I have a long-lived pawn shop.

The spring this year was not warm enough, and the repeated rains had already knocked down the spring flowers in the courtyard.

Many of the well-trimmed flower trees were scattered in pink and white, with broken petals stuck in the old mud, and some were wet by the earlier wind and hit the glass sliding door outside the corridor.

A trickle of water fell from the eaves, soaking the green moss on the stone slabs even thicker.

The old lady who led the way held an umbrella and led people through the path in the garden.

Chen's shadow flashed across the undried water between the bricks and stones on the road. When he looked up, he saw the tightly sealed glass door of the octagonal pavilion in the pond move, and a white hand stretched out.

The chicken-fat yellow beeswax pendant on her wrist dipped into the clear water, and a small straw boat was lowered into the water.

The old lady sighed in the rain, and the middle-aged man holding something behind her felt inexplicably nervous.

The rare old gardens of this era are decorated to be extremely suitable for living. The exquisitely carved glass hydrangea lamps are hidden in the bushes, or they have been placed there for a long time, and the red ribbon in the corner that is always illuminated has faded.

The fabric merchant guessed that this was the private residence of some important person, and thinking of the various taboos and rules of these people, he couldn't help but tense his face in the silence amid the noisy atmosphere.

When I got closer, I glanced out of the corner of my eye and found that there was no one in the pavilion. I only saw a green ball floating on the water and gradually drifting away in the canal.

The old lady gently opened the glass sliding door under the corridor, put away her umbrella, and let him in.

After putting on her shoe covers and stepping into the corridor, she peered out and saw that the door to the inner hall was open. She raised her voice and spoke slowly, "The guests have arrived."

It was quiet all around except for the sound of rain.

The old lady stopped for a moment and walked in.

There were silk lamps hanging high in the four corners of the flower hall. They were still on despite the rain, casting soft light all over the floor. On the right side of the guest room was a round moon door with intricate carvings.

There was a plain silk screen in front of the door, and a sandalwood carving inlaid with gold was casually hung on the corner of the screen, covering a few peach blossoms embroidered underneath.

Two minutes later, the middle-aged man was allowed into the warm room behind the round moon door.

The layout of the old building has remained the same for thousands of years, but the decoration of this room is unique and ingenious, without any sense of staleness.

There is no incense in the Boshan stove, it is only used as a decoration. Modern electrical appliances are all covered with carved covers. The folds of the seats hide the emerald green of silk, and silver bells ring in the wind under the eaves.

Wei Xi was looking down at the blue and white jar containing daffodils on the table, his fingers resting on the unopened buds. His slender fingers were as white as cream, making the soft petals look rough.

Hearing the sound of someone coming in, Wei Xi turned her head. The dim light from the sky reflected on her smooth and clear cheeks, a thin layer of fluff, like a halo covering cold jade.

The beeswax string soaked in water was placed next to the blue and white jar.

Wei Xi smiled at the old lady in a flattering manner despite her disapproving look.

Her lips were beautifully shaped, but very pale in color, almost as white as her skin, like a delicate flower in the fine snow at the beginning of spring, revealing a faint sense of sickness.

The cloth dealer was invited to sit in the rose armchair on the east side. The packaged cloth samples were placed on the table. The warm patina and the fragrance of wood made the simple cover of the cloth sample album stand out from everything.

The servants outside were not surprised at his arrival, and adhered to the etiquette and indifference that was familiar yet unfamiliar to him. When Wei Xi sat opposite him, they served him tea and then slowly left. The room became as quiet as death, and the cloth merchant could not even hear Wei Xi's breathing.

"I want to make a few cheongsams. I don't want the colors to be too bright, but the material should be slightly thick and breathable." Wei Xi said softly.

She was wearing a lilac colored Zen robe, with a branch of magnolia blossoming on her shoulder, which made Wei Xi look even more slender, graceful and delicate. She was tall and looked not very old, with long black hair tied behind her back with a white jade ring, and a pair of beautiful eyes with distinct black and white.

