Chapter 4

Ning Shu bought an afternoon train ticket. From the original owner’s memory, she knew that the green trains of this era didn’t have air conditioning or electric fans.

The compartments were very stuffy, with various odors mixing together, making it uncomfortable and smelly.

However, because fewer people traveled for work during this era, even during the Spring Festival travel rush, the trains weren’t as crowded as in later years.

In later years, not only were train tickets hard to come by near the Spring Festival, but even plane tickets were difficult to obtain.

Furthermore, trains weren’t safe during this era.

For the sake of her safety, Ning Shu pleaded with the ticket seller for a while using her military dependent ID and the bandage glaringly wrapped around her head.

She finally managed to buy a ticket for the “first-class cabin” on the train after saying all the right words. It was fortunate that there were still seats available in the “first-class cabin”.

The original owner had never traveled in a “first-class cabin” before. Indeed, compared to the ordinary compartments in her memory, this “first-class cabin” was much more comfortable.

The air here was fresher, and the environment was quieter.

Ning Shu quickly found her seat. As for the passengers in the compartment, when they saw someone with a bandage on their head boarding, they curiously watched. Many of them made way, not because they were particularly enlightened but because Ning Shu looked like a patient, and they were afraid of accidentally bumping into her, which would be troublesome if they were held responsible for any injuries.

“Thank you, comrades,” Ning Shu said without thinking much about everyone’s courtesy as she boarded.

Ning Shu bought the “first-class cabin” considering her own situation, and indeed, it didn’t disappoint her. She traveled for two nights and three days and arrived at her destination at eight o’clock on the third morning without any incidents along the way.

After getting off the train, Ning Shu’s first task was to go to the hospital to apply medicine to her wound and rewrap the bandage. It was already nine-thirty. Suddenly, Ning Shu felt a bit nervous.

She was going back to the countryside and didn’t know how to interact with the original owner’s three children.

However, it was fortunate that the Lin family had long since split up, and the third branch was under her management. Normally, she didn’t interact with the people at the old house, and the three children were still young.

The two older ones were only five years old, and the youngest, although two years old, was barely eleven months old. They were easy to handle.

Qinglin Bay Production Brigade

Top of Form

“Big sis, the three kids from the third branch have been staying with us for six or seven days now, eating our food day by day. Do you think the third branch will reimburse us for the food?” It was almost noon when Zhang Qinfang, the wife of Lin Guoliang, the second son of the Lin family, murmured to the women around her. The woman beside her was Qian Aifen, the wife of Lin Guofeng, the eldest son of the Lin family.

“What nonsense are you thinking?” Qian Aifen thought Zhang Qinfang’s thoughts were too optimistic. “When did you ever see the third branch return the kids’ food?” The third branch always took in but never gave out. Getting anything out of their pockets was like getting blood from a stone.

“Ah, the third sis-in-law is just lucky,” Zhang Qinfang admired. “You know how embarrassing it was for her to marry into the third family. But who cares how she married into the family now? Everyone only sees her living well, not having to work, going to the county every few days, wearing clothes without patches. Who in our entire brigade has a better life? Apart from the third sis-in-law, there’s no one else.”

However, despite the good life the third sis-in-law led, the children from the third branch were in a sorry state, as if they had no mother. Their clothes were too short, and they didn’t eat as well as Zhang Qinfang’s children.

As the saying goes, the mother’s love is as important as a beggar’s mother compared to an official’s father, indicating that old sayings aren’t always true.

Qian Aifen stopped chattering with Zhang Qinfang. It was better to do some work with this spare time and hurry up to have lunch. She had only had some sweet potato porridge in the morning, and her stomach was growling.

At the village entrance, several children were playing. Some were playing with paper airplanes, some were playing hopscotch, and others were playing tag. This group of children were relatively young and didn’t have the strength to work in the fields, so they liked to roam around the village.

“Lin Yibao, you’re no good as the mother hen. We’ve been caught several times by the eagle. Let me be the mother hen.” One of the taller boys, who looked thin but was taller than the boy named Lin Yibao, said.

“No, you and my brother already agreed on rock-paper-scissors, and the winner would be the mother hen.” A boy who looked just like Lin Yibao, his twin brother, said. His name was Lin Erbao, and he was Lin Yibao’s twin brother.

“Er Bao’s right.” Lin Yibao refused to take the blame. “It’s because you little chicks run too slowly.”

“It’s clearly because you’re too weak.” One of the caught chicks was very angry. Once caught, they couldn’t play anymore and could only watch from the side until the game ended. “Lin Yibao, if you could stop the eagle, we wouldn’t get caught.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Lin Yibao is too weak.” Other caught kids chimed in.

