Chapter 11
Unable to find the reason, Fang Xiaoyu temporarily kept the problem to herself.
A week later, near dusk, she encountered the service area again.
This was the fourth service area she had encountered.
The first service area had the most complete and abundant supplies, the second smelled bad, the third was okay and about the same as the first, and the fourth service area in front of us was bigger than the previous three and even had a small pharmacy!
However, the bag of medicine left by the kind person last time was quite complete, and it was clear that it contained the same medicine list as the two mentors.
Besides the addition of a small pharmacy, there are other highlights as well.
For example, the convenience store could have an extra floor, making it two floors in total, with each floor being more spacious. The first floor would mainly be for food, with several refrigerated and frozen display cases, as well as hot pot ingredients. The second floor would mainly consist of various daily necessities, and it would then be called a supermarket.
The repair shop is divided into two rooms: one for car washing and repair, and the other for showroom, which displays a wide variety of car electrical appliances, complete with instruction manuals.
The rest area is now much larger, with two floors and ten rooms on each floor—ten times the size of the previous service area. Each room still has its own bathroom. In addition to the public washbasins, there is now a public restroom outside.
Fang Xiaoyu was strolling to the second floor of the rest area when a room door opened, and an elderly man with silver hair peeked out and made eye contact with her.
After she smiled and gestured to him, the old man smiled back and locked the door again.
"Grandma?" A little girl on the bed rubbed her eyes, sat up, and asked, "Is Daddy back?"
"No, it was just an auntie passing by. Go back to sleep, Grandma will watch over you." The old woman tucked the blanket around the little girl and patted her gently twice.
"Um."
The little girl closed her eyes again, but the old man couldn't sleep anymore.
Fang Xiaoyu strolled around casually, making sure that apart from the elderly people who stayed in their rooms, there was no one else around. She then rubbed her hands together, eager to get to work.
First, remove all items from the car, then clean the car inside and out, and start changing the tires as instructed by Teacher Xiao.
After changing the tires, I changed the seats.
She had long felt back and leg pain after driving for a long time, and luckily there was a massage chair here, complete with installation instructions.
What are you waiting for? Change it!
Because she wasn't familiar with the chair, it took three hours to change it. Fang Xiaoyu wiped her sweat, took a quick look at it, and nodded in satisfaction. Thinking that the weather was getting warmer, she put a cooling mat on it. Perfect.
She had originally planned to finish everything in one go, but it was already a bit late, and she was worried that making too much noise while moving the car would disturb the elderly. Knowing that older people need less sleep, like her mother, she quickly gathered the supplies on the ground, locked the car, and found a clean room to rest.
Except for being woken up by nightmares in the middle of the night, I slept soundly until dawn.
Although the curtains blocked out the early morning sun, her biological clock still woke Fang Xiaoyu promptly at 6:15. She snuggled in the soft blankets, wanting to stay in bed forever, until she heard the voice of a strange child and sat bolt upright. Where did this child come from?
I drew back the curtains to check, but there were no unfamiliar vehicles. I opened the door, but there was no sound from inside.
She locked the door, brushed her teeth, and washed her face, reminding herself that thankfully there were no bad people around, and that she couldn't lose her bearings just because she saw a bed; she had to remain vigilant.
When she came out, there was no one there. Fang Xiaoyu didn't pursue the matter further, as long as everything was peaceful.
In the morning, she wasn't afraid of getting diarrhea from eating too much oily or spicy food. She went to the supermarket and made herself a small hot pot to satisfy her craving. She smacked her lips in delight as she returned to her car with a look of lingering satisfaction and continued working. She also decided to have hot pot for lunch.
We had Sichuan spicy hot pot for breakfast, so let's have pickled cabbage hot pot for lunch. Her mom's specialty is pickled cabbage fish. If we can't have fish, hot pot is just as good.
Slurp—just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
Fang Xiaoyu had a very fulfilling morning.
After replacing the floor mats, installing explosion-proof film, adding curtains to the interior, adding a luggage box to the roof, and performing maintenance, the little white car looks brand new.
Remembering the modification suggestions her teacher had given her when she was little, she stared at the back of her little white car and wondered if she should install one.
Without much hesitation, the light and sound of welding began, and by 2 p.m., the pretty little white car had already grown nails on its back.
Fang Xiaoyu glanced at it and thought, "How strange." She looked again and thought, "How ugly."
Quickly turn your head away and eat some pickled cabbage hot pot to cleanse your eyes.
She returned with a satisfied look on her face and reorganized the items she had cleared out, throwing away what needed to be thrown away, replacing what needed to be replaced, and keeping what needed to be kept.
I got a new electric kettle (old kettle: Listen to me, thank you), and I also got a thermos, a hair dryer, a rice cooker, and a car refrigerator.
