Chapter 9

After dinner, when night had just fallen, Xia Wanyang went to wash up and go to bed. She had woken up early in the morning, and by now, she was so tired that the book she was holding had fallen on her face several times.

She slept straight through until 10 AM the next morning, waking up to a noisy commotion. It was Qian Guilan arguing with the family of three.

“I don’t care! This little brat just stepped on my shoe, I saw it with my own eyes! You guys can argue all you want, but she needs to pay for a new pair!”

The little girl was crying loudly, her mother holding her and soothing her, while her father was trying to reason with Qian Guilan.

“Ma’am, can you please make some sense? You left your shoes in the aisle, and my daughter accidentally stepped on them. As soon as she did, she immediately moved her foot!”

Qian Guilan rolled her eyes. “So what if I left them in the aisle? Is this your family’s aisle? I can put my shoes anywhere I like, don’t tell me what to do! My shoes cost 8 yuan, I’ve worn them for months, so just pay me 7 yuan and be quick about it!”

Xia Wanyang couldn’t help but laugh, and Qian Guilan, seeing her smile, remembered the frustration from yesterday and snapped, “What are you laughing at? You little brat, I advise you to mind your own business!”

“Triangular Aunt, my mouth is on my face, if I want to laugh, I will laugh, if I want to say something, I will say it. What’s it to you? What’s wrong with me laughing? I was born to laugh, okay? Hahahaha!”

“You… you shameless thing!”

Xia Wanyang stood up and walked toward her step by step. “Shameless? I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you. Look at you, your whole outfit isn’t even worth 8 yuan. You’re trying to scam someone 7 yuan over a pair of open-toed shoes? You really have some nerve!”

After dinner, Xia Wanyang went to wash up and went to bed as soon as the sky darkened. She had woken up very early, and now she was so tired that the book she was holding had already fallen on her face several times.

She slept soundly until 10 AM the next morning, when she was woken up by a noisy commotion. It was Qian Guilan arguing with the family of three.

“I don’t care! This little brat just stepped on my shoe! I saw it with my own eyes! Whether you agree or not, she has to pay me for a new pair!”

The little girl was crying loudly, and her mother was comforting her, while her father was trying to reason with Qian Guilan.

“Ma’am, can we talk sensibly? You left your shoes in the aisle, and my daughter just stepped on them by accident. She pulled her foot away as soon as she did!”

Qian Guilan rolled her eyes. “So what if I left them in the aisle? Is it your aisle? I can put my shoes wherever I like, don’t lecture me. My shoes cost 8 yuan, I’ve worn them for months, so just pay me 7 yuan and be quick about it!”

Xia Wanyang couldn’t help but laugh out loud. When Qian Guilan saw her laughing, she remembered the frustration from yesterday and snapped, “What are you laughing at? You little brat, mind your own business!”

“Triangular Aunt, my mouth is on my face, if I want to laugh, I will laugh. What’s it to you? What’s wrong with me laughing? I was born to laugh, okay? Hahahaha!”

“You… you shameless thing!”

Xia Wanyang stood up and walked toward her step by step. “Shameless? I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you. Look at you, your whole outfit isn’t even worth 8 yuan. You’re trying to scam someone 7 yuan over a pair of open-toed shoes? You really have some nerve!”

Qian Guilan was embarrassed, sitting on the ground with her hands slapping the floor, crying out, “Is there anyone here who will manage this? This little brat is bullying me, an old lady, in broad daylight! My son is serving in the military, protecting the country, and here I am being bullied like this!”

The girl’s father, noticing more people gathering to watch, stepped in front of Xia Wanyang and said, “Thank you, Comrade, but you don’t need to step in. I’ll pay. Let’s just consider it a donation to the people’s soldiers!”

Xia Wanyang ignored him, sat down on the ground, and began to cry dramatically, wiping nonexistent tears from her face. “This is outrageous! A family member of the military is using their status to extort people! Look at how scared they’ve made this poor child, she’s crying her heart out! Seven yuan for a pair of old shoes! I’m going to report this, everyone, please be witnesses!”

“This is too much! Those shoes are worth nothing, and she’s asking for seven yuan?”

“Exactly, seven yuan could buy ten new pairs of shoes! This is clearly extortion!”

“Military family members should have better manners, military people deserve our respect, but how can they have such a mother!”

The crowd around them started murmuring. Qian Guilan was speechless. How could this girl not even feel embarrassed? She, an old woman, sat crying on the ground, and this brat, dressed so properly, came and sat down with her!

Qian Guilan slowly stood up. “Fine, as a military family member, I have some dignity, I won’t argue with you. Consider me unlucky!”

Xia Wanyang stood up as well, wiping away more nonexistent tears, and said, “No, that won’t do! Look how scared the child is, her face turned pale. She needs to see a doctor, make sure she’s okay, you’ll be responsible if she’s hurt!”

Qian Guilan scoffed, “How am I supposed to be responsible?”

