90,000 Years of Longevity

The alley was paved with ancient stones.

The weather was cool and calm.

Ye Bei strolled in this alley, looking at this ancient stone road with a leisurely look.

The part in the middle of the ancient road, with people passing by all year round, was extremely smooth, as if it were a straight road to heaven.

But on both sides of the road that day, it was covered with weeds and dust, unattended all year round.

After a long time, Ye Bei walked to the middle of this alley, and then gently stopped.

In this central location, there was one less house and one more ancient well.

A semi-curved guardrail was built around the ancient well with stones. Inside the guardrail, there were some eggs the size of no water chestnut, and there were some water stains flowing in the gap, and some rocks were still stuck with a few strands of moss.

Ye Bei looked over, then he remembered something from the past.

On that day, the sun was just right, the spring breeze was still there, and some of the peach trees planted in the yard stretched out their branches, and the fragrance of flowers spread.

Several elderly people, sitting in front of the courtyard, looked serious, talking about the general trend of the world.

Several barefooted children were jumping around the ancient well, splashing water.

A black kitten, squatting on the guardrail, squinted and yawning with a lazy appearance.

A girl in coarse cloth, with her sleeves rolled up, stretched out her white and slender arms, and carried a brown wooden bucket. Sweat dripping on her forehead as she tried drawing water from this ancient well. Although tired, she still showed a bright smile like a sunflower.

A young man in a white robe stopped for a while while passing by here.

What a pity…

When the years went by, everything changed inadvertently.

The old people were gone, or had turned into loess; the children had already left their hometowns, and it was unknown where they had drifted to.

"Faces are gone with unknown whereabouts; the green waves still flow eastward!"

Ye Bei sighed after his thoughts came back. Then he flicked his sleeves and turned around. In his view, there was a woman staggering with a cane in one hand, and a small wooden bucket in the other hand. She was walking slowly behind Ye Bei.

Between the woman's eyebrows, there were deep traces oldness.

Her white hair was scattered all over her head.

After seeing Ye Bei, she was taken aback for a moment, and then her eyelids were slightly softened as if she was struggling to open her eyes.

"Young man, did you come back from another place? Whose child are you... really familiar." Next to the ancient well, the woman skillfully tied the rope to the bucket, her voice whispered, as if she was talking to herself.

Ye Bei said nothing, he just watched quietly.

"In recent years, all young people have basically gone out. Many people have also moved out. Even the doors of the yard are rusty and big holes are appearing. No one has come back to take a look. I heard that this alley will be soon demolished, so it's a pity that I won't be able to drink this well water anymore."

Bang!

The woman's voice revealed sadness. When she spoke, she threw the wooden bucket into the ancient well and made a crisp sound.

"Yeah, all gone!" Ye Bei quietly agreed with the woman after staying silent for a while.

"Young man, which yard do you belong to?" The woman looked attentively, her legs shaken a little when she pulled the small wooden bucket with water, and some sweat stains appeared on her gully forehead.

"Yard No. 99." Ye Bei replied lightly.

"Such a coincidence, I live in Yard No. 98, and the door of your yard is right opposite of mine!" The woman's voice was somewhat surprised. When she spoke, half a bucket of clear water had been lifted from the ancient well, and the water was clear and cold.

"Yeah." Ye Bei nodded.

The woman put the cane in the middle of the bucket handle with both hands. Holding the crutches in both hands, she lifted the half bucket of water forcefully, but after lifting it up, she paused a little, with a kind smile on her face, she gently shook her head, "This water is really strange. I bring it up every day, but it feels much lighter than usual."

"It just feels lighter, but in fact, it is still so much." Ye Bei said.

The woman stepped forward and walked on the ancient stone road. The pace was very slow, and she walked unbiasedly in the middle, "By the way, young man, I haven't seen you yesterday. You just returned today, right? I came here to get water for cooking, if you don't dislike it, come to my house to eat."

"All right." Ye Bei readily agreed.

Then he followed the woman, moving very slowly.

The alley was sparsely populated.

Occasionally, some peach blossom branches stuck out from the yard, and the flowers bloomed lonely and brilliantly.

"Young man, what's your name?"

The woman walked in front, the distance was very close, but for her, it was quite far. After walking about three meters, she put the wooden bucket on the ground, her hands on the knees, and her voice was a little panting when she spoke.

"Sheng Bei." Ye Bei didn't hide it and said softly.

The woman rested for a few seconds, then lifted the bucket again, "Sheng Bei? This name, I've heard it before, but when I get old, it's easy to forget. Maybe when I saw you in the past, you were just a naked boy running around barefooted."

"Well, maybe." Ye Bei's eyes were light, and he answered softly.

"Young man, what are you going to do after you come back this time? During the Spring Festival, there were more people, but now it's too deserted." Maybe there was someone who she could talk to, the woman unconsciously talked a lot.

Ye Bei thought for a moment, and replied softly, "I come to see someone and plant two trees."

"You are really interesting to talk to. Unlike other young people, after returning from the big city, they are all talking about words that I don't understand. What country is now ranked number one in the world? Which countries are about to declare war? What new cell phone is out? What surname Wang divorcing surname Ma... Talking with you is much more comfortable." The woman shook her head and sighed. (A/N: Search 'Wang Baoqiang and Ma Rong' and you'll understand the drama, lol.) 

Ye Bei replied lightly, "They are still too young."

"You are also very young, but completely different from those people." A smile appeared on the woman's face.

Ye Bei did not deny or accept, "Perhaps."

It was still too early, the sun shattered, and the shadows of the two people were constantly stretched in the alley.

Ye Bei just chatted with the woman like this, walking and stopping all the way.

Ten minutes later. 

The woman stopped in front of an old yard. She stretched out her hand to wipe the sweat on her forehead, "I finally got home. You know, I have walked this road for decades. When I was young, I felt that every time I walked, it's all the same, but now... it's different every time."

Ye Bei did not say anything and turned his back to the woman without answering.

At this moment, he was standing in front of an ancient yard with weeds growing in front of the door. The wooden door that was once painted with bright red was now rotten. Even the big brass lock hanging on the door was stained with rust and eroded by the years.

Squeak...

When the woman opened the door and the sound of creaking came, Ye Bei also took a step forward, stretched out his white hand, and placed it on the brass lock.

Click!

When the brass lock opened, a cloud of dust splashed, and a rotten metallic smell filled the air.

Creak!

The dilapidated wooden door slowly opened, and the familiar and unfamiliar scenery appeared in front of Ye Bei's eyes little by little.

On the opposite side, in the ancient yard No. 98, the woman had just stepped in with her front feet. After hearing the door opening on Ye Bei's side, she seemed to remember something, her body suddenly stunned, and her slightly closed eyes gradually enlarged.