Chapter 716 Done
The heat wave, carrying the steam rising from the rails, surged between the two of them.
Zhang Lei took two steps at a time and came to the front of the train conductor Li Zhiqiang.
"Lao Li! Help me!"
Zhang Lei pulled his collar to breathe, and his Adam's apple rolled on his sweaty neck.
"I have a friend who is going to the city to hire a technician to build a health center, and he can't wait for the bus."
He stretched out his hand to gesture, his fingertips still stained with engine oil from when he helped Wang Jianguo hold his bicycle.
"Just squeeze into the tool car, I promise you won't cause any trouble!"
He raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face, his Adam's apple rolling on his dry neck. Just as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Li Zhiqiang.
"Lao Zhang, you know the rules of freight transportation."
Li Zhiqiang clamped the splint under his armpit, and the metal buckle hit the cargo compartment with a dull sound.
"Last time, Lao Zhou secretly brought someone on the bus and was criticized by the section. It's not over yet..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Lei had already taken out the cigarettes hidden in his inner pocket. The wrapping paper shone with a dark golden luster in the sun - it was the "Peony" brand that he asked his relatives in the city to buy for him, and he himself was reluctant to smoke it.
"Lao Li, this is really no small matter!"
Zhang Lei took out a cigarette and handed it over, and the flame flickered between the two of them.
"Jianguo's village wants to build a clinic, and they just need technicians from the city. You know, people in the mountains suffer a lot from illness. Last year, Aunt Zhang's family..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Zhiqiang had already turned his face away, his Adam's apple moving with difficulty. In the distance came the sound of a train colliding, and the vibrations passed along the rails to his feet.
Seeing this, Zhang Lei took out two more cigarettes and stuffed them into the other person's work clothes pocket. The fabric was stretched out by the cigarettes to form obvious edges and corners:
"Just think of it as helping a brother! Just find a corner in the carriage. Jianguo can endure hardships."
He lowered his voice, with a hint of pleading.
"He is a sincere man who is willing to risk his life for the sake of the village..."
Li Zhiqiang stared at the winding railroad sleepers on the rails, and the sunlight cut a boundary between light and dark on his face.
The silence lasted for half a minute, so long that beads of sweat on the back of Zhang Lei's neck flowed down the groove of his spine.
Finally, the conductor rubbed his face with his hands, revealing the washed-out patches on the cuffs of his work clothes:
"It can only be put in the corner of the tool compartment to avoid damaging the surveying instrument."
He took out a tin box from his waist and put the cigarettes into it one by one, with the meticulousness unique to old railway workers.
"The inspection on the road is strict, so let him hide well."
Zhang Lei's face instantly broke into a smile, his eyes narrowed into two crescents. He patted Li Zhiqiang's shoulder heavily, and the metal shoulder straps made a crisp sound:
"That's very kind! Next time I'll bring you wild honey from the mountains to nourish your wife!"
When he turned around, his feet were flying and his cloth shoes raised up clouds of dust. He took two steps at a time and rushed to Wang Jianguo.
The sound of cicadas was overwhelming. Wang Jianguo looked at the freight car full of wood in the distance. The iron sheets were shining brightly under the scorching sun.
When Zhang Lei ran back with a smile on his face, he loosened his hands that were clenched around the corner of his clothes, leaving crescent-shaped marks between his fingers from when he was nervous.
"It's done!"
Zhang Lei's voice was mixed with heavy breathing, and the knees of his overalls were stained with coal dust from when he squatted down to talk to the conductor.
"The conductor agreed to take you to the city!"
He reached out to wipe the sweat off his face, leaving a gray mark with his fingertips, but he couldn't hide the joy in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
Wang Jianguo opened his mouth and his Adam's apple moved but no sound came out.
My nose suddenly felt sour and the image of Li Zhiqiang frowning and shaking his head just now appeared in front of me.
The young conductor's polished copper cufflinks reflected a cold light in the sunlight, like an insurmountable barrier.
At this moment, Zhang Lei tore a hole in the barrier. He suddenly felt his eyes burning and hurriedly lowered his head to kick away the stone at his feet:
"I knew they wouldn't agree to take me there..."
“Hmm!”
Zhang Lei smiled brightly, raised his hand and patted Wang Jianguo's shoulder hard, causing him to shake.
"Everyone would have to think carefully about this matter."
He fished out his crumpled cigarette case, found it was empty, and stuffed it back into his pocket.
"Freight trains have their own rules. If there is one more person on board and something goes wrong, how much responsibility will the conductor bear?"
From a distance came the shunter's whistle, long and sharp.
Zhang Lei looked at Wang Jianguo's sunburned neck, and recalled the serious look on the conductor's face when he repeatedly reminded him not to damage the surveying instrument and to hide well. He sighed:
"Mr. Li is also afraid of accidents. Last month, a freight truck on the neighboring line took passengers privately, and when it passed through the tunnel..."
He didn't say anything else, but just rolled the hot rails with his toes.
"But your case is special. The clinic is a life-saving business. Old Li finally gave in."
The midday sun made the platform hot, and the soles of Wang Jianguo's cloth shoes seemed to be stuck to the scalding concrete floor.
He looked at Zhang Lei's tanned face, and thought of the washed-out patches on the knees of his overalls. His throat suddenly tightened.
His fingers groped in his pocket, grasping the neatly folded food coupons. The corners of the plastic wrap had become soft due to sweat.
"Zhang Lei, take it."
He stuffed the food coupons into the other person's palm without saying a word, and the metal work badge hurt the back of his hand.
"I left in a hurry and didn't bring much money with me. Take these food coupons for emergency use."
The image of Zhang Lei helping to find a lost child late at night in the cold winter last year appeared in front of my eyes. At that time, he did the same thing without saying a word and ran across three hills in the wind and snow.
Zhang Lei pulled his hand back suddenly as if he was burned, and the food coupons fell lightly onto the gravel between them.
His face flushed, and the veins on his neck bulged:
"Comrade Jianguo! What are you doing?"
The sound was so loud that it scared away the sparrows that were foraging beside the railway tracks.
"You always help me! Last month, when the supply and marketing cooperative bought brown sugar, you reserved half a pound for me. My wife still talks about your kindness!"
Wang Jianguo bent down to pick up the food coupons, but Zhang Lei got there first and held the back of his hand.
The rough palms were covered with calluses from years of turning switches, and the warm touch came through the skin.
"If you do this again, I will be really angry!"
Zhang Lei was so anxious that he stamped his feet and the belt of his work pants jingled.
"Every time you come to the city, you either bring pecans or wild mushrooms. My mother eats the country eggs you send her and always says you are more caring than your own son!"
A long whistle of a locomotive came from the distance, and the vibration passed along the rails to the soles of my feet.
Wang Jianguo looked at the newly gray hair on Zhang Lei's temples and remembered how he wiped the sweat off his face and put on a smile when he helped him contact the train conductor.
His throat seemed to be stuck by a hickory shell, and he said with difficulty:
"But this time..."
“There is nothing to be done!”
Zhang Lei stuffed the food coupons back into Wang Jianguo's pocket, and the fabric was stretched to reveal obvious edges and corners.
"Just think of this as my return of a favor! When the clinic is built, I'll bring my whole family to your place for a celebration drink!"