When Li Xiaguang saw that Li Chuchu was awake, she gave her a smug look. "Humph, see! If you don't go, there are plenty of others who will."
Li Chuchu was nonchalant and didn't even bother to give her an extra glance. "Congratulations. You're about to go to Dongguan to make your fortune."
Li Xiaguang was taken aback by her words and looked embarrassed for a while.
Finally, she decided to be magnanimous and not argue with her!
...
Li Chuchu closed her eyes.
She would arrive in Dongguan tomorrow morning. Once she woke up, the world would be quiet.
For dinner, they ate the leftovers from lunch and white pancakes.
While others were still hesitating whether to spend the hefty sum of fifty cents on a vegetarian boxed meal, Li Chuchu was already enjoying spiced beef and marinated pig ears.
The aroma wafted up continuously and reached Li Xiaguang's nose as she was starving.
She sat on the cramped bed where she couldn't even straighten her back, listening to her growling stomach. She swallowed hard.
It was dinner time, and the smell of food filled the air everywhere.
Before leaving home, her mother had only given her two yuan. She had spent thirty cents on two tea eggs and a meat bun before boarding the train, so she really couldn't bear to spend another fifty cents on a meal of just radishes and cabbages.
Li Xiaguang looked down at Li Chuchu enviously. No wonder she didn't want to go to the factory to work with her.
It turned out she was being supported by a man and could eat delicious food every day.
So what?
Her mother had said that relying on others would only lead to disappointment. She wouldn't be like that. She would rely on her own ability to make a living!
Li Xiaguang endured the hunger, covered herself with the quilt, and silently repeated the name "Dongguan" in her mind a million times. Relying on the belief that she could earn sixty or seventy yuan a month in the future, she managed to get through the hunger and gradually fell asleep.
...
At around ten o'clock the next day, the train stopped at Dongguan Station. By the time Li Chuchu woke up in the morning, the other two had already left.
She stretched and got out of bed after throwing off the quilt.
Shen Yanshan had packed the washbasin she needed and placed it on the table, along with a brand - new towel.
After she finished washing up,
a stewardess was just pushing the food cart over. Shen Yanshan ordered two tea eggs, two steamed buns, a bowl of congee, and a serving of pickles.
Li Chuchu wasn't very keen on congee. She just ate a tea egg and took a couple of bites of the steamed bun with the pickles.
Shen Yanshan saw that even the two - year - old child sitting next to them ate more than she did, so he peeled his own egg and stuffed it into her hand. He himself gulped down a big bowl of congee and one and a half steamed buns.
As noon approached,
the man sitting opposite Li Chuchu finally woke up.
Shen Yanshan had noticed him yesterday and now sized him up imperceptibly.
The man had small eyes that glinted with a strange light. The slightest noise would make him alert. There were dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he probably hadn't slept well for several nights.
There was a black bag stuffed under his pillow, and he even held it tightly while sleeping. The first thing he did after waking up was to reach under the pillow to check the bag's position.
There must be something important in it.
Shen Yanshan had seen many such people on the train. Generally, they were either middlemen or pickpockets.
Shen Yanshan frowned slightly. He really had picked a great seat for Li Chuchu. All kinds of riff - raff were here.
He didn't know what this man was.
He stood in front of Li Chuchu's bed. "What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll go to the food cart and buy something back."
As he spoke, he casually showed a corner of his wallet in his pocket.
The man sitting opposite immediately tensed up. Out of his professional habit, his eyes were immediately fixed on the wallet in Shen Yanshan's pocket, as if a magnet had attracted an iron object.
Li Chuchu was a bit stunned. "I'm not very hungry. Just something simple will do."
Shen Yanshan nodded. "Then I'll ask them to stir - fry two meat dishes and a soup. We'll have a simple lunch. Thanks for accompanying me on this long - distance business trip. I'll take you to eat something nice when we get to Hong Kong."
"Okay."
Li Chuchu responded, but she felt something was odd. Shen Yanshan's words didn't seem to be meant for her.
After Shen Yanshan left, a glint flashed in the eyes of the man sitting opposite Li Chuchu. They were going to Hong Kong on a business trip? Two proper meat dishes on the train would cost at least three yuan. And this wasn't considered good?
This guy must be rich. And he talked so casually. He probably didn't have much sense of precaution.
The man hesitated for only a second, put on his coat, and left the berth.
...
Shen Yanshan walked towards the food cart.
He ordered two dishes and two boxes of rice at the counter. The total cost was three yuan and twenty cents.
He paid the money and then carelessly stuffed the wallet back into his pocket.
After that, he leaned lazily against the counter, waiting for the food to be ready.
He seemed completely defenseless.
The man in the coat squatted near the carriage door and stuffed a betel nut into his mouth. His eyes, like those of a rat living in the gutter, were fixed on the wallet in Shen Yanshan's pocket.
When the food was ready, Shen Yanshan walked back with two aluminum boxed meals in one hand.
When the man saw Shen Yanshan coming out, he turned slightly, trying not to face him directly.
He moved his fingers slightly.
The wallet in Shen Yanshan's pocket was now in his hand.
Seeing Shen Yanshan walking straight ahead with the lunch boxes, completely unaware of what had happened, the man grinned widely and cursed under his breath. "Damn it, what a fool. If there were more fools like this, I'd be rich by now."
He opened the wallet triumphantly. There was about a thousand yuan in it.
The man smacked his lips.
He took out all the money, threw the wallet into the trash can, and walked back happily, humming a song.
People in his line of work left no traces.
...
A few more people got on Li Chuchu's carriage.
Now that they had reached the south, most of the new passengers were southerners.
Southerners were more reserved than northerners and generally rarely talked to others. They just did their own things.
Except for necessary conversations, it was quiet most of the time.
Li Chuchu had been sitting in the carriage for a while when Shen Yanshan came back with the food.
"Come and eat."
Li Chuchu nodded. "You eat too."
The food on the train was only so - so, but after eating two eggs in the morning, she was a bit hungry.
Li Chuchu took a couple of mouthfuls of rice and picked up a chopstick of green pepper stir - fried meat.
At this time, the man opposite also sat back in his seat.
He must have come back from the food cart too, as he was holding a bowl of plain noodles and eating silently by himself.
The atmosphere in the carriage was a bit awkward. Li Chuchu ate her meal silently.
Weak and helpless, but a good eater.
When Shen Yanshan had almost finished eating, he got up and said to Li Chuchu, "I'm going outside to smoke a cigarette."
He was about to light a cigarette with a match and casually felt his pocket. Suddenly, he frowned.
Li Chuchu noticed something was wrong. "What's the matter?"
Shen Yanshan frowned and felt all his pockets. He seemed a bit flustered for a moment.
"Damn it! I lost my wallet!"