Chapter 49: Would You Like to Learn How to Paint?

In these times, those who could board a plane were far from ordinary. The average person didn’t even dare to dream of flying, while the green train was the most mainstream long-distance transport of the era.

Not to mention the two little ones, even Su Taotao was riding a green train for the first time in her two lifetimes.

In the distance, the train’s smoking engine, with a color similar to the postboxes outside the post office, grew louder with each whistle. The green train slowly approached, and just like the two little ones, Su Taotao felt curious and excited.

Chenchen clapped his hands and nodded. “Train~~”

Su Taotao smiled. “Yes, it’s a train, a green train. Can you fold one, Chenchen?”

The little guy chewed on his chubby fingers and shook his head. “No~~”

His tone had a touch of mild disappointment.

Fu Zhengtuu patted his head. “Dad will teach you.”

Chenchen grinned, showing his little white baby teeth, and nodded enthusiastically. “Mm~~”

Su Taotao thought to herself, Fu Zhengtuu had become quite skilled at calling himself “Dad.”

Fu Yuanhang quickly took out his little notebook, drew the green train, marked its starting and ending stations, and even added the family of three standing nearby. It was his way of documenting his very first ride on a green train.

When it was time to board, Su Taotao couldn’t smile anymore. Holding Chenchen, she stepped aside, trembling with fear.

It was like a net full of fish, all rushing out of the water, but instead of swimming away, they were scrambling to get on the train!

Su Taotao had seen a similar scene in news reports around the year 2000. Back then, high-speed rail wasn’t well-developed, and flying wasn’t something most people could afford. The Spring Festival rush had people flooding into train stations, all vying to get home for the New Year, just like this.

Over time, people’s living standards improved, more could afford to fly, and more owned cars. This led to massive traffic jams during holidays, but with the rapid development of high-speed rail, the Spring Festival rush gradually became less daunting.

She never expected that she would experience the Spring Festival travel rush she missed out on in her previous life during this one.

The key point was, it wasn’t even a holiday or festival!

“Why are there so many people?” Actually, there were already quite a few people when they entered the station, but Su Taotao was too excited to notice, and with it being dark, she didn’t pay much attention to the crowd until now, when it startled her.

The two little ones had only seen crowds at the local market in the county, where they had never encountered this kind of scene. They stared wide-eyed, not out of fear, but out of curiosity.

Fu Zhengtuu created a space by surrounding them with two large bags, protecting them inside.

“Let them go first, we’ll go last.”

The family of four stood there, watching the “school of fish” as they surged into the train car in waves. Chenchen was so amused by the sight that he almost wanted to clap.

Su Taotao helplessly pinched his chubby little face.

When the crowd had mostly boarded, Fu Zhengtuu asked Fu Yuanhang to lead the way in front, while Su Taotao, holding Chenchen, walked in the middle. He took the bags at the back to prevent anyone from bumping into them.

After a lot of effort, they finally found their seats. Fu Yuanhang and Chenchen rode for free, and thankfully, Fu Zhengtuu had managed to buy two hard sleeper tickets. Otherwise, Fu Yuanhang, being a growing child, would have had no place to sit, and the dining car and aisle were already full.

The hard sleeper car had six beds. When Su Taotao entered, the two lower and two upper bunks were already occupied. Only the middle bunk was available, but Fu Zhengtuu had actually bought one middle bunk and one lower bunk.

Su Taotao held up the ticket and politely said to the middle-aged aunt occupying their lower bunk, “Sorry, this is our seat, could you please move?”

The aunt lazily lifted her eyelids. Maybe she thought Su Taotao looked easy to bully, as she coughed into her hand and said, “Comrade, I’m not feeling well, my legs aren’t good. Can we switch seats? My seat is over there.”

The aunt pointed to the middle bunk across from them.

Su Taotao replied firmly, “If it was just me, I wouldn’t mind swapping, but I’m with two children. I’m afraid I can’t swap with you. If you’re not comfortable, you can ask the conductor or train staff. They can help you.”

Although it was hard to tell if her legs were actually bad, the aunt’s tone was strong, and she didn’t sound sick at all.

The aunt didn’t want to get up and seemed to be acting shamelessly.

Fu Zhengtuu directly called for the conductor, and only then did the aunt reluctantly get up and climb to the opposite middle bunk, grumbling as she did.

Su Taotao thought to herself: “Wasn’t she supposed to have trouble with her legs?”

At this time, in the village, both children would already be asleep, but here, they were completely exhausted.

