"That's right, once we get there, we'll have a heated kang bed to sleep on. This guesthouse must be so cold," Qin Xiaoyu said with a smile.
"Oh dear, I was planning to leave early tomorrow so I could get reimbursed for two more meals. If that's how you put it, shall we leave now?"
"Brother, do you have a car?"
"Isn't that obvious? I drive an oil tanker, and the cab can fit three people. Let's go." The older brother turned his leather hat inside out. Qin Xiaoyu and Tang Wenwen were surprised that the problem was solved so easily and quickly followed.
As soon as she got on the bus, Qin Xiaoyu handed her older brother a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes. She had bought it at the station when she left, knowing she would need it sooner or later.
"Hey, girl, you're really generous! Well, with this pack of cigarettes, what's a little underreporting?" The man was overjoyed, and the car bounced along with him.
"Hey Ge Laosao, what's wrong with you again? What time is it? Be careful on the road!" Someone shouted from behind, and Qin Xiaoyu knew that they had embarked on an adventure.
Leaving the county town, they drove along a stretch of snow-covered road as smooth as a mirror before finally seeing the rolling Lesser Khingan Mountains. As the car climbed, Qin Xiaoyu and Tang Wenwen realized they were navigating a perilous path.
The mountain road is flanked by mountains on one side and cliffs on the other. The snow on the road has been compacted by vehicles, making it as slippery as an ice rink.
Ge Laosao is a natural optimist. He never stops talking once he gets in the car, but that didn't stop him from driving. In order to save time, he drove very fast.
Seeing a sharp turn ahead, he drifted past it without even braking. Tang Wenwen and Qin Xiaoyu held hands tightly, their palms sweaty – this was true friendship forged in life and death.
After driving down one hill after another, it was getting dark. Ge Laosao became more careful and slowed down the car noticeably.
"If it weren't for the two of you, I would never walk alone at night." Old Ge said, holding a cigarette in his mouth but not lighting it, just enjoying the smoke.
"Is it hard to drive at night?" Tang Wenwen asked, puzzled, seeing the moonlight making the snow-covered ground brighter than the city streets.
“These cars are all old. If they don’t start on the way, we’ll be in big trouble. Didn’t you see those glowing eyes by the roadside? Those are wolves, a whole pack. One of our drivers couldn’t start his car and wanted to get out to fix it, but the wolves towed him away. When they found him, all that was left were a few bones.” Old Ge’s words were half true and half false. Qin Xiaoyu and Tang Wenwen strained to look out the window, and sure enough, there were eerie green eyes flashing in the roadside grass.
"Hey, something's wrong with the car's sound. Should we put out the fire?" Ge Lao Sao suddenly shouted.
"Oh my god!" Tang Wenwen screamed.
Old Ge burst into wild laughter, making Tang Wenwen want to beat him up. Unfortunately, her life was in his hands, and it would be irrational to grab the steering wheel.
"Look, we're almost there." Ge Lao Sao raised his chin, and only then did they notice the lights ahead.
Judging from the uniformity of the lights, this is also the arrangement of dormitory rooms in the city.
“The lights in the middle are the farm staff dormitory. This is the farm headquarters. You can stay here for one night and find a car to go to the Second Company tomorrow. Shi Erlai’s family lives over there.”
"What? He doesn't live here?" Qin Xiaoyu exclaimed anxiously.
"Do you see a light in that valley over there? That's the Second Company," Old Ge said patiently, his temper still quite good.
"Brother, could you just step on the gas and take us there?"
"Little sister, you can't get there by stepping on the gas like this. Have you ever heard of the saying 'Looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death'? That road is not short. Besides, big carts can't go that way. You'll have to find a sled if you want to go."
Tang Wenwen and Qin Xiaoyu looked at each other, this was too convoluted.
"Where should we stay?" Tang Wenwen thought of an important question. The nickname "Old Ge Sao" said something. Although there were two of them, they were not entirely confident in dealing with a strong man.
“If you stay at my house, I won’t be delivering cars to the convoy anymore. After delivering the cars, I’ll have to walk back, and I doubt the two of you can walk that far. Look, the first house ahead is mine. Get out of the car.” Old Ge brought the car to a steady stop.
"This...it's not convenient for me to stay at your place, is it?" Qin Xiaoyu hesitated to get out of the car, looking at Tang Wenwen, both of them trying to come up with a solution.
Are there any guesthouses?
"What kind of guesthouse does this place need? Everyone who comes here is visiting relatives. Who would come if they didn't have relatives?" Old Ge was annoyed by them and shouted, "Get down here! You're starving! Get down here now!"
Qin Xiaoyu and Tang Wenwen had no choice but to follow him into the yard. A big yellow dog darted out and kept shaking the roof without barking.
"Brother, could you find us a place to stay?"
"What do you want to borrow? Are you afraid I'll eat you up? Don't worry, I have a tigress at home..."
"Who are you talking about?" The door opened, and a woman came out with a burst of hot air. She took a broom and started hitting Ge Laosao on the head, scaring him so much that he shrank back and ran back into the house.
"Who are you?" The woman was stunned when she saw Qin Xiaoyu and the others.
"This is from Shi Erlaizi's relatives. They asked me to bring it over. They can't go to the Second Company tonight, so they'll stay at our house for the night," Ge Laosao called out from inside the house.
"Come in quickly." The woman immediately put on a smiling face.
The room was similar in layout to a dormitory in the city, only larger. There was also a kang (a heated brick bed) in the front room, where two children were jumping and playing. When they saw strangers, they would stop obediently.
Ever since Hanhan disappeared, Qin Xiaoyu has been unable to bear seeing children. Whenever she sees a little boy of similar age to Hanhan, she can't help but burst into tears.
Tang Wenwen tugged at her arm and greeted the woman first, smiling, "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry to have troubled you."
"What kind of situation is this? We're stuck in this mountain valley, not seeing a single outsider all year round. It would be good if someone came to talk to us." The woman invited them to sit on the kang (heated brick bed) to warm up, and then brought over a kang table, quickly setting out a table of dishes.
"Pour the wine." Old Ge came over from the kitchen, holding a wine bottle in his hand, humming a little tune.
"You guys are really lucky. Old Liu's family in the front yard slaughtered a pig today and gave us a set of intestines and a piece of meat. I made a pig-slaughtering dish, come and have a taste." The sister-in-law was very cheerful. Qin Xiaoyu saw that she and Ge Lao Sao were exchanging glances and seemed to be a loving couple, so she felt relieved.
There used to be men like that, who liked to flirt but never actually did anything serious, and were terrified of their wives. That's probably where Ge Lao Sao's nickname came from.
In the 21st century, Qin Xiaoyu had also eaten pork stew, but it couldn't compare to the taste. She hadn't eaten properly for several days, and her stomach was empty; this time, she ate her fill.
"Sister-in-law's cooking is really good." Tang Wenwen said while wiping her mouth.
"You two will sleep in the back room tonight," Ge Laosao arranged.
"Here, I don't have anything good here." Qin Xiaoyu remembered that she had bought some candy while waiting for the train at the station, and quickly took it out to share with the two children.
"No, this was something you brought back from visiting relatives, right? What will you do now that you've separated it?" the sister-in-law stopped her.
"It's alright, sister-in-law, let the child eat it." Qin Xiaoyu thought to herself, those relatives, it's good enough that they're not chopped up, let alone given candy?
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