54.054 Wind and Rain
Nestled against the mountains, with drafts on three sides, Ning Jin felt a chill after standing under the truck for a while. He rubbed his exposed arms, then climbed into the truck bed, sat down at Su Yu's feet, put on his jacket, and listened to the strange calls of the mountain birds. Gradually, the birdsong stopped, the insect chirping ceased, and only the indistinct cool wind rustled the roadside weeds. The man who had been gazing up at the shooting stars slowly closed his eyes, rested his head on the canvas bag, and fell asleep.
It wasn't until his neck was stiff and painful, and his right arm was numb from the pressure, that the man finally opened his eyes with a frown. He instantly became alert upon seeing his surroundings, let out a soft breath, and rubbed his neck. He didn't have a watch and couldn't tell what time it was, but the night was exceptionally quiet, and the wind had stopped. Based on past experience, he guessed it was probably three or four in the morning. He had actually dozed off and slept for two or three hours.
The sound of a car door opening suddenly came from the front. Ning Jin instinctively checked if Su Yu was covered up properly, jumped out of the car, and went over to ask, "Why are you awake at this hour?"
"You're awake now. I'll stay here for a while, you go and sleep."
"What time is it?" he asked Old Wang, who was wearing a watch.
"It's a little past four. You can sleep for two hours. We'll leave before seven and should arrive before noon."
“Alright, we’ll each drive for two hours this morning.” With someone watching over him, Ning Jin returned to the carriage, took off his jacket, and crawled into bed. He casually touched her and, sure enough, Su Yu’s front was open and her bra was twisted out of shape. He pulled it up to make her more comfortable.
Su Yu woke up naturally. When she opened her eyes, it was already dawn. She removed the man's hand, cursed him under her breath as a scoundrel, put on her clothes, jumped out of the car, and saw Old Wang sitting on a tree stump in front of the car smoking. She greeted him and went to the stream where she had washed her face the night before to rinse her mouth.
"Be careful, it's not fully light yet," Old Wang warned.
"Okay, sure."
I didn't notice it last night because it was dark, but now I see that the water in this stream is very clear, about half an arm's length deep, and you can see the stones stuck in the mud.
Washing my face, neck, and arms, the cool water pattered on my sticky skin, making me feel much more relaxed. It was as if the rope of yesterday's dust and sun had been cut.
"Brother Wang, do you want to go back to the car and take a nap? I'll cook." Su Yu asked Old Wang, carrying a can of water from the stream upstream.
"Never mind, it's almost six o'clock. I'm too lazy to go back to the car. It smells like oil. The air outside is much more refreshing."
Indeed, there is no human habitation here. The mountains are high and the trees are dense, the air is crisp and clear, and there are birds chirping at varying lengths as they get up early to catch insects. Half of the distant mountains are shrouded in a thin morning mist, appearing as a hazy bluish-green color.
Su Yu boiled a pot of water, poured the top layer into a rice bowl, poured out the impurities at the bottom, and then poured the boiling water back in, leaving a little to mix with flour. In the morning, she would cook noodle soup and drink it with wild chives and wild onions as seasonings.
"Life is so much easier with a woman around," Old Wang said, slurping up the still-hot noodles. "When Xiao Wu and I go out, if we don't find a restaurant, we just grab a couple of bites of garlic and some stir-fried noodles for a meal."
“I didn’t expect the journey to be so tough.” She smiled at Ning Jin. “Now that it’s hot, things spoil quickly. When it gets cold, I’ll make more dumplings while you’re driving. I’ll boil some water on the road, and we can cook thirty or forty dumplings each meal to fill our stomachs. It’s nutritious and doesn’t take much trouble.”
Old Wang felt disgusted when he saw Ning Jin's cheeks bulging with laughter at these words. He turned his eyes away, took a bite of his dry biscuit, and thought to himself that next time he would bring his wife out for a visit so that she could see his suffering firsthand and then understand how to care for him. Otherwise, she would always be talking about her son and daughter. When he, the one who earns money, comes home, all he does is ask for money and pushes people into bed.
