Notes on Longevity

Chapter 162 Sowing seeds yields its own fruit; fate brings its own destiny.

"You bought this for me?" Dao Yisheng was dumbfounded when he heard what the woman in green said. He held the bundle in one hand and pulled on the rope of the basket on his back with the other, staring incredulously at the sachet that the woman in green handed to him.

“Yes.” The woman in green didn’t say much, but simply raised the hand holding the sachet, gesturing for Dao Yisheng to take it.

However, Dao Yisheng remained dumbfounded, unable to understand why the woman in green wanted to buy him a sachet.

Seeing his silly look, Green Clothes chuckled and, without saying anything, placed the sachet in his hand holding the bundle. Then, with a playful smile, she turned and walked on with a carefree air, no longer showing the sadness she had just displayed.

Dao Yisheng stood there watching the green-clad figure gradually disappear into the distance. He then looked down at the sachet on his bundle, picked it up with his other free hand, and smelled it like the green-clad figure. A strong fragrance entered his body with each breath, and he instantly felt his nose itch. He then immediately sneezed.

A sneeze sent a jolt through his head, and he rubbed his nose, muttering, "Wasn't it supposed to have a mild, lingering flavor? Why is it so pungent?"

However, he couldn't care less about that now, because the man in green had already gone far away, and if he didn't chase after him soon, he would never find him again.

The second house where the woman in green offered to deliver clothes was an ordinary family home, with green bricks and tiles, and a small house next door. The owner was an old woman who had a granddaughter who was almost fourteen years old.

When the two arrived at the small house, they found the door open. Dao Yisheng stood next to the woman in green and carefully examined the narrow courtyard passage and the almost empty courtyard.

Green Robe walked straight in, which stunned Dao Yisheng, who was standing to the side. Especially when he thought of the first time he and Taihua walked to Green Robe's wooden house, he was stopped when he tried to knock on the door. He wondered to himself, "Don't you need to knock?"
However, he soon heard voices coming from inside, so he quickly followed them in.

The woman in green helped the thin old woman sit on a long wooden bench in the courtyard, smiling as she looked at the wrinkles on her face and gently smoothing her full head of white hair.

The old woman smiled and stared at the girl in green, saying, "Young lady, you've really worked hard."

"Grandma, don't be sad. I treat Ruhua like my own sister. Although she went to work as a maid in another family, she has found a good place." The woman in green went around behind the old woman, took off her hair, and redid her makeup.

The old woman sighed, patting her knees lightly with her hands. Her aged face was full of helplessness. "This child's parents died early, and she suffered with me for more than ten years. Now that she has a good place to go, I can finally leave in peace."

Hearing the old woman's words, the woman in green trembled slightly, and her smiling face suddenly showed sadness. With tears in her eyes, she said, "How could that be? Grandma will live to be a hundred years old."

Hearing Green's words, the old woman no longer felt sad. She took Green's hand, turned her head to look at her sorrowful expression, patted the back of her hand, and chuckled, "There's no such thing as living to a hundred in this world. When your time comes, you have to go. When you get to Meng Po's place, you drink the soup and forget what you're meant to forget; after crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, everything starts anew. This journey through life is not your fault, nor anyone else's. Life and death are preordained, and fate has its own destiny."

"Grandma." Green-clad woman finally couldn't hold back anymore. Hundreds of years of searching and longing were completely released at this moment. She hugged the old woman from behind and cried like a child.

The old woman gently stroked her head, comforting her: "Why are you crying, child? There's sorrow in staying and joy in leaving. It's just that someone is gone from this world, and there's more to remember. Besides, no one remembers anyone forever, and no one can't let go of anyone. It's just that longing that's causing the trouble. But I also want to leave a memory for that child. I want her to remember me, and that's my only selfish wish for her. It's also proof that I came to this world."

The old man and the young man cried like this, and Dao Yisheng, who was standing to the side, looked at the blurry scene in front of him and a trace of memory welled up in his heart.

It was a courtyard filled with flowers and plants. In the center of the courtyard stood a sycamore tree, and on one of its branches sat a little girl gazing at the world under the moonlight. The bright red silk dress was a gift for Ruhua. Before leaving, the girl in green took it out of her bundle and showed it to the old woman.

The old woman was delighted with the bright red dress. She touched its thick, smooth sleeves with her rough, withered hands and said with a smile, "This child likes snowy days but is afraid of the cold. She will definitely like this dress in winter."

"Then Grandma should keep it. We'll take it to her together later."

The woman in green smiled as she held up the unfolded garment.

The old woman repeatedly said "yes," and after putting away the clothes, she looked at Daoyisheng, who was standing honestly at the door with a basket on his back. She smiled at the man in green and said, "You've reached the age to get married. Do you think I should introduce you to a matchmaker while I still have a few days left? Besides, I think the boy behind you is quite nice. He's tall and has a good build. Although he's a bit simple-minded, he seems like an honest boy who won't bully anyone."

"Mother-in-law!"

The woman in green shyly took the old woman's hand. She could also see the old woman's attitude towards Dao Yisheng, so she quickly stopped and smiled as she looked at her and Dao Yisheng. But in the end, she still said, "There is one thing in this world that is most wonderful."

"What is that?" the woman in green asked, puzzled.

She patted the hand of the woman in green and said softly with a smile, "It's all about fate."

"There is a connection between people in this world, just like a matchmaker. Before that, no one knows each other and doesn't know what kind of person the other is. But in this world, some people will meet at a certain time or place and fall in love at first sight, or fall in love at first sight, or something else. Fate will always make people meet without them realizing it, regardless of whether the outcome is good or bad."

The woman in green kept the old woman's words in mind. She glanced back at Dao Yisheng, who was looking bored at the door, and turned back with a wry smile. "If they knew each other a long, long time ago, and then separated, but have met again now, is it also fate that some people forget everything?"

The old woman was speechless at the words of the woman in green. She didn't know how to answer, and only said, "There is a will of heaven in this world. Whatever the outcome, just accept it."

The woman in green took a deep breath, then smiled and said, "I understand, Grandma."

"Good, good." The old woman smiled, then looked at the red clothes in the green dress's hands and quickly said, "Young lady, wait here, I'll go get the things."

After saying that, she left the two men and turned to walk into the house. But when she came out with a string of copper coins and a few pieces of silver, Green Robe and Dao Yisheng had already disappeared.

On the bench lay a bright red dress embroidered with deer and a bag containing a lot of loose silver.

The old woman looked at the two items on the bench, then at the empty doorway. She shook her head, picked up the clothes and the bag of money, along with the last of her money, and said with a bitter smile, "This clothes were just to give the child a keepsake, but what use is this money to someone like me who is about to die?"

(End of this chapter)