Chapter 320 On the Train

Little Taozi looked at her aunt in confusion, as if asking what this meant.

"When your mother was around, she would always fight with your aunt for our most adorable and beautiful little peach. Your aunt couldn't win, but now it's all good. Your aunt will take your little peach to the department store this afternoon, okay?"

Xiao Taozi's mind was indeed distracted. The bitterness in her heart caused by her mother's departure was instantly filled with the words "department store".

"Aunt, what are you taking me to buy? Anything delicious?"

"How about delicious food, fun things, and beautiful clothes and hairpins?" Shi Shulan asked the little girl for her opinion with a smile.

"But this is too expensive." Xiao Taozi thought for a long time before saying this.

Several people looked at the sensible little girl and smiled even more brightly.

"That's okay. Grandma has money. Give it to Xiao Taozi."

As she spoke, He Wanyi took out a few big unity notes and handed them to Xiao Taozi.

Yuan Yinan also took out a few big unity notes and handed them to Xiao Taozi.

"Xiao Taozi, do you think this is enough now?"

Xiao Taozi returned the money to each of them.

"When Mom left, she gave Xiao Taozi some money."

As the little girl spoke, she really took out a small purse, opened it with her little hands, and grabbed a handful of money from it.

What else did these people not understand? Jiang Haitang was worried that they would spend money on Xiao Taozi when she was not around.

"It's okay, Xiao Taozi's money can be saved. We will spend the money we gave her today." He Wanyi said firmly with a smile.

Jiang Haitang was sitting in a jeep heading towards the train station, holding the tightly wrapped little Orange in her arms. The little guy seemed to sense that he was going on a long journey. He opened his big black eyes and looked around curiously without crying or making a fuss.

Xiao He looked at the little guy and said with a smile: "What a smart child, he knows to go out and see what's going on."

"Be good, little Chengzi. We are going on a business trip to the south with mom to see different places." Jiang Haitang smiled and coaxed her son in a soft voice.

Soon the three of them arrived at the train station, and at this time, the other people in the group also arrived.

Mr. Chen serves as the consultant for this technical exchange team. In addition to Jiang Haitang, the team members include three experienced technical experts: Yun Zhihao, Zhang Jianguo, and Li Xinghai, as well as a young secretary named Xiao Zhao who is responsible for coordination and liaison.

When Mr. Chen saw Jiang Haitang, his face was almost blooming.

But the other people were not very supportive when they saw Jiang Haitang coming with her family.

Li Xinghai muttered quietly, "A woman, why doesn't she stay at home to nurse her child but has to run away with us?"

Zhang Jianguo responded quietly: "That's right, a man should stay at home to take care of his husband and children, why would you come out and argue with other men?"

Although the two people's voices were low, they were still faintly heard by several people nearby on the slightly noisy platform.

Yun Zhihao nodded slightly, obviously feeling that it was unnecessary for a woman to take her child out to participate in an exchange group.

Mr. Chen frowned almost imperceptibly, but did not lose his temper immediately.

Jiang Haitang also heard it, but her expression remained calm, as if she heard nothing.

However, she tightened her grip on Little Orange a little.

"Hello, Mr. Chen, Engineer Li, Engineer Zhang, Engineer Yun, and Comrade Zhao. We are late." Jiang Haitang greeted them gracefully, with a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant.

Old Chen smiled and nodded: "Not too late, not too late, just right. This is Little Orange, right? He looks smart!"

This is not a compliment, but a fact. Although Xiaochengzi is less than half a year old, he looks very smart.

He teased the child for a bit, then looked at Xiao He, "Is this the comrade who helps take care of the child? You must have worked hard along the way."

Little He had never imagined that such a powerful leader would speak so kindly to a small figure like her. She hurriedly said, a little awkwardly, "Hello, Mr. Chen, hello everyone. My name is He Xiangcao."

Seeing Mr. Chen's attitude, Li Xinghai didn't know what to say. He just nodded perfunctorily with his face still not looking good.

Zhang Jianguo and Yun Zhihao's attitudes were slightly better than Li Xinghai's, but there was also scrutiny and suspicion in their eyes.

Secretary Xiao Zhao enthusiastically helped take some of the luggage from Xiao He.

Just kidding, the leader has already given me special instructions before and asked me to help take care of Jiang Haitang and the child.

He doesn't need to care about the attitudes of others, just do his best.

After boarding the train, they were assigned a hard sleeper compartment, which was better than Jiang Haitang had expected.

Mr. Chen, Jiang Haitang and her son, and Xiao He were in one box, while the other three engineers and Xiao Zhao were in the next box.

Jiang Haitang couldn't help but frown when she saw the bunk bed.

"Mr. Chen, I'd better change seats. It will take several days to get to Huacheng, and I'm worried that the child will cry and disturb your rest."

"Mr. Chen, let me switch places with you. I'm young and it won't be a problem." Xiao Zhao had obviously thought of this problem as well, so he persuaded Mr. Chen.

Mr. Chen waved his hand and said, "I'm old and I sleep less, but it's not a problem."

He saw clearly the attitudes of those people just now. If he changed his position now, Haitang would definitely be squeezed out in this group.

I didn't expect that these seemingly good people were actually so stubborn and self-willed. With such a character, they won't last long.

