After putting the things on the stone table inside the house, Su Yi wandered around the neighborhood.
There were several other homes beside the little courtyard where he lived.
Those who stayed in the old district were mostly the elderly, children, and women, along with some poorer tenants. After all, rent in the old district was much lower than in places like the city center.
Su Yi walked over to the courtyard next door and saw four old men playing mahjong.
Mahjong had evolved from the leaf cards of the Tang dynasty. Naturally, Su Yi knew how to play, and he was quite good at it.
He stood to one side and watched them play.
The old men did not mind having Su Yi watch. The old man in front of him discarded a one of circles, then slapped himself in regret. The slap rang out extremely loudly. "Damn, wrong tile!"
Su Yi almost jumped in fright. That had been a solid slap. This old man was truly ruthless with himself.
The other three old men seemed used to it. The one opposite smiled. "Old Chen, hit yourself a little harder."
"Harder, my ass!" Old Chen rubbed his face and said, "Hurry up and play!"
Su Yi watched from behind him, from half past two in the afternoon until four. Old Chen kept winning toward the end, pocketing thirty-odd yuan in that hour and a half. When a call came in, he hurriedly stood up and said, "I'm done, I'm done. Time to pick up my granddaughter."
"Oh, come on! Look how early it is! You're running off as soon as you've won? That leaves us one short of four. How are we supposed to play?"
"I really can't play anymore. My granddaughter's about to get out of school. If I don't go now, my old lady will start yelling."
"What are we supposed to do if you leave?"
The old man opposite looked at Su Yi and asked, "Young man, do you know how to play?"
Su Yi nodded. "A little, but I don't have any cash. All my money's on my phone."
The old man chuckled. "Transfer it to me on your phone, and I'll give you some."
"Sure." Su Yi did not stand on ceremony. Once Old Man Chen got up, he took his seat, added the old man opposite him on WeChat, and transferred fifty yuan to him. The old man gave him fifty yuan in cash.
"Two-yuan stakes, with wind and rain kong bonuses. Know how to play?" the old man opposite asked.
"Yes," Su Yi said. "I'm just not very good."
"You'll learn as you go." The old man next in turn began shuffling the tiles. A "pigeon" like Su Yi was exactly who they wanted to play against.
Su Yi figured he could not win any money today. If he won, these old men probably would not play with him anymore.
After Old Man Chen left, Su Yi took his place. A few hands later, only ten-odd yuan remained of his fifty in cash. Smiling, the three old men began chatting idly with him.
"Young fellow, where do you live? How come we've never seen you before?"
"I live in the courtyard next door. I'll come play when I have nothing to do. It's pretty boring being on my own." Su Yi discarded a tile, and the old man before him in turn won again.
"The courtyard next door?" the old man opposite said. "Isn't that the little rascal Chen Min's courtyard? Are you a relative of his?"
"He rented the courtyard to me," Su Yi said. "I'll be living next door from now on."
"Hey! That's pretty good. I like the look of you, lad. Handsome, too." The old man opposite said, "Just call me Grandpa Lin. Let me tell you, I have a granddaughter, and she's pretty too... are you seeing anyone?"
"I'd rather call you Old Lin." Su Yi chuckled. "Feels friendlier. Otherwise, do we have to respect our elders even at the mahjong table?"
"Whatever you like. Old Lin it is." Old Lin did not mind and introduced the others with a smile. "This is Old Yang, and he's Old Huang. Heh, the one who ran off with his winnings just now is Old Chen."
"Oh, get lost," Old Huang said. "Hurry up and play. Little Su, right? I like the look of you too. We won't invite that shameless Old Chen to play anymore."
Su Yi had lost thirty-odd yuan shortly after sitting down. Of course they were willing to play with him.
"By the way, Old Lin, did you say you had a granddaughter?" Su Yi paused, then asked, "What was her name again?"
"Lin Yiyun!" Old Lin smiled. "That granddaughter of mine is like a heavenly immortal. She's in college now, too. It's time she found a boyfriend."
"Oh, what a coincidence." Su Yi pondered for a moment, then said, "I actually know your granddaughter. We even ate together earlier."
"Huh? You really know her?" Old Lin's eyes widened. "Say, you didn't rent the place next door just to pursue my granddaughter, did you?"
Su Yi had not expected such a coincidence either. He shook his head. "Of course not. I only met your granddaughter yesterday."
They chatted as they played, and Su Yi asked about Lin Yiyun's circumstances. The three old men were happy with their winnings, and Old Man Lin seemed quite pleased with Su Yi as well.
As it turned out, both of Lin Yiyun's parents had died, leaving her and Old Lin to depend on each other. According to Old Lin, Lin Yiyun earned all her tuition herself. She really was hardworking.
He was also afraid he might pass away one day and wanted to find a dependable young man for Lin Yiyun.
As the sun sank behind the western hills, it was time for the old men to go home for dinner, so the game broke up. Su Yi had lost every last yuan of his fifty.
"Why don't you play in my courtyard from now on? There's a tree to sit under for shade. It'd be nice."
Su Yi had already paid quite a bit of attention to Lin Yiyun. Now that he knew Old Lin was her grandfather, things were even more interesting. Inviting them to play mahjong in his courtyard was a good idea too.
After the game ended, Su Yi wandered over to the nearby market and bought a dozen or so yuan's worth of vegetables. Once home, he stir-fried two dishes for himself, then began planning his life from then on.
Studying and working were his life at present. But a life like that would grow boring if it went on too long. He had to find something else to do.
After dinner, Su Yi sat in the courtyard and took out his phone to browse. He had not been looking at it long when a girl in a long white dress walked up to the courtyard. Looking at Su Yi, she asked, "Excuse me, does Su Yi live here?"
"What do you want with him?" Su Yi did not admit who he was and stared at the girl.
"Hello, my name is Ye Xiaxuan. This is Su Yi's home, right?" the girl said. "I'm here to become his disciple."
"I'm not taking disciples. You can go." Su Yi waved his hand. Another member of the Ye Family, coming to become his disciple at the drop of a hat. Who would take her?
"You're Su Yi?" Ye Xiaxuan's delicate brows knitted slightly. "How old are you?"
"Twenty." Su Yi did not even lift his eyelids.
"Then never mind. Sorry to have bothered you." Ye Xiaxuan had also come to seek a master on her grandfather's instructions. She had originally thought Su Yi would be an elderly senior. How could she have imagined he would turn out to be a twenty-year-old young man?
Twenty years old-he could only be called a boy with the smell of milk still on him.
She wanted to become a disciple to learn medicine. What could a twenty-year-old young man teach her?
"Take care. I won't see you out." Su Yi lay back in his chair. Seeing someone from the Ye Family also got him wondering whether he should treat people's illnesses and tell fortunes. After all, his days were rather boring.