Two

  Early spring in March, the sunny day after the rain is refreshing. However, every corner of the village's youth camp is filled with a kind of inexplicable anxiety. In the past three years, the young people have been labeled as "advanced" and "backward" by the village cadres due to their attitude towards labor and lifestyle. The news of some personnel returning to work in the city came from various channels, and the original tranquility of the youth camp was completely disrupted. Those who had gained a reputation for being "advanced" seemed to feel that their efforts in the countryside over the years should have paid off by now; while those labeled as "backward" by the cadres and masses appeared to be far away from returning to work in the city, with a lost look on their faces every day, and some even hoped that their family members would make an effort from another angle, hoping for a miracle.

  One afternoon, Wang Liang, the tall and thin man who had fought, stolen sweet potatoes, and stolen sugar canes when he first arrived in the countryside, wore a labor work uniform stained with oil, pushed open the door of the so-called "later" educated youth room one by one, and shouted at them: "What's the point? It's just repairing the earth for a few more years! Why are you all so downhearted? Come on, I've learned to drive a hand-held tractor for two days, I'll take you for a ride, the peach blossoms in the neighboring village are blooming, let's go and have a look!"

  Returning to the city is not an option, and the spring plowing has not yet begun. Staying cooped up in the room is unbearable. Wang Liang's enthusiasm was infectious, and several people simultaneously poked their heads out of the room. Li Danhua, wearing a red sweater, looked at Wang Liang hesitantly and asked, "It's indeed boring, but can you do it?" Wang Liang thumped his chest proudly and said, "I can do it! The team leader chose me to drive the tractor because I'm naturally talented at this sort of thing!"

  Zhang Mao, who lived next door, stuck his chubby face out the door, apparently interested in going for a ride. He thought that instead of daydreaming here, he might as well go for a spin. However, apart from worrying about safety, he also had another concern and asked while leaning on the door frame: "Is it okay to take the tractor out? Those old men are really troublesome." Wang Liang gave his guarantee without any hesitation: "It's fine, let me drive the tractor, I need to practice for a few days anyway. You guys just follow me, if there's anything wrong, blame me!"

  After the torrential rain, the spring light burst forth, and the suppressed emotions of the nine old educated youths needed to be released. Wang Liang invited his companions to go to a neighboring village to admire the peach blossoms, and those who were called upon naturally went with alacrity. Except for two educated youths who had always been known for their progressive integrity, the others also stirred restlessly, and seeing someone follow, even the usually taciturn Xiao Dingdali also caught up.

  The hand tractor stopped in the queue house of the sun-dried rice field, Wang Liang took out the handle from the bottom box of the seat, and with not very skilled movements, he pressed one end against the starting wheel, gritted his teeth and turned for a while, then the four-stroke engine sprayed out a string of smoke, accompanied by mechanical linkage noise, the tractor was slowly backed out of the garage.

  A group of people scrambled to climb onto the low carriage, and the tractor moved proudly along the bumpy farm road.

  Wu Wei was the group leader of the educated youth camp, belonging to the type that didn't earn much but had a lot of responsibilities. He looked very neat and tidy, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, not to mention the small eight-character mustache under his nose, making him an idol-like figure among the new and old female educated youths. In their spare time, they would privately evaluate him, saying that this big man's skin was so white it was scary, while others were complaining about their faces being sunburned like eggplants, his face only had a slightly reddish-brown color. After several rounds of winter and spring, everyone had gotten used to the dark and healthy farmer's skin tone, but because of his pale and eye-catching face, people felt that the group of ugly and dark-skinned people around him had become a foil.

  Wu Wei didn't mind his own uniqueness, he crawled and struggled with the commune members, and for more than three years, he had been a model for young people. Seeing that some educated youths could return to the city to work, his heart also began to relax a bit, thinking that this was the last days in the countryside, it was not suitable to continue being the leader at this time. However, today's actions of these educated youth companions still made him look away, worried and standing on the ground watching them leave.

  After learning to drive for two days, Wu Wei was still a bit uneasy in his heart. He hesitated for a moment and felt it necessary to ask the original tractor driver. He walked into the second room of the educated youth dormitory and said to Xiao Yongsheng, who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed: "Hey, why did the village team call Wang Liang to learn to drive a tractor at this time?"

