Chapter 52: An Unlucky Day
Li Changgui, Li Asan and Li Asi, uncle and nephew, walked silently on the mountain road. The road below the mountain was covered with clouds and it was unknown how long they would reach their destination.
After turning a corner in front, I saw thousands of scratches on the ground. A Liberation truck cut into the edge of the cliff and fell to the ground. The driver was squatting on the side of the road with a cigarette in his mouth. His hands were trembling as he pressed the lighter but it wouldn't light up. His face was pale and he looked very scared.
Li Changgui walked over and struck a match to help the driver light his cigarette, then asked, "What's going on?"
The driver trembled as he said, "Need I even bother to tell you? I was going too fast and nearly flipped into the ditch. Luckily I survived."
Li Asan sympathized with him and said, "You are also reading the letter? We just fell down from above."
The driver glanced at the three of them and thought he had just farted. He was still immersed in great joy and sorrow. He was happy that no one was hurt, but sad that he didn't know when rescue would come. So he didn't listen to what others said.
Li Changgui observed the Jiefang lane and said, "It looks like it can still be driven if it is propped up."
The driver couldn't help but say, "Bullshit! Do you want to help me?" He might not be so rude at ordinary times, but when his mood was extremely complicated, he would unconsciously swear a few words.
Li Changgui was not angry either. He waved to Ah San and Ah Si and said, "Help me!" Then he stretched his hands under the front of the car. Ah San and Ah Si also ran over.
The driver's eyes widened and he asked, "What are you doing?"
Li Changgui said: "Help you hold the cart."
"Are you sick?" the driver started cursing again.
Li Asi's eyes rolled. He stopped Li Changgui and Asan, walked up to the driver with his hands behind his back and said, "There is one condition!"
The driver asked blankly, "What do you want to say?"
Li Ah Si said, "After we help you get the car up, you have to take us to the county."
The driver laughed instead of getting angry: "If you really want to help me up, I can even take you to BJ!"
"I'll take that as your agreement." Li Ah Si then said to Li Changgui, "Uncle San, if you can do it, help me."
"You are the smart one." Li Changgui reached his hand underground again to hold the front of the car. Ah Si and Ah San crowded next to him, and the three of them worked together. The front of the car suddenly stood up halfway and almost fell off the cliff.
The driver's eyes widened, and he was even more frightened than before...
Seeing this, Li Asan held back his strength and dared not continue to lift him up, but Li Asan was still lifting him up with difficulty. Li Changgui passed Li Asan and kicked him hard on the buttocks, saying, "Go to the back and hold on!"
"Oh." Li Asan ran to the rear of the car and grabbed the rear guard.
Li Changgui said, "A-Si and I will drive the car over, and you just pull back quickly."
Li Asan nodded.
"One, two, three, up!" Li Changgui and Li Asi worked together to lift up the front of the car and the cargo bed. Li Asan grabbed the rear foot of the car and poked it on the ground, leaning back and exerting force. The Liberation car slowly stood up, moved backwards step by step, and finally stopped upright in the middle of the road.
Li Changgui clapped his hands and said, "Let's go quickly, don't block the way for the cars behind us."
The driver just watched from beginning to end. His teeth were chattering and a row of teeth marks were left from the cigarette butt, but he didn't say a word.
Li Ah Si said, "You don't want to change your mind, do you?"
The driver tried hard to spit out the cigarette butt and said with a sad face: "I...how dare I change my mind?" This shows that he sweared completely unconsciously, or he really didn't care about life and death.
…
The co-pilot seat of the Liberation truck could accommodate one person, so Li Asan and Li Asi sat in the bucket behind the front of the truck. When the truck was on the road, the three of them were very happy to have upgraded their weapons.
After interacting with them for a while, the driver seemed to find these three quite useful, and after calming down, he started chatting with them.
"Where are you three going?"
Li Changgui said: "Go find someone from another place."
"Oh, where?"
Li Changgui told me the place.
The driver said, "It's not that close. It takes several days by train and two or three hours by plane."
Li Ah Si poked his head in in surprise: "You mean we can get there on the same day by plane?"
The driver nodded.
Li Ah Si immediately said excitedly: "Uncle San, let's take a plane. I have never taken a plane before!" Then he added, "I have never taken a train before."
Li Asan agreed, "Yes, I haven't sat on one either."
Li Changgui said calmly: "Don't embarrass yourself."
Ah San and Ah Si asked together: "Have you ever sat on it before?"
"No."
The driver almost drove the car into the ditch again.
Li Changgui then asked the driver: "Are there any air tickets available?"
The driver said with a smile: "Why worry about it now? Just buy it when you have the money." He now realized that these three were not bad guys and there was nothing wrong with their brains. They were just too rustic after staying in the isolated mountains for too long.
Li Changgui asked: "Is it expensive?"
The driver curled his lips and said, "It's still quite expensive." He looked at what the three men were wearing and felt a little confused. He thought that the clothes they were wearing probably didn't cost more than a hundred yuan in total.
Li Changgui was about to ask again when the road ahead was blocked by a thick tree stump, behind which stood a dozen strong young men.
The driver gritted his teeth and said, "Why the hell am I so unlucky today?"
Li Changgui asked: "What happened?"
"Highway robbery..." the driver said, "Don't talk for a while, I'll handle it."
Ah San asked, “Are you just going to spoil them like this?”
Li Changgui waved his hand and said, "Let's not cause any trouble. Let's wait and see."
The driver stopped the car in front of the tree stump, stuck his head out and said flatteringly: "Brother, do you remember me? I already paid the 'toll' last time."
The sturdy man leading the group said in a deep voice, "Stop talking nonsense. You ate last time and you won't eat this time? Take out your wallet!"
Without saying a word, the driver took out his empty wallet and showed it to them.
The sturdy man in the lead waved his hand behind him and said, "Go up and check it out."
The two men opened the door without explanation and rummaged around . One of them climbed onto the truck bed and shouted to the leading man, "Brother, there's no cargo."
The leading burly man said impatiently: "Let him go, let him go, poor bastard!" Their main target is still the drivers of small cars. Sometimes when they encounter large trucks carrying goods, they will rob whatever they can. They are car bandits who are out to take advantage of the situation.
The driver felt as if he had been pardoned and waited for the people in front of him to move the tree stump away so that he could drive on.
At this time, the subordinate on the truck bed saw Li Asi carrying a backpack, pointed and asked: "What's in the bag?" In fact, he was just asking casually. These men were dressed in rags and it was obvious that they didn't have much money. He had thought it through. As long as the other party said "nothing", he would kick them to show off his power and the matter would be over.
Unexpectedly, Li Ah Si was honest. He took off his bag, unzipped it and said, "It's just some money, nothing else."
The bag was filled with red hundred-dollar bills, at least three or four hundred thousand...
The subordinate's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. After a long pause, he stammered, "Boss! Money! Money!"
The leading burly man lazily asked, "How much money is it that makes you so greedy?"
The men simply snatched Ah Si's bag and dumped it under the car - clatter, clatter, clatter. The whole bundle of money fell all over the floor.
The leading sturdy man and the driver were all dumbfounded.
Li Ah Si glared at the subordinate in dissatisfaction and said, "How did you get this guy? Pick it up for me."
