The place where my master and I have lived for more than ten years is actually Huilong Town, Da'an District, Zigong City. In the past, transportation was not well developed and it took a long time to drive. Now it seems that Zigong is not very far from Chengdu, only two or three hours at most. But even so, I haven't been back for a long time, because my master is not there, and there is no point in me going back.
The next day, I said hello to Su Daji and the others and went out. I was carrying a backpack, wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans. I took a taxi to the Chengdu Bus Station. It was around nine o'clock. I bought a ticket to Zigong and got on the bus. Of course, there was a small episode on the way. The Tianzi Sword had trouble with the security check, but in the end I showed my credentials from the supernatural incident investigation team and was allowed to pass.
The time on the bus is actually very boring. In the past, the only fun was sleeping, but now I just woke up. Even if I have a strong sleep ability, I can't sleep so long. I'm not a pig. The roads are much better now than before. I still remember that when I first went to college, it took me an afternoon to get from Zigong to Chengdu. Now it only takes two hours.
As soon as I got off the train, I felt a wave of heat. It was noon, the hottest time of the day, and there were not many people in the station. I walked out of the station and looked around. Sure enough, there were big changes. There were more high-rise buildings, and the streets looked much better.
I didn't stop there either. I hailed a taxi and headed straight to Huilong Town in Da'an District. The driver looked to be in his forties and was very enthusiastic. As soon as I got in the car, he asked, "Young man, are you coming back from work outside?"
I smiled and nodded. This master was quite enthusiastic. Later on, we found out that he was also from Da'an District, from Tuanjie Town next to Huilong Town. We had a very good chat for a while.
The driver drove very fast. When he arrived at Huilong Town, he said hello and left. Huilong Town is not big. The population of the countryside is only a little over 30,000, and there are only a little over 10,000 people in the town. 10,000 people may sound like a lot, but when you think about it carefully, it is not a lot. There is a cross road in the middle of Huilong Town, and then there are four blocks in the east, south, west and north. The tallest house is only five stories high. It does not look very good.
I got off at East Street. I was very familiar with Longzhen this time. After all, it was such a small place. I had been coming here for more than ten years. People on the four streets in the east, south, west and north basically knew me. But when I got off the bus, those people just glanced at me and didn't say hello. It's not that they were unenthusiastic, but I just changed too much. I have only been back four or five times since college, and I haven't walked around the streets much.
I looked at the streets around me and felt nostalgic. The last time I came back was when I saw the letter my master left for me. Then I went to Harbin and met Cui Zuofei. It has been four years. It has gone by so fast. It's really...
I shook my head and touched my chin. Fortunately, I had some time to rub my beard this morning, and I was quite energetic. The place where I got off the bus was a small store. I still remember that there was an old man named Grandpa Liu running the store. When I was a child, I often went to this store to steal snacks. But Grandpa Liu was very nice to me and only said a few words to me every time. Of course, I was most afraid of him at that time. He always called me Ha Bao.
I touched my head and walked to the door. I saw that the person watching the store was a girl in her twenties. She was not very pretty, with a few freckles on her face and a small braid. I asked the girl, "Girl, give me a cigarette."
"Okay, handsome guy, which one do you want?" The girl spoke in Sichuan dialect. I got used to speaking Mandarin in Harbin, and I never changed. It's good this way.
"Take a pack of Zhonghua." I smiled and took out seven 100-yuan bills from my wallet. The girl smiled and said, "Handsome, we don't have Zhonghua here. The best is 21 packs of Yunnan Yunnan."
"Give me four." I took out another two hundred yuan, and the girl nodded, turned around and flipped it for me. I walked in. It was a little damp inside, and there was a faint smell of mold. I asked casually, "Girl, why isn't Grandpa Liu here?"
"Oh, you mean my grandfather? He died last year. How could you recognize him? Handsome guy, you don't seem to be from this place." This girl was quite direct. She said he died right away. I smiled and said in my hometown dialect, "Who said that? I'm from Huilong Town, but I haven't been back for a long time." I felt a little disappointed, thinking that the old man Liu, who used to be the most vicious in my mind, was actually dead. Time flies.
The girl was very skillful and quickly found four packs of Yuxi cigarettes. I took the cigarettes, opened them, handed them to the girl and said, "I feel bad for not having the time to ask Grandpa Liu to smoke a pack of cigarettes. I hope you can burn this pack to him next time you burn incense. Thank you."
"Oh, it's okay." The girl took the cigarette and nodded, and I walked out of the store. I definitely didn't buy so many cigarettes to smoke myself, but to give to the people on these streets. It's not to show off, but my master and I were very poor at the beginning, and the people on the street often helped us. Although I can't give much in return, I have to be grateful, so I still have to hand over a pack of cigarettes.
Then I went to visit every household along the street. I couldn't remember many of them by name, but they knew my nickname after a quick look. These neighbors used to call me "little bastard" because I was one of the most mischievous kids on the street. It was common for me to steal chickens and dogs and peek at little girls taking baths.
These neighbors were very welcoming and invited me to sit in for a while. I didn’t refuse and went in to chat. They also said that I had grown up and made great achievements. I just smiled foolishly. I suddenly thought that I could be considered to be returning home in glory. If I had known that I would not wear a T-shirt when I came back, I should have bought some nice clothes. However, when I thought about it carefully, in front of these simple neighbors, I guess the T-shirt and those luxurious clothes would feel the same, just a little more expensive, and they would be enough to keep warm.
At first I thought the cigarettes I bought would not be enough, but I was obviously overthinking it, because many people in this town do not smoke, and even if they do, they smoke old-fashioned cigarettes. Many people only accepted the cigarettes because I was too enthusiastic and insisted on giving them to them. But they were still very happy, and basically said that the little bastard had made it and even knew to give cigarettes away.