Chapter 239: Heading to Jing City
The final stop of this green train is Jing City. The soft sleeper carriage has four berths, and their group consists of seven people. Ding Anguo, Huang Xiaobao, and Ding Anmin went to the next compartment, leaving the four-person carriage for Ding Weihuo, Li Hongying, Yi Roujing, and Xia Xingchen.
Luckily, it’s just next door, so fetching water and meals was easy. Ding Weihuo, Li Hongying, and Yi Roujing hardly lifted a finger, meaning special care was given.
"Mom and Dad, you should sleep for a while. It takes thirty-six hours to reach Jing City." Yi Roujing could see that Li Hongying hadn’t rested well, as her eye circles were a bit heavy.
"Right, right, such a comfortable compartment and bed are perfect for a good sleep." Ding Weihuo immediately agreed. He was sleeping on the upper berth above Li Hongying and poked his head down to look at her lower berth. "Wife, go ahead and sleep."
Li Hongying blushed; it had been years since Ding Weihuo called her "wife," especially in front of the younger generation. After giving Ding Weihuo a glance, Li Hongying closed her eyes.
Soon Ding Weihuo and Li Hongying began to snore softly, having fallen asleep.
Xia Xingchen, with her sensitive nature, noticed some clues she hadn’t before while occupied with her own matters. She was sitting on Yi Roujing’s lower berth, turned to look at her, with a questioning gaze.
"We’ll talk about it later; it has to do with my mother-in-law’s sister." Yi Roujing whispered to Xia Xingchen.
Xia Xingchen understood. It was about Li Hongying’s family, something Ding Anmin had mentioned before. Compared to her own family matters, these were with her biological parents. Some people truly don’t deserve to be parents.
"Have you been in touch with Gu?" Yi Roujing asked with concern.
"Yes, I called him. He told me to stay with you all. He has thoroughly investigated what my mom left for me and will take me to handle it once I arrive in Jing City, storing everything in the bank and opening a safe deposit box to store it all. I’ll withdraw when needed in the future." Xia Xingchen said.
"That’s good." Yi Roujing comforted her. "Consider this trip a vacation. Don’t think about those troubling people and things. If you face them, it’s best to confront them directly. You don’t rely on them, so don’t tolerate them."
Xia Xingchen laughed at this. "You’re right, I won’t tolerate them. I’ll directly confront them. My speech has become quite eloquent now, and I’m physically strong. If it comes to it, I’ll pull out all their hair."
Yi Roujing raised her thumb, admiration flashing in her eyes. "You have the awareness, you’re making progress."
Through the glass door, Yi Roujing saw someone about to knock. She quickly moved aside before the sound of the knock. Ding Anmin was outside with her hand raised, blinking.
"Mom and Dad are asleep." Yi Roujing said softly, "I’m going with Xingchen to your place."
"Oh." Ding Anmin lowered her voice too. After the trio exited and closed the compartment door, they went to the adjacent compartment and found no strangers.
"Our berths are empty here. You can sit here until Mom and Dad wake up or you need to sleep. Anyway, the important luggage is here with us." Ding Anmin said cheerfully. "Xiaobao brought beef jerky, munch on it."
"Sis-in-law, is there something going on with Mom and Dad? Last night at eleven, they hadn’t slept, and I heard them talking." Ding Anguo asked.
"Maybe they couldn’t sleep because we’re going on a long journey." Yi Roujing thought and replied.
"Gu said we should all stay at the Xu Family’s place. Can we really accommodate so many people?" Ding Anmin asked.
"You’re questioning Gu’s words?" Ding Anguo looked at Ding Anmin incredulously, causing her to blush.
"Is Mrs. Huang trying to make you stay with the Huang Family?" Yi Roujing raised her eyebrows and smiled.
Ding Anmin’s face turned bright red this time.
Huang Xiaobao quickly came forward to explain. "Sis-in-law, my grandma really likes Anmin, and since my grandparents live alone, there’s nothing to worry about if Anmin stays there. I’ll stay at my uncle’s place."
"Sounds promising." Yi Roujing nodded. "Once Mom and Dad wake up, let’s just get their agreement."
"Don’t worry, Anmin. I’ll handle it." Huang Xiaobao assured.
"You should be the one to speak." Ding Anmin said in a huff.
"Yes, yes, yes, I should speak, I should speak." Huang Xiaobao begged for mercy and extended a piece of beef jerky to Ding Anmin’s mouth.
When the train stopped at Jiangcheng Station, the empty vacancy in Ding Anmin’s cabin was taken by a fashionable woman and a child around five or six years old.
The woman hesitated upon seeing the assembled group, checked her ticket, and looked up again as Yi Roujing, Xia Xingchen, and Ding Anmin stood up and quickly gathered the long towel from the berth and rearranged the bedding.
"Sorry, we’re from next door. As a family, we just came over to sit for a while." Yi Roujing apologized.
The woman smiled back. "No problem."
Seeing these three ladies sit only after laying a towel on the bed and placing the quilt beside them, the woman felt very at ease and didn’t mind at all.
"Miss, have some beef jerky," Ding Anmin sweetly offered after the woman and the boy sat down, extending the oil paper packet with beef jerky.
"Thank you." The woman didn’t refuse, taking a piece. The boy followed her lead and voiced his thanks too.
Ding Anguo got up to check next door. "Mom and Dad haven’t woken up. Xiaobao and I will check out the dining car; the three of you stay here."
"Mom, do we have to go to Uncle and Grandpa’s?" The boy asked the woman after finishing the beef jerky, with a touch of reluctance in his eyes.
"No need." The woman responded gently, stroking the boy’s head.
"Mom, can we skip going to Jiang Province next time?" The boy looked hopeful.
"Maybe not." The woman replied, "It’s okay. Next time, if you don’t want to come, I’ll come alone. You can stay at Grandpa’s for a while."
"Then I’d rather come with you." After some contemplation, the boy answered, "We can go to Grandpa’s after we return."
"Wow, so considerate." Ding Anmin praised, though she didn’t know the specifics, the boy was the kind of child anyone could like, truly thoughtful.
"What’s your name?" Ding Anmin asked.
The boy seriously answered, "Zheng Sirui, thinking and foresight, after thinking, wisdom naturally arises."
"Great name." Ding Anmin’s eyes sparkled as she praised, "Thinking leads to awareness, and with lots of thinking, wisdom naturally follows and illuminates understanding."
Zheng Sirui was happy with Ding Anmin’s insightful words, breaking into a smile. "Yes, that’s the meaning. Miss, you’re really smart."
"My grandfather named me. Most people don’t get it, but you do." He added.
"Rui." The woman glanced at Zheng Sirui, prompting the boy to purse his lips and go silent.