Moreover~

Moreover~

The train moved slowly forward, and it took another day and night.

Inside the train carriage, Zhang Honghua sat on a hard seat, her body aching all over, and she was so hungry she was almost hallucinating.

She felt as if there were two steamed buns spinning in front of her...

"Comrade, take this. You, this lady, are also throwing away perfectly good food. Now you're starving. You can't be so impulsive in the future. You must cherish food."

The train conductor shook his head, put down two steamed buns, and left.

Zhang Honghua was stunned for a moment before realizing it wasn't a hallucination. She quickly picked up the cornbread and started eating it.

It was freezing cold inside the carriage, and even the cornbread was hard. She stood up with her enamel mug, intending to get some hot water, but after taking two steps, she stumbled and fell directly into the aisle.

"Comrade? Comrade? Are you alright?"

The train conductor happened to return, sighed, and quickly helped the person to a hard seat.

He picked up the enamel mug, went to the end of the carriage, and filled it with some hot water. "Here, have some."

"Thank you... thank you, brother."

Zhang Honghua wolfed down two cornbread buns and drank a whole tub of hot water before she felt alive again.

"Are you full?"

"I'm...I'm still hungry..."

The train attendant shook his head and could only bring her two more steamed buns.

"Here, just hang in there a little longer, we'll be there soon. You're such a woman, you don't even bring anything with you on the train."

He was about to go check out the other carriages when he felt his arm being grabbed. He turned around and saw the woman in the hard seat.

"Brother, I... I really can't sit any longer. Could you please get me a sleeper berth? If I sit any longer, I'm sure I'll ruin my health."

Zhang Honghua looked at the train conductor pitifully.

Her face was deathly pale, and her hair was a mess.

After a five-day train journey to the Qilian Mountains, she only stayed for two days before being forced to board the train home. She was so tired of sitting in hard seats; her entire back and waist were aching terribly.

"That won't do. There are people in the sleeper cars. I can't make that decision."

The train conductor quickly shook his head.

"Um... comrade, do you have a boyfriend? I... I came here as a refugee, I've run out of money, and I'm all alone at home, sob sob, I really have nowhere to go, I..."

Zhang Honghua sobbed as she wiped away her tears.

She really cried, thinking about the bullying and grievances she suffered in the Qilian Mountains, and tears streamed down her face.

Now she doesn't ask for a cadre position anymore; she just wants a husband with a formal job and a government-subsidized food ration.

The train conductor was startled by her.

Seeing that everyone around him was looking at him curiously, he quickly untied Zhang Honghua's hand from his grasp and then took several steps back.

"Comrade, please have some self-respect!"

Not daring to stay any longer, he turned and went to another carriage.

"Hey? Big brother? Big brother?"

Ahead, the train conductor heard her shout and quickened his pace.

Indecent behavior is a serious crime!

He dared not come any further into this carriage; he planned to switch shifts with a colleague and get away from here.

...

For the rest of the journey, Zhang Honghua never saw the train conductor again, nor did any kind person give her food.

Holding only two cornbread buns, she finally made it to Zengshi Railway Station.

After changing trains and enduring most of the day, she finally arrived in her hometown county.

She almost collapsed in the station as soon as she got off the train.

The train station was quite far from her home. After drinking a lot of water, she walked for most of the day before finally getting back to the brigade.

Looking at the familiar mud house, she collapsed into the yard and burst into tears, crying loudly, "Waaah, why is my life so miserable~"

"Red Flower? Why are you back?"

Hearing the commotion, Zhang's mother ran out of the house.

Looking at her youngest daughter, whom she hadn't seen for over a month, she almost didn't recognize her. "Oh dear, my Honghua, what happened to you?"

"Mother! Mother! She's bullying us! The Lu family is bullying us! Waaah, your daughter has been bullied terribly!"

"Mother! You have to stand up for me!"

Zhang Honghua knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

With her pale face, she looked incredibly pitiful.

Zhang's mother held her daughter tightly, her heart aching with worry. She hurriedly asked, "Honghua, what happened? Which member of the Lu family bullied you?"

"Waaah, who else could it be? It's Lu Fangfang and Xiuxiu. Mom, as soon as I arrived, they looked down on me and even abused me. They sent me back right away."

"Waaah, I haven't eaten anything the whole way, I'm hungry, Mom, I'm hungry..."

Hearing this, Zhang's mother was furious. This sister-in-law was really bullying her.

"Honghua, don't worry, I'll go to the Lu family tomorrow and demand an explanation. I'm determined to get revenge."

"Mother, sob sob..."

As Zhang Honghua cried, she used up her last bit of strength and fainted.

"Oh, safflower? Safflower?"

Zhang's mother was both angry and anxious, and quickly helped her daughter into the house.

...

That evening, after the family had all gathered, Zhang's mother brought up the matter of safflower.

"What? The Lu family dares to treat Honghua like this? Mother, you wait, I'll go to the Lu family tomorrow to avenge Honghua and make sure they know how powerful our family is."

"Exactly, do they really think our family is easy to bully? Big brother, I'm going tomorrow too. We're all relatives, after all. The Lu family is really going too far."

Seeing how much her two sons doted on Honghua, Zhang's mother was very gratified.

"What do you say, sir?"

Mr. Zhang frowned, looking somewhat troubled. "After all, Honghua secretly followed them there, which isn't in the right. I disagreed from the start; this shouldn't have been done..."

"Pah! What's wrong with sneaking off? Even when visiting relatives, you wouldn't do it like this. Oh dear, go check on Honghua in the inner room, she's lost so much weight and still hasn't woken up. Look at the state she's in!"

"Waaah, how did I end up marrying such a useless man like you?"

Zhang's mother held a handkerchief, tears streaming down her face.

She truly loves her daughter, and besides that, she also feels sorry for the travel expenses her daughter has spent this time.

Well, she didn't find a son-in-law who was a cadre, but instead her daughter suffered a great deal and was sent back home. She was furious just thinking about it.

No, she has to go to the Lu family and demand an explanation. She needs to make them pay to send her daughter back there.

"Well... well, let's go to our in-laws' house tomorrow and ask them what's going on. But don't make a fuss, Hongmei is heavily pregnant."

Seeing this, Zhang's father had no choice but to agree.

...

The next morning.

Zhang Honghua woke up hungry early in the morning. She lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), holding a bowl, and ate heartily.

She ate three large bowls of rice before letting out a satisfied burp.

Upon hearing that they were going to the Lu family to demand an explanation, she excitedly got up again, insisting on going along to see what was happening.

"Honghua, you just got back and you're still weak, so don't go."

"Mom, no, I have to go. Their family is too bullying."

Seeing this, Zhang's mother had no choice but to take Honghua and her two sons and head to the Lu family in a menacing manner.