Manman and her group got off the train in Shijiazhuang.
Because Du Yu had previously ordered a batch of renovation materials and goods in Shijiazhuang, and had bought a small truck to transport them to Beijing himself.
These things were a bit cheaper in Shijiazhuang than in Beijing, including some daily necessities.
Along the way, at the wholesale market in Shijiazhuang, Manman and Chun Xia bought some more items, and conveniently tossed them onto the small truck.
After spending a night in Shijiazhuang to rest and gather strength, the three of them set off for Beijing early the next morning, expecting a journey of four to five hours.
They started early, with a local driver, Wang, who knew the way, leading them back to Beijing.
They had accounted for everything, except for running into a major traffic jam.
“Some areas of the road surface collapsed due to dry cracks, and they are repairing the road sections,” Wang reported back after asking around at the front, “The jam started from midnight yesterday.
It was supposed to be cleared by this morning, but it has not eased up.
People who are on the road today have no idea, so it’s completely congested.”
The worst thing about traffic jams is that there’s no village ahead and no store behind, and it’s clear that they’ve already covered two thirds of the journey.
Wang, the driver, somehow fetched a few plastic lunch boxes.
The three of them had a simple lunch in the truck.
In the afternoon, the small truck crawled along closely behind the car in front.
By five or six o’clock, they couldn’t even buy a lunch box.
Chun Xia rummaged through her bag and found a packet of Kang Shifu blueberry cream biscuits, which she shared with Manman.
Manman curled up in her seat like a wilted worm and shook her head, “I can’t eat.”
Touching Manman’s forehead, which felt hot, Chun Xia leaned forward to Du Yu in the front seat and said, “The lunch box we had at noon didn’t feel right to me either.
Manman’s stomach is weaker than mine, I’m afraid she’s not doing well.”
The two of them had spent so much time with Manman and knew all too well that once her stomach ailment flared up, it was uncontrollable.
Chun Xia vividly remembered how, back in their university days, Manman would have to struggle in the hospital for several days with her stomach issues before she could be discharged.
This thought alone frightened them into a cold sweat.
Du Yu quickly got out of the vehicle and went to consult with Wang.
They hoped to find a traffic officer to explain the situation and clear the way for them, but after a long walk, they couldn’t find a single policeman.
Wang suggested, “Call the emergency number.”
Manman insisted on sitting up, “No need.
I’ll be fine in a bit.”
Seeing that the patient seemed to be able to hold on, Wang said to the three of them, “Honestly, if you can avoid going to the hospital, you should avoid it.
Beijing’s hospitals are very expensive.
My relative spent ten days in the hospital and used up seventy to eighty thousand RMB without getting better, but got well after being taken home.”
Hearing this, especially Manman, none of them were willing to go to the hospital anymore.
But the traffic jam continued unabated, and finding a pharmacy to buy some simple medicine could help the patient alleviate the situation.
With this in mind, when Chun Xia saw a green off-road bus passing by the small truck on the emergency lane, she made a snap decision and led Manman out of the truck.
The so-called emergency lane, in a traffic jam like this, was filled with vehicles that disregarded traffic rules.
But some special vehicles do have the right to take priority due to special reasons; as long as they sound the siren, other vehicles must yield the way.
Therefore, this off-road vehicle must be much faster than the others.
Seizing the moment when a few cars in front blocked the view and the off-road bus stopped, Chun Xia rushed over with Manman, knocking on the vehicle’s door.
As the door opened and Chun Xia saw the driver dressed in olive green, she thought he should be easy to talk to and said, “Comrade, my friend is sick.
We can’t move because of the major traffic jam.
Can you please help get my friend into the city first?”
The driver, perhaps a junior, didn’t dare to decide and looked back with hope, “Lu Jun, someone wants to get on our car.”
“Who are they?” Along with the deep and powerful male voice, a tall and handsome guy appeared at the door.
The orange light inside the car outlined his dense brows cut like a knife, a beautiful face contour with sufficient ruggedness, and eyes like ink that pierced straight to the spine.
