Chapter 731 Uninvited Guest
Yang Huaixi struggled to take the things, but Wang Jianguo held his shoulders.
“You take a rest.”
Wang Jianguo took the oil paper bag and stuffed it into the coarse cloth bag in the corner of the carriage, with his movements as gentle as if he was placing fragile porcelain.
He took out two stoneware bowls, poured half a bowl of hot water and handed them to Yang Huaixi:
"Drink this bowl of ginger and sugar water to drive away the cold."
In the hot mist, Yang Huaixi saw the new white hair on Wang Jianguo's temples, shining silver under the lantern.
When the sky in the east began to turn pale, the carriage finally drove slowly out of the city gate.
The wheels made a squeaking sound as they rolled over the icy ruts.
Wang Jianguo sat in front of the car holding the reins, the cold wind blowing up his faded scarf.
Yang Huaixi was lying in the carriage, wrapped in a thick quilt, and could still hear the whistling wind outside the car.
He looked through the gap in the curtain and saw Douzi squatting at the back of the carriage, stuffing the last piece of pickled radish into his mouth, with clear mucus hanging from the tip of his frozen red nose.
In the distance, the horizon of the Great Northern Wilderness is hidden in the morning mist, like an unopened painting.
Wang Jianguo suddenly started singing a minor tune; his hoarse voice mixed with the sound of horse hooves echoed in the empty wilderness.
Yang Huaixi closed his eyes, feeling the bumps of the carriage, and vaguely felt that perhaps the legendary Great Northern Wilderness with fertile land and food for everyone could really be their final destination.
And this carriage carrying the fate of three people is moving forward firmly towards an unknown but hopeful distance.
In the early morning in the northeast, thick white fog covered the entire village like torn cotton wool.
The birch forest in the distance was looming in the mist, like a group of ghosts shrouded in gauze.
The dewdrops condensed on the grass leaves hung heavily, weighing down the foxtail grass, causing it to bend down and occasionally fall to the soft black soil with a "plop" sound.
When Zhao Shuzhuo pushed open the wooden gate of his house, frost flowers fell on his shoulders. The coolness penetrated into his cotton-padded clothes along his neck, making him shiver.
He drew together the collar of his sheepskin coat, which was worn to a shine, and walked towards the production team on the frost-covered ground.
Under the old crooked tree at the entrance of the village, the broken clock was shining gray in the mist. Zhao Shuzhuo raised his hand to look at the old pocket watch wrapped in tape, and the pointer had just passed six o'clock.
At this time of day ordinarily, Wang Jianguo would be waiting at the team door with an account book in his hand, but today only the cold wind blew dead leaves through the empty eaves.
Pushing open the mottled wooden door of the production team, the embers of the kerosene lamp were still emitting blue smoke.
Zhao Shuzhuo fished out a crumpled roster from the crack in the wall, and with the dim light coming through the window, he used the tip of a pencil to scratch out the name list of people who would be working today.
"Zhang Laosan went to the back hill to chop firewood, while Widow Li took a few women to pick up manure..."
As he muttered, he made marks on the paper, and the tip of the pen slipped between his frozen fingers.
Suddenly I remembered that every time Wang Jianguo arranged work, he would deliberately assign lighter work to the elderly and women with children, and I couldn't help feeling warm in my heart.
After leaving the production team, Zhao Shuzhuo walked along the icy path towards the brick factory.
The sound of knocking came from the white fog, and the fire from the kiln shone through the cracks in the brick kiln, casting a strange red light in the thick fog.
Several workers were unloading bricks around the kiln. The sacks on their shoulders were riddled with holes and coal dust covered their chapped faces.
"Captain Zhao!"
Kiln worker Lao Zhou straightened up, wiped the sweat from his face, and left a few black marks on his forehead.
"The bricks in this kiln seem to be a little under-fired. Can you take a look?"
Zhao Shuzhuo took the brick and looked at it carefully. He felt a cool touch from his fingertips. The brick surface was bumpy and had a white core that was not burned through.
If Wang Jianguo were here, he would have definitely discovered the problem long ago and led everyone to adjust the situation.
Coming out of the brick factory, the sun finally broke through the clouds, creating a hazy halo in the mist.
The wooden door of the supply and marketing cooperative was half-open, and there were only a few enamel basins and matches on the shelves.
Salesperson Shen Chunhua is counting the account books.
"Shuzhuo, the salt is running out again. It's time to turn over and dry the old grains in the supply and marketing cooperative warehouse..."
Zhao Shuzhuo helped move the damp sacks into the yard. Looking at the empty drying yard, he remembered that Wang Jianguo always liked to squat here, checking the goods and telling the members about the latest news outside.
When the sun rose to the top of his head, Zhao Shuzhuo finally had time to sit on the bench in the team headquarters and catch his breath.
He looked at the production schedule posted on the wall, and the key items circled by Wang Jianguo in red pen were still vivid in his mind.
It was only during these few days that he truly realized that during the days when he was away, Wang Jianguo, who was usually low-key, managed the production team, brick factory, and supply and marketing cooperative in perfect order.
Thinking about what Wang Jianguo said about going to the city to ask his doctor friend for help, several days have passed and I don’t know whether the journey will be smooth.
Zhao Shuzhuo stroked the teacup, watching the hot steam rising from the rim of the cup dissipate in the cold air, a trace of worry rising in his heart.
I don’t know on which icy dirt road that brother, who always walks in a hurry and has a tenacity in his eyes, is running at this moment.
The morning dew was still condensed on the tips of the grass leaves. Zhao Shuzhuo finished the corn tortilla handed to him by his wife in just a few bites. The coarse crumbs scratched his throat and made it sore.
The corn porridge in the enamel jar was still emitting the last wisps of steam. He picked it up and drank it all in one gulp. The coolness went down his esophagus and straight into his stomach.
When I got on the clanking 28-inch bicycle, the chain made a dry clicking sound, as if complaining about this premature work.
The wheels rolled over the frosty dirt road, and gravel kept hitting the fenders.
The morning mist has not yet dissipated, and the mountains in the distance are wrapped in a gray veil. Occasionally, the cries of wild birds can be heard, which seem particularly abrupt in the silent wilderness.
Zhao Shuzhuo bent his back and pedaled hard. The wind blew into his collar, and he couldn't help but shrink his neck because of the cold.
On the wrists exposed by the cuffs of his cotton-padded jacket, there was still traces of coal dust from yesterday's work in the brick factory when he was moving bricks.
When turning around the crooked old elm tree, the clear sound of copper bells suddenly pierced the mist.
Zhao Shuzhuo slammed the brakes, and the bicycle drew a half arc on the dirt road.
Looking up, I saw a maroon carriage slowly emerging from the depths of the thick fog, its wheels making a dull sound as they rolled over the frozen soil.
The chestnut horse pulling the carriage had shiny manes that shone like silk in the dim morning light. Faded blue curtains hung at the four corners of the carriage shed, swaying gently as the carriage jolted.
This is so abnormal.
Zhao Shuzhuo narrowed his eyes and his fingers unconsciously stroked the cold handlebars of the bicycle.
Ten miles east of the village is Black Wind Ridge. Except for hunters collecting herbs, few people go there.
What's more, this carriage is finely crafted, with a copper shaft decorated with carvings. It is definitely not something that an ordinary farmer can have.
His mind quickly flashed through the recent anomalies in the production team: the silver bracelet lost by Zhang's wife, two bags of cement inexplicably missing from the brick factory... Could it be related to this carriage of unknown origin?
His heartbeat suddenly quickened. Zhao Shuzhuo took a deep breath and pedaled the bicycle again.