Compared with intercity buses, the buses from Xinhong County to Humiao Town appear particularly dilapidated.
The car was filled with the peculiar, dull smell of cars, which made people twist their noses.
The space inside the car is narrow, the leather seats are worn out, and the windows often make crackling "bang" sounds while driving, as if they are ready to fall apart at any time.
There were not many passengers. Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning sat in the second to last row.
The seat in front was somewhat collapsed and leaned back quite a bit, but Xue Yuantong was petite and was not affected.
The bus fare is 6 yuan for a distance of 30 kilometers.
Xue Yuantong whispered, "The buses are contracted by a boss. There are many of them, and they are specifically responsible for traveling between the county town and the town."
"On the first day of the Chinese New Year, I went home and the bus only charged 5 yuan. Later, the price was raised to 7 yuan, but many people in the town resisted, so the boss reduced it to 6 yuan."
Jiang Ning didn't say anything. They also had this kind of bus in Guyang County, which was also very old, and the color and model of the bus seemed to be the same model.
He remembered that in 2019, private buses were banned from traveling to various townships in Yuzhou City, and later buses were used uniformly.
The bus drove out of the county town, and every time it passed a bus stop, the conductor would stand at the door and shout.
However, even when the bus was about to leave the county, it was still not full of passengers, so a strange operation occurred. Before leaving the county, the bus turned back into the county and circled along the same road again...
Thanks to the conductor's hard work in soliciting customers, all the seats were now occupied. Not only that, there were also many people standing in the car.
The bus finally headed to Humiao Town.
Just as I left the county town, I heard the ticket seller shout:
"All standing passengers, squat down, squat down, there is a camera checking ahead!"
"Hurry up and squat down, hurry up and squat down!" She spoke in a hurried tone, as if she was commanding people to fight.
In the chaos, although the passengers complained, they also knew the seriousness of the situation and cooperated by squatting down.
They didn't stand up again until they passed the surveillance area.
Forty minutes later.
The bus arrived at Humiao Town North Station, and the conductor stood on the bus and shouted:
"We've arrived at the North Station, everyone get off!"
There were only seven or eight passengers on the bus at that time, and the rest got off at a village along the way.
Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning were the last two people to get off the bus.
The station in Humiao Town is an open station, that is, there is no station.
After getting off the car, the two stood on the side of the road.
Xue Yuantong looked at the familiar environment, and the light in his eyes suddenly returned.
There are no high-rise buildings in Humiao Town. Within a radius of 100 meters, the tallest building has only three floors.
There are mostly bicycles and motorcycles on the road.
There were several electric tricycles carrying passengers parked on the roadside. An old lady stood beside the tricycles and shouted:
"Where are you going? Do you want to take a tricycle?"
Xue Yuantong waved her hand to refuse. She pulled Jiang Ning forward. A few dozen meters away, there was a straight river, which was fifteen or sixteen meters wide.
Xue Yuantong climbed onto the arch bridge, held onto the stone railing, and took a breath of fresh air.
There were a few fishermen on the east bank of the river, and to the east were large tracts of lush green farmland.
Xue Yuantong pointed at the river and recalled: "When I was a child, there were many people swimming in this river. At that time, my mother and I stood on the bridge and watched them dive into the water and only emerged half a minute later.'
Jiang Ning looked at the gray river and asked, "What about now?"
Xue Yuantong sighed: "The river water has become dirty now, and I never see anyone swimming in it anymore."
Jiang Ning deeply agrees that the countryside is not as beautiful as many people imagine, especially in the central townships. Garbage management is not in place, and coupled with the generally low level of education, the phenomenon of garbage dumping everywhere is quite serious.
The situation will improve in a few years when large green roadside trash cans become popular.
"Is your neighbor's house far away?" Jiang Ning asked.
"It's not far. It will only take about ten minutes to get there."
"That's good."
Xue Yuantong looked towards the tobacco and alcohol store on the roadside: "I want to buy something."
This time she came to her hometown to visit a patient on behalf of her mother. Her mother told her not to go empty-handed and to buy some milk and fruit gifts to make her look better.
