To please others? It's better to please yourself.

The train station platform was packed with people...

"Waaah—"

"The train has arrived!"

"They're here—they're here—"

As soon as the train arrived and came to a complete stop, people swarmed towards the doors and windows like swarms of bees, desperately trying to squeeze into the carriages. At that moment, it was impossible for anyone to turn around; the crowd behind them wouldn't allow it!

Some people even throw their luggage out of the window onto the seats to reserve a spot before trying to get on;

Some people nimbly climbed through the window to reserve seats so that relatives and friends could pass their luggage and children through the window...

Many train services now do not have seat numbers; whoever grabs a seat first gets it.

"This is my seat!"

"Just because you say it's yours, does that mean it's yours? Will it answer if you call it?"

The train has limited time to reach the station. Everyone rushes to get on, fearing they won't get a seat; many who try to get off are carried to the next station because they don't have time to disembark!

Therefore, the two sides at the carriage door often refused to give way to each other, and physical altercations frequently occurred.

In such situations, train attendants are needed to maintain order, but by then the train attendants are already lost in the sea of ​​people!

……

Shen He carried the luggage in one hand and protected Xu Jing'an with the other as they rushed into the sleeper car.

After boarding the train, finding his seat with his ticket, and settling his wife in, Shen He got off the train.

With so many people around, it wasn't the right time to say anything intimate, so the two waved goodbye.

Shen He was busy going to work, and Xu Jing'an also had to keep an eye on the luggage; it was a chaotic time!

Even this hard sleeper ticket was bought with the help of Director Qiao, thanks to Shen He. As for a soft sleeper, forget about it; you have to reach a certain level to buy one, and supposedly each soft sleeper carriage even has a toilet!

"Tsk—tsk—"

Xu Jing'an shook her head, "I can't compare, I can't compare!" She lay down on the upper bunk, closing her eyes to rest.

In just a short while, the carriage was full.

"Whoosh—whoosh—" The train started moving!

……

Xu Jing'an woke up to find it was already lunchtime. Just as she reached for the eggs, she heard, "Grandma, I want eggs! I want meat!"

Because hard sleeper berths are compartments without doors, every passenger can see your belongings and what you're doing at a glance, offering absolutely no privacy!

Alright! The quintessential mischievous kid and the opportunistic grandma from every historical fiction story have appeared.

However, Xu Jing'an was not flustered. She put the only egg in her bag into her spatial storage and took out a multigrain steamed bun to eat with pickled vegetables.

Thanks to her son's good fortune, Aunt Yu was able to sleep in a sleeper berth on her first train journey. As soon as she boarded, she carefully looked everyone in the compartment over. There were six sleeper berths in total; besides four men, there was one woman sleeping there.

It's not easy to take advantage of a strong, muscular man. After all, this isn't the village—it's not her territory, and she has plenty of men to rely on!

When she's out and about with her grandson, she can only target young, single women who are easily embarrassed.

Surely someone buying a sleeper ticket can't be a "poor bastard," right? Everyone has to be "poor at home but rich on the road."

Aunt Yu firmly believes that young people always want to eat something nice when they go out. At the very least, they should have eggs and peach shortbread, right?

Ever since Xu Jing'an woke up, she'd been watching her, intentionally or unintentionally. Who knew the other woman was eating mixed grain steamed buns! No problem, she didn't believe this woman would refuse to eat anything good, especially after several meals!

A whole day and night passed, and the woman hadn't eaten a single decent meal. She couldn't even find an opportunity to take advantage of the situation!

Grandma Yu and her grandson slept on the lower bunk — Xu Jing'an slept on the upper bunk.

While Grandma Yu and her grandson were eating white flour steamed buns and eggs, Xu Jing'an was eating a multigrain steamed bun.

While Aunt Yu was eating her mixed grain steamed buns, Xu Jing'an started munching on cornbread.

Just as the old lady opened her mouth and began to gnaw on the cornbread with her few remaining front teeth, Xu Jing'an had already started drinking water and slurping pickled vegetables.

