The old alley lay tucked into the folds of the city, a corner forgotten by the modern high-rises. The bluestone path had been polished bright by the passage of time. Old houses crowded both sides, roof plants drooped over the walls, while moss at the corners grew unchecked. Even the wind slowed by half as it passed through, carrying a musty, timeworn smell.
Lin Xiaoman clutched a crumpled slip of paper and stood before a wooden door deep in the alley. Sweat ran down her forehead and cheeks, smearing the sunscreen on her face. Her grandfather had pressed the note into her hand before he died. It bore only a few crooked words: Old Alley, No. 37. Grocery store. Yours now.
She had just graduated from college that year, and her job applications had met with one rejection after another. She was almost out of money. She had thought her grandfather might have left her something valuable, but instead, it was this old grocery store that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
The wooden door was deep brown, carved with a winding lotus pattern. Its paint had peeled in patches, and a wooden sign hung above it, reading "Zhou Family Grocery Store." The sign's edges had cracked, and its lettering had blurred under years of wind and rain. As she pushed the door open, it creaked sharply and raspingly, like a rusty saw cutting through wood, startling a few clumps of dust from the rafters.
Here, Lin Xiaoman, Old Zhou, and a chubby orange cat grow together. As they encounter one new difficulty and challenge after another, they also come to see the many colors of the world.
