My "Fight against the Epidemic" (1): I chose to drive more than 600 kilometers to pick up my wife and children

If everything goes according to plan, this will be a more "free and unrestrained" Spring Festival for me. My wife and children returned to Yunnan, and I was alone in Junlian, Yibin, Sichuan.

On the 27th of the twelfth lunar month (January 21st), after sending my wife off to Yunnan on the high-speed train, I stayed alone in Chongqing for a day to clean up the office. On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, I drove back to Yibin, Sichuan alone. Junlian. Although there were already some rumors of an epidemic at this time, everywhere was not so nervous yet. On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, I spent a day in my hometown and made an appointment to go on a long-distance hike with some old classmates. The route was planned: starting from the county seat, passing through Pugao Village, walking through Guyinbaoguan Pass, to Sifangbei, and then The whole journey to Xunsi Hot Spring and finally back to the ancient building for dinner is almost 20 kilometers. If it goes ahead, it should be a more interesting hike: learn more about my hometown that I have never known before.

Unfortunately, plans never change quickly.

On the first day of the new year, as the epidemic gradually escalated, several of our classmates decided to cancel the hiking plan. And I was also thinking: If my wife and children take the high-speed train back to Chongqing on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year as planned, they will come into contact with more people gathering together, and the chance of being infected will be very high. So I decided to drive to Yunnan to pick them up on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. In this way, I would stay in my car. At least I would not come into contact with too many people. Only the expressway service area where I parked and rested was the exposed point.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, as the epidemic became more severe, my wife judged that the holiday was likely to be extended. In addition, the epidemic situation in Yunnan is much lighter than that in Chongqing. I originally planned to go to Yunnan one day earlier, but decided to wait and see.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the holiday has indeed been extended. There were two families in the village who were planning to hold weddings, but they also canceled their weddings (their awareness was quite high and deserves praise). If I delay going to Yunnan, I may not be able to go because roads have been closed everywhere. There are already people checking passing vehicles entering and exiting the county.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, after struggling for a while, I decided to set off. I asked a friend in the county town for some masks, but I didn't buy any alcohol for disinfection. When we drove to Yanjin, Yunnan, it was almost 11 o'clock in the morning. The navigation shows that the arrival time in Kaiyuan, Yunnan should be around 21:00 pm.

Sichuan Junlian is a county in Sichuan that is adjacent to Yunnan. Not long after driving out of the county, you can see the provincial border of Yunnan. Not far after crossing the provincial border, there is a checkpoint. The navigation showed that there had been a traffic jam here before, but when I arrived there were no vehicles queuing up ahead. Seeing the inspectors in protective clothing, I quickly put on a mask and rolled down the window. A thermometer was stretched out and pointed at my forehead. After a few seconds, the inspector signaled that I could move on.

The fog is a bit heavy and the road ahead is unclear, but we must all move forward.

While passing through Yanjin County, I saw a pharmacy still open, but the road was too narrow and I didn’t dare to stop and buy the alcohol I wanted. We actually encountered a group of wedding cars on the road, and there were people holding a banquet on the roadside. People's awareness of prevention is still not high. However, it seems that local cadres have already gone to stop it.

At 12:20, I arrived at Doushaguan, Zhaotong, Yunnan, and I will get on the expressway from here. It was a bit blocked at first, but it cleared up after a few minutes. I saw that there were a lot of vehicles queuing up for the passage going down the expressway, because all the vehicles going down the expressway were being inspected. There is no need to undergo inspection when driving on the expressway.

There are almost no cars on the highway, and occasionally you can see one, almost all with Yunnan license plates. After driving for dozens of kilometers smoothly, I felt a lot more relaxed. I didn't sleep well last night because I was worried about something, so now I feel sleepy. I drove to a nearby service area and slept for a full two hours.

Continuing to drive on the road, the empty highway is still a bit unbelievable. This is the highway during the free Spring Festival holiday. Occasionally, the epidemic propaganda slogans on the electronic screens passing overhead are always reminded: This is all because of the epidemic.

I stopped at a few more service areas to go to the toilet, and all the people in the service areas wore masks. People who parked their cars hurriedly went to the toilet and left. While washing hands, someone carefully used their elbow to turn off the faucet.

Driving alone is lonely, but the scenery along the Yukun Expressway is not monotonous at all. Maybe after passing through a tunnel, you will immediately see a different scenery.

In Qujing Huize, the mountains were covered with snow. I remembered that the highway seemed to have been closed due to ice and snow before. After passing two tunnels, heavy fog filled the air immediately. A vehicle in front slowed down its speed to less than 80 kilometers per hour and turned on the emergency response. Double flash. I also open the front windshield from time to time to blow the fog off the windows.

When passing through Kunming, I thought I would be inspected, but because there was no exit, I didn’t see any checkpoints. After entering the Guangzhou-Kunming Expressway and about to reach the Yuyishan service area, piles and barrels suddenly appeared on the road, causing the vehicle to slow down slowly. All vehicles are then directed into the service area. Here I encountered my second check-in of the trip.

There were not many vehicles, but there was a Guangdong vehicle in front that was inspected. When it was my turn, the staff in protective clothing took my temperature as usual, then asked for my ID card or driver's license, and asked where I came from and what I was doing. Then let go.

It was already 21:14 in the evening, and the navigation showed that I would not arrive in Kaiyuan until 22:50. But the road ahead is uncertain, and there is no time to rest and keep moving forward.

At 22:20, arrived at the Kaiyuan Yusha exit of the Honghe River in Yunnan. Police and staff are here to keep watch. The temperature is still taken, the ID card is registered, and the reason for coming to Kaiyuan is briefly asked.

Entering the city, looking at the "Kaiyuan Welcomes You" sign shining on the roadside, I felt a sudden sense of peace of mind. Traveling more than 600 kilometers along the way, we encountered three checkpoints and saw countless people, all fighting for this war without gunpowder. I would like to thank them for their hard work for us, and sincerely say that you have worked hard.

(On this trip, Song Max’s average fuel consumption was the lowest at 4.7 liters/100 kilometers)

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views of Autohome position.