L City was once the ancient capital, but after the reform and opening up, on the one hand it failed to keep up with the times due to certain policy reasons, and on the other hand it also gave a large amount of resources to the development of nearby provinces and cities.
So many years have passed, and this city has gradually climbed up to the standards of a second-tier city through tourism.
The vigorously developed cultural street of the old city is lined with red lanterns. At night, it becomes a famous red light. Ahem... no, it is a snack street.
No matter it is day or night, there are crowds of people here, but the adjacent street seems deserted.
On the shop side of the street, there is a signboard with the word "longevity" hanging on it, and there are garlands beside the door. There are three or five old people sitting at the entrance of the shop drinking tea and chatting.
The business was deserted, and there was only occasional business, and the comings and goings were just the same, and most people just paid the bills in a hurry and left.
Lao Zhou was sitting on a chair, watching the news on his mobile phone. From time to time he smiled and chatted with the elderly people around him about daily routines, such as what vegetables were cheaper again, housing prices had begun to rise again recently, and the virus in the United States had reached a new high again.
While chatting, Lao Zhou suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked at the young man approaching the store. When he saw the young man walking to the paper wreath and staring at several paper figures, Lao Zhou immediately stood up from his chair and greeted him.
He walked up with the young man.
"Little brother, our wreaths and paper figurines are all of the latest styles. They are delivered to your door at a reasonable price. Are you here to see them for the elders in the family, or..."
Lao Zhou stood behind him and asked in a low voice. People in this line of work cannot stand in front of guests, let alone greet them with a smile.
Xu Tong didn't say anything to Lao Zhou, he just pointed at the paper man in front of him, and with a slight click of his finger, a hole appeared in the paper man's head.
Seeing this, Xu Tong shook his head with disappointment, left a hundred yuan as compensation, and walked to the next house.
After visiting several houses in a row, Xu Tong couldn't find the paper figurine he liked.
It feels like these paper-tie products in the store are just like toys. A few pieces of paper are stuck together, sprayed with some paint and it's done. This is not fooling people, it's simply fooling ghosts.
Looking ahead, there is a Drum Tower, which is the old city gate of Old L City. It is said that the Japanese army fought for a long time and did not capture it. Now, only the Drum Tower is left, and the city walls on both sides have long disappeared.
.
Just when he was about to look elsewhere, he turned around and saw Boss Zhou standing not far behind him with a smile on his face.
Seeing his gaze, she hurriedly walked towards him with small steps: "Little brother, are you looking for someone or something? We all know several stores in this area. Just tell me and I will help you look for it.
"
Xu Tong looked at him suspiciously, and after making sure that Boss Zhou had no ill intentions, he took out a paper flower he made and handed it to him: "Look, who sells this thing."
"Ouch!"
Seeing the paper flowers in his hand, Boss Zhou opened his mouth and was speechless for a long time. He carefully took his hand, rubbed it gently with his fingers for a few times, and shook his head: "Hey~~ I'm feeling better.
I haven’t seen such beautiful paper flowers in years.”
As he said that, he returned the paper flowers to Xu Tong, pulled him to sit on a chair by the roadside and said, "I have been doing this for more than 20 years. I inherited it from my father's generation, and I am working here.
Your paper flowers are an old craft, and no one makes them now."
Boss Zhou is not telling a lie. In the past, the craftsmanship of the elders was very particular about the wrinkles of a paper flower. If an apprentice dared to make a paper flower with paper pulp, he would not have the shame to say who taught him this.
Not to mention, as long as the eyes of the paper figures made at that time were clicked, they would look like living people. Anyone who looked at them would feel terrified.
But the result is that it is also very expensive. Who can afford so many vaginal paper figures if you are not a wealthy family.
Later, times changed, especially after the Four Olds were destroyed, people no longer paid so much attention, and cheapness was the last word.
The wreaths in his shop are all imported wholesale. If you look carefully, you can see that they are all tied with wires at the back.
"I heard that in a few months we won't be allowed to burn wreaths in the city. We old guys are thinking about clearing out the goods and changing our profession. I'm afraid you won't even be able to find this kind of ordinary stuff by then.
It’s here.”
Boss Zhou was a very down-to-earth person, and he did not shy away from the purpose of coming forward. However, after learning what Xu Tong was looking for, he also made it very clear.
"That's it, thank you boss."
Hearing Boss Zhou's words, Xu Tong's heart froze. Originally, he was inspired by the news and decided to learn from an old craftsman to see if he could find a breakthrough.
Unexpectedly, the result turned out to be like this. Unable to conceal his disappointment, he said goodbye to his boss and turned to leave.
It seems that if you want to achieve in-depth identification, you may need to go into the script world to find it.
But the question is, in the script world, even if he completes the main mission, how much time will be left for him to explore? Even if he finds it, he can't be thrown out of the script world without saying a few words.