Xue Yuantong bought a box of walnut milk, a box of pure milk, a bunch of bananas, and a bag of big apples, spending a total of 160 yuan.
After buying the things, Xue Yuantong looked at the pile of things on the ground and subconsciously worried about how to carry them over.
She was not very strong and was very tired carrying a box of milk, not to mention that the village was more than one kilometer away from the town.
She looked at the passenger tricycles on the side of the road and planned to hail one.
Jiang Ning didn't let her worry. He bent down, picked up a box of milk in each hand, and picked up some fruit. This amount of weight was no problem for Jiang Ning.
"What are you standing there for? Lead the way." Jiang Ning looked at Xue Yuantong.
"Oh, oh." Xue Yuantong reacted and led him forward until they crossed the road.
She had a complicated mind, and many things she couldn't do were easily solved by Jiang Ning.
In her past life, she could only rely on herself and her mother.
"Jiang Ning, I'll carry the fruit." She volunteered.
Jiang Ning glanced at her. The fruit weighed several kilograms and it must be difficult for her to carry it.
He said: "You don't need to make things worse."
Xue Yuantong rarely talked back.
After crossing the arch bridge, the east side suddenly opens up, with a long asphalt road extending out and large fields on both sides coming into view.
There is only one power supply building within 500 meters ahead.
"That's the only power supply station in our town," Xue Yuantong introduced.
The power supply station occupies a large area, and Jiang Ning's body-tempering thunder technique emitted a faint vibration.
There is an open concrete ground in front of the power supply station.
A tractor head was parked there, making a loud and powerful roar, and a group of adults and children gathered around it.
The woman picked up the bag and poured the corn kernels into the opening on the tractor.
Everyone stared at the machine in front of the tractor.
The children, who should have been chattering, were unusually quiet. For a moment, the only sound was the roar of the machines.
Soon, strips of 'scorched rice sticks' were squeezed out of the machine, with a faint aroma emanating.
The greedy children immediately shouted with joy.
The women skillfully rolled the burnt rice sticks into bundles and distributed them to the children.
The children held the burnt rice sticks and bit them in their mouths, making a crackling sound, forming a beautiful market scene.
Xue Yuantong beside him muttered: "That's great!"
She was like this when she was a child.
Xue Yuantong didn't dare to rush over, she and Jiang Ning just walked by quietly.
…
A hundred meters ahead, Xue Yuantong got off the asphalt road.
In front of me was a dirt road leading to the south, with no end in sight.
There are fields to the west and fields to the east, and next to the fields to the east is a village.
Xue Yuantong walked for a while, then she suddenly stopped, looked up, and smiled:
"Jiang Ning, I'm not bragging, I've walked this road many, many times, even if I close my eyes, I can still get home."
Jiang Ning: “Is this true?”
"Humph, of course it's true." Xue Yuantong was full of confidence, "My elementary school is there, look!"
She turned around and pointed to a three-story building in the distance to the north.
“I’ve been walking this route for six years!”
Jiang Ning observed the terrain and found that there was another road leading into the village on the east side, which was a cement road.
If you walk on the cement road to school, the distance is obviously closer.
"Why didn't you take that road before?" Jiang Ning asked.
Xue Yuantong's smile did not diminish: "I like quietness."
Although he said this, Xue Yuantong couldn't stop feeling melancholy in his heart.
Her father died very early, and her mother never remarried and raised her.
Children from such families are likely to be looked at strangely in the village.
Sometimes when Xue Yuantong was on her way to or from school, villagers would stop her and ask her about her family affairs.
Some aunties pulled her aside to talk for a long time, saying that they were widows and orphans, and that their lives were difficult. As the aunties talked, perhaps thinking of their own sufferings, or because they were so sad, they started to cry...
She stood at the side, not knowing whether to leave or not, just standing there stiffly.
Xue Yuantong knew their good intentions, but she didn't like it.
Later, in order to avoid meeting people from the village, she always carried her schoolbag and went home along this remote dirt road.
At this moment, Xue Yuantong was also carrying a schoolbag and walking back to the village along this dirt road.
