WOOY Chapter 18

Fei Tang’s car behind was blocked, so there must be another car waiting to intercept them ahead.

Several plans ran through Chang Dong’s mind. Ye Liuxi, however, didn’t panic and even had a hint of cheekiness: “Why don’t we ditch Fatty Tang and save ourselves? The supplies in the car are enough for the two of us.”

Fei Tang was furious: “Sister Yexi, how could you do this? We’re in this together!”

Ye Liuxi sneered: “Now you say ‘we’. Didn’t see you being so united when you were badmouthing me.”

Fei Tang wanted to deny it, but Chang Dong suddenly interjected: “How did you know he was badmouthing you? Did you hear it?”

He slowed the car down, his gaze deepened, always paying attention to the surroundings, which didn’t stop him from getting involved in the quarrel.

Ye Liuxi said: “If someone can talk behind your back, they can also talk behind mine. I don’t need to hear it.”

Chang Dong said: “True.”

Fei Tang almost fainted from anger. He cursed Chang Dong as an incompetent leader and Ye Liuxi as ruthless, the venomous woman that wanted to ditch him—people’s hearts were too dark, and he himself was too naive.

But he didn’t dare to say it out loud. He still stuck close to Chang Dong. Seeing the ghostly car closely trailing them in the rearview mirror, his heart chilled, then turned ruthless: Damn it, if Chang Dong really wanted to ditch him, he would crash the car into him. If he died, they would die together! Who’s afraid of whom?

The car in front finally appeared—two of them. Their lights came on suddenly. It seemed they were very familiar with the terrain, daring to drive blindly in such poor visibility at night and in a sandstorm.

The high beams were blindingly bright, shining directly onto Chang Dong’s windshield, making it impossible to keep his eyes open. He couldn’t help but raise his hand to shield himself. Squinting, he saw a figure on the other car throw something on the ground.

Not good.

Ye Liuxi also shielded her eyes: “There are three cars in total; the circle isn’t complete. Should we charge through?”

Fei Tang quickly agreed: “Yes, yes, let’s charge through,Dong ge. There are 360 degrees, and three cars at most cover 30 degrees each.”

Chang Dong said: “No, there are tire spikes.”

These devices, known in ancient times as caltrops, consisted of two double-headed iron spikes welded together at the waist, with four sharp points. They were originally used to take down warhorses.

They were still in use today, but they had evolved. Some automatically poped out upon pressure, like landmines, while others came in strings with central holes, connected by ropes for easy retrieval. Just seeing that figure throwing them out like casting a net, Chang Dong already had an idea.

Three cars approaching at such a leisurely pace did indeed cover only 30 degrees, but within the entire encirclement, who knows where they had scattered the spikes. Rushing out recklessly would likely ruin all the tires.

Thinking about it now, the salt crust scraping the car body was, at least, bit by bit, scraping gently and subtly. People were much harsher.

Chang Dong stopped the car, and all he could hear from the radio was Fei Tang’s heavy breathing.

The other side also stopped their car.

In the increasingly strong wind, the four cars faced each other in silence in the wilderness.

Chang Dong said, “Alright, I’ll get out and see if we can make friends.”

Ye Liuxi said, “If you’re going to say something tough, wouldn’t it be more effective if I go?”

She lifted the knife handle, smiling gently and innocently.

Indeed, if one wanted to say something tough, a mysterious woman with a knife stepping out into the desert at night would make anyone wary.

Chang Dong said, “Calm down, they have guns. Also, can you stay down? I don’t want people to know I have a beautiful woman in my car.”

Perhaps because the words were agreeable, Ye Liuxi cooperatively slid down a bit, her line of sight just parallel to the bottom edge of the windshield: “Then go ahead, call me if it doesn’t work out.”

Where did that confidence come from? Chang Dong couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to her.

He took a pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment and opened the car door.

After getting out of the car, he raised both hands to show he had no ill intentions, then shouted loudly: “I’ll walk halfway, bringing the cigarettes. If you don’t mind making friends, can you give me a light?”