After the meal, Ning Jin suggested that he drive first and let Lao Wang rest in the carriage for a while, but Lao Wang refused. He and Su Yu continued to talk in the carriage.
"Will you come out again next time?" he asked her.
"Never mind, I won't bother you."
Does this mean she still wants to come out? The man was surprised. It's been bumpy, sunny, and dusty all night. She slept soundly last night. She didn't move when he got in and out of the car, and she didn't react when he tried to undress her. She's exhausted like this and still wants to run away.
"Aren't you tired? It's so nice to stay at home. You can eat and drink whatever you want, and you won't be exposed to wind or rain. You can also sleep soundly at night."
"Don't you think that sounds familiar? You said the same thing when I changed jobs, but I was noticeably more energetic after that. It's the same now. I'm out here riding in a car, but I don't drive. I just keep my eyes open and watch. You guys who drive every day don't get tired of it, but I'm out here for the first time, so it's a new experience and I don't feel tired at all." Su Yu folded the blanket into a strip and put it under her bottom to prevent her tailbone from hurting when the car bumped around.
"...If you could drive, I'd take you with me every day."
"No way." Su Yu glanced at him and said, "My kids are waiting for me at home. If I go out with you, my two children will be pitiful."
Hearing that she was thinking of Ping An at this moment, and that she treated Ping An like her own son, the man was overjoyed and also felt a pang of longing. He had actually met such a woman, and he couldn't help but think that he would be happy to marry her when he was in his twenties.
He blurted out what he was thinking, and Su Yu scolded him for being heartless, "If you had married me back then, where would you get Ping An as your son? You're already doing the best. You have Ping An and Xiao Yuan at home, one mischievous and the other considerate. Don't be ungrateful."
The man laughed, "That is a bit greedy."
The horn sounded, and the car stopped on a flat spot. It was Ning Jin's turn to drive. Su Yu folded up her clothes and blankets, wrapped them up, and stuffed them under the canvas cover. She and the man climbed out of the car and into the hood.
As the sun rose higher, the miscellaneous trees on both sides of the road grew shorter and thinner, and gradually, villages and people working in the fields came into view. The oxcart carrying goods was pulled off the road by its owner amidst the sound of its horn. In the rearview mirror, Su Yu saw the old farmer only drive the ox back onto the road after the cart had gone far away.
“When we get to the city, I’ll find a place to drop you off. You can walk in by yourself and ask someone for directions to the state-run restaurant. We’ll deliver the canned goods to the supply and marketing cooperative, drive the car to the saccharin factory, and then come find you,” Ning Jin said.
Su Yu agreed. This was her first time in the city. She combed her hair in front of the mirror and patted her slightly wrinkled clothes... Oh well, no one here knows her anyway. Even if she was disheveled, it would only make people glance at her a few more times. She gave up on the unruly frizzy hair and the crumpled hem of her clothes.
After entering the city, the car stopped in front of a residential building where there were noticeably few people. Su Yu got out of the car, and Lao Wang got in. Ning Jin leaned over and instructed Su Yu, "Go straight along this road, turn right after two intersections, then turn left, and keep going until you see the state-run restaurant."
"I know, I'll ask for directions if I get lost." Su Yu felt that Ning Jin was giving instructions to her daughter who was going out for the first time, as if she was afraid that she would get lost.
Once the car started moving, Lao Wang sat up straight, looking ahead and then glancing at Ning Jin, clicking his tongue twice, "Little Wu, don't you find this annoying? You're in your thirties, aren't you? My daughter's mother isn't this nagging when she goes out."
“You don’t understand. This is Su Yu’s first time traveling so far from home, and she’s a little timid,” Ning Jin explained, glancing at him.
