Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

Chapter 29 Resistance and Assistance

The fourth trip, with four motorcycles and six people.

At first, the group was inconspicuous. Taking advantage of the darkness and the scarcity of pedestrians and vehicles, their journey was smooth that day.

But as the sun rose, the group gradually attracted attention. They acted strangely along the way. Sometimes they would carry a motorcycle through a blocked section of road, and other times they would drive a car with its engine running on the side of the road and crash into it. When others asked them what was going on, they said it was to clear the road.

And so, with frequent stops and starts, the group covered 370 kilometers in just 7 hours.

This excited Jiang Yuan, who chattered incessantly the whole way, convinced that he would definitely reach Shanghai today.

But their luck seemed to run out in the afternoon. They were caught in a sudden downpour on the road, and they were stuck on the highway with no villages or shops in sight.

After struggling through the rain for half an hour, the group finally came across a tunnel and had no choice but to go inside. It rained for a whole day and night.

Ultimately, the group experienced the world regressing inside the tunnel.

……

On the fifth trip, the number of motorcycles increased to five, and the number of people accompanying them increased to eight.

This time, the group learned from their previous experience, brought raincoats, and brought all the emergency supplies they could think of, but in the end they only traveled 210 kilometers.

The reason was bizarre: the service area had no gasoline.

This situation caused Sun Fumin to break down on the spot. He felt very guilty, blaming himself for not leading the way properly and not knowing that this service area did not provide refueling services.

Afterwards, the group discussed and decided that Sun Lingmin and Sun Chengwu would each lead a few people to the service area to find oil.

However, Sun Lingmin's team happened to encounter local residents carrying out their "survival of yesterday" plan. When they were blocked from passing, Sun Lingmin got into an argument with them, which eventually escalated into a bloody incident, and several people were detained.

Upon hearing the news, Jiang Hua went to reason with them, and the two sides were deadlocked for half a day. By the time they finally brought the people back, another day had passed.

......

"Isn't this bullying?"

"What kind of bullshit 'yesterday' survival plan is that? It's clearly road hogs!"

The sixth time, after Sun Lingmin returned to the village, he told the villagers about the incident, and seven or eight young people immediately got excited and decided to go and get revenge that day.

Jiang Hua was unaware of the details of this matter.

When they set off, Jiang Hua only saw that the number of motorcycles had increased to ten, and the number of followers had increased to 18.

Everyone was talking about it, and it was quite lively. Jiang Hua was also very moved.

Therefore, everyone was better prepared this time, and they brought several extra cans of gasoline. However, when they passed the same service area as last time, Sun Lingmin stopped the car.

Sun Lingmin apologized and told Jiang Hua and Sun Fumin to continue, saying that they were going to get revenge.

But faced with this situation, how could Jiang Hua feel at ease continuing on his journey?

This whole ordeal took another day.

……

The seventh time, after the world went backwards, Jiang Hua borrowed a motorcycle and returned home, only to find an even larger crowd gathered at his doorstep.

This time, not only people from the same village came, but also many young people from neighboring villages.

Li Xiuyun watched the scene with concern and kept advising Jiang Hua not to go today.

However, Jiang Hua was furious. Those road bullies yesterday were going too far. They were using some kind of "Yesterday" survival plan, but they were actually just marking over territory and playing the gangster tricks.

Surrounded by a group of young people, Jiang Hua jumped into the car in a flurry and headed straight for Graystone Town.

A large group of people, consisting of twenty or thirty motorcycles and forty or fifty people, made a grand procession along the way.

Some people were even waving baseball bats and constantly revving their engines, making a lot of noise that was impossible to keep quiet about.

As soon as they entered Greystone Town, they were stopped by the Greystone Town Police Station.

Jiang Hua, Sun Fumin, and Sun Lingmin were immediately called aside for private questioning.

At first, the three men were indignant and tried to explain the righteousness of their actions, but the police officers wouldn't stop. They sternly told them that it was none of their business and that they would contact the local police station to handle the matter.

After an hour of commotion, Jiang Hua gradually calmed down and explained that he was going to see his son and promised not to cause any more trouble. However, the group was still not allowed to leave, and their motorcycle keys were confiscated.

Helpless, Jiang Hua could only sit alone in front of the stage and listen to "Qingfeng Pavilion" with a group of elderly people for the entire morning.

