Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 2 Shuttle Bus

A dirt road.

The dirt road, winding and undulating along the mountainside, is wide enough for an oxcart. Plantain grows in the deep ruts, swaying gently in the mountain breeze. Stones protruding from the soil in the roadside silently gaze at the sky. On both sides of the road are dark pine forests; one side is lined with common pines, their brown and black needles carpeting the forest floor, while the other side is lined with sparser, fruit-bearing pines. A winding path, worn by footsteps, winds through the forest, with short grasses and a few small wildflowers dotting the landscape.

This is Liaodong, the mountainous region of the Liaodong Peninsula. There's a place here with a rather peculiar name: Honey Cliff.

A dozen kilometers along this dirt road from Honeylazi lies Toudaohezi, and about twenty kilometers further on is Erdaogou. The National Defense Highway winds its way through this barren land. A daily bus runs from the city to the county, departing in the morning and returning in the afternoon, kicking up clouds of dust as it travels along the National Defense Highway. Whether going to the city or the county, the villagers of Honeylazi have to walk for an hour and a half along the dirt road, crossing two hills of varying heights, and then wait by the roadside. The bus schedule isn't very fixed; arriving every two days, with a difference of about half an hour, is considered punctual.

In the sweltering heat of August, the sun hangs high overhead, at midday, the hottest time of the day.

Several middle-aged men, dressed in faded Zhongshan suits or Hanfu and wearing farm shoes, squatted on the side of Guofang Road, smoking pipes and chatting idly. Around them were piles of bags and packages, including plastic bags, cloth bags, travel bags, and woven bags.

Not far from the middle-aged men, squatted a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old. He had a bowl cut and wore a white vest with blue trim that had turned completely yellow, homespun pants, and a pair of old farm shoes. The shoes were worn out, with the sides worn through and the fuzzy edges showing.

"Xiao Wei, are you going to the county? What are you going to? You're empty-handed, so hand me your bag when the car comes." A middle-aged man, holding a pipe full of tobacco tar, shouted at the boy who was squatting there teasing ants with a straw.

Xiao Wei looked up at the middle-aged man who was speaking, smiled and nodded, revealing a set of not-so-perfect teeth, and said, "Okay. I'll just go check it out since I've got nothing else to do. Fourth Uncle, what are you going to the county for? To see my Sister Yan?"

Uncle Si gently tapped his pipe bowl on the locust tree trunk painted with a meter-high layer of white lime by the roadside. With his withered, calloused hands, he took some tobacco leaves from the cloth bag tied around his waist and pressed them into the pipe bowl, saying, "Hmm, check on Xiao Yan, she's about to give birth. Send her something over."

Xiao Wei said, "Anyone who has a father-in-law like you, Fourth Uncle, is truly blessed. Even after your daughter is married, you still take care of her and come all this way to send her so many things."

Uncle Si shook his head, glanced at the large and small packages beside him, and said, "There's nothing we can do. Xiao Feng's family is even worse off than ours. My father is gone, and all that's left is his mother and his younger sister. Besides, even though they've been assigned to the county, it sounds prestigious, but what can they do with a fixed salary of thirty-odd yuan? They don't even have land to farm. And Xiao Yan is about to give birth. What are we going to do?"

Xiao Wei smiled but didn't respond. Instead, he asked, "Fourth Uncle, does Sister Yan's husband work at the Agricultural Machinery Bureau?"

Uncle Si's face showed a proud expression, but he immediately sniffed to cover it up and nodded, saying, "Yeah, that kid is alright. He was picked up by the leaders after returning from the army and was assigned to work at the Agricultural Machinery Bureau. It's really nothing, we all just eat the same food."

Several middle-aged men smoking nearby praised Uncle Si's son-in-law. Uncle Si's dark face shone with pride as he feigned modesty.

This was in 1988, the first decade of reform and opening up. In rural areas, the household responsibility system had been implemented, and land had been distributed to households. In cities, everything was being rebuilt.

By this time, the gap between rural and urban areas had widened, and being employed by the government was a highly prestigious and enviable profession. Farmers had become seen as country bumpkins by city dwellers, and commercial development across the country was on a fast track, with abundant supplies of goods.

Liu Kuazi tapped his pipe, wrapped it around the cloth bag containing tobacco leaves, tucked it into his waistband, and grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth stained with tobacco. He chimed in, "How can that be the same? Xiao Feng is now a government employee. He's bound to have a bright future. When he becomes a bureau chief, you'll be rolling in dough, Lao Si. You'll have to help out these old brothers then."

