The mottled shadows of the trees and the long chirping add a sense of tranquility to this dirt road.

The feeling of being reborn makes me feel happy, and my steps are much easier. I hummed a minor tune and walked along the yellow mud road without hurrying.

Not long after walking, three adobe houses appeared in front of them, and smoke curled from the roofs.

I was overjoyed, and I quickened my steps towards the tiled house.

When I got closer, I saw that there was a large courtyard of about 100 square meters in front of the house, and there were two beds of bamboo mats in the yard, one of which was yellow corn, and the other was peanuts with yellow mud.

Looking at these two mattresses, my heart swelled with indescribable kindness and sadness. In the past, I had several such bamboo mats at home, and my grandfather said that it was not easy to dry the grain directly on the mud, and it was not convenient to recycle it, and there would be a lot of mud particles mixed in the grain. It is different with a drying mat, the grain is dried in the drying mat, and if it is clean, even in the field.

When I saw the mat, I seemed to see my grandparents and my mother busy again, as if I heard them laughing and calling me "Xi Wazi, Xi Wazi".

"You, young man...... Looking for which? ”

An old woman came out of the house and was slightly surprised to see me.

"Hello mother-in-law! I'm walking a little dry and want to come over and beg for a drink! I smiled kindly at the old woman.

The old woman greeted me warmly, "Good, good! You go inside and sit for a while, it's very hot outside! I'm going to pour you water! ”

"Good! Thank you mother-in-law! I smiled and thanked the old woman, and sat down on my bench at the door of the hall.

After two minutes, the old woman came over with a bowl: "You have been walking on the road for so long, you will not feel dry mouth after drinking some salted water!" ”

"Thank you, mother-in-law!" I took the bowl with both hands and thanked the old woman.

The old woman smiled and asked me, "Young man, your accent is not like ours here, where are you from?" ”

"I'm from the north of Sichuan!" I replied with a smile.

"From the north of Sichuan? That's a long way from here! Why did you come to us? The old woman was puzzled.

"I went to Fengdu for a trip, but I went the wrong way when I came back!" I scratched my head in embarrassment and told a lie.

"Oh! Then you're going in the opposite direction! Go to Fengdu and go over there, and go this way to Fuling! The old woman pointed to the ends of my path, kindly reminded.

"I'm going to Fuling! Is there a car to take to Fuling here? I smiled and drank the salt and water from the bowl.

"Not here! If you have to take a car, you have to go to the town to get a car to Fuling! The old woman saw that I had finished drinking a bowl of water, and was about to fill another bowl for me, and I thanked her again and again and returned the bowl to the old woman.

"It's still a little far from here to town, I found a water bottle and filled you with some salted boiled water, you can drink it on the road later!" When the old woman came out of the kitchen, she had an extra plastic bottle in her hand.

"Thank you, mother-in-law!"

There are still many simple and kind people in this world.

"Mother-in-law, are you the only one in the family?" It's been so long, and I haven't seen a second person appear, I asked curiously.

"Yes! My son and daughter-in-law have gone out to work, and my grandson has gone with them! My old man left last year, and I'm the only one in the house! As she spoke, the old man's eyes were slightly red, there was no one at home to talk to, and there were no neighbors around, so she must be very lonely!

I can't stay with her, I can't let her go to her son and grandson, I want to help her, but I don't know how!

I turned my head and looked at the sides of the yard. And there was a pear tree on the right side of the yard, and it was full of fruit.

I had an idea and said to the old woman, "Mother-in-law, can I buy a few catties of pears from your tree?" "The only thing I can do is help her financially and make her life less difficult.

The old woman waved her hand again and again, "Why buy the fruit from your own tree?" If you want to eat, go pick a few! Anyway, I'm the only one in the house, and I can't eat a few with bad teeth! ”

"No, no! Since I was a child, my parents told me that you can't eat other people's things for nothing! Mother-in-law, if you are willing to help me, let me buy a few pears, otherwise I won't be able to ask for this bottle of water! "I handed the plastic bottle full of water to the old man and pretended to give it back to her.

The old man smiled and nodded helplessly, "Okay!" I'll pick it for you! ”

"No, no! I'll just pick it myself! I laughed and ran to the pear tree and picked a few pears.

"Mother-in-law, I still want to drink some more water, can you pour me some more water?" I took the pear back to the eaves and said to the old man who was smiling at me.

"Good! Wait, I'll pour you water!" The old man smiled and turned to the kitchen.

I took two hundred dollars out of my bag and pressed the pear on the stool.

I didn't dare to give her too much, with the kindness and generosity of the old man, if I gave too much money, it would make her panic.

After leaving the old man's house, I walked briskly towards the town of Huwei.

It's really far from the town, and when I can't get to the town, it's already more than four o'clock in the afternoon, and the last train from the town to Fuling has left for half an hour!

I had no choice but to find a hotel in the town and stay.

Most of the people in the town are locals, so there aren't many people staying at the hotel. It was rare for the boss to see a business come to the door and greeted me very warmly.

After choosing a room, I asked the boss what time was the first bus to Fuling in the morning?

The boss said: "The first bus to Fuling in the morning is half past seven!" ”

The boss saw that my accent was not the local accent of Fuling, and asked, "Little brother, are you going from Fuling to Chongqing?" ”

I nodded.

The boss smiled and said, "Then you don't have to take the car to Fuling to transfer." There is a car in the town to Chongqing, twice a day! ”

"Oh? What time is the first train? "It would be better if you didn't have to go to Fuling by car!

"The first trip is at six o'clock in the morning, it's a sleeper car, if you want to sit I'll call the driver for you and ask him to reserve a spot for you!" The owner was very welcoming.

"Good! Then trouble the boss! ”

"No thanks, then little brother, you can rest well, and I'll wake you up at half past five tomorrow morning!"

At half past five in the morning, the boss came and knocked on time. I had something in my mind, and I woke up at the end of the day. When the boss came to call me, I was already dressed.

I put all the bread and milk I bought from the nearby shop in my backpack, washed up, and went downstairs to wait for the bus.

At 5:50, the car arrived.

It was a sleeper car designed to run long distances, and the driver was a thin man in his thirties, with big eyes and bright eyes, and at first glance he was a very good businessman.

(End of chapter)