Chapter 100

Grape ditch

"Mom, how come we walked until it was dark? Is Turpan so far away?" Sandan woke up and saw his brother's face was green and he was still sitting behind him. Then he looked at the sky and it was already dark.

There were so many radio devices in the car and the heater was on, so I didn't feel cold. But riding in a car is always uncomfortable.

"Sleep a little longer, we'll be there in about half an hour."

“But I’ve been sleeping for a long time.”

"Look, Erdan hasn't woken up yet, so just continue sleeping." Nie Gong was at the back now, and he was afraid that the child would bother him, so his tone was a little unfriendly.

"Dandan, eat something before you go to sleep, and you will fall asleep. I guess you woke up because you were hungry." Nie Weimin said.

Sandaner sat up silently, picked up a big apple, and ate it with a biscuit like a little mouse, crunching it. He then added two eggs to himself, wiped his mouth after drinking, and said he wanted to get off the car to pee.

"No, you can't stop the car now. We have left Staff Officer Yu and the others far behind. Let the child hold it in." Nie Gong said from behind.

"People have three urgent needs. You can't let yourself be held in for pee. Dandan, open the door and get out of the car quickly. Come back after you pee. I also need to pee." In order to keep up with the staff, Chen Lina had hardly eaten anything for almost 24 hours.

"Mom, my urine is frozen." The wind was blowing outside, and Sandan was shivering from the cold, but he still wanted to show it to his mother.

It was cold and out in the wilderness. I was already holding my urine, but the wind blew and it felt like I was stuck to ice. It hurt. Chen Lina felt that she would definitely have to pee more frequently tonight.

"Okay, hurry up and get in the car, call Erdan down, and tell him to pee before going to sleep."

Chen Lina saw a boundary marker on the side of the road. She looked at it with the help of the car lights. It was a forehead flag. Then she looked at the road again. It was National Highway 111. Oh my goodness, if she continued driving like this, she could reach the capital in a day and a night.

These people are not going to the capital to take a plane, Chen Lina wondered in her heart.

"Are you ready? Staff Officer Yu has urged you many times. Get in the car and drive for me." Nie Gong said angrily.

"People have three urgent needs. The children have been in the car for a whole day. Is it wrong for them to get off the car to pee? You should have said so earlier that we would not go out with you if someone else drove for you." Chen Lina was also angry. "Boss Nie, I have been married to you for four years. Except for going to Dushanzi to soak in a hot spring, this is still

"I don't think it's hard." Nie Weimin said, "Dad, you don't think it's hard either." The unhappy little Nie started to fan the flames.

"You think everyone can be like you, a workaholic, who can go without food or drink when he is happy, but do you know what the result will be if you continue like this?"

"Stop, I don't need you to tell me how I will die in the future. I don't care about life and death. I'm very open-minded."

"No, Nian Gong, you don't know that you have a lot of problems. For example, can we discuss how many postcards Miss Bao sent you? Have you shown me one?"

"Dad, who is Miss Bao? Is she pretty?"

"There are autumn leaves in autumn, and there should be spring grass in spring. Oh, and in summer, did she send you a cool bikini?"

"Chen Lina, if you keep making noise like this, I will kick you out of the car."

"Okay, come on, come and kick me. No, no, I should kick you down. Really, you have never been honest with me about this. You always think that, okay, this woman had nowhere else to go and came to me to seek refuge. Her parents and relatives are all on the farm. She can't go anywhere, so I can do whatever I want to her."

"You are simply making excuses and looking for trouble." He was annoyed and looked around for his thermos.

Nie Weimin handed him a cup at the right time, "Dad, drink some water before you make a fuss."

Nie Gong also got angry. "Don't be suspicious of me. It's just a postcard. My classmate sent it to me. Am I going to take it to you and say, 'Look, this classmate sent me a postcard. She must be interested in me?'"

"A woman tells a man that she is divorced and she is interested in him."

"It's a false excuse," said Nie Gong. He was actually quite confused because Bao Manli did say that she was divorced.

After all, she was once the school belle, but she had met the wrong man, so she wrote a letter to express her feelings, and Nie Gong also comforted her. It was mainly because Xiao Bao was very enthusiastic, and Nie Gong hadn't seen her for many years. He saw her wearing the clothes of a flying gimmick on the postcard, and knew about her achievements in art. Of course, he still respected successful women, so he praised her a few words.

