Life 1984

Chapter 31 Fighting wits and courage
It’s a long way from Huacheng back to Xizhou.

In this era before there was a highway network, trucks could only use national and provincial highways, and the whole journey took 14 hours.Li Yunhai and the others left the city at ten in the morning and could not reach Xizhou city until midnight.

Li Yunhai was interested in making friends with Ding Qiang. He chatted with him along the way and wrote down two phone numbers where he could contact Ding Qiang.

Ding Qiang has a place to stay in Xizhou and Huacheng, and there are telephones on both sides to contact him directly.

After all, these days, the driver of the unit has a high status, equivalent to a department-level cadre!

Especially in mountainous areas, once the steering wheel is turned, the county magistrate will not change it!
In the evening, Ding Qiang stopped at a roadside restaurant for dinner.

Ding Qiang often ran this route, and he became familiar with the restaurant owner, greeting each other warmly.

Two people ordered three dishes and two bottles of soda, which cost five yuan.

Li Yunhai took the initiative to settle the bill.

When refueling, Li Yunhai wanted to pay for gas, but Ding Qiang stopped him and said that you don't have to pay, it's all reimbursed by the government.

After getting back on the road, it was already dark.

Li Yunhai paid attention to the road signs outside and knew that the car was getting closer to the boundary of Xizhou.

"Brother Ding, you often travel to Huacheng alone. You have to drive for more than ten hours each way. Are you tired?"

"It's okay. Anyway, when I get to my destination, I'll cover my head and take a nap, and then I'll leave again."

"Why don't you deserve a partner?"

"I have a partner who took leave to go back to the countryside to get married. He won't be back until some time later."

"Brother Ding, are you married?"

"We're married. We have two children. The older one is in fourth grade and the younger one is in second grade. My wife lives in the country with two children! She can't be transferred to the city for the time being."

"Brother Ding, where are you from?"

"I'm from Meishan County."

"Hey, Brother Ding, what a coincidence, I'm from Meishan too. You don't have any accent from your hometown at all."

"You don't even speak with a local accent! Oh, we are still from the same hometown! Where are you from Meishan?"

"I'm from Baixi Township."

"That's a real fellow! I'm from Shuangxi Township, right next door to you."

The more the two chatted, the more speculative they became.

By around ten o'clock in the evening, the road ahead was under maintenance and needed to be diverted.

Ding Qiang drove the truck and turned onto another road. After driving for a while, he suddenly said: "The road ahead is not very smooth."

Li Yunhai looked outside through the car window and said, "This is a rural place."

Ding Qiang was about to speak when several dazzling lights suddenly projected in front of him.

Someone stood on the roadside and shined a miner's lamp on passing vehicles in order to attract the driver's attention and force the vehicle to stop.But this is very dangerous. The driver will be disturbed by the bright light, which is equivalent to turning on the high beam of the oncoming car when meeting another car. It is easy to have a blind spot in the line of sight, and an accident may occur if you are not careful.

Li Yunhai raised his hand to block the bright light and said angrily: "Who is so wicked? This is simply murder!"

Ding Qiang seemed to be on guard and slowed down the car.

Under the white light, there were four or five strong men standing at the turn in front. A simple horse barrier made of wood stood across the middle of the road, blocking the road like a toll railing.

Li Yunhai was secretly surprised!
This is clearly the road robber who robbed someone on the road!
Ding Qiang was very calm. He bent down slightly, picked up two wrenches from his feet, and handed one to Li Yunhai: "Take these for self-defense."

Li Yunhai took the wrench.

The steel wrench is very heavy and heavy in the hand. If you hit it on someone's head, it will definitely open it!
Ding Qiang inserted the wrench into the waistband behind his back and covered it with his shirt.

Li Yunhai also learned from him and followed the same example. His belt buckle was relatively loose, so he tightened his belt to avoid the wrench falling into his crotch.

At this time, two shirtless strong men came over, stretched out their arms, and slapped the truck's cab window. At the same time, they shouted outside, asking Ding Qiang to open the door and get out.

Ding Qiang rolled down half of the car window and asked, "Fellow, what's going on up front?" A tanned man raised his head and said angrily: "Get out of the car and talk!"

