Saving Someone 

It was incredibly difficult for her to go to Shanghai alone. 

First, she had no money. Then, there were no tickets available. 

She went to look for Zhao Shengli. After hearing her story, Zhao Shengli tried to talk her out of it. “I’m telling you, don’t go. What if you end up seeing those two holding hands, even kissing? Wouldn’t that break your heart?” 

“He’s not that kind of person.” 

“Men know men best. Let me ask you this, do you think that female educated youth is pretty?” 

“She is.” 

After all, she was the original female protagonist. How could she not be pretty? 

“Well, that’s it then. Men have no resistance to women who throw themselves at them, especially when they’re fellow townspeople and both educated…” Seeing how pitiful Lin Miaoyin looked, he sighed and said, “Alright, alright, I won’t say more. I’ll lend you thirty yuan, and I’ll figure out the train ticket. Come find me in three days.” 

“Okay, thank you so much.” Lin Miaoyin was grateful. 

“Sigh, just draw me a few more design to thank me. That bag from last time sold really well.” 

“Sure, after the New Year, I’ll draw you a bunch.” 

When she got home, she didn’t tell anyone. She ate and slept on her own, quietly waited for three days, then got the train ticket. It was for the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, the last train—meaning she had two days left. 

She still wrote a letter, and in the early morning, passed by the Lin family house and slipped it under the gate, then left with her bag. 

She only brought a few dozen yuan, some ration tickets, two sets of clothes, a pair of shoes, and some toiletries. 

She arrived in the county at 11 a.m., ate a little, and went to the train station. It was around 1 p.m. when she boarded the train. 

She had a seat ticket. The trip to Shanghai would take over ten hours. 

The train ride was boring, but thankfully she had brought a book she had once bought for Meng Yuanzheng. 

The carriage was noisy and filled with unpleasant smells. 

This was her first solo trip since arriving in this world. Her first time taking a green train. It was all quite novel to her. 

The train clattered to life and began its journey. 

After five or six hours, the train made a stop for passengers to get on and off. 

The passengers sitting opposite her changed, and a young couple came aboard holding a baby. 

At first, nothing seemed unusual. But after an hour or two, the baby woke up and started crying—it was clearly either wet or hungry. 

In her past life, Lin Miaoyin had helped raise her younger siblings, so she knew a little about this. 

But the couple only kept trying to soothe the baby, rocking and shushing, without checking the diaper or trying to feed it. 

Looking at their clothes, they seemed ordinary. They carried a large black bag, and the cloth wrapped around the baby was of decent quality. 

Normally, at this time, baby carriers were common. Most long-distance travelers at the station had one. But this couple didn’t. 

Lin Miaoyin grew suspicious and quietly observed them. 

The baby wouldn’t calm down and kept crying. The couple grew anxious, but she could tell they weren’t worried about the baby’s health. They were worried the crying would draw attention. 

The baby cried so hard its little face turned red. It was heartbreaking. 

Lin Miaoyin couldn’t watch anymore. She set down her book and said, “Is your baby feeling unwell?” 

The couple froze. The man shot her a cold look. The woman quickly said, “Yes, she seems hungry. I’ll take her to feed.” 

Lin Miaoyin frowned. “Babies don’t cry this badly just from hunger. Shouldn’t you check if the baby pooped or is feeling uncomfortable? Or maybe the baby has gas?” 

The woman hesitated and looked at the man. He glared at Lin Miaoyin. “We know how to take care of our child. Mind your own business.” 

She shrugged and didn’t say anything more. 

After a while, she left her seat pretending to go to the bathroom but actually found a train attendant to report the situation. 

At that time, child trafficking was taken very seriously. The attendant immediately informed the conductor, who then called the railway police. 

The conductor told her not to panic and to return as if nothing had happened, so as not to alarm the traffickers. Ensuring the child’s safety was top priority. 

Lin Miaoyin returned like nothing had happened and sat down to continue reading. 

She didn’t know what the couple did, but they eventually got the baby to sleep. 

However, things felt increasingly wrong. Two or three more hours passed. It was now deep into the night, and the baby hadn’t woken once. Had they drugged the baby? 

She glanced at the baby, fury rising in her chest, but she still had to pretend nothing was wrong. 

She couldn’t focus on her book anymore. The lights in the carriage were dim. She leaned against the window and dozed off. 

At dawn the next day, the train finally pulled into Shanghai Station. 

