Chapter 174: Chapter 0174: Finally eting 2_1 Chapter 174: Chapter 0174: Finally eting 2_1 “Hello, older sister, my na is Feng Qingxue. My partner is injured and in the hospital, and I’m going to see him.” Feng Qingxue disclosed her destination but didn’t ntion the na of the hospital, only the provincial city na.
After a quick conversation, Feng Qingxue learned the nas of her two female co-passengers. The older one was Wang Cuilan, a departnt-level officer from the mining bureau in her own hotown, and the younger one was Lu Aihong, a section-level officer from the neighboring county. Both were on business trips out of their ho province and had boarded at the sa station as Feng Qingxue, choosing berths right next to her despite having boarded three to five days earlier.
After boarding the train, Feng Qingxue had asked the conductor. It would take half a month to reach her destination.
Half a month!
Upon hearing the answer, Feng Qingxue felt short of breath.
For her, who is used to traveling by airplane or high-speed railway, fifteen days is an eternity—half a month, or one twenty-fourth of a year. The length is staggering.
She finally understood why no one would take such a long trip unless absolutely necessary—it simply took too long.
And the ticket was not cheap, she had paid forty yuan for her sleeping berth.
Lu Aihong laughed, “We are from the sa area, no wonder I have felt so close to you these days on the train.”
“Sister Aihong is right. My uncle’s surna is Wang, and my boyfriend’s family is nad Lu. Don’t you think we might be distant relatives sharing food from the sa pot a hundred years ago?” After all, isn’t intimacy the emotional product of interaction? One cannot be shy when making friends.
Feng Qingxue was open and generous, which made Wang Cuilan and Lu Aihong feel delighted and enthusiastic.
“What a coincidence! It shows that we sisters were destined to et.”
“Yes, Sister Cuilan, you and Sister Aihong must give your contact information. After I visit my boyfriend and return ho, I’ll have the opportunity to visit both of your hos.”
Wang Cuilan said, “Sure, don’t forget. I welco your visit anyti.”
Lu Aihong also nodded and smiled. The three exchanged contact information, in reality, they told each other their ho address.
The journey seed less taxing with company, the ti passed as they chatted about everything under the sun.
At noon, when the train conductor ca with the dining cart, Feng Qingxue asked Wang Cuilan and Lu Aihong to buy their als first. After they finished, she handed an aluminum lunch box to the conductor and spent one cent to buy a dish of sponge gourd and egg drop soup.
There was a shortage of black bread, and when it was Feng Qingxue’s turn, there was none left. So, she used two Grain Tickets to buy a white stead bun.
Lu Aihong noticed that Feng Qingxue handed the conductor a military Grain Ticket which had a face value for five pounds. The conductor gave her four pounds and eight ounces worth of national Grain Tickets in return. Surprised, Lu Aihong asked, “Sister Snow, does soone in your family serve in the army?”
Feng Qingxue put away the returned Grain Ticket and change and replied with a smile, “My boyfriend is a soldier.”
Wang Cuilan and Lu Aihong suddenly rembered that Feng Qingxue had ntioned her boyfriend was injured and hospitalized. Upon receiving this information, they understood everything—the injury must have occurred in combat. Suddenly, they felt a wave of respect towards him.
When the train attendant poured hot water into Feng Qingxue’s military water bottle, he filled it up to eighty percent.
Prior to this, he had only filled Feng Qingxue’s bottle less than halfway.
It would be unjust to bla him though – you would imagine, with such a long train and so many passengers, even if the train attendant was a Hercules, the thermoses on his trolley couldn’t possibly fill up every passenger’s water bottle or cup.
…With ten yuan, one could take a 500-kiloter train journey, likely in a sleeper car, because according to the information I found, a ticket from my ho to Shanghai cost two yuan and eight cents, whereas a berth was much more expensive, nearly ten yuan. It seems that the ticket I ntioned in the text was calculated according to the distance. It was said that a lot of blue-collar workers and soldiers spent their salaries on transportation back then, hence many of them didn’t return ho for years and only sent money back. It’s heartbreaking (╥_╥).
Reviews
All reviews (0)