"This person is really going to take advantage!" Li Xin smiled: "Where does someone come up and call themselves brothers?" ”

Wang Ling also smiled and said: "My fourth brother has a reason, brother does not represent seniority, there are some things we can't talk nonsense now, it's not good to put on a big hat of feudal superstition, how can you call it free." ”

"Seeing that you are also older than me, I will call you the fourth brother." Li Xin said with a smile.

Li Mubai rolled his eyes and said: "I don't like to suffer, I still call you an undead, this name is domineering!" ”

The train began to run into the distance with the educated youth, and most of the people on the train knew where their terminal was, and which production team they were going to settle in, and these had already been delivered by the comrades of the Educated Youth Office at the beginning. Wang Ling only knew that the train was going south, because the snow outside the window had begun to decrease and decrease, which meant that the temperature was getting higher and higher, and when finally there was no longer white on either side of the tracks, he was already thousands of miles away from home.

Don't think that there were people selling boxed lunches on the train at that time, all the food on the journey was brought by themselves, and before leaving, Wang Ling used the only bit of food left in his house to exchange white noodles with the lady next door. Southerners rarely eat pasta, except for the Chinese New Year, that night he wrapped a dumpling for Wang Nan, the rest of the flour wanted to be kept for her birthday to make a bowl of hand-rolled noodles, but unfortunately this noodle sister can't eat, he simply made white flour steamed buns, and pointed to this steamed bun along the way to satisfy hunger.

At that time, the speed of the green train was extremely slow, Wang Ling only knew that the destination on his ticket was a southern city, that place was called the city of Qinzhou, this place he had never heard of, he thought it should be similar to Hangzhou, anyway, with a state word. At night, hungry, Wang Ling took out a white-flour steamed bun, and the man and woman on the left and right were asleep, and there was a slight snoring. After eating a few mouthfuls and pouring some water, the hunger in his stomach was swept away, he was a patient person, he didn't want to team his own future to make much planning, both came and was safe, but how did he hear a burst of "grunting" and swallowing sounds.

Wang Ling tilted his head and saw that the Adam's apple on Li Mubai's neck was moving up and down, and then on the right, Li Xin's cheeks were also squirming gently, and he immediately understood. So, he gently touched Li Xin's arm, and after a while, the girl turned her head to look at the royal tomb with sleepy eyes and asked, "Is there something wrong with the fourth brother?" ”

"It's okay, it's just that I'm a little hungry when I wake up, I just happened to make some steamed buns myself, I guess you're hungry too, if you don't dislike it, make do with it and eat some together." After saying that, he handed over the steamed bun, and the woman's face turned red and said, "I...... I don't want it, I'm not hungry, you can eat. ”

"It's okay, I've got a lot of it!" Wang Ling pretended to pat his backpack lightly and said: "It's just that it doesn't taste like I made it myself, and I can't buy sugar at home, so I put some saccharin in it, don't dislike it." He didn't care if the woman wanted it, so he went straight to it, and then concocted the same way to call the poet Li Mubai, in fact, Wang Ling understood that these two people were awake, and he didn't see them carrying hungry dry food with them when they went out in those turbulent years, but everyone still had a trace of last dignity under that young heart.

A few steamed buns quickly entered the stomach, Wang Ling naturally would not say what he found, the embarrassed devouring appearance had betrayed everything, this was the first time they were in trouble together, but they didn't know that such white-faced steamed buns had become an unattainable luxury in the following days.

After arriving in Qinzhou for three days and three nights, Wang Ling's steamed buns can only be broken and used for two meals the next day, and people are hungry to a certain extent, so they can't care about any face, Li Mubai and Li Xin have no choice but to passively take it.

