Back to 80: My literary life

Chapter 175 Going to visit Lu Yao in the coal mine

After sending Shi Tiesheng and the two back to the guest house, Fang Minghua prepared to go home.

"Minghua, I'm sorry to have kept you busy for a long time." Shi Tiesheng expressed his thanks.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, I have asked for more than a week's leave from my work unit." Fang Minghua said with a smile, "I'll come over tomorrow morning."

The next morning, Fang Minghua drove to the guest house again. Since Chen Ximi had classes and was slightly lame in her legs, it was not convenient to accompany her.

Fang Minghua took the two of them to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Terracotta Warriors, and did not return to the guest house until evening.

According to the plan, tomorrow we will go to the Qinbei Plateau, to the place where Shi Tiesheng and others jumped in line.

Fang Minghua had never been to Qinbei before coming to this era, and the same is true now, so he really wanted to take this opportunity to see this magical land.

Song Tangtang came over in the evening, driving a Yanjing Jeep with military plates.

The car stopped at the door of the Planning Commission Family Building, then went up to the fifth floor and knocked on the door of Fang Minghua's house. After greeting Fang Minghua's parents affectionately, he handed the key to Fang Minghua.

"My brother originally didn't plan to lend this car out. Now the army has become more and more strict, but after I told him about Shi Tiesheng, he finally agreed to lend you the car."

The girl finally warned: "Be sure to pay attention to safety when you go out."

"Don't worry," Fang Minghua said with a smile, "You can return that Santana later and thank the Red Army for me."

"Ok."

"Let's go, Tangtang You, come with me." Fang Minghua said suddenly.

"Where?"

"Lu Yao's family is looking for sister-in-law Linda. Qin Bei is passing through Tongchuan this time to see if she has anything to give to Brother Lu." Fang Minghua said his purpose.

Of course Song Tangtang had no objection.

Early the next morning, Fang Minghua threw his travel bag into the jeep and went to the guest house to pick up Shi Tiiesheng and the others.

"Yes, Minghua actually drives a military vehicle." Sun Lizhe said with a smile as he looked at the Yanjing jeep with military plates parked at the door of the guest house.

"I borrowed it from my girlfriend's brother's army." Fang Minghua didn't hide anything: "I borrowed this Santana because I couldn't travel far, but there is no air conditioning in the jeep, and the conditions are not as good as that one."

"It's good to have a car, so why are you picky?" Sun Lizhe said, bending down and carrying Shi Tiiesheng on his back: "Come on, let's get in the car."

Fang Minghua quickly folded the wheelchair and put it in the car, then drove north.

"Tie Sheng, Li Zhe, let's go to Tongchuan to visit Lu Yao first. I went to her house yesterday and my sister-in-law asked me to bring him something." Fang Minghua said while driving.

"Lu Yao is in Tongchuan?" Shi Tiiesheng was a little surprised.

"Yes, I'm going to experience life in a coal mine in Tongchuan, and I'm going to write a long novel about it."

"The Lu Yao you are talking about is the author of "Life", right?" At this time, Sun Lizhe interjected: "I have read the novel he wrote. It is so touching!"

"This long novel he wrote will probably be more touching than "Life" when written in the future." Fang Minghua said leisurely. There were no expressways in this era, and the state of the national roads was not very good. Fang Minghua drove for more than two hours before arriving at Tongchuan. As he walked, he asked about driving to the Yakou Coal Mine where Lu Yao was located—more than 40 kilometers east of Tongchuan. .

At this time, Lu Yao did not have a temporary dormitory arranged for him at the mine, but was under the mine like ordinary workers.

In the novel he conceived, the protagonist Sun Shaoping's ending point is here.

Lu Yao wore a miner's lamp on his head and a shabby work clothes full of soot. He also imitated the shearer's style and tied a white towel around his neck. He looked exactly like a coal shearer, following the workers on the lifting cage truck going down the mine. There are more than ten workers in a cage.

The cage descended down the well wall like flying, and suddenly fell into the bottomless abyss as if from a black hole. There is an uncontrollable fear and disgust for the cage in everyone's heart, which is always with them.

Water dripped from the well wall. Lu Yao raised his head and looked up at the well mouth. The small mine mouth only lit up a spot as big as a star in the sky.

In one minute, the cage stopped at about 250 meters. Lu Yao walked out of the cage and stood in the wide tunnel paved with rails. Water seeped out of the shaft wall and the coal mining face was supported by wood.

Get out of the cage elevator, and then get on the small passenger train, which the miners nicknamed the "subway". After riding for ten minutes, you arrive at a waiting room. Then we have to walk for more than half an hour before we can enter the coal mining face.

When the workers started working, Lu Yao naturally did not need to work. He stood on the side and felt everything, and this feeling would be written in his book in the name of Sun Shaoping.

The air is also heavy with coal dust. The workers' faces and noses were covered in coal dust. There is a white line between the eyes and double eyelids, and the kernels of the eyes are white.

Lu Yao took out a pen and wrote these down in a small notebook.

"Minister Lu, Minister Lu." A worker came over and shouted to Lu Yao: "It said you have some writer friends coming to see you, and the mine manager asked you to come up."

"Okay, I'll go up now."

In order to facilitate Lu Yao to experience life in the mine, the leadership of the Tongchuan Mining Bureau Party Committee fully supported it and appointed Lu Yao as the deputy director of the Propaganda Department of Tongchuan Mining Bureau, of course in name only.

Lu Yao dragged heavy steps to the pick-up location, and the cage rose quickly like a bucket in a well. Finally walking out of the well, he closed his eyes for a while before opening them. He saw three people not far away looking at him with shocked eyes, one of whom was sitting in a wheelchair.

"Xiao Fang, Tie Sheng, why are you here?" Lu Yao smiled, showing his white teeth.

"Brother Lu, what are you doing?"

Fang Minghua was surprised when he saw Lu Yao covered in soot. If he hadn't greeted me, I would have almost not recognized him.

"Experience life? Sit on it and experience it?" Lu Yao replied, then looked at Sun Lizhe next to Shi Tiiesheng: "Who is this?"

"His name is Sun Lizhe, and he joined a team and lived in a cave dwelling with me." Shi Tiesheng explained quickly.

"Sun Lizhe? I remember, Barefoot Doctor! You were a living example for us to learn from back then." Lu Yao laughed and was about to extend his hand to shake, but he quickly took it back when he saw his dark right hand.

"I'm sorry, according to the regulations, I have to go to the bathhouse to take a bath first. If I can go out, that's it. Xiaofang, take Tie Sheng and the others to my dormitory for a meeting first. I'll come after a while. I'm currently staying in the Coal Mine Hospital temporarily. , you’ll know just by asking.”

After saying that, Lu Yao took out a key from his pocket and handed it to him, then followed the workers who came up from the well and walked towards the bathhouse talking and laughing.

Fang Minghua waited and looked at these miners.

Shi Tiiesheng, who was sitting in a wheelchair, suddenly said: "Now I finally understand why Lu Yao was able to write such a touching work as "Life". Which writer can experience life for writing like him?"

(End of this chapter)