When the old shepherd got closer, Liu Daode saw his appearance clearly.

Wearing a white sheep's belly handkerchief, his face is earthy yellow and full of wrinkles, looking like the surface of the nearby Loess Plateau, with ravines and ravines. He wears a patched placket and holds a whip in his hand.

The old man climbed up the mountain beam and saw a young man sitting on the ground, and he was also a little surprised, so he stopped and asked, "Where did you come from, why are you here?"

His voice was thick, Liu Daode could barely understand it, and hurriedly got up and replied: "Uncle, hello, I came out to travel alone, I got lost, I heard you sing folk songs just now, and you sang really well." ”

Listening to his praise, the old shepherd responded with some embarrassment: "Okay, what's good, hum." Lost, where are you going......?

"I want to find a hotel to stay in the town, uncle, where is the nearest town?" Liu Daode actually didn't plan to go to the town to stay, so he replied, but he didn't want the other party to ask any more.

"You're on the wrong track, it's about ten miles from town. The ditches and ravines, twists and turns, there is no serious road, now it is almost dark, you are a foreigner, it is estimated that you will get lost......" The old man hesitated, pointed to the cliff not far in front and said: "My house is there, if you don't dislike it, just stay at my house for one night, how about leaving tomorrow?"

"How embarrassing is this, I'll go to the town and forget it" Liu Daode instinctively refused.

"What's embarrassing, who can not have a problem when going out. Let's go, let's go......" said the old man, raising his whip and driving the sheep down the slope.

Listening to the other party's enthusiastic words, Liu Daode was embarrassed to refuse again, so he had to follow.

After getting off the mountain beam, I turned into a dirt road with a cliff and a ditch, and there were many dwarf jujube trees on the side of the road, producing bunches of sour jujubes the size of sheep dung eggs. In some flat areas, fields have been carved out, and the millet is almost ripe, and the heavy ears are more than a foot long, hanging down, which looks very pleasant.

The old man was also a talkative person, pointing to the road under his feet and explaining: "Don't look at this dirt road as inconspicuous, it used to be a post road, leading all the way to the grassland." According to the old people, before the liberation, this road was very busy, and the horse gang, the camel gang, and the official army were ...... All day long, there are no more people on the road. The car was run, the livestock were trampled, and the rain washed it, and it took a long time to become a ditch ......"

Liu Daode listened, nodding his head in agreement.

Turning the ditch, I saw more than a dozen holes in the cave appear on the cliff side in front.

Just now, I was just looking at it in the distance, but now that I got closer, Liu Daode realized that this place was different from what he imagined.

The road leading to these caves is overgrown with weeds, littered with dead branches and leaves, many caves have collapsed, doors and windows are missing, and the inside is dark and rumbling, which looks a little seeping.

"Uncle, what's wrong?" Liu Daode couldn't help but ask.

"These are abandoned kilns, and a few years ago the government planned a plot of land, and now most of the people in the village have moved to live outside. No one......" The old shepherd shook his head, and there was a bit of loneliness in his words.

He led Liu Daode onto a dirt road and finally entered the courtyard.

This yard is very clean, with three holes in it, a sheep coop and a chicken coop.

Two jujube trees were planted on the edge of the courtyard, and there was a stone mill in the middle. There is a rough stone slab on the edge of the stone grinder, and two stools are placed around it, which looks like a dinner table.

Several old hens and roosters were clucking and gouging in front of the cave, and a Shiba dog was sleeping soundly at the base of the wall, and when he heard the footsteps of a living person, he immediately jumped up and rushed to Liu Daodao, barking wildly.

"Dog, don't bark when you're visiting. The old shepherd reprimanded. Rural areas are like this, basically do not name their dogs, like Liu Daodao, very few.

Shiba Inu was reprimanded by his owner and immediately returned with his tail between his legs.

"You sit in the courtyard for a while, and I'll drive the sheep into the pen." The old man said and opened the door of the sheepfold. Seven or eight sheep did not need to be driven by their owners at all, and they scrambled to get into it.

When the door of the sheepfold was closed, he went back to the house, took out the teapot, poured a large bowl full of it, and handed it over.

After walking for half a day, I was really thirsty. Liu Daode took it and took a sip, which was slightly salty and had an earthy smell.

Then, the old man brought a half-sieve of jujubes and said, "There is nothing to entertain, just a few jujubes, you can taste them." I'm going to cook and I'm ...... right away."

"Uncle, I'll help you light the fire. Liu Daode hurriedly followed.

"Well, you're a guest. "The old shepherd won't let me.

"It's okay, let's just talk. Liu Daode insisted. What kind of guest is he, he is embarrassed to keep the family busy.

The cave was smoked by firewood and blackened everywhere, and there was a stove against the wall. Next to the stove is a piece of willow wood slab supported by adobe. Several clay pots and vats are piled up in the corners of the wall to hold water, rice noodles and sauerkraut.

This is the kitchen of the old man's house, which is simpler than Liu Daodao's.

On the fire, the old man collected a dozen eggs from the chicken coop and fried a large bowl full of green onions, and steamed some noodles rolls. This thing is to grind the dough into long strips with the palm of your hand, roll it into a circle and poke it at the drawer, and steam it in the basket.

After nearly an hour of busyness, the meal was finally ready.

Because of the visitor, the old man specially set up a table in the hall and served food.

The two of them dipped in a bowl of garlic juice, sprinkled some salt, and ate a big bowl of eggs!

When eating, Liu Daode learned that this place was called Niujiayuan Village, and there were originally thirty or forty households in the village, distributed on several nearby mountain beams. A few years ago, the government implemented a plan to relocate the caves, and the villagers moved out one after another. Now the whole village, not one of the old shepherds has moved out.

Usually, except for farming and autumn harvest, people in the village rarely come back.

When the old man said this, his tone was low.

Liu Daode understands in his heart that this is a kind of loneliness. Maybe the loneliness was too long, and the old man really wanted to find someone to talk to, so he dragged him home.

Immediately, Liu Daode asked curiously: "There is no one in the village, why don't you move out?"

"I lived here all my life, played in the mud when I was a child, farmed, herded sheep, got married, and later sent my wife away. I'm used to staying early, so let's keep this place. The old man replied lightly.

It's hard to leave your homeland because you have invested so much emotion here. Feeling the old man's affection, Liu Daode suddenly felt a little homesick. I want to think about those people in the village, I want to be a foodie, a sophomore general, and......

The two chatted while eating, and ate for an hour. When Liu Daode was helping to clean up the dishes and chopsticks, he inadvertently turned his head and found a roll of earthy yellow linen thrown on the vat behind him.

The linen cloth was two or three feet long at one end, and was marked with many black ink dots on it, and there were a few lines of small characters around it.

The thing was covered in dust, and apparently the owner didn't care. It's just that Liu Daode released his divine sense, but found that the linen cloth was slightly revealing a little bit of antiquity, and it was obviously a bit historical.

"Uncle, what is this?" he stepped forward curiously, rolling up the sackcloth a little.

After just one glance, Liu Daode froze. These ink dots are not scribbled, but arranged according to a certain pattern. The stars are dotted, and suddenly they look like stars in the void, exuding a mysterious and unpredictable atmosphere. xh:.74.240.212