176: Chapter 176 The Happy Revival Plan

After Lin Feng returned from Starry Sky Town, he squatted under the Old Locust Tree with a straw in his mouth, watching the cat on the awning use its paws to fiddle with the telescope lens. Every time the cat gave it a nudge, the lens would rotate, and the mushroom racks in the distance at Millfield would be zoomed in and then out, out and then in. Lin Feng's mind was constantly revolving around that sum of money—24.8 million US dollars. He had never withdrawn it; every time the system reminded him, he would say "keep it." Now, he knew exactly how long he had been keeping it for. He stood up, patted his trousers, and walked into the Restaurant. Margaret was wiping the tables and was momentarily stunned to see him enter. "Done squatting?" Lin Feng replied, "Done squatting. I have things to do." He walked to the counter, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write. He wrote very slowly, pondering over every single word for a long time. He drafted a list: George, Eric, Martha, Molly, Lao Zhou, Sam, Chen Xiaoyuan, Lin Xiaohe. And the cat. He posted the list on the wall and wrote a line underneath: "Tomorrow morning, in front of the church, meeting."

The next morning, everyone arrived. George came from the farm, holding a white mushroom in his hands. Eric came from Millfield, holding a spotted mushroom. Martha came from Greenfield, clutching a new guitar. Molly came from the Coffee Shop, carrying a pot of hot coffee. Lao Zhou parked his bicycle by the roadside, its chain clinking. Sam carried his guitar on his back, Chen Xiaoyuan held a rag for wiping cups, Lin Xiaohe carried her schoolbag, and the cat squatted on the awning, looking down at them. Lin Feng squatted in the middle of the crowd, a straw in his mouth. No one spoke; they were all waiting for him to start. He chewed on the straw and said, "Starry Sky Town is about to fade away."

Everyone was stunned. George asked, "Fade away? How?" Lin Feng said, "People are leaving, the telescope is broken, and the roads are ruined. The red dots on the happiness map have turned from bright red to a dull crimson, flickering on and off." He paused. "It’s not just Starry Sky Town. The red dot for Millfield has dimmed too. So has Greenfield's. Xinfeng Town is still lit, but its range of influence is shrinking." Eric lowered his head, looking at the mushroom in his hand. "A lot of people have indeed left Millfield. The young people go to the city for work, and the elderly leave with their children. Those who remain are the ones who can't move." Martha also lowered her head. "It’s the same for Greenfield. Fewer people come to the church to play guitar, and fewer people write letters." Lin Feng stood up, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and unfolded it. A map was drawn on the paper with Xinfeng Town in the center, surrounded by Millfield, Greenfield, Starry Sky Town, and several other small towns he hadn't named. He used his pen to draw a circle around Starry Sky Town. "First, we save Starry Sky Town."

Lin Feng led everyone to Starry Sky Town. The old man at the grocery store was still sitting by the door and was stunned to see so many people. Lin Feng squatted next to him and pointed to the people behind him. "This is George, a mushroom farmer. This is Eric, also a mushroom farmer. This is Martha, a guitar player. This is Sam, a singer. This is Molly, a coffee brewer. This is Lao Zhou, a mailman. This is Chen Xiaoyuan, a cup wiper. This is Lin Xiaohe, a painter. And this is the cat, a star-watcher." The old man looked at each one in turn, finally settling on the cat. The cat squatted on the ground, tilted its head up at him, and let out a meow. The old man smiled. "The person who makes people laugh, whom Old Lady Jack mentioned, has brought a crowd." Lin Feng stood up and patted his trousers. "Lead the way. Let's see the telescope first."

The telescope was mounted by the edge of a mine pit; the tube was covered in dust, and the lens had a crack in it. George squatted down and touched the tube with his hand. "This is iron. It can be fixed." Eric looked at the crack. "We just need to replace the lens. We can get one in the city." Martha strummed her guitar, and the sound echoed in the pit, humming. "This pit is a natural resonance chamber. When sound falls in, it gets amplified." Sam also strummed his guitar, and the sound was even louder, a deep hum as if someone were speaking at the bottom of the pit. Lin Xiaohe squatted by the edge of the pit, took out some chalk, and drew an eye on the railing. "An eye for watching the stars." The cat jumped onto the railing, squatted next to the eye, and looked up at the sky. The sky was very blue, but there were no stars.

