Tanxi, Xihe Prefecture.

Li Tianhua waited for the middle-aged man at home for a month.

This month, the middle-aged man did not return home. Helpless, Li Tianhua had to pack up, sort out all the things he needed, and then wrap the Shadow Sword with strips of cloth and walk towards the market.

Walking along the path leading to the bazaar, the teenager occasionally came across a pedestrian or two.

Usually the people who walk on this road are locals who come and go from the market, and almost all the teenagers know each other.

Some of these people were small traders and peddlers, who bought some of the goods from the bazaar and distributed them to the villages, making a profit on the difference in price; Some of the old people who came in and out of the bazaar, all of them were uncles and aunts, and they were quite kind to Li Tianhua. After all, Li Tianhua is a warm-hearted child and often helps them.

There were more pedestrians on the road than in the past. Among them, as long as they are familiar with the teenagers, they will come up to say hello and say hello.

Many people noticed that the boy was carrying a bag and an object wrapped in strips of cloth on his back, and they speculated that the boy might be going out or moving away.

Many people directly asked Li Tianhua where he was going. The boy is always difficult to answer, it is to go to the Taishou house. So, in the face of so many questions, the teenager had to answer crisply: "Go to visit relatives." ”

The young man thought to himself, it's not like he won't come back anyway, and it's not too much to say that he is going to visit relatives.

After walking along the path for half an hour, Li Tianhua finally came to the market in the town. In such a remote area where transportation is difficult, the existence of a market is of paramount importance. There are all kinds of goods, which can basically meet people's needs for food and clothing.

For example, the market in Tan County, Xihe Prefecture, is divided into four in the southeast, northwest and northwest. Each market is located in the center of the town, so people living in every direction don't have to go far to get to the market that is relatively close to them.

Li Tianhua is naturally no stranger to the market. Ever since his father first took him to the market when he was six years old, the boy was curious about the market.

After that, almost every time my father went to the market, he clamored to go. He could scarcely get down the dazzling array of goods, but unfortunately his father often didn't have enough money to buy him one or two of these beautiful little things.

The vendors in the bazaar were very fond of Li Tianhua, and the young man was very familiar with them. It can be said that they grew up watching teenagers. Therefore, Li Tianhua has this inseparable emotion for this market.

"Tianhua is here." A short and stocky middle-aged woman waved at Li Tianhua and smiled.

The young man also waved his hand and said with a smile: "Aunt Gu, is there anything good today?" ”

Aunt Gu touched Li Tianhua's face and said with a smile: "I have all high-quality herbs, they are all beautiful goods, and the soup is absolutely delicious." ”

"But Auntie, your Baizhu seems to be too glutinous. And that salvia, it seems to be moistened a little. The boy pointed to two of the herbs and said.

Aunt Gu shook her head with a smile and said, "Xiao Tianhua is really a little expert. Not bad, not bad.

This winter's harvest is relatively large, and some medicinal herbs have not had time to be dried. During this time, the sun will not be seen for a long time, and it is inevitable that it will be a little insufficient. ”

"By the way, what are you carrying so many things on, what are you going to do?" Aunt Gu noticed the bag behind Li Tianhua.

"I'm going to visit relatives," after speaking, Li Tianhua slapped his head suddenly, took out some copper coins, and handed them to Aunt Gu, "These are the money you owe on credit in the past two years." ”

A hint of surprise flashed in Aunt Gu's eyes, but she still accepted the money, and then chatted with the young man enthusiastically.

After chatting with Aunt Gu for a while, Li Tianhua said goodbye and went to the next house.

By the end of the hour, the boy had almost paid off the money he owed.

"By the way, there's another one." The young man suddenly thought that there was still a blacksmith shop at the southwest entrance of the bazaar, and Daddy Chen's money had not been returned.

In the southwest corner of the market, Shopkeeper Chen is busy building a set of farm tools for spring plowing in the coming year.

The weather is cold in winter, but it is warm by the fire. Therefore, whether it is the shopkeeper Chen or the four guys in the shop, they are all working shirtless.

Shopkeeper Chen noticed Li Tianhua who was carrying his luggage, pretended to be angry and said, "Can you pay back the money your father owes?" ”

The young man looked at Shopkeeper Chen with some fear, took out twelve taels of silver and handed it to Shopkeeper Chen, and asked weakly: "Father Chen, this is what my father asked me to bring, and I am about to leave, so I will return the money first." ”

Taking the young man's money, Shopkeeper Chen's lips couldn't help but move, but in the end he didn't say anything.

After a long time, Shopkeeper Chen finally didn't calm down, glanced at the bags behind Li Tianhua, and asked urgently: "Tianhua boy, where are you going?" Do you want to pay it back? ”

The boy was startled by this rough voice, and he couldn't spit out a word for a long time.

When the shopkeeper Chen saw the young man's expression, his eyes suddenly turned red, and he said in a deep voice: "Actually, it's okay if you don't pay back the money you bought the pot, so that we also have a thought for each other." ”

Dad, I know that when your father pays back the money, most of the time he will move out and not come back, so I'd rather not take your money than let you go. ”

Anyway, no matter where you move, you have to tell Brother Richeng that if you are free, you must find us for a drink! After saying that, he even choked up a little.

Li Tianhua stood dumbfounded, completely at a loss. After a long time, he reacted, looked at the shopkeeper Chen, and couldn't help laughing: "What are you crying about Daddy Chen, it's not that I won't come back, and I don't mean to move away, I'm just going to visit my relatives." ”

Shopkeeper Chen was about to burst into tears, but when he heard this, he burst into laughter, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe, and it took a long time to ease up.

"What do you mean, you're not going to move out?" Shopkeeper Chen asked.

"Hmm." The boy nodded.

"What about your father?" Shopkeeper Chen looked around the young man and asked.

"He left a month ago, saying that he had something to deal with and that he had to go on a long trip." Li Tianhua said with a smile.

Shopkeeper Chen said with a smile: "Brother Richeng can have anything serious to do, it's nothing more than drinking and engaging in women's ......."

Suddenly, he realized that his son was by his side, so he hurriedly stopped talking, his face flushed, and he looked at Li Tianhua apologetically.

The young man didn't care, and still smiled: "Over the years, I've been tired of Daddy Chen's care." After speaking, he stood up, bowed deeply to Shopkeeper Chen, and then turned to leave.

The old shopkeeper Chen's face turned red, and after a while, he came back to his senses, only to see the four guys under his hand all looking at him.

Shopkeeper Chen scolded with a smile: "Damn, what do you see, do your work!" ”

Shopkeeper Chen turned around, looked at the young man's back, and laughed: "Good boy, I have moved Daddy Chen." You, kid, will definitely have a great future in the future. ”

At the same time as Li Tianhua set off for Xihezhou City, the middle-aged man came to the vast northwest desert. This place is deserted, there is no grass, and it is a bleak scene.

After the middle-aged man determined his location, he plunged headlong into the endless desert. In just an instant, his figure disappeared into the yellow sand.