The autumn wind is getting cooler and the autumn colors are getting darker. I hitchhiked all the way west. Say goodbye to Zhongtiao Mountain and walk to the Yellow River. "A setting sun spreads over the water, half of the river is rustling and half of the river is red." The setting sun is like blood, and the Yellow River is like water. Qin and Jin face each other across the river. Crossing the Yellow River from Fengling is Tongguan, reaching the border of Shaanxi.
When passing by Huashan, night gradually fell. But its tall and steep mountain shape is still vaguely visible. Along the way west, Huashan Mountain stretches continuously. In fact, Huashan Mountain is a section of Qinling Mountains. The Qinling Mountains are the watershed between the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin. It stretches across the land of Guanzhong from west to east. To the north of the Qinling Mountains is the Guanzhong Plain known as the "Eight Hundred Miles of Qinchuan", and to the south of the Qinling Mountains is the Sichuan Basin known as the "Land of Abundance". The climate in the north and south of the Qinling Mountains is very different. Because it blocks the cold current from the north from going south, and also blocks the warm and humid air from the south from moving north. The Qinling Mountains have many folds and are an important passage in and out of the mountains. When our car reached the foot of the Qinling Mountains, it was completely dark.
After more than four hours of jolting in the car, I couldn’t wait to jump out of the car. As soon as I got off the car, the mountain breeze blew in my face. It was such a cool wind! Only then did I feel that the pants under my butt were soaked with sweat. Naturally, I think of how difficult it is for drivers. They do this every day, so hard.
There is a small restaurant at the foot of the mountain, which provides meals and free water to passing drivers. At this time another car came, they were from a transport team. The thin driver jumped out of the car neatly, wearing a jacket.
Shaanxi is famous for its noodles. The ramen noodles are strong and plentiful. They also have two poached eggs. The driver who was traveling with me invited me to eat together. The thin driver was sitting opposite me, pouring drinks with his left hand, picking up vegetables with his left hand, and picking noodles with his left hand. Only then did I notice that he only had one left arm. The right side of the clothes is empty. Did he drive with one hand? Really? Such a big truck? Yes, I clearly saw him jumping out of the driver's seat just now. I can't believe it. But it is what it is. A phone call came in during the meal, and he began to discuss business with the other party. Sitting next to him was his younger brother, who sold bricks and tiles. I have contacts here in Shaanxi. Go back and bring some ore, walnuts, etc. from Shaanxi. I have been running transportation on this line for more than ten years.
The moon is dark, the wind is high, and the stars are dotted. After having a full meal, it’s time to go into the mountains.
I grew up on the Loess Plateau, but my hometown is Yima Pingchuan. I have also admired thousands of mountains and rivers during my journey, driven through long tunnels, and climbed the winding Badaling Great Wall. But this was the first time that I had to walk on a mountain road for two or three hours in the dark night.
Looking up to see the majestic Qinling Mountains pressing up in the night, it feels like standing under the China World Tower on the streets of Beijing and looking up at the sky.
You can only trust the driver’s driving skills. He will definitely send me to my destination safely.
The cars went on the road one after another. The headlights could only illuminate a distance of two to three meters in front of the car, and the driver kept listening to music on his mobile phone, looking nonchalant. I wanted to look at the mountains outside the car window, but it was of no use. I only saw mountains connected to the sky, and stars twinkling on the top of the mountain. It is really like "Qinling Mountains are thousands of feet high, and you can pick the stars with your hands." The car was twisting and turning on the winding mountain road. I held on to the handrail beside the car and swayed left and right. The further the car went up the mountain, the colder it felt. The journey is lonely and thrilling at every turn. Encountering a sharp turn, the driver turned the steering wheel sharply. I was thinking about how the driver with only one arm managed to keep busy on this road all year round. Two hands are busy and not enough, so how can one hand pull the brakes and turn the steering wheel? Is there a sharp turn and a steep descent? And there are cliffs thousands of feet on one side, and Luoshui on the other.
The driver was chatting with me while driving at high speed. His son just called and said that he had arrived in Beijing and was studying computer science at a training institution. The tuition and accommodation fees were 20,000 yuan. The driver lamented that it is not easy for children nowadays to live outside. They can't even support themselves, and they can't count on them to support themselves in the future. It is better to earn more now, pay for pension insurance, and rely on yourself in the future. He also talked about how he had been living in poverty since he was a child, struggling in society, and running a transportation business for more than ten years. "As a man, you have to endure hardships!" he said. Looking at him in his early forties, I didn't expect that he was already weathered. Life is an alchemical furnace. Everyone is like a piece of ore in this furnace. Roasted in a hot furnace, it will either be burned to ashes or refined into pure gold. Who has not struggled in dire straits?
The car was crawling up the mountain in the hinterland of Qinling Mountains. We seemed to have entered the belly of the mountain. The mountains were heavy and the water was heavy, and we kept walking. Two hours later, the car climbed up the Qinling Mountains. The mountain wind was very strong. It was so cold that I shivered and quickly put on long-sleeved clothes. The temperature varies greatly between the mountains and down the mountains. It felt like it was late autumn when we went up the mountain, it was cold and cool. I realized what the poet wrote: a mountain has four seasons, and the sky is different ten miles away. In this way, we traveled all the way from Huayin through Huaxian to Huayang. It has also passed from early autumn to late autumn.
When we arrived in Luonan County, the driver parked the car at the bridge and opened WeChat. My best friend sent me a message. Why didn’t I reply? Sleeping in a hotel tonight? I quickly replied that I was in the car and walked to my destination without sleeping. I was sleepy and squinted in the car for a while. Thank you for your concern.
I got out of the car, stretched my weak muscles, and said to the stars: "I can finally let my horse go to Nanshan."
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