pertwk Chapter 11 Adding Fuel to the Fire
Chapter 11 Adding Fuel to the Fire
"Uncle Wu, wait a moment, let me find you the ginseng fragments you need."
Chen Tuo also knew that Sun Changkui and Chu Maolin would not bring him the fish from the fishpond in a while.
I want to survive in Songling.
Tomorrow, he has to make a trip to Songling Forestry Bureau.
This is a matter of life and death, and there is no room for sentimentality.
Chen Tuo got up to look for the remaining ginseng, and Wu Laowai did not refuse. He even thoughtfully helped him pick up the birch bark scattered all over the ground.
I picked up a piece of birch bark and saw the inscription: "Why is living so difficult?"
Seeing the people starving to death one by one above.
Wu Laowai's expression changed.
"Chen, don't rush to look for him. Sun the Cripple is waiting for me to come back!"
After saying that, Wu Laowai picked up another piece of birch bark with writing on it from the ground, put it in his pocket, and hurriedly left the Xiaoyangqi educated youth settlement.
Chen Tuo got up and slowly moved to the bedside, without looking for any remaining ginseng.
Watching Wu Laowai's hurried departure, a helpless and bitter smile appeared on his face.
Why is living so difficult?
Writing it down is no problem.
However, it's unlikely that it will be published in the next few years.
Even if Wu Laowai hadn't come, Chen Tuo wouldn't have finished writing "Why is it so hard to live?"
Write the outline with the most hostile tone.
Having written an opening that resonates with most people, I've done my job with the pen.
The pen-knife kills, using the mouth, not the knife.
To elaborate further, it's about how to put birch bark with an outline and introduction on the desks of some people in Songling.
Old Wu is literate and can even tell what he is writing; it's all a happy accident.
What I just wrote was stolen by Wu Laowai.
In order to survive, Chen Tuo rewrote the beginning several times before getting up to find the withered ginseng.
There were none in the pockets of the cotton-padded jacket or trousers.
But in a patch on the back of the cotton-padded jacket, Chen Tuo found the ginseng fragment that Wu Laowai had mentioned.
The palm-sized remnant ginseng, before it was damaged, should have had five main roots, just like a palm.
The largest one has two thumb-sized whisker-like roots that resemble human limbs, covered with teeth marks.
The missing lateral root appears to have been embraced by the main root.
The other three lateral roots, covered in teeth marks, also resembled human figures, but had a few more knotted, fibrous roots than the main root.
I imagined the process of digging for and eating ginseng, and it should be similar to Wu Laowai's guess.
The original owner of this body was trapped in the snowy plains, cold and hungry, and learned to dig up grass roots to fill his stomach.
They dug up a ginseng that could save lives, but it was frozen solid.
If you can't bite the main root, eat the fibrous roots; it even swallowed a lateral root whole.
In the end, they were still frozen in the snow.
Holding the still rock-hard remnant of the ginseng, Chen Tuo felt a little more confident.
However, Wu Laowai's words cannot be entirely trusted.
Even if a piece of ginseng is worth tens of thousands of yuan, there still needs to be a buyer who knows its value, right?
In the wooden house at the Xiaoyangqi educated youth settlement, Chen Tuo held a sliver of ginseng, looked at the birch bark on the table, and searched for a way to survive.
Wu Laowai, carrying two pieces of birch bark, returned to the Hetao Kadangdi area.
"That cripple Sun, that little brat Chen Zhiqing, he's probably going to write some big characters for the forest farm..."
Upon arriving in Hetao, Wu Laowai did not seek out Chu Maolin, the deputy head of the security section of the Forestry Bureau.
Instead, he pulled Sun Changkui, the head of the security section of the Songling Town Armed Forces Department, aside and took out two palm-sized pieces of birch bark.
"Soybeans and sorghum are growing all over the mountains, but I haven't eaten a single bite! Oh my god, this brat is starving, he's going to ruin everything!"
Wu Laowai was perceptive, but Sun Changkui was even more perceptive.
Upon seeing the last sentence on the birch bark, he also offered his interpretation of "if you can't get food, you'll smash the pot."
"If it weren't for the fact that the old farm managers around here are all decent people, would I care whether you live or die?"
