Secret 1

Chapter 5: At the End of the Tunnel (2)
Slowly pushing open the door of the small supermarket, a crisp bell sounded above his head.It turns out that there is a string of wind chimes hanging on the door. It seems that this shop is run by a girl.Qian Mozheng, with his long hair loose, looks like a Beatle in the 60s from behind, looking at everything in the supermarket in surprise.

The lights in the store were not on, and it was very dark on a rainy day.The shelves are full of all kinds of products, ranging from shampoo, paper towels, instant noodles, to cigarettes, beer, and men's and women's underwear. It is no different from a small supermarket in mainland China.Most of the stores are in traditional Chinese characters, just like Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong.There is a poster of Liming on the back of the cash register, and the cash register is the same as in Hong Kong.Ye Xiao pressed the light switch by the wall, but there was no response at all.

Qian Mozheng picked up a can of beer, but it was covered with dense Thai text, which seemed to be locally produced in Thailand.But instant noodles are all produced in mainland China, including Uni-President and Master Kong.After a cursory glance at the products on the shelves, about half are from Thailand and the other half are from mainland China.These products were so familiar that Ye Xiao had the illusion of returning to Shanghai.

The signs on the price are all in traditional Chinese characters, but the prices are all expressed in Thai baht.There is a layer of dust on the surface of all commodities, and some foods that are not suitable for long-term storage have already given off some peculiar smell.Ye Xiao frowned and said loudly, "Hey, is there anyone?"

In a shop that was bigger than a palm, even a mouse was scared to death, but he called again in English.

"Forget it, there is no one in this ghost place!"

Qian Mozheng walked into the cash register, gently opened the money drawer, and found that there was actually a stack of banknotes inside.Mostly in Thai baht, but also a few yuan, and even a Hong Kong dollar in the coins.

"The money is in the cash register, but the person is gone. Where did it go?" Ye Xiao walked to the back and shook his head, "This place is really strange."

Then the two walked out of the small supermarket and shouted to other people not to wander around.The tour guide Xiao Fang also picked up the small loudspeaker and told everyone to gather in a shop by the side of the road.

Across the road and the vast rain, Ye Xiao faintly saw a few women in the shop.He hurried over quickly, only to realize that it was just a model dummy, standing in the window wearing some summer clothes.

This is not a small clothing store. The hall has dozens of square meters. Most of the hangers have clothes on them. Basically, they are made in China. They all look like styles on Qipu Road in Shanghai (maybe the source of purchases is from where it is).These clothes are all priced in Thai baht, and the conversion is similar to that in the mainland.

A few minutes later, the tour group gathered at the shop. In addition to the driver guarding everyone's luggage in the car, there was also a former female doctor guarding the injured foreigner.There are various businesses on both sides of the street, and the goods are still in good condition, but there is no trace of a person.Everyone is puzzled, where are all the people here?
Xiao Fang asked everyone to check their mobile phones, but no one received a signal.There was a landline in the clothing store, and he picked it up but couldn't hear a dial tone.He tried other electrical appliances, but none of them had power—is there a major power outage in the city today?Even if you leave work early because of a power outage, you should lock the door of the store and collect all the business funds?

Everyone guessed in a hurry, but they couldn't think of any reason.Even Yuling, who was born and raised here, was at a loss. She said that she had never been here, and she had never heard of such a city.

"It will be dark soon, let's think about how to spend tonight."

The speaker was a 30-year-old man wearing glasses, and this was the first time Ye Xiao heard him speak today.

"Let's find a hotel or hotel here first."

The oldest man in his 50s in the tour group spoke up: "Do you think there's a hotel here?"

"Just now we looked down from the mountain. The city is not small. There should be a minimum hotel."

The young man who was always shooting with a DV said that standing beside him was a girl in her 20s, who looked like a small bird, probably his girlfriend.

"No!" Ye Xiao finally stood up and spoke, "This city is very strange, and I can't explain why? But I don't agree with everyone staying here overnight! No matter if there is a hotel or if there are people, we shouldn't stay."

"Then what do you mean? If you don't spend the night here, why don't you drive back the same way?"

Even the American girl joined in the fray.

"That's right!" Ye Xiao nodded, his eyes became sharper, "Have you forgotten? What is the reason we drove here?"

The tour guide Xiao Fang lowered his head and thought for a while and said, "In order to turn our car around."

"Now that we can turn around, why not go back the same way?"

"Going into that tunnel again?" The youngest girl in the tour group spoke. She looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, frowning, "My God, there is still that terrible canyon."

"But we're leaving here sooner or later."

A man in his 40s put his arms around the little girl and said, "It's not too late to go until tomorrow morning. It's too unsafe to go through the canyon at night."

He was obviously the girl's father, but the girl pushed him away in disgust.

