114. 114 picked up a child.
After Su Yu left home for the forest area, Ning Jin stopped coming to the Northeast. He and Lao Wang mostly drove trucks in the south. They now had regular customers and had never made a wasted trip. There were always people crawling under the canvas of their truck. Before entering the city, people would get off and walk forward, burying the goods in canned goods or fruit. Since they were used to driving on this road, they had never been caught.
"Didn't you just get back a few days ago? Are you out of stock again?" Ning Jin asked Lao Mao.
The man fanning himself with a straw hat grinned, glanced at Ning Jin, and after thinking for a moment, revealed a few words: "Southern electronic watches are selling like hotcakes here, as are those small alarm clocks. Young women and wives all adore them, and they're not expensive at all. Everyone's scrambling to buy them."
Ning Jin rubbed his chin with his fingertips, thought for a moment, then leaned closer and tried to get information out of him: "We're old acquaintances, Maozi, can you say a few more words to me? What was the cost price of that electronic watch? And how much can I sell it for?"
Old Mao stared at him, smiling but saying nothing.
Ning Jin thought for a moment. Old Mao would have to pay fifty yuan for the ride each way, and another ten yuan if there was more cargo. He would have to make the trip at least once or twice a month. He couldn't just say he would never ask for money for the ride. So he negotiated, "I'll waive the two months' ride fee, but you can pay for Old Wang's."
Old Mao shook his head, glanced at Old Wang, and put his arm around Ning Jin's shoulder with a smile: "Brother, you underestimate the profits in our industry. How about this, my family business can't do without me. If I'm ever busy, I'll pass on a message and ask you to bring the goods back for me?" Seeing Ning Jin frown, he added, "I'm basically including you in this, which means I'm essentially revealing the manufacturer of my goods to you."
Old Wang coughed and, without trying to hide it from Old Mao, bluntly advised Ning Jin: "Xiao Wu, are you just burning money because you have it in your hands? How can a driver like you have time to do this? Who are you going to sell the goods to? Where are you going to sell them?" He thought Xiao Wu was still quite ungrateful, so he vaguely reminded him: "Think about your wife and kids. If something happens to you, it will affect them."
He's not even worried about three college students, and he's not short of money. In a year or two, when his kids graduate and start working, all four of them will have salaries. Why would he risk becoming a middleman?
Old Mao's eyes darted around, and he patted Ning Jin on the shoulder, asking, "Hey bro, from what I'm saying, your wife and kids are still working for the government?"
"No, have you ever seen a woman who works for the government marry a truck driver?" Ning Jin chuckled, changing the subject and not mentioning the idea of them working together as traders again.
After resting, they drove off. In the driver's seat, only Lao Wang and Ning Jin were there. Lao Wang scolded him with a stern face: "You're still so ungrateful. The money you make in a month now is almost equivalent to your salary for a whole year in the past, and you're still thinking about making quick money. Give me the salary you got a couple of days ago. I'll keep it for you, and you can send it to Su Yu when she comes back."
Ning Jin glanced at him sideways and clicked his tongue, saying, "Old Wang, if you weren't surnamed Wang, I would have suspected you were my brother-in-law."
"Stop talking nonsense. Don't have any ulterior motives. We've been working together for so many years, and we know exactly how much we earn. Your family has never had any trouble, and you've saved up quite a bit of money. Don't take any risks. If you ruin your child's future, you'll regret it to the core."
“What’s the difference between what we’re doing and what the people sitting in the carriage are doing? We’re smuggling people, they’re smuggling goods. If we’re really talking about it, our crimes are more serious,” Ning Jin retorted.
Old Wang was speechless, but without saying anything more, he reached out and said, "Give me the money."
"Honestly, I think they're making a lot of money. And I see the policies are getting looser every day. In another year or two, the government might not care about speculators anymore. We won't have any extra income then. Let's seize this opportunity to make another killing." Ning Jin seemed not to see the outstretched hand, changing the subject and trying to persuade Lao Wang to join him. To make big money, you have to take risks.
"I'm content even without extra income." He has already built new houses for his two sons, with solid materials and bright interiors. Besides, he's not young anymore, and in another four or five years, when his eyesight deteriorates, he won't work anymore, lest he lose his life in a car accident.
