Ning Tang raised his eyebrows. Although it's a bit expensive at 30 cents a portion, it tastes good and the portion is large. Most importantly, it doesn't require a ticket, so it's still a good deal.
The three little kids were also very happy eating.
Although the train meals may not be as delicious as the dishes cooked by Chen Lie, eating on the train is a special train meal, and you can also look at the scenery outside the window. It is a completely different experience from eating at home.
After dinner, the intense heat came back.
Ning Tang shared the drink with the three children. She specifically reminded the three children to drink in small sips and not to drink too much so as to avoid inconvenience in going to the toilet.
Soon it was night.
Chen Lie assigned the beds, and the eldest child slept with the third child, with the third child sleeping inside and the eldest child sleeping outside.
The third child likes to turn over when sleeping. Let the eldest child stop him so that he won’t fall off the bed.
The two boys are still young and don’t take up much space, so there is still half of the space left on the bed for Chen Lie.
The other bed was more than enough for Ning Tang and Erniu to sleep on.
Today we had to get up early again, take a boat and squeeze into a train, and everyone was tired.
Especially the three little ones, they couldn't even open their eyes. The youngest one, Sanwa, rubbed his eyes and yawned even more, and almost fell asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed.
Seeing the three children fast asleep, Chen Lie said to Ning Tang, "You should go to sleep too."
Ning Tang nodded and asked, "What about you?"
Chen Lie said, "I'll keep watch at night and sleep during the day."
Even in the most luxurious and least crowded soft sleeper, he did not dare to let his guard down.
When he was at the train station today, he saw many people with improper looks.
When getting on the bus, Chen Lie saw a skinny man trying to steal the wallet of a well-dressed woman.
The thief acted so quickly that he succeeded in just a few seconds.
Chen Lie wanted to call for help, but the words were drowned out by the noisy voices in the station.
He wanted to chase after them, but he was squeezed and unable to move by the surging crowd. In addition, Ning Tang and three children were with him. What if something happened to them while he went to chase after them?
I could only watch helplessly as the thief disappeared into the crowd in a few seconds.
Thinking of what happened in the morning, Chen Lie's eyes darkened and his hands clenched tightly.
He was an active-duty soldier, but he couldn't stop this petty theft from happening right in front of him. He felt so frustrated.
Now it seems that Ning Tang's move of letting the three children change into old clothes was very forward-looking.
At least those people with bad intentions ignored them and did not have any bad intentions towards them when they saw that their family was not dressed so decently.
It’s a good thing that he is just a thief. If he is a cruel kidnapper or something, it would be even more worrying.
Shen Lie's gaze swept across Ning Tang and the three children's sweet sleeping faces, and he breathed a sigh of relief after a moment of fear.
After floating on the train for several days in a row, Ning Tang felt that his butt was sore from sitting.
Those of them who were in the sleeper berths were already feeling so uncomfortable, not to mention Su Junyan and his family who could only sit in hard seats.
Su Junyan and Ning Xue are adults after all, and they have stronger endurance.
It was Ning Xue who suggested going back to Shangang Village. Even though her back and waist ached from sitting, she didn't say a word.
But the twins couldn't stand it anymore and kept howling in Ning Xue's ears, saying that they didn't want to take the train anymore, didn't want to go to their grandma's house, and wanted to go home.
Ning Xue was tortured a lot during this journey.
But when she thought about being able to "return home in glory", she felt full of strength and kept comforting the twins in a gentle voice.
I took the train until February 4th, and finally arrived at my destination, Shangang Village, in one day.
No matter who it was, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
On February 5th, Ning Tang got up early in the morning.
She was a bit attached to her bed, and with so many people coming and going in the carriage, she couldn't sleep well, so she just got up.
Got up early? It’s better to get up early, the train will arrive at noon, so you can use this time to pack your luggage.
As soon as Ning Tang made a move, Chen Lie woke up.
He was just squinting at first, but when he saw Ning Tang packing his luggage, he quickly stood up and tried to lend a hand.
Ning Tang quickly stopped him and told him to lie down. "No need, I can do it. We don't have much luggage anyway."
Chen Lie has been on night watch these days and has not had much rest. When he finally gets a chance to take a nap, Ning Tang is reluctant to disturb him.