But judging from her eyes, the girl couldn't be too young. The fabric merchant put down the teacup and took out more fabric samples from the package for Wei Xi to choose from.

Wei Xi seemed to be very familiar with these things; he fiddled with them with his fingers a few times, and the fine Xiangyunsha seemed to come alive, like flowing clouds.

"Cut the waist more delicately," the middle-aged man heard Wei Xi say, "add an ivory edge and three flower buttons, embroider some pear blossoms on the hem of this one, and embroider some winter jasmine on this one..."

They talked for about an hour, planning every detail very carefully. The fabric merchant wrote down the style and fabric requirements, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "Which tailor do you want to find? And the size issue..."

"I know all the old tailors in Huizhou. See who among the top ones has time to take over the work. Tell them that it's the order from Nanxiang Baijichang Sandaoer. The details will remain the same. The full amount will be transferred first, and the finished products can be sent to the old address."

After saying these words, Wei Xi coughed twice as if she couldn't bear it anymore. Her skin was snow-white, and she looked sick. Her crow-wing eyelashes drooped.

The old lady then stood beside Wei Xi, and her intention to see him off was obvious.

Since the matter was settled, the cloth merchant took his leave. After being led away from the pavilion by the water by the butler, he could still hear the coughing behind him getting heavier and heavier, as if someone was strangling his neck and trying to breathe.

People always need to breathe, just as time can never stop, and slowly, everything becomes a kind of difficult calm.

The coughing alarmed the private doctor who was waiting at home.

The doctor rushed in with a first aid kit, went through the round moon door and around the screens, and came to Wei Xi with medicine and instruments.

The old lady was waiting quietly on the side. Her breathing became heavy, overlapping with Wei Xi's broken breathing, as if someone in the room was randomly plucking a half-broken zither.

"I'm okay, I'm fine, grandma, don't worry." After taking a few breaths, Wei Xi patted the grandma's hand with a slight smile while listening to the doctor's serious instructions.

She speaks very softly and slowly now, because speaking is very tiring.

The old lady suddenly felt a little sad.

She watched Wei Xi being born in this family. In those early years, girls were still very young, truly delicate and lively. She also made friends in elementary school. She ran to the garden with four or five people following her, sat in the position she sits in now, looked up and called "Grandma" in a loud voice, with a hint of coquettishness hidden in the ending tone.

However, after Wei Xi's mother died, her health became worse and worse. Recently, her biological father, whom Wei Xi had only met a few times, died in a fire. Finally, Wei Xi was the only member of the Wei family left in the open, and her health finally deteriorated to the point where it could no longer be cured.

The obituary from Shanghai was pressed under a paperweight carved with a Vermilion Bird, left to dry in the spring sunlight that streamed in through the window for the entire day.

Wei Xi didn't feel sad.

Her father, who married into the family but was scared away by the Wei family's reputation, has long been a vague memory. As Wei Xi's biological father, Old Man Wei still gave him some money so that he would not have to live a hard life.

Now everyone who should have returned has returned. Wei Xi thought calmly that her father would probably regret not strangling her to death before leaving, but he didn't do it then, and he would never be able to do it again in the future.

The private doctor lowered his head and quickly wrote out a prescription for her. From childhood to adulthood, she had taken countless medicines.

Handfuls of capsules and bowls of Chinese medicine were so filling that Wei Xi could hardly taste anything.

Her body was broken, and the slightest wind or rain could kill her. Granny simply treated her like some precious porcelain that would break at the slightest touch.

Wei Xi slowly walked to the window. The beeswax strings on the table were clean, with beautiful colors, a subtle and delicate luster. After discovering that Wei Xi liked these bright little gadgets, all the collections of the family from previous generations were turned out by her grandmother.

However, as soon as she picked up the bracelet, the originally light object became heavy. Wei Xi's heart sank slightly when she felt her wrist tremble.

Almost as soon as Wei Xi's body changed, the two people next to him turned their eyes over.