“It’s simple. You can go with them to the hospital, have a full check-up, and pay for the medical expenses. If you don’t have time, just hand over the money directly!” Xia Wanyang smiled.

Qian Guilan glanced at the little girl. “What’s the child going to check for? She’s just spoiled!”

Xia Wanyang feigned surprise and put a hand to her mouth. “Oh, so now you’re calling the child spoiled? Aren’t you a woman? Doesn’t the Chairman say that women hold up half the sky? Are you defying the country? No way, I’m reporting you when we get off, and I’ll even check which unit your son serves in. How can a military family member think like this?”

Qian Guilan gritted her teeth. “How much do you think is fair?”

Xia Wanyang thoughtfully put a finger to her lips. “Five yuan should be enough. If the child was really scared, she might need to stay in the hospital for a few days, right?”

Qian Guilan pulled up her clothes, and everyone around, including the girl’s father, quickly lowered their heads, afraid they might be dragged into her extortion.

“Here, five yuan, but I don’t know what kind of disease you’re looking for!” Qian Guilan handed over the money, trembling with reluctance.

Xia Wanyang took the money, walked over to the mother and daughter, and handed the money to the girl’s mother. “Here, take it!” she said with a wink.

The girl’s mother looked at her gratefully. “Thank you, Comrade! I’m also a sent-down youth, married into the village, and we’re just visiting my parents. My name is Wang Xiuxiu, and we live in Qingshan Brigade, Xinxian County, Shenshi. If we’re ever fortunate enough to meet again, please come visit us!”

Xia Wanyang nodded and took out three Big White Rabbit candies from her pocket, handing them to the little girl. “Don’t be afraid, Auntie has some candy for you. Eat it, and you won’t be scared anymore!”

The little girl looked at her mother, who nodded, and then she took the candy. “Thank you, Auntie!”

The girl’s father also came over. “Thank you, Comrade, if it weren’t for you, we would have been extorted. We really appreciate it!”

After some pleasantries, Xia Wanyang returned to her seat, sneering to herself, “Qian Guilan, this is just the beginning!”

It turns out that Qian Guilan was notorious in Dongfanghong Brigade for being unreasonable. In her past life, after Xia Wanyang drowned, most of the rumors in the village were spread by her. Every time she saw Xia Wanyang, she would spit and loudly gossip about her. In the past life, Xia Wanyang was forced to marry Li Wenzhuo, and Qian Guilan was the one who pushed her into the abyss.

Soon, the elderly couple returned. “Xia, you’re up? We went to the dining car for breakfast. We brought you some, it’s still warm. Eat quickly!”

Xia Wanyang immediately took a dollar from her bag and handed it over.

“No, no, you ate so much meat from us yesterday, breakfast doesn’t cost much!”

Xia Wanyang shoved the money into the old lady’s hand. “If you don’t take it, I won’t eat!”

The old lady chuckled.

After breakfast, it was almost noon, and Xia Wanyang went back to reading her book.

She read all afternoon, and by evening, her eyes were sore. She closed them for a bit, lying on her bunk, her thoughts racing, “Zhang Shiye, and now Qian Guilan, does this mean I’ll meet you again like in my past life?”

That night, the family of three returned with four boxes of meals. The girl’s mother handed one to Xia Wanyang. “Sister, please take this. You must accept it, we can’t give you money, this is our way of thanking you. We don’t have anything fancy, but please accept it!”

Xia Wanyang smiled. “Okay, I accept it. Thank you!”

Qian Guilan, sitting above, was so angry that she was shedding real tears. All that money was hers! She had spent all her money, and they were eating well, while she was stuck with hard bread!

Furious!

After dinner, Xia Wanyang went to bed. The train would arrive at 5 AM the next day, so she needed to sleep early. What if she met Zhang Shiye tomorrow and ended up with dark circles under her eyes?

At 4 AM the next day, Xia Wanyang woke up. The others in the sleeping car were still asleep. She quietly grabbed her toiletries and headed to the restroom.

As she walked down the corridor, she saw Qian Guilan’s shoes still in the aisle. Xia Wanyang chuckled to herself, and as she walked, she kicked the shoes forward. When she reached the restroom door, she took out some tissue, grabbed the shoes, and went inside.

She opened the window and quickly tossed the shoes out.

Then, she stepped into her space. Xia Wanyang was getting more skilled at using the space now, and she no longer muttered like a country bumpkin when entering it.

After arriving at the villa, Xia Wanyang quickly took a shower and washed her hair. She wrung her hair dry and tied it into a high ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror, initially planning to put on makeup, but then thought it might be too noticeable, so in the end, she just applied some skincare products.

She tossed her dirty clothes into the washing machine and opened the wardrobe that Zhang Shiye had prepared for her in her past life. “Tsk, none of these are wearable, none of them fit for this time period!”

Finally, she chose a white shirt with a peter pan collar, black pants, and black leather shoes.

This outfit was as ordinary as it could get for the current time.

After eating two large meat buns with pickled radish from her mother, she also drank a bowl of millet porridge. She felt completely refreshed and smiled in satisfaction.