Chapter 4, Chapter 4: Departure! Destination: Mosk (Shu)...
Before the station attendant could finish speaking, a commotion erupted in the waiting hall.
"What do you mean? Didn't you not check luggage weight before? Why are you suddenly checking it?"
"With so much luggage, how can 35 kilograms be enough? It should be at least 50 kilograms!"
"Fifty? Not even a hundred kilograms!"
"Comrade, your train station didn't inform us about the baggage weight limit beforehand, so no one was prepared. You see, they only brought it up right before departure... How about we just let it go this time? Next time, next time we'll definitely follow the weight limit..."
The station attendant was surrounded by a bunch of chattering scalpers, making his ears ring.
"Who said there was no notification about baggage weight limits? Our station has always stipulated that a single ticket cannot exceed 35 kilograms. Who told you to bring so much luggage? Weigh your luggage now, or no one will be allowed to board!"
The middlemen complained bitterly, and the foreigners, who couldn't speak the language, quickly looked worried after figuring out what had happened.
This is an international train, with a long journey and a long travel time. The excess baggage fee is quite high, and it's possible that one-fifth of the train's revenue will go to the train station.
Someone complained, "With so much cargo, how much overweight fee are we going to have to pay!"
The station attendant said bluntly, "It's because you always bring too much luggage that we need to weigh it!"
The waiting hall was noisy. Some people were arguing, some were cursing, some were complaining, and some were offering cigarettes to the station staff and trying to get them to turn a blind eye this time. They asked if they could let everyone off the hook, or at least let him off the hook for now.
Amid the chaos, He Changyi stood up with a mocking expression.
Unlike other traders who would argue with the station staff, she quickly opened the tightly wrapped bag, pulled out a leather jacket, and put it on without saying a word.
When she was buying leather jackets wholesale, she took into account the general body type of Slavs and chose the largest size, which could then be easily layered over winter clothes.
In a short while, He Changyi put on five or six leather jackets, making his upper body look like a boxer wearing armor, with his arms stretched straight and unable to bend.
In the poorly heated train station, her forehead was covered in sweat.
A leather jacket weighs a full three pounds. Wearing five leather jackets can reduce the weight of your luggage by fifteen pounds.
Those around were stunned. Those with quick minds immediately imitated He Changyi, frantically putting on their clothes and dressing themselves into a round ball.
The others realized what was happening and quickly put on their clothes as well.
For a time, the entire waiting hall was filled with resellers frantically folding and layering clothes.
Only when she couldn't fit any more clothes in her bag did He Changyi repack it, drag it to the front, and say to the station staff:
"Comrade, I've been here with my luggage."
The station staff stared in disbelief at He Changyi's bulky upper body and then at her now-deflated luggage bag, and couldn't help but give her a thumbs up.
"Girl, you're really something!"
When the bag was weighed, the pointer on the scale swayed back and forth around the 20-kilogram mark.
The station attendant shook his head: "It's only 20 kilograms. Why are you going to all this trouble? It's just a waste of time. This luggage wasn't even overweight to begin with."
He Changyi smiled at him, offered no further explanation, and stood beside the scales, shouting to the Chinese and foreign traders who were looking their way:
"Paid luggage carrying service available: 200 yuan for 15 kilograms. Limited quantity, first come, first served!"
The middlemen were stunned for a moment, and before they could react, a young man loudly replied, "I'll take it!"
He handed ten leather jackets and two hundred yuan to He Changyi. She accepted the money and immediately put the leather jackets in her luggage.
This time, the scale pointer stopped steadily at the 35-kilogram mark.
The station staff were amazed. "I didn't know you could do that! This female scalper is really clever. She made a little money without even getting on the train."
Inspired by this, others also started asking people in the waiting room to help them with their luggage.
However, most of the passengers on this train were middlemen traveling between Zhong'e and other places, and all of them had overweight luggage; a small number of people who were on business trips or visiting relatives also acted as middlemen, and very few of them could help carry luggage.
Some traders were so distressed after paying the overweight fee that they kept clicking their tongues.
"Those guys at the train station are really ruthless! They took all the hard-earned money I made on this trip! Why did I hesitate when that girl was asking for the price? Otherwise, I could have saved some money!"
"Hey, it's all because of that two hundred yuan. If it were cheaper, I would have agreed. Two hundred yuan? That's all the money I made from two leather jackets. Who wouldn't feel the pinch?"
"In the end, the excess baggage fee we paid to the train station was even higher!"
"There's nothing you can do. Their price of two hundred yuan is painful, but you can still grit your teeth and accept it. Tell me, how come I've never seen such a capable girl before?"
