177: Chapter 177 Starlight Telephone

After Starry Sky Town lit up, Lin Feng was in no hurry to save the next town. He squatted under the Old Locust Tree, staring at the happiness map on his phone. The red dot for Millfield was still a dark crimson, as was Greenfield's, and the red dots for several other distant towns had mostly faded. He didn't use his Emotional Perception skill, but he could sense the emotions of those towns—not from the data, but from the wind. When the wind blew, it carried a dry, earthy smell, devoid of laughter, the aroma of coffee, or the sound of guitars. The cat jumped down from the canopy and squatted beside him, looking up at the phone screen. It couldn't understand the red dots, but it knew what Lin Feng was looking at. It reached out a paw and swiped the screen; the happiness map zoomed out, and the red dots became smaller, turning into a blurred red haze. Lin Feng put his phone in his pocket, stood up, and patted his trousers. "Let's go. To Millfield."

When he arrived at Millfield, Eric was watering the farm. The mushrooms on the racks were sparse, no longer as dense as before. The brown, tan, gray, and spotted ones were still there, but their numbers had been halved. Sarah sat by the racks, not helping, just staring blankly. She saw Lin Feng walk in, froze for a moment, and then smiled. "Why are you here?" Lin Feng said, "Just coming to take a look." He squatted in front of the racks, looking at the mushrooms. Eric squatted down too; the two of them stayed there, neither saying a word. After a while, Eric spoke. "A lot of people have left. The young ones went to the city to work, and the elderly followed their children. My place is alright; I can still grow mushrooms. But no one's coming to buy them anymore." He pointed at the mushrooms on the racks. "I used to sell three crates a week; now I can't even sell one." Lin Feng pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Eric. On the paper was a simple design—a wooden rack decorated with colorful lights, with a line of text written next to it: 'mushroom night market. Every Friday night, set up a stall at the farm entrance to sell grilled mushrooms, mushroom soup, and mushroom pies. With the lights shining and music playing, people will come.' Eric looked at the drawing for a long time. "You drew this?" Lin Feng nodded. "I had nothing to do while squatting, so I drew it." Eric laughed. "Is this what you think about when you're squatting?" Lin Feng said, "Yeah. Once I finished thinking, I came to do it."

Lin Feng withdrew another sum of money from the system—not much, just a hundred thousand dollars. He gave it to Eric to buy colorful lights, speakers, tables, stools, and grills. Eric went to the city to shop, and Sarah was in charge of the decorations. On Friday night, the mushroom night market opened. The entrance to the Millfield farm was covered in colorful lights—red, yellow, blue, and green—like a giant Christmas tree. Sam's recorded songs played from the speakers, and the sound of the guitar drifted in the night breeze. The grills were covered with mushroom skewers, sizzling with oil and sending their fragrance far and wide. The first guest was George. He arrived from Xinfeng Town on an old bicycle, a basket of white mushrooms hanging from the handlebars. He handed the mushrooms to Eric. "For you. Grill them up." Eric took the mushrooms and placed them on the grill. George squatted by the grill, watching the mushrooms slowly change color, smelling the aroma, and swallowing his saliva. The second guest was Martha. Carrying her guitar, she had walked for half an hour from Greenfield. She sat on a chair by the stall and played an old tune. The sound of the strings blended with Sam's recording, like two people in conversation. The third guest was the old man from the grocery store—he had actually come all the way from Starry Sky Town, leaning on his cane and walking for a long time. He sat next to Martha, listening to the music, watching the lights, and smelling the grilled mushrooms. He smiled. "I used to grow mushrooms too. In Starry Sky Town. Later, I couldn't do it anymore." Eric handed him a skewer of grilled mushrooms; he took it, took a bite, and chewed for a long time. "Delicious. Better than the ones I grew." He finished one skewer, asked for another, and then another. He ate five skewers before stopping. Licking his lips, he took a photo of Old Lady Jack from his pocket and placed it on the table. In the photo, Jack stood by the mine pit, smiling. Eric looked at the photo, then at the old man. "Does she want to eat some?" The old man nodded. "She used to love mushrooms." Eric grilled a skewer of mushrooms and placed it next to the photo. "This one is for her." The old man looked at the skewer and smiled. He didn't eat it, saving it instead. When he left, he wrapped the mushroom in a handkerchief, put it in his pocket, and slowly walked away with his cane.

