Chapter 14A: Island Life About to Begin

Lu Wei led Ye Zhi and little Ye Xiaoding onto the green-skin train. This time, they were taking a train from Shanghai to Guangzhou. The train was already quite crowded, packed with passengers shoulder to shoulder.

The tall Lu Wei walked ahead carrying the luggage, glancing back from time to time to check on Ye Zhi and Ye Xiaoding, worried they might fall behind.

Ye Zhi held onto Ye Xiaoding with one hand and carried his luggage with the other.

She didn’t dare stray too far from Lu Wei—she practically walked pressed up against his back.

Trains in the 1970s were like Spring Festival rush season—packed—and every passenger carried loads of baggage.

Sometimes the crowd became so tight that Ye Zhi had to reach out and tug on Lu Wei’s coat hem to keep from getting lost.

Lu Wei had just told her which car they were heading to, but with the overwhelming crowd and the cacophony of unfamiliar dialects around, she hadn’t caught a word. Now she was completely in the dark—not even sure which car or seat they were supposed to go to.

After pushing through several cars, the noise began to die down. They had reached the sleeper car.

Just then, Lu Wei turned back to Ye Zhi and said, “Just one more car. Stay close.”

Ye Zhi replied, “Mm, just go ahead—we’re right behind you.”

They continued forward. When they reached their car, Lu Wei stopped in front of one of the sleeper compartments, checking the number on the ticket in his hand.

Ye Zhi also glanced at the ticket—it matched.

However, on their sleeper bunk, a woman was already lying down, legs stretched out, eyes closed, completely relaxed.

Ye Zhi looked at Lu Wei, who wore a resigned expression, as if this wasn’t the first time he’d encountered something like this.

She stepped forward and called, “Auntie, you’re in the wrong seat.”

The woman gave a dismissive grunt but didn’t open her eyes—she even turned away.

Ye Zhi wasn’t one to put up with this kind of behavior. Not only did sleeper tickets in this era require an official referral—courtesy of Lu Wei—but they were expensive.

And they were about to spend a whole day and night on this train. How could they just give up their seats?

Seeing that no other passengers had yet arrived in their compartment, Ye Zhi tapped the metal bunk frame, producing a sharp, jarring noise.

While not especially loud in the large train car, the sound was quite piercing within the small sleeper compartment.

The woman groaned, “Oh heavens—what are you doing? My ears!”

Ye Zhi cleared her throat and smiled politely. “Auntie, this is our sleeper berth. You’re in the wrong spot.”

The woman grumbled, clearly annoyed. “Young lady, I won’t lie to you. My back and legs are bad, and I got knocked in the waist when I got on the train—hurts so bad I can hardly move. You two young and strong ones can surely manage in a seat. Us old bones can’t take it. Why don’t you give this berth to me instead?”

Ye Zhi smiled calmly and nudged Ye Xiaoding, who was sitting on the luggage. “Auntie, I’d love to help you, but look at my nephew here. He’s been having stomach pains all morning—nearly fainted from the diarrhea. He can barely walk.”

Right on cue, Ye Xiaoding weakly clung to Ye Zhi’s leg and whined pitifully, “Auntie, I wanna sleep…”

The woman’s face soured, but she glanced at the tickets in their hands and said, “You’ve only got two sleeper tickets for three people, right? How about this—let this soldier here switch with me? You two can share a berth.”

She looked expectantly at Lu Wei in his military uniform, clearly practiced in this sort of negotiation.

If Lu Wei said no, she’d likely raise a scene loud enough to embarrass him out of the car.

Suddenly, Ye Xiaoding groaned again. “Oh no, Auntie! You can’t! My aunt’s got a baby in her belly—not even three months yet. Gotta take real good care of her!”

“Ohhh… Auntie, my tummy hurts again…”

Lu Wei nodded. “Yeah, I need to look after my wife.”

Even if there wasn’t really a baby, there was no way he’d let Ye Zhi and Xiaoding stay here alone.

So it wasn’t exactly a lie.

The woman’s face instantly turned awkward. Faced with one old, two frail—she couldn’t really justify forcing them to switch.

Ye Zhi smiled even more brightly and said, “Auntie, I was going to call a conductor over to check on the ticket situation, but we just arrived and they’re all busy. I didn’t want to trouble them over such a small thing. But since it looks like you’re not feeling well either, and there might still be empty berths, how about I get the conductor to help you buy another sleeper ticket? That way you can rest more comfortably too.”

Then, Ye Zhi turned to Lu Wei beside her and said, “Comrade Lu, please call the conductor and ask them to get this auntie a sleeper ticket.”