This expressway exit is located in a small town that is not prosperous. It is still far away from the county seat, about fifty or sixty kilometers.
After getting off the expressway and passing by a small town, Chen Qiming asked, "Master, should we rest in the town or continue to the county seat?"
The town is very remote and looks relatively dilapidated. This highway exit is not set up for the town, but for the two coal mines at the foot of the mountain 20 kilometers away from the town.
It is said to be a small town, but there are no special buildings except for three streets. A backward town in the remote west and a prosperous town on the southeast coast are completely different concepts. Maybe the town here is not as good as a village over there.
Zhao Jingshi had never seen a town like this before. When he saw the desolate appearance of the town, he muttered: "What can we eat here? Besides, where are we staying? There probably isn't even a hotel. Let's go to the county seat."
"There are still fifty or sixty kilometers away from the county seat, and the national highway here is not easy to travel. Can you hold on for another hour?" Su Qin said casually, and there is still a hotel. The guest house will be pretty good in the future.
Zhao Jingshi said disapprovingly: "Brother Su Qin, you really think I'm a spoiled young master. It's only been fine for an hour. Besides, eating tastes better when you're hungry, right?"
In the first sentence, he disliked the lack of food and accommodation here, and in the next sentence, he said that he was not a spoiled young master. Su Qin felt helpless and shook his head with a wry smile.
It doesn't matter to him or Chen Qiming. They can survive even if they sleep in the wilderness. They have also been in more difficult environments than this. What does this mean?
After Zhao Jingshi said so, Su Qin said calmly: "Then let's continue walking to the county seat."
Continue walking along the national highway to the county town. It seems like a distance of fifty or sixty kilometers, but in fact it is a straight line distance. You will have to climb a mountain by then, so it takes an hour and a half.
There were almost no big villages along the way, and there were no passing vehicles. It was so dark that only twos and threes of lights in the distance could be seen, and those who didn't know thought they were somewhere.
Zhao Jingshi frowned and said, "Brother Su Qin, are we on the right track?"
Su Qin explained: "You're right. The northwest is basically like this. Longzhou is a bit better. If you continue to the northwest, you can walk in some places for a whole day without seeing even a single person. There are also many uninhabited areas. .”
Zhao Jingshi said in surprise: "Real or false?"
"You stay in Shangjing all year round. Do you really think that all the places in the Han and Tang Federations are similar to those big cities in Jingdonghai?" Su Qin said with a chuckle.
Zhao Jingshi was a little shocked, but he also felt that he had learned a lot.
After walking for another half an hour, the weather-beaten Land Rover Defender suddenly broke down, leaving the three of them on the road. No one expected to encounter such a situation. Maybe the road conditions here were really not that good.
There was no village or shop in front of him, and it was so dark that no one could be seen. Zhao Jingshi panicked, but he heard the howling of wolves in the mountains in the distance.
"Brother Su Qin, is that sound like a wolf howling?" Zhao Jingshi asked cautiously. In the past, Zhao Jingshi had only seen real wolves in zoos and on TV.
Su Qin said truthfully: "It's normal to have wolves here, why are you afraid?"
Zhao Jingshi was upset and said, "What can we do?"
With the Zhao family's identity protection in Shangjing, Zhao Jingshi was used to fearing nothing. No matter what happened, his family would take care of it.
Even when he arrived in Chang'an and Chang'an University, he was still unscrupulous. He was the young master of the Zhao family. The Zhao family was one of the eight famous families in the federation. Who dared to offend him?
But now, he is a little panicked, because in this wilderness, people are shouting and screaming every day. Even if he is the young master of the Zhao family, who knows, who can help him if something goes wrong?
In addition to himself, he now relies on Su Qin and the driver, Brother Chen.
Su Qin looked at Chen Qiming and said, "Brother Chen, how are you? Can you keep walking?"
Chen Qiming was tinkering with a flashlight. He had been tinkering for more than ten minutes and could not find the specific reason.
"Master, I guess we won't be able to reach the county seat for a while, so we can only make a rescue call
Let the tow truck come over. "Chen Qiming said bluntly.
When Su Qin heard this, he looked at Zhao Jingshi, who was cowering next to him, and said with interest: "It's already very late. Even if we wait for the tow truck to come back, it will take two or three hours to get to the county town. It's better to find one nearby." Let’s stay somewhere, call and ask them to come over early tomorrow morning.”
