Across from the internet cafe stands an old building, more than ten stories high. It used to be the supply and marketing cooperative building, which was considered a tall building back then. It's said that a fire at the wool mill across the street burned away all the good fortune of the area, and after that, the supply and marketing cooperative declined year after year and never prospered again.
Liu Huaian jumped from this building.
The shops downstairs all had their roller shutters down, except for one real estate agency. Normally, they would have closed for the holidays long ago, and no one would come to buy or rent a house during the Lunar New Year. But for some reason, there was a young man sitting inside.
The young man glanced at Bi Shenghua through the glass door, then looked down at his computer. After a while, he looked up again and, seeing that she was still there, opened the door and asked, "Looking for a place to rent?"
Bi Shenghua shook her head, thinking to herself that it was almost Chinese New Year tomorrow, and nobody would still be renting a place, so she asked, "Aren't you on holiday yet?"
The young man said, "It's fine now. We're moving to a new place next year. I just came to check on it on the last day of the year." He then handed over a business card and added, "I'm the manager. You can contact me if you need anything in the future."
Bi Shenghua said "Oh" and took the business card. "Why are you moving?"
"This place is said to have bad feng shui; people often die here." The young man spoke of this somewhat shyly, unlike someone who works as a real estate agent. "You know, people in our line of work are superstitious about this."
Bi Shenghua laughed and said, "No, we don't have any taboos about that! Look at those vegetable vendors over there, aren't they all doing just fine?"
The young man said, "Hey, this area is going to be demolished soon anyway, so it's the same whether we move sooner or later."
"You'll get compensation for the demolition, right? It's such a waste to move now."
"The compensation for a rented shop isn't much. Besides, the compensation goes to the company; no matter how much it is, it won't be shared with us sales staff."
Bi Shenghua looked up at the building again. Most of the mosaic tiles on the walls had fallen off, and even the paint on the walls was mottled and cracked.
It's time for the demolition! she thought.
She walked around the market again, trying to find traces of mulberry tree roots left from that year in the nearby open space, but found nothing.
Following the familiar streets and shops, I returned to the willow tree laden with stars. The stars were not yet lit; when they weren't shining, they were just inconspicuous little glass bubbles. Ugly electrical wires were roughly tied to the branches, devoid of any aesthetic appeal.
Bi Shenghua knew that some things could only be viewed from afar through the hazy darkness of night, unlike the willow tree, which was alive, its branches always brimming with vitality. Whether you looked at it from a distance or up close, that vitality filled your heart and eyes, making you feel as comfortable as if you were photosynthesizing with it. Even in the cold winter, the willow branches still held many yellow and green leaves, filling you with hope for the arrival of spring.
"This tree must never be moved unless I'm dead," she thought.
Bi Shenghua had been thinking about building the Mulberry Garden for many days.
Huang Ziqiang was quite good; he found several professionals in urban and landscape planning to come and give her advice.
Wuzhong is famous for its silk and has many mulberry groves, but I have never seen a garden that is famous for mulberry trees. Since Mulberry Garden, it should be characterized by silkworm breeding, which is unique among the gardens in Wuzhong. Moreover, the few records in the county annals can at least provide some evidence. By expanding on it and tracing its origins, it is not difficult to find some historical figures and stories.
The problem is that no mulberry trees have grown here for decades, and now that a Mulberry Garden is to be built, the garden is full of willow trees. It's really strange and baffling. But if it's called a willow garden, it's too ordinary in the context of gardens.
Of course, these are all solvable problems.
The biggest problem is still money.
Rebuilding the Mulberry Garden isn't simply a matter of buying the land and building a garden. It requires supporting facilities, such as mulberry grove cuisine and a high-end silk street, to ensure sustainable development in the future and allow the Mulberry Garden to thrive like other gardens, weathering any storms.
Huang Ziqiang didn't have that much money, nor did he have the ability to persuade the government with such a project plan.
After much thought, Bi Shenghua concluded that only two people could help her: Mei Yiqiu and Xia Wenyuan.
