Yongchang hikes to Conch City and meets a rather eccentric little guy on the way.

Yongchang reached the fence at the end of the road that was used to block cattle and re-entered the road. It's eight o'clock.

Even though he was almost five miles away from Conch City, he still ran a few steps at times, and sometimes slipped behind the roadside fence to hide, for fear that someone would catch him back, and so on until noon. He sat down next to a monument to rest, and for the first time began to figure out where to make a living.

Beside him is a road monument, and the large letters on it indicate that this place is five miles away from Conch City. The place name Conch City evokes a series of new imaginations in Yongchang's heart.

That place in Conch City is huge! Not a single person, not even Mr. Boole, could not find himself there.

In the past, he often heard some old men in the nursery say that the young man with strong blood did not worry about food and clothing at all in Conch City, and in that metropolis, there were some ways to make a living that the native hillbilly could not imagine.

London is the perfect place for a child who is helpless and will die on the streets if he doesn't get help. These things passed through Yongchang's mind, and he jumped up from the ground and continued to walk forward.

The distance to Conch City had been shortened by more than four miles, and the idea of how long it would take to reach the destination came to mind.

He was worried, and his pace slowed down, and he was always wondering what kind of capital he had to go there.

He had a steamed bun and a coarse cloth garment, two pairs of trousers in his bag, and a copper plate in his pocket—it was given by Lao Shi after a funeral, and on that occasion he played exceptionally well.

"A clean garment," Yongchang pondered, "it must be comfortable to wear, two pants, patched, and okay, and a copper plate is also pretty good." However, these things are not very helpful for walking seventy miles in winter. ”

But Yongchang's thoughts are the same as those of most people when they encounter this kind of situation, they are not confused about their difficulties at all, nor are they indifferent, but they often can't think of any effective methods.

Yongchang thought about it for a long time and still couldn't get the point, so he changed his little burden and walked forward with his heavy legs.

At the end of the day, Yongchang walked twenty miles, hungry to nibble on two mouthfuls of steamed buns, thirsty to drink a few sips of water from the roadside households.

When night fell, he walked into a barn, sneaked under a haystack, and decided to spend the night there.

At first he was frightened, the evening wind whined, and wailed all the way through the open field, he was cold and hungry, and the feeling of loneliness was stronger than ever, but he was so tired after walking that he fell asleep in a few moments, and left all his worries and sorrows behind.

When he woke up the next morning, he was so frozen and hungry that he had to exchange the copper plate for a few nests in the first village he passed.

He had gone less than twelve miles before night fell again. His feet were swollen, and his legs were so weak that they were trembling. Another night in the cold, damp open air was worse, and when he boarded the journey after dawn, he almost had to crawl away.

Seriously, if it weren't for a kind-hearted postman and a kind old lady, Yongchang's suffering might have ended and ended up in the same fate as his mother, in other words, he would have died on the thoroughfare.

The postman invited him to a light meal, and the old lady, who had a grandson who had been shipwrecked, poured out her feelings on the poor orphan, and gave him everything she could take—and not only that—and spoke a great deal of thoughtful and kind words, and shed tears of sympathy and pity, which were more than all the pain that Yongchang had suffered before, and sank deep into his heart.

Yongchang has been away from his hometown for seven days. Early this morning, he limped into Conch City. The windows of every house were closed, the streets were deserted, and no one had gotten up for the day's business.

The sun has risen, and the glow is colorful. However, the morning glow only showed the child how lonely and desolate he was, sitting on a cold step, bleeding from the wounds on his feet and covered in dust.

The window panels along the street were opened, the curtains were drawn, and people began to come and go. A few stopped and looked at Yongchang twice, and some turned their heads to look as they hurriedly walked by. No one helped him, and no one bothered to ask him how he got here. He didn't have the courage to beg from anyone, so he sat there motionless.

He curled up and sat for a while on the steps, and with so many taverns across the street, he wondered a little, and he watched listlessly as the carriages came speeding by, and thought to himself how strange it was, and he walked for seven days with courage and determination beyond his years, but the carriage was completed in a few hours, without any difficulty.

At that moment, he snapped into a daze, and saw a young man who had casually walked past him a few minutes ago turn back upside down, looking him up and down the street carefully. Yongchang didn't care at all at first, but the young man kept staring at him, so Yongchang raised his head and returned to the other party with a focused gaze.

When the boy saw this, he crossed the road, walked slowly to Yongchang, and said, "Man, what's the matter?" ”

The child who asked the little wanderer questions was about Yongchang's age, but he looked very strange, and Yongchang had never seen him.

He had a lion-headed nose and a flat forehead, and his appearance was not good, and a scruffy boy like him was everywhere, but he put on a full adult style.

As far as age is concerned, he is short, with a pair of looped legs, strange little keen eyes, and his hat is very dashing on his head, as if it will fall off at any moment, if it were not for the person who wears it has his own set of magic methods, the hat must have fallen off often, and he shook his head from time to time, and the hat returned to the old place.

He was wearing an adult shirt that almost dragged down to his heels, and the cuffs were pulled halfway up to his arms so that his hands could stick out of his sleeves, apparently to fit his hands into his pockets, as he was.

He was a very good-looking, pretentious little beggar, with a small body and a pair of high-top riding boots.

"Man, what's going on?" This little leprosy said to Yongchang.

"I'm hungry and tired," Yongchang replied with tears rolling in his eyes, "I've come a long way, and I've been walking for seven days. ”

"Seven days." The little leprosy screamed, "Oh, I see, it's an order from the iron mouth, right?" But," he said, seeing Yongchang's bewildered look, he continued, "my good fellow, I'm afraid you don't know what the Iron Mouth is all about." ”

Yongchang replied meekly, he had long heard that someone called the beak of a bird an iron beak.

"Look how tender it is." The little leprosy screamed, "Iron mouth is patrolling"

"If you want to eat, I've got it. I don't have much money on hand—only a copper plate, but, whatever, I've got a treat, stand up. Start walking. ”

The little leper helped Yongchang to his feet, and together they went to a nearby grocery store, where they bought some cooked meat and a pack of white-flour steamed buns.

The little leprosy showed his hand, he ripped the steamed bun open, and then stuffed the pig's head meat into it, so that the meat was kept fresh and not dusty.

The little leprosy put the bread under the armpit, led Yongchang into a tavern, and found a secluded wine room inside.

Then, the little leprosy called for a can of beer, and Yongchang devoured it at the invitation of his new friend, and in the process of eating, the strange boy's eyes were very focused, and from time to time fell on him.

Seeing that Yongchang had finally eaten, the little leprosy asked, "Have you found a place to live?" ”

"Not yet."

"Where's the money?"

"Nope."

The eccentric teenager whistled, tried his best to free himself from the grip of his fat sleeves, and put his hands in his pockets.

"I wonder if you're trying to find a place to sleep tonight, don't you?" ”

"yes, I haven't slept peacefully since I left my hometown."

"Don't rub your eyes for this little thing," said the little leprosy, "and I will arrange a place for you to live, and I will not take you for a single child."