Chapter 131 White Gold
"The challenge of spirit and will!"
Almost every day, from August 10, after the largest team in history departed from the campus of Yanjing University, 24 reporters from various countries with the team sent back their reports through telegraph lines. For drivers in any country, the bad road was something they had never experienced before. After the heavy rain, the car Entering the muddy land, it is difficult to walk an inch. It depends on the strength of people and animals to move forward. When entering the rugged mountainous areas, it depends on people pulling forward and pushing back. However, just after crossing the Yellow River and entering the boundary of Henan, 42 cars had to withdraw from the competition due to the bad road environment, damaging the car parts.
Along the way, there were countless cars stuck in the mud pit, hit the tree, and even stuck in the river. When the team crossed the Yellow River for the second time in Lanzhou, there was a huge fleet of 385 cars, with only 107 left, and even there were only four reporters with the team. The harsh road environment and unknown fate are enough to deter everyone.
"Only the bravest warriors can complete this game! In the past, I once thought I was a warrior, but now I find that I'm really just a coward!"
The British reporter who withdrew from the game halfway said so.
In this game, the most famous star is probably Prince Burgess and his Grand Prix. Almost since he left Yanjing, he has been leading all the way. As for the "must horse" team, which is highly expected by the Chinese people, it finally maintained a medium performance. However, in Gansu, the No. 12 car of the Mustang team was crossing a small bridge. At that time, the wooden bridge suddenly collapsed, and the car was stuck in the middle of the bridge.
In order not to drag the whole team, the Mustang team dispersed for the first time, and the No. 12 car was left behind. Even after hiring a local man to pull the car out of the bridge, the driver of the No. 12 car was annoyed to find that he had fallen behind the whole team for two days, and the Mustang 12 became the bottom of the whole race. Car.
After crossing the Star Gorge, entering Turpan, and driving on the hot Gobi in Xinjiang Province, Chen Yuan stood on the seat, holding a telescope, and reconfirming the route with a map. The sun had set. When it was dark, he lit the gas stone lamp and put on the two headlights on the car to clearly see the road ahead.
After driving through a sand dune, the road ahead became very flat, and the car stopped and got off the car.
"Drink some water first!"
Zhao Peng, who was sitting in the passenger seat, handed him the kettle. After taking the kettle, he poured a few mouthfuls, and the rest was dripping on his head. He felt much more awake. Then he took some beef jerky from the car and checked the condition of the vehicle around the car while eating.
He drove on the Gobi for a long time, and now he is really tired.
"Brother Yuan, do you think we can catch up with them!"
Zhao Peng looked around. They had been on the road for two days, but they still missed the team.
Hearing what he said, Chen Yuan added all the beef jerky to his mouth.
"I'm sure I can catch up! Tonight, I drive in the middle of the night, and you drive in the middle of the night!"
With that, Chen Yuan got on the car and started the car to continue driving. When he was about to get on the bus, he heard a rustling sound. He listened carefully, but it was gone.
Maybe I'm overworked and hallucinating! If you drive faster, you may be able to catch up with the motorcade tomorrow.
At that moment, I didn't want to close the door and start the car. I held the steering wheel with my left hand and grabbed the gear lever with my right hand. Suddenly, something came out of the left door and bit his left arm.
"Ah!"
The sharp pain in his arm made Chen Yuan tremble all over. He shouted and looked sideways that it was a wolf!
Almost for a moment, Chen Yuan slammed his right hand and punched the wolf's face. The wolf screamed and fell from the side of the car. As soon as the wolf fell out of the car, Chen Yuan started the car and shouted loudly.
"Take the gun!"
When he spoke, another wolf's head reached in, and he deserved the wolf's bad luck. As soon as he pulled out the gun, Zhao Peng pulled the trigger at the wolf's head without thinking about it. The gun sounded. The moment the wolf's head was blown open, the car started, and the wolf who had bit Chen Yuan's arm before rushed to the engine cover.
