357 Chapter 11, Yorkshire

The sky is getting bright, and the first dew has not yet condensed. Fully dressed Hoffa boarded the train from London to Yorkshire. After leaving London, the train rumbles through country fields.

Hoffa sat on the red leather seat and looked out the window. The licorice fields flying by in the morning light always gave him headaches. It seemed that somewhere and at any time, he had sat in the train like this. Sitting with a girl.

The girl on the opposite side put her legs crossed and straight on the table, with the soles of her feet facing him, her upper body paralyzed on the bed, reading a third-rate novel, she had no image at all. Fortunately, this is a sleeper car, only the two of them are there, and no one else sees it.

Hoffa still didn't know the girl's name. Of course, he had asked several times, but the girl didn't answer him. Whenever he asked about his name, the girl either changed the subject to prevaricate, or sneered and didn't answer. Over time, Hoffa gave up the idea of ​​asking.

Most of the time in the carriage was simple and boring. Apart from sleeping, Hoffa ate, or endured a headache and watched the scenery outside the window. This kind of life lasted until the next morning.

When the conductor's voice reminded her of her arrival at the station, the girl who had been reading finally threw away the third-rate detective novel in her hand, patted the biscuit crumbs on her clothes, stood up, and briefly said to Hoffa, "Lead the way."

Hoffa took the girl away from the train, and they were on a small platform less than ten square meters at the moment. Behind me are harvested wheat fields and licorice fields, all of which are withered and yellow. On the field, there are yellow grass rolls piled up at intervals.

Except for the passing railway, there are only dirt paths in the countryside.

On the platform, a dilapidated street sign creaked in the wind, with small rusty words on it - Welcome to Moulton.

Standing in this completely unfamiliar place, Hoffa was at a loss for a while. The surrounding area was so deserted that no one could be seen.

The girl tidied up her cuffs, and said casually, "Look for it. Mr. Bach, if possible, I hope to have the pudding before dark."

"pudding?"

"Yorkshire puddings are famous, don't you know?"

The girl asked coldly.

Hoffa could hear a hint of sarcasm in the girl's tone, yes, this place looks desolate, it doesn't look like a place with people at all, let alone pudding.

But he still remembered the location the soldier told him, Yorkshire, the small town of Moulton, on the bank of the Dewater River, the farm.

River. Farm

Perhaps, Hoffa thought, he could find the river and follow it until he found the farm.

He opened his pocket watch to check the time and photos, then he closed the pocket watch and turned to enter the uneven dirt road in the countryside. Compared with the outskirts of London, which is full of ruins, this place looks much neater. At least the shape of the wheat field is still intact, and it seems that it has not been ruthlessly ravaged by the flames of war.

The two walked along the field, climbed up the low hillside, determined the location of the river, passed through the low bushes, waded through the dry riverbed, and finally came to a small flowing river.

Water conservancy projects built hundreds of years ago stand on the river. These stone buildings are still working as hard as they were when they were built, but there are no people.

As the river gradually deepened into this land, Hoffa's brows became more and more wrinkled. On both sides of the river, he could indeed see some stone houses, but these houses seemed to have been abandoned, and even the windmills and waterwheels by the river had stopped turning, like a middle-aged man who had lost his fantasy, lifeless.

In the end, he came to a farm by the river with a mill and a small stone house. Facing the stone mill, Hoffa took out a pocket watch. The background behind the photo of the woman on the pocket watch was this building surrounded by weeds. The photos are different. The building has already collapsed and decayed with the passage of time. Looking in through the cracked wooden windows, the house is mostly abandoned furniture and cobwebs.

The farm in the country is still there, but the people on the farm have left.

Frustrated by this, Hoffa went to the river and sat down, rubbing his hair and thinking about what he should do. But after thinking for a long time, he was helpless. If the people are gone, how can he complete the task?

The girl saw Hoffa's worry, she walked up to Hoffa, and gently put her palm on his shoulder.

Hoffa looked at her blankly, and the girl said, "It's okay, we will definitely find someone."

Hoffa pointed at the abandoned village in front of him, without speaking.

But the girl pulled him to the dirt road by the river, pointed to the marks on the dirt road and said, "Look at the ruts on the ground, it's still the traces of a jeep. It's very new. That means someone must have been here."

Hoffa looked along the girl's fingers, and he saw a faint rut on the ground. He reached out and touched it, then stood up, and cheered up: "You are right, there must be someone here. Let's follow the rut!"

So they walked along the rutted dirt road, and not far away, they saw a moving black spot at the end of the road. Hoffa was very excited, and he took the girl and ran towards the black spot under the sun.

Finally, they came to the location of the black spot, which turned out to be a moving truck. The truck is full of wheat and licorice, and a group of women are sitting on the golden wheat pile, talking and laughing along with the truck.

Seeing the group of women, Hoffa waved his arms excitedly under the truck and shouted, "Hey, wait a minute, please wait!"

The driver of the truck was a muscular middle-aged woman smoking a cigarette and wearing work gloves. She looked at Hoffa on the side of the road and slowly stopped the truck. The women on the card also poked their heads out curiously, looking at this strange visitor.

