Chapter 728 No More Vehicles
Yang Huaixi raised his head and tried to pull the corners of his mouth to reveal a soothing smile, but only burst into a violent cough.
The taste of rust spread in his mouth. He forced himself to swallow the blood foam back into his throat and said in a hoarse voice:
"It's okay, let's go, I can handle it."
He quietly pressed his right hand under his ribs, trying to hide the muscles twitching in pain, but he couldn't hide it from Dou'er's tearful eyes.
Dou'er looked at Yang Huaixi's pretending to be relaxed expression, and suddenly remembered that snowy night seven years ago.
At that time, he had a high fever and it was Yang Huaixi who carried him on his back for more than ten miles in the snow to seek medical treatment, constantly comforting him along the way.
"It's almost there, just bear with it."
Now, this man who has always been as reliable as a mountain has to comfort him with lies.
His throat seemed to be blocked by a ball of cotton soaked in salt water. Sour tears rolled in his eyes but stubbornly refused to fall.
Wang Jianguo silently moved the simple stretcher to Yang Huaixi's side and whispered:
"Brother Yang, lean on me, let's walk slowly."
He turned to look at Dou'er, his eyes full of heartache and determination:
"Don't worry, as long as you get on the train, there will be a way to treat your injuries."
In the night, the shadows of the three people were stretched out long by the moonlight, interweaving into a tragic picture on the bumpy stone road.
Dou'er took a deep breath and reached out to gently wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
He knew that this was not the time to be weak. The hope of the Great Northern Wilderness lay ahead, and they had no way out.
"Brother, I'm here."
His voice became firm again and he held Yang Huaixi's hand tightly.
"When we get to Jianye Village, I will make you the best medicine and use the finest silver needles to make you stronger than before!"
Yang Huaixi looked at the light rekindled in the boy's eyes, and a warm feeling surged in his heart.
He nodded and slowly leaned all his weight on Wang Jianguo and the stretcher.
The moment the three people stepped out of the pharmacy, the night wind blew up the medicine residue on the ground, as if seeing them off.
In the distance, the lights of the train station were dim, but that faint light was like a beacon guiding them towards a new life, shining with hope in the darkness.
The moonlight was like crumpled silver foil, scattered on the bumpy stone road.
Wang Jianguo half-bent his back, struggling to carry Yang Huaixi's weight on his left shoulder, and had to hold the side of the stretcher with his right hand to prevent him from slipping.
Dou'er was holding the stretcher tightly on the other side, biting his lips and holding on. The boy's thin shoulders trembled with every step, and with every step he took, his blood-stained trouser legs swept across his dusty shoe surfaces.
The shadows of the three people were stretched crooked by the street lights, swaying on the mottled wall, like three weeds struggling in the strong wind.
"Rest... rest for a while..."
Yang Huaixi suddenly groaned, and beads of sweat the size of beans on his forehead rolled into his sunken eye sockets.
Every word he spoke seemed to be squeezed out from deep in his chest, and the severe pain from broken ribs made his voice sound broken and difficult to conceal.
Wang Jianguo just gritted his teeth and quickened his pace:
"Brother Yang, hold on a little longer! The train station is just ahead!"
The soles of his cloth shoes had been worn out and he felt a burning pain on the soles of his feet, but the old man's hot body temperature and Dou'er's rapid breathing in his arms were like an invisible whip, lashing him and making him dare not stop.
Finally, the three rusty words "Railway Station" caught my eye.
Wang Jianguo almost stumbled into the waiting hall and placed Yang Huaixi on a bench against the wall.
He sat slumped there, his pale face devoid of a trace of blood, his bloodstained clothes rising and falling violently with his rapid breathing.
Dou'er immediately squatted down, took out half a pot of water from the cloth bag, and carefully put it to Yang Huaixi's mouth:
"Brother, drink some water..."
Wang Jianguo wiped the sweat off his face, not bothering to wipe off the blood mixed with dust on his forehead, and said to the two:
"You two wait here for me. I'll go ask if there's a car available today."
Before he finished speaking, he had already rushed towards the ticket window. The sound of his leather shoes tapping on the concrete floor startled the stray cat curled up in the corner.
There was a yellowed timetable on the glass of the ticket window. Wang Jianguo clung to the window frame and pressed almost his entire face against it:
"Comrade! Is there any bus going to Beidahuang today?"
There was an undisguised urgency in his voice, and his knuckles turned white from exerting too much force. The conductor raised his head, pushed up his glasses that had slipped to the tip of his nose, and impatiently flipped through the account book:
"No! There is only one train to Beidahuang every three days, and it just left yesterday!"
This news was like a heavy hammer, making Wang Jianguo's eyes go dark.
Yang Huaixi's painful expression, Dou'er's worried eyes, and the expectant faces of the villagers in the commune flashed through his mind.
"Can you add another train? Even if it only has standing room!"
His voice unconsciously rose, attracting surprised looks from several passengers around him. The conductor just shook his head and closed the account book:
"This is the railway bureau's rule. I can't do anything about it."
Wang Jianguo stood there in a daze, cold sweat running down his spine.
The lights in the waiting room were dim and dazzling, and the wall clock made a ticking sound, and every tick seemed to be knocking on his heart.
He looked at the two people sitting together on a bench not far away - Yang Huaixi was leaning on Dou'er's shoulder, and the young man was gently wiping the cold sweat on the old man's forehead with a handkerchief.
A feeling of powerlessness suddenly came over him. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh.
“What to do…what to do?”
Wang Jianguo stumbled through the crowd in the waiting hall, his leather shoes making messy sounds on the terrazzo floor.
The incandescent light bulb above his head crackled, breaking his shadow into pieces and casting it on the mottled wall.
He clutched the sweat-soaked letter of introduction, his knuckles turning white. Yang Huaixi's painful face and Dou'er's anxious eyes kept flashing through his mind.
"Brother Yang, Dou'er."
Wang Jianguo ran to the bench panting, holding his knees and breathing heavily.
Yang Huaixi was half leaning on Dou'er's shoulder, his face was as pale as paper, his left eye was swollen to a slit, and his right knuckles were deeply pinched into his thigh, obviously trying to endure the severe pain.
Dou'er was carefully wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a piece of cloth soaked in cold water. When he heard the voice, he immediately looked up, his eyes full of anticipation.
Wang Jianguo opened his mouth, his Adam's apple rolled with difficulty, and finally he forced out a bitter smile:
"I just asked, there are no trains to Beidahuang today or tomorrow. There is only one train to Beidahuang every three days, and it just left yesterday!"
His voice became lower and lower, and he looked at the two people with guilt. The train station was bustling with people, and the noise was rising and falling, but it could not cover up the sudden silence.
"Then let's wait until the day after tomorrow!"
Dou'er blurted out, with obvious anxiety in her voice.