Chapter 5 Chapter 5 What you want is malted milk, this is a side dish...
The police officer listened and scribbled a few words on the paper. After a while, he realized, "Teacher's University, it's a great school. But, is the university closed for vacation now?"
Su Yan replied, "My father had an accident, and I received a telegram from my mother asking me to return home immediately, so I hurriedly bought a train ticket and went home."
The police officer nodded. "So that's how it is. Your father's been in an accident. Buy a ticket and go home right away. I've registered the case and will let you know tomorrow if I have any news. But the hope isn't great."
Then she asked about the train number, and Su Yan said she didn't remember it, having lost her ticket. She only remembered arriving in Qingyuan around noon. When asked about her address, Su Yan wrote down Lu Yingzi's home address in Jiangzhou: Room 205, Building 3, Family Compound, Jiangzhou Machinery Factory, Chonghua District, Jiangzhou City. Su Yan had visited Lu Yingzi's mother before and had mailed her things, so she knew there was no mistake about this address.
The police officer finished writing it and asked Su Yan to sign and fingerprint it, saying, "Okay, buy your ticket and go home!"
Su Yan stood there motionless, hesitating, "Comrade Police Officer, my letter of introduction was in my luggage, but it's lost, and I don't have any money. Could you lend me some? I'll mail it to you when I get home."
The young policeman let out a sigh, finally understanding. He felt in his trouser pocket, pulled out a wad of change, and counted it. "A letter of introduction is easy. I can write you one right away. I can't do anything else. You can use it to buy a train ticket. But this money... It's the end of the month, and I've almost spent all my money this month. I only have this one dollar and fifty cents left."
At the same time, he said to the guard outside the window: "Brother Xu, can you lend me two dollars?"
Su Yan was still a bit dazed as she walked out of the police station with the money and the letter of introduction. She didn't know if it was because the young officer was so enthusiastic because he'd just started working, or if it was just because people in that era were so simple and honest. Su Yan had originally thought the letter of introduction would be enough, but she didn't expect to be charged three yuan. The process was much easier than she'd imagined, and many of the excuses she'd prepared were useless. Finally, she asked for the young officer's contact information. She promised to send him some food when she got to Jiangzhou. These days, food is more valuable than money.
She took the letter of introduction and hurried to the train station to buy a ticket. However, there were no sleeper berths or seat tickets available, only standing tickets. The conductor asked, "Do you want to buy one?"
Eight hours of standing on the road? Su Yan hesitated, but gritted her teeth and said, "I'll buy it." She handed over the money and the letter of introduction. The conductor took it, looked at it, and asked, "Why is it a letter of introduction from the police station? This won't work. You have to go to the district public security bureau to get it." While telling Su Yan to wait, he took the letter of introduction and went to the back to consult his superior.
Su Yan was extremely nervous. The policeman at the police station had obviously just started working, and his inquiries about the situation were not very detailed. If she went to the district public security bureau again, Su Yan could not guarantee that she had no flaws. Su Yan did not know where in Shanghai Lu Yingzi's university was, who her class teacher was, or what the names of her parents were. She also did not know which train to Qingyuan she was on, or which carriage it was. If she were asked about it, Su Yan would not know how to answer.
She deliberately waited until noon to go to the police station because she thought there would be fewer people there, and she met a young policeman, so things would go more smoothly.
Su Yan stood at the ticket window, waiting for who knows how long. She saw the ticket seller approaching, her mouth opening and closing. For some reason, Su Yan couldn't hear her voice at that moment. Her palms were sweating, and she froze for a moment. Someone in the queue behind her started urging her, "Now that you've bought your ticket, take it and go! There are so many people behind you. What are you dawdling for? Do you have any manners?"
Su Yan came back to her senses, picked up the train ticket from the window, and repeatedly apologized to the people behind her: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
She walked out with her ticket and saw that the train tickets of that time were not as big as those of her own time, and they did not have ID numbers. They were written "Qingyuan - Jiangzhou" and were all light red. There was a red line printed on the ticket, two fingers wide and two inches long, not much bigger than some stamps. In addition to the starting station, the train station where it stopped was also written. Unlike today's trains that stop at many stations, Su Yan's train only stopped at two stations. At the bottom of the ticket was the date handwritten by the conductor, noting: "Valid within five days of arrival."
Su Yan sighed, grumbling inwardly: What kind of train could be delayed by five days? This train would have been canceled long ago. The train was supposed to leave at seven in the evening, and it was now one o'clock. This gave her some time to go to a remote place and retrieve some of the items in her space. Not to mention finding an opportunity to exchange some money along the way, she also needed to eat during these eight hours.
The entire train station was even more dilapidated than those in remote areas that Su Yan had seen, and there were not many people. At that time, there was little trade and the flow of people was not ordinary. In addition, a letter of introduction was required to go anywhere, so not many people took the train. There were no modern shops selling various snacks around the train station.