Hoffa caught up with the truck in three steps and two steps, and stood on the dirt road and said to the woman on the truck: "Excuse me, I'm here to find a family." He opened his pocket watch and said to the woman on the truck: "Excuse me, who do you have?" know this family."

The distance is too far, and the woman cannot see the pocket watch clearly. But they could see the face of the boy on the dirt road, the sweat dripping from chasing the truck glistened on his forehead, his not-so-remarkable facial features seemed sincere because of a touch of anxiety, he held up his pocket watch, waiting for a response.

A woman stooped to pick up the pocket watch in Hoffa's hand, and passed it around in the truck. Hoffa retreated to the girl and waited quietly.

Suddenly, there was an exclamation from the truck.

"ah!"

Someone shouted: "How did you have this pocket watch?"

With an exclamation, a girl in her twenties leaned out from the edge of the truck and looked at Hoffa on the dirt road. She has a healthy tan and wears a straw hat with a yellow bow and a khaki dress. She looked somewhat similar to the woman in the photo, but much younger.

Hoffa was slightly taken aback when he saw her appearance, but soon determined that she was not the person he was looking for, so he asked, "Excuse me, do you know the person on the pocket watch?"

"She's my sister Tina!"

The girl said excitedly, "Why do you have this pocket watch?"

When Hoffa heard that he had found the relative of the soldier, he couldn't help but heaved a long sigh of relief, and was just about to answer. The female truck driver with a cigarette stuck her head out of the cab, and said impatiently: "If you want to talk about getting in the car, I'm busy delivering wheat, so I don't have time for you guys to chat on the road!"

The girl on the truck came back to her senses, and quickly said to Hoffa, "Can we get in the car and have a chat?"

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand to Hoffa on the truck's wheat pile.

Hoffa grabbed the girl's hand. The girl should often do farm work, her palms are a little rough, and she has great strength. This pull unexpectedly pulled Hoffa onto the truck with ease.

After Hoffa got into the car, he turned around to pull the girl who had been following him. But when she turned around, she saw the girl's cold eyes. She ignored Hoffa's outstretched hand, pulled the hinge of the truck compartment and jumped onto the haystack with ease.

Hoffa, who was ignored, touched his nose embarrassingly, and had no choice but to withdraw his hand.

Before he could stand still, the truck started again and drove forward along the potholed dirt road.

After pulling the railing, Hoffa wobbled and stood firmly on the truck, the girl who pulled him into the truck couldn't wait to say: "My name is Susanna, may I ask who you are?"

"Hoffa. From London."

Hoffa said loudly over the roar of the truck.

"How do you have this watch, Hoffa?" Susannah asked.

Hoffa told the girl named Susanna in detail about the wounded soldier he encountered in London.

After listening, Suzanne was a little sad. She said: "Most men in the town have similar fates. It is not easy for brother-in-law to return the watch. I really hope my sister will not be too sad after hearing this."

"Is your sister okay?" Hoffa asked.

"she's fine."

Susannah wiped the corners of her eyes and said.

"There's no one left in the town."

Hoffa shouted, gripping the iron railing on the truck.

"We moved out."

Susannah said, and she handed the pocket watch back, "Since brother-in-law gave you the pocket watch, it's up to you to give it to sister. You are a trustworthy person, and I will take you to see sister."

Hoffa held on to the railing with one hand and reached for his pocket watch with the other.

Seeing him tossing around, Susannah gathered her skirt and moved it to the side to make room for him.

"Sit here." She said, "Standing will make you motion sick."

Hoffa smiled and just wanted to thank the other party. But another slender hand casually stretched out and took the pocket watch from Susanna's hand. The girl who had been following Hoffa stood up at some point. She took the pocket watch, and unceremoniously sat beside Susanna on the haystack prepared for Hoffa.

She said calmly: "You're right, Suzanne, it's easy to get motion sickness while standing, especially for women, isn't it?"

Only then did Susannah see the shoulder-length girl with chestnut hair.

She was too silent before, causing no one to pay attention to her.

The girl crossed her legs on the wheat pile, leaned comfortably on the truck, shook the pocket watch and said, "Let me give the pocket watch to your sister. If this kind of excitement is too exciting, don't let careless people compare it." Well, what do you think, Monsieur Bach?"

Hoffa couldn't find a reason to refuse, so what else could he say, he could only acquiesce to the other party's request. However, there was always something unclear in the girl's eyes, so he turned his head, not wanting to meet the girl's gaze.

But there were eyes everywhere in the truck, and when he turned his head, he saw several elderly women in long skirts looking at him. The old women smiled at him with missing teeth, and each sat on both sides, revealing the haystack in the middle, The meaning is obvious.

"Thanks."

Hoffa smiled awkwardly, put his legs together, and sat down carefully.

"Are you all living in the village now?"

The girl put her hands on the pillow, crossed her legs, and asked naturally.

"The men in the village have all left. We have now moved to the nearby Marlton Castle. The people there can provide us with some shelter," Susanna said.

"Come back to cut the wheat when the farming is busy?"

the girl asked.

"Yes." Susannah replied.

On the other side, Hoffa was dangling along with the vehicle on the haystack. The old woman beside him enthusiastically poured a cup of tea for Hoffa and handed it over.

"No, no, I'm not thirsty." Hoffa said gratefully.