Chen Lie looked out the window and saw that the sky was gradually getting brighter. He nodded and fell asleep again.
Ning Tang packed up his luggage, put it together, picked up the enamel pot, and prepared to get some hot water so that Chen Lie and the three children would have some hot water to drink when they got up.
To get hot water, Ning Tang had to pass by the carriage where Ning Xue and her group were staying. When passing by Ning Xue, Ning Tang took a quick look and found that she and Su Junyan were both sleeping soundly.
In the past few days, many passengers got off the bus and a lot of seats became empty. Ning Xue and the others finally had a place to move around.
As they were about to arrive at the station, the two of them relaxed and were sleeping soundly at this time.
Ning Xue leaned on the chair, not knowing what she was dreaming about, her brows furrowed.
Su Junyan was lying on his back, snoring loudly.
Ning Tang just glanced at it and continued to get some hot water.
After getting the hot water, she walked back carrying the enamel pot.
The train just arrived at a station and many passengers stood up and walked out.
Ning Tang carefully protected the enamel pot and slowly squeezed in.
Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of her eye.
It was Su Guangzong, who was following a slightly plump woman whose face could not be seen clearly out of the carriage.
It’s no wonder that Ning Tang noticed him in the surging crowd. It was because his red sweater with a pony sewn on it was too eye-catching, like a touch of red in the midst of green.
Ning Tang was very surprised because it was not even eight o'clock yet and they would not arrive at the station until noon. Where was Su Guangzong going now? And who was he going with?
She looked at the woman more carefully and confirmed that she was someone she didn't know.
I was terrified, wondering if I had met a kidnapper.
Ning Tang quickly shouted, "Su Guangzong!"
Su Guangzong seemed to hear someone calling him, stopped and looked back.
The fat woman following him didn't know why he stopped and kept urging him, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and move on."
Su Guangzong hesitated and said, "But, I seemed to hear someone calling me."
The fat woman's expression changed. "Who called you? You must have heard it wrong."
"Su Guangzong! Su Guangzong!" Ning Tang called out several times in succession.
Su Guangzong said in surprise, "Really? Someone called me." At the same time, he also noticed Ning Tang's figure and called out, "Auntie."
Ning Tang stepped forward to separate the fat woman and Su Guangzong, and asked cautiously, "Who is this person? Why are you following her?"
Su Guangzong said with a simple face, "I don't know. I don't know her, but I wanted to go to the bathroom. She said she knew the way and asked me to follow her."
Ning Tang is convinced. You don’t even know her, and you follow her!
"If you want to go to the bathroom, why don't you call your mom or dad and let them take you there?" Ning Tang asked.
Su Guangzong whispered, "I called out, but they were sleeping so soundly. I called out several times but they didn't wake up, so I tried to find a toilet myself, but I couldn't find one. Luckily, I met this kind auntie."
Kind-hearted? Not necessarily.
The direction the fat woman was taking Su Guangzong was not the toilet, and it looked like she wanted to get off the car.
The voice announcing the train's arrival was broadcast again, obviously urging the passengers to get off the train quickly as the doors would be closed soon.
The fat woman was anxious. She stretched out her short, fat fingers and questioned Ning Tang, "Who are you? Why are you meddling in other people's business?"
Having said that, she no longer cared about Ning Tang, grabbed Su Guangzong's elbow, and tried to walk out.
Ning Tang quickly grabbed the fat woman's hand, preventing her from leaving, and shouted, "Hurry, someone's here! There's a kidnapper!"
The carriage they were in was very close to Ning Xue's carriage, and Ning Xue was particularly sensitive to Ning Tang's voice, so when Ning Tang shouted, she woke up immediately and was the first one to rush over.
Ning Xue was very excited when she heard Ning Tang shouting that there was a kidnapper.
Did she think that some kidnappers were coming to abduct Da Wa and the other two, and she was just there to watch the fun?
Who would have thought that when they got to the place, look, Ning Tang was holding the fat woman in her hand, and the fat woman was holding Su Guangzong in her hand.
So this kidnapper is not here to kidnap Da Wa and the others, but to kidnap Su Guangzong?!
Ning Xue was disappointed first, and then angry.
Good, someone actually dared to kidnap her son!
Ning Xue quickly stepped forward and questioned the fat woman, "Who are you? Why are you holding our Guangzong? Let go."