Even someone as fearless as Chun Xia, upon suddenly meeting his gaze, couldn’t help shivering.
Manman instinctively felt this person was not easy to deal with and whispered, “Chun Xia, let’s go.”
Leave?
Why leave when they had done nothing wrong?
Standing firm on this principle, Chun Xia insisted on getting Manman on this ride.
“A patient?” Lu Jun glanced dismissively at Manman’s face half-hidden in the darkness; he didn’t seem all that pale and said, “This is not an ambulance.”
With a turn of his strong figure, the door began to close.
Chun Xia squeezed through the car door, angrily shouting, “What’s wrong with you?
Aren’t you a comrade, brother?”
Forced to turn around, the man with thick eyebrows raised one, “I’ve already said, this isn’t an ambulance.
I can help you call for one.”
“We don’t want to call an ambulance right now.
With the traffic jam like this, how long would it take for an ambulance to get here?” Chun Xia persisted.
“Lu Jun—” the driver, feeling that the argument was endless and they couldn’t actually push this woman out of the car, thought it might be better to just let it go.
“Is this vehicle meant for just anyone to hop on?” With a cutting, stern remark, the driver immediately shut his mouth.
Turning his head, the man’s indifferent lips curled up into a mocking arc, “You don’t think that calling an ambulance costs money, but hitching a ride is free, do you?”
“What did you just say?!” Chun Xia, provoked, glared back at him confrontationally, “I think you’re the one obsessed with money!
You name the price, how much do you want to let my friend get on?”
His piercing gaze swept over their simple cotton shirts and denim jeans, he said flatly, “Five hundred.”
Manman’s face turned from white to black.
Chun Xia’s fists, clenched tight, trembled.
But the man simply rested one hand on the car seat, looking down at them with a gaze that seemed to have foreseen this scenario.
Caught in a dilemma
If they really left now, according to his wishes, they would probably be looked down upon by his type for a lifetime!
With a click, she opened her wallet and fished out five red hundred-RMB notes.
“Chun Xia—” Holding back the pain in her stomach, Manman hurriedly took big steps onto the vehicle, still unable to stop her.
The five RMB notes were slapped onto the man’s head with a “smack,” and he didn’t move an inch.
Under their furious gaze, he didn’t pick up a single bill, but simply turned his head slightly and said to the driver, “Let her get on.”
Manman was eager to reach into her pocket, ready to take out the money to give back to Chun Xia.
But Chun Xia held down her hand, instructing, “Keep the money for yourself.
You’ll need it to buy medicine in the city.
Who knows how expensive the pharmacies are there.
Call me if anything happens.”
“Chun Xia.” Manman hesitated.
Patted her on the shoulder, Chun Xia got out of the car and watched as the door closed.
Through the coffee-colored window, Manman saw Chun Xia’s figure disappear into the flow of cars, standing motionless for a moment, a chill enveloped her.
Just having seen Lu Jun’s attitude, she doubted the people in this car would be any nicer.
Glancing over, her eyes met with his cold, dark ones, biting her lower lip.
He indeed had no desire to deal with her, pointing to another comrade brother, he said, “Tall and handsome, find her a seat.”
This new handsome guy seemed more polite to her, cracking a smile, “Come over here.”
Following him forward, she realized the military vehicle was essentially packed.
Each person, either wearing a long-sleeved, light green shirt or draped in a green coat over it, leaned against one another, dozing off with a face full of fatigue.
Walking to the very last row at the end of the vehicle, she saw someone lying across four or five seats.
Tall and handsome kicked the seat, calling out, “Old Yao, get up!”
After two shouts, the soldier called Old Yao didn’t budge, as if he were dead to the world.
Tall and handsome had to lean down and shout into his ear, “Yao Ziye, get up for me quick, there’s a beauty here!”
Perhaps the word “beauty” worked its charm, and the soldier, who had been still as a dead fish, suddenly sprung up and sat upright.
Looking up, he met eyes with Manman’s bespectacled face, squinting his narrow eyes, “Is this the beauty?”