On the day Xia Qingqing left for school, Xia Heping rode his bicycle to take her to the train station.
After a summer of practice, Xia Heping's cycling skills have improved rapidly, and he can now carry two people at the same time.
"Dad, you should go back now, there's no need to see me off any further," Xia Qingqing told Xia Heping as soon as they arrived at the train station entrance.
Xia Heping was still pushing his bicycle, wanting to take his daughter in but afraid the bicycle would be stolen, he was very conflicted: "Then take care of yourself, and send a telegram back as soon as you get to school."
Sending a telegram is more expensive than writing a letter, but Xia Heping and his wife never worried about the cost when it came to their daughter.
The sooner they know their daughter has arrived at school safely, the sooner they can feel at ease; otherwise, they can't sleep peacefully.
If train tickets weren't so expensive, Xia Heping would have loved to personally take his daughter to school.
Xia Qingqing waved her paw: "Okay, I'll let you know I'm safe as soon as I get to school."
Xia Heping watched his daughter's figure gradually disappear from sight, tightened his grip on the bicycle slightly, and finally rode home.
When Zhang Hongyan heard that her husband had returned, she immediately came out to greet him: "How is it? Did Qingqing get on the train safely?"
"Yes, I dropped her off at the train station entrance," Xia Heping said somewhat guiltily, as he hadn't actually watched his daughter board the train.
“How could you not personally escort Qingqing to the train station? What if a kidnapper at the station abducts her?” Zhang Hongyan glared angrily at her husband, her mind filled with worry for her daughter’s safety, and the more she thought about it, the more frightened she became.
Xia Heping pointed to the bicycle in the yard: "I'm keeping an eye on the bicycle, otherwise I'll have to go to complain if it gets stolen."
Hearing this, Zhang Hongyan stopped blaming the man, but she couldn't alleviate her worries.
"Don't worry, I told Qingqing I'll send a telegram back as soon as I get to school," Xia Heping comforted his wife, putting his arm around her shoulder.
——
On the other side.
Xia Qingqing, carrying the large and small bags prepared by Zhang Hongyan, squeezed into the train station.
The train hadn't arrived yet, so she had to go to the waiting room at the train station to wait. Once inside, the waiting room was chaotic and full of people.
Xia Qingqing managed to find a small open space, placed a package containing clothes on the ground, and then sat down.
I sat there bored for almost half an hour until I received the notification that the train was delayed.
Xia Qingqing sighed. Train delays were common at this time of year, so she could only continue waiting.
A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed in a well-fitting Zhongshan suit walked towards Xia Qingqing: "Young lady, where are you going?"
The man looked to be in his forties, and he was dressed very smartly, looking like a leader.
Xia Qingqing glanced at him and, noticing that he was waiting for her answer, casually replied, "Go to school."
"Wow, you're a college student, that's really impressive," the uncle said, giving Xia Qingqing a thumbs up.
Xia Qingqing smiled awkwardly and didn't say anything more.
The uncle wasn't angry; he coughed lightly and said:
"Young lady, can I ask you something?"
"I am the director of Haishi Food Factory. I came to Pingxi County for an inspection. I was planning to return to Haishi after the inspection, but my wallet was stolen as soon as I entered the train station."
He sighed with a worried look halfway through his sentence: "I happen to have my train ticket in my wallet. Could you lend me 20 yuan to buy a train ticket?"
"Don't worry, I can give you an IOU. Just give me your address, and I'll mail the money to you when I get home. You won't lose out. I'll pay you back 30 yuan later. What do you think?"
"No good, you've got the wrong person. I don't have 20 yuan." Xia Qingqing didn't care whether the man was telling the truth or not; there was no way he was going to lend her money.
However, she had a slight doubt in her heart. It is said that college students have a kind of clear stupidity in their eyes. Is it possible that her identity as a college student is so obvious that it can be seen at a glance?
Otherwise, with so many people around, why would they only focus on her?
The middle-aged man wasn't angry when he was rejected. He smiled wryly and said, "I know you don't believe me. You can look at my ID. I'm really in a difficult situation and have no other choice. Young lady, you're kind-hearted, please help me."
The middle-aged man handed his ID to Xia Qingqing, but she didn't even glance at it.
What's the point of this kind of document? Even if it's fake, she wouldn't be able to tell.
"Uncle, I'm not kind-hearted and I don't have the ability to help you. If you're in trouble, go find the police."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's expression changed: "You're supposed to be a college student, how can you be so cold-hearted? I guess I misjudged you."
"So what if I'm a college student? Does that mean I have to lend you money? Do you think I'm stupid if I don't get angry?" Xia Qingqing was so annoyed by him that she stood up abruptly and glared at him.
The man hadn't expected that Xia Qingqing, who looked so soft and gentle, would actually have such a fiery temper, and he walked away grumbling.
Seeing that the annoying guy had finally left, Xia Qingqing sat down again. These scammers are really brazen these days. If they hadn't left, she would have wanted to hit them. This was a way of ridding someone of a menace.
If you have any problems, go to the police. Anyone who changes their expression at the mention of the police is 100% a scammer.
After waiting for another half hour, the train finally arrived at the station.
After getting her ticket checked, Xia Qingqing carried her bag and weaved through the crowd, finally breathing a sigh of relief after squeezing onto the train.
She looked down to check her luggage and noticed out of the corner of her eye that there were two holes torn in her pocket. She cursed her bad luck inwardly.
I was so busy squeezing through the crowd that I didn't even notice when my clothes were torn.
It's obvious that this was a thief's usual trick, but unfortunately, all her money and tickets were in the system's warehouse, so the thief had to leave empty-handed.
This was Xia Qingqing's first time riding in a hard sleeper train from the 1970s. There was a strange smell in the air, seemingly mixed with the smell of smoke, sweat, and stinky feet, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
Xia Qingqing frowned and found her seat according to the seat number shown on her train ticket.
Then I saw a young woman holding her child, sitting in her seat with her eyes closed, asleep.
Xia Qingqing took out her train ticket again and checked it, confirming that this was indeed her seat.
He reached out and patted the woman with her eyes closed: "Hello, comrade."
The woman slowly opened her eyes, which were bloodshot, indicating that she hadn't had enough rest.
Xia Qingqing handed the ticket to the woman and glanced at it: "Hello, this is my seat."
"Ah, I'm...I'm sorry," the woman panicked for a moment and tried to pick up the child in a hurry, but her leg went numb and she almost dropped the child.
Xia Qingqing caught the child quickly and reminded him, "Be careful."
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