Chapter 06 Overnight

Yandu is not very close to Lin Qiao’s hometown. They set out at around seven in the morning and would not arrive until three or four in the afternoon.

The road is difficult to travel on now and the jeep can't run fast. We may not arrive at 90 o'clock, let alone 3 or 4 o'clock.

People in the countryside usually go to bed early, and most people go to bed at around 8pm. Not to mention that visibility is low and the road surface is very slippery on rainy days. Even an experienced driver like Xiao Fang doesn't dare to say that driving at night is definitely safe.

Ji Duo's expression was relatively calm. He asked Lin Qiao, "Don't you have a letter of introduction?"

As soon as Lin Qiao heard it, he knew that he wanted to spend the night on the road and rush to Shahe Village at dawn the next day.

In the early 1980s, there were no private hotels, so whether you stayed in a hotel or a guesthouse, you needed a letter of introduction.

Lin Qiao told the truth, "The educated youth was introduced by the wife of our village party secretary."

If someone else had introduced him, he might have helped Lin Qiao secretly if he had met a good village party secretary. But since he was introduced by the village party secretary's wife, it was impossible for Lin Qiao to reveal that he was going to run away, let alone get a letter of introduction.

Ji Duo didn't ask any more questions, "Then find a fellow villager to stay with."

He and Xiao Fang were both soldiers, so even if Lin Qiao didn't have a letter of introduction, giving them a little more money wouldn't arouse suspicion and vigilance. Moreover, this stretch of road was quite remote, and we couldn't see a single household for a long time. If we really wanted to find a town with a hotel, we might not be able to find one before dark.

Xiao Fang responded and paid more attention to the situation ahead.

However, as it got darker, they didn't find a place to stay, but a new situation arose.

Xiao Fang parked the jeep on the side of the road, got out with an umbrella, followed the headlights for a while, and then turned back, looking unhappy. "It seems there is a landslide ahead, and most of the road is blocked. It's too far to see clearly whether we can get through."

Lin Qiao felt that if she were Ji Duo, she would be angry right now.

Out of nowhere, it suddenly popped up that someone was engaged to my family, not only did I waste two days on this trip, but one thing led to another.

The man frowned as expected, "Look further ahead."

Xiao Fang did as he was told. This time, even Ji Duo lowered the car window a little and observed the road conditions ahead through the rain.

The rain was not as heavy as before. Under the high beam, one could vaguely see the dirt road that was mostly swallowed by sand and gravel. Lin Qiao also leaned over to take a look and felt that the remaining road was only half a meter wide, which was definitely not enough for a jeep to pass through.

Xiao Fang is more experienced. "You can't drive through unless you clear more than one meter of road."

How to clear more than one meter?

Never mind whether they had the tools or not. Even if they did, it was raining so hard that they would be soaked in no time.

What's more, the rain hasn't stopped yet and there is a risk of a second landslide on the mountain. It's not worth it just to rush.

Ji Duo raised his hand and rolled up the car window. "Let's drive back and stay in the same town for one night."

That's a long way, at least two or three hours' drive...

Lin Qiao was about to lean back in his chair when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something amid the sound of rain. "It seems like there is a sound..."

Before he could finish his words, Ji Duo in front said in a deep voice: "Stop the car." Then he rolled down the window that was about to close.

The man listened for a moment, then immediately opened the door and got out of the car, striding forward without paying attention to the pouring rain.

Xiao Fang was a little slow, and quickly took an umbrella and chased after him. The two of them quickly went back and forth. Ji Duo opened the car door and started to unbutton his military uniform. "Someone is buried. Xiao Fang and I will go to rescue them. You wait in the car first."

He threw his coat on the passenger seat and reached into the trunk to get a shovel.

He was only wearing a crisp shirt, which was hit by the rain and soon stuck to his solid chest with wetness.

The man didn't care at all. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms covered with a thin layer of muscle, and started to clear the way neatly and swiftly.

I didn't expect that this man looked so cold and serious, but he didn't hesitate to do the dirty and tiring work.

But now they were racing against time, so Lin Qiao didn't have time to think about it and just jumped out of the car and opened the trunk.

Maybe it was because the road conditions were bad in those days and we often encountered various situations, so there were a lot of tools in the trunk of the jeep. In addition to the iron shovel that Ji Duo and Xiao Fang took away, there were also pickaxes, shovels, hammers, and even a large military searchlight.