Lin Feng pulled his phone from his pocket; there was no signal. He opened his recordings and played the sound of a cat purring. The purring drifted up from the bottom of the pit, muffled like the wind. Then he played the tinkling of a water cup harp; ding-ding-ding, the sound bounced around the pit like an invisible bird. He played a third recording—it was Lin Xiaohe's laughter, which he had recorded secretly. Giggles and chuckles echoed in the pit, traveling from one end to the other and back again, sounding like a group of children laughing. Everyone laughed. Even the old man from the grocery store laughed, revealing toothless gums.

Lin Feng withdrew one million US dollars from the system. Not all of it, just a portion. He gave the money to Lao Zhou and told him to go to the city to buy materials—new lenses, cement, gravel, timber, colorful lights, and a sound system. Lao Zhou rode his new bike, the chain clinking as he made trip after trip. The materials he bought were piled up by the edge of the pit like a small mountain. George, Eric, and Sam began repairing the telescope. They removed the old lens, took measurements, and installed the new one. The lens was made of optical glass and was even clearer than the original. George shone a flashlight through it; the beam shot out, creating a bright spot on the pit wall. He nodded. "It's done." Martha and Lin Xiaohe began installing colorful lights around the edge of the pit. The lights were solar-powered, charging during the day and lighting up at night. Red, yellow, blue, and green, they wound around the railing in circles. For every lamp Lin Xiaohe installed, she would use chalk to draw a small flower on the lampshade. The cat followed behind her, and every time she finished a flower, it would nudge the lamp with its paw as if checking if it was secure. Molly and Chen Xiaoyuan laid down new damp-proof mats at the bottom of the pit; the mats were thick and soft, making no sound when stepped on. They laid them very slowly, ensuring every piece was aligned. As Chen Xiaoyuan was laying them, he suddenly lay down and looked up at the mouth of the pit. The sky looked small, only as large as the opening of a well, but it was very blue. He smiled. "This is more comfortable than a bed." Molly lay down too, and the two of them lay side by side, looking at that patch of blue. The cat jumped down from the edge of the pit, squatted between them, and also looked up at the sky. It watched for a while, closed its eyes, and began to purr.

The sound system was installed, hidden in a groove in the pit wall where it couldn't be seen, but the sound could reach the entire pit. Lin Feng connected his phone to the speakers and played a recording of a water cup harp playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." The tinkling notes rose from the bottom of the pit, dispersed at the opening, and drifted toward the distant mountains. The old man from the grocery store leaned on his cane and walked over, standing by the edge of the pit, listening to the music and watching the colorful lights. The lights weren't on yet—it wasn't dark. He waited a while until night fell and the lights flickered to life. Red, yellow, blue, and green, they formed circles like a rainbow resting by the pit. He squatted down and watched the lights for a long time. Then, he took a photograph from his pocket and placed it on the railing. It was a photo of Old Lady Jack; she was standing by the edge of the mine pit, smiling. Lin Feng saw this, walked over, and tucked the photo among the colorful lights. The light shone on the photograph, making Old Lady Jack's smiling face look bright and clear.

On the day Starry Sky Town opened, more than a hundred people came. There were people from Millfield, Greenfield, Xinfeng Town, and even further away. They lay on the damp-proof mats at the bottom of the pit, looking up at the sky. The sky was very clean, and the stars lit up one by one, like colorful lamps being switched on. Lin Feng turned on the sound system and played a song Sam had recorded—"Stars of Starry Sky Town." There were no lyrics, only guitar and whistling. The tune was slow and long, like a breeze blowing up from the bottom of the pit. Some people closed their eyes, some hummed along, some cried, and some laughed. The cat squatted at the edge of the pit, its head tilted back toward the sky, the tip of its tail swaying gently. The old man from the grocery store stood at the edge with his cane, not going down. He was afraid of falling. But he heard the music, saw the stars, and saw the people lying at the bottom of the pit. He smiled.

Lao Zhou lay there for a while before climbing up from the bottom and squatting next to Lin Feng. "This money was well spent." Lin Feng said, "Mm." Lao Zhou pulled a letter from his bag and handed it to Lin Feng. "Yours." Lin Feng opened it; inside was only a single sheet of paper with one line of text: "Lin Feng, the red dot for Starry Sky Town is lit again. Bright red." There was no signature. Lin Feng folded the letter and put it in his pocket. He stood up and looked at the stars at the bottom of the pit. The stars were above his head, but also beneath his feet—the damp-proof mats were printed with luminous stars, so when people lay on them, it felt like lying in the starry sky. He squatted down and touched a mat. It was cool and smooth, not like a real star, but just as beautiful.

[Chapter 176 End]