Timid? He didn't think she was timid at all. She didn't look like someone who was going on a long trip for the first time. He remembered when Ning Jin first went on a road trip with him, she was so nervous that she kept talking and asked him about the mountains, rivers and terrain.
This was Ning Jin's first time delivering goods and helping people unload them. With the truck empty, he drove to the saccharin factory as if rushing from one event to another. After taking the car keys, he urged Lao Wang to leave quickly. He only slowed down when he saw Su Yu at the entrance of the state-run restaurant.
"Let's go in. I've reserved a spot and ordered two dishes. We can eat as soon as we get in." She hadn't eaten properly for a day and a half and felt unhealthy, desperately needing to replenish her nutrition.
The three of them ate a plate of braised pork, eggplant with minced meat, sour fish soup, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. They finished all the food and rice, sat down to rest for a while, and then left.
"I want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative in the city to buy some things, Brother Wang, are you coming?" Su Yu asked.
Old Wang immediately refused; he was too old to bear such sentimental and cheesy scenes.
Su Yu wandered around the three-story supply and marketing cooperative but couldn't find sanitary napkins. She asked a sales clerk, who brought out a stack of toilet paper instead. The paper was of better quality than the one sold in the town's supply and marketing cooperative; it was soft and elastic, and there were no visible impurities. Moreover, there was no limit on the quantity and no coupons were needed. Su Yu bought two stacks and pointed them out to Ning Jin, asking him to bring her some more when she ran out of her stock.
Next, Su Yu bought Ning Jin a pair of leather shoes, and she also bought a pair. She bought two pairs of high-quality military green trousers for the two younger children, and a pair of soft-soled shoes for Grandpa Su and Grandma Su.
"Why don't you buy a pair for your parents? The soles are soft and the uppers are well made. As people get older, their feet deform, and uncomfortable shoes can make them feel bad."
"Let's forget it," the man hesitated.
He said forget it and Su Yu didn't mention it again. She turned around and went to the skincare counter to buy two boxes of clam oil and a box of face cream. Finally, she tore off three feet of soft cotton cloth and called the man carrying the big bags to leave.
"Hey, do you know my parents' shoe sizes?" he asked.
"I don't know." Su Yu could tell from his expression that he wanted to buy it for his parents, so she said, "Why don't you go back and ask, and buy it next time you come?"
The man shook his head. "Forget it, forget it. They won't appreciate it even if I buy it for them." He carried the things and strode ahead.
"I'll remember you well. As long as you think of me, even if you just bring me a fried dough twist, I'll still remember you well." Su Yu followed behind him and kicked his heel.
"You're trying to trick me into giving you something again."
"You're my man, if you don't buy it for me, who else do you expect me to buy it for?"
The two bickered until they saw Old Wang squatting on the curb smoking, at which point they stopped. Ning Jin stuffed the things he was carrying into Old Wang's arms, took the things from Su Yu's hands, and told her to go back to where she got off at noon and wait. It had been two or three hours, and the goods should be ready by now.
It was almost three o'clock. If they set off now, they could still drive for four or five hours. Su Yu walked empty-handed along the route she had come by. Passing through an alley, she smelled the aroma of fried dough twists. She turned in and saw that it was a fried dough twist shop. The twists looked like they were made by an experienced craftsman. They had red bean paste and caramel fillings, both sweet and savory. Su Yu bought three catties of each, and Ning Jin laughed at her, saying that she was planning to skip meals and just eat twists on the way.
"These are for my kids; they always look forward to snacks."
But those six pounds of fried dough twists ended up in the stomachs of the three people in the car. That night, the sky changed, the stars shrank, and it seemed like it was going to rain at any moment.
After much deliberation, Lao Wang and Ning Jin decided to take advantage of the dry night to travel through this muddy road. They reasoned that once it rained, the road would become difficult to navigate, and if the car got stuck in the mud, they would be doomed.
But even if they walked on the sandy road before the rain started, they couldn't get back within the planned time because a mudslide had occurred in the mountains ahead, blocking the road.
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