Ye Xiao stared into the man's eyes, and said in an unusually heavy tone: "Stay here for one night? Okay, do you know the name of this city? Do you know why there is no one on this street? When everything is unclear, we must not risk staying overnight, God knows what else is in this city? God knows what else will happen at night?"

"Okay! Stop arguing." The tour guide Xiao Fang interrupted their argument, "Let me ask the driver, after all, he drives the car, and his opinion is the most important."

After finishing speaking, Xiao Fang walked out of the clothing store alone, while the rest stayed where they were restlessly.Ye Xiao looked at the heavy rain on the street and covered up all the sounds.The sky under the dark clouds is getting darker and darker, and the night is about to cover everyone.

A few minutes later, Xiao Fang ran back holding an umbrella, his face was extremely ugly, he hesitated for a while and said, "Everyone follow me to the car."

"No, we don't want drivers driving late! We don't want falling off a cliff!"

The man in his 40s said coldly.

Xiao Fang still replied with a sad face: "I'm sorry, you didn't understand what I meant. I mean, everyone should go back to the car with me to get the luggage. We have to spend the night here tonight."

"Why?" This time it was Ye Xiao's turn to be anxious, "What did the driver say?"

"He said - he was running out of petrol in the car and could only drive a few kilometers at most."

After Xiao Fang bowed his head and finished speaking, many people shook their heads helplessly.Yes, these oils may not even be able to open a tunnel!I should have thought about the problem of gasoline a long time ago. I originally planned to arrive at the Lanna King's Tomb at [-] o'clock in the afternoon, but I drove so many wrong roads in the mountains.

"We're going to find a gas station!"

"Forget it, the ghost knows if there is a gas station here, let's live here for the night." The man in the sunglasses finally spoke, he touched his stomach and said, "Don't you all want to settle for dinner?"

What he said reminded everyone that after a whole day of fear in the car, the "golden meat" made them vomit and diarrhea again, and most of them were already wet.

They then walked out of the clothing store with umbrellas and ran back to the tour bus to collect their luggage.The driver was afraid to bring the car over, he wanted to save as much gasoline as possible in case of emergency.Ye Xiao could only go back with everyone and find his luggage with the help of Sun Zichu.Several men carried the injured foreigner out, and the driver locked the car and got out.

The "man in sunglasses" found a small restaurant with "Nan Shun and Yunnan Cuisine" on the signboard—it must have been opened by overseas Chinese from Yunnan.The door of the restaurant is open, but there are no waiters or customers, and the tables are clean, with only a layer of dust on them.Others followed, each placing their heavy luggage against the wall, as if a tour group had come here for dinner.

The tour guide Xiao Fang counted the number of people again. Including himself, the driver and the injured Frenchman, there were eighteen people in total.

18——This special number in Chinese culture, Sun Zichu suddenly thought of "Shaolin Eighteen Bronze Man Lane".

They walked into the restaurant’s kitchen, which was too dim, so they could only use a flashlight to take a picture—the pots and pans of oil, salt, sauce and vinegar were all available, especially a large number of shriveled and rotten peppers and peppercorns, as well as many special Yunnan The seasoning produced shows the authenticity of this Yunnan cuisine.

The young man with the DV said regretfully: "In such a cold and rainy day, it would be great if there were bridge rice noodles and hot pot."

Qian Mozheng, with long hair, tried the switch of the stove, but unexpectedly turned on the fire.It turned out that the cooking was done with liquefied gas, and the liquefied gas cylinder at the back of the kitchen was still full.

Seeing the blue flame rising from the damp kitchen stove, everyone became inexplicably excited, but they didn't know what to burn?Someone opened the freezer, but because there was no electricity, most of the contents inside were rotten, so they could only hold their noses and close the door of the freezer.

"There are a lot of food in that small supermarket." Qian Mozheng rushed out of the kitchen and said, "If the packaging is better and the expiration date has not expired, maybe it can be eaten."

Several people followed him to the small supermarket.They took out their flashlights and carefully checked the production dates. Most of them were produced in 2005.The latest production date is June 2005, the shelf life is eighteen months, and everything in the packaging is still intact.So, they moved all these edible things to Yunnan restaurants.If it is too late, we will move in several batches, just like moving new year's goods during the Chinese New Year.

I don't know who mumbled: "Taking without asking is stealing."

"It's a great sin to waste things! Instead of letting these foods rot after the expiration date, it's better to eat them quickly and let them play a role!"

Someone took out a traveling gas lamp, and at last the kitchen was illuminated.Turn on the faucet to check, the tap water is still clean, it seems that this dinner has to be done by yourself.And yet—everything is ready, only the chef is owed.

The former female doctor who took care of the injured foreigner stood up and said: "My name is Huang Wanran. You can also call me Mrs. Cheng, which is Jackie Chan's 'Cheng'. I happen to be from Yunnan. I cook by myself at home. If you don't mind If so, I can be the cook tonight."

