Chapter 729 Car Rental
He gently patted the back of Yang Huaixi's hand, turned to Wang Jianguo and said:
"Let's find a place to rest first. I have some medicinal herbs with me. I need to treat my brother's injury right away. If we delay this injury any longer, it might get inflamed."
The boy's eyes were filled with tears, and he tried hard not to let the tears fall.
Yang Huaixi suddenly raised his hand with a trembling hand and grabbed Dou'er's wrist. He took a deep breath, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from his chest:
"No, we can't stay here any longer."
His voice was terribly hoarse and had a barely perceptible tremor.
"The Black Tiger Gang won't let this go. If they find me..."
He started coughing violently, and Dou'er quickly reached out to help him breathe, and tears finally burst out of his eyes.
After calming down a little, Yang Huaixi looked at Wang Jianguo, his cloudy eyes flashing with determination:
"Brother Wang, can you hire a carriage? I calculated that if we travel day and night, we can reach the Great Northern Wilderness in three days."
Wang Jianguo squatted down, his knees hurting dully as they hit the cold concrete floor. He looked at Yang Huaixi's blood-stained collar, and his Adam's apple rolled heavily.
The ceiling light in the waiting hall cast a pale halo over the old man's head, illuminating the new scars in every detail.
His left eye was swollen into a purple bun, black scabs formed at the corners of his mouth, and every breath was accompanied by a suppressed muffled sound in his chest.
“That’s what I was thinking just now.”
Wang Jianguo reached out and held Yang Huaixi's trembling shoulders. The feeling of bony bones in his palm made his heart tighten.
"Hire a carriage and leave the city overnight. When the train resumes service the day after tomorrow, we will be able to reach the Great Northern Wilderness."
His eyes swept over Dou'er's hand, which was tightly holding the medicine box. The girl's knuckles were white and her nails almost dug into the leather.
"that is......"
He paused, as if a thorny dead leaf was stuck in his throat.
Dou'er suddenly turned his face away, the ends of his hair brushing across his red eyes. He remembered the dull sound of Yang Huaixi knocking over the medicine cabinet when he was kicked in the ribs by a gangster three hours ago.
I remembered him curled up on the ground, but still guarding the wooden box where he hid his medicine.
At this moment, the blood oozing from Yang Huaixi's back had stuck his coarse cloth clothes to the wound, but the stubborn look in his eyes was exactly the same as it was seven years ago when he was looking for a doctor for him in the snow.
"It's just that I'm worried about your injury, Brother Yang,"
Wang Jianguo lowered his voice and unconsciously rubbed the bandage on Yang Huaixi's wrist with his thumb.
"This carriage is bumpy all the way, all on a dirt road, I'm afraid..."
His voice was suddenly cut off by the sound of a distant whistle. The long and shrill sound penetrated the glass of the waiting hall, startling Dou'er's shoulders.
Yang Huaixi suddenly smiled, and the movement of the wound made him gasp, and blood flowed down the corner of his mouth.
He raised his calloused hand and tried to pat Wang Jianguo on the shoulder, but it fell powerlessly in mid-air:
“It’s okay,”
The old man looked out the window at the inky night, the flickering signal lights of the train station reflected in his pupils.
"My old bones are only flesh wounds."
He turned to look at Dou'er. The young man was secretly wiping his tears, and the half plum blossom embroidered on the blue cloth bag was wrinkled.
"Maybe."
Yang Huaixi's voice suddenly became light, with a bit of the carefreeness of his youth when he traveled all over the country.
"When our carriage passes through the black soil of the Great Northern Wilderness, the wound will be healed by the wind mixed with the fragrance of medicine!"
His laughter startled the sparrows under the eaves, and the flapping sounds of their wings mixed with the noise in the waiting hall, weaving a fine net in the air.
Wang Jianguo's eyes moved back and forth between Yang Huaixi and Douzi. Seeing that Yang Huaixi's hands, which were clutching the bandage around his waist, were turning slightly pale but he was still nodding firmly, he knew that this decision was irreversible.
He took a deep breath and his fingertips unconsciously rubbed the calluses on the palms, where there was still the stinging pain from holding the knife three days ago.
"Okay, you guys follow my instructions."
He took out a neatly folded banknote from his inner pocket, counted the edge twice with his rough thumb, and then solemnly put the money into Douzi's hand.
"Douzi, take this money and go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some dry food and water. It should be enough for the three of us to eat for four days-"
He paused, glanced at Yang Huaixi's blood-soaked bandage, and added:
"It doesn't matter if you buy more. If you get delayed on the way, you'll have someone to take care of you."
Douzi took the money and could still feel the remaining body temperature on the banknote on his fingertips.
The sixteen-year-old boy tightened his faded belt, nodded solemnly, his Adam's apple moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just carefully put the money into his pocket.
"Brother Yang, come with me to the ride-hailing shop in front to rent a carriage."
Wang Jianguo reached out and held Yang Huaixi's arm, feeling the young man's body tremble slightly.
He lessened his force but refused to let go - during the previous argument, he noticed that Yang Huaixi almost fell when he stood up.
"After Douzi finishes shopping, he will meet us at the car dealership."
Yang Huaixi leaned against the earth wall and took a breath. He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and forced a smile:
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
He knew that Wang Jianguo looked rough, but in fact he was thoughtful. This arrangement was indeed thorough:
The supply and marketing cooperative and the car dealership are located at both ends of the town, which can not only disperse the whereabouts of the three people, but also save time to the maximum extent.
Douzi has already started to think about the shopping list:
The hard sorghum cakes are the best for resisting hunger, and he can also buy some pickled vegetables. As for water... He looked up at the sun and estimated that he would need to bring three gourds.
Thinking of this, he licked his cracked lips unconsciously.
Wang Jianguo patted the two men on the shoulders, and the warmth of his palms came through their coarse cloth clothes.
At this moment, this leaky and dilapidated house suddenly had a strange cohesion.
"Separate yourselves and meet at the car park in half an hour."
His voice was low but powerful, causing a slight echo in the empty house.
The moment the three of them stepped out of the door, the setting sun was casting its last rays of light on the loess road.
Douzi trotted towards the supply and marketing cooperative, his cloth shoes raising up fine dust; Yang Huaixi gritted his teeth, straightened his back, and walked side by side with Wang Jianguo in the opposite direction.
The old locust tree at the corner of the street rustled in the wind, as if seeing off these people who were about to embark on an unknown journey.
The dusk dyed the green tiles of the carriage house into rust color. When Wang Jianguo helped Yang Huaixi cross the threshold, the sound of the copper bells against the shafts startled the sparrows under the eaves.
The muddy ground was dotted with deep and shallow ruts, and dozens of horse-drawn carriages were lined up in a staggered pattern. The coarse smell of horse manure mixed with the scent of hay wafted into the air.
The night watchman caught sight of the two dusty strangers and immediately came over, waving a rag, his greasy coarse shirt fluttering in the evening breeze.
"Would you like to hire a car or buy one?"
The guy grinned, revealing his half-missing front tooth.
"We have long-distance iron-wheeled carts and padded covered wagons, which will suit your taste!"