The right hand hung up the gear, stepped on the accelerator, and the Mustang rushed out. The wolf on the engine cover flashed, hit the windshield, and was thrown down by the car. The speed was instantly raised to dozens of kilometers per hour.
"My mother, let's meet the wolves!"
Zhao Peng, who was holding a copper gas stone lamp in his hand, took a picture of the car and almost got out of the car. I don't know when they were surrounded by wolves. The wolves on the Gobi couldn't eat for three days. They were all hungry wolves. As long as they saw food, they would not let go.
The car was driving. From time to time, there was a thumping sound when it hit the wolf in front of the front of the car. The speed of the car slowed down. Zhao Peng, who was holding the gun, held the roof pole in his left hand, and the MJ75 pistol in his right hand pulled the trigger towards the wolf who jumped up. The sound of gun echoed on the Gobi. Ten minutes ago, for Chen Yuan, the greatest hope was to drive. The car, catch up with the team as much as possible, and then win the race with the team, but now there may be nothing more important to get rid of the wolves and survive.
The howls of the wolf echoed on the Gobi. After finally rushing out of the wolves, Chen Yuan stepped on the accelerator to the end. The speed of the car was getting faster and faster. The wolf behind him shouted. The wild horse drove forward. The long yellow sand was brought out behind the car. Slowly, the wolf's howling in the air faded, but Chen Yuan I still dare not slow down.
Finally, he sat down with an empty gun, and Zhao Peng, who was soaked in cold sweat, breathed a sigh of relief.
"I have to have a mother. We must pick up a life!"
"The dog said, wolf cub, Dapeng, you come to drive. My arm was bitten by the wolf cub. I'll bandage it. Don't stop!"
Zhao Peng, who was palpitated, dared to park there again at this time, and the two of them even drove the car to change their seats when changing positions.
The sun rose from the horizon. After the sun broke the darkness, the sun made Chen Yuan and Zhao Peng breathe a sigh of relief when they drove all night, but when they breathed a sigh of relief, they noticed one thing.
I don't know when the telegraph poles of the Zeng line disappeared from their sight. The telegraph poles along the way can not only be used to identify the direction, but also the best rest point for the team and the supply point of each section of the telegraph station. In order to hold this race, the Paris Automobile Federation from Russia and Tianjin bought a lot of gasoline, which had already been delivered to those telegraph stations. If they left the telegraph station, it would not be enough for them to run the full distance by relying on the gasoline on the car.
"It's over!"
The two people who luckily picked up two lives looked at the desolate Gobi and barren mountains. There is nothing more terrible than the loss of Xinjiang Province, which means that they are likely to become the dead souls in the Gobi.
"Where's the map!"
A roar suddenly shouted out of Chen Yuan's throat, and the map disappeared! He got lost and lost the map, and cold sweat came out of their foreheads and backs again.
The water and dry food on the car are enough for ten days. There are also 4 barrels of gasoline, two pistols, ten boxes of bullets, a rifle, and a hundred bullets in the car... At the foot of the mountain, two people parked there are taking stock of the materials on the car. Although they just found that they were lost their way, they still followed the company's training class. It is required that after losing their way, we must first take stock of the materials, and we must ensure the safety of the materials, which are directly related to their lives.
Every time the car walks, Zhao Peng and Chen Yuan will take turns to climb to the top of the mountain with guns and search around with binoculars to see if they can find villages or herdsmen. Now they can only survive if they meet people.
"Our oil is enough to drive thousands of kilometers. As long as we drive, we will definitely find someone!"
When he saw Zhao Peng walking down the mountain dejectedly, Chen Ran said these words, he didn't know whether to comfort him or himself. The two had driven along the ravine for a long time. Not to mention people, they didn't even see a ghost.
"Open it! I can always see people!"
He got into the car and held a compass in his hand. Zhao Peng said to himself that he had lost the map, leaving only this compass. He only drove forward and always met people. Perhaps it was the last hope in their hearts.