"I think this girl is someone special; we'll have plenty of opportunities to get to know her in the future..."
He Changyi, who was described as "someone important," was carrying a huge suitcase and struggling to squeeze onto the train amidst the flow of people.
This train was from Oros. The aisle between the carriages was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. However, everyone boarding the train was carrying mountains of luggage, blocking the aisle like the morning rush hour in Beijing in later years. Even ants had to tiptoe and squeeze through.
He Changyi bought a hard sleeper ticket and struggled to drag his luggage through the crowd to find the compartment shown on the ticket.
Unlike the green-skinned trains in China, the hard sleeper carriages of the Oros were four-person compartments, similar to the soft sleeper carriages of later times.
He Changyi opened the door, only to find that her bunk was piled high with luggage, reaching all the way to the ceiling.
The lower bunk was also crammed with luggage, leaving only a small space for sleeping.
A short, stout, and fierce-looking middle-aged man was lounging on the lower bunk, puffing out a cigarette.
The door to the private room was opened, and he glanced at the person who had entered, looking them up and down.
He Changyi tossed her luggage in front of her, raised her chin, pointed to the upper bunk, and said bluntly:
"Who left something on my bed? Move it right now!"
The middle-aged man exclaimed "Oh!"
"This young lady is quite something. Where are you from? Did you come all by yourself?"
Instead of answering, He Changyi asked, "Why ask so many questions? It's your stuff, isn't it? Are you going to move it or not? Otherwise, I'll just do it myself!"
The middle-aged man sat up straight, stared at He Changyi, and said threateningly:
"Why are you being so fierce, little girl? This train journey takes six days and six nights. Do you think you can get to Moscow unscathed? We're all Chinese, so we should help each other out. Don't you know the rules of the game?"
He Changyi rolled her eyes.
"What rules of the underworld? All I know about trains is that you sit according to your ticket. You sit in the berth of the ticket you bought. Mind your own business and don't take other people's seats."
"Are you moving it yourself, or should I do it for you?"
He Changyi's voice was clear and high-pitched, attracting people from several other private rooms to come and watch the excitement.
"What's going on? Who's taking whose spot?"
"Hey, isn't that the woman who offered to carry my luggage for two hundred yuan?"
"This woman is shrewish and not someone to be trifled with."
"That guy surnamed Lai is no good either!"
"This is going to be interesting..."
The middle-aged man, embarrassed, jumped up, nearly hitting his head on the upper bunk.
"Who are you trying to scare, you little wench? Want to get beaten up? Damn it, you dare threaten me? Don't you want to live?"
Amidst the gasps of the crowd, he charged toward He Changyi, fists clenched, only to find himself embarrassingly a head shorter than her, forced to look up at her.
The punching bag was delivered to his doorstep, and He Changyi immediately threw a straight punch to the liver. While the opponent was bent over in pain like a shrimp, he delivered a clean and decisive knee strike.
The middle-aged man only had time to let out half a scream before collapsing to the ground, convulsing.
The onlookers didn't even have time to react, and several kind-hearted people who were about to step forward to help were all stunned when they saw what was happening.
The men who had previously scornfully called He Changyi a "little wench" now looked at her with shock and awe.
He Changyi patted non-existent dust off his hands, grabbed the middle-aged man under the armpit, dragged him out of the private room, and slammed the door shut, simultaneously blocking the prying eyes of others.
After a moment, the door to the private room opened, and several bags were thrown at the middle-aged man.
*Smack*, the door slammed shut again.
The onlookers finally found their tongues again.
"These days are really chaotic; women are even more ruthless than men."
"Didn't martial arts novels say that women, children, and old people who roam the martial arts world are not to be trifled with? Without some special skills, who would dare to venture out into the world..."
"Keep your voices down, are you afraid she won't hear you?"
The car door blocked out the noise from outside. He Changyi rolled up his sleeves and stuffed his luggage bags under the bed board. Those that couldn't fit were piled on the berth as mattresses and pillows.
The bedding on the train berths was dirty and old, it hadn't been washed in ages, it had a dark, oily sheen, and an unpleasant odor that was hard to describe. It was truly a cockroach paradise and a human hell.
The carriage was dimly lit and smelled foul. Even with He Changyi's strong endurance, the thought of spending six days and six nights in such an environment was unbearable.
The train windows could still be opened at this time. He Changyi forcefully pressed the rusty window down from top to bottom, and the cold air flowed into the carriage, making people feel refreshed.
With a whistle, the train slowly started moving, accompanied by Oroqen-style music.
The carriage swayed from side to side. Suddenly, the compartment door opened, and a head cautiously peeked in.
"Miss, can we come in and stay? This is my train ticket..."
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