There are still three days until the autumnal equinox.

The boundary monument of Heyin.

Official road, tea shop.

"Shopkeeper, please bring me a big bowl of tea."

"Just come!"

"Shopkeeper, here's another pile of beans."

"okay!

"Shopkeeper, do you have any soup cakes?"

"Yes, please wait a moment, sir."

This simple teahouse was built not far from the official road.

Merchants passing by the boundary marker would stop here to replenish their energy or get some dry food. When they glanced at it, there were number 20 people there.

The tea shop owner and two helpers were busy outside, with no feet touching the ground, and their voices became hoarse.

I was busy for a while before I found time to catch my breath.

Just as he was about to wipe his sweat and beat his legs, he saw a middle-aged man leading a mule coming from the direction of the official road. His clothes were fully patched. The shopkeeper wanted to be lazy and take a rest, so he sent his helpers over to entertain him.

The helper greeted him enthusiastically: "What would you like, sir?"

It was only when I got closer that I could clearly see the middle-aged man's appearance.

He looked at Lao BaJiao, who had a head of black and gray hair wrapped in a black coarse cloth. His skin color was dark, and there were still traces of midsummer sunburn on his face. It was obvious at a glance that they were caused by years of sun exposure. His hands were rough and he pointed.

The knobs are rough and swollen, and there is mud hidden under the fingernails that are not finely trimmed. If you take a closer look, you can smell a bit of sweat and the accent does not sound like a local.

The middle-aged man rubbed his hands in embarrassment.

He lowered his head, his voice was very hoarse after not taking in water for a long time, and because he timidly lowered his voice, the helper almost didn't hear what he said: "I just want to ask for some water..."

He couldn't afford the tea.

He was unfamiliar with the place and didn't know where there was a stream nearby.

When he saw the tea shop, he wanted to shamelessly ask for a drink of water. Unexpectedly, the helper greeted him enthusiastically, leaving him at a loss. He was ready to say this, causing the helper to roll his eyes and sneer, but the helper just smiled:

"Yes, yes, yes!"

He turned around and brought a bowl of warm water with white steam from the tea shop. The pottery bowl didn't even have a crack.

"Here... Xiaolang, just give me a sip of cold water..."

It's actually still warm.

The helper handed it over and said with a smile: "We are not allowed to sell cold water here. If you are caught, you will be fined. It must be boiled."

The middle-aged man was flattered.

When his hands that were about to be covered with mud wiped on the hem of his clothes again and again, he held the helper's pottery bowl with both hands. As soon as the moderately warm water came into contact with his dry and cracked lips, he couldn't wait to open his mouth and swallowed in big mouthfuls. The water flowed down his mouth.

It rolled into the throat, as if the land that had been dry for a long time was finally moisturized. He took a long breath after drinking it, but he still felt that it was not enough.

I smacked my lips in my heart but was too embarrassed to ask again.

The helper was busy in the tea shop. How could he not see all kinds of people? He had already developed a good ability to observe people's emotions. He said: "I'm not busy at the moment. I'll give you another bowl. Do you have any water, mule?"

?Would you like to be led behind and fed?"

The middle-aged man thanked him again and again.

The mule was so hungry that it was almost skin and bones, its ribs were visible, and it looked like an old mule.

The mule was thin and old, but he could still work. The mule was fully stuffed, and Lao Gao's bamboo box was carried on its back.

I don't know what's inside.

Out of curiosity, I asked casually.

The middle-aged man didn't hide it either.

"I have saved a little charcoal and straw sandals at home. I heard someone here collects them. If we sell them together, we can get more money..."

It is said that the money is more, so it is only four or five cents more expensive.

However, he walked for two days and two nights for these four or five cents, and he had to be cautious about meeting bandits on the way. He was worried that he would encounter jackals, tigers and leopards when he stayed in the wild at night. No matter how sleepy or tired he was, he did not dare to close his eyes and stop, so he could only

During the day, I would find a secluded place to relax for a while, and I would tie the old mule to myself with a straw rope, for fear that someone would steal both the mule and the charcoal.

Of course, it's not safe at night or during the day. Try not to sleep as much as possible. You'll feel haggard and in a daze after two days.

At this time, the helper noticed that the straw sandals on the man's feet were worn almost to scrap, the toes were exposed, the dark red blood mixed with the mud had dried, and there were about ten pairs of newly made ones on the side of the mule's trousers. While sighing, he couldn't help but feel

pity.

I fed the mule a handful of bean dregs.

The middle-aged man looked at it, his eyes slightly red.

The turbid tears almost rolled down, and he kept thanking him. The helper sent the middle-aged man to the road, and kindly showed him the way. If you go down this road, you can get there in less than a quarter of an hour.

Good to go.

His feet would also suffer less.

The middle-aged man didn't think much about it.

Reluctantly said goodbye to the helper.

There was also a big cake given by the helper in his arms.

The shopkeeper had already seen this in his eyes, smiled and said: "The water does not count, the rest will be deducted from your wages..."

The helper said: "Naturally."

In fact, he had only lived a good life for a few months.

Seeing the middle-aged man like this, he felt the same and couldn't help but want to help. The helpers were desperation refugees who came to Heyin. I thought this place would become his burial place, but who knew that the kind-hearted shopkeeper would

Saved.

I help out at the tea shop every day.

Take care of food, housing, and money.

At first, the helper didn't dare to ask for it. How could the little work he did be worth such a big reward? But after listening to the shopkeeper, I realized that it wasn't much. If you go to the jail to find a job, the salary will be good. Leave it here at the tea shop

, at most he would not die of hunger.

Because he was the only one left in the family of helpers, he had saved up a sum of savings in the past few months - the savings amounted to only thirty or forty dollars, and a dozen cakes - so the shopkeeper didn't care if he deducted his wages, as he was in charge of food and drink anyway.

Live, the helper doesn't care much.

The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head when he saw it.

There will be no deductions from wages on this day's settlement.

Inside and outside the teahouse, passers-by were talking in low voices, and from time to time they could hear laughter and banter, and the air was filled with a happy atmosphere. At the same time, the middle-aged man walked through a bumpy, bumpy and muddy road, and then froze.

Without him——

The road ahead is too wide and flat.

He almost thought he was hallucinating.

He still dared not put his feet up.

I looked left and right, and finally, with a slight push from the old mule, I took a step secretly like a thief with a guilty conscience. This road stretched to the end of my sight, and could accommodate three chariots running side by side! It was completely different from the previous dog-gnawed road.

on the contrary.

The road is getting better and the pace is faster.

Not long after walking, I saw a neat field.

The middle-aged man was stunned again.

Looking around, the corn in the field almost turned into golden waves. Each plant was covered with heavy, plump fruits. Each plant was forced to bend down. When the wind blew, it seemed that it could fall to the ground at any time. He

He is also a good farmer. He also has two acres of thin farmland at home, but after a year of farming, even in good years, he can only make ends meet for his family...

These, these were things he had never seen in his dreams.

I heard some old people in the village say this.

If you have fertile farmland and have a good year with good weather, you may be able to compare the yield per mu with the one in front of you.

"What are you looking at? What are you looking at?"

Perhaps he had been standing there for too long and looked around in a suspicious manner as if he had never seen the world. The tenant farmers working in the fields immediately sounded the alarm, pointed their poles and hatchets at him, and yelled at him. He was misunderstood by the common people as a thief...

The middle-aged man had to talk a lot before he could explain it clearly.

Several tenant farmers then softened their expressions.

The middle-aged man said a few auspicious words to celebrate the harvest, which made people feel very comfortable and liked him. Some people were even willing to give him a pair of half-worn straw sandals.
To be continued...