Lin Qiao thought about it, dragged out the pickaxe and searchlight, held them in his arms and ran over.

When I got closer, I found that half of a wooden wheelbarrow was indeed exposed on the edge of the gravel-covered dirt road. The wheelbarrow was tilted, and underneath it was a man covered in mud. I couldn't see the man's face, and I could only hear his weak mumbling.

Lin Qiao quickly turned on the searchlight and shone it on the location of the unicycle.

With the addition of this light, the vision immediately became much clearer. Ji Duo raised his eyes and glanced at her, but said nothing.

Lin Qiao then had time to take a look at the landslide on the mountain nearby and found that the hard rocks inside had been exposed. It didn't look like a second landslide was going to happen for the time being. He breathed a sigh of relief and helped the two men move the wheelbarrow.

The three of them worked together and finally rescued the man who was trapped underneath.

Ji Duo laid the man flat on the side of the road and pressed a few spots with his hands. "His leg bones and ribs are fractured. I don't know if there's any internal bleeding."

With such serious injuries, he must be sent to the hospital, so several people lifted the man into the back seat of the jeep.

Lin Qiao put her schoolbag and food in the back and moved as far to the side as possible to leave enough space for the man. Xiao Fang turned the key and was about to start the car and turn around, but the man struggled and said, "Go, go to the front... It's closer..."

But the road ahead was not clear yet, and Xiao Fang glanced at Ji Duo who was sitting in the passenger seat.

Ji Duo said nothing, opened the car door, and went to the trunk to get the tools again.

It was indeed faster to walk in front. The two spent another ten minutes clearing the road. After driving for only twenty minutes, they saw the outline of the town.

When he was sent to the town hospital, he had already fainted due to the pain. It was impossible to contact his family, so Ji Duo simply paid for the medical expenses and asked the doctor on duty to stop the bleeding, bandage the wound, and do the necessary examinations.

Seeing the person being carried away on a stretcher, Lin Qiao couldn't help but sneeze. Only then did he realize that he, Ji Duo, and Xiao Fang were all wet.

Especially Ji Duo, his wet hair was a little messy, and there was mud on his military pants that were tightly attached to his strong long legs. Compared with his usual neat military uniform, he looked a little shaggy, but the uniform also showed off his good figure that was the result of years of training.

Hearing Lin Qiao sneeze, the man glanced over, touched Lin Qiao's wet hair against her face, and politely turned his eyes away, asking a passing nurse, "Do you have any unworn hospital gowns?"

The two people who came were soldiers who had just saved someone. The nurse responded quickly and found a set of hospital gowns for each of them.

"Change first." Ji Duo handed one of the suits to Lin Qiao. "He's not awake yet, so just stay here for one night."

It was indeed uncomfortable and cold to be sticky all over, so Lin Qiao took it and went into the women's bathroom to change. When she came out, Ji Duo was standing by the window with his back to her. He hadn't changed out of his wet military uniform yet, and the corners of his lips were a little red in the dim light.

Maybe it was out of politeness, or maybe it was because the car was poorly ventilated, this was the first time Lin Qiao saw him smoking on the journey.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned his head and took off the cigarette from the corner of his mouth. He pointed to a ward door not far away with his long fingers and said, "The ward the nurse arranged has two empty beds. You go to bed first and take off your clothes.

You can hang it on a boiling water boiler.”

His tone was like that of an old cadre explaining his work, but the small movement when biting the cigarette revealed a hint of unruliness that was inconsistent with his stern appearance.

Lin Qiao thought that it was probably because of his soaking wet appearance that she felt this way, so she asked with a smile, "Am I in trouble?"

Although she was not afraid to talk to anyone and had some social skills, she was not the type to talk for no reason. Ji Duo and Xiao Fang were both taciturn, and Xiao Fang had to concentrate on driving. She slept and ate on the way, and this was the first time she took the initiative to speak.

Ji Duo thought she was going to say something polite to apologize, so he said in a light voice, "Not really."

"Not really, but that's a bit of a hassle."

Unexpectedly, Lin Qiao raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this, "Since you have already troubled me, can I trouble you with one more thing?"

She really has a pair of extremely bright eyes, especially when she looks at people with a raised eyebrow, the small red mole at the end of her eye is like a hook, cunning and smart, all in it. That kind of beauty is full of presence and aggressive.

