Chapter 326 - 58_2

Words : 1173 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

Chapter 326: Chapter 58_2Under her feet lay an urn wrapped in cloth, resembling an ash urn. Li Zhiyuan didn’t linger and returned to his sleeper berth. While eating the roasted sweet potatoes, Run Sheng lamented, "How can they sell them for such a high price." When eating, Run Sheng even carefully licked the inside of the sweet potato skins, fearing the slightest waste. In the afternoon, a little after one, the train once again pulled into a small county town called Mishui, and then the broadcast and loudspeakers began to announce that there had been a collapse on the road ahead and the train could no longer proceed. Everyone could either continue to wait on the train or get a refund for the proportion of the journey they couldn’t complete—it was here they could disembark. After asking the train attendant for the exact location of the collapsed road section, Xue Liangliang judged that it would likely take one or two days to clear, so she led everyone off the train. Once exiting the train station, they first found a restaurant to eat, as the roasted sweet potatoes they had at noon had digested too quickly, and now everyone was hungry again. The exterior wall of the small restaurant had a slogan plastered on it: "Kill the road bandits without guilt, and get a reward!" While eating, a person sitting alone heard Run Sheng’s accent, smiled, stood up, and inquired in Nantong dialect; as it turned out, they had encountered a fellow townsman. This person’s surname was Zhu, named Zhu Yang, a truck driver by profession, and when he learned that the four were coming from the train station and their destination was Mountain City, he warmly invited them to ride together in his truck to Mountain City. It was after all his hometown accent, and he really was driving a truck, loaded with steel cables, but most importantly, he spoke very bluntly: He wouldn’t charge for the ride; it was just so everyone could travel together for company, and to be safer on the road. After finishing their meal, Xue Liangliang helped Zhu Yang pay the bill, then they went to a convenience store to buy some drinks and two packs of cigarettes, which he passed to Zhu Yang. And then, everyone climbed aboard the truck. The front of the truck had been modified with a board placed horizontally, where the driver could lie down and rest normally. Although the space was still very cramped, everyone managed to squeeze in. Tan Wenbin realized he couldn’t do his homework in there, but he took out an English vocabulary book and started memorizing words. Run Sheng admired the truck driver’s profession, commenting enviously, "It’s great, being able to make money and travel all over the south at the same time." Zhu Yang gave a wry smile and replied, "Even if I travel all over, I’m still confined in this little driver’s cabin. If it weren’t for my wife and kids at home, I wouldn’t be willing to trap myself in here half my life." Li Zhiyuan noticed several thick novels stashed under Zhu Yang’s seat, pirated editions with ink-printed covers—clearly, he passed the time on his trips by reading these. Moreover, Li Zhiyuan also saw two steel pipes and a knife. These days, these items were considered the standard equipment for long-haul truck drivers. As dusk approached and the truck entered a mountain path, Zhu Yang suddenly felt that something was off, stopped the truck, got out, and then cursed: "Damn it, the tire’s been punctured by a nail." Tan Wenbin asked in confusion, "Was it a nail from a vehicle in front?" Zhu Yang snorted coldly, lit a cigarette, and pointed ahead, "Walk forward a bit; there should be a repair shop ahead." Tan Wenbin was quick-witted and didn’t say "lucky us" but immediately cursed, "How shameless, huh?" Zhu Yang sighed, "This is still considered a verbal fight." Then he turned to Run Sheng, "You come with me to put pressure on them. Let’s pump up our confidence and drive the price down." Run Sheng responded, "Count me in!" Zhu Yang, accompanied by Run Sheng, went ahead to look for the repair shop, while Tan Wenbin stayed inside the truck to continue memorizing words, and Li Zhiyuan and Xue Liangliang went to the roadside. Below was a slope, and at the base, a river flowed; because the leaves had started to wither, the view was surprisingly clear. Li Zhiyuan couldn’t help but remark, "The Feng Shui here is really good." Resting dragon and nesting phoenix, a place of spirit, would have been an excellent site to build a village or establish a town in ancient times, but with the development of modern transportation, this place now seemed a bit off the beaten path. Xue Liangliang, showing his professional reflex, nodded and said, "Indeed a good spot, suitable for building a small hydroelectric power station." Sure enough, not far ahead, there was a repair shop, as Zhu Yang and Run Sheng soon returned with a middle-aged man and a young apprentice. Initially, Li Zhiyuan thought Zhu Yang was just acting because he was being warm to the repairman. But gradually, Li Zhiyuan realized that wasn’t the case; Zhu Yang was genuinely warm because the price the other party quoted was not at all outrageous, but rather people-friendly. At this price, even if the nails were indeed laid by this repairman, Zhu Yang would have had to praise the act. Finally, the repair was completed, and Zhu Yang wanted to give a pack of cigarettes, but the repairman insisted on only taking the agreed-upon portion of money. However, the repairman left them with a somber piece of advice: "It’s getting late, there’ll be fewer cars on the road, better not keep going forward, it’s not safe ahead." Zhu Yang asked out of curiosity, "What do you mean?" The repairman shook his head, "I’d rather not say." Zhu Yang mustered some courage, "We have plenty of people; it’s okay." "They’ve got guns." Zhu Yang fell silent. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The repairman pointed down the road, "Did you see that path on the way here? Turn in there, there’s a village, rest there for the night, and continue the journey tomorrow when it’s light out and there are more cars." Zhu Yang inquired, "Is that your village?" "No, I live further up." "This..." "Anyway, believe it or not, it’s up to you." The repairman and his apprentice left. Zhu Yang climbed back into the truck, rummaging under the seat for his "weapons," but after some hesitation, he chickened out. Poking his head out the window, he said to everyone, "For safety’s sake, we should back up a bit and wait for daylight." As they turned around, Tan Wenbin said, "I’ve heard about this kind of thing from my dad before, but I never thought it’d be this extreme."

Chapter 326 - 58_2

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