Just like a few years ago.
Xue Yuantong never conveyed her bad mood to Jiang Ning, and never let Jiang Ning know. She was always a cool little girl.
In the rural fields, raised earthen mounds can be seen everywhere. If you pass by this dirt road late at night, most timid people would probably be scared.
Xue Yuantong would ask Jiang Ning if he was tired every once in a while. If he was tired, she would fetch the milk. But the answer she got every time was that he was not tired.
On the country road, with birds singing and flowers blooming, Xue Yuantong walks and jumps:
"Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning, look, this electric pole is crooked, so funny."
Jiang Ning looked up and saw a telephone pole standing at an angle of 60 degrees at the junction of the dirt road and the field.
Xue Yuantong ran to the electric pole, stretched out her shoes, gestured twice, and said arrogantly:
"Jiang Ning, believe it or not, if I kick this, everyone in the village will be without electricity today!"
Jiang Ning: "Is this how you repay your fellow villagers?"
Xue Yuantong ran to the middle of the road again, continued forward, turned a corner, and headed east.
In this way, Xue Yuantong led Jiang Ning into the village.
The name of their village is "Xue Xiaozhuang". Just hearing the name makes people think, why is it called "Xiaozhuang"
In fact, there is another village called "Xue Dazhuang" to the east of Xue Xiaozhuang.
After entering the village and walking a little further in, Jiang Ning released his spiritual sense and observed a house.
He said, “I’ll drop your stuff off at your neighbor’s door, and then I’ll meet you in town.”
Hearing this, Xue Yuantong suddenly remembered that she went back to the village to visit her neighbors, not to her own home. It didn't seem reasonable to take Jiang Ning to someone else's home.
When the neighbors ask her about it, how should she introduce Jiang Ning
Xue Yuantong made a decision: "You come with me. I won't stay for lunch. Let's go to town to eat. There is a spicy hot pot restaurant in front of the middle school. It's delicious. I'll treat you."
Jiang Ning: "Are you sure you don't want to stay?"
Xue Yuantong said flatly: "No need!"
Jiang Ning, carrying milk and fruit, stopped at the door of her hometown.
"Come here."
Xue Yuantong struggled to move the gifts. Before entering her neighbor's house, she repeatedly reminded Jiang Ning:
"Don't run away, wait for me to come back~"
Jiang Ning said: "Yeah, go quickly."
Xue Yuantong looked back every three steps and reluctantly entered his neighbor's house.
Jiang Ning opened his spiritual consciousness and lingered around Xue Yuantong.
He did not wait there, but walked around the village. Sometimes when the villagers saw him as a stranger, they would look at him for a few more times but would not come up to talk to him.
Jiang Ning went to the vicinity of the ditch. The ditch was oval in shape, about twenty meters long and wide, and the water in the ditch was almost dry.
Two children were fishing barefoot at the bottom of the ditch, a little boy and a little girl.
He watched with great interest.
The little girl felt for a while and found an ugly toad. She was so scared that she let go and threw it away immediately.
There was not much water in the ditch, and the little girl kept catching nothing when she tried to fish. She was so angry that she said:
"Let's get the water out. I don't believe we can't touch it."
After that, the two children took basins and started splashing water.
At first, the two of them were very careful when splashing water, fearing that the water would get on their clothes. Jiang Ning was not satisfied with what he saw, so he shouted:
"Hurry up, haven't you eaten yet?"
When the two children heard this, they immediately became excited.
Although they are children, once they start splashing water seriously, the noise is quite amazing. The sky is full of mud and water, just like the Water-Splashing Festival.
The children seemed to have endless energy, and later on they started competing with each other to see who could throw the water farther.
Especially the little girl, she splashed water very hard.
She splashed half a basin of mud and water, first looked at the little boy competitively, and then cast a smug look at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning looked at this scene, he raised his hands and slowly applauded them.
When the two children saw that someone was supporting them, they splashed water even harder, as if they had received a reward.
In the end, the two children were covered in mud and turned into mud monkeys.
Jiang Ning appreciated it with great satisfaction.