Thinking of the tow rope my teacher used to have in his car, I felt it was a good idea, so I bought a roll of it too.
After tidying up, she drove her newly modified white car and parked it in front of the supermarket.
With nearly double the cargo space, I can shop to my heart's content.
I swept everything from the first floor—hot pot base, hot pot ingredients, noodles, biscuits, luncheon meat, beef jerky, sausages, bread, candy, tea bags, instant coffee, milk powder, chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, various canned goods, milk, juice, energy drinks, snacks—into my car.
The second floor is filled with everything: folding basins, bowls and chopsticks, towels, toothbrushes, socks, slippers, garbage bags... nothing is left out.
Folding tables and chairs? We have space, take them.
An opaque tablecloth? It's a bit of a waste of space to just use it as a tablecloth, but I can also use it in the shower, so I brought it.
A telescope? It doesn't take up much space, I'll keep it.
...Wait, she saw the portable toilet!
Different shapes, different colors, foldable, and even comes with a small tent! There's also a matching product next to it, something about a hardening and deodorizing agent? It's a small packet that expands and crystallizes when you add water; it's lighter than cat litter, takes up less space, and is easier to use!
This is paradise!
Fang Xiaoyu lovingly touched this and looked at that, finally choosing an adorable orange folding toilet and putting it in her shopping cart. She also grabbed a large bag of deodorizing and hardening agent, and walked with the stride of someone who thought, "I'm a millionaire."
We happily went on a shopping spree, buying anything that seemed useful. But when we got back to the car and started organizing, we realized we'd gone a bit overboard. Even an extra roof box wasn't enough.
She racked her brains and picked and chose, finally managing to stuff most of the things onto the roof and inside the car, and then filled the trunk with cans of oil. By then it was already midnight.
She ate too well during the day and wasn't hungry at night. She only ate a piece of bread before planning to go back and take a hot shower to relax. When she passed by a repair shop and saw an industrial cart, she remembered the surprise she had found in the middle of the road and a new idea suddenly flashed into her mind.
There are still many, many supplies here.
But most people are on the highway.
People often encounter situations where there is a shortage of water, food, daily necessities, and occasionally oil.
If you're stranded with little water and food, and suddenly find yourself with a large bag of supplies...
Without mentioning others, just talking about myself, if I were to encounter such a situation, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it would be a lifesaver.
If you start the trend, or if someone else has already started it, and others who find things follow suit, even if only one or two out of ten people do it, over the years, if everyone leaves supplies along the road, will anyone still suffer from thirst and hunger?
Fang Xiaoyu acted on her idea immediately.
I found three industrial carts, two large and one small, with a total quantity of 10, in a ratio of approximately 4:3:2:1. I packed water, food, daily necessities, and fuel, pushed the carts out of the service area, put everything down in the nearest emergency lane, and then pulled the empty carts back.
Knowing there were people around, she moved very quietly, only occasionally making some noise as she pushed the wheelchair across the pavement. The door to the old woman's room opened and closed several times, clearly indicating she hadn't fallen asleep either.
Fang Xiaoyu felt a little embarrassed for disturbing others' rest for two consecutive nights. When she finished her work and returned to the rest area, she hesitated in the corridor, wanting to go up and apologize, but worried that she might interrupt the sleepiness that others had worked so hard to cultivate. After hesitating for a while, she finally went back to her room.
I slept well all night.
When Fang Xiaoyu woke up from her sleep, she opened her eyes and was momentarily disoriented, unsure of where she was.
When consciousness returned to her body, she realized there were strangers outside, and suddenly became awake, sitting up abruptly and pulling back the curtains to look outside.
The open space was still occupied only by her white car, which had been modified to look fierce; there were no other vehicles nearby.
She breathed a sigh of relief and flopped back onto the bed, not getting up until nine o'clock.
This was the first time I'd slept so comfortably. After waking up, I stretched out in bed and rolled around a couple of times in front of the sun-scented blanket before getting up to wash up.
While eating breakfast, she saw the child who hadn't shown up before, followed by an elderly man with silver hair whom she had seen before.
The little girl was very well-behaved; she even greeted her mother warmly, saying, "Hello, Auntie."
Fang Xiaoyu patted her head: "Good morning, taking a walk with Grandma?"
The little girl shook her head: "Not grandma, but maternal grandma, my mom's mom."
Fang Xiaoyu quickly corrected her: "Oh, it's Grandma. You even accompany Grandma for walks. That's great!"
The elderly man with silver hair watched them chat with a smile the whole time, without going up to disturb them.
Fang Xiaoyu chatted with the little girl for a few minutes, and after finishing her breakfast, she said goodbye to them.
At this moment, the old man walked over, took out his phone, and while adjusting the screen, said, "Could you please help me? My daughter's father has been looking for the exit outside for several days now. Could you please check if he has seen this person?"
