Chapter 120: Emergency on Green Train
Peking Railway Station
This is a magnificent building and one of the ten largest buildings in New China. It is still in use in 2013, which shows the practicality and foresight of this railway station.
In the waiting hall, Jin Caifeng held her youngest son's hand and kept nagging him:
"Qizi, you have to take care of yourself when you go out. Don't fight with the locals. Eat whatever you want. Don't save money. Do you hear me?"
Lin Sanqi wasn't ungrateful, and replied with a smile, "I know, Mom. I'm already 23 years old."
"What's wrong with being 23? 23 is still a child. Why are you making such a fuss? Here's 200 yuan. Here are some cakes and biscuits. These are tea eggs. My mom had to ask someone to buy them for her. They'll spoil easily in this hot weather, so you can finish them on the train."
Poor parents in the world.
Lin Kucan, however, looked calm, but with a hint of regret:
"Ah, I'm just busy with work. Otherwise, I'd really like to go to the Northwest with Xiao Qi and experience the scenery of the desert with smoke rising straight up and the setting sun over the long river. It must be very magnificent."
Jin Caifeng was not happy after hearing this: "What are you talking about? My son is going to work, not to travel."
"Dear passengers, ticket checking has begun for Train No. 6748 bound for Xi'an. Please proceed to Gate 3 to check in and board the train..."
The loudspeaker at the train station started shouting, and Lin Sanqi stood up immediately:
"Dad, Mom, I'm leaving. Don't worry, I'm an adult now and can take care of myself."
"Okay, okay, come back safely soon. If anything happens, send a telegram to the hospital so we can know what you are doing outside."
"I know~~~"
Lin Sanqi picked up a backpack, waved to his parents, turned around and walked into the ticket gate, followed by an elderly couple who were reluctant to leave.
Lin Sanqi was quite excited because in 2013 all trains had become high-speed trains, and even ordinary trains were direct air-conditioned express trains.
But for college students, the old green train without air conditioning is a symbol of romance and literature, and Lin Sanqi is also a bit of a literary youth at heart.
Lin Sanqi was already imagining himself sitting on a train seat, the breeze blowing his hair, and then singing a lyrical love song with a guitar. Ideally, sitting opposite him would be a group of female college students...
But ideals are full, but reality is a skeleton.
When Lin Sanqi passed the ticket gate and excitedly came to the platform, he was dumbfounded to see a dense crowd of people desperately trying to squeeze into the door.
There were even quite a few people trying to climb onto the train by climbing through the windows, with people everywhere calling out to their friends, some shouting, "Stop pushing!", and some shouting, "You're stepping on my feet!" In short, the scene was a complete mess.
Isn't this scene exactly like what the train station looked like in the 1980s when people went south to work? Why was it like this in 1959?
In fact, this is mainly because there were too few train services in the 1950s and 1960s. For example, there was only one train to Xi'an every other day. Even if there were travel restrictions, so many people visiting relatives or going on business trips were crowded together, and it still felt like a special train for migrant workers during the Spring Festival.
Lin Sanqi thought he was doomed. His company had bought him a hard seat ticket. Wouldn't it be crazy to sit in a carriage that looked like sardines in a can for 72 hours?
Yes, readers read that right. In the era of high-speed rail, it only takes about 5 hours to travel from the capital to Xi'an.
But in the days of steam trains, it took 72 hours to travel from the capital to Xi'an, three days and three nights, and that was on hard seats...
As for why it wasn't a sleeper, it was because Lin Sanqi didn't qualify. In the 1950s, buying a sleeper required a certain level of qualifications. Of course, the restrictions were relaxed later, and only soft sleepers had restrictions.
After finally squeezing onto the train, Lin Sanqi discovered that the carriage was already full of people and the aisles were completely blocked.
"Excuse me~~Excuse me~~"
After squeezing for a long time, when Lin Sanqi squeezed into his seat with a backpack, he found that the seat was already occupied by someone, an old lady holding a child.
Lin Sanqi was scratching his head. You said you wouldn't give up your seat, but you couldn't bear it. Good young people in the new era have been taught to give up their seats since childhood.
But if you let me go, I'll stand there for three days and three nights, and even Sylvester Stallone can't stop me.
Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi quietly retreated and came to the train connection. The train had already slowly left the station.
Lin Sanqi had no time to appreciate the scenery, but instead came to the conductor's lounge, a small room next to the train connection.
Lin Sanqi knocked on the door: "Hello, conductor!"
A middle-aged female conductor was a little surprised: "Comrade, what's the matter?"
Lin Sanqi didn't waste any words and said straight to the point:
"Hello, conductor. I'm from the Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I'm going on a business trip to the northwest. Look at the environment in this carriage. Ahem, I just wanted to ask if I can get a sleeper berth?"
The female conductor's face drooped at this time:
"Comrade, we need tickets to ride our trains. Look, the general public can't even buy a seat ticket, and you want to get a sleeper berth? That's too..."