Chen Qiming didn't quite understand what Su Qin meant. He was hesitant to say, so why not contact the people behind to change cars? They could go to the county first, leaving two people in the car, and return to the county with the rescue team tomorrow.
Su Qin didn't want Zhao Jingshi to know that someone was secretly protecting them when they went out. This would only make Zhao Jingshi feel confident and confident, unlike now when he was worried about his situation.
So Su Qin knew what Chen Qiming wanted to say and stopped his proposal directly with his eyes.
Zhao Jingshi said at this time: "Nearby? Where do you live?"
Su Qin said thoughtfully: "Didn't we pass by a village just now? Although there are only a dozen or so households, it shouldn't be a problem to find a house to stay for one night. It only takes 20 minutes at most."
Zhao Jingshi frowned and said, "Live there, can I live in that place?"
Su Qin was too lazy to answer him and said bluntly: "This is the only thing we can do now. If you don't want to stay, just stay in the car for one night. Brother Chen and I can go there."
How dare Zhao Jingshi stay in this place? He was scared to death without even a single figure. At this time, he had no other option, and his stomach was growling with hunger. He could only follow Su Qin's suggestion: "Okay."
He somewhat regretted following Su Qin to Longzhou, but his family had already agreed, and there was nothing he could do to change the outcome.
So the three of them pushed the car into the wasteland on the roadside, grabbed some things and headed towards the village behind. They didn't even encounter other vehicles along the way. Zhao Jingshi followed Su Qin and Chen Qiming closely, for fear that They threw themselves here.
Ten minutes later, they finally arrived at the small village on the side of the national highway, but at this point most people in the village had already rested, and every household was closed. They didn't know which house was occupied, let alone which house to stay.
Finally, I saw a yard in front of me with lights on and the gate open, so I walked over quickly.
When they walked to this house, they saw a hunched old man with a rugged face sitting at the door holding a little girl. He seemed to be anxiously waiting for something?
When he saw these three strangers appearing, the old man was obviously stunned. It seemed that he did not expect outsiders to appear. The eyes of the little girl in the old man's arms were even more frightened. She immediately curled up in the old man's arms and did not dare to look. Su Qin and the others.
Su Qin took the initiative to say hello: "How are you, old man?"
The old man stood up tremblingly. His whole back was obviously weighed down by the years. He could only bow his body and raise his head and said in the Longzhou dialect: "Who are you?"
Su Qin probably understood, so he said truthfully: "Old man, we are self-driving tourists here. Our car broke down and we can't go. It's a bit far from the county seat. We just want to stay at your house tonight. Can you Is it convenient to watch?"
The old man was obviously hesitant and wary of strangers. He subconsciously hugged his granddaughter tightly and didn't know how to respond for a while.
Zhao Jingshi said impatiently: "Grandpa, we are not bad people, we are really just tourists passing by. As long as you let us stay for one night and get us some food, we can give you money."
After speaking, Zhao Jingshi took out his wallet, took out a wad of money, handed it to the old man and said, "Is this enough money?"
It seemed that this move made the old man believe that they were not bad people. The old man gradually lowered his guard and said, "Oh, well, our family's conditions are not very good. As long as you don't dislike them, forget about the money."
Su Qin, Zhao Jingshi and others quickly thanked the old man. The old man then got up and walked into the yard with them, and took them to the side room on the west side. Although it was relatively rundown, it was still clean.
In addition to a Tukang, the rest of this side room is just some sundries. The Tukang is relatively large, enough for the three of them to live in.
The old man took out the bedding and spread it out and said a little embarrassedly: "Don't dislike it."
Except that Zhao Jingshi had a headache when he saw this condition. When had he ever lived in such a place? This was something he had never dared to think about before. Su Qin and Chen Qiming didn't care and quickly thanked the old man.
After the old man left, Su Qin said casually: "The conditions are a bit difficult, so you can make do with it for one night."
What Zhao Jingshi could do was to bite the bullet and live here.
At this time, they heard the old man talking to others in the yard, and it seemed that someone was coming again.
Su Qin and the other three hurriedly walked out and saw the old man talking to a dark-skinned farmer in his thirties, as if he was explaining something.
Not surprisingly, this should be the old man's son, because the little girl had already thrown herself into the farmer's arms, and the old man was pointing towards them.
Su Qin walked over quickly and said hello: "You are the old man's son, right? We are tourists passing by. Our car broke down on the roadside in front. We will stay at your house for one night. How much do you think is appropriate?"
