Chapter 8

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell the Lu family who you really are?”

Jiang Yan replied indifferently, “Go ahead. We’ll see whether the Lu family believes you or me.”

“Got it.”

Jiang Mo rolled her eyes. Judging from how happy Lin Meixiang looked yesterday, it was clear she believed her daughter-in-law, not them.

Though the words were spoken so softly they were nearly inaudible, Jiang Yan still heard them. She glanced sideways at Jiang Mo with a smile, then stepped forward to take the train ticket and letter of introduction from Jiang Yuan.

“Thanks, Comrade Jiang Yuan. May our paths never cross again. I hope you all live a peaceful life—and don’t go looking for trouble.”

“Because when that time comes, not only will I not save you, I’ll even kick you when you’re down.”

“Goodbye forever.”

With her snakeskin bag in hand, Jiang Yan turned around briskly, her footsteps light as she boarded the green train.

“She, she, she…”

Jiang Yuan’s eyes widened in fury and shock as he watched Jiang Yan step onto the train. What he just heard felt like a hallucination.

Seeing her father’s shocked expression, Jiang Mo suddenly realized his image of authority had shattered. She sighed. “You didn’t mishear. She said ‘goodbye forever.’ She has nothing to do with the Jiang family anymore. In fact, she hates us.”

Jiang Yuan fell silent.

…

In this era, traveling required a letter of introduction. Plus, with widespread poverty, not many people rode trains—nowhere near the craziness of Spring Festival travel in modern times.

That said, given the country’s massive population, there were still a good number of people on the train.

Dragging her snakeskin bag, Jiang Yan entered her assigned carriage—and was instantly stunned.

Hard seats?

Oh my god. She remembered this train ride would take three days. Sitting for that long? She’d be exhausted!

Damn Jiang Yuan. He stabbed her in the back at the last moment.

So ruthless. Truly ruthless.

The carriage was wooden—even the seats were rows of yellow-painted wooden benches. They looked a bit like the cooling chairs you’d find in rural southern homes, except these benches felt more solid and well-made.

It was full-on solid wood decor. Jiang Yan didn’t even know what to say.

She sighed and quickly found a window seat.

Although sitting by the window made it hard to get in and out, this was a long trip—and she was very pretty. What if she ran into some pervert? Better to be cautious.

Not long after she sat down, a middle-aged couple wearing clean but patched clothes came over, carrying a large sack.

Seeing that the inner seat was occupied by a young girl, the wife sat in the middle, placing herself between her husband and Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan’s impression of the couple immediately improved. Since arriving in this world three days ago, she’d been in a constant mental battle with the Jiang family trio. Aside from her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law yesterday, this couple was one of the very few examples of kindness and simplicity she’d encountered.

So, she took the initiative to greet them. The wife smiled and responded warmly.

“I’m Wang Lin, a sent-down youth. I came with my husband to visit family. Little girl, why are you traveling alone? Didn’t your family come with you?”

You can never be too careful with strangers. Jiang Yan’s eyes flicked slightly as she smiled and replied, “I’m going to join the military family quarters. My fiancé is an officer—he’ll meet me at the station.”

“An officer?”

Before Wang Lin could respond, a young voice came from across the aisle.

It was from a group of five young people dressed like students, each carrying large bags, many of them panting from exhaustion.

The speaker was a girl with a short bob haircut and a round little face—clearly from a well-off family.

She sat down across from Jiang Yan, giving her a once-over before speaking with a trace of disdain, clearly trying to show off:

“To be allowed to join the military family, your fiancé must be at least a battalion commander. Battalion commanders are usually in their thirties. If he’s deputy regiment level or higher, he’d be even older.”

“You look about seventeen or eighteen—there’s quite an age gap between you two, huh?”

Seriously?

Jiang Yan’s mood, which had just lifted a little, instantly sank. Why were some people always so tactless?

She wanted to punch the girl, but instead, she smiled and struck back:

“You’re wearing nice cotton clothes and look pretty well-fed. Your family must be doing alright, huh?”

“But here you are lugging all that stuff. Don’t tell me you’re a sent-down youth? With your kind of background, your family couldn’t pull some strings to get you a job? You probably have a younger brother, right? Your parents abandoned you in favor of your brother.”

That hit a nerve. Her companions all tried not to laugh, while the girl’s face instantly turned black. She glared at Jiang Yan furiously—clearly, she’d struck a sore spot.

“What’s it to you? So what if you married an old man? You think you’re special?”

Jiang Yan smiled coolly, “At least I don’t have to go to the countryside and suffer. My fiancé’s military stipend can support me. Plus, I’m a military wife—a nationally honored status.”

“Hmph.”

The girl turned away. One of the boys asked curiously, “We’re going to the countryside to support national development. Don’t we get any benefits too?”

Jiang Yan said nothing. Instead, Wang Lin let out a bitter laugh.

“You’ll understand when you get there. If I hadn’t met my husband, I might have starved to death by now.”

“What? Starved?”

The young sent-down youth were shocked. Growing up in the city like the original host, they had little real understanding of rural life. They thought it was similar to city living.

Farmers had land—so surely they had all the grain they needed, right?

Seeing their surprised expressions, Wang Lin just shook her head and stopped talking. Being a sent-down youth was supposed to be an honor, part of supporting national development. If she said too much, it might discourage them.

And if the wrong person overheard her, she’d be labeled a counter-revolutionary.

She had no desire to be sent to a cowshed or labor farm.

Toot! Toot! Toot!

A unique whistle sounded from outside, and Jiang Yan curiously stuck her head out the window.

At the front of the train, white steam billowed from the locomotive, giving her a surreal feeling, like she’d stepped back in time.

“Is this a steam train?”

In the modern world, high-speed trains and regular trains were electric. Cars ran on gasoline or diesel, and new energy vehicles used electricity too.

But these coal-burning steam locomotives were something she only associated with the Anti-Japanese War or the Republican Era. She hadn’t expected to see one in the 1970s.

But thinking it through, the country had only been founded a little over twenty years ago. The hardships of that brutal past weren’t far behind—whereas her original era was more than half a century away.

Jiang Yan was so fascinated and excited by the sight that she didn’t even hear the plump girl across from her taking another jab:

“What a bumpkin. If it’s not a steam train, what else would it be?”

At that moment, Jiang Yan was completely absorbed in the novelty of it all, her mind full of thoughts like So this is how steam engines work, just like boiling water! She didn’t even register what the chubby girl had said.

Steam puffed continuously, and the train slowly began to move—heading off into the distance.