Before he could finish his words, Lin Sanqi had already taken out a bag of brown sugar and stuffed it into the conductor's arms:
"Comrade conductor, this is a little gift from me, a pound of brown sugar. Please help me if you don't need it!"
"This, this is not impossible. Wait a moment, I will help you think of a solution."
After saying that, the female train attendant hid the brown sugar as quickly as possible, then squeezed out of the lounge and returned 20 minutes later:
"Comrade, take your luggage and follow me!"
Lin Sanqi was delighted, thinking that it was true that social etiquette was universal in every era. Exchanging a pound of brown sugar for a sleeper berth was a huge profit.
When we arrived at the sleeper compartment, the female conductor said:
"This is actually the resting berth for our staff. If someone asks, just say you are Niu Li's brother. Got it?"
Lin Sanqi nodded repeatedly: "Sister, I understand, don't worry."
After the female conductor left, Lin Sanqi threw his backpack onto the middle bunk and lay down happily, thinking that all the novels he had read before were not in vain. He knew that the conductor had reserved berths and that he could get what he wanted by paying money.
Of course, giving money was the style of the 1980s and 1990s, while giving some supplies was the common practice in the 1950s and 1960s.
Lin Sanqi was quite curious as it was his first time riding on this green train. He climbed down from his bed and started walking around in the carriage. He found that this carriage was actually a mixed accommodation for staff and passengers.
Of course, those who can ride in sleeper berths are of a certain status and level, so the carriage is relatively quiet, much better than the hard seat carriage.
The train was very noisy and took half a day to stop in Baoding.
Lin Sanqi leaned out of the window and saw donkey meat hotpot being sold on the platform. He had never tasted this before, and his mouth was watering. He leaned against the window and shouted:
"Hey, comrade, how much are your donkey meat hotpots?"
Pushing a small cart, a staff member in white overalls replied with a smile: "30 cents each, no food coupons required, comrade, it's delicious, don't miss it."
In small restaurants in Baoding, a broiled pork bun costs only 10 cents, but you need food coupons. 30 cents a bun is expensive, but you don't need food coupons, so it's actually quite a good deal.
Lin Sanqi quickly took out 1.5 yuan from his pocket and said, "Come on, give me five."
"Okay, comrade, I'll give you five steamed buns for one dollar and fifty cents. Have a pleasant journey."
Lin Sanqi took the still hot steamed bun, took a deep sniff, opened his mouth and started eating. There was no technology or hard work these days, only pure natural food with original flavor, which tasted so delicious.
The good thing about the green train is that it stops at stations along the way and you can shop along the way, of course, provided you have enough money.
The train stopped in Baoding for 10 minutes, but I didn't see many people buying fire cakes.
The roasted meat in the oven in the carriage gave off an enticing aroma. Lin Sanqi knew that many people on the train must be staring at it, but unfortunately his pockets were empty, so he could only sigh and look at the roasted meat.
Just as the train started and Lin Sanqi was about to attack the second fire, the radio suddenly sounded, and an anxious female voice came:
"Dear passengers, dear passengers, please pay attention, is there a doctor on board? There is a patient who has fainted in carriage 5 and needs emergency assistance~~~"
Lin Sanqi pricked up his ears and listened carefully, then put down the fire in his hand, rushed into the toilet, quickly went to the "passage space" to get the first aid kit, opened the toilet and quickly ran to carriage No. 5.
As a medical student, saving lives and healing the wounded is the first lesson in school. No doctor or medical student will pretend not to hear it.
Lin Sanqi was in carriage No. 10, which was five carriages apart. Because it was packed, it took Lin Sanqi 10 minutes to run to the scene of the incident.
When he arrived, he found that the scene was already crowded with people. Lin Sanqi was not polite and shouted to the crowd watching the excitement:
"I'm a doctor, please make way, please make way~~~"
When the passengers saw the doctor coming, they consciously made way for him. When Lin Sanqi squeezed in, he found a young girl lying on the floor, obviously a patient. A middle-aged man was already taking her pulse next to her.
The patient's exposed skin was red and his breathing was very rapid, as if he was about to suffocate at any time.
Lin Sanqi saw a middle-aged couple crying nearby, so he took out his work ID and asked:
"Hello, this is my work ID. I'm from the Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. May I ask what's wrong with this lady?"
The sign of Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was quite effective. When the crying middle-aged woman saw the doctor coming, she quickly said:
"Doctor, this is my daughter. We are returning to Xi'an after visiting relatives in the capital..."
Lin Sanqi was anxious, "Get to the point!"
It was obviously the girl's father who spoke at this time:
"Comrade, this is what happened. My daughter saw the hot pot of meat over there and said she was hungry, but her mother said she had brought some with her and wouldn't let her buy any. Then a comrade happened to have some peanuts and kindly gave some to us.
She was fine while eating, but then something started to happen. First, she felt chest tightness, then difficulty breathing, then itching, and finally she collapsed to the ground, unable to sit still. Comrade, look at my daughter..."
(End of this chapter)
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