But in Miss Chen's view, this respect is admiration.

Nie Weimin was very happy to listen to the quarrel, but at this time there was a signal on the band they were searching, and it was encrypted.

"Turn left 30 meters ahead. You can see the wheel. Turn."

"Staff Officer Yu and his team are moving forward. How can we turn? If we turn, we will end up in the Gobi Desert. I won't turn."

"You have to turn when I tell you to, right now, turn quickly." The engineer's voice was very rough. "It's four o'clock in the morning now, Chen Lina, if you go forward, you will be in the radio surveillance range of the 65th Military District. If you turn right, you will be in the radio surveillance range of the Hongyan Military District. Once our band is exposed, we will be tracked. Turn quickly."

Almost immediately, all the signal sources behind were making noises, and the laborer was running around, shouting, "Faster, I told you to go faster."

"It's dark and deserted, how can you ask me to fly faster? Do you want me to fly into a sand pit?"

Well, they finally jumped onto a road. From the sound of the tires, Chen Lina felt that this was a provincial road. However, she was completely dizzy. Fortunately, the land in the north was wide enough and the road was straight enough.

There were no enemies watching, and no planes were hit. Just based on the voices of the workers, Chen Lina felt that she had captured the capital.

As soon as she closed her eyes and made up her mind, she stepped on the accelerator and rushed forward. The road was straight in the dawn, but because the big truck had passed through it too many times, there were either ditches or bumps. At a speed of 180, if it hit a pothole, everyone in the car would fly onto the roof.

"Hurry up, faster, I can't hear any signal." The engineer was still shouting from behind, but this time Miss Chen didn't say a word. Even the two children woke up, holding on to the iron railings that separated the front and back, motionless, looking at each other.

In front, at the farthest point of the road, you can see a gently undulating terrain. However, Chen Lina just can't reach that terrain.

"I'm telling you, you're risking your life with your whole family, and you're going to die on this desert beach. It's ridiculous, a bullshit heroic sacrifice, you died because of my racing, and you told me to race."

"Can you please shut your mouth?" the worker yelled.

Watching them fighting back and forth, the two younger ones were so scared that their eyes became extra big, their mouths were pursed, and they were as obedient as little kittens, trembling with fear.

"Brake, brake, I told you to brake." Nie Gong suddenly yelled again. Chen Lina stopped arguing with him and thought that this man must have had an electric shock. Look at the way he is shaking, he must have had an electric shock.

From the rearview mirror, she could only see someone constantly pressing buttons and the whole car making a chaotic sound.

At this time, only Erdan dared to be quiet, and a piece of oily fruit fell out of the washbasin.

Snap!

The car stalled on the road, emitting exhaust fumes, like a tired old ox.

"It's passed, it's already passed, can you..." Nie Gong took off his headphones, and before he could finish his words, there was a rumbling sound. He held onto Xiao Nie, and the whole car began to move backwards to a position where there was a signal, and then he fell to his death.

…

"Come on, get off the car, I'll show you something good." I don't know how long I waited before the worker said this.

He opened the car door and got out first. He then reached out to hug Nie Weimin, and his son lay on him. He reached out again but failed, so Erdan took the initiative to jump onto his father.

Chen Lina must have driven for about 36 hours in total. Her legs felt a little weak. She hugged Sandan and said, "Nian Gong, if a plane explodes in the sky today, I will tear your head off and kick it like a ball."

"It will definitely happen. Just wait and see."

"Dad, are we really going to shoot down the plane? Do we use our hands?" Erdan looked around curiously, left his father behind, and ran forward on the road.

Chen Lina felt sorry for him because she felt that in this car, only her and Erdan had the same IQ. Nie Weimin was not excited at all. He climbed onto the car directly by stepping on his father's shoulders, holding a small telescope in his hand and pointing to the sky with one hand, facing the Jiaoju.

"Five, four, three..." Before Nie Gong could count to one, there was a flash of fire in the sky, followed by a bang. It should be quite far away from here, but the ground beneath his feet was shaking obviously.

In her previous life, the only earthquakes Chen Lina had experienced were the Tangshan earthquake and the satellite launch at the Wuquan Satellite Base, which were this big.

The rumbling sound continued, one after another. No, it should be a huge echo, as if the whole earth was shaken. Chen Lina was so shocked that she felt her eardrums hurt for a moment.

