Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 363 - 346: Sinking Into a Quagmire

At this moment, Li Xianglu and Leng Qing were seated in the back row, each with a child leaning in their arms. When they felt the car tilting forward, Li Xianglu instinctively hugged the child and grabbed the handle on the right.

While Leng Qing, having practiced Taekwondo, was agile and quickly stabilized himself.

Because the incident occurred so suddenly, everyone was caught off guard and thrown off balance. The elderly gentleman and Su Yan, sitting in the middle, couldn’t help surging forward, but fortunately, the seats in front blocked them.

Everyone let out a cry of shock, the two children who were initially sound asleep grimaced and then fell back into deep slumber.

Thankfully, the car only got stuck to a certain extent and then came to a gradual stop, but no one dared to be careless. The elderly gentleman hastily said, "Hold steady, don’t panic, Xiao An, keep the brakes fully engaged, and we’ll all get out first then think of a plan."

So, after the driver Xiao An confirmed that the brakes were locked, he began to try to open the door on the side, but to everyone’s dismay, the door was jammed, unable to retract, impossible to open.

Li Huai Ren continued, "The door is jammed; we need to try getting out through the windows. Xiangxiang, pass the child here, let your grandma hold her, and you exit from the back."

Li Xianglu carefully handed Ba Yi, who was in her arms, to Su Yan upfront, but even such a slight movement caused the car to sink further forward.

Everyone immediately realized that there must be mud underneath, meaning the car would sink deeper with any movement inside it.

Li Xianglu dared not stop, not bothering to put on her coat, she opened the window, feet first going out, then turning around to get the rest of her body out. However, the ground was soft mud, prompting her to cry out, "Grandpa, we have to hurry, the snow outside is covering all this mud."

Hearing this, the elderly gentleman’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept a calm front and said to Leng Qing, "Pass the child here, and then pass out their clothes and blankets."

Even though time was of the essence, it was bitterly cold outside, and they worried about the children catching cold from the chill.

Leng Qing quickly passed out the clothes, two small blankets, and Li Xianglu’s bag, then athletically climbed out, and at that moment, the car made a creaking noise.

Li Xianglu wanted to scream but suppressed it; the car visibly slid five centimeters deeper into the mire. However, now was not the time to panic; they were likely not on a road but in a mud trap, which was covered by the heavy snow and thus indiscernible.

After Leng Qing got out, Su Yan moved to the back and quickly passed both children out.

With the children safe, things were looking up. Li Xianglu alone held the two children, not daring to stay in one spot, she slowly moved further outside bit by bit, but with every step, the ground felt soft, her heart racing in fear of a larger mud trap beneath her feet.

Just then, Li Xianglu heard the jingling of bells and lifted her head in surprise – there were sounds of someone approaching.

But after looking around, all she saw was a rundown house to the west, with nothing else in sight.

Li Xianglu looked back and saw Su Yan had come out and was waiting in a relatively firmer spot, but Su Yan gestured vigorously with her hand, clearly signaling her to quickly leave the muddy area.

Li Xianglu looked at the sleeping faces of the two children, hesitated for a moment, then continued to move towards the way they had driven in, holding the children.

As Li Xianglu felt the ground beneath her grow firmer, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked up to see a black spot in the far north on the north-south road, followed by the ringing of bells getting closer – she hadn’t misheard, someone was indeed coming.

Someone was coming, and that was a relief.

Li Xianglu saw the elderly gentleman emerge, and Hu Zi was in the midst of pushing one foot outside; she breathed a sigh of relief. Holding the two children, weighing nearly forty-seven to forty-eight kilograms combined, her arms were almost powerless from fatigue. Then the driver emerged as well, but half of the car had already sunk into the mud.

A sense of faintness washed over Li Xianglu; if the weather had been warmer, they might not have had the chance to get out in time.

As the bell sounds grew closer, Li Xianglu saw a donkey cart slowly making its way towards them. She quickly waved at the donkey cart, careful not to shout and wake the children.