Fenglin County, located 40 miles from Guanjia Village, governs six townships and 22 communes. Guanjia Village, also known as Xiangyang Brigade, belongs to Qianyang Township, which has three people's communes, including Dongfeng People's Commune, which has four production brigades.
The captain of Xiangyang Brigade had just been transferred a few days ago, and the township had not yet sent anyone to elect him, so the village chief temporarily took charge of both the production team and the village affairs.
A little over four miles east of Guanjia Village leads to Qianyang Township, home to Dongfeng Commune. The oxcart didn't stop, but continued east until Fenglin County. The road was entirely dirt, with gravel roads appearing only about five or six miles from the county seat. The dirt road was fine when it wasn't raining, but when it did, it felt like concrete.
Fenglin County is a historic county, rich in natural resources and nestled amidst the vast Daqing Mountains. During the three years of natural disasters, people sought food in the mountains and rivers, resulting in very few deaths from starvation. This geographical advantage of both mountains and rivers has helped maintain a moderate standard of living in the county, and even from a distance, the county boasts a relatively large number of small buildings.
The outskirts of the county town are dotted with adobe houses and some illegal structures. The further you go in, the more imposing the houses become, large brick and tiled buildings, neatly arranged in rows, looking quite impressive. Gravel roads stretch straight in all directions. Living in the county town naturally gives one a sense of superiority over the old peasants who toil in the fields, which is probably the main reason why village girls are so eager to marry into the city.
The main road in the city isn't very wide, about two lanes wide. The trees on both sides of the road have lost their leaves, leaving them bare, silently watching over the city, waiting for the coming spring to bring it back to life.
Uncle Qi parked his ox cart in a big cart shop on the roadside leading to the county town. People from nearby villages would park their ox carts there.
The inn was essentially a large courtyard surrounded by a mud wall, providing a resting place for livestock and a small room for people. During this season, a large, warm kang (kang bed) was heated. The main means of transportation in each village were ox-drawn and horse-drawn carriages. The driver would enter the county town and drive the carriage to the inn. The passengers would disembark and go about their business. The driver would then go inside to rest and wait until the passengers had finished their business before returning together.
They definitely couldn't go back today and needed to stay. Guan's father paid the innkeeper for Uncle Qi's accommodation for today and two days' meals, a total of 35 cents and 4 taels of food coupons. They should try to come back early tomorrow afternoon.
After arranging things for the old man, the three of them left the inn, asked the boss for the bus route, and walked towards the bus.
Not far west of Dachedian is the starting point of the city bus line 1. It should not be departure time at this time. There are several passengers waiting to board the old bus. The conductor is sitting on the seat next to the door, looking outside the bus impatiently.
After waiting in line for about two or three minutes, they were finally allowed on the bus. The trio were still wearing the patched-up clothes they wore before the split, looking sallow and thin, like African refugees. The conductor didn't even bother to glance at them, and asked arrogantly, "Where are you going?"
Guan's father asked, "Comrade, we want to go to the department store. Which stop should we get off at?"
"5 cents per person at the department store."
Well, it’s like not asking!
After taking the two cents from Mr. Guan, the ticket seller quickly marked three notes on the ticket clip with a pen, tore them off and handed them to Mr. Guan together with the change.
The ticket was light green with the words "Fenglin County City Bus" printed on it. There were numbers on the top row, 1 to 10, and 11 to 20 on the bottom row. All three tickets had a line drawn at 12. I guess the 12th stop was the department store.
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