"When I was studying geology in the self-improvement school, I followed the German teacher to the mountain area for investigation. I also lost my way in the mountains. After walking for three days, I met people. You don't know, I even wanted to die at that time, but Hank, my teacher, laughed all day long, saying that he asked us to take that The experience was regarded as an adventure. He told me that what he was most afraid of was not getting lost, but losing courage. According to him, the environment here is much better than when Columbus was looking for a new continent. At least we don't need to worry about the storm, and there is something to eat. Don't you think we see wild sheep or something along the way? Even if we drive until the car is out of gas and we haven't found any smoke, we don't have to worry about eating the dry food after getting out of the car. More than 200 pistol bullets and 100 rifle bullets are saved. It's enough for a few years. It's not a desert here, and it's sure it can touch people.
Chen Yuan used his own experience to make a good job for Zhao Peng. At this time, he was most afraid of being discouraged.
"What if you touch the wolves?"
Zhao Peng's rhetorical question only made Chen Yuan speechless.
"You are looking for death, go on like this..." After only half of the words, Chen Yuan saw Zhao Peng laughing there. This boy must have done it on purpose!
"I'm bumping into the wolves. I'll throw you down first, and I'll run!"
The two of them laughed and drove forward. Although they didn't know where the car would go, there was always hope as long as they drove forward. The car was driving like this. When the sun was about to go down, Zhao Peng's eyes suddenly lit up and he stood up suddenly. On the withered yellow grass in front of him, a large white sheep was eating grass on the grass, and occasionally he could see horses running back and forth.
"Quick! Hurry up! Drive to the north! There are people there!"
Zhao Peng, who was standing on the seat of the car, shouted loudly, and Chen Yuan, who was also excited, stepped on the oil and looked forward, haha! Yes, there are a few smoky yurts there!
The horse-drawn carriage caused a sensation in the pastoral area. When the herdsmen on the horse looked at the four-wheeled carriage with the tip of smoke, they shouted and whipped the horse and ran to the carriage. They looked at the car and the people on the carriage in surprise.
"They must be saying that this big car runs so fast, and what does this animal eat!"
Zhao Peng, who was in a good mood in the car, said that the car stopped in front of the yurt. As soon as the car stopped, more than a dozen herdsmen surrounded the car. Although they were curious, they did not dare to approach and seemed to suddenly wear a monster in the carriage.
"Uncle, where is this place?"
Looking at the back of the head wrapped around the car wrapped in a cloth hat, Chen Yuan smiled and asked an old man who was at least 60 years old near the car.
"They are Han people!"
Although not everyone knows what they are talking about, the words of the people in the car are relieved.
"Shaer Lake... Uh-huh... Shan... Shanshan County"
He pestered the old man and said stiff Chinese with a smile. Among them, he was the only one who could speak Hanhua. He even knew that Shanshan County, which had just been established, was established four months ago. When Shanshan County was established, he happened to be selling leather goods in the city for a winter.
"Shanshan County?"
"Dist, where is this from..."
Looking at the ocean car that was not pulled by the carriage, the old man seemed to think of something. Just a month ago, the county sent inspectors to ride horses and inform the ministries that "foreign car races pass through Xinjiang Province, and all cars pass through places, and all departments should take good care of the route convoy to avoid danger and trouble..."
"Syor, this car is a gas car!"
Chen Yuan stared at the old man. Does this man know a car?
"Old man, you know the car!"
Chen Yuan, who had already got off the bus, gave a gift first, and then asked. During the salute, Chen Yuan bent down and really couldn't get up. The stone on the edge of the tent attracted his attention. His eyes blinked a few times. Although he only looked at it from a distance, he still vaguely felt that it seemed to have seen it somewhere.
"County... The county has been informed!"
Amuneti naturally won't say that when the inspector told them what the car was right away, he deliberately told them that if all the old and young people beheaded after the car in the motorcade had an accident on the herd land in the ministry, but with the advice of the government, even if they knew that these people were Han people. Amuneti didn't dare to neglect it, so he quickly stretched out his hand.
"Two distinguished guests from afar, please take a night's rest in the department tonight. This way, please!"