Ding Qiang said slowly: "This is a military vehicle! I'm in a hurry! It delayed the military aircraft, let alone you. Even if your regional director comes, he can't bear this responsibility!"

Li Yunhai thought to himself, this person is indeed a frequent traveler, and he knows how to brag and scare people.

The two people were obviously stunned.

Even if they had the guts of a few leopards, they wouldn't dare to hijack a military vehicle!

The black face pointed at Juma and said loudly: "I don't care what kind of car you are! This afternoon, my wife was hit by a passing car on this road. Medical treatment will cost more than 3000 yuan! The person responsible for the accident The driver and the car escaped, so we have no choice but to block the road and collect money. When we collect enough money, we will withdraw from duty!"

Only then did Li Yunhai see a cart parked on the road ahead, with a middle-aged woman lying on it.

It’s hard to know whether this is true or not. Maybe the local villagers made up the name to make excuses for roadblock tolls.

Ding Qiang said in a deep voice: "That has nothing to do with us! My car has been in Huacheng and I just returned to the province. And I never take this road! Every wrong has its owner, and every debt has its owner. You should go to the police station to report the case. !”

The black-faced man was very impatient and waved his hand rudely: "I don't care! If you give me 300 yuan, I will let you pass! Otherwise, your car will never leave today!"

three hundred!

It’s equivalent to half a year’s salary income of an ordinary person!

These people really dare to ask for money!

Li Yunhai whispered: "Brother Ding, can you break through?"

Seeing that the car was unfamiliar, the strong men gathered around it. Three of them lined up in front of the car, and two of them grabbed the window to prevent the car from driving away and hitting the jam.

Ding Qiang was helpless. In this situation, it was impossible to break through.

He turned to Li Yunhai and said, "Don't get out of the car."

Li Yunhai followed him out of the car, and the two stood side by side.

Both of them were strong, tall, and had a righteous and awe-inspiring aura.

But the villagers were unreasonable and not afraid of them. They just asked for money.

Li Yunhai sneered, suddenly walked up to the cart, and shouted to the woman lying on the cart: "Ouch! There is a snake on this cart!"

It's summer night, and it's normal for a snake to appear on the side of the road.

Li Yunhai's shout immediately frightened the women on the cart.

She screamed in horror, then climbed up, jumped directly onto the road, and ran wildly, screaming: "There is a snake! There is a snake!"

Those strong men ran over and looked around with miner's lamps: "Where is the snake?"

Someone shouted: "Make some stew and eat it!"

However, there was no snake!

Li Yunhai laughed loudly and said: "This is what you are talking about. This woman was hit by a car? Does it cost more than 3000 yuan to cure her? I saw that she ran faster than me, and she didn't look like she was injured at all. people!"

The lie was exposed, and the strong men were stunned and looked at each other.

Ding Qiang gave Li Yunhai a thumbs up and praised him for a job well done.

A guy with a sinister face took a step forward, pointed at Li Yunhai and said: "Stop blabbering! If you want to pass here, leave money to buy the way!"

Li Yunhai's eyes flashed, he lifted up his pants, got into a posture, pulled out the wrench with his backhand, held it tightly in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "When we go out, we are also looking for a living, it doesn't matter how much money we make. Easy! Do you want to get something for nothing? There is no way! I came to this world with no intention of going back alive. If you have the guts, come here! Today, either you will beat us to death, or we will beat you to death!"

Seeing this, Ding Qiang also pulled out the wrench with his backhand, stepped forward, and formed a horns position with Li Yunhai.Although he has retired from the army, he is wearing military green clothes and pants. Coupled with his short hair and majestic appearance, he is very intimidating.

Li Yunhai simply followed Ding Qiang's lies and continued to intimidate the group of people: "You have also seen that we are driving military vehicles! We are junior soldiers! If you really dare to do something, the nature of it is serious! If you know the truth, you will move away from the horse. , let us go! Whose car do you want to block next, we don’t care about you! Don’t mess with the river!"

These words were spoken loudly and forcefully, frightening those few people.

Although there were five strong men over there, they still hesitated to move forward.

(End of this chapter)