In front of me is the only two-storey building in the deserted town, like standing out from the crowd in this depressed small village and town, and like a cocoon standing alone in this desolate land.

A small flag was hung on the second floor, embroidered with the word "wine", and when the wind blew, it was displayed in the sunset.

There was silence all around, no human voices at all, and no roosters and dogs barking.

Looking around, the surrounding houses seem to have long been inhabited, and if they have been left for a long time, the dust has accumulated.

It is called a small town because when you look up, you can see an empty market not far ahead. But now, there are only a few tattered and abandoned empty stalls left in this market, and there is no one to be seen, desolate and old.

Looking up at the door of this restaurant, there is no plaque, and I don't know the name.

There is a small backyard with an earthen wall at the back. Gao Ming was a restless person, and when he looked before, he deliberately jumped up and looked at the backyard, where several horses were being placed in the stable.

Gao Ming pondered in his heart, could it be that he was staying here? In this remote border of the disaster area, could it be that there are still people who have the financial resources to travel on horseback?

The courtyard door is half-open and half-hidden, but the store door is closed, and the door of the inn is always open, after all, it is not too late at the moment.

Gao Ming pushed open the courtyard door and led the horse into the small courtyard. There was no one in the courtyard, Gao Ming didn't go deeper, just at the door, knocked on the courtyard door.

I waited for a while, but I still didn't see any movement in the yard.

Gao Ming wondered.

Looking at this inn, although it is old, it is obviously different from the uninhabited houses next to it, and you can clearly see traces of human activity. What's more, there are still a few horses in the backyard, so it's impossible that there is no one inside.

He knocked on the courtyard door again.

Still no one showed up.

Gao Ming's ears are sharp, and he can hear the footsteps of someone in the store. However, the sound of footsteps rang eagerly for a while, and then stopped, but no one came out.

Gao Ming was impatient, and finally knocked on the courtyard door.

After a while, another sound of eager footsteps sounded. Then, soon, the door of the store "creaked" and opened a small crack.

A young man came out of the door, and when he came out, he gently closed the door of the store.

Gao Ming led the horse into the courtyard.

The guy greeted him with a smile and said with a smile: "Guest officer, I'm really sorry, the shop is full today, I'm really sorry!"

Gao Ming frowned and looked at the sunset on the horizon, the sky was still bright.

It's full at this time?

Gao Ming didn't say much, and it was not for nothing that he had been in a hurry overnight.

Gao Ming said, "Okay then. I don't live in the store anymore, so what's there to eat in this store?"

The young man smiled and said, "I'm really sorry, guest officer, there is no meat in the store, I'm really sorry." ”

Gao Ming said: "No meat? ”

The guy smiled, this time it was a real smile: "Vegetarian, then there is no more!"

"Huh?" Gao Ming frowned and glanced at the guy suspiciously.

This reason is too far-fetched, isn't it? If you don't want to entertain us, just say it, and the reason won't be better.

Gao Ming turned around and led the horse to leave.

At this time, suddenly another person came out of the store and shouted, "Hey, please stay!"

Gao Ming turned around and asked, "What?"

The person who came out was a fat middle-aged man.

I only heard the man say: "I don't know if the guest officer is a sharp boy or a hotel?"

Gao Ming said impatiently: "Isn't your store full, haven't you eaten yet?

The man turned his head and glared at the fellow, and said, "Boy, don't you want me to keep this shop open?"

The guy looked aggrieved: "You didn't make me ......"

The middle-aged fat man scolded, "Shut up!"

The young man pursed his mouth aggrievedly and did not speak.

Then, the middle-aged fat man smiled at Gao Ming and said, "Guest officer, this kid is talking nonsense, you don't care about him." There is space in the store and can stay in the store. ”

Gao Ming asked, "Do you have anything to eat?"

The middle-aged fat man said, "Then how could it not be? I just slaughtered a good fat sheep today, and the cooked mutton in the small shop is a must!"

Gao Ming pursed his dry lips and said, "It's hot, I want to eat something vegetarian." ”

The middle-aged fat man suddenly looked embarrassed and said, "This, I'm afraid it's gone." ”

But in a blink of an eye, he smiled again and said, "The guest officer can go in and have a look first!"

Gao Ming nodded, handed the reins to the young man, and ordered, "Feed some good forage." ”

The young man was puzzled: "How can this ......?"

The middle-aged fat man scolded, "Go quickly." ”

The young man shut up and led the horse to the backyard.

Gao Ming saw all this in his eyes, and he didn't break it, and it was a big deal to feed the horse himself when the time came.

The middle-aged fat man bent down and stretched out his hand to lead, and said, "Guest officer, please!"

Gao Ming nodded, pulled down his hood, walked towards the inn, and pushed the door into the store.

Push the door, ho, a hand of ash!

The floor of the house was also dusty, and it seemed that the people in this small inn were not very diligent and did not clean very much.

So, can you still eat the food in this store?