The farmer seemed to be more honest and responsible. He shook his head and said, "It's free for a small favor. You live in your house. I heard from my father that you haven't eaten yet and there is nothing good at home. I'll get you some noodles. You guys See if it works?"
"Okay, okay, just noodles, please." Su Qin said politely.
The farmer didn't say anything, so he went into the kitchen and started to light a fire to cook. The kitchen was just a simple house built outside.
While the farmer was cooking, Su Qin, Zhao Jingshi and Chen Qiming were chatting with the old man in the yard. Zhao Jingshi teased the little girl with interest and even gave the little girl his snacks.
Although the little girl was dressed simply and didn't do much to clean up her clothes, she was quite cute and pretty.
After a brief chat, Su Qin finally understood the situation of this family. The old man was an out-and-out farmer. His ancestors had lived here for generations. They used to live in the mountains and now move to the side of the national highway.
The farmer's son is the old man's only son. He works in the coal mine at the foot of the mountain. There was an accident in the mine some time ago. The old man's son was injured and his lumbar spine was operated on. He probably won't be able to do heavy work in the future. He just recently recovered.
Logically speaking, this is a work-related injury, and the mine should provide compensation, but it keeps delaying the payment. The old man's son has sought help many times, and there have been conflicts during the period, and the mine has refused to provide compensation.
Today he took seven or eight young people from the village to ask for an explanation, so he came back so late.
As for the old man's daughter-in-law, she always disliked their family's poverty. She ran away with a stranger not long after giving birth to the child, leaving only a daughter behind.
Zhao Jingshi said angrily: "Fuck, this is a work-related injury, why don't they pay?"
"They are mining people with money and background. We are farmers. Is there anything we can do?" When talking about this matter, the old man sighed with emotion.
Su Qin said calmly: "You haven't approached the government?"
"After searching, they ignored us and asked us to go directly to the mines. We are all wearing a pair of trousers. Who can we farmers look for?" the old man said dejectedly.
Su Qin didn't say anything. The smaller the place, the darker it is, let alone this remote rural area in the northwest?
By this time, the old man's son had already made noodles and prepared three plates of vegetables. One was pickled vegetables, one was cold wild vegetables, and the other was the pig head meat he brought back.
Zhao Jingshi could see that he was hungry, so he didn't care about the conditions at this time. He started showing off when he picked up the noodles. After taking a few bites, he didn't forget to say: "It's delicious."
The old man's son smiled bitterly and said, "If it's delicious, eat more. Although the conditions in our house are poor, we can still make enough food."
The old man's son had nothing to do and took out a bottle of loose wine, poured himself a glass and started drinking. He didn't forget to ask: "Do you want to drink?"
Su Qin, Zhao Jingshi and Chen Qiming all declined politely.
"Where are you from?" After a few sips of wine, the old man's son started talking more and asked with a smile.
Su Qin said with a smile: "I came from Chang'an and was going to Lancheng. There was a car accident on the highway and there was a traffic jam. I was going to take a detour here. Who knew there was something wrong with the car."
"This is the road, it's all
It was run over by those big trucks pulling coal. The county spent a long time repairing it without spending any money. The trucks often broke down halfway. "The old man's son explained.
Zhao Jingshi said while eating: "Oh, who knew, we are so unlucky, but fortunately you took us in."
"It doesn't matter whether you take me in or not. If you can help me when you are away from home, I will help you. Besides, you are not bad people." The old man's son chuckled.
Zhao Jingshi replied: "We are definitely not bad people. Don't worry, we won't live and eat for free. We will give you as much money as we should, and we won't let you suffer."
The old man's son said angrily: "It's only polite to give money. We are not looking for money. Besides, how much money can we get?"
After speaking, the old man also spoke in agreement.
Just when everyone was eating and chatting, the atmosphere was relatively pleasant.
Suddenly, there were rapid footsteps outside the yard, and it sounded like there were quite a few people.
Immediately afterwards, the door of the yard was kicked in from the outside, and another man said: "Tian Wa, you idiot, get out of here, you dare to come to the mine to ask for money, I will kill you." "
Hearing the shouting outside, the old man's son's face instantly turned pale and he was stunned for a moment.
The old man was obviously a little scared, his eyes full of panic.
Zhao Jingshi still didn't know what was going on. Su Qin and Chen Qiming looked at each other and knew without guessing that it was the mine that was looking for trouble.
I just didn't expect them to meet me.