This was another old drama, and listening to it brought tears to his eyes; the anger in his heart truly dissipated.

As for the other dozens of people, Sun Fumin led them to eat and drink at the temple fair, and Sun Lingmin kept boasting about how handsome they were "yesterday" and how they beat the locals to run away with their heads in their hands.

Jiang Yuan, meanwhile, was drinking cola on the side, his face full of envy.

She would occasionally glance at Sun Fumin with a hint of resentment. This older brother hadn't even given her a heads-up yesterday. It wasn't until she rode her bicycle back to Huishi Town from school and made a phone call that she learned they had already set off.

……

The eighth time, the convoy was even larger.

As Jiang Hua and his fellow villagers passed the West Bridge, they saw several motorcycles waiting for them at the bridgehead. As they passed through Daweizhuang, a few more joined them.

Upon arriving in Greystone Town, wow, there were forty or fifty motorcycles parked side by side on both sides of the intersection, plus onlookers, making up a crowd of several hundred people.

The head of the Graystone Town Police Station stood at the front of the crowd, using both soft and hard tactics, saying, "What are you doing? Are you going to cross provincial borders to fight? Please, if the world goes backwards tomorrow, everyone will go home. What's the point of this fight?"

"Chief Wu, you've misunderstood!"

In the crowd, a young man holding a helmet laughed loudly:

"We don't want to fight. We came to protect Grandpa Jiang because we were moved by his perseverance in going to Shanghai."

"Yes, this story has spread to several towns around here. Everyone is moved by Grandpa Jiang's deeds. Please let us go..."

"Of course, even my grandma supports it!" A young man with dyed orange hair chewed gum and joked, "Surely Director Wu wouldn't not support such a touching story!"

"Nonsense..." Director Wu's face darkened. He pointed at the blond-haired man, then at the several equally sleazy-looking young men behind him, and said sternly, "Nan Shaofei, what's wrong? Just because your family has some money, you think you can't stay in Graystone Town anymore? You want to go to another province to embarrass yourself?"

"Hehe, money's not that useful anymore!"

As soon as Director Wu finished speaking, bursts of laughter immediately rang out from the crowd.

Nan Shaofei's face flushed from everyone's laughter, and he immediately shouted, "Hey~ Director Wu, that's a really harsh thing to say!"

Director Wu snorted coldly, and was about to say something more when he heard a voice suddenly come from the crowd.

"Everyone, make way! Mayor Zhang is here..."

Director Wu looked up and saw Mayor Zhang walking alone from the back of the crowd. After reaching the middle of the crowd, he looked around with a smile.

He called out loudly, "What's all this commotion about?"

"Mayor Zhang, you be the judge. We meant well and wanted to take Grandpa Jiang to Shanghai. It was a good intention, but Director Wu seems to be prejudiced against us and is trying to stop us from going."

Nan Shaofei, who had just been at odds with Director Wu, immediately adopted a wronged expression and started grumbling.

"That's right, we're not bad people, Director Wu is clearly prejudiced against us." Several young men with dyed hair behind Nan Shaofei quickly echoed.

"Oh, I see."

Mayor Zhang nodded, a wry smile on his face. His tone was gentle yet tinged with the wisdom of someone who'd been there before: "Of course. If anyone says you're bad people, I'll be the first to disagree. When I was young, I dyed my hair and followed trends, trying to be different. But my dad gave me a good beating, and I never dared to do that again..."

"Hahaha--"

As soon as Mayor Zhang revealed his embarrassing moment, the whole room burst into laughter, and the tense atmosphere instantly relaxed.

"Exactly!" Nan Shaofei tossed his hair smugly, raising an eyebrow at Director Wu. "It's just dyeing your hair, it's purely a matter of personal freedom, is there really such a big prejudice?"

"You..." Director Wu was about to speak when he caught a glimpse of a wink from Mayor Zhang, and swallowed his words.

"Yes, yes, it's all about personal freedom, no big deal!" Mayor Zhang nodded repeatedly with a smile, then added, "It's mostly just that we older generation don't approve. As long as your dad doesn't beat you, it's fine."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room erupted in laughter again. Nan Shaofei also gave an awkward smile, looking slightly embarrassed.

After the laughter subsided, Mayor Zhang looked at Jiang Hua and asked, "Brother Jiang, is it really necessary to go to Shanghai?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Jiang Hua with curiosity.