Aunt Yu has dominated the village headlines for over thirty years with her reputation for "never suffering a loss and always trying to get a bargain," but today she's finally met her match!

Staring at the woman in the upper bunk, Aunt Yu had to admit she was getting old. It seemed she had lost this round!

The next day at noon, Grandma Yu got off the bus with her grandson, cursing and swearing.

……

"Pfft—" Someone couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the rest of the people in the cubicle started to chuckle.

The moment that old woman came up with her child, everyone could tell she was a difficult person to deal with!

So while conversations from other cubicles could be heard, their cubicle was unusually quiet.

Xu Jing'an knew perfectly well that the old lady had been watching her. She had sensed it all along! That's why she deliberately ate a smaller portion of food than the old lady, making it difficult for her to ask for it!

With so many people and it so crowded downstairs, Xu Jing'an could only lie on the upper bunk with her eyes closed, except when she needed to drink water or go to the toilet.

The train needed to refill its water tank at every station, and fog rolled in halfway through the journey, forcing it to give way to another train. It didn't arrive in Beijing until 11 p.m.!

At this time, apart from the station which was still somewhat lively, the streets outside were dark and deserted.

Going out alone is unsafe now, and staying at the station is just as dangerous. Those who prey on women, those who are involved in organized trafficking of women, are equally difficult to guard against!

Xu Jing'an turned to the police officers on duty at the station for help.

"Comrade, hello! I urgently need your help!"

"Comrade, what difficulties do you have? Tell me!" the police officer replied immediately without hesitation.

……

In the end, the police officers personally escorted Xu Jing'an to the guesthouse.

After daybreak, I returned to the station and took the school bus, arriving at Peking University smoothly.

Xu Jing'an's dormitory has 8 people: 3 are literature majors, 1 is journalism major, 2 are history majors, she is English major, and the other is computer science major.

"My name is Zhang Xuehong, I am 18 years old, and I am a native of Beijing."

"My name is Zhao Lanying, I am 25 years old, I am married, and I am from Hunan."

"My name is Xu Jing'an, I am 29 years old, and I have three children."

……

The other participants were Wu Lanzhi from Jiangxi, Wang Meihua from Guizhou, Jiang Qiaoqiao from Northeast China, and two from Henan: Yue Xiaomai and Dong Zhu.

Zhang Xuehong was overjoyed after hearing this: "My father was a railway soldier. Wherever the railway was built, our family followed."

"The four siblings were all born in different places. My eldest sister was in Jiangxi, my second sister was in Hunan, I was in Guizhou, and my younger brother was in Shaanxi."

"Good heavens!" Everyone in the room listened with great interest. "Well, what a coincidence!"

Zhang Xuehong said with a smile, "That's right. My dad even said that if you connect the birthplaces of my four siblings, it's almost the same as the route of the Red Army's Long March."

Dong Zhu: "Then wouldn't you have to keep moving and changing schools?"

Zhang Xuehong: "Because of my father's work, my family of six is ​​always separated more often than not."

"The work of the railway soldiers is extremely busy. Sometimes I have to transfer schools after studying in one place for less than half a year."

……

Everyone got to know each other in no time.

The youngest in the dormitory is Zhang Xuehong, a journalism major, who is only 18 years old. The oldest is Xu Jing'an, who is 29 years old.

These people were either working full-time or working in the countryside; none of them lacked experience or intelligence. They were all college graduates, and each of them cared about their reputation, so they got along very well with each other.

Xu Jing'an herself dislikes trouble, and the atmosphere in the entire dormitory is very good.

Today's college students cherish this hard-won opportunity and want to make up for the time lost during the Cultural Revolution. Everywhere on campus, people carry books while walking, queuing for meals, and riding buses.

There were no "late-night talks" in their dorm. Those who were still awake late at night were studying in bed with flashlights!

After all, other people's stories are none of our business, and we can just listen to them when we have free time. But for people like them, what they lack right now is time!