism have all this mess..." Jiang Tiancheng was slightly stunned and asked in disbelief: "You mean, Yue Ling is a god in the sky?"
"Roughly the same… "
Seeing Jiang Qiao's serious tone, the old man was so angry that he almost jumped up. Is this guy getting stupider as he lives? It’s possible to say such ridiculous things, but what about the liar
"I didn't believe it at first, but then..."
"I didn't believe it later! You little bastard, can you make up a story that looks a little bit like it?"
The old man suddenly stood up, looked at Jiang Qiao angrily, and went out to eat. After all, I am a college student, but I didn’t expect that I am still so superstitious and feudal, and I read shit to death.
Although he knew that Jiang Qiao must be hiding something from him, such as why decades later, he was still exactly the same as when he was young, and time seemed to be unable to leave any trace on him.
Another example is that the cats he raises can live to be more than thirty years old. The tea the old couple drinks contains substances that do not exist on the earth. At such an old age, the body ages very slowly. It feels like living to be a hundred years old is impossible. Not a problem.
Various reasons... It's not that Jiang Tiancheng doesn't know, he just doesn't want to think about it.
After all, he and Mrs. Xia are both people with one foot in the grave. It would be good if some things can be settled as they are.
Seeing the empty deck chair swinging back and forth on the balcony, Jiang Qiao shook his head and laughed, sitting alone on the deck chair watching the sunset in the sky.
The old father didn’t say anything, but he knew everything in his heart.
…
Time flies by, and in the blink of an eye, a hundred years have passed.
Jiang Qiao lit incense candles and placed them in front of his parents' graves, feeling countless emotions in his heart.
He lives forever, but he can only watch his parents, relatives and friends turn into loess.
He gradually understood in his heart why immortal cultivators always choose to kill their emotions and desires in the end. After all, when all their loved ones die and their hearts are closed, the world will no longer have any nostalgia for him.
The so-called road to immortality is actually just a lonely road for seekers.
Fortunately…
He is not alone.
"Cheat dog."
Jiang Qiao turned around and glanced at the fairy with a slight smile. The past hundred years seemed like yesterday.
He touched the fairy's belly, looked around to see if there was no one around, and secretly kissed her on the face.
"If I had not chosen to cultivate immortality with you, I would have been buried there for fifty years now. Where would you be then?"
"In the vast sea of people." Fairy Bai smiled, gently lifted her hair, and took his hand to walk under the shade of the dancing trees.
"Um?"
"You also know that this is the first time I come to find you?"
"What's the meaning."
"After your death, I will protect your aura forever and reincarnate, reincarnate life after life, wait life after life, and look for you in the world of mortals over and over again, until this life."
Jiang Qiao looked strange: "It sounds like it's true."
"Yes... it's true." She sighed and looked at the young man next to her. She still remembered that evening when it rained heavily.
"I don't know when my daughter will come back." Jiang Qiao sighed while looking at the sky.
"It's not that easy to become an immortal."
"That's true."
Jiang Qiao looked down at the fairy's swollen belly and said, "I've been pregnant for almost a hundred years, and I don't know whether this is a son or a daughter."
"Do you prefer a son or a daughter?"
"As long as they are born to you, I like them all."
Fairy Bai suddenly frowned as she had a big belly.
"Rice dog, I seem... like I'm going to give birth!"