I don't know what the trouble is that she suddenly complained about.

Ji Duo closed his eyes and retracted his gaze, saying only one word: "Speak."

"When you get to my house tomorrow, no matter what conditions my uncle and aunt put forward, you must not agree. You probably don't know that in addition to my cousin's job, they also received a lot of things from him. If this thing doesn't work out, they won't be able to pay it back at all, and they will definitely not let it go."

"Are you afraid of owing someone a favor?" Ji Duo bit his cigarette, his low voice revealing a hint of ambiguity.

Lin Qiao shook his head calmly, "I just don't want them to take advantage of me, not even a penny. I don't owe them anything, I've worked hard since I was a child, and they've taken a lot of my dad's allowance, and they're still selling me out. If I agree to their terms in order to resolve this matter as soon as possible, believe me, they will suck the Ji family like leeches, and it will never end."

This statement is made bluntly, but precisely because it is blunt, it sounds more like a statement of fact rather than malicious speculation about personal emotions.

Ji Duo raised his eyes and said, "You know them quite well."

"You're about to be sold out. If you don't understand, aren't you a fool?"

Not to mention her, the original body had never thought of marrying that male educated youth. Lin Qiao blinked, "Believe it or not, even if I ran away, they would not cancel the marriage, they would just delay as much as possible and find a way to catch me back."

Lin Qiao was not wrong, Lin Shouyi and his wife really thought so.

When she didn't see Lin Qiao yesterday morning, Sun Xiuzhi thought she was lying on the kang again, using the excuse of feeling unwell. She was happy to save a meal, so she ignored her. After dinner, when she was washing the pots and dishes and feeding the chickens and ducks, she even blamed Lin Qiao for being lazy and only knowing how to eat free meals at home.

As a result, when it was time for lunch, Lin Qiao had not left the house yet, and the couple finally realized something was wrong.

Sun Xiuzhi went to check in person and came back with a pale face, "He's not here, and his schoolbag has been taken away too."

It was like cold water dripping into boiling oil. For more than a day, the Lin family was looking for someone. Lin Shouyi and his son Lin Wei didn't even go out to look for him. Even with such heavy rain today, the family was not idle. Lin Shouyi was still outside.

"We searched the village, the school, and even her teachers and classmates. Where on earth could this damn girl have gone?"

Sun Xiuzhi was so anxious that big blisters appeared on the corners of her mouth. She gasped in pain every time she spoke. While staring at the cascading rain outside, she asked her son Lin Wei: "Have you asked Old Guo's Yan Zi? She is best friends with that dead girl. Maybe she knows something."

Lin Wei was so dizzy by her eyes, "I asked, Guo Yan went to her grandmother's house the day before yesterday, she was not home at all."

"Where could she go? She couldn't just hang herself with a rope, could she?"

Sun Xiuzhi was anxious, so her words were naturally unpleasant to the ears. Lin Wei frowned, and was about to say something when Lin Shouyi came back.

The rain was so heavy that even the oilcloth poncho could not block it. As soon as Lin Shouyi entered the door, a small puddle of water formed on the ground.

Sun Xiuzhi quickly grabbed a towel and asked, "What time is it? Why did you come back just now?"

Lin Shouyi took it and wiped it on his face. "The water was too high and flooded the small stone bridge at the entrance of the village. I waded back."

"So did you manage to go?"

"I'm going." Lin Shouyi wrung out the towel soaked with water and wiped his body with it. His expression did not relax at all because of the affirmative answer. "My sister-in-law said she had never seen Lin Qiao. When she saw me looking for someone, she asked me what happened."

"She must be fooling you!" Sun Xiuzhi didn't believe it. "Who else can that damn girl go to except her biological mother?"

Lin Shouyi shook his head, frowning, "It's hard to say. Even if she is willing to keep him, she may not find someone else later."

When Lin Qiao's mother remarried, she agreed not to take care of the child, and she had very little contact with the Lin family over the years.

Sun Xiuzhi sat down on the kang and said, "What should I do? I have kept this a secret from the Ma family. They will come to pick them up tomorrow morning. How can I find a Lin Qiao for them?" As she spoke, she seemed to have thought of something and stood up suddenly.

"You said, that dead girl is not going to find the Ji family, right?"