"Honey, please be careful. I'll be waiting for you to come home safely." Wang Minzhi said to Xu Damao as she hugged him before leaving.
"Don't worry, there are many of us going together this time, it's very safe. As for you, go home after get off work and don't wander around outside. Also, don't go back to this compound unless necessary, there's too much trouble here, I'm afraid they'll bully you," Xu Damao said while pinching Xiao Yingtao.
"Mmm, Damao, let's do it again, I want a baby." Wang Minzhi's heart was pounding from the caresses, and she extended the invitation.
Xu Damao readily accepted the invitation and embarked on his journey to explore Peach Blossom Spring.
Nothing was said that night, just one word: "work." The next morning, even with Xu Damao's excellent physical condition, he felt a little weak in the legs. On the other hand, Wang Minzhi, who had said she couldn't do it last night, was making breakfast for Xu Damao as if nothing had happened.
After breakfast, Xu Damao and Wang Minzhi went out together.
"Young man Xu, can't you rest for a bit at night? This old woman has such bad hearing and can't sleep." Xu Damao was scolded by the deaf old lady as soon as he stepped out the door.
Wang Minzhi, standing to the side, was too shy to look up.
"Ah, what did you say, ma'am? I can't hear you." Xu Damao didn't seem to care.
After leaving the house, the two quickly arrived at the steel rolling mill.
"Let's go." As the team leader, Xu Damao issued the departure order.
The large truck drove slowly in front, while the smaller car followed behind for safety. In the smaller car, Old Wu was driving, while Xu Damao, Tong Shuai, and Huang Shu were all dozing off. It was clear they had all worked overtime the previous night. Once they left Beijing, a different landscape came into view, and the previously listless group gradually woke up.
"I wish I could drive myself on a trip sometime soon, see all the beautiful landscapes of our country, and go wherever I want," Tong Shuai said with a sigh, looking at the scenery outside.
"Just wait and see. The country is developing slowly, and I think I'll definitely have that day. As for whether you can do it or not, that depends on whether you take care of your health," Xu Damao joked.
"You little brat, weren't we the same this morning? The eldest doesn't talk about the second eldest." Tong Shuai retorted.
And so, bragging and boasting, the group headed south.
On the way there, because there were goods on the truck and time constraints, the truck drove quite fast. During the day, Xu Damao, Tong Shuai, and Huang Shu took turns driving, while the other two drivers helped the truck driver take turns. Because there were enough people, they were physically able to manage. In the evening, they would usually find a town to rest in advance.
When the car reached Huizhou Province, the scenery changed completely. Before, they had traveled on flat roads with few mountains in sight. But after arriving in Huizhou, there were more mountains, and the road conditions naturally deteriorated, especially as they approached Qing'an.
Two days later, they finally arrived in Qing'an and completed the delivery. After the delivery, everyone found a hotel in the city and then went their separate ways.
"Everyone must pay attention to safety when traveling outside, avoid conflicts with others, and immediately call the police if any problems arise," Xu Damao instructed.
Actually, the biggest advantage for drivers traveling on the road, besides charging for rides, is that they can buy local specialties and bring them back to resell at a higher price or give them to their relatives. Of course, this is all done secretly, so they usually don't go with others.
After buying things, they would wrap them in a large bag or package, and no one else would look at them or rummage through them; everyone would pretend not to know.
After the drivers left, Huang Shu and the two from the auto repair team went out for a stroll, saying they wanted to see the scenery. As for Tong Shuai, he said he had a comrade-in-arms nearby and wanted to go check him out, but it's unclear if that's true.
After everyone left, Xu Damao drove off. He didn't plan to explore the city; instead, he wanted to check out the suburbs. Once there, he got out and used tools to remove the license plates. When buying things privately, it's best to avoid revealing your identity if possible.
On his way here, he saw that there were many tea plants on this mountain, and he planned to ask if they had any. Tea is very hard to buy in the capital, and it would be a really good gift to take back with him.
In that era, tea was purchased by the state, and the production was extremely limited; individuals were not allowed to buy or sell it. However, Xu Damao, who had previously worked as a projectionist, knew that in any era and in any place, farmers would always keep something as a lifeline. They might not necessarily sell it, but Xu Damao could trade it with them for grain.
Now, arable land in these mountainous areas is scarce to begin with, and with the natural disasters and man-made calamities of recent years, even edible tree bark has been eaten. Tea is a good thing, but it can't fill an empty stomach. Xu Damao believes that he could probably exchange some tea for grain.
Of course, Xu Damao would never go to households where people live together. Even if they had tea or other good things, he wouldn't want to share them, fearing being reported. Only in households where people live alone, where no one can see them, is it possible for the two to make a deal.
The car drove along the rural dirt road for half an hour. Xu Damao saw a few houses by the mountainside, but they were all locked up, presumably because the villagers had gone to the production team to earn work points. He continued driving and finally saw a house with its door open, and an old man was sitting at the door.
The old man was quite old, but in good spirits. Seeing Xu Damao park his car not far from his house, he immediately stood up. In those days, anyone who could drive a car was at least a high-ranking official in the county, and he thought some high-ranking official had come to inspect the area.
"Grandpa, do you have any water at home? I've been driving for a long time and my kettle is empty." Xu Damao didn't immediately ask if the other person had any tea leaves, but instead used the excuse of needing water to start a conversation.
Seeing that Xu Damao had only come to ask for water, the old man relaxed. So Xu Damao sat down, drank a glass of water, and chatted with the old man for a while. Fortunately, the old man must have had some experience in the world and spoke Jianghuai Mandarin, which Xu Damao could understand. Otherwise, if it had been the local Qing'an dialect, Xu Damao would probably have had to guess and communicate through gestures.
"Grandpa, your area produces tea, so every household drinks tea?" After chatting for a while, Xu Damao felt the atmosphere was right and asked.
"That's not true at all. They all belong to the production team. We have to hand them in immediately after we finish harvesting. Keeping them for ourselves would be a crime." The old man was very clear-headed and dared not expose any potential problems to outsiders.
"Oh, I see. I came here on a business trip from the north. I heard you have tea here, but you're short of grain. I was thinking of exchanging some grain with you. Since you don't have any, never mind. I'll ask around elsewhere later," Xu Damao said.
"Young man, do you really have grain? Are you on a business trip to the north?" The old man's originally cloudy eyes immediately brightened when he heard about the grain.
For the elderly, the other party had food, and more importantly, they were on a business trip to the north. This was likely their only interaction, minimizing the risk.
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