As the train sped up, the wind blowing into the carriage became increasingly harsh and gusty. Just then, a pretty train attendant in her twenties came over and closed the window.

This was Zhao Sufang's first time riding a train in her forty-odd years of life. She watched with great interest as the trees, fields, and houses rushed past the window...

After watching for a while, Li Xiangdong got bored. He climbed to the middle bunk, lay down on his own bed, closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. The bed was too hard and uncomfortable.

Li Xiangdong quickly fell asleep amidst the clanging and clattering of the truck.

The sun slowly set behind the mountains, and the light outside the window grew dimmer. Zhao Sufang rested her chin on her right hand, her eyes fixed on the scenery outside. They had probably already left Huichuan County. She felt a little excited, but also a little homesick.

Suddenly, the train's public address system came on—

"A sumptuous dinner has been prepared for all passengers on this train. Passengers who wish to dine are requested to proceed to the dining car, which is located in carriage number 9 in the middle of the train."

Li Xiangdong had never eaten train food from the 1970s before. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, leaned out of his bunk, and asked Zhao Sufang, "Mom, shall we go to the dining car for dinner?"

Zhao Sufang was startled by the sudden appearance of Da Tou. When she saw her son's flushed cheeks, her heart softened. She reached out and touched Li Xiangdong's sweaty forehead, saying, "Didn't we bring steamed buns and eggs before we left?"

The food in the dining car must be so expensive!

"Come on, come on, it's on me!"

Although Li Xiangdong has the soul of a sixty-year-old, he can still naturally act coquettishly when facing his mother.

Zhao Sufang couldn't persuade him otherwise, so the two decided to eat in the dining car.

The dining car had large, bright windows, white tablecloths on the tables, and warm yellow light overhead that made you feel comfortable, plus the aroma of food.

"Mom, here's a menu. See what you'd like to eat?"

Li Xiangdong showed the menu to Zhao Sufang. Wow! Stir-fried green peppers with pork, one yuan; shredded vegetables with pork, one yuan; scrambled eggs with tomatoes, eight mao...

Rice costs 30 cents per 50 grams!

Upon hearing the price, Zhao Sufang got up to leave; it was too expensive!

Li Xiangdong quickly grabbed her, "Just try it, it's not a big deal if we only have this one meal!"

After the food was served, Li Xiangdong decided, "Yes, I'm definitely going to eat this meal!"

The rice was so hard it hurt my teeth, and the eggs in the stir-fried green peppers and eggs were burnt...

Although the food wasn't very good, the two of them ate every last grain of rice in the bowl, otherwise they would have felt that the money had been wasted!

After finishing my meal and washing up briefly, I lay down on the bed to rest. Occasionally, I could hear singing, chatting, and laughter coming from the next hard-seat carriage...

The next day, the two did not go to the dining car for a meal, but instead chose to eat boxed lunches.

Nowadays, train meals are served in aluminum bowls, which are two-thirds full of rice, with a few slices of red sausage and a small amount of shredded potatoes. The train attendant will collect the meals after the passengers have finished eating.

Aluminum lunchbox, I used to use this for bringing lunch to work or school.

The train kept stopping and starting, and the scenery outside the window was completely different from that of Huichuan. The train occasionally passed through tunnels of varying lengths. When passing through a tunnel, it was pitch black inside the train, but when it came out of the tunnel, it was bright and clear.

More and more mountains came into view, with rolling green hills stretching one after another, and occasionally a few small houses could be seen nestled in the valleys.

"Clang, clang—"

The train has arrived at the station and stopped.

Li Xiangdong was sitting by the car window, looking at the green mountains outside, when suddenly a little girl's face appeared in the car. Her cheeks were flushed, she had braids, and she was grinning widely. She was holding a golden mango and asked, "Brother, do you want some mango?"

Li Xiangdong was taken aback, and then he realized that nowadays many people would stick to the train windows and sell things to passengers when the train stopped at the station. Some people even held up kettles and sold water through the windows, one cent per teacup.

Seeing that Li Xiangdong didn't react, the little girl repeated, "It's very cheap, and very sweet!"

Li Xiangdong can understand Sichuan dialect. The little girl said, "Big brother, do you want to eat mango? It's very cheap and very sweet."

He was about to refuse when he saw two snotty-nosed, barefoot little boys standing behind the girl. Li Xiangdong's heart softened. "How much for one?"

The little girl exclaimed happily, "Five cents a pot!"

"I'll buy four!"

Li Xiangdong took out two cents from his pocket and handed them to her, then took four large mangoes.

The little girl happily pocketed the two cents and walked over to the car window next to her...

Finally, after more than forty hours of travel, the train arrived at its destination, Manjiang County Railway Station.

After getting off the train, Li Xiangdong and Zhao Sufang stretched their tired limbs and then boarded a bus to Hongxing Commune.

Besides people, there were also many live poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese on the bus. The aisle was filled with baskets of vegetables. People were noisy and the chickens and ducks were squawking. A goose even defecated on the bus. Li Xiangdong stuck his head out of the window to enjoy the wind the whole way, but he almost fainted.

After finally getting off the bus, the two of them still had to find an oxcart to go to Liangbo Brigade.

Liangbo Brigade is located in a remote area at the junction of three provinces. There are not many oxcarts going there every day. If they can't find one, the mother and daughter can only stay at the commune's guesthouse for one night and try their luck again the next day.

Fortunately, the two were lucky. A young man in his early twenties was driving an oxcart to the commune on business. When he heard that Zhao Sufang and her daughter had asked about it, he immediately agreed to give them a ride.

The mountain road was rugged and winding, and the old ox was having a hard time walking, but the refreshing mountain breeze made Li Xiangdong feel much better.

"Brother, are you from Liangbo Brigade?"

Li Xiangdong struck up a conversation with the young man driving the cart. The young man was not tall, but he was quite strong, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he exuded a kind and gentle aura.

Otherwise, Li Xiangdong wouldn't dare to ride in his car!

"That's right!" The young man lashed his whip at the old cow that was stretching its head to graze by the roadside. "You're not from western Sichuan, are you? Are you here to visit relatives?"

"Yes, I'm here to visit relatives."

The young man immediately became interested. "Which company are you looking for?"

"Luo Yonggang's home."

"Oh my god! I am Luo Yonggang!"

The young man jumped off the cart excitedly, and with a pull on the reins, the old ox stopped.

He approached Zhao Sufang and asked, "Are you the second or third sister?"

Zhao Sufang never expected to meet her younger brother, whom she had never met before, here. "I am your third sister."

"Third sister, third sister! It's your little brother!"

Luo Yonggang grasped Zhao Sufang's hand and shook it repeatedly.

Li Xiangdong felt something was wrong. In his previous life, he spent a few days in western Sichuan but didn't see his uncle. His maternal grandfather said he had gone hunting in the mountains.

But my second aunt is fifty years old this year, and my maternal grandmother must be almost seventy, so how come this uncle is so young?