Siheyuan's Journey Through the Ages

Chapter 31 Preparation for Multiple Attacks
Ma Qing naturally did what he said. He first went to the street office to get a letter of introduction in the name of visiting relatives. In this era, you can't go anywhere without this thing. Then he exchanged all his food coupons for this month and next month for food, a total of 30 kilograms. Ma Qing had no choice. On the one hand, he couldn't find a way to exchange for national food coupons, and on the other hand, he didn't want to beg for help for this matter. Ma Qing prepared two identical backpacks, one backpack contained food and his summer clothes, and the other backpack contained his parents' winter clothes.

On August 1st, Ma Qing put all the valuable things in the house into the space, including more than 50 cans of food.

He also placed the backpack containing his parents' winter clothes in the space. Ma Qing went out with the backpack containing food and his own summer clothes and happened to meet Xu Damao.

"Ma'er, where are you going with your bag?"

"Brother Damao, my aunt wrote to me and asked me to go visit her. I missed her for so long. Now that I've been admitted to a technical secondary school, it's a good opportunity for me to go visit her. I ran into you when I came out. Please help me look after my family while I'm away."

"You've been admitted to a technical secondary school. You have a promising future. You're better than your brother Damao. It's better to study," Xu Damao came over and grabbed Ma Qing's backpack. "Hey, what are you carrying? It's so heavy."

"One month's rations. Brother Damao, you know that in the current situation, if I don't bring my own rations, even if my aunt's family can support me, I will feel bad. Besides, if I don't buy food this month, it will expire. I will bring it with me, and I will feel good."

"You are thoughtful, kid. Okay, your brother Damao has a bicycle and will take you to the station." Xu Damao put Ma Qing's backpack on his bicycle rack and walked out of the yard without waiting for Ma Qing to say anything. Ma Qing had to follow him. When passing by the yard, he greeted the neighbors and told them that he was going to visit relatives in the Northeast and hoped that the neighbors would look after his home.

Ma Qing sat on the back seat of Xu Damao's bicycle and arrived at Sijiucheng East Station. In fact, Sijiucheng Station is the closest to Nanluoguxiang, but Sijiucheng Station has not been repaired yet and will not be open to traffic until September this year, so the train to the Northeast must be boarded at Sijiucheng East Station.

Ma Qing had to admire the people of this era. Xu Damao took Ma Qing, such a big boy, on a bicycle for such a long time, and when they arrived at the station, he sent Ma Qing to the station without taking a breath. The city in August was already very hot, let alone the train station. Ma Qing quickly ran to the store in the station to buy two bottles of soda, and thanked Xu Damao sincerely when he handed them to him.

"You are a good boy, unlike Sha Zhu. If you help him, he won't say a word." Sha Zhu might be Xu Damao's destined nemesis. Xu Damao would mention Sha Zhu's name whenever he had the chance, so naturally and smoothly. "Ma'er, where is your aunt's house? How long does it take to take the train?"

"My aunt is from JL City, Jilin Province. I will go to Changchun first and then transfer to Jilin. The train takes about 20 hours to reach Changchun." Ma Qing took out the hard-shell train ticket he had bought, and saw that the front of the ticket said "Sijiucheng to Changchun" with a red bar in the middle (indicating an express train). The back of the ticket said the fare was 16.23 yuan, the express fare was 3.25 yuan, and the insurance premium was 0.32 yuan. Ma Qing spent 19.8 yuan when he bought the ticket, which was equivalent to a month's salary for an average factory apprentice.

"That's a long time, enough for you to suffer. Did you buy a hard seat or a sleeper?"

Ma Qing took a big sip of soda and said, "I didn't buy a sleeper berth. When I went to buy the ticket, my train was to Harbin, and the sleeper berths were basically sold to the terminal station, so I had to buy a hard seat. There was no other way, I had to endure it. Brother Damao, why don't you go back first? The train won't leave for more than an hour."

"It's okay. I'm free anyway, so I'll stay with you for a while. I'll send you to the car and then go back."

"That would be too much trouble for you."

"It's okay. You're a promising and loyal boy. I'm willing to help." Xu Damao is indeed a bit utilitarian, but he's an okay person. There's nothing wrong with making a casual acquaintance with him.

"Brother Damao, have you found any girls recently?" Ma Qing started a conversation. "I have found one recently, but it's a bit difficult. But I have seen that the girls in Red Star Factory have higher standards than each other. It's difficult."

"That's right. The girls from the Red Star Factory have golden rice bowls, so they must find golden chopsticks to go with them. Don't keep staring at the girls from our factory. Look around for them."

"Hey, that won't do. If you're going to find someone, then find the best. How can I, Xu Damao, be any worse than that?"

"That's definitely not bad, it must be that your skills in finding a wife are too poor."

"Hey, you look down on people, let me tell you..." Xu Damao got really excited and started to brag about how he galloped in the love field and fought his way in.

Time always passes quickly when people are bragging. Xu Damao took Ma Qing's backpack and sent Ma Qing to the train. Ma Qing also gave his meat ticket for this month to Xu Damao. It would expire anyway, so he might as well do him a favor.

"I'll go back first. Be careful on the road." Xu Damao patted Ma Qing on the shoulder, turned and left.

Ma Qing sat in his seat, looked up at his luggage and smiled bitterly in his heart. Why was it always so difficult to implement his plans? He prepared two pieces of luggage in case someone would help him when he was discharged from the hospital. He had planned to find a place to change to a lighter luggage after leaving the hospital, but he met Xu Damao when he went out and he was sent directly to the train.

Perhaps because the train ticket price is not cheap and economic activities are not active, the train does not seem particularly crowded at this time. Everyone has a seat, and those who don’t have a seat stand at the front of the train.

As soon as the passengers get on the carriage, they start eating melon seeds, playing cards, drinking tea, or chatting, as if they are all on vacation, creating an orderly and lively scene.

Ma Qing twisted his butt. The hardwood seat was as hard as a rock, and his butt would never get better during this journey.

Ma Qing was lucky and bought a window seat. Next to him sat a middle-aged man who looked like a clerk. He was a technician from the Sijiucheng Machinery Factory and was on a business trip to Harbin. Opposite him sat a family, a couple with a little girl, who said they were visiting relatives in the Northeast. Ma Qing was not interested in talking. He had taken green trains countless times when he was a child in his previous life and had experienced the noisy train travel countless times. Under his childish appearance was a middle-aged man with a cold heart. After chatting for a few words, he closed his eyes and dozed off.

The steam locomotive from the 1950s, burning coal and pulling a long string of carriages, was running hard on the rails. The "clacking" sound of the rails was accompanied by the occasional "woohoo" sound of the whistle, and the vibration of the old carriages. Ma Qing closed his eyes and dozed off for a long time but couldn't fall asleep. Instead, he felt more irritated and missed the high-speed rail of his previous life more and more.

Ma Qing had no choice but to start a conversation with the person next to him. Perhaps because they had the same purpose, the middle-aged man next to him was unexpectedly talkative, and their meaningless conversation lasted for the entire afternoon.

(End of this chapter)