Su Yan felt uncomfortable in her stomach, so she spent two cents to go to the public toilet and another two cents to buy toilet paper. The sanitation in the toilet was very poor. There were rows of large squat toilets without any shelter. When she walked over, she could see maggots wriggling in the corners of the wall.
Su Yan felt so nauseous that she wanted to vomit. She was thinking about whether to squat in the toilet here or hold it in. She held her breath, but still couldn't accept it. She decided to hold it in and go to the toilet on the train. No matter how dirty the train was, there would be no maggots, right?
However, after wasting four cents, Su Yan was left with only one dollar and fifty cents in her shabby pocket. She waited until two o'clock in the afternoon, when most employees had finished their lunch break and returned to work, before finally emerging from the train station. She didn't dare enter the space directly around the train station, so she walked two or three miles to a remote area, where no one was around, before finally entering the space.
Su Yan didn't dare bring any snacks or puffed foods with her, so she could only eat them in her space. The only things she could bring out were some flour and noodles, which she couldn't do right now. She hoped to exchange some money on the way. No one knew anyone on the train, and the families who took the train were generally well-off. Once they got off the train, they were safe.
Su Yan found a clear plastic bag and filled it with two kilograms of flour and two kilograms of noodles. She didn't dare take too much. She did have school bags and suitcases in the space, but they were undoubtedly too unconventional in this era, so she didn't dare use them. She had to find a piece of plain cloth to wrap it. This piece of cloth was bought because she had been interested in Hanfu for a while and asked someone to make a pattern for her based on an ancient painting. It was very plain.
Behind the train station was a field, and Su Yan didn't dare go there, so she had to go back to the station. Fortunately, there were no accidents, and she boarded the train at 7 o'clock in the evening. This train had only a few carriages, and Su Yan couldn't find a seat, so she had to ask for a place in the dining car. However, she didn't expect that eating on the train also required meal tickets. Su Yan was shy and asked a few questions, but seeing that the conductor was impatient, she just sat aside.
Unexpectedly, the female conductor immediately chased her away: "Hey, if you don't want to eat, don't sit here. If passengers who want to eat come later, there will be no seats left."
Su Yan saw that all the seats were empty and no one had come to eat, so she said, "Comrade, I'll just sit here for a while. Something happened at home, and I need to go back in a hurry, so I can't buy a seat. Please help me. If someone comes to eat later, I promise to give up my seat immediately."
The conductor snorted twice: "How can that be? There are rules. You can't ride if you don't eat. Is this your first time on a train? Don't you know the rules?"
Su Yan pulled out a handful of White Rabbit candies from her pocket. She checked them carefully in her space and found no production date, so she dared to take them out. She stuffed the candies into the conductor's hand and said, "Please help me. My legs are not good and I fell."
In the 1960s, only 800 kilograms of White Rabbit candy could be produced per day, and you needed tickets and money to buy it. Ordinary workers could only buy one kilogram during the Chinese New Year, and they were reluctant to buy it on other days. Ordinary urban workers only had one kilogram of candy tickets per month, and they would receive a little more during the Chinese New Year. If you didn't have tickets, you couldn't buy White Rabbit candy even if you had money. In that era, White Rabbit candy was an absolute luxury, and it could only be bought in big cities. There were even scenes of people lining up in multiple cities to buy it. The conductor took it and took a look. There were a full ten of them. Her attitude changed immediately, and she whispered, "The packaging of the White Rabbit candy has changed this year!" While putting the candy into her uniform pocket, she pointed to a seat for Su Yan, "You can sit over there! But if there are a lot of people eating, you'd better stand up for a while."
Su Yan nodded, indicating that she understood. "Thank you, comrade!" Just as Su Yan was about to sit back down, the conductor stopped her and said, "Hey, how much did you pay for this candy per pound? How did you get the candy ticket?"
Su Yan thought for a moment and said, "I don't have any tickets. My aunt gave them to me. I don't know how much they cost."
Su Yan returned to her seat, finally finding some peace and quiet. The train was still coal-fired at that time, probably because the dining car was close to the locomotive. As soon as it opened, coal dust drifted through. Although the swaying was uncomfortable, Su Yan didn't dare open the window to let out some fresh air. After sitting for a while, she immediately went to the train's restroom. The smell of urine was overwhelming as soon as she entered. While disgusting, it was barely tolerable. Su Yan quickly went to the restroom, thinking to herself: "I can't eat or drink anymore. I'd better go to the restroom when I get back to Jiangzhou!" The restroom at home should be okay, right?
Su Yan sat down. A few people started arriving to eat, but not many, only about twenty in total. Su Yan didn't have a chance to offer her seat. She was half asleep, clutching her bundle, when she was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a crying baby. She looked up and saw a woman holding a small child, probably no more than a year old. "Comrade, please help! This child is starving. I have food coupons and money. Can you help?"
The conductor waved his hand and said, "What's the point of having food coupons? What you want is malted milk, which is a non-staple food. You can't buy it with food coupons. Besides, you don't have enough money. There are regulations. Since you don't have a ticket, I'll sell it to you. But I'll pay for the missing ticket myself."
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