NOVPUB
Chapter 106: Chapter 102 Train
A week before the New Year, Shen Yunfang packed her things, preparing to visit relatives with a load of big bottles and small jars on her back.
"You can leave with peace of mind, I’ll definitely take good care of your home," Dashuan’s wife promised.
Currently, someone needed to be at home at all times, and by rights, Yunfang couldn’t leave, but she also wanted to take this opportunity to visit the big city, and the letters from Li Hongjun were urgent. So after weighing her options, she decided to go, entrusting her home affairs to the care of Dashuan and his wife.
Yunfang’s hens were in their prime laying season, requiring daily egg collection in the morning and feeding in the evening. There were also mushrooms and earthworms in the western room needing care, and the house needed a constant fire, necessitating someone to watch over it at all times.
Logically, when she was away, the first thought would be to ask relatives for help. Yunfang had a good relationship with her uncle’s family, but remembering last year’s incident of entrusting the chickens to Aunt Shen, she dismissed the idea and felt more at ease leaving everything to Dashuan and his wife.
"Sister-in-law, thank you for putting in the effort with Brother Dashuan," Yunfang sincerely expressed her gratitude. Taking care of her home and looking after the chickens was no simple task. Just keeping the fire going was exhausting—needing to add wood every hour, day and night without respite.
"Don’t talk like that. Watching your house is no trouble at all, and besides, you’re paying. Even if it were tough, I’d still be happy to do it. You go without worries. When you come back, not a single hen will be missing," Dashuan’s wife said with a laugh.
"Mm, I trust you to work diligently, sister-in-law. Well, I’m off then. Uncle Yougen is waiting for me."
Ever since the last trip they took to the county together for a good meal, Yunfang and Uncle Yougen had established a foundational revolutionary friendship. Now, with Yunfang going to visit the troops, before Shen Yougen had even uttered a word, he volunteered to take her by horse cart to the county to catch a bus.
"What are you bringing for your guy? You sure brought a lot," Uncle Yougen teased, looking at the basket on Yunfang’s back.
Yunfang spoke openly, "I didn’t bring much, just some homemade wine, pickles, and such."
"You know how to brew wine yourself?" Uncle Yougen, a big drinker himself, perked up at the mention of homemade wine.
"Yeah, but I can only brew a little for home, nothing special," said Yunfang modestly.
Then, the two of them chatted about wine brewing all the way, and Yunfang promised to invite Uncle Yougen over for a drink once she returned, which had him laughing heartily.
Shen Yougen directly took Yunfang to the bus station in the county and, after watching her board the bus, headed back home.
Meanwhile, Yunfang, after a bumpy ride on the bus to the city, proceeded to the train station to buy a train ticket. At that time, there were only a few trains going north, just one, boarding at six in the evening and arriving the next morning at five.
With the short daylight in winter, it was dark outside by four-thirty, so Yunfang didn’t dare wander around and sat quietly in the train station waiting for her train.
Perhaps because there was still some time before the New Year, the train wasn’t crowded. Yunfang’s seat was a two-seat spot by the aisle, which was fine. Although she couldn’t sleep on the small table overnight, being away from the drafty window was a bonus.
The train windows at the time were not sealed, not an issue during the day, but at night, if you were sitting by the window, the cold wind would whistle in relentlessly.
Sitting next to Yunfang was a man in his forties dressed in a Zhongshan suit, looking quite refined with a briefcase on his lap, likely on a business trip. Across from them sat three generations, two elders with a child traveling together.
The little boy, probably around four or five years old and wearing a padded floral jacket, didn’t require a ticket and was held in his grandfather’s arms.
As soon as the train started moving, the child opposite began shouting to his grandparents that he was hungry and wanted to eat. The elderly woman then pulled out a bag from under the seat, rummaged through it, and took out a white flatbread and two tea eggs. She also grabbed a tea cup, got some hot water, soaked the flatbread with it, and the three began to eat together.
Shen Yunfang watched others eat and couldn’t help but feel her own stomach start to growl. She had eaten a meal at home in the morning, and by noon, she was on the bus where she quickly ate a bun to get by. When she got to the train station, she was so busy that she didn’t have a chance to eat, and now she was really hungry.
However, she didn’t have a bag, so she had to take off her shoes, stand on her seat, and reach into her backpack on the luggage rack to get something out.
She took out three oil paper wraps and a big tea jar.
She opened one of the oil paper wraps and scooped several spoonfuls of oil tea flour into the big tea jar then rewrapped the oil paper neatly before standing up to fetch some boiling water.
The oil tea flour was fried by her at home, to which she added peanuts, sesame seeds, and sugar. She had Xiaojuan, that girl from home, taste it, and she received a very good review.
There was quite a line for boiling water, and Shen Yunfang had to wait for quite a while before it was her turn.
The hot water hit the oil tea flour, and its aroma immediately began to spread, causing those around who were getting water to sniff the air and quietly mutter about what smelled so delicious.
Shen Yunfang carefully covered the lid then returned to her seat.
She opened the other two oil paper wraps and took out a steamed bun and a section of air-dried sausage.
The air-dried sausage was something she had handmade at home using pork and intestines, specially for convenience on her trip. As making it was a laborious process, she didn’t make much.
The steamed bun, accompanied by the sausage, along with the steaming hot oil tea flour - Shen Yunfang’s provisions probably topped everyone else’s in the entire carriage.
"Hey, young lady, what are you eating?" The old woman sitting opposite her couldn’t help but ask.
Only then did Shen Yunfang look up and notice that everyone around was watching her eat, even the child across from her who had been eating, was staring at her with eager eyes.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Shen Yunfang let out a chuckle and then said, "Granny, this is sausage I made myself. Here, let the child have a taste."
The air-dried sausage made by Shen Yunfang was done in the northern style, fat as a water pipe and long as a palm, stuffed with large chunks of meat and quite substantial. Shen Yunfang didn’t like the kind that was too hard, so after stuffing, she hung them outside for just two days before cooking and storing them. So despite being air-dried, the sausage was hard only on the outside, tolerable inside.
Since Shen Yunfang had bitten it from the top, she broke off a piece about the length of a finger from the bottom and handed it over.
"Oh, no, no need, I was just curious." The old woman hastily declined, but the baby on her lap didn’t hesitate at all, reaching out its hands to take the sausage piece that Shen Yunfang offered.
"Oh, you child," the old woman said with a helpless look on her face. She wanted to take the sausage away and give it back, but was afraid that would be rude, especially since her child’s hands, which had been grabbing this and that just moments before, weren’t exactly clean. Moreover, seeing the child eagerly stuffing the sausage into its mouth, her heart softened.
"It’s fine, the child is young. If they want to eat, let them have some, it’s okay." Shen Yunfang smiled, watching the child across from her struggling to gnaw on the somewhat hard sausage with its tiny teeth. She always had a soft spot for children.
Suddenly, she heard a grumbling sound and turned to see the middle-aged person next to her with an embarrassed expression, "Haha, your food is simply too good."
Shen Yunfang silently broke off another piece of the air-dried sausage and handed it over, "Here, don’t mind, have a taste. It’s homemade."
