The sky is filled with wild sand, covering the sky and the sun
There is a city in the vast desert called Shacheng.
On this day, a young man came to Shacheng,
That was a young man with a weathered face,
Wearing a thin gown, he carried a long sword wrapped in cloth on his back.
The young man slowly walked into Shacheng,
The young man's eyes were very bright, like the stars in the night sky.
The young man had a clean smile on his face, just like a clear spring in the desert.
The gates of Shacheng are just two piles of earthen walls as high as one person.
Next to the earthen wall stood a stone tablet half a man tall. On the stone tablet were engraved two vague words: Shacheng.
The young man looked at the writing on the stone tablet, and then walked into the sand city.
Once entering the gate of Shacheng,
Then an unknown wine shop appeared in front of him.
The nameless wine shop only had a dilapidated flag with the word "wine" written on it.
The young man came to the unknown wine shop and sat down at a stained table.
"Shopkeeper, bring me a jar of wine."
The young man shouted to an old man in the wine shop.
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the young man for a long time.
Then a smile brighter than a peach blossom appeared on the old man's face.
A jar of wine, not yet opened,
It was a purple wine jar, and the mouth of the jar was still sealed with dry soil.
The young man took the jar of wine brought by the old man,
He sniffed the aroma of wine emanating from the seal.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and a pleasant smile appeared on his face.
The young man had a nice smile, with a small dimple between his cheeks.
Coupled with his bright eyes, this young man has a unique aura.
"Sir, where do you come from?"
The old man held a dry tobacco pole in his hand and asked the good young man curiously.
"Liangzhou, shopkeeper, do you have any dishes to go with the wine?"
The young man patted the mud seal and replied without any care.
"Liangzhou, that's a great place, south of the Yangtze River beyond the Great Wall."
The shopkeeper took a long drag on his cigarette and said with a look of envy in his eyes.
"Alas, things are not going well these days. Liangzhou City has also encountered harassment from the Northern Demon Kingdom, and many people have been displaced. Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall is just history."
The young man poured the jar of wine into a large porcelain bowl, and then sighed without looking back.
"Now there are only some peanuts left, please use them with caution."
The shopkeeper took a long puff of dry cigarette, then stuffed the cigarette rod into his waist.
He took out a plate of peanuts from the kitchen and said to the young man with an apology on his face.
"It doesn't matter, just let the peanuts be peanuts."
The young man said nonchalantly. He pinched several flowers with his fingers.
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He stuffed uncooked rice into his mouth.
"Shopkeeper, look at the speed of yellow sand erosion, the entire sand city will be submerged by yellow sand in just a few years."
The young man looked around with bright eyes and said to the shopkeeper.
I saw that the surrounding areas of this sand city had long been eroded by yellow sand.
Yellow sand swept under the corner of the wall, and half a foot of yellow sand had accumulated under the city gate that was as tall as a person.
"Well, who can say otherwise? Every year, the yellow sand will spread to the surrounding areas. In less than ten years, this sand city will be buried under the yellow sand."
The shopkeeper took out the dry tobacco from his waist again, and answered with a bitter look on his face.
"Then why don't you move away? It's better to go to other cities and towns than to be buried in this yellow sand."
The young man asked the shopkeeper again while drinking.
"Oh, moving away is not easy. Half of my old body is already buried in the yellow sand. I'm afraid I won't survive that time."
There was a hint of helplessness in the old man's eyes.
"It's true, people always have to return to their roots after falling leaves."
The young man took a sip of wine and chewed a few peanuts, all sighing with emotion.
"Shopkeeper, how many people are there in Shacheng?"
The young man looked at the empty streets. Occasionally, some pedestrians with indifferent expressions walked by.
But this sand city still seemed extremely empty.
"There are not many people, only three to four hundred people at most. They are all old, weak, sick and disabled. The young people have gone out to find their own way. They may die outside, or they may get married and start a business outside and never come back.
"
The shopkeeper was smoking a dry cigarette, with a deep light shining in his eyes.
"Whether you die outside or start a family and start a career outside, it is better than being buried under this yellow sand."
The young man held the big porcelain bowl and said to the shopkeeper again.
"Yes, so in this sand city there are only a group of old people like us whose bodies are half buried in the yellow sand."
The shopkeeper took a long drag on his dry cigarette, his eyes flickering.
"Shopkeeper, this wine is so strong."
The young man's cheeks began to turn a pink color, and his eyes began to become blurred.
"That's natural. The wine in our store is a specially made spirit. Ordinary people will get drunk after just one bowl."
The shopkeeper saw a confused look in the young man's eyes, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.
"This wine is so strong",
The young man muttered, and then he fell to the ground.
When the shopkeeper saw this, a ray of solemn light shot out from his eyes,
He came to the young man's side and then tumbled over the young man's body.
Soon, the shopkeeper dug out the silver bag in the young man's arms.
He weighed the money bag and found that it contained a hundred taels of silver.
"You dare to come to Shacheng at such a young age. It's true that there is a way to heaven but you don't take it, and there is no way to hell but you come here instead."
The shopkeeper let out a dejected breath, and even more ruthless aura surged out from his body.
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"You all come out and see what to do with this fat sheep."
The shopkeeper said in a deep voice to the back darkroom of the wine shop,
As soon as he finished speaking, three people walked out of the back room.
A voluptuous woman with thick rouge and gouache on her face,
There is also a burly man with a sinewy face,
And a short old man with a pockmarked face.
"Oh, what a handsome young man. This young man is left to me. I am going to have a good time tonight."
The enchanting woman walked with steps like a water snake and came to the young man who fell to the ground.
She stretched out her glowing fingers and gently touched the young man's cheek, exhaling a rich fragrance from her bright red lips.
"No, this is a young sheep. I will break it down today. I will definitely sell it for a good price."
The burly man did not agree with the suggestion of the water snake-like woman, and he said in a low voice.
"I have no objection to breaking up this young lamb, but his skin must be left to the old man, who just needs a good skin. Maybe the old man can be rejuvenated."
The short old man with a pockmarked face cast a greedy look in his eyes.
"No, I want to enjoy myself tonight first, and I'll leave it to you tomorrow."
The water-snake-like lady refused with her apricot eyebrows raised.
"Snake lady, can you swallow such a small and tender lamb? Why don't you just kill him? The meat and bones on his body can be sold at a good price."
The burly man shook his head and said.
"If you don't want to stop, I'll have to keep your mouth shut. What's the matter? Do you, a butcher, want to have a taste of my mother's taste?"
The water snake-like woman's chest puffed up, her eyes full of provocation.
"I don't have such strong tastes. Who doesn't know that you snake lady is the most vicious, and any man who touches you will die inexplicably."
When the burly man saw the snake lady showing her charming charm, he couldn't help but shuddered and refused.
"Humph, what a useless creature." Snake Lady sneered disdainfully,
The burly man showed a wry smile.
"Okay, don't argue anymore. Let's hand this person over to the Snake Lady. But I'll hand it over to the Butcher tomorrow. Do you think it's feasible?"
The shopkeeper waved his hand and made the final decision.
"no",
And just after the shopkeeper finished speaking, a voice suddenly sounded,
"It doesn't matter if it doesn't work, that's the decision."
The wine shop owner didn't pay attention to the sudden sound.
He waved his hand and then wanted to walk into the back room of the wine shop.
However, he did not hear other people's voices,
This made him very confused, and then he felt a strange atmosphere arise spontaneously.
The shopkeeper turned around and looked, and his expression suddenly changed.
Because he saw the young man standing not far away at some point, looking at him with a bright smile on his face.