"Don't worry, it's good to stick to the Zhiqing point," Wang Ling comforted the two fellow travelers and said: "I heard that the Zhiqing Office will first approve a part of the grain to the Zhiqing, and then return it to them when we settle down and earn the food, this is called a part of the first, but I don't know where the two of them fell, this Qinzhou Station is about to arrive, we can divide it, meet is fate, leave an address for each other, maybe you can go to you when the time comes." ”

"I don't have an address," the poet said, "and they only gave me a ticket, saying that someone would arrange it when I arrived at the station, you fourth brother." ”

Wang Ling said with a smile: "Coincidentally, I was also told like this, what about Li Xin?" Where did you land? ”

"Me?" Li Xin also shook his head and said: "Like you, it seems that there is no corresponding point for a few of us on this slippery car, I have inquired about the front and back rows, and there are people from the educated youth point at the station, and we seem to need to be assigned after landing." ”

"It doesn't matter," the poet said in an optimistic revolutionary spirit: "Chairman Mao claimed that it is necessary for us intellectual young people to go to the countryside and receive re-education from the poor and middle peasants. We have come in accordance with the call of the great leaders, and they must be responsible for arranging the correct educational course for us, otherwise it will not be blatantly contrary to the call! ”

The ideal is very beautiful, the reality is very cruel, after arriving at Qinzhou Station, the educated youth began to assemble in an orderly manner and then waited for their respective communes to send someone to receive it. When they arrived, it happened to be evening, and Wang Ling watched as his peers about his age left one after another, and the crowd in the train station began to become more and more empty. Hunger and waiting, irritability and restlessness, continued until the second half of the night, when there were only seven or eight equally confused people left at the train station.

Several times I went to ask the staff at the train station and were told to keep waiting, and no one knew what their fate would be next. Sitting on the floor of the hall, they were still dressed in the cold winter clothes of the north, and the sweltering heat made it feel like they were in a huge steamer, and everyone could smell the heavy rancid smell of each other.

Wang Ling was the first to take off his clothes, he did not hesitate, and directly stuffed the army-green cotton coat left by his father into the trash can on the side, and the poet asked puzzledly: "Are you crazy?" ”

"We only wear short sleeves here all year round, and I'm afraid we won't need cotton clothes, so it's better to travel lightly than to be tired."

With him taking the lead, the rest of the young people also began to follow suit, the big guys all gasped easily after throwing off those heavy and slimy clothes, these young faces were not familiar with each other, maybe it was obvious that Wang Ling was the head of such a person, and someone from that group came up and asked: "Brother, which commune are you assigned to, why haven't you seen anyone come to pick it up?" ”

"I don't know," Wang Ling said with a smile: "No one wants a child, if you can't find an organization at dawn, you can only go to the street to ask for food, my name is Wang Ling, a native of Hangzhou, where are you, brother." ”

"His name is the undead!" The poet shouted as he gestured, "You can also call him Fourth Brother." This immediately caused a burst of laughter in the train station, and the momentary awkward atmosphere was finally somewhat relieved. The man also stretched out his hand and held his hand and said, "My name is Lao Pi, from Shijiazhuang, those people are in the same carriage as me, we should all be in the same car." ”

"Hey, maybe we might all be from a wave of communes," the poet leaned in and whispered: "Your kid is lucky, those girls are all water spirits, if we really get together, it's a good match, four men and four women, this organization is quite thoughtful." ”

The stuffy taste in this train station is equivalent to throwing people into the steamer, Qinzhou is close to the sea, the humidity is already heavy, the boys have begun to take off their pants at this time, and the girls are blushing one by one, after all, these are all freshly arrived faces, and they are wearing some intimate clothes. After a while, the poet came out of nowhere, and he was wet, it turned out that he had found a faucet in the toilet, and simply poured himself cold, and the boys saw that they all did the same, and just when Wang Ling also slipped in to give himself a good time, there was a sharp whistle in the train station......

"Flowing," a man in military uniform leaned his hand behind his back and reprimanded the young people in a row, he paced back and forth and shouted loudly: "There is no organization, no discipline, do you think you are here to travel!" ”

"Report!" The man called Old Leather shouted.

"You still know how to shout a report, then you speak!"

"Report chief," said Lao Pi, straightening his body, "we have not seen the crowd that warmly greeted us here, nor the organization to let us take refuge, but we firmly believe that we have not been abandoned by the organization, so we intend to wash away the dust of the past and welcome the future life with a new look, and I am done with my speech." ”

"And wash off the dust? Do you know what is behind enemy lines? When I fought to resist US aggression and aid Korea, I went 30 kilometers behind enemy lines alone, and I was greeted only by bullets and artillery from US imperialism and their minions! Shouldn't I just jump into the river and take a bath? ”

"No, you should report to the organization: I have penetrated deep behind enemy lines, coordinates 000, fire at me!"

