Fortunately, Qiu Zean reacted quickly and caught Zhong Wanwan.
Are you alright?
Zhong Wanwan straightened up, holding onto the sleeper bed:
"Why was it shaking so much just now? What happened?"
The woman in the next berth complained:
"Does this train driver even know how to drive? He made the train wobble so badly! I hit my head and I'm sure I'll get a huge bump on it!"
Qiu Ze'an wanted to go outside to check on the situation, but he was also worried about Zhong Wanwan. He hesitated and said:
"Do you want to come with me to check? I'm worried about leaving you here alone!"
The woman next to her said enviously to her man:
“Look at other people, they are so considerate and caring, unlike you, you only care about yourself and always expect me to take the lead in everything.”
"When you're looking for a man, you have to find one who can handle things. You should learn from him."
These words made Zhong Wanwan and Qiu Zean feel embarrassed. Zhong Wanwan wanted to explain, but felt that explaining would only make things worse, so she simply pretended not to hear it.
Zhong Wanwan put on her thick clothes and prepared to go out with Qiu Zean to check the situation.
The two walked towards the locomotive, but before they reached the end, they encountered the train conductor who was helping them upgrade to soft sleeper berths. Qiu Ze'an quickly asked:
"Why did the train suddenly stop? What happened?"
The train conductor looked worried:
"Don't even mention it! There was sleet and snow on the road ahead, and a landslide occurred. The railway tracks weren't cleared yet, so we had to make an emergency stop!"
Qiu Zean frowned:
"It's so cold today, and the heating is turned off as soon as the car stops. The temperature inside will drop below freezing soon. How can the passengers stand it?"
That's how it is these days. In case of emergencies, trains are often forced to stop, and they can only wait halfway through the journey until the repairs are completed and the trains can resume service.
When a train stops halfway through a journey, there will naturally be no water or electricity. In summer, it's not so bad, just a bit stuffy, but in winter, it's a real nightmare.
The train conductor was also worried about this. This location was nearly 20 miles away from the next station. If the train stopped here, would they have to walk to the next station and wait?
If we don't go to the next station, the villages along the way simply can't accommodate such a large trainload of people!
The train conductor rubbed his face and gave a wry smile:
"Now we can only pray that the road can be repaired within 2 hours, otherwise we'll all have to either stay in the nearby villages or walk to the bus station ahead!"
Even if they were to be settled in nearby villages, the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled would definitely be given priority, and it might not be the turn of young and strong people like Zhong Wanwan and Qiu Zean.
Qiu Ze'an had also thought of this. He looked out the window, but it was too dark to see anything. Qiu Ze'an asked:
"Could we come along and take a look at the road section? We promise we won't cause you any trouble."
When the two boarded the train, the conductor had already seen Qiu Ze'an's work ID, so he trusted Qiu Ze'an quite a bit. He nodded.
"Then you two get off with me. Be careful walking. The snow melts during the day and freezes back at night, so it's very slippery."
The two followed closely behind the train conductor, got off the train, and headed straight for the maintenance section.
Zhong Wanwan walked carefully on the ice, moving slowly for fear of falling, and had already fallen far behind the train conductor!
Qiu Zean couldn't walk fast to accommodate Zhong Wanwan either. Seeing that Zhong Wanwan lost her balance again, Qiu Zean decisively took her hand:
"I'll hold your hand, and you'll follow in my footsteps. We have to hurry, or we'll fall behind the train conductor!"
Now is not the time for sentimentality. Zhong Wanwan held Qiu Zean's hand tightly, and the two walked very close to each other, one in front of the other.
Upon arriving at the location, Qiu Zean frowned even more deeply. The landslide area was quite large, and it certainly wouldn't be possible to clear it all by hand in just two hours. They needed to find a way to settle the land there.
The train conductor clearly noticed this as well, and he sighed repeatedly on the way back.
Half of the train attendants went off to help clear the obstruction, while the rest were responsible for maintaining order.
The train conductor definitely has to stay behind to maintain order; without him as a source of reassurance, the train would be in chaos.
At this point, maintaining order is less desirable than doing manual labor. Making people get off the bus and rush in the middle of the night is truly infuriating.
The train conductor and Qiu Ze'an revealed the truth:
"You two are young, and I doubt you can settle down in the nearby village. While everyone's still making a fuss, I suggest you head straight to the station ahead!"
"If we go early, we can find a good guesthouse with better accommodations. If we go late..."
The rest is self-explanatory; Qiu Zean and Zhong Wanwan understood what it meant.
If you go too late, there won't be any food left. In the middle of the night, finding someone to take you in is harder than climbing to heaven.
Who knows, you might have to make do with spending the night at the train station. After all that travel, sleeping at the train station all night is bound to make you sick!
Qiu Zean made a decisive decision:
"Let's pack our bags and get going!"
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