Back To The 80s-Chapter 379 - 389: First Arrival_1

After sending Ji Xiangdong and Bai Xiaolan off, Zhou Siping stayed for another day before catching the train back to Capital City.

Wen Xiuqing felt low for several days, unable to get anything done.

Seeing this, Lu Songyuan took her and their two kids, followed by their two dogs, to stroll around the Yellow River, hoping to lighten her spirits.

Because it was hot, many people chose to stay near the Yellow River, finding cool spots for some relief from the summer heat.

Lu Songyuan and Wen Xiuqing each held Mo Wang and Xiaopang in their arms, followed by two aggressive-looking German Shepherds, a sight that was quite a spectacle.

Many passersby wanted to stop and play with the chubby and adorable twins they held, but were deterred by the wide-eyed dogs, settling on giving their compliments instead.

"Are these boy and girl twins? They are so good-looking."

"Their eyes are quite beautiful, so big and round, like black grapes."

"Their skin is also nice. Though the girl’s hair is a bit thin and yellowish, shaving her head a few more times would fix that."

Xiaopang’s hair had been shaved at one month old by Gu Xiaobei, and since then, it was only occasionally trimmed. So now, she had two thin, soft pigtails. Wen Xiuqing thought that the rubber bands she bought to tie her hair were too harsh and wrapped them with thin wool.

Surrounded by so many people, Xiaopang became hyper and insisted on getting down to explore.

Upon being set down by Wen Xiuqing, Xiaopang wobbled around like a headless fly, running east then west, with their dog closely following her every move.

Chen Dajun hid behind a tree from afar, watching attentively. Lacking money recently, he thought that kidnapping Mo Wang and selling him could fetch a good sum. He had been following them from a distance all day. But seeing the dogs near the child, he realized his plan was not feasible and that he would need another strategy.

The police officer tailing Chen Dajun recognized that his intent was to kidnap the child, but with two military dogs around, the child was at no risk.

Gu Xiaobei had recently gotten her store’s business on track, and thought of installing a telephone in the store. This way, regular customers from other cities could call the store directly via the post office to place an order, then transfer money to the post office which they would then remit to her. She could use delivery trucks to ship their orders, just charging a delivery fee.

When she visited the post and telegraph office to apply for a telephone, she learned that not only did it take money but also connections, and then there was a long waiting list. It could take anywhere between one or two months to half a year. There was no concrete timeline.

Gu Xiaobei originally thought that because private telephones were rare, especially because installation fees were expensive and many families could not afford it, it would not be this difficult. Standing at the post office entrance, confused and annoyed, she thought, did she really need connections for every little thing? What was she working hard for then? Gritting her teeth, she decided that the telephone would have to wait. Maybe she would reconsider once conditions were more relaxed in a year or two.

Since she couldn’t get a phone installed, Gu Xiaobei came up with another idea. She talked it over with her regular customers. They could write down what they needed and give it to the driver of the long-distance bus every Sunday. Paying him a small fee, she would ask Chen Zhao and her employees to pick it up, and schedule delivery once they received the payment. The customers agreed to this arrangement because traveling to the provincial city was time-consuming and sometimes required an overnight stay, which cost a considerable amount.

Furthermore, Gu Xiaobei reminded each customer to make a safety stock budget well ahead of time. She advised them not to keep too much stock, but also not to run out. Because of food expiration dates, carrying too much inventory could sometimes result in close-dated or expired goods, which they didn’t take responsibility for.

Gu Xiaobei’s thoughtful preparations made all the customers who were purchasing goods feel comfortable. Word of mouth spread. Now, Gu Xiaobei’s sales volume was over a thousand cases of instant noodles every time she restocked, which happened more than three times a month. For fabrics and daily necessities, she only restocked once a month, and the volume each time was significantly less.

Li Fengmei rented a small storefront near Dadong School and obtained some goods on credit from Gu Xiaobei’s shop. The business was not bad, mainly because middle school students had a bit of money and often bought instant noodles and snack foods from her.

As Gu Xiaobei was steadily progressing towards her anticipated goals, Bai Xiaolan was enjoying a life as joyful as a lark’s song.

During the initial stages of their journey, the train traversed increasingly desolate areas. They traveled all day through gobi deserts, not seeing a single household or patch of greenery, causing Bai Xiaolan’s initial expectation for the journey to turn into terror.

Ji Xiangdong, sitting across from her, noted her anxiety and reassured her, "Don’t worry, the place we’re heading to is very beautiful. The river water comes from mountain springs, very sweet. It’s August now, the most beautiful month on the grasslands. Various kinds of flowers bloom across the land as far as the eye can see. There are also very sweet Hami melons and fragrant pears, sweeter than honey."

Bai Xiaolan looked at Ji Xiangdong suspiciously, "Really? How much longer do we have to travel?"

Ji Xiangdong couldn’t help but laugh, "About another week."

Bai Xiaolan felt Ji Xiangdong was joking with her. They had already ridden the train for three days. Another week? Wouldn’t they end up abroad?

On the fourth day, they reached Dihua, the provincial capital of X Province. After disembarking the train, they took a rest for the night in Dihua. The next day, they got on a bus headed towards Shule River.

Finally, Bai Xiaolan realized that Ji Xiangdong hadn’t been joking. Their dilapidated bus was traversing a desert landscape, there was no end to the highway in sight, with barren wastelands stretching on both sides. They kept slogging on until the evening of the fifth day, at which point Bai Xiaolan felt like she herself might disintegrate when the bus finally arrived in the county town of Shule River.

However, it still wasn’t their final destination. Ji Xiangdong found a horse-drawn cart managed by an old Uygur man. They got on the cart, which took them to Ji Xiangdong’s residence at the Third Regiment of the 124th Infantry Division’s headquarters right as evening was setting in.

The newly built regiment headquarters was a two-story building surrounded by a few households, with boundless fields stretching as far as the eye could see.

As dusk fell, a hint of coolness could be felt in Shule River. Under the setting sun, the rooftops of several houses emitted wisps of smoke. As one looked around, the mountains in the distance were layered in red and yellow, resembling an oil painting.

Bai Xiaolan surveyed her surroundings and commented in awe, "This is really beautiful."

Ji Xiangdong led her to their accommodations on the second floor. As soon as Bai Xiaolan entered the room, she collapsed onto the bed and hummed contently, "The bed is so comfortable. After days on the bus, my butt is almost numb."

Ji Xiangdong looked at Bai Xiaolan’s dirty face and said, "You rest for a bit. I’ll go heat some bathwater for you. After you finish bathing, I’ll change the bedsheets. It’s been several months since this place was last occupied, there’s dust all over."

"No worries, I bet I’m dirtier than it is right now." Bai Xiaolan said, trying to suppress her grin. She could feel that her hair was matted and knew that she must look like a mess.

Ji Xiangdong went down to the first floor kitchen, heated up a large pot of water, filled a thermos, and carried it back to the bathroom for Bai Xiaolan. The bathhouse only had hot water during winter when they started up the boiler. In summer, everyone just took cold showers.