If Ning Tang was the only one there, the fat woman could still bite back and say that Su Guangzong was her child and Ning Tang was the kidnapper.
But now Ning Xue showed up, and the fat woman panicked. She stammered, "I, I took him to the bathroom."
Ning Xue was no fool, she said, "You're lying. Going to the toilet is the opposite direction. You're just trying to kidnap our Guangzong."
Seeing her plan had failed, the fat woman just wanted to get away quickly. She spat and said, "Hmph, good people don't get good rewards. Can't I just leave?"
After saying that, he let go of Su Guangzong's hand, turned around and wanted to leave.
It’s not that easy to leave!
How could Ning Xue and Ning Tang do what she wanted? They quickly grabbed the fat woman, one on each side, and shouted, "Help, there's a kidnapper!"
The two of them shouted and attracted Chen Lie, as well as the two flight attendants.
The fat woman was very strong, and Ning Tang and Ning Xue couldn't hold her back at all.
Fortunately, Shen Lie arrived in time. The moment the fat woman jumped out of the car, he grabbed her and pulled her back into the car.
Ning Tang breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, if the fat woman had jumped out of the car, she would have disappeared in an instant.
Chen Lie grabbed the fat woman with one hand, twisted her hands behind her back, and said to the flight attendant, "Comrade, this man is a kidnapper."
The fat woman, upon hearing Chen Lie say she was a kidnapper, quickly argued, "I'm not a kidnapper, I'm not a kidnapper."
She looked around and saw many passengers gathered around her. "I'm really not a kidnapper. I was just kind enough to help this child go to the restroom."
Ning Tang sneered, "You? Keep making it up. Is this the direction to go to the toilet? You? You clearly wanted to take him out of the car and then disappear."
The onlookers were not fools. The carriage they were in was completely different from the carriage where the toilet was.
With Ning Tang as an eyewitness, we have to believe it even if we don’t want to.
They all said, "This woman is so vicious. I wonder why she kidnapped the child." "She kidnapped him to sell him. A child can be sold for dozens of yuan, especially a boy." "So mean, really, so mean."
Ning Xue also realized their point.
Su Guangzong is a boy and he is handsome. This kidnapper must have chosen him as his target because of this.
Thinking about how close she was to losing Su Guangzong, she was so angry that she was shaking all over. She pointed at the fat woman and said to the flight attendant, "Comrade flight attendant, quickly take this flight attendant to the police station and sentence her to ten or eight years."
The younger flight attendant nodded. "I'll escort her to the cabin and lock her up there. When we get to the station, I'll take her to the police station right away."
Ning Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the flight attendant's assurance.
Fearing that she would retreat, she felt a surge of inexplicable anger in her heart. She grabbed Su Guangzong and hit him hard a few times, "How can you be so stupid? If you wanted to go to the bathroom, why didn't you call me or your dad? You believed me when I said I would take you to the bathroom. I wanted to kidnap you and make you a poor family's son."
An older flight attendant said, "They don't just kidnap children to be their sons. Some ruthless people will break their hands and feet and take them to beg on the streets. They try to establish a long-term business with them. For them, the money they make this way is much more profitable than selling them outright."
After hearing this, Ning Xue became even more frightened and hit Su Guangzong several times in a row.
Su Guangzong had never suffered such an injustice before. He pursed his lips and burst into tears, rubbing his eyes with his two little hands. "Wow wow wow wow, I'm not stupid. I called you, but you didn't wake up."
Of course Ning Xue would not put the blame on herself, and she scolded Su Guangzong a few more times, and Su Guangzong cried even harder.
The young flight attendant couldn't stand it any longer. "Don't just blame the child. It's normal for a child that young to be so careless. It's you, the mother, who's not always paying attention to your child's movements. Ultimately, your fault is greater than his."
He glanced at Su Guangzong and said slowly, "Besides, it's the Spring Festival travel rush, there are many people and bad guys. Why do you dress so brightly and beautifully? Isn't it just like writing a few big words on your face: Come and kidnap me?"
The older flight attendant nodded, clearly agreeing with the younger one. Glancing at Da Wa, Er Niu, and San Wa, who had just arrived, he pointed at them and said, "They should dress like them, all dusty and inconspicuous."