"Then I'll do it myself, I'll be careful." He needs to prepare for the future. He doesn't want to go back to his cold and lonely home. He wants to earn more money in the next two years, and once his son graduates and his wife gets a job, he won't stay here anymore.
"You're never satisfied." That was all he said. They were both in their forties or fifties, so Old Wang didn't try to persuade them any further.
Ning Jin got off the bus with Lao Mao and went with him to find the way to buy goods. He had 450 yuan on him when he got off the bus, but two days later when he got back on the bus, he only had 30 yuan left.
"This digital watch is pretty good, it looks nice." Old Wang nodded secretly as he looked at the three watches Ning Jin was holding.
"The price is also high." Ning Jin pulled out a digital watch from under the car seat and compared the two. "Look, the cost price is one yuan and the cost price is twelve yuan. But I'm not selling these three. I want to take them to my son and give one to Su Yu so she can have a taste of something new."
After bringing them back, he didn't sell them in town. Instead, he rode his bicycle to the county, found Xiaoxing, and sold most of them at the high school. Then he went to Northeast China. Taking advantage of the fact that he wasn't from there, he went directly to the family compound to sell them and sold them all in half a day.
He traveled from south to north, earning over a thousand yuan just from selling watches. He didn't even have time to deliver the watch he bought for his son, so he sold it to someone who appreciated it more. He also bought five hundred yuan worth of red sausage to take back to his hometown to sell. He was also the one bringing back all the goods from Lao Mao's place. Seeing Ning Jin making a fortune, Lao Wang couldn't resist and started buying local specialties with Ning Jin, buying and selling them in the north and south.
"So much money?" Su Yu counted the zeros on the bankbook, glanced at the smug man leaning back in his chair, and said with certainty, "You've become a middleman."
"This is boring." Ning Jin's smile faded. "Can't you guess a few more times? Be more surprised, more excited, and jump on me?"
"Your son can meet your requirements."
Speaking of his son, Ningjin said, "With the family planning policy being implemented on a large scale, your eldest sister is eager for her daughter-in-law to have a third child as soon as possible."
“We already have a son and a daughter.” Su Yu shook her head. “Children aren’t piglets. If a family’s financial situation isn’t good, having too many children will only cause them suffering.”
“Your eldest nephew works in a cannery and gets a monthly salary. His family is much better off than the average family.”
“Let’s not talk about them. They have parents and they’re adults. We don’t need to worry about them.” Su Yu walked over and sat on his lap, letting him worry about her. “I’m graduating soon and will be assigned a job soon.” She looked at him and said.
Ning Jin nodded, staring at the back of her head without saying a word. Su Yu turned her head to face him and tentatively said, "I might be assigned to another city."
"It's okay, I'll come and stay with you when I'm done driving."
"Would you be angry if I went to the Northwest?"
"You won't go if I get angry?" he asked, pinching her chin.
Su Yu stammered and didn't say anything, but cupped his face and kissed his lips again and again, deliberately making loud kissing sounds.
"I'm turning into a woodpecker," she mumbled against his lips.
Ning Jin looked down at her and thought, "Whatever, it's work no matter where you work. Every city is unfamiliar. Let her do as she pleases."
“Go ahead and apply, but I probably won’t go to the Northwest. The roads are difficult to travel, and you’re in the desert, so I won’t be able to find you even if I go,” he compromised.
"I've come back to find you." Su Yu hugged his neck tightly and whispered in his ear, "Ning Jin, I love you so much, and you love me too much."
The man's tense face immediately broke into a smile. "Who loves you? You're really good at flattering yourself," he said stiffly.
"You love me, you're a very magnanimous man." She praised him without reservation, and of course, that was true.
"You're just trying to sweet-talk me every day." He stroked her hair, which had never grown long, and asked, "When are you going to tell Xiao Yuan about Ping An?"
"I'll tell them after the work assignments are done, and I won't let them know the reasons." Su Yu continued to say sweet words: "You and I are husband and wife, just like work and buying a house. I only need your consent. I don't want to care about them, so why would I let them care about me? Only you can care about me. You are the one who will be with me until old age. After they get married, I'll kick them out to start their own families, and we'll live a carefree life on our own."
"I can't control you." Ning Jin was completely dazed by the sweet words and said sincerely, "Only you can control me."
