Chapter 6
Driving at night is too dangerous; if you puncture another tire, there's no spare to replace it with.
After test driving, Fang Xiaoyu parked on the side of the road, intending to spend the night there. She decided that unless there were special circumstances, it would be best to drive less at night in the future.
As for the small goal I set before, I'll change it to using one bucket every two to three days.
She cooked a bowl of porridge in an electric kettle, paired it with her mother's cooking, and added two small bags of snacks. Apart from being outdoors, she felt completely satisfied, both physically and mentally.
After all that fuss, I'm all sticky again. And it's been a day, so I should probably take a shower and wash my hair.
There was only bare, cold, hard ground in front and behind, no houses to shelter the view, no separate bathroom, and not enough hot water, only a small electric kettle in the car.
Fang Xiaoyu just used it to cook a bowl of porridge, and there's still half a pot left. She plans to boil hot water in it after eating, so she won't even have to wash the pot.
Thinking of this, she almost burst out laughing.
How come things are getting worse and worse as I keep going?
However, she scratched her head and came up with an idea.
There are scissors in the car, aren't there?
Cutting all my hair, into a buzz cut or a shaved head, reduced my worries by half and my need for water by half.
This is a reasonable approach to solving the problem.
But when she actually held the scissors in her hand and grabbed a handful of shoulder-length hair, her mind was filled with memories of the hardships she had endured in caring for and maintaining her hair, and of her mother braiding her hair when she was a child.
Finally, she sighed softly and put the scissors back into the glove box.
Forget it, it's not that time yet. Spring is rainy, so let's just be patient for a few more days. Once it rains, the problem will be solved.
However, the weather was not cooperating. For the next few days, the sun shone brightly, with hardly a cloud in sight and no rain falling.
Fang Xiaoyu endured it all, and after a week, she was so obsessed that she was even scratching her head in her dreams when she saw a luxury car passing by.
Judging from the weight of the tires, she deduced that the car must have been carrying a lot of good stuff, including excess water and oil.
After some internal deliberation, he decided to exchange instant noodles and sausages for some water.
If they absolutely refuse, then switch to smoked meat and sausages.
Having made up her mind and indicating that she was harmless, she stopped by the roadside, waved at the luxury car, and shouted, "Sincere transaction! Food for water!"
Unexpectedly, the owner of the luxury car, who looked respectable, had a wicked heart. Not only did he not slow down, but he also snorted and rolled down his window as he passed by, making a threatening gesture at her.
Fang Xiaoyu watched the other person leave, silently taking out the scissors she had been using for self-defense from behind her back, feeling somewhat unhappy.
What about trust between people?
There were no roadblocks or broken glass.
Is that not enough to demonstrate sincerity in wanting to make a deal?
Even trading a bottle of water would be fine.
Unfortunately, everyone else has long since disappeared, even the exhaust fumes have dissipated into the air, and her true thoughts can no longer be heard.
Five days passed quickly.
Fang Xiaoyu encountered a taxi while driving.
She used the same trick again, but this time she didn't get out of the car. She just slowed down, rolled down the window, and shouted that she wanted to make a deal with someone.
However, as soon as she shouted, she noticed that the taxi was empty in the front and back and that the driver's eyes were glowing green. She quickly stepped on the gas and tried to escape. She was chased for over a hundred miles before she managed to escape because the other party suddenly disappeared.
Two unpleasant experiences led her to temporarily abandon her plans to trade with others.
It seems all the luck she had accumulated in the past was just to help her meet the "mentor" couple.
Three more days passed.
The water in the back seat of the white car had been mostly used up due to eating and drinking, and there was still no rain in the sky, nor had they encountered a second service area.
Fang Xiaoyu drove with greasy hair, her face sullen, clearly unhappy. But she'd endured it all this time; if she cut her hair now, wouldn't all her suffering have been for nothing?
With this idea in mind, and by wiping her scalp with wet wipes, she persisted for a full 17 days. Because she couldn't sleep through the night, she would always wake up in the middle of the night clutching her head, and she became extremely irritable.
It's so irritable that it can start arguing with even a mouse that walks by.
However, the slightly overcast sky on this day barely kept her delicate rationality afloat.
The long-awaited second spring rain will finally fall sooner or later.
Fang Xiaoyu never expected that before the heavenly rain would fall, she would first receive a windfall.
Around noon, she spotted an industrial cart in the middle of the road.
A red string was tied to the handle, and the broken end of the string was frayed.
Ten buckets of water were neatly stacked on the cart.
Ten buckets of water!
It's not bottled; one bucket is equivalent to two cases of bottled water.
Wow, wow, wow, I'm rich!
Fang Xiaoyu jumped off the car with a cry and rushed to the cart, clinging to the water bucket and refusing to let go.
She can not only wash hair, but she can wash it twice!
Regardless of which little darling lost the water, she sincerely thanked him/her!
Upon seeing this batch of water, Fang Xiaoyu could no longer suppress her desire. She couldn't wait even a second longer, and even if the spring rain fell the next moment, it wouldn't stop her urge to use the water right now.
She dragged the cart back to the car quickly, first giving the hardworking electric kettle a massage and a bath, then humming a song as she boiled ten kettles of water, adding cold water to adjust the temperature, and thoroughly washing her long, flowing hair.
After pouring out three basins of dirty water, feeling the refreshing sensation on my scalp and smelling the long-lost fragrance of my hair, tears welled up in my eyes.
He's finally alive!
Just as she finished washing her hair and was enjoying the natural breeze, the belated spring rain finally began to fall.
Fang Xiaoyu took out an umbrella from the side of the door, opened it, and placed empty buckets, empty water bottles, folding buckets, electric kettles, and porcelain bowls on the roadside to collect rainwater. Then she took a deep breath into the humid air.
New problems then arose.
She wants to take a bath, but does she have to do it outdoors?
It's still daytime, what if a passing vehicle comes by?
She looked around, thinking about things that might come in handy.
A trash can? It's too short.
The car door? Opening it creates an angle that can be utilized.
The umbrella was wedged above the car door, blocking the rain from overhead and also obscuring any view from above.
A black plastic bag without a tear can be used to make a simple barrier by wrapping it around halfway, and it can be reused to hold garbage after recycling.
Hanging dirty clothes on the car window provides better privacy and allows for a quick wash.
The privacy film on the car windows needs special attention, especially the windshield; use more garbage bags to cover it up.
You don't have to take off all your clothes at once; take them off as you go to wash them, and wear them back on as you go after washing them. This makes it easier to adapt to different situations.
feasible.
Fang Xiaoyu carefully considered the details. The kettle was now filled with rainwater, clear and clean, with no odor.
While boiling water in the rain, she used the car body as a cover to create a small space, with half of her movement space inside the car and the other half outside.
Before the electric kettle stopped working, the collapsible bucket was already filled with enough hot water.
Worried that a car might suddenly appear, she quickly washed herself in the small, enclosed space, mixing the rainwater with the mud, and before the spring rain stopped, she washed her clothes, wrung them out, shook them out, folded them into balls, and put them in a bag, planning to take them out to air dry when the weather cleared up.
That night, she finally put on a clean set of pajamas and drifted off to sleep feeling refreshed and comfortable.
The electric kettle with its base almost smoking from the heat: at such a young age, it bears an unbearable burden.
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