"Ding-ling-ling—"
The noise of the alarm clock woke Yu Mengzhou up suddenly. He turned over with difficulty and reached out to the bedside table with sleepy eyes. He searched for several times before he pressed the screen of his mobile phone and turned off the alarm.
I will never stay up late again. He sat up half asleep and half awake, leaning against the head of the bed listlessly. It was really terrible to disrupt his biological clock. He still had a big job to do today...
He dozed off sleepily for a while, until the second alarm rang five minutes later. Yu Mengzhou threw off the blanket and straightened his body as if he had been electrocuted.
No, go wash your face first, otherwise it will be sealed in ** and can't get up.
It was summer, and the sky got bright early. He walked through the small rental house, where he had not yet packed his luggage, and went to the bathroom to wash up. He had just settled down in this small town, and there were still a lot of furniture waiting to be moved.
After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Yu Mengzhou went to the breakfast shop downstairs and ordered a bowl of soy milk and two fried dough sticks.
"I want a large portion of tofu pudding, no cilantro, more vinegar and chili!"
"Okay!"
The kitchen hasn't been tidied up yet, but luckily the fried dough sticks in this shop are very chewy. They are hot out of the pan and are crispy and fragrant. Paired with the mellow and sweet soy milk and the sour, spicy and smooth tofu pudding, it is indeed a pleasant breakfast.
Just after finishing his meal, Yu Mengzhou received a call from Master Hu.
"Xiao Yu!" Master Hu said with a thick accent, "Are you up?"
Yu Mengzhou took out the key to open the door and said with a smile: "I just finished breakfast and was about to go back to get the box."
"Oh, I was planning to have you come to my house for a meal, and then we'd go together." Master Hu gently complained to him, "Then let's meet up at the livestock station, and ride on that little motorcycle of yours. The work these two days is going to be tough!"
Yu Mengzhou held the phone between his shoulders and began to put on his coat: "I know! However, I only heard that there are big horse farms willing to take over the horses there. Let's wait and see what the specific situation is."
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and Yu Mengzhou hung up the phone, squatted down, and pulled out his neat and new tool box from under the sofa. Before leaving, he had to open the box again and check the hoof trimming tools inside.
Single- and double-edged hoof trimmers, hoof cutters, hoof clippers, hoof files… OK, spare bandages and medicines are also in there, hoof oil, hoof brushes? Yes, that’s in there too.
He was about to close the box, and when his thumb stroked the intact lock, for some reason, Yu Mengzhou felt a little dazed and subtly detached.
It feels like... like you look around your familiar living environment, your bed, your tables and chairs, and you suddenly become dazed. You see the bright morning sun, but you feel like an outsider and lose your direction for a moment.
"Why do I remember..." Yu Mengzhou frowned in confusion, "Did the box break once? Is it an illusion, or..."
Indeed, in his memory, there was a vague corner that was slightly turning, telling him: On some day in some unknown year, his toolbox was really broken. Its edges should not be so straight, and its surface should not be so flat and smooth. It used to have many scratches and dents, and the switch sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. It took some effort to ensure that the box was really closed and could accompany him on his long journeys.