The next day, before dawn, the driver comrade woke everyone up and prepared to continue on their way.
In fact, there is no need to scream, most people wake up early.
It's so cold that most people can't sleep at all!
There was a stove in the first half of the night, which was fine.
In the second half of the night, the cow dung in the stove was burned out, and the temperature dropped sharply. At three or four o'clock, most people were woken up by the cold.
So when the driver comrade came over, everyone was chatting about one ride after another.
At 5:30 in the morning, with bursts of "clattering" noises, the bus set off again.
There are still more than 300 kilometers left, which normally takes more than 8 hours, and there won't be any long rest stops like last night.
Just like this, a bus with more than a dozen passengers drove alone deep in the Badain Jaran Desert.
The car started driving before dawn and finally arrived at the destination of the trip - Eqi at three o'clock in the afternoon.
After getting off the car, Zhou Yang looked at the dilapidated and desolate town in front of him and suddenly had a bad feeling.
This is the seat of the banner government, and its size is even smaller than that of the Unity Commune.
You can see the whole street at a glance. There are very few pedestrians on the street, and there are not many vehicles. This is too bad!
Not only Zhou Yang thought this way, but also the little sisters Uzhina and Qiqige who came out together. They looked at the scene in front of them and said nothing for a long time.
"You two girls, we are going to Tuoshan Coal Mine later, so let's say goodbye and see you again when we are destined!" Zhou Yang said.
Uzhina looked at Fan Debiao beside her, and then asked: "Brother Fan, can you tell me your address? I want to write to you later!"
"I..."
Before he could say anything, Zhou Yang interrupted: "Comrade Uzhina, it's not convenient for him to communicate there. You can write to me directly and I will forward it to him for you then!"
Uzhina immediately said happily: "Brother Zhou, thank you so much!"
"You're welcome!"
Later, after Zhou Yang wrote the address of Babaoliang Village to Wu Zhina, he left this simple bus station with Fan Debiao!
When he reached a place where the two girls could not hear him, Fan Debiao frowned and said: "Why did you give her the address? We are not suitable!"
Zhou Yang smiled and said: "You can only know if it's suitable by trying to get together. Don't jump to conclusions now!"
Zhou Yang knew the law of "true fragrance" in his previous life. Love is the most complicated thing. The more impossible it seems, the more likely it will happen.
Just like myself or my brother, how disdainful I was before, how painful and missed I will be when I lose him!
It's just an address, just give them a chance!
The most important thing is that Zhou Yang can see that Fan Debiao doesn't hate that little girl, he just has some concerns!
"you..."
"Stop talking nonsense and think about how to get to Tuoshan Coal Mine!" Zhou Yang said.
They had just asked the staff at the bus station to confirm that there were no buses bound for Tuoshan Coal Mine.
Fan Debiao immediately said: "Go to the supply and marketing cooperative here. You should be able to find a way to Tuoshan Coal Mine there!"
"you sure?"
"Um!"
At that moment, Zhou Yang came to the street and asked passers-by. He learned that there was no supply and marketing cooperative here, only a Dongfanghong store.
After asking for the location, the two of them carried two suitcases and headed straight to the Dongfanghong store.
Eqi City itself is not big, so the two of them quickly arrived outside the store.
From the outside, the store is not very big, about the size of the supply and marketing cooperative in Solidarity Commune.
The only difference is that in Yunshan County, all supply and marketing cooperatives have mules and carriages parked outside, and occasionally oxen and donkey carts can be seen.
But in front of the Dongfanghong store in Eqi, all the people there are camels, there are forty or fifty in total.
With a hint of curiosity and half expectation, Zhou Yang took Fan Debiao into the Dongfanghong store.
There are quite a lot of products in the store, ranging from tobacco, alcohol and non-staple food to various hardware and agricultural tools. It is just like an enlarged version of a grocery store.
There were not many customers inside, only three or four in total, but there were seven or eight salesmen.
This is in sharp contrast to supply and marketing cooperatives in other places.
At this time, a young salesman saw Zhou Yang and Fan Debiao and immediately asked: "Comrade, what do you want to buy?"
Zhou Yang immediately said: "We will buy things later. I want to ask, we plan to go to Tuoshan Coal Mine, what can we do?"
"Tuoshan Coal Mine, right? It's not close!"
Then the salesperson said again: "Generally, there are two ways to go to Tuoshan Coal Mine. The first is to wait for the truck that buys things from their mine and take a ride."
"The second way is to rent our camels. Our store will send camel teams every few days to deliver supplies to farms, weather stations and educated youth spots along the way. At that time, we can use camels to take you to Tuoshan Coal Mine, but we need you Spend money!”
Zhou Yang asked again: "How often does Tuoshan Coal Mine purchase supplies?"
"Two or three days. If you had come half an hour earlier, you could have caught up with them. What a pity!" the salesperson said with some regret.
"So when will your latest camel caravan leave? How much does it cost to rent a camel?"
"There will be a camel team preparing to go in that direction tomorrow morning. What's the price? Two yuan per head per day!" said the salesperson.
Not cheap, but reasonable.
Zhou Yang planned to order two camels, but at this moment, the salesman suddenly said with a happy face: "You are so lucky, the car from Tuoshan Coal Mine has returned!"
Zhou Yang turned his head and looked outside the store. Through the small glass, he saw a large Jiefang truck speeding towards this direction.
"Is that car really from Tuoshan Coal Mine?"
"Well, that car will come here every three or two days. I won't admit it. Go out and stop the car!" the salesperson said affirmatively.
"That's great!"
Zhou Yang immediately ran outside the store and prepared to stop the car.
However, as soon as he went out, he saw this big truck stopped in front of Dongfanghong store.
Then the car door opened and a middle-aged man in his forties jumped out.
Zhou Yang immediately stepped forward to say hello: "Hello, comrade, is this car from Tuoshan Coal Mine?"
The middle-aged uncle was also a kind man. Seeing that Zhou Yang was dressed like a scholar, he immediately said: "Yes, I am from the mine!"
"To be honest, I'm here to visit relatives in Tuoshan Coal Mine. Can I give you a ride in your car later? Can I pay for the fare?" Zhou Yang said.
"Visiting relatives? Do you have relatives working in the mines?"
"Well, my brother is in the mine!"
"What's your brother's name?"
"Zhou Ping!"
"This is Zhou Zhiqing from Well No. 3. I know your brother! Let's take it like this. I'll take you back when I replenish some supplies!"
"Great, thank you very much!"
"Thank you for nothing, it's just a sideshow!"
"By the way, I want to know what your mines are lacking. I want to bring something to my brother?" Zhou Yang asked again.
"Everything is in short supply at the mine, but the biggest shortage is cotton-padded clothes and shoes for winter. If you have money, buy some of these things for your brother!"
"OK!"
Later, the two returned to Dongfanghong Store again!
When several people came out of the store, it was already half an hour later. At this time, in addition to the original two suitcases and a backpack, Zhou Yang and Fan Debiao had four huge packages in their hands.
One of the packages contained all cotton clothes, cotton trousers, cotton shoes, cotton hats, gloves, etc., two sets for men and women.
The other two packages contained ready-made thick quilts and mattresses, which Zhou Yang also prepared for his brother and sister-in-law.
The remaining package contained some tobacco, alcohol, food, and some basic daily necessities.
After loading these things into the car, the two of them followed the driver, Master Wu, and drove the Liberation straight to Tuoshan Coal Mine!
(Flag in the 1960s)
(Dongfanghong store)
(Camel caravan)