Although Professor Mei has neither official position nor wealth, his words carry immense weight. As long as he speaks a few words in favor of Mulberry Garden, the officials in Wuzhong should give him face, and project approval shouldn't be too difficult.
However, the professor went to the United States and hasn't returned yet; it seems he's going to spend the Lunar New Year there.
The Xia Family has enough money to do this; this amount of money is just a drop in the ocean for them. Qingmu has been kind to Elder Xia, and out of respect for Qingmu, they won't refuse to help. Even if they don't provide enough money, as long as he's willing to take the lead, others will follow suit.
However, she couldn't go directly to Xia Wenyuan, and among the people she knew, only Hu Xing could put in a good word for her.
Bi Shenghua stood under the tree for a long time before finally deciding to go and talk to Hu Xing.
She didn't have a good impression of Hu Xing at first. A policewoman who didn't do any real work all day, just following Qingmu around like a puppy, and giving him a lighter worth over ten thousand yuan after knowing him for less than a day—she must be a vixen. But after getting to know her better, she found that this girl was a straightforward person. Despite coming from a wealthy family, she had no airs at all. Perhaps because of her profession, she also had a generous side to her personality, which made her quite compatible with Hu Xing's temperament, so she gradually changed her attitude.
After Qingmu left, the two often visited each other because of the children. Without Qingmu, their relationship actually became closer.
Hu Xing was surprised that Bi Shenghua come to the Criminal Investigation Team to see her. Upon seeing her, she smiled and said, "Master's wife, what brings you here? You could have just called if you needed anything."
Bi Shenghua glared at her. "Don't yell like that."
"That was my Uncle Crow's instruction, so I have to call you Master's Wife!" Hu Xing joked as she ushered Bi Shenghua into the reception room, then became serious and said, "I'm leaving the police force after this half-day shift. Sister Hua, what's the matter? While I'm still here, even if it means getting stripped of my uniform, I'll help you out this once."
Bi Shenghua was amused by her and said, "You'll have to expose me whether you want to or not after today, but you come here to spout nonsense!"
Hu Xing giggled.
Bi Shenghua asked again, "Are you really quitting?"
Hu Xing sighed and said, "Alas, there's nothing I can do. I was born into the wrong family. Unlike you, Sister Hua, I'm so free!"
Bi Shenghua said, "It's easy for you to say that when you're not in my shoes. How about we switch backgrounds? Would you be willing?"
Hu Xing said, "Should we switch? I'm not against it. I'm just afraid you won't agree!"
Bi Shenghua said, "Go away, I'm not calling you 'Master's Wife' anymore!"
Hu Xing said, "Now you admit she's my teacher's wife!"
After exchanging a few more jokes about the girl, they got down to business.
After hearing Bi Shenghua's idea to rebuild the Mulberry Garden, Hu Xing's eyes darted around, seemingly lost in thought.
Bi Shenghua grew anxious and said, "Say something! Can you pass on a message to your grandfather for me? If not, I'll go to him myself."
Hu Xing said, "Well... I don't think we need to trouble my grandfather with this. I can handle it myself."
Bi Shenghua said, "You? I heard from the people Mr. Huang found for me that it might require an investment of two or three billion yuan, and even that's not guaranteed!"
Hu Xing said, "It's okay, as long as I'm willing to take off this police uniform, my mom will let me. Even if I can't access that much money all at once, I can still persuade my two uncles to invest. Besides, you're Meimei's godmother, so borrowing some money from your goddaughter isn't unreasonable. Do you know how much money your goddaughter has?"
How much money could a little kid like her have?
"She's just a child, but she's my aunt's only son! And my aunt is Aunt Xia's only daughter. What she inherited is a share from my grandfather to Aunt Xia, a share from my aunt, and a share for her alone. These businesses are all managed by professionals now. In the entire Xia Family, probably only my two uncles have more than her; no one else can compare. If she weren't so young, she could probably be on the rich list!"
Bi Shenghua was speechless with astonishment.
"And..." Hu Xing whispered mysteriously, "My aunt secretly came back once at the end of last year, the one who brought back news about Qingmu. We met, and according to her, the inheritance that Meimei's father left them is probably much more than what my grandfather left!"