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The train stopped at Baotou Station.

Wang Jianxin followed the crowd and got out of the car. His legs felt weak when he stepped on the ground.After sitting on the hard seat for several days, my bones were almost falling apart.

The platform was noisy.They are all young people carrying luggage, and they are all gray, blue and green.Some people shouted their names at the top of their lungs, some squatted on the ground looking for something, and a few female educated youths held on to the platform pillars to vomit - it was quite a bumpy ride.

"From Damao Banner! The educated youth from Damao Banner gather here!"

A middle-aged man in a blue tunic suit held up a sign and shouted until his voice became hoarse.

Wang Jianxin squeezed past with his luggage on his back.She was carrying a canvas bag in her hand, which contained a few changes of clothes prepared by her mother and a pair of cloth shoes.In the net pocket were a washbasin, a toothbrush, a towel, and several packages of snacks wrapped in oil paper.The money and food stamps have been stored in the space for a long time, and it is not safe to put them on the body.

Chen Weiguo followed him, his face pale: "Jianxin, my stomach is churning, I want to vomit but can't."

"Be patient." Wang Jianxin said, "I'll get on the truck and get even more bumpy."

"Do you still have to take a truck?"

"Well, I heard someone said it takes two days to go to Damao Banner."

After hearing this, Chen Weiguo’s expression looked like he had eaten a dead fly.

​​Gather for roll call and allocate trucks.Wang Jianxin was assigned to car No. 3 and was not with Chen Weiguo.There were already more than a dozen people in the car, all going to Damao Banner, and no one knew anyone.

"Get in the car! Hurry up!" The driver was a black-faced man who spoke with a thick accent. Wang Jianxin couldn't quite understand it, but he probably understood that he was urging them to hurry up.

The truck was a Jiefang brand truck, with a piece of canvas covering the back compartment, making a rustling sound when the wind blew.Everyone piled their luggage in the back and leaned against the carriage board.

As soon as the car started to drive, the dust started to rise.

This is only two days.

The night before was spent at a military station.In Datongpu, more than 20 people crowded into one room, and it was difficult to even turn over.Wang Jianxin fell asleep for a while, and heard someone crying in the middle of the night. The voice sounded like a woman's. After crying for a few times, there was no movement.

The next day continued.

The roads are getting worse and worse, from gravel roads to dirt roads, and from dirt roads to bumpy meadows.As soon as the car passed by, the sky was covered with dust. Everyone's face was covered with a layer of dust, and their noses were black.

Wang Jianxin looked outside.

.

Just this one word.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​: The grassland has not turned green in March, the ground is yellow, like a big cowhide spread to the horizon.Occasionally, you can see a few yurts, standing there alone.There are not many cattle and sheep, and they are so thin that you can see their ribs.

"This is too poor." A male educated youth next to him muttered in a low voice.

No one answered.

The car swayed for another three or four hours and finally stopped.

“We’re here! Damao Banner Xila Naohai Production Team!” the driver shouted at the top of his lungs.

Wang Jianxin jumped out of the car, his legs softened and he almost knelt on the ground.He stood holding on to the carriage board for a while before he recovered.

In front of you is a row of adobe houses, with about twenty scattered houses.The houses are all low, and the walls are made of rammed earth. There are cracks in some places and are plastered with cow dung.The roof was paved with hay and weighed down with a few stones.There are several yurts in the distance, and even further beyond is the endless grassland.

The wind was strong and howling, carrying sand and hitting my face, which was painful.

"Assemble! Roll call!"

A man in his fifties came over.Wearing a Mongolian robe with a cloth belt tied around his waist, his face was sunburned and dark red, but his eyes were very bright, and he looked at people like knives.

He held a piece of paper in his hand and began to call names.

"Zhang Aiguo!"

"Arrived!"

"Li Hongmei!"

"Arrived!"

"Wang Jianxin!"

"Arrived." Wang Jianxin raised his hand.

The man glanced at him, his eyes rested on his face for two seconds, and then continued reading.

After calling the names, he folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

"I'm Su He, the production team leader." His Chinese was a bit hard to understand, but he could understand it. "You come from Beijing and join our team. The grassland is different from Beijing. You have a lot to learn."

He paused and glanced at the group of young people.

"Let's arrange accommodation today. There are not enough houses, so you have to live in the herdsmen's homes, eat, live and work with them."

Someone was whispering underneath.

"Quiet." Su He said, "This is the rule. You are here to receive re-education, not to enjoy happiness."

He started to read the list.

"Wang Jianxin, you live in my house."

Wang Jianxin was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

Su He read a few more names, and after assigning them, he waved his hand: "Take your luggage and follow me."

Wang Jianxin followed with his things.

Su He’s home is not far away, it’s a yurt.The bag was not big, only four or five meters in diameter, and a low wall was built outside with cow dung to block the wind.There was a yellow dog tied at the door, and it barked twice when it saw a stranger.

"Batu, be quiet." Su He said.

The dog stopped barking and wagged its tail.

Su He opened the felt door and said, "Come in."

Wang Jianxin bent down and got in.

The yurt is quite dark, with an iron stove in the middle burning cow dung, giving it a smoky smell.There was a pot sitting on the stove, steaming.The floor was covered with felt, and two wooden boxes and a low table were placed against the wall.There were bedding piled in the corner, neatly folded.

"Sit down." Su He pointed to the felt on the ground.

Wang Jianxin put down his luggage and sat down cross-legged.

Su He scooped a bowl of something from the pot and handed it to him: "Drink tea."

Wang Jianxin took it over.There was milk tea in the bowl, off-white in color, with a layer of oily flowers floating in it.He took a sip - it was salty and had a milky smell, which couldn't be said to be delicious.

"Aren't you used to drinking?" Su He asked.

"It's okay." Wang Jianxin took another sip, this time a little more.

Su He also scooped up a bowl and sat across from him.

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen, almost sixteen."

"Xiao." Su He said, "What do you do at home?"

“My father is an electrician in a steel factory, and my mother is unemployed.”

Su He nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.He took a few sips of tea and said, "We eat two meals a day here. Tea and milk in the morning. Dinner in the evening, either meat or noodles."

Wang Jianxin listened carefully.

"There are no vegetables." Su He added, "Vegetables don't grow on the grassland. Meat, milk, and noodles, that's all."

"I understand." Page (1/3)