There are a few tables in the lobby, and there is a wooden staircase leading to the second floor, which is a guest room.

The tables in the lobby were only hastily wiped down. Gao Ming even saw that there were traces of oil on a table.

Gao Ming walked over and looked at the oil on the table.

The middle-aged fat man took the rag with great eyesight, wiped it vigorously on the table, and then looked at Gao Ming's expression nervously.

Seeing that Gao Ming's expression was indifferent from beginning to end, he saw that the table was wiped clean, so he bent down and reached out on the chair and scratched his fingers, then stretched his fingers in front of his eyes and twisted the stains wiped off between his fingers.

The middle-aged fat man quickly wiped Gao Ming's chair again.

Seeing that Gao Ming finally sat down, the middle-aged fat man was relieved.

The middle-aged fat man said with a smile: "Guest officer, don't worry, fresh mutton, it's still being processed, it will be fine soon, stay a little longer." ”

Gao Ming nodded, and didn't say much.

The fat man saw that Gao Ming didn't have any instructions, served tea, and went to sit down behind the counter. didn't do anything, just sat bored, looking up at Gao Ming from time to time.

I saw that this young man was rare to endure, and sat there calmly waiting for the mutton, without the slightest impatience.

Gao Ming is indeed not in a hurry. Anyway, I want to stay in the store, so it's good to sit in this lobby instead of waiting.

It's just that what makes Gao Ming strange is that he has himself in the lobby, and there is not a single guest?

I used to see that there were horses in the backyard. And the young man said at first that it was full. But this lobby is so deserted, and there is no one?

It's still early, so you can't go to bed so early, right?

Gao Ming's eyes swept over the floor in front of the table, only to see that there were traces of cleaning on that ground. When I noticed it, the traces of cleaning were still quite conspicuous in this lobby that was never cleaned.

Gao Ming roughly had a scene in his mind, someone knocked over the mutton, knocked it from the table to the ground, and the oil stains were poured from the table to the ground. Then the shopkeeper hastily wiped the table so that it was shiny, and then swept the floor to reveal a trace.

And these should have happened a short time ago, probably left by the previous group of guests, or the owners of the horses in the backyard.

It seems that the table at which he is sitting is the same table where the previous group of guests were sitting.

So, are they tired from the journey and go to rest early?

Gao Ming turned his head to look around, but "very coincidentally" found that from under his chair, there was a trail of dragging, and the dust on the ground seemed to have been wiped by a mop, and the traces extended all the way up the wooden stairs upstairs.

This...... It's kind of interesting.

Drunk? Don't believe it.

Gao Ming's face was impassive, and he shouted to the back of the counter: "Boss, do you have any wine?"

The boss seemed to hesitate for a moment and said, "I'm really sorry, guest officer, the wine in the small shop is sold out." ”

Gao Ming's heart became strange.

He could still vividly recall the worn-out flag with the word "wine" embroidered on it that he had seen outside.

Gao Ming didn't say much, his eyes looked around the store with a little uneasiness, his eyes wandering.

Just as Gao Ming decided to get up and leave, the back kitchen shouted, "The mutton is here!"

A plate of boiled mutton was brought to Gao Ming.

The mutton looks very delicious, but the knife work is really bad. In addition, the mutton is sprinkled with a lot of onions and garlic, and he frowns when he sees it. I have already expected that after this bite, the taste of onion and garlic will be straight to the nose.

The middle-aged fat man frowned when he saw Gao Ming, and explained with a smile: "The flavor on our side is like this, it looks scary, but in fact, the taste is excellent." Guest, you can try it first. ”

Gao Ming raised his chopsticks and looked at the mutton in front of him, always a little uneasy, and couldn't get off the chopsticks.

Thinking of the traces he saw earlier, Gao Ming shook his head, put down his chopsticks, and said, "If you don't eat, the food money will still be given to you, and I'll leave." ”

With that, get up and go.

The middle-aged fat man stretched out his hand behind him and shouted, "Hey, guest officer, it's so late, you have a hotel!"

Gao Ming shook his head and pushed the door out: "Don't live in the store, hurry up." ”

When he pushed the door, Gao Ming's ear suddenly caught a small sound, coming from the second floor.

The sound was small, just the sound of a palm tapping against the wooden floor.

It's hard to notice. Even if someone notices, they're likely to think they've misheard.

However, Gao Ming is different. It's been so long, and he has a lot of trust in his "Juewei".

But......

Gao Ming silently thought in his heart: Don't be nosy!

Pushing the door out, the corner of his eye inadvertently swept over the counter, and there was an earring on the counter.

There's no sign of a hostess in this shop, right?

Gao Ming shook his head and said silently: No matter what!

Go out and go.

A young man's voice came from outside the door: "Guest officer, who are you?"

Then came a loud voice: "Man, lead me to the horse!"

"Guest, are you leaving?"

"Hmm. Don't talk nonsense, go lead the horse! If you don't go, I'll go myself!"

"Don't, I'll lead you the horse!"