Su Taotao let Fu Zhengtuu go get some hot water, then used a small basin to wash Chenchen’s face and wipe his hands. Only then did she let Fu Zhengtuu carry him to the middle bunk to sleep.

Su Taotao said, “You take Xiao Hang to wash up first. I’ll take over later.”

The aunt muttered from the other side, “Pretending to be poor…”

Su Taotao naturally ignored her.

There wasn’t enough room for two adults on one bed, and in fact, even Fu Zhengtuu, with his large frame, barely fit.

So, Su Taotao slept with Chenchen on the middle bunk, while Fu Zhengtuu slept with Fu Yuanhang on the lower bunk.

When they returned, Su Taotao told Fu Yuanhang, “If you need to go to the restroom at night, make sure to tell your brother. Don’t walk out of this car alone.”

Fu Yuanhang nodded. “Got it, sister-in-law.”

In this kind of environment, sleeping well was impossible. The two children were fine, but Su Taotao spent most of the night listening to “kuang qi, kuang qi” (snoring) and barely got any sleep.

Fu Zhengtuu wasn’t much better. He knew that Su Taotao wasn’t the most still sleeper, so he worried that she might fall from the top bunk. He moved two bags in front of the bed but it still wasn’t enough. He checked on her and the children every little while.

Su Taotao was always awake, staring at him.

After a few times, Fu Zhengtuu had her sleep on the lower bunk, carrying Fu Yuanhang up to the top. He made a makeshift fence with a baby carrier to make sure Fu Yuanhang wouldn’t fall. Then, he sat beside Su Taotao, pulled her into his arms, and gently patted her back like the nights back in the village. Su Taotao, counting his rhythm, finally drifted to sleep.

A quiet night passed.

Although it was called sleep, it was more like a groggy doze for a few hours.

Fu Zhengtuu was worried about both the two little ones on the upper bunk and the one in his arms, so he barely slept at all.

By six or seven in the morning, Su Taotao groggily woke up, sat up, and told Fu Zhengtuu to sleep. He hadn’t slept properly for two nights, so as soon as he lay down on the lower bunk, he fell asleep.

The two little ones woke up around seven. Su Taotao took them to wash up and then ate some ai ci (a type of rice cake) and eggs with the hot water.

There were still a few ai ci left, and they’d go bad soon, so Su Taotao distributed them to everyone in the car, including the aunt.

In these times, there were still plenty of good-hearted, simple people. There was an old man wearing glasses in the car, who kept praising Fu Zhengtuu as a good man. He also really liked Chenchen and Fu Yuanhang, constantly playing with them.

Once Chenchen became familiar with the old man, he took out the military chess Fu Zhengtuu had given him and started playing with him.

At first, the old man thought such a little child wouldn’t know how to play, but he didn’t mind and just went along with it.

Chenchen didn’t talk much, simply focusing on setting up the pieces.

The old man didn’t expect that Chenchen actually knew how to play the game. He understood the rules perfectly, knew which pieces were big and which were small, could tell who could capture whom, and even understood how to occupy camps, avoid bombs, and use soldiers to defuse mines…

After one round, even though the old man won, his expression towards Chenchen had completely changed.

“Your son is only two years old? Can he read? Who taught him to play military chess?”

At two years old, children were usually full of energy and hard to keep still. The fact that Chenchen could sit for so long and focus showed extraordinary concentration and patience.

Su Taotao, who had never played military chess, didn’t know the rules or difficulty, and simply laughed, saying, “He can’t read. His dad played with him for a few days. He’s two years old by Chinese age, but a few days shy of two in Western age.”

The old man gave a thumbs up. “Your son has boundless potential—he must be nurtured properly.”

Su Taotao felt he was probably a teacher. The appreciation and fondness for talent in his eyes were unmistakable.

This was even more evident when he saw Fu Yuanhang’s sketch. His hands trembled as he held the drawing, his eyes gleaming.

“You really haven’t learned to draw before?”

Fu Yuanhang shook his head. “No, I just drew it based on feeling.”

“You’re incredibly gifted.” The old man then turned to Su Taotao. “May I ask, if it’s not too bold—where are you headed?”

It was a chance encounter, and Su Taotao stayed cautious. She didn’t give a specific location and simply said, “We’re getting off at the next stop.”

The old man’s eyes sparkled even brighter. “I—I’m getting off at the next stop too.”

Su Taotao looked at him in surprise.

He excitedly grabbed Fu Yuanhang’s hand. “What’s your name? Would you like to learn how to draw with me?”