Ning Xue opened her mouth and retorted, "We're rich, so what if we dress our children well? You said they dress modestly so they won't be kidnapped easily, but I also said our children dress well and conspicuously, otherwise how could they be seen if they were kidnapped?"
She refused to listen, and the two flight attendants didn't know what to say. They just felt like they were talking to a deaf person and took the fat woman away.
Ning Tang glanced at Ning Xue and saw that she didn't show any intention of thanking her. She didn't care and went back to the sleeper with Chen Lie, Da Wa and the others.
She saved Su Guangzong simply because she didn't want the child to be abducted by kidnappers. Even if the abducted child was not Su Guangzong, she would still take action.
Just be sure to have a clear conscience.
Ning Xue was still hugging Su Guangzong's baby and didn't notice at all that a thin man with a gleam in his eyes passed by her and took something from her pocket.
Most people had left, and Ning Xue took Su Guangzong back to the hard seat compartment.
When she looked over, she found Su Junyan still soundly asleep. She was so angry that she woke him up and said, "Get up!"
Su Junyan was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly woken up. He felt a splitting headache and said angrily, "What are you doing? Can't you let me sleep?"
Ning Xue angrily said, "Sleep, sleep, sleep. All you do is sleep. Do you know that your son was almost kidnapped by a kidnapper?"
Su Junyan was stunned for a moment and subconsciously turned his head to look. Su Yaozu beside him was still asleep, and Su Guangzong was standing beside Ning Xue. "What are you talking about? Why don't you just take care of the two children?"
Ning Xue took a deep breath and repeated what had just happened to him. "The kidnapper is still being held in the crew room. Do you want to go and take a look?"
"I won't watch it anymore. As long as they catch him, that's fine." Su Junyan said casually, "As long as the child isn't lost, that's fine."
Seeing his indifferent attitude, Ning Xue was furious.
Is this your son or my son?
Ning Xue was so angry that she didn't want to talk. She leaned back in the car seat, closed her eyes, and didn't want to talk to anyone.
An hour later, Su Yaozu woke up.
He didn't know what had happened. With the look of a carefree young man, he pulled Ning Xue's arm and said crisply, "Mom, I'm hungry."
Ning Xue's anger subsided, and she said lovingly, "Come on, I'll take you to the dining car to buy something to eat."
Su Junyan interrupted, "Please bring me a bag of peanuts."
Ning Xue nodded. As she led Su Yaozu towards the dining car, she felt for money in her pocket.
This is terrible, where is her money?!
Ning Xue had a flash of inspiration and remembered that when she was teaching Su Guangzong, it seemed like someone passed by her. It must be that person who did it!
That's a full fifty yuan! It's her salary for half a year's work! It's also all her belongings!
Ning Xue felt both cold and angry, like a world of ice and fire.
She was angry because she found out that her money was stolen, and she was cold because she didn't even get a clear look at what the person looked like, whether he was a man or a woman, old or young, tall or short, fat or thin, she had no idea.
Where is she going to find the money?
Ning Xue fell to the ground weakly. She could not even hear the voice of Su Yaozu next to her who was shouting that he was hungry and asked her to take him to buy something to eat.
The train arrived at noon.
Ning Tang happily got out of the car with a small bag on her shoulder and three kids by her hand.
She felt particularly good when she thought about seeing Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju, whom she had not seen for a long time.
I don’t know if the two old people have changed in more than a year since I last saw them.
By the way, maybe I can meet her brother Ning Jun.
Ning Jun is a legendary figure. Ning Tang has been traveling here for so long, but has only seen him once. If it weren't for his letters coming from time to time, his family would have thought he had disappeared.
Compared to Ning Tang's brisk steps, Ning Xue's steps were light and her face was pale.
First, Su Guangzong was almost kidnapped, and then all her savings that she had accumulated for a long time were stolen. She was in a daze and didn't even hear Su Junyan calling her several times.
After leaving the train station, I wandered all the way.
It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon when I could finally see the small road leading to Shangang Village.
Ning Tang saw from afar a few people waiting under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village. She squinted her eyes, trying to see more clearly.
Why do the figures of these people look so much like Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju, as well as Ning Weidang and Zhou Yin?
After walking a little closer, Ning Tang finally saw the whole picture and it was indeed them.