When everyone in the tour group praised her, her husband, Mr. Cheng, showed displeasure. Huang Wanran whispered in her husband's ear: "Don't you like to eat my cooking? Don't worry."

Then she walked into the kitchen, Yu Ling and other girls also went in to help, but Qian Mozheng came out with his head down and seriousness.Sun Tzuchu sighed beside Ye Xiao: "Oh, this woman can heal diseases and cook vegetables. Her husband is really happy!"

After 10 minutes, the sky was completely dark.It was still raining heavily on the street, and at the same time there was a lively sound of cooking in the kitchen.Someone got vegetable oil from nowhere and ordered it on the table with a few small dishes, which actually lit up the whole small restaurant.The human faces illuminated by the dim light of rapeseed oil are like murals in ancient caves, looking at each other with trepidation.

Ye Xiao looked at the foreigner's injuries, the poor Frenchman hadn't woken up yet, lying on a bench by the wall, wrapped in a blanket.His life is no longer in danger, and the wound has stopped bleeding. Huang Wanran is still very good at taking care of others.

The women brought up the dishes, all in bags from the supermarket.The biggest pot is boiled instant noodles, put together a dozen packets of noodles, and put a lot of vacuum-packed vegetables and beef.Everyone was very hungry, and this special dinner was delicious, and they all praised the chef's craftsmanship.

Huang Wanran said modestly: "There is not even any fresh food, which makes everyone work hard."

After she finished speaking, she looked back at her daughter. The 15-year-old girl was staring at her mother coldly.

At 06:30 in the evening, after everyone had finished their dinner, the tour guide Xiao Fang added vegetable oil to the "lamp".When the whole tour group got together, it was necessary to discuss the current situation.

The first one to speak was Yu Ling, she frowned and said: "Today, I am very sorry to everyone. I did not take you to the tomb of King Lanna, but to this place I don't know. I am very sorry! But we will definitely If you want to find a way, please don’t be afraid.”

It is true that some people are very dissatisfied with the two tour guides, but seeing Yu Ling's pitiful appearance and her sincere apology, they really can't get angry.

But someone pointed the finger at Xiaofang, and it was Mr. Cheng, who was in his 40s, who said, "Hey, no matter what the result is or who is responsible, the travel agency must compensate us. We spent so much money. come to suffer."

"sorry Sorry!"

Xiao Fang is young after all, 25 years old is too "young" for a tour guide.This was only the third time he led a Thai group, and he was so embarrassed that he was about to cry.

"Okay, please spare him. Is the sudden mudslide the tour guide's fault?" Qian Mozheng stood up and spoke for Xiao Fang, "It's a good thing that mandrill stopped us, otherwise we just happened to encounter a mudslide, and now we will be in the Dinner in hell!"

"You mean—that big monkey saved our lives?"

Qian Mozheng did not flinch: "Objectively, it saved all of our lives."

"Okay, stop arguing!" The girl who spoke with a Taiwanese accent said anxiously, "Let's think about how to spend tonight first."

"At least not here."

The American girl said in fluent Chinese: "Yes, we must find someone to help us!"

Ye Xiao finally spoke loudly: "Well, let's divide into two groups and go out to find people. Each group consists of three men, don't go too far, if you can't find anyone within an hour, come back here immediately to gather. Ladies stay, close the doors of the restaurants and don't move."

His voice was very loud, and he continued after no one raised any objections: "Okay, I am the first group, my name is Ye Xiao, who will follow me?"

Sun Tzuchu stood up and said, "Of course it's me."

"No, you go to the second group."

"What?" Sun Tzuchu was a little puzzled, but immediately understood, "Okay."

The silent man wearing glasses who might not be 30 years old stood up and said, "My name is Li Shu, and I'll go with you."

Then, the young man who was holding the DV also said, "Count me in, my name is Yang Mou."

The three men in the first group were all confirmed. Sun Zichu nodded and said, "Everyone has heard my name, Sun Zichu, a famous teacher in the History Department of S University! Please raise your hand if you are willing to join me in the second group."

This guy seems to still be on a university podium, lecturing to his students.

"You are Sun Zichu? The poor-mouthed teacher in "Revolving Door"?" The tall man in sunglasses looked him up and down and said, "Okay, I'll follow you! My name is Tu Nan, and you will definitely remember this name in the future. "

Another self-proclaimed "superior" came, and there was a slight disdainful sound from all around.Then the long-haired Qian Mozheng said, "I'll join the second group too. My job is to take pictures, and my name is Qian Mozheng."

"Okay, now the grouping has been decided, and the rest of the men stay here, protect the women and children, and don't act rashly if there is nothing wrong." Ye Xiao said sharply, as if he was going to perform a public security mission, "Comrades from the two groups Get ready to work, we will leave in 1 minute!"

"Comrade? Are you not a police officer?"

The girl with a Taiwanese accent asked suspiciously.

(End of this chapter)