Liu Jingze got up at two o'clock to boil water and cook.

Hearing the noise, Zhang Hongmei got up, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. At this time, Er Ya also got up to help Liu Jingze start the fire.

It was a tomato noodle soup. Zhang Hongmei had no appetite, but Liu Jingze coaxed her into eating half a bowl.

Liu Jingze carried a leather bag filled with food, a teacup, a lunchbox, a spoon, and chopsticks. The two traveled light, each carrying a military-style water bottle, and arrived at the station in half an hour.

It's 3:40, and there aren't many people in the waiting room. This train is just passing through, so I don't know if there will be any seats available.

“Hongmei, sit down. When you get in the car, stay close to me.”

"Don't worry, I won't get lost."

The two people sat on a long bench, waiting for the station announcement.

"Brother Jingze, look at us, we're the only ones who're relaxed, we didn't bring anything."

"That's because your friend helped; otherwise, we would have been the only two people attracting attention in the entire station."

A moment later, they heard the station announcement. Liu Jingze grabbed Zhang Hongmei's hand and said, "Let's go."

The two got on the bus. Liu Jingze pulled Zhang Hongmei to a two-seater, put his purse on the overhead luggage rack, and placed their water bottles on the table. He also had Zhang Hongmei take off her coat and put it on the luggage rack, while they covered their legs with their own coats.

Everyone was asleep at this time, and the carriage was exceptionally quiet. The middle-aged man opposite me was sleeping on the three-seater seat.

"Jingze, why don't we choose seats for three people?"

"There will be a lot of people on the bus when we get to the provincial capital, and we'll have to squeeze with them."

“That’s true,” Zhang Hongmei agreed.

"Close your eyes and sleep a little longer?"

"Okay, you should get some sleep too."

"It's comfortable for you to lean on my shoulder like this."

Zhang Hongmei glanced at Liu Jingze. Was he trying to take advantage of her? But there wasn't much to it that could be misunderstood, was there?

"No need, I'll just lean back and rest with my eyes closed for a while."

Liu Jingze didn't say anything more. The two of them leaned against each other and closed their eyes.

Half an hour later, Zhang Hongmei opened her eyes and saw that Liu Jingze had also opened his eyes and turned to look at her.

"Jingze, how many more stops until we reach the provincial capital? Will the stop be long? How about we get off and wander around when we get there?"

"We're only four stops away from the provincial capital, probably around midnight. But there are still things for sale. They're all household items from the locals, no food. I'm worried that our things will be stolen and our seats will be taken."

"No problem, you stay in the car and keep an eye on things, I'll go for a stroll. It's settled then."

I'm worried about leaving you alone.

"What's there to worry about? If I could, I'd love to travel abroad myself."

"What's so interesting about you? Okay, I'll let you go down and take a look when we get there. We'll be at the station in half an hour, but M City is quite poor, so I doubt you'll find anything you like."

"Just look and you'll see. Who wants to sit all the time?"

"Okay, okay. Go ahead."

When they arrived at the M city station, there was a 20-minute stop. Zhang Hongmei excitedly ran off the bus, stretched her arms and legs, and said, "This is too much trouble."

The platform was especially lively in the morning, with people getting on the train, seeing off passengers, and some even secretly doing small business.

Zhang Hongmei was wandering aimlessly when she suddenly saw a very old man squatting on the ground with a cloth bag in front of him.

Zhang Hongmei walked over and asked, "Grandpa, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No. I'm here to sell something, miss, would you like to take a look?"

"What?"

"Open it yourself and take a look. These are my wife's things. She's sick now and we don't have money for treatment, so we have to sell them for money. But nobody wants them."

Zhang Hongmei squatted down and opened the bundle, inside which was a huanghuali wood box.

Zhang Hongmei looked at the old man with suspicion. He was dressed in tattered clothes, his hands were covered in cuts, some of which were bleeding. His face was full of wrinkles, but when he spoke, he revealed a set of white teeth and was very polite, not an uneducated old farmer.

“Girl, please open it. Train station staff will be here soon. I know it’s wrong to do this privately, but I have no other choice. Even a hero can’t save a penny.”

Zhang Hongmei opened the box and found a phoenix crown inside, the kind that wealthy young ladies wore when they got married in ancient times.

"The government only accepts gold now, and they don't want any of these. I really have no other choice. But these are all genuine; they were once worn by my grandmother."

"Sir, how much do you want to sell it for?"

"Eighty. That's the lowest I can go. My wife needs one hundred for treatment."

"Sir, I'll take this. Here's a hundred. Consider it a good deed."

"Thank you so much, young lady. You're such a kind person, but I can't take advantage of you. Here's a pair of jade bracelets for you." After saying this, the old man took out a cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Hongmei.

Zhang Hongmei took out ten ten-yuan bills from her bag and handed them to the old man.

"Sir, you'd better be careful. Here's a hundred. Keep it safe."

"Don't worry. Good deeds will be rewarded, young lady!"

Zhang Hongmei wrapped the box in a cloth bag again, held it in her arms, and continued to stroll around.

I saw a little girl selling big, bright red persimmons for five cents each. I bought six, and also a small bag of dried black dates. It cost me eighty cents.

There was also an old woman selling embroidery. This time, Zhang Hongmei was so captivated that she couldn't walk any further.

It's so beautiful; the magpie looks like it's about to fly away.

"Little girl, what do you think of this embroidery? It's for making a screen."

"Auntie, how much is this large scroll?"

"This painting of magpies on a branch is ten yuan, another painting of peonies is fifteen yuan, and another painting of mountains and flowing water is also ten yuan."

"Auntie, let me see them all."

Zhang Hongmei took the embroidery handed to her by the old lady. The silk was really nice, and the price was really not high.

I saw all three, and my favorite was the one with the peony design.

"Auntie, I'll take all three."

"Alright, then I'll give you two handkerchiefs, one with red plum blossoms braving the snow, and one with chrysanthemums covering the mountains."

"Auntie, hurry up, the car is about to leave."

Zhang Hongmei counted out thirty-five and handed it to the old woman. She took the bundle and rushed to the car.

He sat there, panting heavily.

"You silly girl, if you keep doing this, you're not going down here anymore."

"Hehe, Brother Jingze, I'm sorry, it definitely won't happen again next time."

Zhang Hongmei whispered in Liu Jingze's ear, "Brother Jingze, I bought the phoenix crown and the embroidered screen. It was such a great deal! Actually, she had more, but I didn't have time to buy them."

Liu Jingze glared at Zhang Hongmei, that troublesome girl.

"Oh right, Jingze, here's a persimmon for you. It's still covered in ice, so it must be extra sweet. Here, and some black dates too. If only I were home, I could have asked Grandma to make me some candied hawthorn skewers with black dates. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."