Suppressing his strength and pulling his hand back, Wei Xi moved the beeswax string in his hand and wanted to put it on his other wrist.

But her hands began to shake more and more violently, until the object in her hand fell completely.

There was a slight sound when a hard object hit the carpet.

Wei Xi was not in the mood to play anymore. She said nothing and just looked out the window in silence.

The slightly brighter daylight made the shadows cast by her eyelashes on her cheeks clearly visible, like a withered gardenia.

The private doctor came over, half-closed his eyes, and examined Wei Xi. He did a full set of visual, palpation, percussion and auscultation. He didn't speak for a long time. He slowly put away the stethoscope and put the blood pressure monitor back into the box one by one. Then he smiled at Wei Xi and said, "Don't worry, I just coughed for too long and lacked oxygen. I'm a little weak."

When he made this conclusion, he looked calm and composed, as expected of a doctor who had seen many lives and deaths and was indifferent to separations. If Wei Xi didn't know the answer himself, he would probably have believed him.

But she didn't want the old lady to worry anymore, so she smiled and drooped her long eyelashes, "So that's how it is. I feel relieved then."

The old lady finally let out the breath she had been holding. She sent the doctor out and planned to go to the kitchen to ask the chef to stew a pot of ham and bamboo shoots soup for Wei Xi to nourish him. Wei Xi watched her go, then turned his head and looked at the blue and white porcelain jar again.

The spring rain is still falling, and the branches of the flower trees are rustling.

She looked again and saw a white daffodil falling silently and floating on the water, and her face was reflected in the water.

The flower was resting on her eyes. Her eyes were very quiet, with a thin ray of water light inlaid under her delicate and slender eyelids, like a charming and sharp knife light.

[Basic health value 724 days 23 hours 59 minutes 42 seconds (countdown)]

That's right.

What the doctor said was not true at all.

He wanted to deceive Wei Xi, but unfortunately he failed. She was destined not to have the happiness of ignorance.

Shadows of trees filled the window, and the sound of water was faintly heard. Wei Xi propped his chin up and reviewed the past 18 years of his life.

However, when I recall, I think of my great-grandfather, grandfather, grandmother, my mother, the Wei family members who died in various accidents, and the regret and reluctance that my great-grandfather felt before his death.

These memories, stained with blood, were stored in her mind palace, constantly recurring in confusion until she rubbed her temples and gradually calmed down.

The Wei family was a family of Huizhou merchants, but their rise to wealth was not glorious.

Outsiders only thought that Wei Zu had a unique vision and retreated bravely in the social tide, and finally preserved his foundation. However, Wei Xi knew that these were just embellishments, and buried beneath the roots were the corpses of countless Wei family members.

--Her great-grandfather was not a small merchant at all, but a tomb raider. He brought something out of a tomb, and it was this thing that ensured the Wei family's wealth from generation to generation, but also ensured that each generation died young.

Wei Xi was nominally the last one.

She stood up and slowly walked out of the warm room, avoiding people like a ghost as she walked along the glass corridor to the backyard, bypassing the red-railed and gold-painted stage in the backyard, and came to a small house with green tiles, gray walls, and elm and willow-shaped eaves.

Holding an umbrella, the wind blew and Wei Xi was caught off guard by the wet and cold wind. He couldn't help but cough twice, almost coughing up blood.

She covered her mouth and panted softly for a while, then stepped forward.

There is a screen wall in front of the house, with lotus roots entwined on it half hidden under the eaves, flickering in the sky and giving off a rather fresh fragrance.

Wei Xi touched the egret's neck, his pupils facing the egret's eyes. A red light flashed, and with a click, the door of the cabin opened.

The room was sparsely decorated. Wei Xi closed the door and walked to the east corner, pressing a mechanism, and his ten fingerprints were checked one by one. With two clear clicks, a small piece of wall rose in the south corner, and behind it was a small depression.

Wei Xi pursed his lips slightly and pulled out a red jade pendant from his neck.