After boarding the train, Tao Ying first put her suitcase on the rack, then rearranged her berth. She didn't plan to use the train's blankets; she brought her own small blanket, as she would be staying on the train for three days.

The hard sleeper compartment wasn't as comfortable as the soft sleeper compartment. Each small compartment had six berths. Tao Ying sat opposite a middle-aged man around forty years old. Tao Ying took out a book to pass the time, really missing the days when she had a mobile phone.

About six or seven hours later, we arrived at another major station, and a dozen or so people boarded the train.

A mother and son stood in the cubicle where Tao Ying was. The mother was in her early fifties and the man was around thirty.

"Ma'am, could I switch bunks with you? My mom is getting old, and it's not convenient for her to go up to the upper bunk." The man looked around and finally asked Tao Ying.

"Me?" Tao Ying looked at the man with surprise, staring at him with some astonishment.

It was obvious that the middle-aged man opposite him was a better fit for switching berths than he was.

"Sister, my mother is old and has difficulty walking. Could we switch beds? I'll make up the difference." The man looked at Tao Ying's clothes and figured she was a cultured person. Such people are the most soft-hearted.

“I’m not much younger than your mother. You should talk to the train conductor.” Tao Ying said, then turned back to her book, no longer looking at the others.

"How can you take advantage of someone?" the man said, displeased.

"Do I need to show you my ID card? I'm forty-seven years old. What are you thinking, asking me to change my berth?" Tao Ying wasn't angry; she just said it calmly.

"Forty-seven? Big sister... big sister, you're really forty-seven?" The man opposite Tao Ying couldn't help but exclaim.

I had been secretly watching this older woman for a while, and I thought she was several years younger than me, but who would have thought she was almost ten years older than me.

“Who keeps telling themselves they’re a few years older? I’m retired.” Tao Ying didn’t want to talk to the middle-aged man anymore and continued reading.

"Dajun, help me a little," the woman in her fifties whispered to her son.

Hard sleeper berths on trains are already hard to buy, and once you finally manage to get a lower berth, who would want to switch with someone else? If you were in a hard seat carriage and couldn't get a seat, you'd have to stand anyway.

Dajun was already a little angry, thinking that Tao Ying was lying, but since his mother had already climbed up the social ladder, he didn't say anything more.

Six or seven hours later, around four in the afternoon, Tao Ying made herself a cup of malted milk powder. The woman came down from the upper bunk and said, "Sister, can I sit here and have something to eat?"

"Sit down." Tao Ying moved to the side; there was a small table on the lower bunk, which was originally shared by everyone.

"Hey little sister, my surname is Wang. I have some eggs here, have one." Sister Wang took an egg out of her pocket and handed it to Tao Ying.

"No need, Sister Wang, my daughter made me something to eat," Tao Ying said softly.

"Sister, don't take it to heart with my son. He has a quick temper, but he's a filial son," Sister Wang said with a smile.

Tao Ying didn't respond; she didn't like the mother and son.

Seeing that Tao Ying didn't respond, Sister Wang wasn't angry. After finishing her meal, she sat there without leaving. "Young man, where are you going?" Sister Wang then struck up a conversation with the man opposite her.

"Sister, if you're not going up, you can sit here. The lady next to you clearly wants to rest," the middle-aged man said gruffly, looking at Tao Ying leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.

People clearly didn't want to chat with her, yet she lingered there and wouldn't leave. I don't know what she was thinking.

"I'm just trying to digest my food." Sister Wang didn't move.

After a while, Tao Ying drank her malted milk powder and then picked up her book to continue reading.

"Hey girl, what are you reading..."

"Aren't you annoying? Do I even know you? Do you think I'm a woman and you're easy to talk to? Or are you a human trafficker, just trying to strike up a conversation with me on purpose?" Tao Ying snapped angrily.

After suppressing his temper for half a day, he could no longer hold back and got up to find the flight attendant, telling her directly that he suspected human traffickers.

The flight attendant didn't dare to delay and quickly ran over, saying, "Please show me your ID."

"Comrade, this person is spreading rumors. We are mother and daughter, and we were just chatting with her for a bit." Sister Wang was completely dumbfounded and didn't know why this woman was acting like this.

"You say you're mother and daughter, but what proof do you have that you're her mother? You two came here and started causing me trouble. Out of the whole carriage, you're the only one asking me, an old lady who's almost fifty, to switch berths. Now you're sitting in my berth and won't leave. You're giving me food and trying to find out about my family." Tao Ying spoke up before the train attendant could even reply.

I was thinking of doing justice to this outfit and making myself look less slutty, but who would have thought there would be such shameless people.

"Please come with me." Upon hearing what Tao Ying said, the flight attendant's expression immediately changed, and she directly asked the mother and daughter to leave.

The middle-aged man was dumbfounded and quietly covered himself up. This woman was truly ruthless.

It was past 8 p.m. when the mother and son returned. They both looked unwell and neither dared to provoke Tao Ying again. For the next day, they didn't leave the house except to eat or use the restroom.

Tao Ying also fell completely silent.

When we were almost at the next stop, I took my suitcase off and put on a hat. You couldn't tell at all that my hair was oily and plastered to my scalp.

As soon as I stepped out of the workshop, I saw a large wooden sign with my name written on it... Tao Ying.

The person holding the sign was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties and had an upright posture.

Tao Ying carried the suitcase and walked over. "Hello, comrade, did Jiang Jiang send you to pick me up?"

The middle-aged man glanced at Tao Ying upon hearing the voice, paused for a moment, and then immediately recognized her. "Hello, Comrade Tao Ying, I am Jiang Huan, the third brother of Jiang Jiang."

Jiang Huan took the box from Tao Ying's hand as he spoke.

Tao Ying didn't stand on ceremony and slowly followed behind Jiang Huan.

Jiang Huan arrived in a Jeep. He first helped Tao Ying put the box away, then opened the passenger side door. Before he could even help her, Tao Ying climbed in herself.

Jiang Huan drove silently the whole way, and Tao Ying didn't say a word either. When they arrived at a large compound, there were soldiers standing guard at the gate.

After registering, Jiang Huan and Tao Ying stopped outside a villa.

From the outside, the villa has three floors and occupies a large area.

As soon as Jiang Huan's car stopped, a number of people came out of the house. The leader was a woman who looked to be around fifty years old, with a straight back and a graceful figure. Jiang Jiang and several young men were with her.

"Sister Tao." Jiang Jiang rushed over enthusiastically, even winking at Tao Ying.

"Xiao Tao, come in quickly. I'm Zhao Shengnan, Jiang Jiang's sister-in-law. You can just call me sister-in-law like Jiang Jiang does." Zhao Shengnan looked at Tao Ying with a smile in her eyes.

Jiang Jiang is only four years older than Zhao Shengnan's eldest son. She's practically like a mother to Zhao Shengnan, even though Zhao Shengnan's eldest son, Jiang Cong, is not as favored as Jiang Jiang.

"Hello, sister-in-law." Tao Ying hadn't expected the Jiang family to be so warm.