NOVPUB
Chapter 254: Chapter 254 Where Have You Come Back From?
In the blink of an eye, the day to return home had arrived. Tong Yao had booked three train tickets for the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month. Before the milk tea shop went on vacation, she gave each of the staff members a red envelope containing ten yuan, which moved a few of the staff members to tears.
Ten yuan might not mean much to a wealthy person, but for their financially struggling families back in the village, it equated to two to three months of household living expenses.
All the vegetables and grains in the village were grown in their own fields, and under the daily frugality in which they scarcely had meat to consume, they didn’t need a lot of money. With Tong Yao’s ten yuan, they could buy a few kilograms of meat for their families for the New Year.
The modest sum finally gave them a small way to repay the labor and sacrifice of their parents, who had been their providers since birth.
*
Early in the morning of the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, Tong Yao and the others set off on the train returning to Li City. In these times, everyone adhered to the phrase - whether they’re rich or poor, people wish to return home to celebrate the New Year. Despite how their year looked, everyone wanted to have a reunion year at home.
Even if their rural hometown had muddy roads and lacked urban prosperity, the longing for their hometowns and loved ones stimulated their brains, making them eager to reunite with their families.
There were numerous people traveling home for the New Year and the railway station was crowded, particularly the hard seats section of the carriages. The crowded alleyways were so saturated they were suffocating.
In comparison, the sleeper cars were simply heaven on earth. Tong Yao’s bed was the bottom bunk, Si Chen’s was the middle bunk across from her, and Si Boyi occupied the middle bunk next door. Si Chen and Gu Hongwei did not feel sleepiness despite their positions. Both were lost in thought, staring out the window at the scenery rushing by, listening to the rumble of the train, and wondering what was going through their minds.
Meanwhile, not long after getting on the train, Tong Yao fell into a deep sleep. The rocking train easily induced sleep, and she was awakened only after they reached Li City.
Though they had no heating in the train, it was still a confined space and fairly warm under the blankets. However, once they left the train, they felt like they had fallen into an ice pit from the cold.
Snowflakes were falling from the sky and seemed to find their way into everyone’s necklines, as if they had eyes. Tong Yao shivered, and Si Chen wrapped a thick scarf around her neck. Although she looked like a teddy bear, the tightly wrapped scarf did provide some relief from the cold.
The final stop of the train was Li City. Everyone on board was eager to get off and the crowd was buzzing with the joy of returning home. They joined their waiting loved ones, laughing all the way out of the station.
The three of them followed the crowd outside the station. Due to the late hour and heavy snow, which made it inconvenient to travel back to the village, they had originally planned to stay in Li City for the night until they ran into Zhang Lijuan’s uncle.
Speaking of which, Zhang’s Uncle was also a money-minded person. Seeing the large number of people returning for the New Year, he thought of using his three-wheeled motor vehicle to transport people home from out of town.
His vehicle could carry more than ten people, or even twenty if they squeezed in, and he charged each person fifty cents to a yuan as a fare based on the distance. He could earn over ten yuan per journey, and if he made several trips a day, he could make quite a lot of money.
After finishing one round of transportation, he stumbled upon Si Chen and the others. Since both families were soon to become in-laws, Zhang’s Uncle was very enthusiastic and insisted on driving them home himself. Considering that the roads would be even harder to traverse with the heavy snowfall expected overnight, the three of them decided to ride back to the village in the three-wheeled vehicle.
Zhang’s Uncle had also picked up other passengers. Including the three of them, there were a total of thirteen people on board. With small stools provided for seating in the vehicle, everyone was packed tightly, but it was certainly warmer than being outside.
Si Chen kept Tong Yao protected by his side so the others could not crowd her. As the snow was heavy, Si Chen was concerned that Tong Yao might develop a headache from the cold wind. He therefore wrapped her forehead tightly with a scarf so that she resembled a Northeastern auntie. Tong Yao hadn’t seen herself in a mirror, but thought she must have looked hilarious.
As nightfall approached, snow continued to flutter down from the sky, covering the ground in a blanket of white that glowed under the moonlight. Everyone’s heads were also covered in white and they had to lower their eyes from the wind, tucking their hands into their sleeves to stay warm.
The sound of the motor vehicle was loud, but it couldn’t suppress their joyful spirits. The other passengers soon fell into conversation, ranging from where they had returned from, to which villages they hailed from and where they worked. Some even started boasting without reason. Eventually, the conversation turned toward Tong Yao and the others.
"Where are you guys returning from?"
"Kyoto," Si Chen replied coolly.
"Kyoto?" The questioner expressed surprise. "The wages there must be quite high, right? Kyoto is definitely more developed than here."
A man in his twenties joined in, "No kidding, I heard things are expensive there. Over there, the price of a plain steamed bun is even higher than a meat bun here."
This redirected the conversation to the subject of Kyoto. They began discussing the prosperity of big cities, and later the virtues of home. They appreciated the simplicity of their families and the people, and soon forgot about Tong Yao and the others.
Everyone present understood that no matter how wonderful the outside world is, if it weren’t for making their families’ lives better, no one would want to leave home.
While money may be easier to earn outside, many people inexplicably went missing after leaving, as if they had evaporated from the earth...
Compared to others, Gu Hongwei was somewhat lightly dressed. He kept his head down and didn’t utter a word, as the cold caused his nose to run incessantly. He pursed his lips and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
The vehicle’s speed was not fast, especially due to the slick roads caused by the snowfall, forcing Zhang’s Uncle to drive even slower. Despite the insulating layer of his thick hat, his cheeks were freezing. Nevertheless, he didn’t appear to be suffering. While chewing on a homemade cigarette, he mentioned,
"Thank goodness it’s snowing, if it were raining, we wouldn’t be able to drive on these roads. You guys would have to walk all the way from town. Once the snow stops and the roads freeze over a bit, I’ll be able to pick up more passengers from town. When the ice melts at noon, it’s impossible to drive, so you guys got pretty lucky. In previous years, there wasn’t even a bullock cart to ride back in."
Normally, people rely on bullock carts for travel to the city. Though the pace was slow, the carts could carry goods, save the hassle of walking, and weren’t tiring. Consequently, these carts were the preferred mode of transportation for those heading into the city for work. Even families with bicycles found them inconvenient, as they had nowhere to park in the city.
"Absolutely! Thanks to you, otherwise we wouldn’t have known how to get back. Staying in a hotel during heavy snowfall costs quite a lot of money for just one night," One man near the driver’s seat chimed in agreement.
His words cheered up Zhang’s Uncle, who then took the opportunity to advertise, "After the New Year, I’ll still be making trips to the city for a while. So, if you guys need a ride, just wait on the way to town. I start picking up passengers for the railway station at 7 am."
Despite his limited education, Zhang’s Uncle had a bright mind!
Now he was bringing people home for the New Year. Once it was over, won’t these people be going out again? At that point, he would have another windfall.
