Hui Ke Zhai: Puyuan City Hidden Rivers and Lakes

The misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River is gentle to the bones. Jiaxing Puyuan is built along the river. There are water alleys crisscrossing the town, stone bridges lying on the waves, white walls and black tiles on both sides of the bank, and bluestone roads that have been washed away by years of rain and become warm and shiny. There are no iron horses at the border, no turmoil in the court, and no bloody battle between good and evil. Only the smoke from the kitchen and the coming and going of merchants day after day are left. It is a rare and gentle paradise in troubled times. A brand new wooden inn was quietly completed in a prime location on the main street of the town facing the river. The wood of the door is polished smooth and warm, with clear texture. There is a plaque with gold characters on a black background hanging high. The writing is strong and deep, calm and elegant, and there are three characters on it - Huike Zhai. No one knows that this seemingly ordinary city inn is home to a peerless figure who once stirred up the world. No one knows the name of the innkeeper, and the neighbors and passers-by in the town all call him Lao Wan.