salt by salt

"Toshihiko, we're here."

Opening the car door, I took a deep breath and stepped onto the stone road.

Backed by the rolling green hills, this courtyard occupies a spacious area and is kept clean inside and out.

A tree was planted in the middle of the patio, and it was lush at this time, with a few scattered pink flowers falling in the greenery, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, casting shade on the ground.

It's a nice place, just standing here for more than ten seconds, I started to imagine the rest of my life.

Song Cheng unloaded the luggage from the trunk, and I asked him, "Is this Xifu crabapple? It took a lot of effort from the original owner to raise it so well."

He nodded, walked to my side, raised his head and said, "I wanted to come earlier, just in time for the flowering period, and it should be very beautiful. But it doesn't matter if you miss it, we can stay here until September and see how it bears fruit."

In my mind, I pictured the prosperous scene of many fruits on the branches, and I couldn't help but became interested: "I'm afraid I have to find several baskets to hold the fruits of such a big tree. However, the two of us probably won't be able to eat them all, so let's put them away." It's a pity."

He looked at me with a smile: "Do you think it's okay to make jam? I've never tried making jellyfish jam. It's probably all sweet and sour, not much different. I'll visit the residents in the yard next to me later. If If you have harvested the fruit, you may also distribute it to them."

I hesitated: "Is it not good? Let's keep a low profile."

After all, I had just left him for a few days, and I didn't know how others would react. I was prepared to remain anonymous for a long time.

"This place is one hundred and eight thousand miles away from the capital, who will come here?"

Song Cheng shook the new ID card between his fingers: "And you are Jun Yan, I am Duan Cheng, no one knows us. I am not willing to let you stay at home, otherwise what is the difference from before? You just Feel free to come and go, I'm here."

No one other than him knows the pseudonym Jun Yan, so my name is still the same on the new identity.And his stage name Song Cheng has been known by Yang Chen and others, and there is a risk of being found out, so he changed his mother's surname to Duan Cheng.

I hummed: "You can't go empty-handed, make a box of snacks? Are there any ingredients in the kitchen?"

"It's all ready in advance, and I'll ask someone to deliver what's missing."

I said, "Next time we can buy it ourselves and send it here on purpose... It's a bit of a fanfare, it's not very good."

"There is no supermarket near here, so I have to drive to the town."

After leaving the capital, Song Cheng seemed to be no longer that foresighted young man. He smiled at me: "When will we be together?"

The price of having a beautiful view and not being disturbed is the remote location. I nodded: "Just passing by the town, I caught a glimpse of a few distinctive buildings. Let's go for a stroll when we have time."

He smiled and said, "That's for sure. Come, let me show you something."

Go through the courtyard and come to the main room behind.The same layout as the previous one, the windows are bright and clean, refreshing and pleasant.I followed him and turned a corner, and he pushed open the door of the house on the west side: "Look at this."

A pool was built in the house, which was filled with water, and the surface of the pool was filled with hot air.The interior is well ventilated, so the temperature is not stuffy, but rather comfortable.

I was stunned, and Song Cheng said: "It's a natural hot spring, and it took a little effort to introduce it indoors. Soaking more hot springs is good for the body. It's one of the strengths of this house. Do you like it?"

This house is all arranged according to the ideal residence I described to him when I was renting out the house.With sore eyes, I murmured, "Of course...you put your heart into it."

He was very happy, and took my hand and walked out: "That's good. What do you want for lunch? I'll cook."

The next day, Song Cheng originally said that he would take me around the nearby mountains, but the weather turned out to be bad, and a few drops of rain fell when I got up early in the morning.The drizzle does not hinder anything, but I have a psychological shadow of trekking in the mountains in the rain, and he knows this, so he acts considerately.

Having nothing to do in the morning, Song Cheng made some cakes, and I volunteered to give them to my neighbor, who went out with me.

It is said that they are neighbors, but in fact the other yards are tens of meters away from the small yard we live in, and they are not closely connected, and it is impossible to know whether there are people living there.

I remember that when we moved in yesterday, someone stood watching at the door in the yard on the left, so I suggested going to that house first.Song Cheng held an umbrella and put his other hand on my shoulder, protecting me as I walked forward step by step.

The courtyard looks simple and simple, but the configuration is quite modern.The owner of the house confirmed our identities through the video intercom, and then ran out to open the door: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, there are many children in the house, and it's a mess. I'm cleaning it up."

The owner of the house is a man in his 30s, who speaks enthusiastically and kindly, but has some random thoughts, and has not given us a chance to open our mouths since we entered the house.

"Several groups of people came to paint and transport furniture from next door. I saw you guys moving things yesterday. I thought it was rare for two such handsome young men to move in. It turned out that they finally moved in. It's good to live in. The scenery here is nothing to say. When the window is open, it becomes a natural picture frame... you can sit casually, oops, you even brought a gift, it’s really embarrassing, I’ll make tea for you!”

Song Cheng and I looked at each other and smiled, and sat down on the sofa in the living room. He suddenly frowned and rubbed his nose, as if he felt a little uncomfortable.

Before I could ask him if he was feeling unwell, the owner brought tea over: "This is the herbal tea made from the secret recipe passed down from my family. Try it. It's very delicious. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Huang, Huang Lihang. I used to I work in a bank, and now I quit my job and come back to retire, haha!"

"My surname is Jun, and my name is Jun Yan. I also come here...well, for the elderly." I smiled, "I am relatively weak, and I need to cultivate for a period of time every year."

Mr. Huang has a solid eye, and when he heard what I said, he immediately agreed with the deep sympathy: "Hey, this is the best place to take care of your body, and there are hot springs nearby, and the water quality is very good!"

Getting along with this kind of person doesn't have to take too much effort, I smiled and introduced: "This is my cousin Duan Cheng."

