The trip to the Chinese medicine hospital took two hours. The clock at the station showed it was just past twelve o'clock. The old lady was afraid that the bus would be crowded and crowded, so she suggested that since she had to wait anyway, she might as well wait on the bus.
Qiu Yuling thought that was true and decided to get on the bus. She thought they got on the bus quite early, but it turned out that there was almost no seat left, and many of the empty seats were occupied by things.
Whenever Qiu Yuling touched something, nosy people would say it was someone else's seat. She would ask whose seat it was. Where was the person? No one said anything, as if they didn't know anyone.
"If you come late, there will be no seats. Who told you not to come earlier?"
"That's right. You can sit on the lid up front. If you're any later, there won't even be room to stand."
"Either you sit based on your ticket number, or whoever arrives later can sit. We all pay for it. I'm already here, why should I give up my seat for something?" Qiu Yuling placed a long pole connecting two seats upright in the aisle.
"Grandma, sit here. The brakes in front are very dangerous." The old lady hesitated, but her granddaughter had already stood up in front of the crowd, so she didn't want to fall behind. She looked at Qiu Yuling for a second and sat down.
Qiu Yuling sat next to her grandmother in the window seat. She was afraid that when there were too many people, someone might be shameless enough to call her a child and ask her to get up and take her seat. There might even be someone who would pick her up and hold her on his lap without even saying hello.
They can't just lift an old lady up, sit down themselves and then hold her on their laps!
The expected seat-hogging incident arrived late.
Just when the bus was about to leave, two women who were about the same age as Qiu's mother got on and headed straight for Qiu Yuling and the others' seats.
"Who told you to sit here? Where's my shoulder pole?"
"Get out of the way, this is our seat." Another one was even more rude and came up to pull them up.
Wan Jin, who was in Qiu Yuling's arms, woofed and pounced on the outstretched hand.
"Oh, you little beast, how dare you bite me?" The woman was furious and took off her shoes to beat the dog.
Qiu Yuling was faster than her. She pulled out the willow branches she had prepared in advance from under the seat and pulled them up with a "snap".
The woman screamed, her hand felt pain, and she let go, and her shoe fell on Grandma Yuling's collar.
Unexpectedly, Grandma Yuling was even more outrageous. Without even touching her shoes, she lifted up her skirt and went out the window. "You throw all these dirty and smelly things at me, old woman? Do you think I'm a rag picker?"
"Ahh~ my shoes..." The woman hurriedly pushed through the crowd and got off the bus to pick up her shoes.
There was a sudden burst of laughter in the car.
"Beep~beep~" the driver's horn sounded at the right time.
"The train is about to depart. Those who have seats should return to their seats. Those who don't have seats should stand firmly and hold on. We are checking tickets now." The ticket inspector, wearing a red armband, stood at the door of the train with an unhappy look on his face.
"Be quiet, everyone, hold on to your tickets. If you don't have a ticket, get off the bus and buy one. Don't delay the departure."
The woman who retrieved the shoes said angrily, "Comrade ticket inspector, they took my seat."
The woman following the ticket inspector pointed her finger when the ticket inspector stopped at Qiu Yuling and the old lady, almost poking the old lady's face. Qiu Yuling secretly took the willow branch, ready to hit her again at any time.
"This old lady left you behind and got on by herself?" The ticket inspector marked the tickets one by one without even looking up when he heard this.
"No, she threw my carrying pole on the ground and sat on it herself." The woman looked like you wait and see, as if the grandparents and grandchildren who occupied her seat would be punished in the next second.
"Didn't you read the notice in the station? No occupying seats! No occupying seats! Find a place to stand and don't disrupt public order."
"Next one, take out your ticket in advance so as not to delay the departure." In the cramped space, the ticket inspector's attitude was no longer gentle. His impatient tone made the woman who had just been following behind him with confidence lose her support.
Qiu Yuling quietly stuffed the willow branches back in. There shouldn't be any problems next.
The bus was old-fashioned, from some major city, with broken doors and windows, and was packed with people. It kept stopping to pick up passengers as it moved, and the air inside the bus was becoming increasingly turbid.
Qiu Yuling was glad that she didn't eat too much, otherwise she would have vomited by now.
The journey, which could have been completed in two hours, took three hours to reach the county.
Whenever a school bus came by, Li Qingtong would go over to see if his mother and Qiu Yuling were there. After opening several school bus doors, he finally saw a head hanging on the window. It was his eldest niece.
"Mom, Yuling, pass the luggage out the window, I'll take it." Li Qingtong followed the bus all the way from the moment it entered the station, and finally waited for it to stop steadily.
"Mom, Yuling, did you have a smooth journey?" Li Qingtong didn't know if it was because they hadn't seen each other for a while or what, but she felt that Qiu Yuling had grown a little taller.
"Yeah, it went pretty smoothly." The bus driver was probably busy showing off his skills all the way. Even the old lady who loved riding in the bus felt a little dizzy at the moment. Qiu Yuling was a little better, but not much better.
"The mule cart is in front. Don't move. I'll go over and pull it in." Seeing the old lady and Qiu Yuling's expressions, Li Qingtong was a little worried.
They have to take a mule cart from here to the town, and then from the town back to the brigade. Especially considering his mother's condition, I don't know if she can withstand this long journey.
There wasn't much luggage. A blue cloth bag was already empty and stuffed into the backpack. Gou Zi sat on the mule cart by himself. There was also a small bundle containing the few summer clothes that the grandfather and grandson had. Most of the things had been mailed in advance.
"How about we stay in the county?" Li Qingtong asked his mother, but his eyes were on Qiu Yuling. His niece had the right ideas, and usually his mother would listen to her.
"I think it's okay."
"Let's go back."
It was Qiu Yuling who said she was going, and it was the old lady who said she was going back. Qiu Yuling felt that the old lady's health was more important and she didn't want her to be shaken apart by the lack of breath. In addition, the road was winding and they would have to travel at night soon.
The one who said she was going back was the old lady. She was thinking that it would cost a lot of money for three people to stay in a guesthouse. They were not going on foot, and riding in a mule cart was so comfortable. Why couldn't she go back? Besides, a group of mules had to be tied outside at night, and someone had to guard them.
It was rare for the old lady to insist on her own opinion. Qiu Yuling and Li Qingtong looked at each other, but had no choice but to agree.
Fortunately, Li Qingmei took the initiative and insisted that her brother bring an extra quilt and put it on the mule cart when he went out, so that if they felt sleepy on the road, they could take a nap.
Qiu Yuling sorted out the wheat straw in the sack, trying to make it as comfortable as possible. She went up to try it out and found that there was more space for two people lying on it than on a berth, so it shouldn't be a problem.
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