Chapter 891: Return to the Capital, Rewards

Captain Ma directed his men to follow the trail of leaking coolant to the source of the leak; after cleaning the surrounding stains, he used a flashlight for illumination, pressed a kneaded bar of soap firmly against the leak to fill the crack thoroughly, and then secured it with adhesive tape.

Only then did they slowly add coolant to the radiator; after observing that it no longer leaked, everyone could not help but cheer: "It worked, it's not leaking anymore."

Without time to thank Liu Chuxue, everyone returned to their posts; the convoy continued forward, arriving at Zhenglan Banner before nightfall, so at least they would not have to sleep exposed to wind and dew or fear being surrounded by wolves.

This time, they were not as lucky as in Xilin Gol; there were only two large dormitory rooms available.

This place could hardly be called a guesthouse; it was merely a roadside inn prepared for those driving carts to rest.

At this point, having a place to shelter them from the wind and snow was already very good; what was there to be pretentious about?

Sister Huang hung the quilts from their beds to create a simple partition; at last, they did not have to feel so awkward.

Just then, Group Leader Wang from the Procurement Section ran in: "Quick, quick, quick! I found the innkeeper of the roadside inn; he has made stir-fried pot noodles for everyone. Take your lunch boxes over to serve yourselves; eat something hot first to warm your bodies."

Everyone returned with soup and noodles and gathered around the fire.

Before long, that innkeeper brought a basin of local Hadabing: "These were originally prepared as food for tomorrow morning; roast them over the fire and eat them with the noodles."

Captain Ma hurried forward to take it: "Thank you so very much."

After distributing the Hadabing from the basin to everyone, Captain Ma engaged the innkeeper in conversation for quite a while before the man finally agreed to make more cakes for them to take on the road the next morning.

Since they had not rested well the previous night, everyone, after finishing their meal, simply washed their lunch boxes with the snow outside and lay down to sleep fully clothed; they were simply too exhausted.

Only at this moment did Liu Chuxue deeply understand why the people in the office would not accept this business trip mission no matter what was said.

The next day, when they got up, it was already late; this was something Captain Ma had told everyone in advance, after all, it was impossible to start the vehicles too early.

The snow outside had stopped, but the snowfall had not been light.

Captain Ma and the others had already insulated the vehicles the previous night, but for just this short while, they were afraid they still could not move.

So Liu Chuxue and the others did not rush to get up; only when someone outside shouted that mealtime had arrived did they climb out of bed.

After eating, Captain Ma led the men to inspect all the vehicles regardless of the cold outside; they also lit a fire of cow dung beneath the vehicles. It was nearly noon before everyone, carrying the Hadabing made with the help of the roadside inn, set out again.

Captain Ma repeatedly urged everyone to pay attention to safety.

Although the road conditions were poor, fortunately it was not snowing today, and visibility was no longer obstructed; yet even so, they did not arrive at Baochang Town under the Prince's Banner until before nightfall; there was also a roadside inn there.

However, tonight Liu Chuxue and the other two female comrades finally did not have to squeeze into the same dormitory with them; the three of them rented a smaller room.

The next day was the same; they did not depart until nearly noon, and in the evening they finally left Inner Mongolia and arrived at Guyuan County to rest; this journey had truly been very arduous.

After that, they traveled for two more days before leaving the Zhangjiakou area; there was no snow on the road.

By the time they reached the Capital City, it was already the evening of the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month; the moment the convoy drove into the factory, the entire factory erupted in excitement, after all, they had reported their situation there and their departure from Xilin Gol to the factory in advance.

Upon learning of their ordeal, the factory director waved his hand and awarded everyone twenty yuan as a bonus, plus three days of leave to be taken during the New Year period.