After a while, the jeep drove into a somewhat dilapidated county town.
Guan Wenru deliberately slowed down the car.
She carefully observed through the rearview mirror.
The Jiefang truck turned onto another road at the city entrance and did not follow.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaohong in the passenger seat breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. "Oh dear, that scared me to death, Factory Director. It seems we really were going the same way. We were just overthinking it."
Guan Wenru's brows relaxed slightly, but a trace of wariness remained in her eyes. "I hope so. We've been driving for most of the day. Let's find a place to eat something and rest before we continue."
"good."
A short while later, the car stopped in front of a state-run restaurant.
The two went inside; there weren't many other customers.
A waitress in a white apron leaned lazily against the counter.
Seeing someone walk in, she unusually raised her eyelids, her attitude extremely arrogant, "What do you want to eat? Let's make it clear first, we've raised our prices here."
These days, state-run restaurant staff consider themselves superior, and they're used to treating guests this way.
Guan Wenru ignored her, glanced at the blurry menu on the wall, and said in a cool tone, "One order of stir-fried shredded potatoes, one order of stir-fried pork tenderloin with green beans, and two servings of rice."
The waiter glanced at the two women, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and muttered, "Ladies...you're eating so much? We've really raised our prices; what you ordered is three cents more expensive than usual."
Guan Wenru was taken aback upon hearing this. She gave the waiter a deep look, said nothing, and simply handed over the money and food coupons.
The waiter pursed his lips, gave a soft hum, took the food, and said, "Sit down and wait."
These days there are no pre-made meals; chefs have to cook everything on the spot, so it took a while for the food to be served.
The food was so-so, but both of them were hungry and ate quickly.
Given the high price of food these days, even though the two were already full, they still finished everything.
As the two walked out of the restaurant, Guan Wenru suddenly slowed down.
She looked at the few pedestrians walking by on the street, most of whom were pale and thin, and dressed in rags.
A gust of wind blew by, almost enough to knock a person over.
She stopped abruptly, her expression turning unusually serious.
Chen Xiaohong asked curiously, "Factory manager, what's wrong?"
Guan Wenru's voice was low, "No... nothing. I just suddenly remembered what the director said, that our province is suffering from a drought."
She almost forgot... that this province had also experienced a severe drought in her previous life.
Since last year, many places in the province have been suffering from drought... Judging from the situation, this county town is probably in serious trouble.
Life is too hard for ordinary people.
Chen Xiaohong nodded, "I've heard about it too. My relatives even wrote to us asking to borrow grain."
Seeing someone looking over with a complicated expression, Guan Wenru felt a chill run down her spine. "Let's go, get in the car! Let's leave quickly!"
The two walked quickly toward the jeep.
As soon as Guan Wenru opened the car door, before she could even start the car, an elderly woman with gray hair and a thin frame, along with two equally thin children with dull eyes, suddenly rushed to the car door.
The old woman's voice was hoarse as she stretched out her withered hand, pleading, "Comrade... please have mercy... give me something to eat... my child is starving... hasn't eaten for three days..."
The two children looked at her timidly, their eyes filled with longing for food.
Guan Wenru's heart tightened. She immediately grabbed her handbag, took out the last two white steamed buns wrapped in oil paper, and quickly stuffed them into the old woman's hands. "Take these! Give them to the child!"
She took the steamed buns out of her spatial storage, intending for them to eat on the road.
If it weren't for the Liberation truck incident, she wouldn't have planned to eat in this county town.
It's perfect timing to give it to this old woman.
Guan Wenru shoved the item into the man's hand, not even having time to see his reaction, before slamming the car door shut and quickly starting the car.
The engine roared to life, and the car started moving as soon as Chen Xiaohong sat down.
Chen Xiaohong was startled. "Factory manager, don't... don't panic."
She closed the car door shakily.
"Don't rush, we probably won't be able to leave!" Guan Wenru said gravely, looking behind him through the rearview mirror.
She saw several hungry-looking people suddenly appear from some corner and surround the old woman and the child.
Several people even looked up, their gazes fixed on the direction they had left, and staggered as they tried to catch up!
Guan Wenru stepped on the gas, and the car sped off, quickly leaving those desperate figures and cries behind.
Chen Xiaohong also saw what was happening behind her. Her face turned pale, and she gripped the handrail on the car window tightly, looking back at the receding crowd, her voice trembling:
"Factory...factory manager...thankfully we left quickly...any later...I'm afraid we...wouldn't have been able to leave..."
"That's right." Guan Wenru pursed her lips, gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, and stared straight ahead at the road that was beginning to become rugged.
The atmosphere inside the car became incredibly heavy.
Only when the people behind her could no longer see her did Chen Xiaohong breathe a sigh of relief. "Factory manager, why would they do this? If they're caught begging, or even chasing after someone, won't they get arrested?"
"There's nothing we can do about being arrested. It's a year of famine, there's no food. Some people even think, 'It's okay to be arrested, as long as I can be fed.'"
Guan Wenru looked ahead, her tone suddenly becoming serious, "Xiaohong, you saw what happened just now. We need to be more careful on the way from now on."
The entire province was suffering from the disaster, and everyone was lacking food and clothing. We brought documents to the meeting, making us look like government employees.
In case people think we're carrying food or are very resourceful, it could easily get us into trouble, so we need to be discreet about what we eat and say.
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