  Xiao Yongsheng was lying on the bed, covered with a crimson velvet jacket, his hands propping up his head. He was thinking about how to answer Wu Wei's question. He was a sturdy young man with a square face, high nose bridge, deep and spirited eyes, and short hair that had remained unchanged for years. His thick neck, which was unusual among the crowd, seemed to have some kind of power gathered there when viewed from the front, as his strong jawbone didn't appear larger than its diameter. Whenever the educated youth were bored and joking around, they would often make fun of it, sometimes even associating it with the images of workers, peasants, and soldiers in propaganda posters.

  He indeed had superhuman endurance. In the scorching summer, that exposed muscle, even the sturdy old farmers didn't dare to easily compete with him in arm-wrestling, everyone knew that he had dozens of kilograms of heavy steel dumbbells welded together in his room. Over the years, the fierce sun and dry wind in the fields had already tanned his face into an eggplant-like color. However, Xiao Yongsheng was not a simple-minded person with developed limbs, since the day he was sent to the countryside, he actively approached the village committee organization, although his progress in all aspects couldn't surpass Wu Wei's, but he always cooperated with managing the educated youth group. The reason why Wang Liang and several other hippies didn't go too far was also due to Xiao Yongsheng's restraining power on them. Today, when he saw those people going to ride a tractor to have fun, in the past, he would come out early to persuade and stop them, but now he also thought that he should be one of the most likely candidates to return to the city for work, just like Wu Wei. Wang Liang being arranged to learn how to drive a tractor at this time was a balancing measure by the village leaders. Therefore, at this moment when everyone else was making noise outside, only he lay calmly on his bed with his eyes closed, resting and meditating.

  At this moment, Wu Wei heard him enter the house and speak. He thought for a while, slowly opened his eyes and replied: "Yes, many things in the village are puzzling, is it to comfort him and give him an excuse?" Wu Wei stood in front of his bed and urged: "Why don't we go ask the tractor driver in the village about his driving skills? If not, the safety of a car full of people can't be taken lightly."

  Xiao Yongsheng didn't want to bother with this nonsense either, but the deputy group leader title was still on his head and he couldn't push it away. He slid down from the bed, pulled his wrinkled sportswear, grabbed the liberation cap on the table, and recited with a displeased face: "A bunch of people who can't grow up, even wanting to be quiet for a few days is not allowed!"

  Xiao Yongsheng put on his hat and walked out of the door. Wu Wei had already hurriedly gone to the tractor driver's home.

  The warm sunshine on a winter day was pleasant, and the old car, now in its prime years, had changed from its usual oil-stained appearance. It was wearing a Sun Yat-sen suit, perhaps the same one it wore when it was new, and sat in a bamboo chair at the entrance of the house, basking in the sun. Wu Yi approached with a tone full of reproach, saying: "Hey, you still have the heart to bask in the sun here? Wang Liang took the car out, I heard he just learned how to drive two days ago?"

  The old driver narrowed his eyes under the strong light and replied slowly, "Two days of study is not a short time, many people start driving after just half an hour." Xiao Yongsheng widened his eyes and emphasized, "He's taking a whole car of people out, we have to consider other people's safety!"

  Lao Che's face turned pale and he scratched his ears, saying: "This is a problem, his guts are too big, when did this happen?" Wu Wei estimated: "It should be about half an hour ago."

  The old car shook its head helplessly and said, "There's no way now. Even if we open a tow truck to chase after them, we won't be able to catch up. We can only pray for their safe return."

  Wu Yi frowned and asked curiously, "Why is he learning to drive a tractor at this time?" Lao Che waved his hand and muttered, "I'm not sure either. A while ago, that kid brought over an oral order from Bao Zhi, saying to learn how to drive a tractor. Coincidentally, this car had just been maintained and needed to be driven for a bit, so I took him out for two days. He's still quite agile, and there shouldn't be any problem with him plowing fields or hauling goods in the future."

  As people said, Wu Wei and Xiao Yongsheng had no choice but to give up. Their concerns were not just superficial, at the critical moment of recommending returning to work in the city, they did not want to cause any trouble.

  The old car continued to bask in the sun, and Wu Xiao had nothing more to ask. They could only pray silently that everyone on the bus would return safely. The two of them exchanged a glance before quietly turning around and walking away.