Ning Tang threw the bag and the other two, Da Wa and the others, to Chen Lie. He quickly ran over to Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju, shouting, "Dad! Mom!"
Sun Aiju looked at Ning Tang's little face lovingly and said, "You're already an adult, yet you're still so reckless." Although she said so, she was still very much pleased with her daughter's affection.
Ning Weiguo blew out a smoke ring and looked carefully at his daughter's little face. Her complexion was rosy, so she must be living well. He nodded secretly.
Sun Aiju pulled Ning Tang up and down to look her up and down, wanting to say something, she had lost weight after not seeing her for so long.
But when I saw Ning Tang's round little face and rosy complexion, I opened my mouth several times and couldn't say the words "I've lost weight". If I said it, I would feel so bad.
Over the past year or so, although Sun Aiju has received letters and local specialties from Ning Tang, the letters only report good news and not bad news, and the local specialties are delicious and expensive. She thinks Ning Tang is living a good life, but she was always worried because she hadn't seen him in person. Now Sun Aiju finally feels at ease.
Chen Lie and others who were left behind also arrived and greeted each other.
Sun Aiju glanced at the three children following behind Shen Lie and said in surprise, "These are the eldest, second, and third children, right?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she nodded, confirming her statement.
The eldest and second daughter both look quite similar to Chen Lie. The third child is older and more mature, and you can see some resemblance to Chen Lie in his eyes and eyebrows. In short, you can tell at a glance that he is Chen Lie's biological child.
Ning Tang waved and called the three kids over, "Say hello to grandma and grandpa."
The three of Da Wa looked at each other and were not nervous at all. They called out "Grandma and Grandpa" in unison.
Sun Aiju smiled so much that the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes popped out. It was obvious that she liked Da Wa and the other three very much, and she kept saying "good" to them.
Ning Weiguo nodded, and a smile appeared on his usually serious face.
Big Brother blinked his eyes. These grandparents seemed to be different people from his biological mother's uncle and aunt.
Children are the most sensitive, especially the eldest and his two children who lost their mother at a young age. They can tell at a glance whether others are nice to them or just pretend to be nice to them.
Ning Weiguodao? "Let's go home and talk. It's cold outside."
There was a cold wind blowing right under the big banyan tree.
Ning Tang glanced at Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju with a reproachful look. "You know it's cold, why don't you go back to the house and wait for us? Tell me, how long have you been waiting? I clearly told you not to come pick me up in the letter."
Sun Aiju smiled and said, "Well, it didn't take long. It's okay. I'm free anyway."
After hearing what she said, Ning Tang knew that the old couple must have been waiting for some time.
Ning Tang quietly touched Sun Aiju's hand and found it was warm, then he breathed a sigh of relief.
After returning home, Ning Tang looked at the familiar blue brick house and felt very emotional.
Big Wa and the other two had never seen such a house before. They touched around everywhere, feeling very curious.
Sanwa felt around and finally found the earthen kang.
There was no need for earthen kangs on Hailang Island, so he curiously stretched out his little hand and felt inside, and took out a handful of black ash.
He sat on the ground, looking at the black ash on his two little fleshy hands, and looking at Ning Tang, wanting to cry but having no tears.
Ning Tang was amused. He grabbed his little hand, dipped his index finger in some black ash, and drew two small mustaches on his fair and tender face. "This is called a kang. It's cold here, and the quilt is like an ice cave. If the quilt is not warm, it will become hard like cardboard in a few days. That's why we have to heat the kang every night when we sleep."
As for the black ash in the kang, it was probably because Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju knew they were coming back and heated up the kang in advance.
Ning Tang hasn't been back for more than a year. He gets off the kang when it's not warm. He's afraid that it won't work when the time comes, so he has to find someone to repair it in advance.
Chen Lie brought Sanwa over and wiped the black dust off his face and hands with a wet handkerchief. He then scolded Ning Tang, "You're bullying Sanwa again."
Ning Tang was amused. "How did I bully him? This kid touched the kang instead of the right one. I taught him a lesson. Fortunately, the kang didn't catch fire. If it had, his little chubby hands would have turned into roasted pig's trotters in an instant."
Sanwa looked at his hands, which had become white again, and pouted, "It's not roasted pig's trotters."
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