On the morning of the third day, Li Long started the tractor and got ready to leave.
A thick layer of wheat straw lined the trailer. Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and Yang Yongqiang sat with their bags and bedding on the frame along its sides. Wooden planks had been laid over the frame and padded with sacks to make the seating a little more comfortable.
Since they were just leaving, everyone sat there for now. Once they got going, the men would surely move down into the trailer. The wheat straw inside was soft, much more comfortable to sit on than the frame.
There were also two ten-liter plastic containers of diesel in the trailer. A bucket hung from the lift frame behind the tractor's rear seat, ready for topping up the water along the way.
One very important thing tractor drivers had to remember on long journeys was to add water. After running for a while, the water would boil and steadily decrease. If the driver forgot to top it up and it boiled dry, the engine would overheat and seize. Locals called it a bearing failure-though bearing failures had many causes, including insufficient engine oil.
It was still early. The land allocation had not been finished, but work had not started yet that morning, and Li Jianguo would have to attend a meeting after seeing them off. Yang Yongqiang had already said goodbye to his family at home, and he might not end up staying there anyway, so his family had not come.
Chen Lirong and Li Anguo had already talked as well. Now she simply watched her husband. Although she felt somewhat sad, she tried not to show it. Their two children had already gone to preschool. They were not particularly upset about their father leaving-he had