The sun faded away and the temperature quickly dropped. The residual heat rubbed back and forth between the gravel, but it was no longer so hot.
Fu Yunge saw the location marked on the map and breathed a sigh of relief. He took off the leather bag from his waist and shook it, but there wasn't much water left.
Looking back towards the direction of the setting sun, the huge red disk gradually sank, and the purple-red sunset magnificently rendered the entire sky.
The sand sea became solemn at this time, and under the reflected night, the gray sand dunes looked like blood-stained giants.
Fu Yunge looked at the vast path and felt a little inexplicably moved.
He lowered his head and looked carefully at the name of this place...
Shabi Village.
"..."
Fu Yunge was speechless. Such a beautiful artistic conception is completely tainted by this seemingly disharmonious place name.
He turned his head to observe this village that loves self-deprecation so much. But as far as the eye can see, the village not far away is more desolate than the previous oasis.
The decaying withered grass has a long and slanted white waist. Several trees that seemed to be Populus euphratica had long since died, their bodies twisted and cracked tragically.
Under the dusk, the scene in front of me had a rather miserable feeling.
Fu Yunge looked at the place name again and saw that he was right, Shabi Village.
He didn't know whether to cry or laugh, but he still walked towards the village with complicated feelings.
The houses in the village are also old and can even be described as ruins. The houses made of broken wooden boards now had many loopholes, and the night wind carried the sand and could break in at will.
He knocked on a door. After a long time, the rusty door hinge squeaked strangely, and then someone came to open the door for him.
The door opened. Fu Yunge took a closer look and saw that the person who opened the door was an old and frail old man.
The old man was not surprised by the unexpected arrival. He just rubbed the corners of his eyes, turned around and entered the house without saying a word, allowing Fu Yunge to enter.
Seeing that the old man had a weird temper, Fu Yunge didn't say anything more. He followed him into the house and quietly closed the door.
There was a small stove in the center of the room, and the kettle on it was boiling, steaming out.
Fu Yunge saw a clay pot on the table, and a coarse porcelain water glass next to it, both of which were cracked. He helped the old man lift the hot water and poured it into the clay pot containing water.
The old man narrowed his eyes and looked at him, seemingly disinterested. Turning around and getting on the bed, Gulu turned sideways and stopped looking at him.
Fu Yunge didn't bother asking for trouble. He sat down in the corner farthest from the bed, opened his bag, took out the dry food and ate alone.
The room was quiet. Fu Yunge looked at the road he would take tomorrow through the cracks in the wall panel, chewing the food slowly.
In the desert at night, the stars are brilliant. The low-hanging star field is like broken diamonds, scattered everywhere, shining brightly.
The yellow sand of the sand sea echoes the stars, the whistling wind wanders in the low altitude, and the faint sound of the flute is blown among the sand valleys.
Fu Yunge was lost in thought when suddenly, the old man's voice came from behind him:
"You're going to the other side of the sand wall, right?"
Fu Yunge turned his head. He felt confused when he heard the old man ask: "The sand wall...on the other side?"
The dim oil lamp trembled and shimmered, and the old man's voice was as trembling as the light: "You don't know yet... Yes, you were lucky today and didn't see the sand wall..."
Fu Yunge turned around and got closer to the old man: "Excuse me, what does the sand wall refer to?"
The old man turned over and said solemnly: "You don't know?"
Fu Yunge had never heard of a sand wall. He took out the map and looked at it carefully, and then he discovered that not far from Shabi Village, there were several small crosses drawn with a red pen, which should mean danger.
"The sand wall... is a terrible disaster here."
The old man heard that he didn't make any move, so he guessed that he didn't know, so he told him in detail:
"The sand wall is a unique phenomenon that only appears in this area. When the sand wall rises, all the sand on the ground will fly into the air with the storm, forming a long sand wall reaching the sky."
Fu Yunge was greatly surprised. He quickly looked outside, but at this time, the desert was still sleeping in boundless silence.
"So, people here call it sand wall based on its appearance." The old man clapped his lips, as if he was a little thirsty. "No one knows when it will happen, but every time it appears, it will be very destructive."
Fu Yunge stood up and brought a glass of water to the old man. The old man turned over and drank, and then took a good look at him for the first time.
"Earlier, the sand walls were about once every half a month. But now, the sand walls are becoming more and more frequent." The old man lay back and shook his head bitterly, "Sooner or later, this village will be destroyed by it. But I am an old man. , even if I confess now, I still have enough to live."
Fu Yunge felt a little unbearable. He couldn't help but ask: "Why did you build a village here in the first place?"
The old man tilted his head, with a bitter smile on his old face: "Who wants to be here? In the early days, when sand walls rarely occurred, my father was a foot trader walking in the desert. There were several towns across from the sand walls, and we were responsible for them. Come and do business.”
"Later I succeeded my father, and the sand walls became more and more frequent. Once we unfortunately experienced a storm on the sand walls, and all the goods and grooms were destroyed. The only survivors of us had to stay here."