Fang Xiaoyu was stunned. No wonder, there were clearly people there, but she didn't see the other car.
She glanced at her phone; it showed a kind-looking man with a buzz cut, giving a thumbs-up and smiling.
"Sorry, I haven't seen you before." After carefully examining you, she answered truthfully, then couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why did you choose to separate?"
In such an environment, anyone who knew the situation wouldn't make the decision to separate from their family, right?
The old man put away his phone, somewhat disappointed. After hearing the question, he said, "The car is too small, there's not much food or water, and nothing is convenient. We finally found this service area. Nannan's father said it's safer here, and rather than let Nannan suffer on the road with him, it's better to wait here for him to find the exit and then come back to pick us up."
Fang Xiaoyu didn't know what to say for a moment.
She asked tentatively, "Have you... encountered any other people before? Do you know what's going on here?"
The old man was puzzled: "We've seen two before, but they ran away as soon as they saw us. We couldn't even ask for directions. We also encountered a group of thugs who were very domineering and wouldn't let us into the service area, which is how we found this place."
Perhaps Fang Xiaoyu's expression betrayed something, for she seemed uneasy: "Is there a problem here that you're asking this?"
Fang Xiaoyu hesitated to speak, but then she remembered that people who have parted ways are lucky and will meet again in the future, so she shouldn't make any promises now. So she said, "Please send me the photo. I'll tell him when we meet again. Hmm, also ask around along the way and make a missing person notice for you when you have the chance."
The old man was very happy and hurriedly took out his phone again: "Oh, oh, thank you so much!"
Then, somewhat embarrassed, she asked, "I don't know how to use a phone. How do I upload this photo?"
Fang Xiaoyu offered to help: "It's okay, I'll take care of it."
After she finished, she held up her phone and said, "Do you want me to take a picture of you two together? Nannan's dad hasn't seen Nannan for so long, he must miss her a lot, right?"
The little girl clapped her hands repeatedly: "Great! Great! Let's take a picture!"
The silver-haired old man smiled gratefully at her.
So Fang Xiaoyu's phone now has a photo of an old man embracing a little girl; one looks a little awkward, the other carefree.
She put her phone away, thought for a moment, and then invited him, "Why don't you come with me? I'm also looking for the exit, maybe we'll run into Nannan's father on the way."
The silver-haired old man moved his lips, somewhat tempted, but after thinking for a moment, he finally declined softly: "No, you drive a sedan like her father, which can't carry much stuff. It's not easy for one person, and it would be even more inconvenient to take us along. It's enough that you can pass on a message."
She was very old; her eyelids drooped, covering most of her eyes, but her gaze was gentle and calm.
Fang Xiaoyu was taken aback, almost thinking that the old man knew something and was implying something.
But seeing her calmly and composedly taking care of her granddaughter, I wondered if I was overthinking it.
After much hesitation, she called the old woman aside and gradually revealed the information she knew about the highway to her, carefully observing her reaction as she spoke, thinking that she would stop talking if something seemed amiss.
The old man, perhaps due to his extensive experience, listened to each point steadily. However, when he heard the last sentence, "There is no way to return the way we came; we can only walk back about two hundred meters at most," his eyelids widened slightly, revealing his clear and bright eyes.
"So that's how it is, no wonder—"
“I understand what you mean. Don’t worry, Nannan’s father isn’t that kind of person. Apart from often doing things wrong with good intentions, he’s generally infallible. He must be very anxious if he can’t find us.”
“Didn’t you just say that some patterns are only observed by humans and may not be correct? Look, the blue planet is round, and all the stars in the universe are spheres. No matter how strange this place is, it’s still on one star, right? No matter how long or far the road is, I believe that her father will one day return to the starting point.”
“My daughter and I will wait for him here. If he doesn’t come, I will make sure he leaves safely before he disappears from the service area. Don’t worry.”
Fang Xiaoyu: "...Then, won't it be inconvenient then, since you won't have any means of transportation?"
She regretted scattering supplies last night, and was annoyed that she hadn't taken the initiative to chat with the elderly from the beginning, which was why she discovered it so late. She also blamed herself for showing off so many hot pots before, thinking that one hot pot meal should be eaten for three meals to avoid waste.
The silver-haired old man looked at her gently, patted the little girl's hair, and said, "Don't worry, don't worry about us."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade her otherwise, Fang Xiaoyu had no choice but to respect her wishes.
Ignoring the elderly woman's advice, she unloaded milk powder, chocolate, candy, and other items from the car, hoping to help them last longer.
Remembering that his niece still had some early childhood cartoons and printed-out exercise books on his phone, he transferred them to the old man's phone under the little girl's innocent gaze.
After confirming that the elderly person could open and view the files on the phone and knew how to operate it, they waved goodbye to them.
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