Chapter 427 - 412: On the Train (Part 2)
But the heavy snow made it hard to see the road.
Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba urged them to be careful on their way back.
Once on the train, they waved to the people on the platform.
"Third Brother, Sixth Brother, you two should head back now."
"Got it."
But the two of them only turned to leave after the train had pulled away.
Aboard the train, everyone was bundled up in thick clothes and scarves, their breath turning into white puffs of mist in the air.
Thankfully, it was warmer inside the train than outside. To keep the warmth in, however, the windows were sealed shut, making the jumble of smells inside the car even more unpleasant.
Yun Jiao and her group arrived at their sleeper compartment.
Gu Lan Ting held up their train tickets, frowning at the woman sitting on one of the bunks.
Even more ridiculously, the woman had tucked her son into the back of the bunk and was feeding him a piece of sponge cake.
"Excuse me, ma’am. This bunk is ours. Could you please move?"
The woman acted as if she were deaf, selectively ignoring Gu Lan Ting’s words.
Yun Xiao Ba suddenly piped up, "Someone dropped some money."
Hearing that, the woman reacted faster than anyone.
"Where? It must be mine."
She didn’t find any money, but she did find several people glaring at her.
The woman gave an awkward laugh. "You little kid, why are you telling lies to trick people?"
Yun Jiao retorted irritably, "You couldn’t hear us when we were talking to you, but you sure reacted quickly to the sound of dropped money."
"Hey, where did this little brat come from? Is it your place to talk? Shoo."
Her eyes were fixed on Yun Jiao’s clothes, full of envy.
’This little money-pit’s family sure treats her well,’ she thought. ’Such thick, nice clothes. My own son doesn’t even have an outfit like that.’
Gu Lan Ting repeated patiently, "Please move. This is our bunk."
The woman’s eyes darted between the two children, Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba, and a calculating smile appeared on her face.
"Comrade," she said with a wheedling tone, "I see you’ve all bought sleeper tickets. Look, these two children can share one bunk; they won’t take up much space. They’re so small, they’ll definitely fit. Why don’t you let my son and me have this bunk? It’s so cold out. What am I supposed to do if my son catches a cold because he doesn’t have a proper place to lie down and stay warm?"
Some people are just unbelievable.
And on a train carrying people from every corner of the country, you’re bound to find even more of them.
It was just their bad luck to run into one.
Gu Lan Ting’s tone hardened. "No. If you want a sleeper bunk, go buy a ticket for one. Please leave immediately, or I’ll call the railway police."
"Hey! How can a grown man like you be so inflexible? Have you no conscience? We’re just a poor mother and son. We’re all comrades here, what’s wrong with helping each other out? So stingy."
Yun Jiao simply grabbed their luggage and started tossing it out into the aisle.
The woman immediately started screeching. "You worthless money-pit, what are you doing?! If you lose any of my things, can you even afford to replace them?"
She looked like she was about to strike Yun Jiao. Her eyes and tone made it clear she was the type to dote on boys while despising girls. She held girls in contempt from the bottom of her heart. Even though Yun Jiao wasn’t her child, it only took a few words before she was ready to resort to violence.
Yun Jiao slapped the woman’s descending hand away. The sound was a loud CRACK. Most importantly, it hurt.
"Ow! Help! They’re bullying me! Everyone, come and see! They’re bullying a poor woman and her son!"
It was a classic tactic for shameless people like her—try to use the pressure of public opinion to make her opponents back down.
But while she might be shameless, Yun Jiao’s group wasn’t the type to be intimidated by finger-pointing.
Having tossed their luggage, Yun Jiao went to pull the child off the bunk.
The boy didn’t want to get down, kicking his legs wildly and WAILING.
But he was no match for Yun Jiao’s strength and was yanked off the bed within seconds.
"My son! You money-pit, let go of my son!"
Seeing her son being "bullied," the woman forgot all about her wailing and the pain in her hand. She scrambled up, ready to teach Yun Jiao a lesson.
This time, however, Gu Lan Ting blocked her way.
"Dad, go find the railway police."
Ancient and Elder Xu went together; two old men like them weren’t about to get involved in the scuffle.
They were back in just a few minutes, as the commotion had already attracted the railway police.
Since the mother and son were clearly in the wrong, the issue was resolved quickly.
In the end, the mother and son could do nothing but shoot a few vicious glares at Yun Jiao’s group, with a special, hateful stare reserved for Yun Jiao herself.
Because Yun Jiao had tossed their luggage and dragged her son off the bed, the woman, who already believed all girls were worthless money-pits, now held a deep grudge against her.
Yun Jiao, for her part, couldn’t have cared less.
’Glare all you want,’ she thought. ’You can’t beat me anyway.’
After the mother and son finally left, Gu Lan Ting looked at the bunk with a disgusted expression.
Not only had the pair tried to occupy their bunk, but they had also climbed onto it with their shoes on. They weren’t clean themselves, either. So inconsiderate.
He went straight to a train attendant and asked for a fresh set of bedding.
At last, they could finally settle down.
"Jiaojiao, are you and Little Eight hungry? I’ll go make some instant noodles for you."
As the only able-bodied adult in a group with both elders and children, Gu Lan Ting naturally took the initiative to handle most things.
Yun Xiao Ba and Yun Jiao said they wanted to go with him.
’Uncle Gu only has two hands. How much can he possibly carry?’
They put ham sausage into the instant noodles—a treat they had bought in the Capital City. Their little county town didn’t have such things yet, so they had brought a large supply with them.
They also added eggs, dried shrimp, and mushroom sauce...
Soon, a huge, deluxe bowl of instant noodles was ready.
The two children had been the ones adding all the ingredients, and Gu Lan Ting, standing to the side, was dumbfounded.
’This... you can make instant noodles like this?’
When the noodles were ready, the two elders were also speechless for a moment as they stared at the massive bowl, brimming with all sorts of ingredients.
But, while the flavors were a bit jumbled, it was actually quite delicious.
After finishing the bowl, all of them were feeling a little stuffed.
"You guys really know how to live."
Another passenger who was strolling through the compartment said, looking on with genuine envy.
"So much food, and with meat too. You ate it all in one go."
Ancient chuckled. "The two kids were just fooling around and added everything in. Once it was in there, we adults had no choice but to eat it."
It was still too early to sleep, and they’d eaten a bit too much, so they decided to take a stroll through the train car.
Ancient had also brought a Chinese chess set. He found a spot to lay it out, and once they’d walked enough, he and Elder Xu began a game.
Gradually, other passengers with nothing better to do were drawn over to watch the match.
Of course, those who couldn’t follow the game drifted away to find other entertainment.
Yun Jiao and Yun Xiao Ba, for instance, drifted over to a crowd of people to listen in on some gossip.
People in those days were very warm. Even complete strangers could strike up a conversation and find common ground after just a few sentences.