Fearing that Sun Changkui wouldn't take Chen Tuo's matter seriously, Wu Laowai pointed to the mountain dog curled up on the snow and added:
"That little bastard is ruthless! He killed that mountain dog with an axe handle."
When talking about Chen Tuo's fight with Shan Gouzi, Wu Laowai also got a little carried away.
"That guy's ruthless. He used the mountain dog like a ball, and even sat on it with his big ass. In just a couple of exchanges, the mountain dog was dead, but that little brat was completely unharmed!"
Seeing Chu Maolin looking in their direction, Wu Laowai suppressed his boasting and instructed Sun Changkui:
"Hey Sun the Cripple, this isn't some backwater village. If that little bastard really causes trouble, don't forget those two years, 1967 and 1968!"
After giving his instructions, Wu Laowai then gave orders to Chu Maolin in the Hetao region:
"Little blind man, get me two more carp-shaped clams, I forgot to bring them..."
Wu Laowai, carrying two large carp, still wanted to go to Sun Changkui's house to flirt with the pretty doctor in the forest area.
Sun Changkui, on the shore, had a gloomy face and was called over by Chu Maolin.
"Dalinzi, go to town and ask around. See if anyone has puppies. Look for yellow or red ones, but not the black ones that Old Man doesn't like. Take them to Chen Zhiqing."
Knowing Sun Changkui's idea, Chu Maolin stubbornly refused.
"Uncle Sun, I'm not going! I didn't say anything wrong!"
Chu Maolin stubbornly refused, and Sun Changkui lost his usual easygoing demeanor.
He twisted the slingshot in his hand and shoved him into the ditch.
"If you don't mess with your father, Chu Mingshan, I'll stab you to death with this sledgehammer. Get the hell out of here, and I'll call your father back..."
Seeing that Chu Maolin was still trying to reach for the gun behind his back, Sun Changkui brandished the iron spikes under his cane and said disdainfully:
"My assassination skills were taught by your father. Before you can even pull the pin, I'll have another hole in your head! Get out..."
After Chu Maolin left, Sun Changkui sighed heavily and said to the dozen or so people in the ditch:
"Shaleng, get the fish out and take it to Chen, the educated youth, at the educated youth station. After that, shovel snow to plug the holes. After work, come to my house for a drink!"
Although it was already dark, it was still a little after four in the afternoon, just before five.
In the Xingan Mountains, winter comes early and dawns late.
Looking at the moon that was only partially visible on the distant ridge, Sun Changkui felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
There were only a few dozen words on two palm-sized pieces of birch bark.
But those dozens of words were written all over his eyes.
Returning educated youth, stranded educated youth, and settled educated youth are all like a pot of charcoal fire.
Chen, a former educated youth from Xiaoyangqi, clearly knew how to evoke emotions.
His famous quote, "I didn't eat a single bite of the soybeans and sorghum that covered the mountains and fields," is a testament to his dedication.
It's just a bucket of gasoline poured onto a charcoal brazier; who knows how big a fire it will start?
At this moment, Chen Tuo, whose anger was fueled by Sun Changkui's anger, stood at the door of the wooden house, staring blankly at the corner of the moonlight on the ridge.
As night deepened and the moon rose, he experienced another wave of disorientation.
Looking back, the ginseng remnants, wrapped in red cloth and hung on the large mud chimney with nails, are visible.
Chen Tuo didn't know either.
Did he come from the White Hair Wind, or did he come from the original body because he ate the ginseng in his arms?
The resentment stemming from the inability to hunt and fish was suppressed by the manic and scorching sensation brought about by the ginseng juice.
He was just about to go out to do something when he saw the dawn moon rising over the ridge.
Look how beautiful the moonlight is tonight!
The beautiful moonlight tonight flows together.
Although Hai Zi's "Moonlight" is also one of his representative works, Chen Tuo doesn't remember it very well.
But with the first and second lines already in place, it's not difficult to fill in the middle lines.
Writing poetry is great; you can get paid for just twenty lines.
If you were to actually write "Why is living so difficult?", it would be at least tens of thousands of words, and there's no guarantee it would be published.
Adding fuel to the fire? Just make a gesture; actually pouring it on might just get you burned...