In the car blocking the way, the lead vehicle was a Landwind X9. The man in the back seat was picking his teeth with a toothpick in front of a small mirror. Hearing the shout, he lifted his eyelids and said, “Oh, someone who knows the ropes.”

He casually picked up a lighter from beside him and tossed it to the person getting out of the car: “Go over and take a look, and mind your manners.”

——

Chang Dong estimated the distance to the other car and stopped halfway.

After a while, a person came over from the other side, swaying leisurely. He was dark and skinny, with a face full of wrinkles, looking like a construction worker. He had a shotgun slung over his shoulder, gave Chang Dong a sideways glance, and asked: “What are you here for?”

This person had a walkie-talkie hanging around his neck, with a green light on, indicating it was on. The conversation was likely for the real person in charge to hear.

Chang Dong passed him a cigarette.

“We’re just trying to get by. Can you loosen the bag a bit? I’ll get my work done, and it won’t stop you from making a fortune.”

Some people go missing in Lop Nur, and their families are determined to find them, hiring specialists commonly referred to as ‘body collectors’. 

After a while, someone on the walkie-talkie spoke: “Give him a light, let’s settle for two bottles of water.”

Here, ‘two bottles of water’ didn’t mean actual water—it was slang for getting some benefits. Elsewhere, they might say ‘two pounds of meat’, but in Lop Nur, water was the most precious, so ‘two bottles of water’ was the local terminology.

The person took out a lighter, lit a cigarette for Chang Dong, then took it back and put it in his own mouth, asking indistinctly: “Do you have any alcohol in the car?”

“A few cans of yellow beer.”

“Let me have a look.”

The person strode towards the car.

Half curled up in the car seat, Ye Liuxi watched Chang Dong talking with the other person and saw the small flame of the lighter flickering in the wind. She found it quite impressive—some people could navigate through danger, while others ended up stripped to their underwear. Dealing with people was indeed an art.

However, it didn’t seem very optimistic. Why was that person coming over?

Fei Tang also panicked: “Sister Yexi, what’s going on? Did Dong ge sell us out?”

Those who always think about betraying others are always worried about being betrayed themselves.

Ye Liuxi didn’t quite understand, but she knew the principle of ‘strike first to gain the upper hand’. Besides, no matter the outcome, maintaining composure was important. She couldn’t just cower in the car seat when someone approached, right?

She lowered the car window, grabbed the roll bar inside for support, and with a snake-like fluidity, half of her body slid out of the window, sitting steadily on the window ledge. One hand held the roof rack, her body slightly leaning back, and her medium-length hair was blown by the wind, partially covering her eyes.

The lights shone on her, creating an otherworldly, enchanting scene.

Caught off guard, the person looked up at her.

Ye Liuxi brushed her messy hair aside and asked: “So, what’s the deal? Did we come to an agreement or not?”

The person sized her up, then suddenly turned around and ran back to the Landwind car.

Chang Dong saw him gesturing through the car window and then taking a booklet, flipping through its pages quickly.

Then, the person in charge got out of the car.

——

The man was around forty years old, not very tall, with a round head, narrow eyes, and a large beer belly, like a deformed Maitreya.¹photo 1 below

He introduced himself as Hui Ba, and the people around him called him Ba Ye²means grandpa.

He greeted Chang Dong like an old friend, smiling warmly, the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes were deep: “Hello, hello, nice to meet you.”

Before Chang Dong could respond, Hui Ba had already walked around him.

Interesting, he was heading towards Ye Liuxi.

Chang Dong followed and heard Hui Ba constantly apologizing: “So sorry, didn’t realize it was Sister Yexi, my mistake, my mistake.”

While speaking, he lightly slapped his own face twice.

Ye Liuxi was still sitting on the car window ledge, her brows furrowed: “Have we met?”

“No, but now we know each other. Sister Yexi, are you traveling? The wind is strong tonight, would you like to come to my place?”

Ye Liuxi looked at Chang Dong.

Chang Dong nodded.

