Chapter 40

“What happened to my parents?”

Tang Zhou interrupted Lu Huaijing anxiously. Tang Wan reached out and pulled him back.

“Zhou Zhou, don’t worry. Listen to your brother-in-law.”

“I just called my comrade. He said your mother is weak and when they arrived at the village, they were…”

Lu Huaijing said apologetically, “Although I asked my comrade to help, he couldn’t openly help your parents. So, the villagers held a criticism meeting, and your mother got sick. I’m sorry.”

He was being subtle, but Tang Wan wasn’t stupid. She understood what he meant.

She fell silent, a heavy weight settling in her heart. This was the reality of this era.

She had to find a way to help her parents escape that identity.

“Don’t feel guilty. It’s not your fault.”

Tang Wan sighed. She gently stroked Tang Zhou’s red eyes and said softly,

“Zhou Zhou, don’t cry. Mom and Dad are waiting for us.”

“Okay.”

Tang Zhou nodded vigorously. Both siblings had the same determined look in their eyes.

Once they arrived, they had to go see their parents.

The atmosphere was a bit gloomy, but fortunately, it was soon time to board the train. Lu Huaijing carried their luggage, big and small.

The train was packed with people, and the crowd made Tang Wan dizzy.

It was still a hard sleeper. Tang Wan let Lu Huaijing sleep on the lower bunk, Tang Zhou on the upper bunk, and she slept on the middle bunk.

She had been carsick earlier, so she wasn’t feeling well and fell asleep for a while after arriving.

When she woke up, Lu Huaijing was gone, and Tang Zhou was fast asleep. An old lady was sitting on the opposite middle bunk, with her luggage on the upper bunk, but she wasn’t there.

Someone was lying on the lower bunk, their back to them, so she couldn’t see clearly. There was also a child sitting there.

Tang Wan got off the middle bunk and took a sip of water from the prepared water bottle in her backpack.

“Mom, Mom, I’m hungry.”

The child looked about five or six years old. He gently pushed the woman lying on the lower bunk.

The woman mumbled groggily, “Shengli, the water is in the bag. Get it yourself.”

Her voice was very weak, which seemed unusual. Tang Wan frowned slightly.

Wang Shengli was young. He struggled to pull a cloth bag from under the lower bunk and finally found the water bottle.

“Mom, have some water.”

Wang Shengli gently pushed his mother, Zhang Hongyan. Zhang Hongyan struggled to open her eyelids.

“Shengli, you drink first.”

Her face was flushed, which looked wrong. Tang Wan couldn’t help but remind her,

“Comrade, are you feeling unwell?”

Hearing this, the old lady on the upper bunk quickly stuck her head out and looked down, her face full of gossip.

“I’m fine…”

Zhang Hongyan finally sat up, but she felt weak, unable to even hold the water bottle steady.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

Wang Shengli pouted, a little scared. Tang Wan saw her complexion and suspected she had heatstroke.

It wasn’t the hottest part of summer yet, but it was still hot, and they had been in a crowded train with many people.

It was common to get heatstroke in such a crowded and hot environment.

“Comrade, you must be hot. Drink some water.”

Tang Wan quickly stepped forward to help her hold the water bottle. After a few sips, Zhang Hongyan felt a cool wave flow into her stomach.

“Thank you, comrade.”

After speaking, she gasped for breath. She still looked weak, clearly suffering from severe heatstroke.

“Comrade, you probably have heatstroke. I’ll go get the conductor and see if there are any heatstroke medications on the train.”

Tang Wan knew medicine. Her family had a long history of medical knowledge, but in this era, it was a burden.

So she tried her best not to show her medical skills.

“No, no, thank you, comrade. I’ll be fine after resting for a while.”

Zhang Hongyan quickly stopped Tang Wan. This wasn’t the first time. She would be fine after resting. Why waste money?

Since she had already said that, Tang Wan didn’t want to push her further. She just nodded.

Just then, Lu Huaijing came back from the bathroom. He took out a lunchbox from his bag and said to Tang Wan,

“I’ll go get some food. Wake Zhou Zhou up and have him wash his face and eat.”

“Okay.”

Tang Wan had just agreed when Zhang Hongyan, on the opposite bunk, said a little embarrassedly, “Comrade, could you please get me a meal too? I’m not feeling well, and my son seems hungry.”

Speaking of which, Zhang Hongyan felt a little embarrassed, but her legs were weak.

She couldn’t walk that far, and she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her son alone.

“Sure.”

Lu Huaijing had heard Tang Wan’s conversation with her when he came back. He was afraid that Tang Wan would feel awkward, so he came back so quickly.

“Thank you.”

Zhang Hongyan took out two yuan and a food coupon and handed them to Lu Huaijing. He only took the money.

“I just went over there and checked. They don’t need food coupons. One yuan is enough.”

“Thank you.”

Zhang Hongyan was very grateful to Tang Wan and Lu Huaijing. She asked Shengli to take out an aluminum lunchbox from the bag.

Lu Huaijing turned to leave, but the old lady sitting on Zhang Hongyan’s bunk suddenly spoke,

“Young man, you’re going to get one anyway, why not get me one too? Get me a lunchbox as well.”

She handed her aluminum lunchbox to Lu Huaijing but didn’t give him any money. Her small eyes gleamed with cunning.

Tang Wan suddenly worried that the old lady was taking advantage of Lu Huaijing.

“Sorry, I can’t carry that much.”

Lu Huaijing wasn’t stupid. The old lady spoke with a strong voice and didn’t look like she needed help.

She clearly wanted to take advantage of him!

“Hey, why do you help her and not me?”

Qiu Dazao pointed at Lu Huaijing angrily. “Do you understand respect for the elderly and love for the young?”

Her voice was very loud, and it attracted the attention of the people in the nearby compartments, who stuck their heads out to watch.

Even Tang Zhou was woken up. He looked at the ferocious old lady with confusion.

“Huaijing, don’t forget to get water.”

Tang Wan took two army green water bags from her cloth bag. They actually had water in them.

But she just didn’t want the old lady to get her way.

Helping out was a favor, not an obligation.

“Okay.”

Lu Huaijing didn’t look at her. He turned and left. Qiu Dazao was so angry that she slapped the iron frame of the bed and yelled,

“Look, they’re bullying an old woman!”

“Comrade, my husband only has two hands, and he can’t carry that much. If you need a meal, I can help you call the conductor. Would that work?”

Tang Wan smiled politely, making the onlookers chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah. When it’s time for meals, the conductor will push a cart with food and sell it. You can wait.”

“They’re getting so much food, and you’re perfectly healthy. Why don’t you get it yourself?”

“…”

Zhang Hongyan felt a little embarrassed. It was all her fault that they were in trouble. She stood up, leaning on the bed.

“Comrade, I’ll go get it myself.”

“It’s okay.”

Lu Huaijing strode away. Zhang Hongyan apologized to Tang Wan,

“I’m sorry, comrade. I’m causing you trouble.”

“You know you’re causing trouble? Why are you out and about when you’re sick?”

Qiu Dazao clearly vented her anger on Zhang Hongyan. Zhang Hongyan wasn’t usually someone with a good temper.

But today, she was really uncomfortable. She looked at Qiu Dazao with difficulty. “Auntie, I’m not feeling well, so I asked the young comrade for help.”