Two people were piled on the chairs under the eaves. Their emotions went from intense to calm. Ning Jin touched her slightly sweaty back, squinted at the sky above the yard, and thought that the life Su Yu described was quite good. Life without her son's interference was peaceful and comfortable.
*
"Teacher, can I apply to go to the city I want before being assigned a job?" Su Yu asked the teacher who was working in the office.
"What's wrong? Do you have a preference? It shouldn't be allowed unless you have connections in the Education Bureau." Teacher Gu opened the drawer, took out a letter and handed it to her, saying, "You just came back from the shelterbelt and someone sent a letter right after, wanting you to work there. If you also prefer that place, then you don't need to worry. The Education Bureau has probably received the letter as well."
"I want to go to the Northwest."
"The Northwest?" She was surprised, hesitated for a moment, and still advised, "Su Yu, you have a great talent in forestry maintenance and planting, but you shouldn't go to work in the desert right away. You don't have a reputation in the industry right now, and the country's support for desertification control in the Northwest is not very strong. If you go there right after graduation and don't achieve anything, it will be difficult to transfer you to other places. You might end up working in the desert until you retire."
No matter how talented you are, you need to let people know that you have a genius mind. Only with a reputation can you make better use of your talents. To stand out from the crowd, you need to let people know that you are a crane, otherwise you are just a strange bird with long legs.
“I think it’s a bit of a waste for you to go to the desert. We all know the planting environment there, and it’s not easy to achieve results in a short time.” She spoke frankly to Su Yu, who was already forty years old this year. Time is the most precious thing for middle-aged people, and they age quickly.
“I know, but I’m forty this year. If I spend a few more years elsewhere, I’m worried I won’t achieve what I want before I retire.” Su Yu spread the letter on the table, crossed her fingers and asked her teacher, “Teacher, could you help me out? Could you convey my message to the school leaders that I want to go to the Northwest?”
"No problem, everyone's avoiding it, you'll definitely be able to fill this hole." She was a little angry, but didn't want to persuade her anymore. If Su Yu were a twenty-year-old young woman, she could be said to be young and impetuous with idealism, and she could have a good talk with her. But Su Yu was mature now, so since she wouldn't listen to advice, she would just let her be.
It's just a bit of a pity.
After the work assignment results came out, Xiao Yuan and Ping An hadn't started their holiday yet, so Su Yu waited for them to start their holiday so they could go back to their hometown together.
"Mom, why were you assigned to the Northwest?" Xiao Yuan looked at the assignment slip repeatedly, asking with some suspicion, "Mom, did you offend someone?"
"No, how could I offend anyone with my good interpersonal relationships?" Su Yu said. "My professional skills are strong enough that the Education Bureau assigned me to a place where the country needs me more."
"Is that really true? Does that mean I'll have to go plant trees and grass in the desert after I graduate?"
"Dream on, you're nowhere near as good as me." Su Yu laughed at his arrogance.
Xiao Yuan chuckled twice, "I may not be as good as you, but I can beat the other students in our class."
Ping An squatted down, deep in thought. Seeing that Xiao Yuan had accepted the outcome, he resentfully tried to provoke him: "Mom, don't go. At worst, you can give up your secure job. Any job you find is better than going to the desert to eat sand."
“Nonsense, I’m not going to live in the desert forever.” Seeing that both children felt it was unfair, she subtly revealed her attitude: “I’ve been to the desert, and I think it’s pretty good. I don’t object to this job assignment.”
"Then, what are we going to do? And my dad too, the four of us in the family will have to live in three different places."
"So you didn't want me to go to the Northwest because you wanted to take care of you and your two sons? You and Xiaoyuan aren't old enough to be dependent on your mother. What's wrong with me going out to work? Do I have to stay with you?" Su Yu asked coldly.
“I feel like this house doesn’t feel like a home.” Ping An turned her face away and said in a muffled voice, “Look, Xiao Yuan and I don’t go to the same school. When you weren’t home before, my dad didn’t come to see us even when he came. You’re going to the Northwest next year, so I won’t be able to see you or my dad, and you and my dad won’t be able to meet either. What’s the point of this?”
“If I don’t get into university, will you stay home and not go to university for the next three years? Ping’an, you need to reflect on what kind of strange idea you have. Do your classmates all have their parents with them when they go to school? Is their life meaningless without their parents?” Su Yu straightened her sleeves and said to her two sons, “I am definitely going to work in the Northwest. I am an independent person with personal freedom and freedom of thought. I just want to see if you two can’t eat or drink without me.”
