After boarding the bus, Lu Weimin leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.
From Changzhou to Liyang, it's 282 kilometers, with the western end of National Highway 331 being Lantou Town in Changhua District of Changzhou, and the eastern end being Jinqu Town in Liyang City.
The road conditions are neither particularly good nor particularly bad, ranking as average among all the provincial highways in the province. It passes through Kunhu City and Luomen Region.
The road conditions from Changzhou to Kunhu are relatively good, but once you pass Qihua County to the east of Kunhu, the road conditions deteriorate, especially from Luomen to Liyang, which is particularly bumpy and broken.
However, to get from Changzhou to Nantang, there's no need to pass through Liyang. Instead, you can take a detour at Luoqiu County in Luomen Region, continue east along National Highway 331 to Liyang, or turn southeast from Luoqiu, take Provincial Highway S315 through Shuangfeng, and then either continue east to Fengzhou and Nantang, or go southeast through Futo to Nantang.
The two routes are about the same distance, but the road from Shuangfeng to Fengzhou and then to Nantang is slightly better, so generally, the buses prefer to take the route through Fengzhou.
Lu Weimin had taken this route countless times during his middle and high school years. Every winter and summer vacation, or during the National Day holiday, he would travel from Nantang to Changzhou, or from Changzhou to Nantang, from his father's side to his mother's, or from his mother's side to his father's. This kind of life once made Lu Weimin feel quite content.
Now it seems he has to repeat this life again.
His mother originally planned to accompany him back to Nantang, but Lu Weimin refused. He didn't want people to think that his return to Nantang made him look like a defeated dog, or that he needed his mother's comfort to get through it. He, Lu Weimin, wasn't that fragile. Besides, he felt that perhaps he could better utilize his abilities by working in the county rather than staying at the factory.
However, this time, Lu Weimin didn't directly take the bus back to Nantang but went to Liyang first. Although he had already been assigned to Nantang, he still needed to make a trip there.
First, he needed to visit his uncle's house in Liyang, and second, he needed to meet Gao Yingcheng, a fellow townsman of Zhen Jingcai and the deputy minister of the Liyang Regional Organization Department. Gao Yingcheng could be considered his first mentor in his political career in Liyang. According to what Gao Yingcheng told Zhen Jingcai, he would likely be assigned to the county government, but the specific department would depend on the arrangements in Nantang County.
The long-distance bus stopped in Cangmu Town, a suburb of Tanka County in Luomen Region, an important transportation hub in the Changnan area. From here, continuing east along Provincial Highway 106 leads to the northern counties of Liyang Region, including Liyang City. Turning south leads to the southern counties of Liyang Region, where Nantang County is located.
As soon as the bus stopped, a woman sitting in front of Lu Weimin rushed off the bus and vomited by the roadside, making Lu Weimin feel queasy as well.
The surrounding passengers seemed to be used to this and paid little attention.
After passing Luomen, the road conditions became terrible. Although it was officially a provincial highway, many sections had been damaged by trucks, with large chunks of asphalt falling off and no one repairing them. Some sections were filled with dirt, gravel, or even broken stones, and then roughly compacted with a roller. It was unclear what the people at the transportation bureau were doing.
The bus jolted along the road, and those who were used to this could handle it, but for those who didn't often take long-distance buses, even a careful breakfast couldn't prevent them from feeling sick.
The woman managed to hold out until Tanka before vomiting, which was quite impressive. Looking at the bus, it was clear that she wasn't the only one who couldn't handle the journey, as there were vomit stains all over the bus.
When the bus finally arrived at the central bus station in Liyang, it was already past 5 PM, nearly eight hours later. Apart from the half-hour delay for lunch in Tanka and a few toilet breaks, it took over seven hours to cover 282 kilometers, which clearly showed the state of the provincial highway.
Lu Weimin only woke up when the bus stopped. He had dozed off for over half an hour, leaning on the seat in front of him, and his forehead was slightly sore from hitting the metal armrest.
He had accidentally hit his forehead when he fell asleep, which hurt so much that he almost cried out, but he couldn't resist the urge to sleep and fell back asleep after a few minutes.
After most of the passengers had left, Lu Weimin lazily pulled his bag from under the seat and prepared to get off.
"Hey, little girl, what's wrong? We've arrived, get off the bus." The ticket collector had already gotten off to pay, and the driver was preparing to clean the bus. The passenger in front of Lu Weimin, who had been leaning on the seat back, remained silent.
Lu Weimin casually looked back as he walked to the bus door. The driver raised his voice, "Hey, we've arrived, get off the bus. I need to clean the bus. Little girl, get off and go home quickly."
The girl struggled to lift her head, "Sorry, sir, I feel a bit unwell. Can I sit for a bit longer?"
"Ah, you'll only feel worse if you stay on the bus. Why don't you go to the waiting room and sit for a while? I need to clean the bus." The driver was getting impatient. It was already past 5 PM, and he wouldn't finish cleaning until at least 6 PM. After driving all day, who wouldn't want to go home early?
The girl struggled to stand up and tried to grab her bag from the luggage rack, but her body swayed, and she almost fell. Lu Weimin instinctively let go of his bag and quickly supported her, "Hey, are you okay?"
"Are you together? Hey, if you're together, you should help her to the waiting room. Motion sickness is really uncomfortable, but sitting for a while will help." The driver sighed with relief and hurriedly helped the girl with her bag, handing it to Lu Weimin, "Go, go, sit for a while, and you'll feel better."
The driver had pushed the responsibility onto Lu Weimin, who didn't have a chance to explain.
Seeing the girl's pale face, it was clear she was suffering from motion sickness. Lu Weimin had no choice but to support her arm and carry both their bags off the bus.
After getting off, Lu Weimin looked around. It was the time when buses from all over were arriving at the station, and the parking lot was a chaotic scene.
Drivers were washing their buses with water hoses, and dirty water was everywhere. Ticket collectors, having finished their payments, were laughing and joking, littering with sugarcane peels, sunflower seeds, and fruit pits. The air was filled with a mix of gasoline, diesel, and the smell of urine, swirling in the bustling sunset.
It was still the same scene, and Lu Weimin couldn't help but sigh lightly. Everything was just as it was 21 years ago.
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