EFB Chapter 7 Solve the problem in the wild
Chapter 7 Solve the problem in the wild
After Bai Si'an left, the room became quiet.
Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan sat on the chairs, looking at each other without saying a word for a while.
The wind from the Gobi Desert outside made the window frame rattle slightly, and the shouts of training could be heard in the distance.
After sitting for about half an hour, Lin Weiwei suddenly shifted awkwardly and whispered in Su Wanwan's ear, "Wanwan, I...I need to go to the bathroom."
Su Wanwan was taken aback, then her face flushed slightly: "Me...me too."
The two of them had been traveling and feeling nervous all morning and had completely forgotten about this matter.
Now, as soon as I relax, the feeling comes.
"Shall we go look for it?" Lin Weiwei stood up, walked to the door, and looked outside.
It was quiet outside; there weren't many people walking around in the family quarters at this time.
Su Wanwan also came over, and the two of them pushed open the door and stood at the doorway looking around.
In front of this row of bungalows is a dirt road, and across the road is another row of houses, all of which look the same.
Looking to the left, you see the direction of the camp; looking to the right, you see the Gobi Desert.
"Where's the toilet?" Lin Weiwei muttered.
Just then, the door next door opened, and a woman in her forties came out carrying a basin of water, intending to splash it on the small vegetable patch in front of her door.
Upon seeing them, the woman paused for a moment, then smiled: "Oh, newcomers?"
Lin Weiwei quickly nodded: "Hello, Auntie, we...we wanted to ask where the restroom is?"
The woman poured out the water, put down the basin, wiped her hands, and came over: "Just call me Aunt Wang. Go straight ahead from the toilet, turn right at the end, there's a red brick house, that's it."
She sized them up for a few moments and said, "You're new here, aren't you? This is how things are here; the toilets are communal."
"Thank you, Aunt Wang," Su Wanwan said softly.
The two walked forward in the direction Aunt Wang pointed out.
Walking to the end of this row of bungalows, turn right, and sure enough, you'll see a low red brick house with the words "male" and "female" painted in large white paint on the wall.
Before I even got close, I could smell a odor.
Lin Weiwei wrinkled her nose and slowed her pace.
Su Wanwan also stopped.
The smell... how to describe it, it wasn't just plain stinky, it was a mixture of various odors, and it was especially pungent in the dry Gobi Desert air.
The two looked at each other and saw hesitation in each other's eyes.
But physiological needs wait for no one.
Lin Weiwei gritted her teeth: "Let's go, we have to go."
She pulled Su Wanwan to the entrance of the women's restroom.
The door was made of two wooden planks nailed together, and it couldn't be closed tightly; you could see through the gaps that it was dark inside.
Lin Weiwei reached out and pushed open the door.
The sight inside froze both of them.
The toilet was a dry toilet, a long pit with wooden planks laid on top, and several holes were dug in the planks.
Let's not talk about what happened in the tunnel.
Flies buzzed around, and some dark things crawled on the wall.
The worst part is that there are no partitions.
The stalls were just left open, so if anyone went to the toilet at the same time, they could see each other.
Lin Weiwei slammed the door shut.
Her face turned pale as she looked at Su Wanwan: "How...how do I get on?"
Su Wanwan's face also turned pale, and her stomach churned.
She grew up in the city and, although her family later fell on hard times, she had never seen a toilet like this before.
The two stood outside the toilet, caught in a dilemma.
"How about... you hold it in?" Lin Weiwei whispered.
"I can't hold it in..." Su Wanwan was almost in tears.
Just as they were at an impasse, Aunt Wang came up from behind and saw them standing motionless outside the toilet. She understood.
She walked over, saw the two young ladies looking disgusted, and couldn't help but roll her eyes: "Go inside, what are you standing here for?"
"These are the conditions here. If you can't stand it, find a secluded spot, use something to cover yourself, and relieve yourself right there. The Gobi Desert is so vast, you can find a place to take care of yourself."
After saying that, Aunt Wang went into the toilet by herself. The door opened and closed, and sounds came from inside.
Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan exchanged a glance.
"How about... we do as Aunt Wang suggested?" Lin Weiwei asked softly.
Su Wanwan bit her lip and nodded.
The two quickly turned back.
Behind the row of houses in Bai Rongbei Dormitory, there is an open space, and beyond that is the Gobi Desert, with camel thorns growing sparsely.
There's no one here.
"This is fine." Lin Weiwei looked around. "You hold them off for me, I'll go first, and then I'll hold them off for you."
Su Wanwan blushed, but still nodded.
Here comes the problem.
What can we use to block it?
The two of them only had one set of clothes on; they couldn't very well take them off, could they?
Lin Weiwei's eyes lit up, and she had an idea: "Let's go back to the room and get the bed sheets!"
The two ran back to the dormitory and tore the military green sheet off Bai Rongbei's bed.
After thinking for a moment, she took the bed sheets from Bai Si'an's room—since he wasn't there anyway.
Carrying two bed sheets, Lin Weiwei ran back to the open space behind the house and tied them together to make a simple curtain.
"Come on, you hold this end, and I'll hold the other end," she instructed Su Wanwan.
The two of them each pulled one end of the sheet, creating a temporary barrier.
Although it's drafty on all sides, it at least blocks most of the view.
"Quick, quick, I can't hold it in anymore." Lin Weiwei shoved one end of the sheet into Su Wanwan's hands and ran behind the barrier.
Su Wanwan faced outwards, clutching the bedsheet tightly, her ears turning red as she listened to the sounds coming from behind her.
After a while, Lin Weiwei came out and let out a long sigh: "That feels better. It's your turn."
The two switched places.
After Su Wanwan finished, the two of them looked at the bed sheets in their hands and were troubled again.
These sheets... I still need to take them back to make the bed.
"How about... we take a shower?" Su Wanwan whispered.
"Where should we wash?" Lin Weiwei asked.
The two fell silent again.
Finally, Lin Weiwei gritted her teeth and said, "Take it back first, we'll talk about it tonight. Anyway, those men shouldn't be able to tell."
She shook the sheets, folded them neatly, and hugged them to her arms.
The two of them walked back like thieves.
Just as I reached the dormitory entrance, I saw Bai Rongbei and Bai Si'an walking over from the other side.
The four of them met face to face.
Bai Rongbei and Bai Si'an were both stunned when they saw the two of them coming from behind the house, carrying bed sheets in their arms.
"Where did you go?" Bai Rongbei asked.
Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan exchanged a glance, their faces turning red.
"We...we're going to the restroom," Lin Weiwei said, forcing herself to speak.
Bai Si'an pushed up his glasses: "Isn't the restroom in front? Why did you come back from the back?"
"We..." Su Wanwan stammered.
Bai Rongbei glanced at them, then at the bed sheets in their arms, and seemed to understand something.
He said calmly, "There are toilets in the military base."
Su Wanwan muttered softly, "That toilet... stinks so badly."
She spoke very softly, but Bai Rongbei still heard her.
He paused, then said, "You complain about the smell even when you're taking a dump?"
His words were so blunt that Su Wanwan blushed even more, glaring at him: "Why do you speak so crudely..."