Chapter 264: Arrived Home
In December, the temperature inside the carriage is not much higher than outside. It is okay during the day, but at night it is so cold that it can wake people up even when they are asleep.
By the end of the year, the train was more crowded than usual, and it was even more chaotic than the year when Lu Dongping accompanied Wen Wan back.
I didn't buy a seat ticket, so I bought a standing ticket. I sat on my bag in the middle of the train near the toilet.
Although it was winter, the smell in the toilet was still a bit pungent. The bus stopped and started along the way. As soon as it arrived at the station, a large number of people came up. Some really wanted to take the bus, some did not have tickets and squeezed in to evade the fare, and some took advantage of the chaos to steal and do bad things.
They not only snatched passengers' luggage, but even people themselves. There was a lot of shoving and shouting, and during particularly chaotic times, you could even hear gunshots.
Lu Dongping and Xu Qingming were protecting Wen Wan and Lu Chun'e together, but even so, someone took advantage of the opportunity and almost stole their luggage. Lu Dongping was holding Wen Wan, and there were still people under his hands who were pulling people away. Of course, he didn't hold back.
After two stops, when the train started running again, Xu Qingming asked Lu Dongping to look after them. "I'll go find the conductor and see if I can get a berth with extra money. I'll be back soon. Keep an eye on them. If their luggage is lost, it's lost. But you have to keep an eye on them."
"you go."
Lu Dongping spoke briefly and moved his foot to move the luggage to a corner of the carriage, then blocked Wen Wan and Lu Chun'e behind him.
The car was running much better now. Although the entrance was crowded, everyone was standing or sitting and watching over their luggage. It was not as crowded and dangerous as before.
There were also people who occasionally ran over from other carriages. Those were not safe elements. Either they had problems themselves, or they were trying to avoid the train attendants and evade the fare. Whatever the case, Lu Dongping was very vigilant, watching the people passing by with the vigilance of a big wolfhound guarding his house.
A woman wearing a flowery cotton-padded jacket and a red scarf wrapped around her head came hurriedly from the next carriage, carrying a tattered cloth bag on her shoulder. She lowered her head and accidentally bumped into Lu Dongping. She then looked up for a moment, then quickly lowered her head and apologized hurriedly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She didn't care whether Lu Dongping responded or not, and hurried away.
Lu Dongping frowned and looked at the receding figure in confusion. He felt that the figure was a little familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.
Xu Qingming was very quick and actually got four sleeper tickets.
I couldn’t even buy a ticket at the station before, and the sleeper berth was full. I didn’t expect that I could even resell the ticket after getting on the train.
Lu Dongping just felt that he had gained more knowledge.
Once we got into the sleeper car, it instantly became empty.
Lu Dongping and Xu Qingming slept on the lower bed, and let Wen Wan and Lu Chun'e sleep on the upper bed.
After settling down, Lu Dongping asked Xu Qingming, "How much did you pay in total?"
Xu Qingming raised his hand and gestured, and Lu Dongping understood. No wonder the place was so empty. The price was so different from the seated tickets outside. But he couldn't understand why the standing tickets were the same price as the seated tickets. There was no place to sit. It was basically a per-person ticket.
The train kept stopping and starting along the way, and even sleeping on the berth was still not very comfortable.
This was Lu Chun'e's first time taking a train. She was in much better spirits than Wen Wan. Perhaps because of her yearning for the future, she kept leaning against the window to look at the scenery along the way. Unlike the rolling mountains on the Ganling side, the further she went, the farther away from the mountains she was. The land was flat, the houses were rising and falling, and even the distant poplar trees beside the railway track were rare.
When she couldn't see him, she would crawl to the edge of the bed and talk to Xu Qingming. At first, she was embarrassed, afraid that Xu Qingming would laugh at her for talking too much, but once they started talking, she couldn't stop.
She originally thought that Xu Qingming knew a lot, and after chatting with him along the way, she admired him even more.
Just by listening to Xu Qingming's description, she already had an idea of what the capital city looked like in her mind.
Lu Dongping and Wen Wan were relatively quiet. Occasionally, Wen Wan would come down and sit with him. The two of them would lean against each other and whisper so quietly that no one else could hear what they were saying. Xu Qingming and Lu Chun'e would not disturb them.
After staggering all the way, we finally arrived at the destination.
It was already the second day of the Lunar New Year, and there were not many people at the station. As soon as we got out of the station, several people shivered at the same time. The capital is located in the north, and it is much colder than Lujiazui.
Unlike the last time he came, Xu Qingming confirmed the time to return and sent a telegram to his family. When he got out of the station, he saw someone holding a sign with his and Wen Wan's names on it to pick him up.
This was someone they all knew, the guard serving Wen Shihua, Zhang Qianfeng.
Xu Qingming was wearing a military coat, a locomotive hat, and a scarf around his neck, leaving only his two eyes exposed. The other three people were the same, so it was impossible to recognize them.
Wen Wan pulled the scarf from her face and waved to Zhang Qianfeng: "Here, we're back!"
Zhang Qianfeng also saw them and waved at them.
Then he helped carry the luggage out of the train station.
When he took off the scarf, white smoke came out of his mouth.
Wen Wan rubbed her hands and said, "Why does it feel colder than before in the capital?"
Zhang Qianfeng smiled and said, "Lujiazui is in the southwest, and it's warmer than here. You've been there for a few years and you're used to it. It'll definitely take some time to adjust when you suddenly come back."
After getting in the car, Xu Qingming sat in the passenger seat, and Zhang Qianfeng drove slowly forward.
