186: Chapter 186 The Light on Jet
After the new wall was built, more and more rubbings arrived from various towns. Lao Zhou's canvas bag was stuffed to the brim; every time he returned, it was as if he were carrying a small mountain. He spread the rubbings one by one on the ground in front of the Restaurant to dry and flatten. Lin Feng squatted nearby, arranging them chronologically, with the oldest at the bottom and the newest at the top. The cat squatted next to the pile, pawing at the papers. When it messed one up, Lin Feng rearranged it. The cat messed it up again, and Lin Feng rearranged it again. On the third time, Lin Feng picked up the cat and placed it on his lap. "Sit here and don't move." The cat sat obediently, its tail hanging from Lin Feng's knee, swaying back and forth.
Lao Zhou pulled the last rubbing from his bag—it wasn't paper, but a stone. The stone wasn't large, just a bit bigger than the cat's paw, pitch black and smooth as if it had been polished. On it were carved several characters—not English, but Chinese. Lin Feng took it and turned it over several times. The handwriting was crooked, but he could make out "Happiness isn't afraid of distance." Below that was a line of small, shallowly carved characters: "—Old Miner, 1932." Lin Feng was stunned. 1932, nearly a hundred years ago. He touched the stone; it was cold and smooth, as if many people had touched it. The cat jumped off his lap, leaned in to sniff the stone, and sneezed. It didn't seem to like the smell. Lao Zhou squatted nearby, looking at the stone. "This was sent from Starry Sky Town. The old man at the general store found it in a crevice at the bottom of the mine pit. He said it might have been carved by the very first miners who dug for coal here." Lin Feng looked at the words—"Happiness isn't afraid of distance." He thought of the mine pit in Starry Sky Town—deep and dark. Back then, when the miners were digging underground, they couldn't see the sun or the stars, yet they carved "Happiness isn't afraid of distance." They knew happiness was far away, but they weren't afraid of the distance. They carved it to leave for those who came after. Lin Feng placed the stone at the very top of the new wall, supporting it with a small wooden bracket. The cat jumped onto the shelf and squatted next to the stone, tilting its head to look. It didn't understand words, but it understood stones. It reached out a paw and tapped it gently; the stone didn't budge.
When the news reached Starry Sky Town, the old man from the general store came with his cane. He stood before the new wall, staring at the stone for a long time. He reached out and touched the characters. "My dad carved this." His voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something. Lin Feng squatted nearby and didn't speak. The old man continued, "My dad was a miner. He dug in this mine for thirty years. He said it was too dark underground, so he had to carve something bright. So he carved 'Happiness isn't afraid of distance.' After he finished, he buried the stone at the bottom of the pit, saying that if someone dug it up in the future, they would see it." He paused. "No one dug it up. He even forgot where he buried it himself. I looked for fifty years, and I found it." He smiled, revealing toothless gums. "My dad was right. Happiness isn't afraid of distance. It waited fifty years for me." Lin Feng stood up, took the stone off the shelf, and handed it to the old man. "You keep it." The old man shook his head. "No. Leave it here. There are many people here; they can see it. My dad carved these words for people to see." He put the stone back on the shelf and touched the characters again. "If he knew that people would still be looking at his words a hundred years later, he would smile." Lin Feng said, "He's already smiling." The old man looked at him, his eyes reddening, but the corners of his mouth turned up. He leaned on his cane and walked away slowly. The cat squatted on the shelf, watching his departing figure, the tip of its tail twitching slightly.
After word of the Jet stone spread, every town began searching for their own "old things." People in Millfield found a rusty hoe in an old farm well, with "The farmer does not cry" carved on the handle. People in Greenfield found a yellowed songbook in the church bell tower, with "Sing for those who haven't heard" written on the title page. People in Baishi Town found a box of empty wine bottles in a bar basement, each with a yellowed slip of paper stuck to the bottom, bearing different messages: "Someone smiled today," "No one came today," "Someone will come tomorrow." Those old things were cleaned and displayed in the towns' public areas. Passersby would stop to look, touch, and read the words. After reading, some smiled, some cried, and some were silent. But no one walked away.
Lin Feng squatted in front of the new wall, looking at the ever-increasing collection of "old things." The Jet stone, the hoe, the songbook, the wine bottles, and things sent from elsewhere—a shard of porcelain, a copper coin, a cane, a pair of glasses. They all had words—some carved, some written, some drawn. The handwriting was crooked, but every word had been written by someone. The cat squatted by the Jet stone and gave it a gentle nudge with its paw; the stone didn't move. It nudged again; still no movement. It gave up, squatted next to the stone, and closed its eyes. It seemed to feel that the stone wouldn't run away, so it didn't need to watch it. Lin Feng reached out and touched the words on the Jet stone—"Happiness isn't afraid of distance." He remembered what the System had said: "Do you remember the first time you made someone smile, and you smiled yourself?" He remembered. He had smiled. Back then, he didn't know how far happiness was, but he knew that happiness was right where he was squatting. He squatted, and the intern smiled. Happiness started there, starting from Xinfeng Town, spreading to Starry Sky Town, to Millfield, to Greenfield, to Baishi Town, and to places even further away. It wasn't afraid of the distance. It had traveled for a long time, and it was still traveling.
In the evening, Lin Feng sat on the steps in front of the Restaurant. He wasn't squatting; he was sitting. Margaret came out with a plate of mushrooms and sat beside him. The two of them sat there, looking at the sky. The stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday. The cat jumped down from the new wall, 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 didn't touch the stone today." Lin Feng said, "It did. It touched it several times. Since the stone didn't move, it stopped." Margaret looked at the Jet stone on the new wall. "Will that stone always be there?" Lin Feng said, "Yes. Stones don't run away. Words don't fade, either. If you carve them deep, they last a long time." Margaret asked, "How long will the words you carve last?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "I don't know. But someone will see them. Once they see them, they'll remember. Once they remember, there's no need for the words to remain." The wind blew, carrying the faint mineral scent of the Jet stone, the musty smell of old wood, the aroma of coffee, and the sweet scent of mushrooms. Lin Feng closed his eyes and inhaled. He opened his eyes, stood up, and patted his pants. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret also stood up. "Will you still carve words tomorrow?" Lin Feng shook his head. "No more. They'll carve their own." 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 new wall, and squatted by the Jet stone, resting its head on the stone as it closed its eyes. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting the shadow of the Jet stone on the ground—round and black, like a sleeping eye. The wind blew, and the shadow swayed, but it did not dissipate. Lin Feng stood inside the Restaurant, looking out the window. He saw the shadow of the Jet stone, the shadow of the cat, and the shadow of the words. He watched for a long time, then drew the curtains and went to sleep.
[Chapter 186 End]