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After boarding the bus, the conductor came to check the tickets. Since Wang Qian and the other children were accompanied by an adult, there was no half-price ticket for them. Zhang Lan paid fifty cents for her ticket, while the children traveled for free.
After nearly two hours, they arrived in the city. Unfortunately, they had boarded a bus to the city without checking the destination on the bus plate. However, they didn’t dwell on it too much, as a city was a city, and it wasn’t too far from the county.
Upon arriving in the city, they realized what it meant to be in unfamiliar territory. Zhang Lan had only been to the county, and the city was completely new to her.
The four children looked around curiously at the new sights—tall buildings, wide roads, clean streets, bustling pedestrians, and speeding cars. Everything was different from their rural surroundings.
Meanwhile, Wang Qian looked at the city with a nostalgic gaze. It was a reminder of how things change over the years. Many old cities would be completely transformed in the future, and the only way to find nostalgia would be to visit a museum.
Zhang Lan led the children out of the bus station, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the bustling city.
Wang Qian, remembering her grandmother’s words that people with thick eyebrows and big eyes were generally good, approached a well-dressed man with glasses and called out, “Uncle, please wait.”
Startled by the call, Wu Zhenghong turned around and saw a child. Although her clothes were patched, they were neat. Despite the worn-out clothes, there was no sign of panic or inferiority in the child’s eyes. Wang Qian confidently asked, “Uncle, can you tell me how to get to the agricultural products purchasing station?”
Wu Zhenghong kindly explained the route to the children. If he didn’t have urgent matters to attend to, he would have taken them there himself.
“Uncle, thank you. I know how to get there now. Goodbye, Uncle,” Wang Qian said gratefully.
Wang Qian waved to Wu Zhenghong and ran back to Zhang Lan, looking up at her with bright eyes. “Mom, I found out how to get there. I’ll take you.”
Since they were unfamiliar with the area, they followed her to the bus station as directed by the man. They waited for the arrival of the No. 4 bus.
“Mom, get on the bus,” Zhang Lan led the four children onto the crowded bus. Unlike the buses in the countryside, the city bus was already full, and there were no seats available. Zhang Lan and the children had to stand. Mingcheng, being slightly taller, was able to reach the handrail, and he held onto his brother with one hand, while the other hand tightly guarded their belongings against their chests.
“Tickets!” the ticket seller shouted from the front, carrying a black ticket pouch. Perhaps seeing that the Wang family looked like they couldn’t afford tickets, Wang Qian felt this way.
“Mom, give me two cents. Let’s buy tickets,” Wang Qian said.
Taking the two cents given by Zhang Lan, she walked up to the ticket seller and raised her hand high. “Auntie, we want to buy tickets.”
The woman gave the raggedly dressed girl a disdainful look, tore off a ticket, and threw it at her. However, Wang Qian failed to catch it, and the ticket fell to the ground. The woman even sneered at her, making Wang Qian feel very uncomfortable.
Initially, Wang Qian had intended to let it go, but the woman’s obvious mockery and disdain made her feel too uncomfortable. Suppressing her anger, she stared into the woman’s eyes and calmly said, “Auntie, Chairman Mao taught us to serve the people wholeheartedly. I don’t think your actions today are in line with Chairman Mao’s teachings. I may need to discuss this with your supervisor.”
This was a special period, and if things went wrong, the ticket seller could be in serious trouble. The passengers on the bus watched with amusement to see how the ticket seller would react.
The attitude of the woman towards the mother and her children was evident to everyone. Despite the girl’s shabby appearance, her demeanor was much stronger than the city children.
The ticket seller didn’t expect to be outwitted by a child, and she knew which passengers were leaders and important figures. Today, she had been bested by a girl from the countryside. She forced a smile, but Wang Qian could tell it was insincere. Encountering a ticket seller like this was quite rare.
“Little girl, I’m sorry for my behavior earlier. I’ll remind you when we reach your stop,” the ticket seller said, trying to make amends.
As there were no electronic announcements for bus stops at the time, the ticket seller would manually announce the stops. Wang Qian smiled sweetly and replied, “Auntie, thank you so much. We’ll be getting off at the agricultural products purchasing station. Please don’t forget to remind us.”
The passengers on the bus were impressed by the polite and courteous young girl.
An elegantly dressed elderly woman waved to Wang Qian. “Come here, dear. Let Grandma hold you. Otherwise, it will be crowded on the bus later.”
Wang Qian felt a fondness for the kind-hearted old woman, who reminded her of her grandmother in her previous life.
“Thank you, Grandma. I’m afraid I might crush you,” Wang Qian replied.
The old lady beckoned to her, and Zhang Lan nodded in approval. Wang Qian walked over, and the old lady lifted her up, holding her tightly to prevent her from falling as the bus swayed.
The old lady sat Wang Qian on her lap. She smelled pleasant, probably because she bathed regularly.
Wang Qian wanted to show her gratitude to the kind old woman and smiled sweetly. “Grandma, are you tired? If you are, you can put me down.”
The old lady looked kindly at the girl in her arms. “It’s okay, little one. Grandma will get off the bus with you.”
When the ticket seller loudly announced that they had reached the agricultural products purchasing station, the old lady and Zhang Lan’s group got off the bus together.
Wang Qian thought the old lady would part ways with them, but to her surprise, they were headed to the same place. It was a fortunate coincidence, and they were able to accompany each other. Under the guidance of the old lady, they finally reached their destination.
After arriving at the storefront, Zhang Lan asked Mingcheng and the others to wait outside while she and her daughter followed the old lady inside.
As they entered, Wang Qian immediately felt that the place was quite desolate, with only two people inside—a senior man and a young man.
The young man quickly greeted the old lady, “Auntie Pei, you’re here. Sister Li, Auntie Pei is here.”
The older man saw the old lady and came out to greet her.
“Sister, why did you come here alone? I still haven’t found what you’re looking for, and besides, we don’t deal with that here.” Said the Old Lady
Sister Li felt also helpless. She had been waiting for this item for a long time, but unfortunately, they hadn’t come across it.
“Comrade, may I ask you something?” Zhang Lan approached the young man and inquired.
“Serve the people wholeheartedly. Comrade, what would you like to ask?” The young man stood up with a friendly attitude.
Zhang Lan quickly added, “All reactionaries are paper tigers. Comrade, I’d like to ask if you purchase ginseng here.”
The siblings standing nearby began to show excitement upon hearing Zhang Lan’s question.
“Comrade, we don’t usually produce ginseng in this area, so it’s not something we purchase. If you want to sell it, you might want to inquire in the provincial capital,” the young man promptly answered Zhang Lan’s question.
“Mom, let’s go outside,” Wang Qian suggested.
Since they couldn’t sell the ginseng there, they would have to look elsewhere. However, Wang Qian had overheard the conversation between the two men and was planning to ask them more questions outside.