Compared with intercity buses, the passenger buses from Xinhong County to Humiao Town are particularly dilapidated.

The car was filled with that dull smell unique to cars, making people wring their noses.

The space inside the car is narrow, the leather seats are worn out, and the windows often make a shattering "clang" sound while driving, as if they are ready to disintegrate at any time.

There were not many passengers, and Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning sat in the second to last row.

The seat in front of him collapsed a bit and leaned back a lot, but Xue Yuantong was petite and was not affected.

For a distance of 30 kilometers, the bus fare is 6 yuan.

Xue Yuantong whispered: "The buses were contracted by a boss. There are many of them, and they are specially responsible for traveling between the county and the town."

"When I was in the first year of junior high school, I went home and the bus only charged 5 yuan. Later, the price increased to 7 yuan, but many people in the town resisted, so the boss lowered it to 6 yuan."

Jiang Ning didn't say anything. They also had this kind of bus in Guyang County. They were also very old and old, and the color and model of the vehicles seemed to be the same.

He remembered that in 2019, private buses to various towns and villages in Yuzhou City were banned, and later buses were uniformly used.

As the bus drove out of the county town, every time it passed a bus stop, the conductor stood at the door and shouted.

However, even though it was almost out of the county town, the bus was still not full of passengers, so a strange operation happened. Before leaving the county town, the bus turned into the county town again and made another circle along the same road...

Thanks to the hard work of the conductor, all the seats were now filled with passengers. Not only that, there were also many people standing in the car.

The bus finally sent to Humiao Town.

Just after leaving the county town, I heard the conductor shout:

"All standing passengers, all squat down, all squat down, there are cameras in front to check!"

"Squat down quickly, squat down quickly!" Her tone was urgent, as if she was commanding someone to fight.

In the chaos, even though the passengers complained, they also knew the seriousness of the matter and squatted down in cooperation.

It wasn't until they passed the surveillance area that they stood up again.

Forty minutes later.

When the bus arrived at Humiao Town North Station, the conductor stood on the bus and shouted:

"We've arrived at North Station, everyone get off!"

There were only seven or eight passengers on the bus at this time, and the others disappeared in the village on the way.

Xue Yuantong and Jiang Ning were the last two people to get off the bus.

The station in Humiao Town is an open station, that is, there is no station.

After getting off the car, the two stood on the side of the road.

Xue Yuantong looked at the familiar environment, and the look in his eyes suddenly returned.

There are no high-rise buildings in Humiao Town. The tallest building in the surrounding area is only three floors.

There are many bicycles and motorcycles on the road.

There were several electric tricycles carrying passengers parked on the roadside. The aunt stood beside the cars and shouted:

"Where are we going? Can we take a tricycle?"

Xue Yuantong waved her hand to refuse, and she pulled Jiang Ning forward. A few dozen meters away, a straight river stood horizontally, with a width of fifteen or six meters.

Xue Yuantong climbed onto the arch bridge, held on to the stone railings, and took a breath of fresh air.

There are a few fishermen on the east bank of the river, and to the east is a large area of ​​green farmland.

Xue Yuantong pointed to the river and reminisced: "When I was a child, there were many people swimming in this river. At that time, my mother and I stood on the bridge and watched. They plunged into the water and it took half a minute to emerge.'

Jiang Ning looked at the gray river water and asked, "What now?"

Xue Yuantong sighed: "Now the river has become dirty, and I have never seen anyone swimming again."

Jiang Ning deeply agrees that rural areas are not as beautiful as many people imagine, especially in the central towns and villages. Garbage management is not in place, and the level of education is generally low. The phenomenon of garbage being thrown everywhere is quite serious.

It will not improve until a few years later when large green trash cans on the roadside become common.

"Is your neighbor's house far away?" Jiang Ning asked.

"It's not far, it only takes ten minutes to get there."

"That's good."

Xue Yuantong looked at the tobacco and alcohol shop on the roadside: "I want to buy something."

This time she came to her hometown to visit patients on behalf of her mother. Her mother told her not to be empty-handed and to buy some milk and fruit gifts, which would make her look much better.

Xue Yuantong bought a box of walnut milk, a box of pure milk, a large bunch of bananas, and a pack of big apples, which cost her a total of 160 yuan.

After buying things, Xue Yuantong looked at the pile of things on the ground and subconsciously worried, how should he carry them over?

She was not very strong, so she was very tired carrying a box of milk, not to mention that the village was more than a kilometer away from the town.

She looked at the passenger tricycles on the roadside and planned to call one.

Jiang Ning didn't let her worry. He bent down and picked up a carton of milk with each hand, and then picked up the fruit. This weight was nothing to Jiang Ning.

"What are you doing? Lead the way." Jiang Ning looked at Xue Yuantong.

"Oh, oh." Xue Yuantong reacted and led him forward until he crossed the road.

Her mind is quite complicated, and Jiang Ning can solve many things that she cannot do easily.

In her past life, she could only rely on herself and her mother.

"Jiang Ning, I'll carry the fruit." She volunteered.

Jiang Ning ignored her. The fruit weighed several kilograms and it would be difficult for her to carry it.

He said: "There is no need for you to help me."

Xue Yuantong rarely spoke back.

After crossing the arch bridge, the east suddenly opened up, a long asphalt road extended out, and large fields on both sides came into view.

Within five hundred meters ahead, there is only one power supply building.

"That's the only power supply station in our town." Xue Yuantong introduced.

The power supply station occupies a large area, and Jiang Ning's Body Tempering Thunder Technique was trembling faintly.

There is an empty concrete field in front of the power station.

A tractor stopped there, making a powerful roar, and a crowd of adults and children gathered around it.

The woman picked up the bag and poured corn kernels into the opening on the tractor.

Everyone invariably stared at the machine in front of the tractor.

The children who were supposed to be chirping were actually unusually quiet, and for a while there was only the roar of the machine.

Soon, strips of 'charred rice sticks' were squeezed out of the machine, and a slight aroma came out.

The greedy children suddenly let out a cry of joy.

The women skillfully wrapped the coked rice sticks into bundles and distributed them to the children.

The children held the coke rice sticks, bit them in their mouths, and made kacha kacha sounds, forming a beautiful market scene.

Xue Yuantong beside him muttered: "That's great!"

She was like this too when she was little.

Xue Yuantong gathered around her without hesitation, and she and Jiang Jing passed by quietly.

…

One hundred meters ahead, Xue Yuantong got off the asphalt road.

In front of you is a dirt road leading to the south, with no end as far as the eye can see.

There are fields to the west, fields to the east, and a village beside the fields to the east.

Xue Yuantong walked for a while, and she suddenly stopped and raised her face with a smile on her face:

"Jiang Ning, I'm not bragging. I've walked this road many, many times. Even if I close my eyes, I can still get home."

Jiang Ning: "Real or false?"

"Huh, of course it's true." Xue Yuantong was full of confidence, "My elementary school is over there, look at it!"

She turned back and pointed to a three-story building in the distance to the north.

“I’ve been walking this route for six whole years!”

Jiang Ning observed the terrain. To the east of the village, there was another road into the village. That road was a cement road.

If you take the cement road to school, the distance will obviously be closer.

"Why didn't you take that road before?" Jiang Ning asked.

Xue Yuantong's smile continued: "I like silence."

Although he said this, Xue Yuantong could not help but feel melancholy in his heart.
To be continued...