We are grateful for the policy that requires a letter of introduction to go out, and for the fact that there is no custom of going out to work, so even on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, it does not prevent them from going out.
The four of them arrived at the bus station almost one after the other, bought tickets with their respective letters of introduction. The sisters' tickets were bought by Cuiju, and the brothers' tickets were bought by Zhouxing. After buying the tickets, there were only a dozen minutes left before the bus departed, and they just made it on the 2 o'clock bus.
The old-fashioned minibus had a very strong smell of gasoline. Although I had a seat inside the station, I felt dizzy and nauseous again before we even left the county.
Fortunately, she hadn't eaten much for lunch, and she had secretly grabbed a plastic bag from the warehouse to keep on hand. Tang Cuiju even saved her a seat by the window. As soon as she saw her open the window a crack, Cuiju quickly handed her a water bottle.
"Feeling dizzy again? Quickly drink some ginger tea, I made it especially for you. Also, eat some biscuits or something to calm down."
Xiao Jiu slumped weakly against the back of her chair: "What will we do if we have to travel far away in the future? It's too much of a hardship."
She had only drunk ginger tea and didn't want to eat anything. To avoid disturbing others, she leaned her head against the back of the front seat, turned her head towards the window, closed her eyes to rest and breathe in the cold air. Zhou Yue, who was in the front seat, looked at her through the gap and handed her two orange candies and a bottle of mentholatum.
Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the mentholatum.
"How come you have Tiger Balm? I forgot to prepare this."
"I'm used to it. When we go into the mountains for training, we make some emergency preparations. You're just lucky to be here. I'm going to rub your temples."
Sure enough, after drinking ginger tea, applying mentholatum, and sucking on orange candy, I felt much better.
But she kept the window slightly open, and the four of them occupied that window. Although it would affect others, it didn't expose them to the wind directly. In addition, the air wasn't very pleasant in the enclosed environment, so no one complained or questioned it.
Although the two brothers were wearing military overcoats when they came back this time, in this era, it wasn't just soldiers who could wear military overcoats; anyone with a certain ability could get one. So even when other people got on the bus later, no one morally pressured them to give up their seats.
The car kept stopping and starting, and Xiao Jiu tried her best to control herself, thinking she could hold it in until they reached the city. But halfway through the journey, a man in the last row by the window couldn't hold it in and vomited. He didn't even have time to close the window, and within a minute, the smell of rotten stomach acid filled the entire car.
Xiao Jiu didn't even dare to turn her head to look. She was so disgusted that she couldn't hold it in any longer and rolled down the car window to vomit.
"Slow down, don't stick your head out too much. How are you? Sister Xiaoju, quickly pat her down."
Zhou Yue felt incredibly sorry for him; he understood that feeling all too well.
This is a necessary training for their Air Force pilots before they board the plane. They have to go through it every day. It is normal for them to vomit for a few days at the beginning and not be able to eat.
After they vomited, he would prepare food for them again. After they ate their fill, they would come back to train, and then vomit again. In the first six months, he lost more than ten pounds.
Motion sickness is a symptom caused by excessive stimulation of the vestibular balance receptors in the inner ear during movement. It is generally manifested as dizziness, vomiting, and cold sweats.
This is different from the fancy swings they usually use to combat motion sickness; theirs is even more brutal.
So he understandingly offered her his water bottle, but the little girl waved it away.
He picked up the ginger tea next to him, rinsed his mouth and cleared his throat, and it took him a while to calm down before he finally rolled up the car window.
This series of unexpected events finally caused the passengers in the carriage to start complaining!
"What are people who get carsick thinking? Why would they even take a car if they know they get carsick? The smell is disgusting!"
"Yeah, doing this during the Lunar New Year is really unlucky. Look at the smell, aren't you afraid of vomiting on people?"
The seat next to the young man in the back row who had finished vomiting was now empty, with only one person still sitting in the window seat on the other side.
Almost all the rear windows were open, and even though everyone was freezing, they just wanted to get off at their stop as soon as possible, rather than worrying about the lingering smell in the carriage.
Everyone knows that this incident affected one's mood, so Xiao Jiu didn't argue and obediently leaned back in her chair to rest.
She had vomited everything she needed to, and her stomach felt much better. She would feel even more comfortable if the car stopped stopping and starting.
Because of the snow, the roads were difficult to travel, and what should have been a journey of one or two hours took more than three hours.
She finally made it to the bus station, but the thought of having to take the bus made her even more irritable.
Fortunately, Zhou Xing was going to the train station, and Zhou Yue was going to find his comrades.
"Where are you staying? I'll come find you when I'm done with my work. I'll stay here until the seventh or eighth day of the new year before I leave."
Xiao Jiu quickly took out a notebook, wrote down the address, tore it up, and handed it over.
"Brother Yue, are you going to the city, or..."
"My comrade sent money to the post office in the rural area of Luolong and asked me to deliver it home to see how his wife and children are doing."
Although he regularly sends money, he worries that it won't reach his wife and children. His wife is illiterate, so he asked me to check on her.
"Your classmates are all married?" If I remember correctly, you're still an undergraduate student, right?