She glanced at Ping An, whose face was full of displeasure, and continued to provoke him: "If you want someone to accompany you, hurry up and find a girlfriend and get married. Only a wife can accompany you for a lifetime. Your father has no objection to my job, but you, a little brat, are here to find fault. You have no right to do so."
"Why don't I? You're my mom, you should think about us first." He looked at Xiaoyuan, seeking help: "Xiaoyuan, don't you think so?"
Before Xiao Yuan could speak, Su Yu walked over and grabbed Ping An's ear, violently bullying him: "What a load of bull! I was Su Yu before I became your mother. I would definitely consider my own opinion first and then yours."
"Have you considered it?" Xiao Yuan asked softly.
“I’ve thought about it. My son is not only weaned but also an adult now, so I can retire. Otherwise, what’s the point of me always being there for you? Just so someone will answer when you call for Mom?”
Xiao Yuan remained silent. He couldn't figure it out either. When she was here, if he wanted to see her, he could just go up a few floors and see her, which made him feel incredibly content. "The Northwest is so far away. I want to see you, but I can't see you no matter what I do."
"I'll take two photos for you two tomorrow, so you can see each other whenever you want."
Xiao Yuan glared at her, but that wasn't what he meant.
“I’m going to work, not to go to jail. I can come see you from time to time, just like your dad did a few years ago, we could see each other once a month.” She glanced at Ping An. “Don’t be hypocritical. It was fine for your dad, but you’re not satisfied with me.”
"Satisfied, very satisfied," he said with a forced smile.
"As long as he's satisfied." She didn't need his genuine satisfaction.
This year, Er Ya and her two siblings didn't go home for the Spring Festival. When she came to ask for the old Chinese medicine doctor's address, she found out that Aunt Su's job had been assigned to the Northwest Desert. Her first reaction was the same as Xiao Yuan's: "Aunt, did you offend someone?"
“Look at your dark hearts. I’m just doing what I can, going to the places in the country where I’m needed most.” Su Yu wrote down the address of the old doctor in Jincheng for her, and also gave her her own address in the Northwest. “Write to me if anything happens, this is my address.”
"Oh, okay." Er Ya was still in a daze, feeling that this job assignment was too unreliable. She had always thought that Aunt Su would be assigned to the Forestry Bureau.
“I like the desert. You can go and see it after you graduate. The desert looks especially majestic and magnificent at dusk,” Su Yu explained again.
"You like it?" Er Ya glanced at her cautiously, thinking to herself that she probably applied for the job herself.
"Do you have enough money? Getting medical treatment is the most important thing. I'll give you some money to keep on hand," Su Yu asked.
"That's enough. I've saved over three hundred, and my sister has saved her salary too. It's definitely enough. Auntie, don't give me any more." Er Ya pushed her hand away and ran out as if her life depended on it.
The six of them went to the train station together. Er Ya and her two siblings got off midway to transfer trains. Er Ya, along with her older sister and younger brother who were tightly holding onto her clothes, took another train. After getting off the train, they took a bus and asked many people before finally finding the old Chinese medicine doctor's house.
"Didn't your husband come?" the middle-aged doctor asked Daya.
"I got divorced because I couldn't have children." Da Ya was both terrified and hopeful to hear good news. Six or seven years had passed, and she always hoped that her health had recovered so that she wouldn't have to spend money on medicine anymore.
"Doctor, is something bad happening? Tell me, I'm the head of the family," Er Ya said, her hands tightly gripping Xiao Hu.
"Your sister was pregnant before, but she miscarried. Didn't you know?" he asked Daya, adding, "You didn't take care of her after the miscarriage, which really ruined your health."
Er Ya looked at her older sister, and Da Ya looked at her too, both of them looking confused.
"What does a miscarriage look like? I only know that my sister's period is very short and the flow is very light." It was the first time Er Ya had talked to a man about a woman's private matters. She was so shy that her teeth chattered, but she forced herself to speak.
"The blood clots that come out after a miscarriage are hard, more like mangled pieces of flesh than blood clots, and the bleeding is also heavy. Have you ever experienced this?" He looked at Daya.
"Yes." Daya nodded. "I didn't have my period for almost two months once, but that was during the autumn harvest. I thought it was because I was tired from carrying rice."
