"Squeak...... Squeak squeak. ”

The mouse squatted on Lian Ge's shoulder, stood on his forelimbs, turned his head, and looked around,

Lian Ge moved his steps, along the road, looking at the people and shops along the way, and walked forward.

Beside the road, the houses and storefronts look old, and the wall ash facing outward has been eroded by the years, and it is also a little mottled and peeled off.

Some of the shops that are still open seem to be decorated for some years, and the signs have left some black traces under the rain again and again.

This is a relatively remote township, and the road under Lian Ge's feet at this moment is the street that intersects this town.

There are some potholes in the streets, and cracks can be seen on the concrete floor from time to time.

Maybe it's because it's noon, there are few people on the street, and as far as the eye can see, you can only see the old buildings in the distance.

The whole town looks a bit depressed.

......

Facing the noon sun and looking at this quiet town, Lian Ge moved his steps along the street.

A few days ago, after seeing the prosperity of Jiangcheng again, and after eating the bowl of hot dry noodles, Lian Ge chose a random direction and left Jiangcheng.

Along the way, I either slept in the open, or stayed overnight, or stayed in a hotel, and walked through the streets, main roads, mountain roads, and dirt roads, and spent several days walking here.

"Squeak. ”

The mouse looked around and barked twice.

Turning his gaze, Lian Ge looked at the guinea pig, then at the quiet street, and paused.

Looking along the side of the street, most of the shops are closed, and only a few are open.

After a pause, Lian Ge moved his steps again and walked towards an open convenience store not far from him.

......

At the door of the convenience store, there was a pile of garbage such as packaging bags, which was stopped by a broom that was leaning on.

Walk up the stairs and into the convenience store,

It is a little cramped, with only a few rows of shelves with food and household items, and a counter by the door, a freezer next to it, and the owner sits behind the counter.

At this moment, the shopkeeper is blowing a fan while holding his mobile phone, watching TV.

Lian Ge walked to the front of the counter, and he seemed to notice it, and reacted,

"Little brother, what do you need? The shelves in the first and second rows are snacks and drinks, and behind them are rice, flour, grain and oil, and ......."

The shopkeeper stood up and greeted,

"You see what you need, just take it. ”

Glancing at the shopkeeper, Lian Ge nodded, opened the freezer next to him, and took out a bottle of water.

He took a piece of money out of his pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper.

“...... Shopkeeper, what is this place now?" retracting his gaze, Lian Ge asked casually.

"Little brother, are you from out of town?" The shopkeeper took the money and replied while looking for change,

"Let's just go right on the right side of the river, and go north to Ezhou, brother, you are from Ezhou, right?"

Hearing this, Lian Ge nodded.

"If you come to travel, are you still passing by?" said the shopkeeper and handed the change to Lian Ge,

"Let's go for a walk. In response, Lian Ge took the change and put it back in his pocket.

"It's good to come out for a walk, but why did you get to our poor country. The shopkeeper stood behind the counter and talked to Lian Ge,

"I've seen the prosperity, and it's not bad to look at the 'backcountry'. Smiling slightly, Lian Ge turned his gaze and glanced out of the convenience store.

“...... Hey, too. The shopkeeper answered, and also looked outside the convenience store,

"If you want to talk about our place, it has been lively before. But not now, the young people have gone out, leaving behind some old guys like us and some little ones, and sometimes, I don't see a few people on this street for half a day. The shopkeeper shook his head as he spoke, "There are fewer people, this street, the houses on the side of the street, it seems that they are also like us old guys, slowly getting old, and looking lifeless." ”

Hearing this, Lian Ge turned his gaze, glanced at the shopkeeper, and then looked at the street outside the convenience store again, and didn't say anything.

......

At this moment, a thin figure appeared in front of the convenience store.

It was a little boy, who looked to be no more than ten years old, wearing a single shirt and pants, and a pair of white sneakers on his feet.

The clothes on the body are very clean, but the shoes look a little old, the edges and toes have been a little peeled, the upper looks a little mottled, and there are some dirt, covering up the original white of the shoes.

At this moment, the little boy held a piece of money in his hand, stuffed his head, and walked into the convenience store from the steps.

“...... Xiao Yao, come and buy something?"

The shopkeeper noticed the little boy, leaned slightly towards the counter, smiled on his face, and greeted,

"What do you need to buy, can you get it, if you can't get it, I'll help you get it." ”

But the little boy did not respond as if he had not heard the shopkeeper's words, but paused in front of the freezer by the counter, and then pulled open the freezer door with some effort, and took out a large bottle of Coke from it.

Holding the Coke, the little boy put the large bottle of Coke on the counter,

Seeing this, the shopkeeper quickly reached out and helped take it.

The little boy looked at the shopkeeper, did not speak, handed over the money in his hand, and lowered his head again.

"Ten dollars, come, give, look for you four dollars. Still smiling, the shopkeeper said to the little boy as he handed over the change.

The little boy still didn't answer, but after taking the money, he held the bottle of Coke, and walked out of the convenience store again without saying a word, with his head down.

After the little boy stepped out of the convenience store, a middle-aged woman next to him walked over, stretched out her hand and quickly took the bottle of Coke, turned her head, smiled and nodded at the shopkeeper, who also smiled and greeted.

The little boy was still stuffy and didn't speak, but just followed the middle-aged woman's side and gradually walked away.

......

Seeing the little boy and what seemed to be his mother disappear from sight, Lian Ge withdrew his gaze.

Sideways, inside the counter, the shopkeeper turned his gaze back and shook his head,

“...... This kid used to be like this. ”

Hearing this, Lian Ge turned his gaze and glanced at the shopkeeper.

Noticing Lian Ge's gaze, the shopkeeper continued,

“...... This kid lives not far from us, and I watched him grow up, and when he used to, he was really well-behaved and sensible...... It's been since the previous month......"

As he spoke, the shopkeeper shook his head and looked out of the store again,

"In our poor place, we don't have much work, the younger ones like to go to other places to work, and the child's parents are too, they are in the field all year round, and they will only come and go during the Chinese New Year.

Leaving this child and his grandfather at home, his grandfather also loves this grandson very much, and he is close to his grandson for everything on weekdays.

But this kid is also well-behaved and sensible, and no one needs to worry too much...... On weekdays, the family buys a salt, and the oil is also brought by this child. I used to ask him why he came, and he would tell me that his grandfather was old, his legs and feet were bad, and he would be very tired from walking so far. ”

As he spoke, the shopkeeper paused again,

“...... Since last month, the child has started to feel wrong, and when he came to buy things, he didn't talk much and became more and more silent...... At first, I thought it was because this kid was being bullied at school, and I asked him, but he didn't speak......

Who knows, later, I found out that his grandfather died, and he was gone at the beginning of the previous month...... The point is, half a month after the child's grandfather died, the child's parents and the surrounding people knew.

The boy was in that house, with his grandfather's corpse, for half a month......"