Chapter 59: Argument

The conductor, seeing that everyone had boarded, said, “Everyone who got on, please buy your tickets.”

After everyone had bought their tickets, the conductor shouted, “The road isn’t very good, so everyone hold on tight, sit properly, and protect any fragile items.”

The road to the city was still a dirt road, with dust flying outside, so the windows couldn’t be opened. Occasionally, there were bumpy sections, making it inevitable for the ride to be jarring.

Two women sitting together at the front began to argue because they bumped into each other during the ride.

“Why are you bumping into me? Look, you’ve broken my eggs.”

“Is the bumpy ride my fault?”

“But it was you who bumped into me and broke my eggs. I don’t care, you have to compensate me. Otherwise, what will I take to my aunt in the city?”

“How is that my problem? She’s your aunt, not mine.”

“Why are you being so unreasonable?”

“I already told you, the car jolted, and I couldn’t sit still, so I bumped into your eggs. If you want to blame someone, blame the driver for not driving properly.”

Everyone in the vehicle was speechless!

At this point, the conductor chimed in, “How can you blame the driver for this? Ma’am, you’re incredible. If everyone were like you, how would our drivers do their jobs, and how would you even take this bus?

This bus belongs to the commune, and our driver treasures it. He makes two round trips between the county and the city every day and knows this road like the back of his hand.

The road we just came through was full of potholes. If you think you can drive it without bumps, be my guest. Whether or not you compensate for the broken eggs, you should at least apologize first. And now you want the driver to compensate you?”

After being scolded by the conductor, the older woman quieted down and pretended to sleep with her eyes closed. Some passengers couldn’t stand it anymore.

A woman sitting next to her said, “Sister, what you’re doing is not right. This issue hasn’t been resolved yet, and your attitude is a problem. Which village are you from?”

The woman, realizing she couldn’t get away with pretending to sleep, quickly said, “I admit I was wrong. After all, I did break her eggs. But it was because of the bumpy ride that I couldn’t sit still.”

The conductor then asked, “How many eggs of yours got broken, ma’am?”

The older woman said, “Six of them broke. My aunt is in the hospital, and these eggs were supposed to be a supplement for her. Now six of them are broken. How am I supposed to explain this?”

She then began to cry.

Everyone on the bus looked at the woman in front. Realizing she had no grounds, she pulled out thirty cents from her pocket and tossed it at the older woman.

In a harsh tone, she said, “Stop crying. It’s as if I’m bullying you. It’s just six eggs. I’ll compensate you. What bad luck.”

Seeing that she was compensated, the older woman stopped crying, and the other passengers turned their attention away and stopped getting involved.

Luo Qiao thought that as life got better, incidents like today’s wouldn’t happen again. Poverty was the root cause of such troubles; after all, eggs were still a precious commodity.

The bus arrived in the city at 8:30 in the morning. The conductor reminded everyone that the return trip was at noon. If they missed that, there would be another bus at 5 PM. Anyone planning to return should remember this.

The original Luo Qiao had little impression of this place because shortly after she was born, she was relocated by the Luo family. After being rehabilitated and returning to the city, she only stayed in Ji City for a short time before being sent back to Qingshan Village.

In the story, the original Luo Qiao never had a good day in her life. Switched at birth, no one in the Luo family, except the late Grandma Luo, truly cared for her. Even in her final days, she was still worried about the original owner Luo Qiao.