——

The car wound its way around and finally stopped in front of a large tent in the center of a Yadan landform cluster. Inside the tent, there was a light bulb powered by an outdoor solar lamp generator, so the electricity was weak. A few people were playing poker inside and, upon hearing the commotion, lifted the curtain to see who was arriving.

Fei Tang trudged along, feeling as if the night was a dream. He had thought a fight was imminent, but in the blink of an eye, they were being invited to ‘come and sit.’

Someone behind him said, “Make way.”

He quickly stepped aside, seeing people carrying boxes of mineral water and dry food inside, and others carrying small suitcases, trying to open the locks with pliers.

Guessing that these items were looted, he noticed the corner of the tent filled with iron shovels, picks, axes, and hammers. Fei Tang didn’t dare make a sound, staying close behind Chang Dong and Ye Liuxi.

Hui Ba dragged a few mats over and placed them under the light bulb to take advantage of the weak light. He opened the beers, handed one to each person, and then unpacked the food, filling disposable cups with peanuts, dates, dried apricots, and sunflower seeds, arranging them neatly. In this place, it didn’t seem out of the ordinary.

Hui Ba kept talking: “Sorry, this year’s mining attempts were futile, with no prospects. Got itchy hands, so tried to take a shortcut, but it was too dark to see clearly…”

Ye Liuxi interrupted him: ” You’ve never met me, so how did you know it was me?”

Hui Ba chuckled: “Well, how should I put it…”

He handed over a photo album: “Flip through, yes, keep flipping, here it is.”

Chang Dong, standing next to them, understood. It was Ye Liuxi in the photos.

Inside the photo film were color-printed papers, resembling photographs. Ye Liuxi sat on a saline-alkali beach, wearing a white round-neck T-shirt tucked into jeans and leather boots that reached her calves. She looked at the camera, wearing a wide-brimmed Tibetan felt hat, the kind popular in tourist areas.

She looked like a spirited Western cowgirl.

On the back, there was a clumsy inscription: Yexi Jie (Sister Yexi).

Flipping through, there were photos of different people, each with annotations on the back, such as ‘Son of the Secretary of Baxian County’ and ‘Boss of Baoxian Line.’

What on earth was this?

Ye Liuxi was perplexed, but Chang Dong had a rough idea and waited for Hui Ba to continue.

Hui Ba cleared his throat.

“Here’s the thing, we’re just trying to make a living, taking advantage of loopholes without intending to go against the state. So we pay attention to those formidable characters who often come in and out of Lop Nur…”

This booklet privately circulated internally, with not many photos, but reprinted to make up the numbers. It was like a protection charm for those looking to earn a living- they could recognize the faces and avoid causing trouble for themselves.

Ye Liuxi asked, “So what do they say about me?”

Hui Ba couldn’t answer. The origins of the booklet were unclear; he had just heard others had it, so he got a copy too. Occasionally, they would update it when they met up. He didn’t know the backstory of every photo.

But wasn’t it normal to have her in there? How many women would be so bold as to stick their heads out of the car window and calmly ask, “Did we come to an agreement?” while being robbed?

He thought Ye Liuxi was deliberately mocking him and felt a bit embarrassed.

The wind seemed to have gotten stronger, causing the entire tent to tilt to one side.

The light bulb flickered, and Hui Ba turned and scolded, “Can’t you plug it in properly?”

Before Hui Ba could finish his sentence, the light bulb flickered out.

The tent filled with the sound of disgruntled murmurs and hisses.

——

In the darkness, Chang Dong said, “Not bad, you even made it into the booklet.”

Ye Liuxi replied, “Jealous?”

“After all, you’re the one known as ‘Desert Fang,’ and you’re the one who often travels these routes, but it’s me who made it into the booklet.”

Chang Dong chuckled, “To even make these people wary…you should think about what kind of character you really were. Honestly, the way you came out of the car window today was quite arrogant.”

And very practiced.

Compared to Hui Ba, she looked more like the bandit.

 

photo 1

 

• 1
  photo 1 below
• 2
  means grandpa