90,000 Years of Longevity

In the alley.

The doors of the two ancient houses opened opposite each other.

From time to time, there was a cool breeze, overflowing from the courtyard, blowing to the tips of the hair, blowing the weeds on the ancient stone path one after another.

"Young man, what's your name? I don't seem to remember anymore." The woman turned her head, and the water in the bucket rippled.

"Sheng Bei." Standing back to face against her, Ye Bei still told her calmly.

The woman replied softly, "Oh!"

Soon, the woman seemed to think of something again, "Young man, I probably remember that in your yard, no one has been here for almost 80 years. The person who lived there in the past looked very much like you. Are you his descendant?"

"If you think it is, then it is. If you think it is not, then it is not." Ye Bei uttered.

The waves in the woman's eyes seemed to be silent. The water in the bucket splashed out a lot. After a long time, she apprised, "If that person is still alive, young man, please help me tell him that over the years, I have been watching over his ancient yard, no thief has come, and there should be no shortage of things inside."

"Got it." Ye Bei affirmed lightly.

The woman turned around, her body buckled, and walked towards her inner area yard. The water splashed in the wooden bucket just wetted the ground.

But Ye Bei still stood in front No. 99 Yard.

In his sight, the ancient yard was extremely desolate. In the gap between the ancient stones, grass grew nearly half a meter deep. In the yard, a peach tree had withered long ago, and the branches were broken in the middle, but at the bottom of the peach tree, there was a weak new sprout with size smaller than a thumb. There were two or three green leaves on it, shaking in the wind.

Opposite it was a corridor.

There were two wooden benches on top of them. On the benches, the cracks were very deep and the color was white. It seemed that with just a touch, they would instantly fall apart.

Besides the benches, there were a few withered tree vines, which looked very strange. From time to time, a few black ants drilled out of the cracks of the tree vines, protruding their tentacles, and moving cautiously. After confirming that there was no danger outside, they started to look around for food.

Behind the corridor was a large wooden door on all sides.

The windows pasted up with paper were all shattered. Standing in Ye Bei's position, one would find that it was completely dark inside.

The big wooden door was unlocked.

A yellowed bamboo flute hung on the door as Ye Bei looked at it quietly.

"Things hardest to keep in this human world, rosy cheeks which fade in the mirror and flowers that fall from the trees."

An hour later, Ye Bei murmured softly, and then took a step forward and stepped into the yard.

Then his first step came...

When stepping on the grass in this inner part of the yard, the extremely dense weeds seemed to have been blown by a gust of wind, and they slanted their bodies. Starting from the soles of Ye Bei's feet, they quickly spread in all directions.

Then, it withered at a speed visible to the naked eye and turned into dust. Once the breeze passed, it disappeared completely, revealing the bare ancient stone courtyard. The stones were also severely weathered.

When he took the second step…

In the courtyard, the weathered ancient stones quickly recovered their cyan appearance. They gathered from all directions towards the foot of Ye Bei, and finally all regained their vitality, just as they were when he left.

Third step…

The wooden benches in front of the corridor had recovered, and the withered trees and vines seemed to have just been unearthed.

...

The seventh step…

In the ancient courtyard, the paper window in front of the big wooden door reappeared, clean and thorough, without the slightest dust.

When Ye Bei stood in front of the big wooden door, the entire ancient yard had regained its vitality, as if it was just created. It's just that the withered peach tree in the courtyard was still withered, and the courtyard door was still rotten as if it was the witness of time.

When Ye Bei stretched out his hand and was about to push the big wooden door open.

A faint smell of rice floated over from the ancient yard opposite.

Ye Bei stopped his movement.

He looked up at the bamboo flute.

Outside the wooden door, the woman's old voice appeared, "Young man, the meal is ready, eat first and then work!" The woman forgot Ye Bei's name again, she crouched and leaned sideways. Her head looked at the Yard No. 99, and when she found that it was extremely neat and tidy, her face showed a smile, "After so many years, this place is still so clean, as it used to be!" 

"Yes." Ye Bei turned around, whispering softly.

"I am old, my hands and feet are uncomfortable. I have cooked this meal for more than an hour, and I don't know if it suits your appetite." The woman said again.

"Okay." Ye Bei nodded, and followed the woman into Yard No. 98.

The layout of Yard No. 98 was exactly the same as No. 99's. The people who built these ancient yards were the same construction team, but the details inside were completely different.

When Ye Bei entered this yard, what he first saw were two peach trees.

The peach trees were planted on both sides of the yard, with pink flowers hanging on them, and the air was filled with their fragrance. Next to the peach trees, a small piece of wasteland was cultivated, and vegetables and fruits were planted on them.

In the yard, there was a straight line of ancient stone road, which was very smooth, indicating that people had been walking here all year round.

Passing through the courtyard, the person would face the lobby of this ancient yard.

The eight doors were all open, and the situation inside was unobstructed.

In the middle of the lobby, there was a square wooden table.

Before and after the wooden table, there was a bamboo chair. 

On the wooden table, three dishes, two bowls of rice, two pairs of chopsticks, a hip flask, and a wine cup were neatly placed.

On the wall facing the outside of the lobby, there was a portrait of a person. It had been painted for some years. The person in the painting had a slightly higher hairline, but his eyes were full of wisdom. No matter where one stood in this lobby, the person in the painting seemed to be watching his guest closely.

The woman's body was a bit crooked. When Ye Bei entered the lobby, she stretched out her hand, wiped it on her clothes, wiped off the oil stains. Then she quickly stepped forward, pulling the chair facing the door away, and said with a warm voice, " I don't have a lot of vegetables, they are all grown by myself, young man, you sit first, you are welcome to eat whatever you want."

"Yes." Ye Bei took a step, flicked his sleeves, and sat gracefully on the wooden chair.

Seeing this, the woman sat on the opposite side slowly.

Ye Bei picked up his chopsticks and looked at the dishes on the table, a plate of stir-fried Chinese cabbage, a plate of diced radish, and a plate of pickles.

The plates on which the dishes were placed were very ordinary, but they were wiped clean.

In these dishes, there was very little oil, the color was white. Its appearance looked very shabby, but it exuded a seductive fragrance.

Ye Bei poured himself a cup of wine.

The wine cup was a wooden cup with a peach blossom carved on it, which was very delicate.

The wine was clear and full of aroma. 

He put the wine cup on his mouth and drank the wine in one sip. The unknown name of the wine exuded a mellow fragrance flowing between his lips and teeth. Ye Bei's eyes were deep and he looked at the woman in front of him silently. Then he said, "Are you fine all these years?"