Rebirth Must Be Happy

"So much food?"

Tang Yuecheng was called down and was stunned to see a pile of hot and fragrant local food. She looked at Xu Jinhuan and asked, "Did you go down to buy this?"

"The girl who changed seats was brought here by her father,"

Xu Jinhuan was also surprised and explained with a smile, "I guess she wanted to express her gratitude."

Tang Yuecheng clicked her tongue in amazement and said, "This food isn't cheap, there's so much mutton."

I don't know how they brought it up, but there were three bowls of mutton soup with plenty of meat, a bag of hand-pulled mutton with ingredients, a bag of fried dough sticks and fried cakes, and a bag of braised beef and braised dishes.

"Eat first."

Xu Jinhuan was already feeling hungry, and seeing so much food made his stomach rumble. Ignoring what the other passengers thought, he began to eat heartily.

Not only is the food delicious, but more importantly, this is on a train, making this steaming hot meal even more precious.

Tang Yuecheng took a bowl of mutton soup and went to eat it, while Xie Wanqing and Xu Jinhuan sat opposite her, finding the meal quite interesting, and laughed, "It's pretty delicious."

"Hmm... I almost forgot."

Xu Jinhuan ate two pieces of meat and drank some soup, then took out his phone to take a picture and posted it on his WeChat Moments: "Hahahaha, good deeds are rewarded! I didn't expect to be able to eat authentic Lanzhou cuisine without even getting off the train!"

His smugness was palpable; he was just waiting for someone to ask him questions in the comments so he could casually explain what had happened.

"Hey buddy, wanna get something else to eat?"

The three of them were full before they could even finish half of what was given to them. Someone nearby looked them over and tentatively offered something in exchange, saying, "This is genuine Demaogong Crystal Cake, a box costs several tens of dollars. I was originally going to give it to a friend... How about I exchange it for a fried dough stick and a piece of mutton?"

"Row."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and agreed. Once someone set an example, others immediately followed suit.

"Young man, how about I trade you two chicken legs for a fried dough stick?"

"Handsome, I have a box of Pu'er tea that someone gave me, but I don't drink it. How about I trade it for some mutton and beef?"

"Big brother, sister-in-law, I... I'd like to trade you a bag of Hetian dates for some cakes and some mutton... Is that alright?"

……

The mutton soup clearly had meat added to it, so Xu Jinhuan and his group barely touched the bag of mutton. They didn't care if others ate the leftovers of the flatbread and fried dough sticks, and they didn't eat much of the braised sauce either. As a result, all of the remaining items were quickly replaced.

The harvest was plentiful, especially the box of Pu'er tea, which was obtained in exchange for a young and beautiful woman. It was most likely a gift from Fei Yangyang. Even in 2012, Xu Jinhuan guessed that it would have cost at least several hundred yuan.

Later, a little girl, speaking in an unfamiliar dialect, called out "Sister-in-law" in a strange way, which made Xie Wanqing extremely embarrassed, but she gave her noticeably more mutton.

"You gave up your seat, and there were a bunch of unexpected benefits..."

Seeing Xu Jinhuan taking photos and posting them in the group chat to show off, Xie Wanqing said with a bit of a laugh, "The things people give away are already worth a lot of money, these things are even more profitable."

"Good deeds are rewarded."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and said, "Let's eat lunch when we get there. How are we going to pack all this stuff?"

"If you can eat it, then eat it."

After eating and drinking their fill, the two chatted for a while. Xu Jinhuan looked at Xie Wanqing's expression and smiled, "Are you sleepy again? If you are, go to sleep."

"Ah."

Xie Wanqing nodded subconsciously, but suddenly felt something was wrong. She felt that his tone of voice made it seem as if she were the younger sister, not the older sister.

She wanted to ask, but the age gap between them was always a thorn in her side, something she cared about, yet she didn't know how to ask. So she silently went back to her bunk to sleep. Although the sleeper berth wasn't as crowded as the hard seat, she hadn't slept well all night. Her feet weren't touching the ground, and she felt uncomfortable all over. Xu Jinhuan soon lay down as well, listlessly looking at the scenery outside the window.

"Finally freed!"

After finally making it past midnight, they arrived at Yinchuan Station. As soon as Xu Jinhuan's feet touched the platform floor, he couldn't help but sigh, "The ground is so much more comfortable..."

"Ok!"

Xie Wanqing nodded beside her, then urged, "Let's go."

Xu Jinhuan asked, "Teacher Tang, will the school reimburse the taxi fare?"

"to reimburse."

Tang Yuecheng smiled and said, "We can rest well once we get to the hotel."

"Well, let's go."

As the three of them stepped out of the train station, a wave of heat immediately hit them. The highest temperature in Yinchuan today was 36°C, and the streets felt like an oven.

The three of them quickly hailed a taxi, negotiated the price beforehand, and arrived at the hotel. This was arranged by the organizers before their departure, and the accommodation and meals for the participating teachers and students were all free.

"Hello, are you here to participate in the National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition?"

Upon entering the hotel, the receptionist greeted Xu Jinhuan in standard Mandarin with a friendly attitude, but her subsequent words made Xu Jinhuan feel unfriendly at all: "The food and accommodation for participating teachers and students are free. Teachers share a room in pairs, and students share a room in groups of four."

"Uh……"

Xu Jinhuan had already asked when they arrived that the organizers were actually offering 2+1 free spots, so Xie Wanqing was considered one of the two teachers. It wasn't a problem that she shared a room with Tang Yuecheng.

But I live with three other guys...

Xu Jinhuan finds it hard to go from luxury to frugality, and this was truly difficult for her to accept. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Can I change rooms at my own expense?"

The young woman smiled sweetly and said, "Teachers are fine, but participating students are not."

"……All right."

Xu Jinhuan remained silent. "Then let's follow the arrangements."

"Room checks and building locking every night at 10 p.m. The laundry room is free, the second-floor restaurant is free, or you can eat in the first-floor restaurant at your own expense."

"OK, thanks."

The three of them went upstairs and first took Xu Jinhuan to the student dormitory area on the 6th floor. The other three roommates had arrived and were chatting inside. When they saw Xu Jinhuan being brought over by two female teachers, they were all taken aback.

Especially Xie Wanqing, despite her long journey and lack of rest, her gentle and dignified appearance and sexy and alluring figure were incredibly attractive to high school boys. The three boys who were originally talking loudly were speechless.

Xu Jinhuan gave a brief greeting, put his things down, and then accompanied Xie Wanqing and Tang Yuecheng to the 7th floor. This floor was for ordinary teachers, while higher-level teachers naturally had better accommodations.

Lunchtime had passed, so they couldn't get a free lunch. The three of them went out to eat again. Xu Jinhuan figured Tang Yuecheng would insist on paying, so they didn't go for a fancy meal and just ate at a noodle shop on the roadside.

Tang Yuecheng indeed rushed to pay the bill. Back at the hotel, the Anhui team leader came over and had a brief chat, clearly not very interested in Xu Jinhuan's project.

There's no way around it; game entries are discriminated against, especially since Xu Jinhuan got in through a supplementary selection process, which is definitely different from those who were selected through rounds of auditions.

After their conversation, the three of them went with the provincial team's teachers and students to the Yinchuan International Convention and Exhibition Center for a tour of the competition venue before returning to their hotel.

"Teacher Tang, are you alright?"

The distance wasn't far, and everyone walked back and forth. On the way, Xu Jinhuan suddenly noticed that Tang Yuecheng's complexion seemed a little off, so he quickly asked, "Are you feeling unwell?" (End of Chapter)