"Get in the car, hurry up, go quickly." Nie Gong said immediately.

Moreover, he took the steering wheel and drove the car himself, and Chen Lina sat in the passenger seat.

"Is that all?" Chen Lina thought it was funny. "Nian Gong, don't tell me that you shot down that plane."

Nie Gong stopped talking. "Okay, you guys have a good sleep, and I'll take you to Turpan to eat grapes, bathe in hot springs, drink wine, and eat barbecue skewers. That should be it."

"This car is not good." Erdan was unhappy. "Dad, where is Turpan? I don't want to take the car. This car makes the sky dark and bright and still doesn't get me there. This car is not good."

"Fool, it's not the car that made the sky dark, it's the sky itself that was dark. And now it's light again, and you didn't even look at it. You ate ten eggs by yourself. We set out at six in the morning yesterday, and now it's already six in the morning of the next day." Nie Weimin said.

Since someone was driving, Chen Lina put on some clothes and fell asleep.

When they were driving on the vast Inner Mongolia prairie, they found that various military trucks and wartime command vehicles were speeding from all directions. Of course, they were all heading towards the direction of the plane explosion.

The worker whistled all the way and looked back at the little boy who was delivering water and apples to him. The father and son were very proud.

She didn't know how long she slept before she woke up at the border of Eqi. This time, the fake jeep in front was given to the Chief of Staff Yu and his men, and they were replaced with a very old Beijing jeep. Then the family drove on to Hami.

Driving all the way to the Grape Valley, Chen Lina had to see how the drying houses in this well-known place were built. Of course, that was because the drying houses there could dry the grapes quickly, and also, although she had come here for a trip in her previous life, she had only been there for a quick visit and had not learned much knowledge.

"Tourism, sightseeing? What do you mean by tourism and sightseeing? There are no girls from Tashkurgan here. You can visit, but you have no place to stay. You can just take a look around and leave." After knocking on a door, the old man who looked like Afanti seemed very angry.

We have come here and have run a long way. We have to go back to Hami. It is dark and the road is difficult to walk on. Of course Chen Lina doesn't want to walk anymore.

She turned back to the car, found her own scarf, knocked on the door again, and smiled happily, "Grandpa, this scarf is for you. I also have some fried dough twists, which are very fragrant. It would be nice to change to a warm bed."

"Aren't you here to look for the girl from Tashkurgan?"

"The three young men in our family are not yet adults. We don't need the girl from Tashkurgan, nor her sister and dowry." Chen Lina said with a smile.

Afanti let them in. "People nowadays are very bad. Ever since someone sang "The Girl from Tashkurgan", people have come to our place every day to look for girls. They eat and sleep, and when they get up, they pack big bags of dried grapes. When one leaves, another comes. They are the things we need to make a living. One person is a guest, but when many come, it's not surprising."

"Grandpa, I'm from the Magnolia Farm in Umay. I'll let my children stay at your place for one night. Tomorrow, I want to see your drying house. We also grow grapes there, and we probably have more varieties than you do here.

But the drying room is not good, and the grape drying rate is not high enough. I welcome you to come to us to find new varieties. Of course, you can also tell me how to build a drying room, okay?"

"I'm only 35. Isn't it a bit too old for you to call me Grandpa?" Grandpa Afanti joked.

"No way?" Chen Lina turned around and glanced at Nie Gong, who was about the same age. Although Nie Gong was not a handsome young man, he was tall and handsome, and still a young man. This man was really an old man.

"Okay, this is the only place we have in our house. If you don't mind, let's get out of here together."

Afanti's wife was very hospitable. It was winter, and there was nothing to do in the grape ditch. After a while, fried oil fruits, dried grapes, and fried walnuts and peanuts were all served. She made a cup of milk tea for each of them. She didn't speak Chinese, but just kept motioning to Chen Lina, "Eat, eat."

Originally, the Nie Gong couple thought that Afanti's family had no children, but then Sandaner cried out, "Mom, someone is touching my back."

When Chen Lina saw the hanging curtains rustling, she said, "Grandpa, if there are any children at home, call them out. The children in my family are very polite and will not hit anyone."

Afanti pulled the curtain and said, "They don't speak Chinese and are shy."

Hey, there are three hiding behind, all of them are handsome boys, Uyghur children. No matter what they will look like when they grow up, they all have high noses and deep eye sockets when they are young, and are very handsome.