I made an appointment with Song Cheng, and we will be called cousins ​​outside, so as not to draw attention from others because of our relationship.

"Hi, Mr. Huang, my name is Duan Cheng, I'm a photographer, besides taking care of him, I'm taking pictures here by the way—"

Song Cheng's originally gentle voice distorted for a moment, he turned his face away, covered his mouth and sneezed heavily.

Both Mr. Huang and I were taken aback. Suddenly, a soft meow came from behind the sofa. A snow-white puppet cat jumped onto the coffee table, shook its body, and a few strands of cat hair fell to the ground.

"Xuerong, there are guests here! Go down, go down!" Mr. Huang hurriedly handed over the paper, "What's the matter?"

Song Cheng waved his hands again and again, took the tissue and covered his nose: "It's okay, I suddenly, suddenly felt a little———"

He sneezed several times in a row, the end of his eyes was reddish, his brows showed a bit of bewilderment, and his steady and handsome face showed unexpected fragility.

The puppet cat squinted at us and jumped down delicately, while a British short came out from nowhere and nestled directly at the other end of the sofa.

Mr. Huang stood up and picked it by the back of the neck: "How did you open the door! Go back quickly, are you disobedient? I will be angry if you are disobedient!"

Only then did I realize that there were more than one cats in his house. They were originally in another room. They probably heard the movement here and slipped into the living room to find out.

This is a mess, seven or eight cats are scurrying around, even though I don't dislike contact with animals, I can't help but rub my forehead for this chaotic scene.

The hem of the clothes was pulled, I turned my head and saw that the upper half of Song Cheng's face was flushed, and his brows were frowned in extreme discomfort: "Junyan, I might be—"

A sneeze interrupted his words, and I continued in my heart: I am allergic to cat fur.

It was obviously impossible to continue to visit, so I got up to say goodbye to Mr. Huang, and deeply understood his phrase "there are many children in the family" when I first entered the door.

He understood this very well: "I didn't expect Mr. Duan to be allergic to cats. Seeing the trouble, you should go back and change your clothes and stay away from the allergens. If it is particularly serious and you need to see a doctor, do you know where to go?" The road to the town hospital? Add a contact information, if necessary, I will drive you..."

When Song Cheng came out after taking a shower and wiping his wet hair, I was already lying on the bed and checked Mr. Huang's circle of friends.

"He can weave baskets, make wood carvings, burn pottery, and even dye his own clothes!" I held up my mobile phone, "Look at the photos he posted. He is simply a master of handicrafts, no wonder there are so many messy tools in the yard."

Song Cheng glanced at the screen: "People always have to find a few things to do, otherwise they won't be able to stay in the mountains. If you like, we can learn together."

I didn't answer, sat up, took the towel, and dried his hair carefully: "Do you feel better? I didn't expect your reaction to be so strong, is it uncomfortable? Please tell me if you feel uncomfortable, don't hold back."

The tip of his nose was still a little red: "I didn't know it would be like this! I used to have a dog at home, and I didn't think it was a problem. I'm probably only allergic to cat fur."

I mumbled, "I thought you were invincible and not afraid of anything."

Song Cheng's ears were sharp, and we were very close. He immediately raised his eyes to look at me, and said with a smile, "What's this called? I'm afraid of too many things."

I said: "So far, I only know that you are afraid of cat hair and eating eggplant."

"How do you know that I don't like eggplants?" He turned around and pinched my waist lightly, his eyes crooked with a smile, "I don't remember telling you that."

"Yes, but you never make dishes with eggplant, or even buy it at all." I reminded, "Once I bought eggplant, you put it in the refrigerator and said to cook it in a few days. When I went to see it, it was in the trash."

Song Cheng said, "Maybe I was busy and forgot."

"If it wasn't lying there intact and very fresh, I might believe your sophistry." I chuckled and said deliberately, "Chef Song, he is too poor to open the pot, and he will carry out picky eaters to the end and beat him to death." Don’t eat eggplant, how stubborn are you?”

He held my hand, kissed it on his knuckles, and still looked at me: "I thought the young master wouldn't be interested in digging through the trash can in the kitchen."

I pursed my lips and recalled the details reluctantly: "I wore disposable gloves. And the main reason is that I put the operation instructions of the blender on the package, but I threw the package in, and I thought about it for a long time. It won’t work, so I have to pick it up to see.”

But it was an ordinary thing, after Song Cheng heard it, he laughed out loud, his eyes and brows were full of joy, then he reached out and hugged my waist, wrapped his arms around me and fell to the soft bed.

I was trapped in his arms, struggled a few times and couldn't break free, so I had to bury my face into his neck through my pajamas: "What's the fun, your smile is too low..."

"Junyan, I'm just happy, everything now is like a dream."

He finally let go of me a little, and pressed his forehead against mine: "I understand that many things can't be regarded as never happened, but I still have the opportunity to start again with you, I'm really... so happy that I don't know what to do Good. There are no such troubles here, just the two of us, live a good life in the future, okay?"

I knew in my heart that what Song Cheng said was all sincere.Not only for me, but also because during the period when he was helping Hou Guangyue, no matter how low-key and cautious he was, he finally attracted the attention of others.It's time to take a step back.

He was indeed very vigilant, but unfortunately, he was too late to withdraw!

However, these thoughts were only in my mind, I didn't say anything, I went up to kiss Song Cheng.His breathing became heavy in an instant, his eyes were menacingly bright, and he said in a low voice, "Junyan, I'm asking you a question, don't tease me."

I chuckled, kissed his lips again, and said in a low voice, "This is my answer."

It was raining outside the window, and the leaves were rustling by the wind. We indulged in the dream of a courtyard until we were completely submerged in it.