After sitting all day, Miao Yunwei felt as if every bone in her body was about to fall apart. By the time she got off the bus, she was even questioning her life choices.
“Brother, aren’t you tired after sitting all day?”
Miao Pingkang shook his head. “The driver’s seat is different from your seats. You’ve had a tough day.”
He checked the vehicle, locked the doors, and took Miao Yunwei to the guesthouse at the bus station.
This place was specifically prepared for out-of-town drivers and conductors like them. Every bus station had one, and the interior was similar to a staff dormitory. Most rooms were doubles, though singles were available for an extra fee.
To ensure the safety of personal belongings, the beds in the dormitory were separated by sliding doors. When sleeping, you could latch the door from the inside and rest easy without worrying about theft. However, if you needed to use the restroom or step out, you had to take your bag with you. The management took no responsibility for lost items.
This was Yunwei’s first time staying in such a guesthouse, and everything felt new to her. Perhaps because she arrived early, she was the only one assigned to her room for the time being.
She first handed her belongings to Miao Pingkang for safekeeping, then took her towel and basin to the washroom to fetch water. She took a cold shower in the dim light before retrieving her things from Pingkang.
When she returned to the room, the other bed was already occupied.
The woman looked about the same age as Zhang Xiuqing and was momentarily taken aback by the unfamiliar face. “Are you from Nanxi City?”
Miao Yunwei nodded politely. “I’m the new conductor.”
Tang Cuie suddenly understood. “No wonder! Are you taking over Zhang Xiuqing’s shift? She used to sleep in this room all the time. We practically became roommates!”
“Pfft!” Yunwei couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, Auntie Zhang used to work shifts with my dad. After my dad passed the job to my brother, she transferred to another bus route, and I took over.”
Tang Cuie looked envious. “Siblings working together! That’s wonderful! Let me introduce myself. I’m Tang Cuie, from Zhejiang Province. We’ll probably see each other often from now on. Did Zhang Xiuqing tell you anything?”
Yunwei shook her head blankly, though she wondered what there could possibly be to discuss.
Tang Cuie seemed somewhat disappointed. “Never mind, then. If you see her when you go back, please say hello for me.”
After that, Tang Cuie paid her no further attention.
It was Yunwei’s first day on the job, and she was utterly exhausted. She never wasted energy on people who didn’t matter to her. She latched the door, turned over, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The next day at five o’clock, Miao Pingkang knocked on her door right on time.
Yunwei quickly packed up and left.
With the experience from the previous day, she handled her tasks much more smoothly today.
At noon, when the bus arrived in Quan City, before she could even step off, Cai Zhiming approached carrying a large sack. “Comrade Miao, hello! I’ve bought all the sweet potatoes you wanted. They cost 1.8 cents per jin. I got you 55 jin, and there’s one cent left.”
Yunwei’s eyes lit up at the sight of the large sack. “Comrade Cai, these sweet potatoes are a huge help! I really don’t know how to thank you. Coincidentally, my mother works at the sugar factory. If you ever need to buy sugar, you can come to me. I’ll help you get it!”
Cai Zhiming grinned sheepishly, suddenly growing excited. “Comrade Miao, can you really help me buy sugar? My sister is about to give birth, and my mother keeps saying sugar is hard to come by. She wants brown sugar.”
“Any specific requirements? Like quality or appearance?”
Cai Zhiming understood her implication and quickly shook his head, lowering his voice. “No other requirements. If possible, just get as much as you can.”
Miao Yunwei patted her chest in assurance, “It’s a small matter. I’ll bring it for you on my next trip. I’ll cover the money and tickets first, and we can settle the account later.”
Cai Zhiming got excited again, stammering with joy.
This large bag of sweet potatoes took up a lot of space and obviously couldn’t be placed in the luggage compartment, as it would lead to complaints if discovered.
Miao Yunwei waited until the last passenger boarded before placing the bag of sweet potatoes on the steps at the boarding area.
By the time they returned to Nanxi City Bus Station, it was already past seven in the evening.
The bus station had only a few scattered staff on duty. The loaders unloaded the passengers’ luggage, and Miao Yunwei took the opportunity to drag the bag of sweet potatoes a bit farther away.
Miao Pingkang had to go to the logistics department to report on the vehicle’s usage, such as fault inspections, body collisions, and fuel consumption.
He also needed to conduct routine maintenance on the vehicle with the logistics staff, which would take over an hour of busy work.
Miao Yunwei was eager to get these sweet potatoes back and couldn’t wait at all. She borrowed a bicycle from the logistics duty staff, planning to take the sweet potatoes home first and return the bicycle later.
Late at night, the road was difficult to navigate, and she didn’t dare to ride the bicycle. Instead, she pushed it all the way back to Hekou Commune with great effort.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, the light in the yard turned on.
Meng Suling hurried out, “Second child, you came back alone? What’s this? Where’s your brother?”
Miao Lingwei and her two younger brothers also ran out to join the commotion.
Miao Yunwei gasped for breath, sweat dripping down her cheeks. “Mom, don’t ask questions now. Come and help quickly, let’s get these sweet potatoes down.”
“Where did you buy so many sweet potatoes!” Meng Suling was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear, and called the three children over to lend a hand.
The four of them struggled to carry the large bag into the house.
Meng Suling then busied herself preparing a meal for Miao Yunwei.
Miao Yunwei followed her into the kitchen to inquire, “Mom, what was the final outcome of yesterday’s matter?”
Meng Suling scooped a ladle of water into the pot and sneered, “What else could it be? Did you think our family separation agreement was just for show? Is this house fake? I took the documents over, and after the leaders at the bus station studied them for a while, they returned them to me and even apologized, saying they never recruited any ticket sellers in the first place.
Ke Youzhi was digging into the socialist foundation, deceiving people under the guise of collective interests. His actions were severe, and they will deal with him strictly. Yesterday, he was taken to the clinic, complaining of pain here and there. The doctor gave him an IV drip and told him to rest at home.
Who knows if he was really in pain or faking it? In my opinion, he was definitely pretending to avoid responsibility! This time, I want to see how he tries to escape!
You still haven’t told me about those sweet potatoes! It’s really hard to buy sweet potatoes around here. You brought back so many at once—did you spend a lot of money?”
In their rural area, almost every household grew sweet potatoes, but they couldn’t be bought or sold. Most were kept for personal consumption or given as gifts to relatives. Unfortunately, their family didn’t have such relatives. In the city, the state-run vegetable market faced tight supply, and often, a truckload of goods would be snatched up as soon as it arrived.
Dual-income families like theirs simply couldn’t keep up. Elderly people could buy them, but they couldn’t carry heavy items, so buying five or six pounds at most was the limit, which was far from enough to eat.
Miao Yunwei shook her head. “It’s hard to buy here, but there’s plenty in Quan City. I happened to run into someone yesterday and asked a worker there to help me buy fifty-five catties for less than a yuan. Mom, I owe them a favor now. They said their family needs brown sugar and asked me to help. I agreed. You should check later—if there are any internal sale goods, buy more. It doesn’t matter if the quality isn’t great; even sugar scraps will do, as long as the quantity is enough.”
Meng Suling rolled her eyes. “Do you think internal sale goods are that easy to snatch? And you want enough quantity! Why don’t you just fly to the moon!”