Chen Lina took the laborers out with her and moved the things out of her car.

After two days, the tea leaf eggs were still good. They were roasted over the fire, one by one, and the aroma of tea gradually spread. Then there were her oil fruits, which were made of honey and eggs, fried with mutton oil, and coated with sugar. They were extremely delicate.

After a few Uyghur children tasted it, they immediately left their mother's food and came to eat the one fried by Chen Lina.

A Uyghur child went to the fire to grab eggs and suddenly there was a screech. Nie Weimin said, "Hey, your clothes are burned."

For children, even if they don’t speak the same language, they will have other ways of communicating.

The young man stretched it from his body, and suddenly threw it into the fire with his long arm, and there was another sound of puffing.

Nie Weimin thought he was performing magic and said, "One more."

Erdan and Sandan stopped eating and huddled together to see what the child could come up with. As a result, the three children started to cling to him and soon, they started to quarrel with each other.

"What is it? What on earth do you have on you? Why does it make a sound when thrown into the fire? It's really strange." Erdan said, hugging a child's neck and reaching his hands into the child's clothes.

The child struggled for a long time, wiped something out of his body, carefully put it in Erdan's hand, and motioned him to throw it too.

Erdan looked at it for a long time and asked Chen Lina, "Mom, what is this?"

Chen Lina took a look and said, "Worker, let the children sleep on the floor, and we will sleep in the car tonight."

"Okay, okay, I've thought about it. My car can't be turned off at night in such a cold weather. If it is turned off, it won't be able to start. Tonight, we will sleep in the car."

"Oh my god, I've learned something new. There are lice all over the children of Afanti's family. I don't want your sons anymore. Let's throw them all away and leave quietly tomorrow morning. They must be covered with lice now." Chen Lina said with lingering fear when they got in the car.

Lice were a common thing. Living in the frontier areas, it was difficult to take a bath all year round, so the educated youth would occasionally have one on their bodies.

But most people will subconsciously get a chill down their spine when they see that thing. They live in clothes and reproduce very quickly. Even boiling water can kill the lice but not their eggs. As long as you put on the clothes again, they will reproduce. Once infected, it is extremely difficult to remove.

"I have to admit that classmate Bao Manli did send me many postcards, but I only replied to a few of them as a courtesy. Chen Lina, what on earth are you saying in front of Wei Min today? We are adults, and we should try not to quarrel in front of children. Otherwise, when he gets married in the future, he will make quarreling a habit, which is not good."

"Do you know how sleepy a person is after driving for 36 hours? Not only is she sleepy, but her face is numb and her hands and feet are out of control. If I don't argue with you, I will fall asleep."

"So, you were just looking for a reason to quarrel with me?"

"Really?" Chen Lina said, "You are just nitpicking. As for your classmate named Bao, I don't care at all. What if she takes you away from me today? I live my own life. There is no need to be suspicious of a man."

"I understand. In your heart, the fork in the almond tree is immortal, and I am nothing."

"That's good. But tell me how you shot down that plane. I'm really curious."

"This involves professional knowledge. First, I know its direction and take-off time. Then, I track its radar base station, disguise myself as a base station, and transmit radar navigation signals. The aircraft will be disturbed and then follow my signal. Then, when it reaches the predetermined location, it will..."

"Forget it, don't talk anymore. I won't understand you anymore."

There were rustling sounds in the darkness, and the car began to shake slowly in front of the cave.

"Nie Gong, the day before yesterday in the lab, and today in the car, you seem to be a little excited lately."

"No, I get furious when I think of the apricot fork. I can't beat you in an argument, but I can always beat you in this, right? Come on, shut up, don't scream, I told you not to scream."

"Where are your rules, where are your Marxism-Leninism, where are your once-a-month things?"

"Ma Lie will allow me to have an extra session today. You said that all men love to masturbate."

The white snow was set off by the moonlight that was as bright as jade. Under the moon, an old jeep was moving with its tires bouncing up and down, sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

I couldn't tell who was crying in the hole, but the old man outside was ready to attack. No, no, it must be the plane that was about to explode. I thought the crying in the hole would slow down, but the car was shaking more and more violently, but it didn't stop in the end, and the crying didn't stop either.

"Your son was bitten by lice. Sandan is crying. Go and check him out."

"Don't move. It would be useless to me even if they were all bitten to death by lice. Just don't move."