Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

Despite experiencing two minor setbacks, Wang An and his two companions were in a pretty good mood after successfully bringing back the 3 tons of fertilizer.

Wang Li then said with great emotion:
"Oh my god, we've finally arrived at the village."

Mu Xueli also sighed:
"Yeah, going to get fertilizer is almost like going to war. There are so many trivial things to deal with."

Although Wang An wanted to say something, the other two had already said everything, so he had nothing left to say.

When Wang An and his two companions arrived home, a group of vagrants were busily dumping excrement.

Surprisingly, this large group of vagrants, because they included both men and women, actually made quite a lively scene.

A group of people were working and chatting, and occasionally someone would tell a dirty joke or sing a song about touching each other. They all seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

Of course, the reason these people are so energetic is mainly due to the hearty meal they had at Wang An's house that morning.

If they were still starving every day like before, they probably wouldn't even have the energy to talk.

That's just how humans are; they only have the energy to do anything when they have food in their stomach!

As for Comrade Wang Dazhu, who was in charge of arranging the work and supervising the construction, he was nowhere to be seen, as he was nowhere to be seen around the huge manure pile.

For migrant workers, having a job that pays well and provides three full meals a day is extremely rare. Most importantly, Wang An's meals always include meat.

If they were sent home for not working properly, their families would probably fight with them.

After getting out of the car, Wang An walked up to the crowd and said with a smile:

"Come on, everyone, have a smoke and take a break. After this, all of you brothers, uncles, and grandpas, please help me unload the fertilizer into the warehouse."

As he spoke, Wang An took out a pack of classic Bingcheng cigarettes and started offering them out.

With such a readily available workforce, Wang An naturally had to make use of it. After all, they were all doing the same work, and the wages were calculated on a daily basis. Wang An's actions were not considered taking advantage of the group.

Ergangzi leaned over, took the cigarette, smelled it, and said with a smile:

"What's there to be tired about? We're not tired at all! We get to eat our fill every day, we don't even know what tiredness is anymore, hahaha!"

Du Youliang happily accepted the cigarette and said:
"If only the employer had work all year round, we could work for him for a few years and then we'd have something to look forward to, hahaha."

Although Du Youliang was joking, Wang An couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness upon hearing it.

These migrants are truly destitute, owning neither a house nor a plot of land, and they don't even have household registration. Even when they manage to cultivate some barren hills and wastelands to grow some grain, they still suffer from the ravages of wild boars, bears, and other animals.

Their lives are really tough!

Of course, many people in the village also had a hard time, but at least they weren't starving.

Wang An thought for a moment before saying:

"It's probably unlikely I'll have any work to do all year round, but if I do manage to survive, I'll definitely be thinking of everyone."

Ergangzi laughed and said:

"Sure, as long as the employer says so, that's enough, hehehe."

After only a short while of smoking, everyone stood up and walked towards the Liberation Tower.

It has to be said that you need a lot of people to get things done. The team unloaded a full 3 tons of fertilizer in less than 5 minutes.

Wang An glanced at his watch and saw that there was less than half an hour until lunchtime. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, it's almost lunchtime. Everyone, stop going to empty the manure. Go back, wash your hands, and rest for a while. Then we can start eating."

After Wang An finished speaking, Er Gangzi, as the representative, politely said:

"No need, boss. We're not tired at all. We can even empty out a lot of manure before we eat."

Wang An waved his hand again and said:
"Well, it won't make a difference if we go back and wash our faces for a while."

After a pause, Wang An suddenly remembered the discussion he had made with Wang Li and Mu Xueli on the way back about having these people load and unload the fertilizer, so he continued...
"Oh, right, we need to pick up a few tons of fertilizer from the county's agricultural supply station before 2 a.m. I was thinking of asking you guys to go too. You'll get a 1 yuan loading and unloading fee. Um, are there any of you who can't get up before midnight and don't want to go?"

Upon hearing that there was money to be made, a full dollar at that, almost everyone raised their hands simultaneously and said in unison:

"I'll go, I'll go."

One yuan in those days was roughly a day's wages for a regular employee, almost equivalent to about 200 yuan in later times. It would be strange if they didn't want to earn that money.

Wang An smiled and raised his hand, and everyone stopped talking. Then, Wang An said, rather speechless:
"Why didn't you understand what I said? I said who doesn't want to go? It's just 7 tons of fertilizer, it's fine if you don't want to go."

The group looked at each other, and no one said they didn't want to go.

After waiting a short while, Wang An spoke:

"Okay, then all of us will go. After dinner, everyone should go to bed early and we'll leave around 1 a.m.."

After the matter was settled, everyone returned to the gatehouse and the old courtyard storeroom, and Wang An and his two companions also went inside.

When I got back inside, the meal was already prepared.

Wang An's family did not eat with the craftsmen; the craftsmen ate from a communal pot, while Wang An's family ate the same meals as usual.

During dinner, Wang An told Wang Dazhu and the others about going to the county to pick up fertilizer in the middle of the night, which was a way of informing his family in advance.

Wang An's words immediately drew worry from Liu Guilan, who frowned and said:

"Can't we just go early tomorrow morning? Why do we have to go through all this trouble in the middle of the night? The county town is so far away, and the roads are pitch black."

Liu Guilan originally wanted to say something more, but in the minds of Liu Guilan's generation, some bad things cannot be said, because once they are said, they believe that they will most likely come true.

So Liu Guilan only said half of what she wanted to say, and after hesitating for a while, she finally said:

"If you ask me, we should go early tomorrow, as early as possible, isn't that enough?"

The phrase "try not to walk at night" is almost ingrained in the hearts of every mountain dweller.

The main problem is that the probability of an accident while walking at night in these mountains is just too high.

Of course, the "trouble" mentioned here does not only refer to dangers caused by ferocious beasts such as jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, but also includes bandits who travel at night.

Wang An knew his mother's worries and said with a smile:

"If you go tomorrow morning, you won't make it in time. You didn't see it? The entrance to the agricultural supply station is packed with people. Buying fertilizer is almost like fighting over it."

If we had arrived even a little later, we wouldn't have been able to identify whose fertilizer it was, and we'd have to wait for the next batch, who knows when that would be.

After a pause, Wang An comforted his mother again:
"Don't worry, Mom, we'll drive there. We'll go straight to the agricultural supply station; it won't delay us on the way." (End of Chapter)