Back To The 80s-Chapter 630: Extra Three: Galsang Flower on the Plateau (Part Two)_1

Chapter 630: Extra Three: Galsang Flower on the Plateau (Part Two)_1

It was Lu Weiyi’s first time in the highlands. By nightfall, as the chill began to creep in, she suddenly felt her breathing become more and more difficult, her head aching and throbbing with dizziness.

Altitude sickness is always worse in the mornings or at night. Lu Weiyi felt feeble and slumped down in a corner of the tent. It felt as if there was a drummer in her head, beating away incessantly. She began to curse herself - what was she doing, running off here for no reason? If she died she’d only have herself to blame! But oh, if she really died, wouldn’t her mom and dad be devastated? How could she be so foolish? Why didn’t she just listen to Fang Jing, and go see her grandparents in Capital City, or visit her aunts? Now look at her, not even two days in and she seemed to be on the brink of death.

The worse Lu Weiyi felt, the more she was tormented by these thoughts. As she continued to dwell on them, tears began to well up in her eyes.

Chen Gang was busy directing his soldiers to move the livestock of the disaster-stricken people to a safe place, and then popped over to the tent area to check on things. The snowfall was so heavy that relief supplies couldn’t even make it through – they would have to be airdropped the following day.

When Chen Gang entered the tent where Lu Weiyi was staying, most of the people were huddled up in their coats, trying to stay warm together, except for Lu Weiyi. She was leaning against a corner of the tent, her head bobbing slightly as if she was in a daze, and there were tear droplets clinging to her face.

Chen Gang frowned slightly, knowing immediately that this girl was suffering from altitude sickness. He swiftly left the tent.

After a while, he returned, and quietly squatted beside Lu Weiyi. He handed her a white pill, "It’s just an painkiller pill I could find for now – it should help with your headache. Tomorrow, we can check the relief supplies to see if there are any other types of medicine."

Lu Weiyi, with roaming tears, recognized him as the soldier who had saved her in the afternoon. She took the pill, uttering quietly, "Thank you. I’m causing you trouble again."

"It’s fine. Hurry up and take it." After saying this, Chen Gang handed over his military water bottle.

At this point, Lu Weiyi couldn’t care about who the water bottle belonged to. She unscrewed the cap and gulped down two mouthfuls of the cold water, washing down the pill.

"Thank you." After screwing put the cap back on, Lu Weiyi gave the water bottle back to Chen Gang.

"You’re welcome. They’re making Yak Butter Tea outside. You should drink some of that too, it may help with your altitude sickness, and won’t leave you feeling too cold." Chen Gang added another note of concern.

"Yes, thank you." All Lu Weiyi could do was to keep expressing her gratitude. This soldier was a pretty decent person.

After giving his reminders, Chen Gang stood up and was about to leave. He said, "If you still don’t feel well, it wouldn’t hurt to get up and move around a bit." He did not wait for Lu Weiyi to say thank you, and walked out of the tent.

Watching Chen Gang leave, Lu Weiyi swallowed the words of gratitude she was about to utter.

The self-rescue civilians organized themselves and made Yak Butter Tea, as well as a Tibetan snack called Zanba.

Lu Weiyi, holding a cup of Yak Butter Tea, was standing amidst the crowd, scanning for Chen Gang’s figure, hoping to ask him for help.

As for the Yak Butter Tea, Lu Weiyi was repelled by it. When she first came to the Tibetan Area, she tried it and found that, it tasted horrible. But now, hearing Chen Gang say that it could help alleviate altitude sickness, she gritted her teeth and forced it down.

A kindly Tibetan woman handed Lu Weiyi a few pieces of Zanba, uttering a bunch of Tibetan words in quick succession.

Lu Weiyi didn’t understand, but she guessed the woman was telling her to eat the Zanba. However, she didn’t have the appetite to eat, and quickly waved her hands to decline, saying, "Thank you, but I don’t want any."