Lin Miaoyin stood, grabbed her bag, deliberately unzipped it and dropped her things to block the couple’s path. 

“Oh no, my clothes!” She squatted down and clumsily picked things up, intentionally refusing to move so the two were stuck. 

Other passengers slowly got off with their luggage. The train crew had already prepared. 

“Hurry up!” the couple snapped. 

“Almost done, almost done,” Lin Miaoyin replied, still moving slowly. 

“Let us through!” 

“Why are you in such a rush? It’s the final stop. The train isn’t leaving right away,” she said, pretending to be difficult. “What if you step on my clothes and ruin them? Will you pay for them?” 

The woman looked down at her shabby rural clothes and sneered, “Country bumpkin, how much are your ragged clothes even worth?” 

“Huh? What did you say?” Lin Miaoyin stood up and argued back, “Don’t you know everyone is equal? What else would us workers and peasants wear if not these?” 

“I don’t want to argue with you. Move!” 

Lin Miaoyin glanced around and saw the carriage was nearly empty. She picked up her bag. “Alright, alright. Let’s go.” 

The couple glared at her and headed for the door. She followed behind. 

As soon as they got off the train, a small team of police officers appeared. 

“Don’t move!” 

“Ah!” The woman screamed in fright and accidentally let go of the baby. 

Lin Miaoyin reacted instinctively. She lunged forward and caught the child, but landed heavily on the ground. Even with several layers of clothing, her elbow and face were scraped badly and started bleeding. 

Fortunately, the child was still safe in her arms, just frightened and crying loudly. 

She immediately began gently rocking and comforting the child. 

The couple had already been subdued and handcuffed by the police. 

The railway police and the train conductor came over. While someone was instructed to carry the child away for a check-up to ensure there were no issues, they led Lin Miaoyin to the medical room and helped carry her luggage. 

“Comrade, you handled this situation remarkably well. You helped catch human traffickers and saved a child’s life. Truly outstanding! You deserve to be commended!” 

Lin Miaoyin’s arm throbbed with pain, almost to the point of cramping. Her face was pale as she replied, “This was something I had to do. By the way, I think those two traffickers gave the child some kind of drug on the train. Please make sure to check that. Also, they boarded at Wuzhou Station, so the child might be from Wuzhou too.” 

The police looked at her with even more admiration. “Don’t worry, our comrades will take care of everything. For now, getting you to the medical room is the priority.” 

After being examined in the medical room, it turned out she only had some scrapes, which were cleaned and bandaged. 

The police could tell she wasn’t a local—she looked like she came from some remote rural area—so they asked why she was in the city. 

Lin Miaoyin’s heart sank. Zhao Shengli had helped her get this ticket, and without an introduction letter, it was technically an unauthorized ride. 

“I’m here to find a relative. He’s in Shanghai,” she answered simply. 

But the police were very enthusiastic. “Have you been to Shanghai before? Do you know your way around? Where does he live? If not, we can take you there.” 

Lin Miaoyin was secretly pleased. She had no idea how to find Meng Yuanzheng. 

“I only know he used to live in the military district compound. I figure I can ask around once I get there.” 

“That’s pretty close. Come with me.” 

On the way to get the car, the police told her this incident came with a reward and asked her to leave an address so it could be mailed to her later. 

Lin Miaoyin gave the address of Houtouwan. 

The police arranged for a driver to take her to the military district compound. 

Along the way, she looked out the window and saw that Shanghai was already full of tall buildings. Although it wasn’t as prosperous as it would be in the future, it was already decently developed. 

Getting into the military district compound was usually difficult, but since she was in a police vehicle, it was much easier. After a check, they let her in. 

As soon as she entered, she saw an older woman sweeping the grounds. Lin Miaoyin stepped forward and asked, “Auntie, do you know where Meng Changde’s family lives?” 

The woman’s face immediately changed, her gaze turning sideways. “What’s your relation to that family?” 

“I’m his daughter-in-law.” 

“Daughter-in-law?” 

“Yes, I married Meng Yuanzheng when he was sent to the countryside.” 

“Then why don’t you ask your husband?” 

“Well… it’s a long story.” 

The old woman snorted through her nose and kept sweeping. “They moved out a while ago. Go look for them in Duo’er Alley.” 

“Thank you, Auntie, thank you.” Lin Miaoyin thanked her and left. 

The old woman gripped the broom and muttered, “That Yuanzheng is pretty good-looking. How’d he end up with a wife like that without telling anyone?”