The more I think about it, the more annoyed I feel. It’s just that this era has progressed too fast, so quickly that things that should have been left behind have completely disappeared in the long river of history.
"Little brother, little brother..."
In a daze, Xu Tong suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. When he turned around, he saw that it was Boss Zhou who was chasing him.
He ran up, took a few breaths, patted his forehead and said: "I forgot, I forgot, there is no one selling these paper flowers, but there is a master who used to do this. You can go and find out.
However, if a person is alive, he can reach eighty or more, it all depends on your luck."
As he said that, Boss Zhou pointed him in the direction of the Drum Tower in front: "After you pass the Drum Tower, and then go through the intersection, look for the house with a pomegranate tree in front of the door. That person's surname is Song, and his name is Song...
...Anyway, Mr. Song, I visited him once a few years ago. If you go to see him, remember to bring some braised pork."
After hearing what Boss Zhou said, Xu Tong was immediately overjoyed and thanked Boss Zhou repeatedly. Of course, he stuffed a wad of banknotes into Boss Zhou's hand.
The happy boss Zhou smiled happily.
Following Boss Zhou's guidance, he walked east along the pedestrian street in front of him. After passing the intersection, he didn't go far before he actually found a house with a pomegranate tree in front of the door.
Even though the old city has undergone street renovation work several times, and every door has been painted with neat new walls, this dilapidated door still looks out of place.
He tried to push the door, but it was unlocked, which made Xu Tong feel a little hopeful. However, when he pushed the door and walked into the yard, the hope that had just been raised suddenly cooled down.
The yard is actually still a dirt road, overgrown with weeds. Inside are a few bungalows and a medium-sized yard with a few poplar trees planted sparsely.
I don’t know what it was in the water tank on the side, but it was emitting an indescribable smell.
Seeing this, Xu Tong felt a chill in his heart.
This place looks like it has been abandoned for many years. The windows of the houses on both sides are covered in gray and nothing can be seen.
Xu Tong tried pushing the door a few times, but found nothing except falling dust.
With the idea of coming here, he walked to the door of the main house, stretched out his hand and pushed it.
"Buzz..."
As the door was slowly pushed open, a thick musty smell filled the air, making him wrinkle his nose unconsciously.
It was obviously daytime, but the room gave people a dusty and dusty look that made it difficult to see clearly.
When the light from outside shines in, the sunlight seems to be blocked and diffused by the dust in the air.
But when he saw the furnishings in the room clearly, he stood there blankly, his face full of shock and surprise.
Like a boy who discovered a treasure, he walked into the door with curiosity on his face.
The two rows of chairs in the room were filled with people.
The old man held a cigarette rod in his hand, and a child on the side held up a match to light his cigarette. The girl on the left held a kettle and poured tea for everyone, but one foot stepped on the instep of the young man next to him, and the young man grinned in pain.
In the misty clouds in the room, I actually felt like traveling through time to the distant past. I came to a distant past and listened to the sounds of that history in this house.
The lifelike expressions of each person are so exquisite that even the wrinkles on their faces look so natural.
If you don't look carefully, you won't even notice that the people in front of you are actually paper figures made of paper.
He stood in front of the old man and looked at the beard on the old man's face, the nails on his hands, and the perfect fit of every piece of paper pulp. The details were packed to the extreme, making it difficult to tell the real thing from the fake.
"Boom!!"
The clock on the wall rang. Xu Tong followed the sound and found that it was already six o'clock in the afternoon.
Just when he was about to speak.
Suddenly his wrist tightened, and the paper figure sitting in front of him slowly opened his eyelids. Two pairs of black and white eyes stared at him sideways, and his hoarse voice echoed in the empty room: "Young man,
Don’t leave once you’re here, stay with me.”
"Hiss~~~"
Looking at the old man in front of him, Xu Tong's pupils tightened and he stared straight at him. Then the whites of his eyes rolled up. After shaking for a few times, his body straightened back and fell heavily to the ground.
"Bang!"
The heavy falling sound caused the smile on the old man's face to freeze, and he looked at Xu Tong blankly.
"Bang!"
As soon as the smoking stem in his hand was loosened, the jade smoking pot suddenly fell to pieces on the ground.
"Boy, boy!!"
When he put his trembling hand under his nose to explore, the old man was stunned. He sat on the chair in shock for a long time before slapping his thigh.
"Oh, what is this? Young man, you said you...I wouldn't have scared you if I knew better. You have made my old man sinful."
He howled for a while, then put his hand up again without giving up. After confirming that he really had no breath, his expression became even more panicked, and he hurriedly groped around on his body.
"Call 120, call 120, young man, please hold on, my cell phone, where is my cell phone?"
He groped for it, but today he couldn't find his mobile phone, which he usually kept at hand. He anxiously tore open the thick layer of paper pulp on his body, sweating profusely.
At this time, one hand raised up, pointed to the mobile phone on the table and said: "It's over here!!"