The Tibetan woman chattered some more and proceeded to hand Lu Weiyi the Zanba again.

"The aunty said that you’re going to get hungry if you only drink Yak Butter Tea. You should have some Zanba to fill your stomach," Chen Gang interjected from behind Lu Weiyi, having seemingly come out of nowhere.

Lu Weiyi quickly took the pieces of Zanba and began to thank the Tibetan woman profusely, bending at the waist as she did so.

The Tibetan woman walked away smiling, pleased that Lu Weiyi had finally accepted her offering.

Lu Weiyi turned to Chen Gang, and feeling a bit shy, she asked, "Do you know where I could find a public phone around here? I want to call my mom."

"The closest one is about twenty kilometers away but it’s dark outside and impossible to get there."

Lu Weiyi was deflated. That was too far away. But she supposed it made sense, looking around, there wasn’t any sign of any buildings or homes in sight.

"Did you come to the Tibetan Area alone?" Chen Gang asked.

Lu Weiyi nodded, "Yes."

"What brought you all the way out here?" Chen Gang was curious. Most tourists went to famous spots like Dazhao Temple. It was unusual to see someone in this remote area.

Lu Weiyi, wearing a frustrated expression, muttered under her breath, "I fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop, then I bought the wrong ticket and ended up here."

Chen Gang was intrigued. How did a girl this carefree grow up? She was so different from Jiujiu, who would always meticulously plan everything and jot everything down on paper.

"You can ride out with us tomorrow morning on our troop vehicle. We’ll pass through the city area." Chen Gang couldn’t bear to abandon this scatterbrained girl here.

Lu Weiyi’s eyes lit up and she said gratefully, "Thank you, thank you so much!" She had been misled by the ticket seller, and ended up here where she couldn’t communicate with anyone, and made things go from bad to worse.

"Drink the rest of your tea, and get some rest early. I’ll come and get you in the morning." After saying this, Chen Gang turned around and left.

Only then did Lu Weiyi calm down. She swore to herself that she’d never embark on a solo journey again. It was far too terrifying.

The very next day, Chen Gang and the soldiers compiled the airdropped supplies and handed them over to local government officials to take care of the aftermath.

Chen Gang went to wake up Lu Weiyi, and they departed the area.

Lu Weiyi was in the passenger seat of an army vehicle, the whole journey filled with worry and regret.

Chen Gang, sitting in the middle, observed Lu Weiyi’s distressed face. He was puzzled - why wasn’t she happy now they were leaving?

Upon reaching the city, Chen Gang had the driver park the car and told Lu Weiyi, "Up ahead is the bus station, and there’s a telephone booth nearby, along with a hostel."

It was as if Lu Weiyi hadn’t heard a single word. Her face was a picture of distress, her mouth muttering something silently.

Chen Gang observed Lu Weiyi intently. He had noticed that this girl liked to mutter silently, he said a bit louder, "We’ve arrived at the bus station."

Lu Weiyi suddenly turned to Chen Gang, and after gathering her courage, she asked, "Can I borrow some money from you? Three thousand? Or, two thousand is fine too."

Chen Gang’s deep eyes bore into Lu Weiyi. "What happened to your money?" He asked.

Lu Weiyi scratched her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed as she said, "I might have dropped it in the snow pit last night - I only discovered it this morning." After saying all this, she added desperately, "Don’t worry, the moment I get to Capital City, I’ll make sure to wire the money back to you."

Chen Gang looked at Lu Weiyi, sighing inwardly, ’How can this girl be so careless?’

Fearful that Chen Gang didn’t believe her, and without her ID since it was inside the lost wallet, she had no way to prove her identity. Her eyes started to well up with tears, she exclaimed, "I’m really not lying to you. I’ll return the money to you the instant I reach Capital City. My name is Lu Weiyi. If you want, you could call my aunt with me to confirm my identity."

Chen Gang glanced at the anxious Lu Weiyi, then turned to the driver and said, "Let’s go back to the army base."