“Lin Yibao, it’s because you’re too weak.” The boy playing the eagle also spoke up. He was fatter than the other kids present. “Lin Yibao, my mom says your mom stays at home eating meat every day and doesn’t give you guys food. Is that true?”

“You’re making things up. I’ve had meat before, and I’ve even had meat soup. It’s so delicious, right, Er Bao?” Lin Yibao said so, but there was a hint of vulnerability in his voice.

He bit his lip hard. Their mother didn’t hide at home eating meat every day. She only occasionally hid at home to eat meat. When she did, she would give them meat soup and a small piece of meat.

But… but… other mothers weren’t like this. Other mothers would give all the good food to their children. Other mothers would hug their children and comfort them when they cried…

He didn’t really want their mother to give them all the good food, just a little more meat. He knew their mother didn’t like them.

It’s okay, if their mother didn’t like them, their father did. Although he didn’t remember his father’s appearance well, he had a vague impression.

His father would hug them, let them ride horses, and Grandma even said his father earned money by fighting bad guys outside and would use the money to buy them new clothes and meat to eat. Grandma said his father liked them very much.

Lin Yibao told his younger brother that when their father came back, they would complain and ask him to find them a mother who would give them two small pieces of meat to eat.

“Yes, we’ve had meat and meat soup.” Lin Erbao said, even slurping a bit. “Slurp… meat soup is really delicious. Haven’t you tried it? Heh…” Saying that, he even stuck out his tongue and made a funny face.

In the 1970s, ordinary people rarely had meat to eat throughout the year. Eating meat once or twice a month was already considered good conditions. Most families would only serve meat when entertaining important guests or during festivals.

So, in terms of eating meat, Lin Yibao and Lin Erbao were indeed happier than other kids as they could have meat soup and a small piece of meat once a month. But this was the only aspect where they were happier than other kids.

With their father away and their mother not caring, they were raised by their grandmother since childhood. After they could walk, the two brothers played together and went to find their grandmother when they were hungry.

But after all, the family was divided, and Lin’s mother had to consider the feelings of the first and second branches.

“Pfft, what’s so special about meat soup? I eat eggs every day.” The chubby kid with his hands on his hips said, “Can you eat eggs every day?”

“We raise our own chicks, so we can eat eggs every day,” Lin Yibao said.

“Yeah, we raise our own chicks and eat eggs ourselves,” Lin Erbao stood beside his brother. The two brothers weren’t as tall or heavy as others, but they wouldn’t back down from a fight.

“But you don’t have eggs to eat right now.” The chubby kid said, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy. “This is candy, you have any?” He opened the candy wrapper and licked it. “It’s so sweet…”

The tone of his voice made Lin Erbao want to punch someone.

Just then, a sleepy voice rang out, “Mom… mom…” Then, a little baby crawled towards the front.

Hearing his brother’s voice, Lin Yibao and Lin Erbao hurriedly looked over. They saw their mother, who had been away for a few days, returning with big bags.

Their mother had said a few days ago that she was going to their maternal grandmother’s house and asked them to stay with Grandma. The brothers didn’t care, as their mother didn’t pay attention to them when she was around.

But… the brothers’ eyes were fixed on the things Ning Shu was carrying. They didn’t know if she had bought meat. If she did, they could eat meat today.

Ning Shu did carry a lot of things. After earning 600 yuan that day, she only had 385 yuan left. She had spent some on the train these days and had bought some things she saw on the app, so she had spent quite a bit without realizing it.

At the moment, she had some pears left over from the previous days, as well as a sack of ten kilograms of sugar apples, two boxes of handmade dumplings, twelve handmade rice cakes, and ten meat dumplings.

Except for the handmade dumplings, the others could last for a few days. The handmade dumplings were bought this morning.

Ning Shu didn’t notice the cheap children. She walked towards the village gate and saw a little baby crawling on the ground wearing ragged clothes. She frowned immediately. The ground was dirty. Who would let their child crawl on the ground like that?

She felt a bit disgusted and was planning to walk around the little baby, in case there was trouble.

But before she could walk around, she heard the little baby smiling and reaching out his hand towards her, “Mom… mom, hug… mom…”

Ning Shu: “… Did she mishear? She carefully looked again with her 2.0 vision. This child seemed to resemble Lin Sanbao from her memory. Wait… resembled? Wasn’t this Lin Sanbao?

Once confirmed, Ning Shu didn’t walk around. She walked towards Lin Sanbao. Without surprise, she also saw Lin Yibao and Lin Erbao running over, standing on both sides of their brother, and looking at her warily.

What was going on? Did she look like someone who would bully a little baby? In her memory, the original owner had never hit a child.

“What are you doing here?” Ning Shu walked up to the three Boys and asked.