Just then, the woman sitting opposite them also had a five or six-year-old boy with her. Seeing the chubby boy happily eating White Rabbit milk candy, the boy immediately started crying and wanted some too.
"White Rabbit, I want to eat White Rabbit, Mom, give me candy quickly!" The little boy squirmed in his mother's arms, his eyes glancing at the chubby boy from time to time, wishing he could rush over and snatch the candy from the chubby boy's mouth.
"Don't be silly, little darling. Mom will buy it for you after we get off the train," the little boy's mother coaxed softly.
"No, I want to eat it now. Tell that brat to give me the candy."
Upon hearing the noise, Fatty immediately became alert and snuggled closer to his father.
Qi Yongkang patted his son reassuringly: "Don't be afraid, Daddy's here."
The woman opposite Qi Yongkang smiled and said, "Brother, look, this little kid wants some candy, but there's nowhere to buy it on the train. Could you give my son one?"
Qi Yongkang wouldn't normally be so stingy with just a piece of candy, but that brat was so rude, calling Fatty a little brat. Just for that, he couldn't possibly give him the candy.
So Qi Yongkang said coldly, "Sorry, that's all."
The woman looked displeased when he refused: "How can you be so stingy, a grown man? You can't even give a child a piece of candy. If a child wants candy, just give him one."
"Am I being too polite? I can give my candy to whomever I want, what right do you have to interfere?" Qi Yongkang glared at the woman unhappily, his voice filled with obvious anger.
His tall stature, coupled with his angry expression, made him look somewhat frightening, as if he was about to strike someone at any moment. The onlookers immediately quieted down.
The woman was also startled. She was a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. Unable to get any good out of Qi Yongkang, she immediately vented her anger on her son.
He slapped his son's bottom a few times: "You little brat, you're so greedy, like you haven't eaten in eight hundred years. If you keep crying, believe me, I'll throw you off the train."
"Waaah," the little boy, having been spanked by his mother, dared not make a fuss any longer and quietly sobbed in his mother's arms.
Fatty watched as the boy opposite him got beaten up, and subconsciously touched his own little bottom. The boy looked like he was in a lot of pain.
Qi Yongkang then quietly instructed his son, "Fatty, you can't ask strangers for food outside. Even if they offer you food, you can't take it, understand? If you want something, tell your dad, mom, grandpa, or grandma."
"Dad, I understand," the chubby boy nodded earnestly. The boy across from them got beaten up because he wanted their candy, and he definitely wouldn't do that.
——
Liu Huimin hid around the corner and watched the train slowly leave. She couldn't hold back her tears and squatted down to cry. When she returned to her dormitory, her eyes were still swollen.
When Xiang Qiu and Chen Xiu saw this, they knew she must have been crying. Xiang Qiu didn't say much, but silently found a clean towel, wet it, and handed it to her: "Huimin, put this on your eyes first, otherwise you'll feel uncomfortable later."
"Thank you, Sister Qiu," Liu Huimin said, her voice a little hoarse.
He looked around before asking, "Did Qingqing go back?"
Xiang Qiu nodded: "She went back. She went back not long after you left."
Liu Huimin sighed, "I really envy Qingqing. Her whole family came to Beijing together, so she doesn't have to be separated from her family anymore."
She had just heard her son crying at the train station and desperately wanted to leave him there, but she couldn't. Even if she could leave him there, she wouldn't have time to take care of him.
Before, when she was at home, she would go back to work after her postpartum period, and her mother-in-law would help take care of her most of the time. It wasn't easy to balance her studies and childbirth.
Xiang Qiu gently comforted her, "There are only two years left. Once we graduate, your family will be reunited."
"Yes, I'm just a little unaccustomed to being away from my son all of a sudden. I'll be fine tomorrow," Liu Huimin said, managing a weak smile.
Xiang Qiu immediately changed the subject: "By the way, Qingqing just said that she'd like to invite us to her house for dinner next time she's off work."
Upon hearing that Xia Qingqing was inviting them to dinner, Liu Huimin's attention was immediately drawn: "That's great! Let's prepare some gifts."
Logically, since this wasn't their first visit to Xia Qingqing's home, they didn't need to be so polite. However, with elders present, it was their first formal visit, so they needed to be more courteous.
"Why don't we go to the supply and marketing cooperative together and buy some pastries and canned goods?" Xiang Qiu suggested.
Chen Xiu nodded in agreement: "I think it's a good idea."
"Then it's settled. The three of us will chip in."
As the three chatted, the topic of Xiang Qiu's blind date during her summer vacation came up.
When Liu Huimin asked her if her blind date had been successful, Xiang Qiu realized that she hadn't told the two of them that she was dating someone.
Liu Huimin stared wide-eyed in shock: "What? Sister Qiu, you're really dating someone? I didn't hear you mention it yesterday."
"Your husband was here yesterday, so I didn't mention it. I was thinking of telling you all when Xiuxiu came," Xiang Qiu said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Hmph, hurry up and tell me the truth about the other party, so that I, as someone who has been through this, can give you some advice."
Liu Huimin and Chen Xiu took turns asking Xiang Qiu all the information about her boyfriend.
"Sister Qiu, I think you should listen to Auntie, otherwise you'll suffer when you get married and have children." Liu Huimin frowned after hearing the man's conditions. She was the only one in the dormitory who was married and had children. As someone who had been through it, she definitely had some experience. Marriage was not as simple as she thought.
Although they are college students, they cannot be allocated housing immediately after graduation. At most, they will live in the single dormitory provided by their work unit, which is definitely inconvenient for the young couple. Therefore, they can only rent or buy a house.
These days, even a small apartment in Beijing costs one or two thousand yuan. Buying a courtyard house like Xia Qingqing's would be even more expensive, costing at least five or six thousand yuan. A college graduate earns only fifty-odd yuan a month. How long would it take to save up enough to afford an apartment?
Another point is that the man's mother doesn't value her son, so she probably won't help take care of the child after the young couple has one. In that case, Xiang Qiu will have a hard time taking care of the child alone.
Xiang Qiu knew that Liu Huimin was saying this for her own good, and that her thoughts were similar to her mother's. Married women tend to consider things more comprehensively.
Of course, she wasn't saying that Xia Qingqing's idea was wrong. After all, Xia Qingqing's conditions were what they were. She could buy a courtyard house worth several thousand yuan without hesitation. She had the means to not care about the man's financial situation, but Xiang Qiu couldn't.
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