Chapter 2 Are You Afraid I'd Run Away?

"Silly girl, your brother is so old, can you still starve yourself? Eat quickly and go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, we will leave and never come back to this house again!" He touched the girl's head without any disgust, pursed his lips and forced a smile, "I don't believe that we are not missing any limbs, and we can't survive without this group. Instead of enduring the cowardice of that woman, it's better to stay away and be free."

Self-deception, An Zhixia looked at his unsteady gaze and complained inwardly, but she also nodded vigorously in support: "Wherever my brother is, I will be there!"

The two pills were taken into the supermarket under the watchful eyes of her little brother. She gulped down most of the water, exhaled a long breath and said with a smile: "Brother, I'm fine now!"

Make the best of what you have come across. This is a classic line from too many time-travel scripts. Apart from facing reality and gritted her teeth to become An Zhixia born in 1972, she had no other choice in an era when it was difficult to take a single step without a letter of introduction. At least she found a brother who treated her like a treasure.

"Little girl, you are always good at coaxing me. I think you have never taken medicine before, and it works as soon as it takes effect?" He tapped her head gently and tucked the quilt in for her. An Zhiqiu was wrapped in a tattered military coat and slept on a "bed" made of two wide stools. The 1.8-meter-tall figure curled up in the bed was quite pitiful.

"She's so mean! I heard everything." She slept for a long time in the afternoon and was very alert. Seeing her brother move in the dark, she couldn't help but speak up for the original owner and him. "For money, she was willing to make us go to a more difficult place. She said she wanted you to take her job. If she gave up her position now, my brother wouldn't have to go to the countryside anymore."

"I don't have to go to the countryside, what about you?" An Zhiqiu replied with a smile: "Brother doesn't want you to suffer alone."

"That's my mother..."

"Zhixia," he interrupted his sister's angry words and said calmly, "From now on, we are two Ans with them. Mother's job is our repayment for her kindness. When we go to the countryside, our household registration will follow us, and we will no longer be constrained by them. Our lives may be even poorer than they are now, but as long as we work hard, they will get better day by day!"

An Zhixia blinked and said dryly, "I just can't stand it."

An Zhiqiu adjusted himself to a comfortable position and whispered, "Who isn't? When we get to the station tomorrow, help me carry them."

Without asking any more questions, she nodded and said a few more words. Then, in the itchy and painful frostbite, she fell asleep without knowing when.

It seemed that I had not slept for long when I heard a loud knock on the door.

"Hurry up and eat, the train doesn't wait for anyone," a hoarse voice pulled the two back from their idle talk.

An Zhiqiu sat up, the room was pitch dark and he had no idea what time it was, so he responded indifferently.

An Zhixia also sat up. Seeing that her brother had left the house, she fumbled to wipe her body with a towel soaked in warm water, changed into clean underwear, found a fashionable German velvet double-faced fleece autumn suit from the supermarket, put on the slim-fitting and fleece-lined warm suit, and then put on the original owner's clumping cotton coat and patched cardigan.

She also dry-cleaned her hair and braided it into two pigtails that hung in front of her chest. After simply rinsing her mouth and washing her face, she carefully applied frostbite ointment and unscented skin care products suitable for pregnant women to her face, hands, neck and ears.

She looked clear-headed and relaxed. Relying on her memory, she quickly put the original owner's textbooks into her bag, packed two coats and pants, and then went out with her things.

Perhaps it was the last meal the brother and sister had at the An family, so Kang Xiaohua was generous and gave each of them a bowl of thick and fragrant millet porridge, a boiled egg, two steamed buns made of 3-grain flour, and a plate of pickled cucumbers.

After dinner, it was still very dark outside, and there was only one dim light far away in the alley.

Father An walked ahead, pushing a bicycle that was about to fall apart. Two packages were hung on the handlebars and two thin quilts were placed on the back seat.

Kang Xiaohua was also carrying a bag and wearing patched cotton shoes, walking with the two siblings. When he met someone going out to the toilet, he forced a smile and said, "Aren't we sending them to the countryside? The family won't buy New Year's goods this year. We just hope they can be well settled there, so that we adults can feel at ease."

"It's good to go to the countryside. At least we can eat our fill. It's not like here where we can't buy food even if we have money." A tightly wrapped old lady nodded in agreement.

"You two really care about these siblings. There are so many children in your family, but you still grit your teeth to support them in their education. When we have enrollment quotas here, they two high school students can come back to take the exam. It will be easy for them to be admitted, and it will be good for them to stay out of the spotlight," another aunt also said.

"Yes, there is a high chance that they will return to the city. Otherwise, we would not want them to leave home at such a young age," Kang Xiaohua's face showed no flaws at all, as if the brother and sister who left were really born from her belly.

The An couple was afraid that the brother and sister would escape at the critical moment, so they personally sent them to the station.

Seeing the four big characters of Kyoto Station, the only bright one in the grayness, An Zhiqiu covered his stomach with an ugly face and said in pain: "I ate too much this morning and have to go to the toilet. Dad, Zhixia, you wait for me at the entrance, otherwise I won't be able to find you when I come back."

"I'll accompany you," said Father An as he was about to hand the car to Kang Xiaohua.

"No need, Zhixia is here, are you afraid that I will run away?" With a sneer, he was carrying a large bag of cotton-padded clothes on his back, holding his stomach and running into the crowd.

The couple exchanged looks. That's right, An Zhiqiu loved his sister the most. Even if he was hungry and cold, he had to make his sister live better. It can be said that An Zhixia was An Zhiqiu's only weakness.

The station in December was as busy as before. People were squeezing in with bags on their shoulders. Although it was dusty everywhere, An Zhixia could still smell the flavor of the New Year. It was the smell of 2019 that was imprinted in her childhood. Everyone's face was filled with happiness, satisfaction and joy.

But all this had little to do with the An siblings who left home to work in the countryside. After waiting in the cold wind for nearly an hour, seeing that all the educated youth on the list had arrived, An's father and Kang Xiaohua's faces were as grim as ink.

An Zhiqiu ran back, sweating profusely, panting heavily. He took the two bags and asked intermittently, "Have you reported in? Did you get your ticket?"

"Well, the director of the Youth League Office has gone in with his men," An Zhixia said, holding her patched but clean army green bag with a sweet smile on her pale face.

"Old Kang, you watch the car. I'll go into the station to see them off," An's father said with a stern face, holding a bag in both hands as the two siblings squeezed into the station.

An Zhixia took a deep breath, hugged her things tightly with one hand, tugged at her brother's clothes with the other, and followed with some curiosity and inexplicable excitement.

Nowadays, all trains are green-skinned with windows that can be opened. People hand their luggage in before getting on, and she climbs in with the help of people inside. The sense of the times of the 1970s has completely opened the curtain before her!

(End of this chapter)