Zhou Yue was both amused and exasperated. "Our military academy also has instructors. It's not easy to run into someone from our hometown. It doesn't seem right not to help."
So that's how it is. After seeing Zhou Yue off, Xiao Jiu pulled Tang Cuiju to a secluded grove of trees and then conjured up a bicycle.
Although Cuiju had mentally prepared herself, she was still startled when the bicycle actually appeared out of thin air.
Xiao Jiu said weakly to her older sister.
"I really don't want to take the bus or walk, so... sis, just pretend you didn't see anything, let's ride our bikes home?"
Tang Cuiju looked at her with admiration: "You're really capable, getting another bicycle."
Xiao Jiu grinned, "From now on, you can ride this bike. It'll be faster for you to go to and from school, and it won't interfere with your work."
Tang Cuiju looked delighted. "Really? You don't need it?"
"I'll let you know in advance if I need it."
Tang Cuiju nodded vigorously, "Okay, okay, let's hurry back. I'll look for a school after junior high starts."
Although this will make her busier in the future, the number of places in the company's night school is limited, and she has just started, so there's no way she'll get a turn.
Instead of waiting for opportunities to come to her, she should seize the moment and learn first. That way, when the opportunity comes in the future, she will be more confident.
The bicycle ride was a bit bumpy, but it cured her nausea and vomiting. By the time the two of them got back to their rented room, it was almost dark.
The two elderly people in the Weng family were very happy to see the two sisters arrive, and kindly gave them a piece of half-burnt coal to start a fire.
The two sisters weren't the type to take advantage of others, so they returned a whole coal briquette and gave it to their parents as a New Year's greeting.
Perhaps because no one had wished them a Happy New Year in a long time, they were so happy that they insisted on giving each of them a penny as a New Year's gift.
Xiao Jiu accepted the gift generously and said many auspicious words to her sister, making the old couple very happy.
Cuiju looked at her younger sister somewhat awkwardly, "I'm so old, why would I need money from someone? This..."
"Grandma Weng said that unmarried people are all children, so it's only right that we give it to you. Don't be so polite, just take it. We can sell a pound of pastries for a dollar each!"
Hearing this, Tang Cuiju immediately stopped arguing, but promptly gave the money to Xiao Jiu.
"Here, it's all for you, you little money-grubber!"
Just like in previous years, most of the red envelopes I received this year were eventually given to Xiaojiu (a type of Chinese liquor).
However, she didn't accept the gifts from the younger brother and the seventh and eighth sisters, but she accepted all the gifts from the others without hesitation.
That's how I got the nickname "little money-grubber." In total, it's about ten yuan.
She also received red envelopes from Zhou Xing and Zhou Yue, as she had long treated them like her own brothers, so she didn't hold back at all.
While Tang Cuiju was outside tending to the coal stove, Xiao Jiu was also busy cleaning the entire house before unfolding and laying out the bedding.
"Hey sis, you even put up Spring Festival couplets before you left?"
Tang Cuiju was taken aback, only then noticing that every household in the courtyard had put up Spring Festival couplets, and it was clear that they were all written in the same handwriting.
"I didn't even think about these things. I rushed home as soon as the holiday started. I guess it was Grandpa and Grandma Weng who put them up. Look, they're all the same!"
It's pretty much the same, but they have extra "Fu" characters on their kitchen and windows. Does that count as special treatment?
"When you see them again, thank them!"
After a long afternoon of running around, I didn't feel like eating anything, so Tang Cuiju cooked me some millet and red date porridge and let me sneak away two steamed buns that I had brought from home.
After a simple dinner, I boiled a pot of water, washed up, and filled two hot water bottles.
The two sisters were exhausted today. When Xiao Jiu woke up again, it was already 8 a.m. on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.
Firecrackers were going off everywhere, a sign of good fortune for the start of work. Many businesses were setting off firecrackers, making it so noisy that she couldn't sleep at all.
My older sister left sometime earlier. When she came back from the toilet, she saw a bowl of porridge, a steamed bun, and an egg warming on the iron pot rack, with hot water underneath. This was breakfast that my second sister had left for her.
After washing up and making the bed, I cleaned the room, added coal briquettes to the stove, and then pushed my bicycle to head outside.
"Little Jiu, come here, we need to talk to you about something."
Xiao Jiu walked into the small shack with surprise, looked around the dark house, and couldn't help but frown.
"Grandpa Weng, Grandma Weng, no offense, but your house is too low and damp. Living here for a long time is not good for your health. The back house could actually accommodate one person. If all else fails, you could make this house brighter!"
"Oh dear, how many more days do we have left to live? It's better that this house is dilapidated, you don't understand."
It's nothing, I just wanted to ask if you could still get some refined grains, eggs, and meat.
I have an old friend who wanted one too, but you all left before the new year.
I was thinking of treating the kids to something nice these next few days, while they're still at home. They have these old things in their house too!
Xiao Jiu asked instinctively, "Is it reliable?"
The elderly couple exchanged a glance. "If you're worried, you can leave it with me first, and they can come and pick it up later. As for the price... how would you like to change it?"
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