Wen Wan, Lu Chun'e, and Lu Dongping sat in the back seat and asked Zhang Qianfeng, "How long have you been waiting here?"
Zhang Qianfeng said, "The commander knew which day you would board the train and calculated the time, so he asked me to come here this morning."
I can't calculate the time but I dare to come on time, so I have to come early and wait.
The train station is quite far from the military compound, and you have to go almost halfway around the city to get there.
It was Lu Chun'e's first time riding in such a closed car. She was a little uncomfortable and felt carsick not long after getting in. Fortunately, Zhang Qianfeng stopped the car in time, otherwise she would have vomited all over the car.
The car drove along the wide and flat road, and the tall and low buildings on both sides were rapidly receding outside the window. Lu Dongping suddenly became nervous.
Even though he had accompanied Wen Wan back once before, it was just a passing moment, and this time, he really went to Wen Wan's home.
The car drove through the city and stopped in front of a white wall and iron fence gate.
Lu Dongping glanced outside through the car window and pursed his lips slightly at the tall guard at the door.
As I was distracted, the car had already driven in.
This military compound is an old one, but among the newly built military family compounds at that time, it was considered the best. Without a certain status, one could not live here.
Later, several new places were built, but the older generation was nostalgic and chose to live here after returning from down there.
For example, the Xu family and the Wen family before.
Of course, although they all lived in the same military compound, there was still some distance between them.
The road inside is quite wide, and two cars can easily run side by side. There are poplar trees planted at intervals on the roadside, and their straight branches look like guards standing guard at the door.
There are two rows of three-story buildings on both sides of the road.
Further in, after passing a cement dam, there are independent two- or three-story buildings.
The dam was quite spacious, and there were many half-grown children playing and playing on it.
This was a completely different world from the one he had lived in for nearly thirty years, and it was also the place where his Wanwan was born and raised. He and she were worlds apart from the very beginning.
The car stopped in front of a three-story building. Wen Wan got out and called Xu Qingming, "Shall we go in together or take you home first?"
Xu Qingming said, "I'll go in and say hello to my uncle. Zhang Qianfeng will take me back immediately. You must be tired. Have a good rest when you get home. We'll meet again later." As he said that, he helped to carry the luggage down and followed Wen Wan into the yard.
The yard is not big, about ten square meters. Vegetables are planted on both sides, and there is a grape trellis. There are stone tables and benches under the trellis.
The door was half open. Wen Wan pushed it open and walked in. The living room was clean and tidy, just as it was when she left.
Sofa, coffee table, chandelier, mural.
In a glass vase on the coffee table sat a half-opened wintersweet flower, a vibrant crimson. The aroma of cooking drifted from the kitchen, and Wen Wan knew without hesitation that since she was home today, Old Wen would definitely be showing off his cooking skills.
Hearing the noise outside, Wen Shihua came out of the kitchen. He wasn't wearing his military uniform today. At home, he wore a dark gray wool sweater with a fake collar, and a plaid apron and sleeves. Wen Wan remembered that the apron was quite old, made by her mother when she was still alive. There was a cook at home, and Wen Shihua didn't cook often, so he rarely used it. After all this time, he still kept it.
"dad!"
Wen Shihua blinked his eyes and said, "Hey!" "I'm back, I'm glad you're back. Dad is cooking. You guys should take a break. Wen Wan, you take care of Dongping, and this——"
Wen Wan said, "This is Dongping's sister, Chun'e. She came here to study with me."
Wen Shihua smiled and nodded. "Chun'e, yes, tell them to rest for a while. The food will be ready soon. Qingming should stay too. After dinner, let Xiao Zhang take you back."
Xu Qingming said, "I can't. I'll go back first and come back here for dinner after I've packed up."
He had been gone for several years. If he hadn't gone to pick up Wen Wan, the Xu family would have gone directly to the station to pick him up. It would not be good to leave him here.
"Okay, then I won't keep you here. Go back first. Your grandma has been nagging about it for a long time. Go back and rest. Now that everyone is back, there will be plenty of opportunities to eat."
Xu Qingming responded with a smile. Wen Wan had just come in and sent him out. She watched him get in the car and leave before going back. When she entered the house, Wen Shihua had already gone into the kitchen. Lu Dongping and Lu Chun'e were still standing there, at a loss as to what to do.
Wen Wan was stunned for a moment, then she reacted: "Let's take the things upstairs first, and then you guys take a rest?"
Lu Dongping nodded, picked up the two largest bags with both hands and followed her upstairs.
On the second floor, in addition to Wenwan's bedroom and piano room, there are two guest rooms.
The bedroom had been tidied. Wen Wan asked Lu Dongping to put his things at the door, and then took Lu Chun'e to the guest room next to the piano room.
Wen Shihua asked his aunt to clean up early. Except for the simple furnishings and smaller space, everything else was modeled after Wen Wan's.
There are pink sheets with autumn harvest patterns printed on them, a quilt with a white lining and a red peony satin cover, and a natural wood desk by the window, but there is no wardrobe.
"Chun'e, are you going to live here for now? If you need anything, tell me. This place is just like home over there. My father is a very good man. Don't feel constrained."
Lu Chun'e nodded: "Should we go down and help Uncle Wen?"
"No, just take a rest. You can eat soon. I'll call you later."
After settling Lu Chun'e, Wen Wan and Lu Dongping returned to their bedroom.
Lu Dongping has been looking around. This is where Wanwan lives. It is a completely unfamiliar world to him that he has never seen or imagined.
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