The doctor nodded, then took Er Ya's pulse and told Daya to go outside and wait a while. "I'll give you acupuncture in a bit. Go outside and move around a bit. You can't move for almost an hour after the acupuncture."
After Da Ya left, he said to Er Ya, "I noticed your sister is quite fragile, so I told you about her condition. She can't have any more children. She was already thin and underdeveloped, and she hasn't even had time to recover after her miscarriage. From what she said, she was still carrying heavy loads even after the miscarriage. No matter how strong a woman is, she can't withstand that kind of overwork. As for whether the miscarriage was complete, I can't say for sure. If the blood clots aren't completely expelled, they'll dry up in the uterus. You understand what I mean? She has a very serious case of uterine coldness, so she won't be able to get pregnant again. And if she lives a very strenuous life in the future, it will also affect her lifespan."
Perhaps it was because the winters in Jincheng were particularly cold, but she was shivering as she sat on the stool. Er Ya nodded and said, "Don't let her know. I'm afraid she'll go crazy again. She really wants to have a child. Doctor, please prescribe some medicine for her later, something to nourish her body or something else. Let her drink it first."
"She already needs to take medicine to regulate her body. Not only her, but you also have cold uterus. Don't wash clothes or vegetables with cold water in winter. I'll prescribe some Chinese medicine for foot baths for you later. After boiling it, you can take a bath or soak your feet. You can do it all year round. Taking a bath is the best. Buy a big bath tub. You're not young anymore. The sooner you treat it, the better. If you don't get better, you won't be able to keep the pregnancy."
"good."
"I'm so scared." Xiao Hu covered his eyes and sat on the stool, looking at his older sisters who were covered in silver needles. He didn't dare to look.
Daya stood stiffly, too afraid to move, even holding back her urine, and didn't say a word. After leaving the TCM clinic, she carried her medicine bag and said with a bitter face, "Erya, can I just drink the medicine and not get acupuncture? It was too scary. The silver needles, which are longer than my hand, were piercing straight into my flesh. The blood that came out from the cupping was enough to fill a bowl."
“I’ll only do the treatment for five days, then I’ll stop,” Er Ya said with a stern face.
But after only three days of acupuncture, the weather changed. The heavy snow made it unsuitable for acupuncture, so the three siblings prepared to leave. They reached the place where they could catch a ride, and the car had just driven away. They could still see the back of the car when Er Ya ran up and waved. Xiao Hu and Da Ya followed behind.
The car didn't catch up, and Er Ya, exhausted, clutched her back and panted heavily. She said, "Forget it, let's walk forward and wait for the next car to catch up so we can take it. The fare will be less."
“Okay, it’s warmer to walk, it’s too cold to stand.” As soon as Xiao Hu heard that the fare could be reduced, he ran forward quickly, muttering, “I’ve saved a penny, another penny, and another penny soon.”
Er Ya was amused by him. Seeing her older sister also going crazy with Xiao Hu, competing to see who could walk the fastest, she thought it was quite good. Given her older sister's condition, giving birth to a child would be a suffering for both the mother and the child. Moreover, she herself was confused and muddle-headed, so how could she be expected to teach the child anything? At most, raising the child would just ensure that the child didn't go hungry.
"Sister, come quick! There's a baby here, and it looks like it's frozen to death!" Xiao Hu shouted.
Er Ya rushed over, but the child had already been picked up by her older sister, who had opened her clothes and held the child in her arms. She said to Er Ya, "The child is still alive, still breathing, and still moving his hands."
Er Ya had experience taking care of children. She pulled open Da Ya's clothes and cursed angrily, "You bastard! You didn't even dress the child properly in this snowy weather. Come on, let's go back quickly and see a doctor."
The baby was about a month old. He was just wrapped in a blanket and left in the snow. Daya kept his lips warm against his skin the whole way, and the purple color on his lips finally faded.
"Let's call the police. Someone must have deliberately abandoned the baby girl." The doctor looked at the baby crying and drinking formula in his wife's arms, and he took Er Ya to the police station.
The truth is, everyone knows that this was deliberately abandoned by a family who wanted a son. They left her in the snow in the wilderness, never intending for her to live. If it weren't for the coincidence of Daya and her siblings, the baby would already be dead.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
