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Chapter 320: Chapter 310 The Remarkable Old Lady on the Train (Part Three)
The child probably didn’t expect his grandma to hit him, and even though it didn’t hurt much, he couldn’t bear it. Clutching his little hand, he burst into tears with a loud wail.
The recently asleep Pangpang got frightened by the cry and also started wailing along.
Shen Yunfang’s heart ached terribly, and she quickly sat down, picked up Pangpang, and soothed him, "Pangpang, don’t be afraid, mommy is here, we’re not scared, no more crying, no more crying, mommy will pat you." She comforted him in a soft voice by his ear, gently patting the child’s little bottom over and over.
It took quite a while for Pangpang to stop crying with tears streaming down his face, hiccuping and looking up at his mother with pitiful little eyes, uttering two soft cries.
"Mommy knows, Pangpang got frightened, right? We’re not scared, with mommy here," Shen Yunfang saw the child opposite still wailing loudly and, fearing her son would get scared again, quickly rolled two paper balls and stuffed them into the child’s ears to block some of the noise. "Come on son, let mommy pat you, and let’s go back to sleep." Shen Yunfang put the child on the bed and tucked him in with the blanket.
Pangpang was already sleepy, and after crying for a bit, a few pats from her and the child drifted back to sleep.
At that moment, a quarrel broke out between the mother and daughter opposite, with the child’s mother blaming the grandma for hitting the child and making him cry. The grandma insisted, since the child soiled someone’s sheet, why couldn’t she give him a hit.
The mother and daughter disagreed and obstinately argued beside each other, letting their child continue to wail on his own.
Shen Yunfang frowned as she gathered her belongings on her bed, disregarding the claw mark, preparing to lie down and sleep as before. Those three people opposite were really something else; it was safer to just sleep.
"Can’t you soothe the child? Has the child been crying this long without you parents noticing, or do you not let others rest?" Someone in the same carriage could no longer stand the noise and loudly called out.
The old lady was very polite and quickly stood up, shouting toward the direction of the voice, "I’m sorry for disturbing everyone’s rest, the child’s tantrum is also an unavoidable matter, we’re all out and about, let’s be understanding of each other."
"It’s inevitable for a child to cry, but at this time, you adults should stop arguing and quickly soothe the child; that child has been crying for about ten minutes now, you all..." The voice spoke a few words, as if someone had stopped them, and did not continue, but the meaning was already clear.
The old lady turned around to look at Shen Yunfang, who was lying down, thinking she probably had to let go of that claw mark, she quickly picked up the child and paced up and down the aisle, bouncing him while incessantly saying, "Baby, stop crying, grandma was wrong, grandma shouldn’t have hit you, let’s stop crying, or you can hit grandma a few times."
Shen Yunfang listened and frowned deeply; if this child was left to be raised by the old woman, his temper probably wouldn’t improve. Of course, as it was, you could already tell the child had a difficult temperament.
A few minutes later, the child’s crying finally subsided, and the carriage once again became quiet. It wasn’t long before a chorus of snoring sounds emerged one after another.
Shen Yunfang hugged the child, always with her back turned away, and had no idea how the mother and daughter ended up. At nine o’clock, the carriage lights switched off, and the old woman’s intermittent noises finally ceased. Shen Yunfang closed her eyes and drifted off into a groggy sleep as well.
At five in the morning, Shen Yunfang woke up. She began packing up her things, as she would be getting off in half an hour. Although the weather was hot, the early morning temperature was still slightly cool. Shen Yunfang pulled out a small quilt from her pocket, ready to wrap another layer around the child.
"You’re getting off, aren’t you?" came the old lady’s voice from the middle bunk.
Shen Yunfang looked up to see that the old lady’s previously immaculate bun had come undone, and at a glance, it was genuinely scary. She quickly turned away and said, "Yes, when we stop I should get off."
"Let me come down and help you pack up."
"No need, no need, don’t trouble yourself to come down, ma’am. I don’t have much stuff, just a few things to tuck into my pocket and I’m good to go,"
"Then tidy up by yourself; I won’t be courteous anymore," said the old lady. Although she spoke such words, her eyes remained firmly fixed on Shen Yunfang’s every move. She probably worried that Shen Yunfang might sneak something away before she left. She was watching over her household items.
Shen Yunfang was relieved to see the old lady did not come down. She stood up, grabbed the jug from the aisle and took a few sips of water. Then she picked up Pangpang, who had not fully woken up yet. He opened his eyes and whimpered a little in her arms but did not cry.
"Son, we’re about to get off the train. Mommy is going to dress you now, you understand? No crying," Shen Yunfang said as she talked to her child while changing his clothes. She then wrapped him up in a blanket and, using a carrier, strapped the child to her chest again.
She quickly folded the quilt cover and bed sheet and stuffed them into her bag. Seeing that it was almost time, she made sure she had all her belongings, picked up the child, and gave one last wave to the old lady who had been staring at her from the bunk above before heading toward the door.
At 5:40 a.m., Shen Yunfang finally left the train station and headed straight to the long-distance bus station to her right front.
There were only three trips a day from the city to the county, and she needed to catch the one at 6:00 a.m.
Once on the bus, Pangpang woke up. Shen Yunfang let him loose and let him stand on her legs, pointing out the scenery outside to him.
Pangpang cooperated very well, exclaiming in surprise whenever he saw something novel, and Shen Yunfang patiently explained what it was. The journey of more than an hour was not boring at all; they arrived at their destination in the blink of an eye.
Shen Yunfang got off the bus with her child and luggage and said to her bewildered son, "Son, the last stretch of our journey we can only make on mommy’s legs. Right now, your mommy is carrying you, but when you grow up and mommy gets old, you’ll have to carry mommy, you understand?"
Pangpang uttered a couple of vague sounds, uncertain if he understood.
Shen Yunfang, with her child in tow, prepared to cross the street and then exit the county town, heading for Gaijiatun. But as they reached the Sihai Restaurant, she was surprised to find that such an early establishment was already open; she then realized that the best state-owned restaurant in the county also served breakfast.
Shen Yunfang toucher her stomach, which had already caved in; the last meal she’d had was at 4 p.m. the day before, and by now her stomach was completely empty. She stepped into the restaurant without hesitation.
For breakfast, there wasn’t much choice, so she ordered five fried dough sticks, a bowl of soy milk, and a dish of pickles, and began to eat. After polishing off everything on her own, under the incredulous and disdainful gaze of the waiter, she walked out of the restaurant with her son, unperturbed.
Being able to eat well was a good thing—not only did she give the restaurant business, but that waiter’s mindset was just too backward.
Having finished her breakfast, Shen Yunfang carried her child and her things and continued walking along the road towards Gaijiatun.
After about an hour’s walk, more people began to appear on the road, and seeing the direction they were headed, Shen Yunfang remembered that today was the market day for Wuxing Brigade, which meant Uncle Yougen might likely be on his way driving the horse cart to pick up people.
Suddenly, Shen Yunfang realized she hadn’t bought anything to bring back. It wouldn’t be proper to show up at her uncle’s or Dashuan’s home empty-handed. Maybe she should go to the market and at least buy some candies or cookies, to hand out to the children if nothing else. She might also run into Uncle Yougen; if he was there, she could hitch a ride and not have to walk the rest of the way.
Having made up her mind, Shen Yunfang took a turn at the junction and headed towards the headquarters of Wuxing Brigade.