Of course, Mr. Chen had no intention of saying these words to them. He was waiting to see Jiang Haitang slap these people in the face with his professional knowledge.

Jiang Haitang has this ability. Although he only spoke to Jiang Haitang briefly, Jiang Haitang's understanding and innovation ability in the field of textile machinery are much higher than his. Those people are no match for him at all.

At this time, Little Orange must be hungry and is whining.

At this time, Xiao He showed her ability and efficiency. She quickly prepared the milk powder, held Xiao Chengzi and started feeding him milk.

After Little Orange had eaten his fill, he took him to the bathroom to help him pee.

The whole process was orderly and made almost no noise.

Old Chen could see that Jiang Haitang was well prepared to bring the child with her.

Little Orange is full and energetic now that his physiological needs have been met.

He was held in his mother's arms, his big, dark eyes like two black grapes curiously examining everything in the box: the swaying curtains, the lights overhead, and the white-bearded grandfather across from him, smiling at him.

I don’t know what Xiao Chengzi was thinking about, but he started talking to Mr. Chen in a humming voice.

Old Chen didn't understand what the little guy was saying, but that didn't stop him from liking it more and more. He couldn't help but stretch out his finger and gently touch Xiao Chengzi's soft little hand.

Instead of hiding, the little guy grabbed Old Chen's fingers, held them tightly, and tried even harder to babble meaningless sounds, as if he was saying hello.

"Oh, little guy, you're quite energetic!" Old Chen said with a pleasant smile, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out. "Is he talking to Grandpa?"

Jiang Haitang also smiled: "Mr. Chen, he likes you."

Little Chengzi seemed to understand his mother's praise. He waved his little hands and feet more vigorously, said "Ah-woo Ah-woo" more happily, and gave Old Chen a toothless smile. He was so cute that it melted people's hearts.

Old Chen laughed heartily, and all the fatigue from the days' journey seemed to be swept away.

He simply took out a clean keychain from his bag. There was a small, smoothly polished red plastic five-pointed star on it and shook it gently in front of Xiaochengzi.

Little Orange's attention was immediately attracted. His eyes followed the five-pointed star around, and he stretched out his little hands to grab it, making anxious "hmm" sounds from his mouth.

The interaction between the old and the young was warm and interesting, making the atmosphere in the entire box relaxed and cheerful.

Even Xiao He, who was a little nervous about bringing the child, smiled relaxedly.

She had practiced for a long time before, and was worried that the child would not be able to adapt to the car and would cry. After all, no matter how emotionally stable Xiaochengzi was, he was just a child.

Some people here were having fun, while some people in the next box were lying on their bunks feeling a little bored.

Hearing the lively sounds here, Li Xinghai got up and couldn't help but stroll over. Leaning against the door frame, he just saw Old Chen teasing the child.

He curled his lips and said casually, "Mr. Chen, you still have the time to coax the child."

You can still hear the disapproval in his tone.

Before Mr. Chen could speak, Xiao Chengzi seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head to look at Li Xinghai at the door.

The little guy blinked his big eyes and stared at Li Xinghai for a few seconds, then... without any warning, his little mouth pouted and he started crying with a "wow" sound, burying his head in his mother's arms, as if he was frightened.

Li Xinghai: “…”

He froze in embarrassment, his face flushing red.

He didn't do anything! What does this brat mean?

Jiang Haitang quickly patted her son's back to comfort him: "Oh, don't cry, little Chengzi, Uncle Li is not a bad person..."

Old Chen suppressed his laughter and jokingly said, "Xinghai, look at you, you look so serious that you scared the child to tears."

Of course, this was just a coaxing remark. The faces of the Lu family members were more serious than each other, and the little guy was probably used to seeing them. The only possibility was that the little guy didn't like Li Xinghai.

It turns out to be the Lu family’s kid, so smart!

Li Xinghai was embarrassed, neither advancing nor retreating, and muttered, "Do I... do I look that scary?"

He thought that although he was not handsome, he had a handsome appearance. How could he scare the child to tears?

In order to stop Xiaochengzi from crying, Li Xinghai could only try hard to force out a smile that he thought was relatively kind.

At this time, Zhang Jianguo and Yun Zhihao heard the noise and came over to watch the fun. Seeing Li Xinghai's frustrated look, they couldn't help but laugh.

Little Chengzi cried for a few times, and gradually stopped crying with the comfort of her mother, but she still sobbed from time to time, and occasionally glanced at Li Xinghai timidly, looking very aggrieved.

Li Xinghai's dissatisfaction and embarrassment were relieved a lot by this look, and he felt a sense of inexplicable guilt instead.

He felt that as a grown-up, he made the child cry, which felt a bit like bullying.

He touched his nose and softened his tone, "Ahem... well... I didn't mean to scare him."

Little Zhao was quick-witted and quickly tried to smooth things over: "Mr. Li, it's normal for children to be shy. Little Chengzi, look here, Uncle Zhao. I'll perform a magic trick for you!"

We will all be dealing with each other for the next month or so, so we can't let our relationships become strained.

As he said this he made an awkward face, trying to make the child laugh.

Little Orange looked at Xiao Zhao's strange expression, was stunned for a few seconds, and then... laughed "hehehe" and waved his little hands, as if he found it very interesting.

Now the contrast is even more obvious.

Li Xinghai's face turned even darker. So he was the only one who was scary?

Who is bullying whom?