Qin Xiaoyu took out three loaves of bread and gave one to each of them. Daqu then slowed down the car, took the bread with one hand and the other, and began to wolf it down.
"There's still sausage here, Brother Qu, you can have some." Zhou Xing sat between Da Qu and Qin Xiaoyu, and Qin Xiaoyu handed him the sausage over his shoulder.
"This is good stuff, how much does it cost per pound?" Daqu took the sausage but put it down again, reluctant to eat it.
"Eat up, there's more here." Qin Xiaoyu quickly handed her another one.
"I'll save it for my son; he's never had this before." Daqu smiled sheepishly.
A tractor caught up from behind, and because their speed was slow, it quickly overtook them. The tractor didn't rush off; it stopped a distance away, and the driver waved vigorously at them.
"What's up?" Daqu asked as he opened the car door.
"Look, is your water tank leaking?" the tractor driver pointed to the back.
"Damn it!" Daqu cursed as he jumped off, then waved to the tractor driver to thank him. The tractor sputtered away, billowing black smoke.
"How is it?" Zhou Xing asked worriedly when he saw him come up.
"It's alright. In this freezing weather, a small hole would freeze to death in no time. It's not a big problem." After saying that, Daqu started the car again, and this time the speed increased significantly.
Looking at the endless white snow outside the window, Qin Xiaoyu suddenly felt a little worried.
Daqu's judgment was clearly wrong. Around 4 p.m., their car stopped on a hilltop and could no longer be driven.
"What should we do?" Qin Xiaoyu panicked. She remembered what Ge Laosao had told her last time. Although it was not dark yet and she could not see the wolves in the wild, the days were short in winter and it would get dark very quickly.
The three were still discussing countermeasures when the cover-up was already revealed.
"I'm going to find someone; I'll freeze to death here tonight." Daqu dared not wait any longer.
"Are there any houses around here?" Qin Xiaoyu looked outside, but all she saw was white light; there were no lights anywhere.
“There’s a small company there. My wife went there in the summer when she was picking hazelnuts and mushrooms. I even drove to pick her up. We had to leave before it got completely dark, or wolves would come out.” Daqu pulled an iron crowbar out of the car for self-defense, grabbed a large flashlight, and jumped out of the car.
"What do we do?" Qin Xiaoyu pressed.
"Don't get out of the car, keep warm, and wait for me to come back."
"Shall we go together?" Zhou Xing asked hurriedly.
"How many steps do you think she can take? She'll only waste time." Da Qu glanced at Zhou Xing as if he were an idiot.
Daqu's figure quickly disappeared, and the car was so quiet that only the breathing of the two people could be heard. Last time, Ge Laosao had mentioned that the temperature at night could reach minus forty degrees Celsius. With the car off and no heating equipment available, the two of them would have to find their own way to heat the car.
"Come here, I'll hug you, that way we can conserve heat." Zhou Xing unbuttoned his military overcoat.
Qin Xiaoyu knew, of course, that in extraordinary times, there were no time for formalities. She took off her cotton-padded coat, curled up, and snuggled into Zhou Xing's arms. She then covered herself with the coat, and Zhou Xing pulled his coat tighter around her neck, enveloping Qin Xiaoyu in his body heat.
Fortunately, Qin Xiaoyu was petite, so Zhou Xing was carrying her like a child, and it didn't seem strenuous at all.
"Why isn't he back yet?" Qin Xiaoyu's anxiety grew.
"It'll be soon, very soon," Zhou Xing reassured her for the nth time.
"Zhou Xing, tell me about your experiences in the South." Qin Xiaoyu suddenly wanted to know. She had an idea: if she couldn't get back alive today, she at least wanted to know the truth.
"There's nothing to say, and you'll feel uncomfortable if you hear it."
"War is never a pleasant thing."
"So you can just enjoy peace, there are people outside to shelter you from the wind and rain."
"I heard that one of Da Da's former subordinates was killed in action?"
"Yes, we were escorting the seriously wounded to another hospital when we were shelled."
"You're the one who got injured that time?" Qin Xiaoyu almost fell out of his arms in her haste, but he pulled her back tightly.
"Yes. Let's not talk about the past."
"Is your injury alright?"
What could happen? What do you hope will happen?
"Of course I hope everything is alright, but..."
"No buts, don't make excuses for me. Like Lao Deng said, I didn't do well enough, that's all." Zhou Xing seemed to have guessed Qin Xiaoyu's thoughts and dispelled her idea.
"You've been too protected since you were little. You need to be tempered. It's not your fault." Qin Xiaoyu knew he had a fire burning inside him and didn't know how to comfort him.
"I'll be tempered by the experience. Now that I'm back safely, I'll work even harder and do even better." Zhou Xing lowered his head slightly, his lips brushing against Qin Xiaoyu's hair. He quickly looked up and turned his head toward the car door.
They all hoped the car door would suddenly open and a loud, hearty laugh would come from outside.
But things didn't go as planned; Daqu seemed to have vanished without a trace.
It wasn't until midnight that Qin Xiaoyu truly felt the cold; she now understood what it meant for her breath to turn to ice.
This was different from the last time she came. Back then, people were moving around, but now she was trapped in a small space. Zhou Xing pressed her head into his arms, while his face was exposed. Qin Xiaoyu's breath and his own breath left a frosty residue on his face, making him look like Santa Claus.
"Are your feet cold?" Qin Xiaoyu asked worriedly. Her feet had been frozen numb inside her boots, and her words reminded Zhou Xing.
Zhou Xing took off her boots, held her feet in his hands, and rubbed them warm little by little.
"I'm wearing military boots, do you think I'm like you girls? All you do is show off, coming here to show off, who are you trying to impress?" Zhou Xing complained, but his voice trembled slightly, which Qin Xiaoyu noticed.
"Take off your shoes and let's lie down on the seats. It'll be much warmer that way." Qin Xiaoyu's suggestion didn't work out; Zhou Xing was too tall, and his clothes were too short.
Zhou Xing and his military overcoat seemed less warm than before; Qin Xiaoyu could feel the heat draining from his body little by little. A wave of drowsiness washed over her, and Qin Xiaoyu felt her face stiffen. She tried to keep her eyelids open, but her consciousness was slipping away.
"Little Fish, live well and take good care of my parents. I love you."
Qin Xiaoyu seemed to hear Zhou Xing speaking, yet it also felt like a dream.
She could no longer distinguish between reality and dreams. They were clearly sitting on a sunny beach, the sun blazing down, and she wanted to take off her coat, but Zhou Xing held her tightly and wouldn't let go.
"I'm so hot! Let go of me!" Qin Xiaoyu murmured.
"You really are a handful." Qin Xiaoyu heard a familiar voice, opened her eyes, and saw Deng Jianyan. He was wearing a white coat with red lettering that read: Farm Health Center.
"Where's Zhou Xing?" Qin Xiaoyu sat up abruptly.
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