ebookland Chapter 139 On the way (1)
Chapter 139 On the way (1)
The next morning, the three of them, grandfather, grandmother, and grandson, carrying their luggage, headed to the train station under the moonlight.
On the way, Hua Yuansheng carried a package on his shoulder, his free hand tightly gripping Hua Antao's, and he didn't forget to turn back and remind Hua Lichu to hold onto his clothes tightly.
Following the landmarks and the information on their train tickets, the three found the corresponding waiting room.
Seeing that the waiting room was already packed with people and there wasn't a single empty seat, Hua Yuansheng took his two granddaughters and found a corner to wait.
Prior to this, the three had taken a train once.
But that time, because it was his first time, Hua Yuansheng was afraid of causing trouble for his two granddaughters, so he was so nervous and focused on getting there that he didn't really take a good look at the huge train station.
With more than forty minutes to go before departure, Hua Yuansheng finally had the leisure to observe the train station.
He discovered that this huge train station was like a small world.
Pedestrians hurrying by, specialty shops selling local products, various signs...
It was only after comparing that I realized how much luggage other people bring when they travel by train!
In just a short while, he had spotted no fewer than a dozen people carrying packages that were larger than themselves.
Last time I went to the provincial capital, it only took a little over an hour to get there.
This trip to Ningyue Prefecture will take a long time on the train, so they bought sleeper berths.
If most people bring this much luggage, will there be any room for anyone to step on the train?
It was time to check tickets.
Hua Lichu quickly led her grandfather and sister to queue up for ticket inspection.
While waiting, Hua Lichu reminded them, "The boarding time is short, but our carriage number is towards the back."
"When you get off, if you don't have enough time, find the nearest carriage and get on first, then walk back along the carriages."
Just as Hua Yuansheng had predicted, every empty seat in both hard-seat and sleeper carriages was filled with luggage and bags.
At the ventilation area connecting the carriages, there were quite a few men who had come specifically to smoke.
In the already narrow passageway, several children chased each other.
The traveler, slumped in his chair, fast asleep...
It was just a matter of passing through a few carriages, but Hua Lichu was already covered in sweat.
After finally finding his spot, he discovered an elderly woman lying on the bed.
Knowing that she would be spending a long time on the train, Hua Lichu did not accept her grandfather's suggestion to squeeze in and make do, and directly booked three beds.
After confirming the location information was correct, Hua Lichu unceremoniously woke up the old woman who was snoring loudly in bed:
"Wake up! You've got the wrong place, this is my bed!"
The old woman stared blankly for a few seconds, then subconsciously looked at the child in her arms. Finding that the child was not awake, she breathed a sigh of relief, muttered something, rolled up the bed sheet, and left with the child in her arms.
But after a while, after observing that Hua Lichu and her sister each had their own bed, the old lady came over again.
"You two little girls, squeeze in. I have a child with me, it's not easy for me. Didn't the school teach you to respect the elderly and care for the young?"
Seeing Hua Lichu looking at her, the old woman began to play the victim: "I'm so old, and I still have to take the child to find her parents. If I had more money, would I be in this situation..."
"Are you my mother?"
"what?"
"You're not my mother, and she's not my younger brother or sister. What does it have to do with me if you don't have money and can't buy tickets?"
A head suddenly popped out from the opposite bed: "Hey kid, how can you talk like that? That old lady has it so hard..."
"Since you sympathize with her, then you should give her your bed."
Hua Lichu pointed to the person's bed and urged the old woman, "She wants to be a Good Samaritan and is offering you her bed. Why don't you hurry up and go over there?"
The old woman was overjoyed and quickly squeezed through, plopping down on the man's bed.
"When did I say I was going to give you my bed? I didn't. Ugh, I told you not to sit on my bed..."
Hua Lichu glanced expressionlessly at the other people's faces, snorted coldly, and drew the curtain.
The others awkwardly touched the tip of their noses.
That was close; I almost blurted it out.
The curtain can only block the view of outsiders, but it does not block the sound.
Therefore, Hua Lichu clearly heard the old lady arguing with the person on the opposite bed.
The old woman held her child and pitifully recounted her difficulties, but the person on the opposite bed remained unmoved.
"Wow……"
Whether it was because the old woman's voice was too shrill or something else, the child in her arms suddenly let out a heart-wrenching cry.
The person in the opposite bed didn't look very old. Seeing the child crying until his face was red, he frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then accepted the old lady.
But as soon as the old woman got into bed, she regretted it.
The bed was very small, but she was petite and had plenty of room to lie on by herself.
However, the old lady was quite large and stout. With two adults and a child, the bed was quickly crammed full, making it difficult to even move, let alone turn over.
But she also had children, and she couldn't bear to see them suffer, so she could only swallow her anger and bear it.
Hua Lichu paid no attention to the outside world's disturbances and slowly took out her homework to look at it.
Soon, it was lunchtime.
The flight attendant pushed a silver-gray food cart slowly along the narrow aisle, the cart's wheels screeching against the ground.
The flight attendant was a middle-aged woman in uniform, wearing a white hat, and had a warm smile on her face.
She pushed the food cart, constantly asking the passengers on the berths if they needed lunch.
"The rice set meal includes braised pork, pan-fried fish, and noodles..."
Hua Lichu curiously pulled back the curtains and saw various lunch boxes neatly arranged on the food cart, some of which were still steaming.
The flight attendants then skillfully opened the lids of the meal boxes to show interested passengers.
At this time, most people are simple and honest, and those who are ambitious are mostly not short of money.
Seeing the brightly colored food in the lunchbox, with each grain of rice distinct, he swallowed hard: "How much is a serving?"
The flight attendant was delighted to hear that there was hope, and replied with a smile, "Are you talking about the braised pork set meal I'm holding? It's 15 yuan a serving."
Even if you're not short of money, the price of 15 still makes you gasp and want to back out.
Hua Lichu raised an eyebrow. She knew things on the train were expensive, but she didn't expect them to be this expensive!
She can eat a stir-fried dish with meat outside the school for only three or four yuan.
The cheaper ones might only cost two and a half yuan.
15... that's more than four or five times the original amount.
Hua Antao took out the food she had prepared in advance, picked out the tea eggs that were easy to spoil, and gave them to her grandfather and sister.
Seeing that Hua Lichu kept staring at the flight attendant, she assumed her younger sister was craving something sweet: "How about we buy one?"