Chapter 38: Arrival (3)
Chapter 38 – Arrival (3)
Shu Yan smiled embarrassedly, “My two children have always had sensitive stomachs.”
“Oh, if they have sensitive stomachs, you need to have that taken care of. It’s not fun when they get sick.” After the woman had finished her hardboiled eggs, she pulled out quite a bit of dates from her pocket, “We grew these dates ourselves. Whatever we couldn’t finish, we sun dried them. These are good for both women and children. Have some, they are very sweet.”
“We have those too.” Shu Yan felt that that woman was too overly friendly.
Right then, a train attendant walked over and Shu Yan quickly asked him, “Hi, comrade. Can you tell me if there’s still any room in the sleeper car?”
They bought their tickets in a hurry and weren’t able to get the tickets for the sleeper car. Shu Yan originally had thought that it was just ten or so hours, so they would just suck it up. But now she wanted to see if she could switch to a sleeper car.
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure either,” said the train attendant as he shook his head.
“Please, comrade, help me out. Look at my two kids. They are not well,” said Shu Yan as she gently nudged Ye Jingjing. Ye Jingjing was a smarty pants, she immediately coughed and feigned an ill look. “Can you please take a look for me? I’ll pay the difference.”
She knew that trains would usually keep a few empty slots in the sleeper car. They were generally used for emergencies or for favors but difficult for the general public to purchase. After all, this body had died once and wasn’t in good shape. And she had two children with her. The little girl was small and the kid she was carrying also looked pale. The train attendant had a stroke of conscience, took them to the captain, explained the situation to him, and let them purchase a spot in the sleeper train.
“You think she caught on?” The woman who was sitting across from Shu Yan asked her man after they were gone.
“You were too eager. A woman with two children is usually very careful,” grumbled the man in a low voice.
“She would have been a great catch. I saw it. The man who saw them off drove a car and had on a watch and a gold chain. Look? She upgraded to the sleeper car just like that. She must have a lot of money on her,” said the woman regretfully. “The two kids were cute too, especially that boy, light skinned and chubby. He’d fetch a great price.”
“Shut up! Do you want others to overhear you?” The man gave her a stare. This was a wasted trip.
After they went into the sleeper car, three of the beds were already occupied. The empty one on top was theirs. The two spots on the bottom were taken up by an old man on the left and a young one on the right. Above him, it was a young woman.
Shu Yan smiled at them, hesitated for a little bit, and finally decided against asking them to switch. Yes, this was a little more troublesome. She’d make a mental note to buy tickets in advance going forward.
She first helped her daughter climb up into the top spot before she carried her son up with her. After they were settled, Shu Yan let out a sigh of relief. She patted Tianbao on his back as she asked Jingjing softly, “Were you afraid?”
“No, I am not.” That might be what she said, but she clung onto Shu Yan’s arm tightly the entire time.
“Don’t be afraid. Mom’s right here.” Shu Yan pulled Jingjing into her arms as well and said to her, “Remember, never take anything from anyone you don’t know in the future, especially food items.