Uncle Si's smile deepened the wrinkles on his face as he nodded in agreement: "That's right, that's right. If that day ever comes, no one can forget. We're all neighbors, so just let us know if anything happens."

A plume of yellow smoke gradually approached from afar; the shuttle bus had arrived.

The men put away their pipes, stuffed the pipe bowls into their waistbands, and stood up.

An old, boxy, round-cornered, bread-shaped bus, kicking up dust and blowing hot air, pulled up in front of the passengers. The door opened, and the ticket seller, sweating profusely, jumped off. He straightened his clothes, rolled up his sleeves, and glanced at the pile of things on the ground, saying, "Five cents a person, carrying so much stuff? Two cents a piece, load it up yourself. Be careful, don't scatter it."

A rack the same width as the vehicle is mounted on the roof, covered with a fixed net, and there is a ladder at the rear of the vehicle for going up and down.

Uncle Si rolled up his sleeves, climbed the ladder to the roof of the car, untied the tightly fastened netting, stacked the things that were originally on the car to make some room, and shouted down, "Xiao Wei, help me pass these things up."

Xiao Wei answered from below, picked up the package placed by the roadside, propped it against the side of the car, and pushed it upwards with both hands: "Hey, Fourth Uncle, what are you carrying? Why is it so heavy?" Liu Kuazi and the others who were waiting for the bus with him also came over to help. Fourth Uncle leaned on the roof of the car, stretched out his arms to reach down, grabbed the bag and pulled it up, saying: "Food and supplies for the family, Xiao Yan's... we don't have any... we can't take any." With great effort, he lifted the bag up, half-knelt on the car, arranged the bag, and then took down another one.

People in the car who were leaning against the door jumped out to cool off and stood by the roadside watching them load the truck. Someone shouted, "Slow down! I have some fragile stuff in my bag. Be careful, be careful! You'll have to pay if you damage it!"

The ticket seller gave the man a blank look and said, "What are you fussing about? If you don't trust me, go upstairs and pack it yourself. What are you yelling about? Aren't you holding your precious stuff?"

The man glanced at the ticket seller, chuckled awkwardly, and said, "See, can't I even say something? I didn't say anything else." The ticket seller ignored him and looked up at Uncle Si on the bus, shouting, "Arrange them properly! Don't pile them all on one end; uneven weight won't do. Keep an eye on them, don't tip the bus over!" Uncle Si, while arranging the things, replied, "Okay, I understand. Don't worry, it's not the first time. Can something this big tip over?"

After we got everything on the roof and secured the netting, it was already more than ten minutes later. This is why the bus is so unreliable; it's faster when there are fewer people, but when there are more people and more stuff, it's hard to say how long it will take.

The ticket seller waited until Uncle Si climbed down from the roof of the bus, then climbed up the ladder to take a look. He tugged at the safety net, then jumped down, brushing the dust off his hands as he shouted, "Get on the bus, get on the bus, let's go! Pay up, nine bags for one yuan and eighty cents, whose are they?"

Liu Kuazi pulled out money wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket, saying as he did so, "Big bags and small bags, same price? No difference in size?"

The ticket seller looked at the money in his hand and said, "Where do you want to split it? Okay, five cents for the big bag and two cents for the small bag, are you going to pay? Be quick, a whole busload of people are waiting." Liu Kuazi took out a few small bills that were soaked with sweat and handed them to the ticket seller with some reluctance.

After Uncle Si and the others had paid, the ticket seller stuffed the money into her ticket bag and said, "Get on the bus, get on the bus, move to the back, don't all block the door, let's go."

Xiao Wei was the last to board the bus. As soon as he entered the carriage, the smell of sweaty feet mixed with the stench of tobacco, enveloped in the heat, hit him. He sniffed and held his breath for a few seconds before slowly getting used to it. The ticket seller pushed Xiao Wei's back and squeezed in. The doors closed and the bus slowly started moving.

The ticket seller shouted loudly behind Xiaowei, "Stop smoking, everyone! What are you all smoking for? Will you die if you take one less puff? Hey you over there, open the window! Why are you closing the window? Are you cold?" Some people joined in the laughter.

The person sitting by the window replied, "There's too much dust."

The ticket seller said, "Will it suffocate you? Open it, don't you know how hot this whole carriage is?" The person slowly opened the window, and the wind carrying dust rushed into the carriage. It didn't feel much cooler, but the smell in the carriage dissipated quite a bit.

The dirty bus swayed along the mountain road, the windows rattling with each sway. Gradually, the voices inside quieted down; those sitting closed their eyes and pretended to sleep, while those standing huddled together, gripping the handrails and staring blankly at the trees receding outside.