The mushroom night market had been open for three weeks, and more and more people were coming. The young people of Millfield were starting to return. Not to settle down from the city, but to come back on Friday nights to eat mushrooms. They drove their cars, bringing their families to sit under the colorful lights, eat grilled mushrooms, drink mushroom soup, listen to music, and chat. Sarah smiled; she was busy again, too busy to stare blankly. Eric smiled too; his mushrooms were selling again, five crates a week, more than before. Lin Feng squatted at the farm entrance, watching the people. The cat squatted beside him, watching them too. Someone saw the cat and came over to pet its head; it narrowed its eyes and made a purring sound in its throat. The person laughed. "This cat is so well-behaved." Lin Feng said, "It's not well-behaved. It just doesn't bite." The person patted the cat's head again, stood up, and left. The cat squatted in place, the tip of its tail swaying gently, as if savoring the touch.

Word reached Greenfield. Martha started getting busy too. She organized a Guitar Night in front of the church every Saturday night, where anyone could come and play. The first night had only three people: Martha herself, Sam, and an old man from Millfield. The old man couldn't play the guitar, but he could whistle. He whistled an old song with a very slow, light melody. Sam followed along with his guitar, and Martha did the same. The voices of the three resonated in front of the church, carrying from one end of the alley to the other. Passersby stopped to listen, and when they were done, they clapped and moved on. Seven people came the second week, and twelve the third. People started bringing their own instruments—harmonicas, flutes, hand drums. They formed a circle, playing one song after another late into the night. Lin Feng squatted in front of the church, listening to the music. The cat squatted beside him, listening too. It closed its eyes, its head swaying slowly, and the tip of its tail twitching gently. It seemed to understand.

When Old Zhou came to deliver the mail, he heard the music from the Guitar Night and stopped to listen in front of the church for a while. When he was finished, he stood up, rummaged through his bag for a letter, and handed it to Lin Feng. "For you." Lin Feng opened it; inside was only a single sheet of paper with one line of text: "Lin Feng, the red dot for Millfield is lit again. Bright red. The red dot for Greenfield is lit too." There was no signature. Lin Feng folded the letter and put it in his pocket. Old Zhou looked at him. "Where are you saving next?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "Starry Sky Town is lit, Millfield is lit, and Greenfield is lit. There are still a few small places on the happiness map with red dots that are very dim, almost extinguished." Old Zhou asked, "Do you plan to save them one by one?" Lin Feng nodded. "Yeah. One by one. If I can't finish, I'll just take my time." Old Zhou laughed. "You used to squat and watch; now you squat and save." Lin Feng said, "After watching for so long while squatting, I have to save while squatting. I can't just watch and not save." Old Zhou got on his bike, the chain clinking as he rode away. Lin Feng squatted in front of the church, watching his departing figure. The cat squatted too, watching Old Zhou's back, the tip of its tail swaying gently.

In the evening, Lin Feng sat on the steps in front of the Restaurant. He wasn't squatting, but sitting. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and sat beside him. The two sat there, looking at the sky. The stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday. The cat ran back from the church, walked to their feet, squatted down, and looked up at the stars. It watched for a long time, then closed its eyes, curled into a ball, and began to purr. Margaret looked at the cat. "It listened to music all night today." Lin Feng said, "It understood." Margaret asked, "How do you know?" Lin Feng said, "Its head swayed. If it sways, it understands." Margaret laughed. "You understand everything." Lin Feng said, "I don't. But the cat does. If the cat understands, then I understand." The wind blew, carrying the aroma of grilled mushrooms, the lingering echoes of the guitar, the glow of the lights from Starry Sky Town, and the sweet freshness of the mushrooms. Lin Feng closed his eyes and took a sniff. He opened his eyes, stood up, and patted his trousers. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret stood up too. "Where are you saving next?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "There's one more place on the happiness map with a red dot that's very dim, almost extinguished." Margaret asked, "Where?" Lin Feng said, "A place I've never been. I'll go take a look tomorrow." He turned and walked into the Restaurant, and Margaret followed behind him. The door closed, and the lights went out. The cat jumped down from the steps, walked back to the canopy, curled up on the blue cloth, rested its head on the Iron box, and closed its eyes. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting the shadow of the canopy on the ground like a green mushroom. The wind blew, and the shadow swayed, but it did not dissipate. Lin Feng stood in the Restaurant, looking out the window. He saw the shadow of the canopy, the shadow of the cat, and the shadow of the starlight. He watched for a long time, then drew the curtains and went to sleep.

[End of Chapter 177]