Lao Pi's words suddenly made this group of educated youths smile and lean back, this kid is really a living treasure, and he was so angry that the "chief" immediately wanted to take the belt to pump him, at this time the poet shouted: "Report to the chief, we are all the corresponding chairman's call to learn from the middle and lower poor peasants, we are the future and flowers of the motherland, how can you beat Chairman Mao's children!" ”

"The chairman is ashamed to have children like you!" He waved his hand and said, "Okay, our local comrades also have some responsibility for this matter, so don't complain, the people who came to pick you up actually set off in the morning, and they encountered a little storm at sea." ”

Before the leader could finish speaking, a rather magnetic voice was like the middle and bass male host on the radio chanting: "This is the brave petrel, flying proudly on the roaring sea, in the midst of lightning; This is the cry of the prophet of victory: Let the storm come harder! ”

"Haha......" The scene was laughing again, the poet's apt performance and beautiful voice, in this empty train station is so full of joy, Wang Ling understands that he has met a group of living treasures, it seems that the future life will at least not be so boring and boring.

The leader whose face was angry turned into pig liver turned and waved to the outside of the dark train station: "Old criminal, come in, this group of dolls will be handed over to you, these are all good dolls, just a little naughty, and they have not suffered hardship, so you have to spend a little bit of effort, let them mingle with our farmer brothers as soon as possible, and let them struggle in the hardest place!" ”

As soon as these words came out, the group of intellectuals knew that something bad was going to happen, and this was clearly preparing to come to the official to avenge their personal vendetta, but it made you have no choice. No way, this is someone's territory, Wang Ling glanced at it, and there was indeed a figure standing there outside the station. When he slowly walked in, he found that it was a man in his fifties, with dark skin, a kind of darkness that they had never seen before, glowing slightly in the dim light. He wore a yellowed white short-sleeved gown, a pair of black trousers, but no shoes, and his feet were unusually thick and fat, with a clear dividing line between the white part and the black of the instep. Before he got closer, he heard a fishy smell.

"You listen to me, his name is the captain of the torture team, he is the captain of the production team you are going to cut into the queue, the captain of the torture team is not easy, in order to pick you up from the morning to the dark, now I will start the roll call, you show your own certificate, Wang Ling!" "Here!" "Li Xin!" "To ......"

There are a total of eight people, just these eight, after the person who looks like the leader and the person called the old man have completed the handover, Wang Ling feels that they are like African black slaves who are about to be trafficked at this moment, and everything waiting for them is unknown. He didn't have a good impression of the man who was called the old criminal, his grandfather had told him that the first thing to look at a person's character was to look at the eyes, and there was no way to disguise the eyes, and he said that since the first time he saw the old criminal, the eyes of this man were full of wariness of them, and the eagle-like glance at each of them's face, and the kind of laughter just now fell into the cold sea in an instant.

Outside the door, there was a liberation truck, each packing up its own salute, the car roaring on the road at midnight, and the sea breeze of Qinzhou gently blowing on their young faces. It was a city, but it did not belong to them, and no one knew where it was, hungry, thirsty, serious, and apprehensive.

Someone slapped the carriage hard, and the sound of metal knocking instantly woke up the group of educated youths who were still asleep, and the fierce driver shouted: "Still sleeping, hurry up and get out of my way!" ”

When I opened my eyes, there was a huge wind sound of "hulala" and a burst of water splashing sound, and the smell of the sea rushed to the depths of people's brains, and some people began to get excited.

"Phew!" A crisp gunshot suddenly appeared behind the educated youth, and when they turned around, they saw that the old prisoner was holding a handful of five or six and a half in his hand and facing the sky.

He said slowly in a particularly heavy Guangxi accent: "Board the boat for me immediately," following the direction he looked, a wooden boat about ten meters long, with fishing nets piled on it, was rocking by a wooden and simple dock, and Wang Ling only realized that the place where they were going to cut the queue was actually an island!