At this time, a woman came quickly from a distance. She stood by the ditch, looking at the two mud monkeys, and was so angry that she screamed:
"Xiaoyou, what are you doing!?"
The little boy was fine and didn't react much, but the little girl was so scared that she trembled all over, as if she had encountered a great horror.
"Xiaoyou, come up here quickly!" the woman shouted with her eyes glaring.
The girl named Xiaoyou turned around, looked directly at her mother, and said confidently:
"You got the wrong person, I'm not your Xiaoyou!"
The woman picked up a branch and chased after him, and Xiaoyou ran away madly.
Jiang Ning saw this scene and turned away silently.
After a while, Xue Yuantong came back.
Her hands were empty, as she had given away all the gifts she had brought.
"Jiang Ning, I'm hungry."
It's eleven o'clock in the morning now. I've been rushing around since six in the morning, changing buses all the way. I'm very tired, so it's normal to be hungry.
"Let's go to town first."
When the two were leaving the village, they happened to see the woman coming back with the little girl.
Xue Yuantong was stunned: "Aunt Hua, is she Xiaoyou?"
Aunt Hua was so angry that she didn't even notice Jiang Ning: "This girl is making me so mad!"
"Look, I won't cure her when I get home!"
After saying a few words, Aunt Hua asked again: "Why are you leaving? Why don't you stay for dinner?"
Xue Yuantong said: "Let's go back to the city later."
The two chatted for a few sentences, during which Xiaoyou, with mud all over her face, stared at Jiang Ning with resentment in her eyes. If it weren't for this big brother, she would still be happily splashing water.
After saying goodbye to Aunt Hua, Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning went to the gate of the town middle school and had a bowl of spicy hot pot for 7 yuan.
After finishing the meal, it was twelve o'clock noon.
The bus to Xinhong County departs at 1:20, which is still early.
Xue Yuantong suggested: "There is a peach orchard in the south of the town. Let's go see the peach blossoms!"
April is the season when peach blossoms are in full bloom.
The two went to the peach garden, and among the gorgeous fragrance of flowers, Xue Yuantong shuttled back and forth excitedly, his pink and white skin contrasting with the peach blossoms.
Jiang Ning took out his cell phone and took a photo of her to record this moment.
Xue Yuantong exercised much more today than usual. Jiang Ning did not feed her any elixir, so after the excitement, she felt tired and listless.
Xue Yuantong dragged his heavy steps and walked out of Taoyuan with difficulty.
She looked at the North Station in the distance, thought about the long journey home, and sighed softly:
"Jiang Ning, I'm so tired!"
Jiang Ning found a bench and said, "If you are tired, stop and take a rest. Don't force yourself."
He and Xue Yuantong sat on a bench.
Xue Yuantong kept his head against Jiang Ning for half a minute before he began to feel sleepy.
"Jiang Ning, I want to sleep." she informed.
"Go to sleep."
"So, do you sleep?"
"I'm not sleepy."
"Jiang Ning, tell me, how nice it would be if I woke up and lay on my bed at home?" Xue Yuantong thought with his chin in his hand.
"No need to rush the car."
Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Go to sleep. Maybe it will come true when you wake up."
"Oh, then I'm going to sleep. Remember to call me!"
Xue Yuantong hugged Jiang Ning's arm, leaned on him, smelled Jiang Ning's fresh breath, calmed his mind, and closed his eyes.
After a while, Xue Yuantong fell asleep, and his warm breath tickled Jiang Ning's neck.
Jiang Ning let her sleep for a while, then he looked at the nearby peach orchard and suddenly opened his hands.
A formation enveloped them silently, and his and Xue Yuantong's figures disappeared from everyone's senses.
Jiang Ning snapped his fingers and the spirit boat popped out from the storage ring, floating in the air and then growing bigger in the wind.
He leaned over and picked up Xue Yuantong, feeling her soft body. Jiang Ning stepped onto the spirit boat step by step as if he were stepping on invisible stairs.
The light shield of the spirit boat was activated, and Jiang Ning drove the spiritual power.
A beam of green light streaked towards the sky.