"This..."
When Zhao Peng, who was thinking about the game, was about to refuse, Chen Yuan clenched his fist and bowed.
"So you're bothering me, sir!"
After saying that, Chen Yuan winks at Zhao Peng again. Zhao Peng, who didn't understand what he wanted to do, took off the car keys and got out of the car. As soon as they got out of the car, the herdsmen around the car crowded in front of the car one after another. Occasionally, several bold children came forward and touched it, which scared the women shouted loudly for fear of provoking. The car swallowed the child, but the car was still lying there without any movement.
Milk wine, roast mutton, hand pilaf, Chen Yuan sat around with these herdsmen by the bonfire, but not Zhao Peng's drum was as cheerful. He just stared at the small crystal in his hand, which was diamond-faced, which was similar to the chalde stone, and buckled it with his nails. Point, put it in his mouth, slightly bitter, this thing is the same as what he saw in school.
Put it on the fire, and a little thick yellow flame made him believe that this is the "white gold" thing!
Sodium stone! It is most likely to be dissolved and lost by water, so the hot and dry desert area is a good condition for the enrichment of sodium saltpeter. The geological conditions here are obviously suitable for the formation and enrichment of saltpetre.
Sodium stone is mainly produced in Chile, which is mainly used for explosives and chemical fertilizers. Chilean saltpeter is a popular commodity in European and American industries and agriculture... All countries in the world rely on Chilean saltpeter to produce nitric acid and fertilizers.
In his mind, he recalled the Chilean saltpeter materials he had studied in the self-improvement school, but Chen Yuan did not show much joy. Instead, he pointed to the gypsum salt stone at his feet and asked Amanati beside him.
"Mr. Amu, where did you get this white stone from?"
"Oh? You mean this thing, bitter salt stone, is useless. It is all over the place of Shaer Lake. There are more than ten miles to the east under the edge of the desert. If the wind blows, blows open the sand, and the ground is full of this thing!"
Amuna, who has shown some drunkenness, said with a big tongue, these Han people are like this. Seeing that the skin is rare, seeing the horse is rare, and now it is also rare to see the bitter salt stones everywhere.
I thought about it. This meal was also boring. Now he only has this sodium stone left in his heart. What does sodium stone mean? Wealth!
Under the morning sun, Chen Yuan and Zhao Peng, who left the Ministry of Pastoral Affairs early in the morning, did not drive in the direction of the county they pointed to, but drove the car to the edge of the Shaer Lake desert. The car stopped at the edge of the desert. Looking at Chen Yuan who jumped out of the car and looking for something on the ground, Zhao Peng couldn't help but be a little confused. Yesterday, all night Chen Yuan held the yellow pimple in his hand, all afraid that the thing would fly.
As Amnaiti said, the field on the edge of the desert was full of such soft stones. Chen Yuan restrained the excitement in his heart, dug it in the gypsum salt with a dagger, and easily raised a few pieces of walnut-sized sodium saltpeter.
"White gold! White gold!"
Staring at the sodium saltpeter mine emerging from the surface, Chen Yuan was excited but did not dare to show it. He knew too well what this mine meant. When he was studying in the Self-improvement School, Mr. Hamke said the "nitrite war". If the news that Xinjiang was found in the sodium saltpetre mine spread out, he knew it without thinking about it. How could the Russians let go of this precious sodium nitrate mine? The Russians are still occupying things. If they knew what was in the desert of Xinjiang... Thinking of this, a cold sweat came out of Chen Yuan's back. For a moment, he almost wanted to throw away the burning saltpetre in his hand, but he was reluctant to give up. .
"Brother Yuan, what were you doing at that time!"
The voice from behindonly made Chen Yuan's heart tighten.
"No... nothing! Let's go and chase them!"
When he stammered, he looked around again in order to remember the terrain here in his mind. Maybe there will be a chance to open this mine in the future! Why don't you wait until the competition is over and write a report to the company?
"Shanshan County, Shaer Lake... white gold!"
(to be continued)