Chapter 68 Lice
Song Lu's tangled hair was difficult to comb, and she pulled so hard that her scalp ached before she finally managed to tidy it up.
Feng Ying was combing Wu Zhaodi's hair after she finished washing it. When Feng Ying saw the little thing on the comb, she exclaimed in surprise, "Zhaodi, you have lice in your hair. You need to wash it again."
As Song Lubai approached, she saw that there were indeed lice jumping around in Wu Zhaodi's hair, and there was more than one.
She had lice on her head when she was a child. Lice were hard to get rid of, so her mother shaved her head cleanly to get rid of them. After her hair grew back, she had already moved to the city and it never grew back.
It was one thing to be laughed at when you shaved your head as a child, but back then you weren't so proud. Now, if Song Lubai had lice all over her head, she definitely wouldn't have the heart to shave it.
Wu Zhaodi had known for a long time that she had lice on her head. Many people have lice on their heads, but it was still a little embarrassing to have others see it.
She took the comb and vigorously scraped her scalp. "No matter how many times I wash it, it's no use. It's so itchy every day, it's so annoying."
Song Lubai grabbed her hand to stop her: "Be gentle, your scalp is bleeding from being scratched."
Wu Zhaodi: "What can we do? Combing and washing our hair won't help!"
Song Lubai: "I had one too when I was little. My mom shaved my head. If you don't..."
Wu Zhaodi immediately refused: "No way, my hair has grown so long with great difficulty, I can't bear to cut it."
Lu Shuangshuang, the woman who had previously criticized Song Lubai for wasting firewood, came closer and said, "Go buy sulfur soap, our Shanghai brand sulfur soap. Use this to wash your hair, wash it frequently, and it will kill all the lice."
With hopeful eyes, Wu Zhaodi asked, "Does the farm here sell them?"
Lu Shuangshuang shook her head, "No, I've never seen it. It's made in Shanghai, and maybe it's only sold in Shanghai."
Song Lubai had never seen Shanghai brand sulfur soap in the department stores in Yangcheng City.
Lu Shuangshuang glanced at the group and said, "You should be careful living together; lice are contagious."
Wu Zhaodi's scalp was itchy, so she pressed her head into the basin of water, trying to drown all the lice.
Water is for everyone to use, and gathering firewood is also something everyone does together.
The group walked for several miles with their hair still wet, and found a large patch of red dwarf willows behind a patch of earthen mounds.
The group worked together to pull down a lot of tree branches, then tied them together with thin twigs and carried them back.
The amount of firewood that the group gathered together far exceeded the amount they had used to boil water, and Song Lubai figured that the woman would have nothing more to say.
They encountered a sputtering tractor halfway there.
The tractor was loaded with things that everyone had asked us to carry, as well as food, vegetables, and other supplies needed by the company.
Tractor driver Zhao Aiguo greeted them with a smile, revealing a set of not-so-perfect teeth, and invited them to get on.
Their hair had long since dried in the sweltering air, and as they sat on the tractor, their hair floated in the air.
Zhao Aiguo spoke to them warmly.
Taking the opportunity, Song Lubai said, "Comrade Zhao, when is the next time we go to the farm to pick up goods? Could you help me buy a headscarf?"
She had cloth coupons, and although the size was small, it should be enough to buy a headscarf.
Zhao Aiguo laughed and said, "Next time we go to the farm headquarters, we'll have to wait for the company commander's arrangement. We're not sure which day it will be. There's a Uyghur bazaar every Saturday. You can exchange headscarves at the bazaar. The headscarves are brightly colored and come in all colors. I suggest you go to the bazaar and pick one out yourselves."
The group was drawn to the word "bazaar" he mentioned and asked what it was.
Zhao Aiguo spoke with great enthusiasm: "A bazaar is a market. We have markets in our hometown too. At the market, people can exchange small items. The Uyghur bazaar here has a lot of local products, such as dried apricots and almonds. If you're lucky, you can also find raisins and their homemade sugar cubes and maltose. In autumn and winter, you can exchange for pomegranates. If you have connections, you can also find sheepskin. Craftsmen can make clothes out of sheepskin. Wearing it is very warm. You won't feel cold even at minus thirty degrees Celsius. It's a really good thing."
Several women listened with longing, wishing the bazaar would open tomorrow so they could sprout wings and fly there.
"There's no use thinking about it now. We have to go back to work tomorrow. We don't know when we'll get a break, or even if we do, we'll be able to catch the bazaar day."
Zhao Aiguo laughed and said, "Don't worry, you should be here just like us. We get one day off every ten days, and three days off every month. Today is the fifth day of this cycle. In five more days, we'll have a day off, which happens to coincide with the bazaar day. On that day, our entire camp will be on holiday. Everyone can do whatever they want, and no one will interfere."
These words excited the girls. Before they even returned to the camp, their laughter and chatter could be heard from a great distance on the tractor.
The group piled the firewood onto the woodpile, and Song Lubai specifically spoke to the woman.
Lu Shuangshuang was squatting in front of the stove burning firewood, her forehead covered in sweat and her face red from the smoke.
"Comrade, wash your face and cool off."
Lu Shuangshuang squatted there without saying a word, not even turning her head, as if Song Lubai owed her money.
Song Lubai, not wanting to be bullied, said indifferently, "Some people are really inexplicable. What did they do to you? Who are they giving you attitude for? They're just clueless."
She is never one to swallow her anger. If she can't get revenge at the time, she will gather her strength and find a way to get revenge later. If she can get revenge at the time, she will definitely do so immediately.
It's such a trivial matter; just saying it makes me feel better.
Repaying kindness with kindness is a fundamental duty of being a good person.
As for repaying evil with good, that was impossible for her.
She left, which infuriated Lu Shuangshuang, who was tending the stove.
A moment later, Wu Aiguo, the tractor driver whose face was still dripping with water, came up to him: "What's wrong with you? A woman is talking to you, and you're ignoring her."
Lu Shuangshuang sneered: "What's it to you? You seem quite happy, your laughter can be heard from far away."
Zhao Aiguo's expression froze for a moment, then he said incredulously, "What's wrong? Do I have some serious problem with being a smiley person? You're already picking on me before we're even married. What will you be like after we get married?"
Lu Shuangshuang stood up, her face arrogant: "What, you've changed your mind? Fine, let's call it quits then. I won't stop you from finding someone else."
Zhao Aiguo quickly put on a smiling face, "What are you saying? How could that be? We agreed that we would get married after this section of the canal is dug."
Lu Shuangshuang snorted.
Song Lubai and her group, who had been baking in the sun all the way, were taking a break in their dugout when the curtain was lifted and Liu Xiang from next door came in.
"Guess what I just heard?"
The group all turned to look at her.
"Hurry up and tell me, don't keep me in suspense."
Nobody dislikes hearing about new things!
Liu Xiang: "Tractor driver Zhao Aiguo and Lu Shuangshuang from Shanghai who works in front of the stove are getting married."
The group was somewhat surprised.
Because Zhao Aiguo looks at least thirty-five years old, while Lu Shuangshuang is definitely no more than twenty, and may not even be twenty yet.
Also, Lu Shuangshuang has only been here for a short time, so why is she thinking of getting married and starting a family here?
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