Forty-eight people on the journey
Besides Cheng Fei, Ding Anping, and Li Wei, there were six other people: two women and four men.
Li Wei only vaguely knew that there were three boys and one girl who were Ding Anping's classmates from police academy, and the other two were family members, such as his younger brother or sister. The group was taking the 10:30 AM train, and their tickets were already purchased. Around 8:00 AM, they arrived at Ding Anping's house. Ding Anping's parents had gone to work, Ding Anni had gone to her maternal grandmother's house for summer vacation, and the nanny was not home, so Ding Anping was home alone to entertain them.
Most people had a good relationship with Ding Anping, so they chatted and laughed without any restraint.
Li Wei and Cheng Fei were the last to arrive. They sat down and ate the popsicles that Ding Anping had served them. Cheng Fei greeted two familiar faces and then went to talk to the other girls.
Li Wei scanned the group of people one by one. Three of the four boys were tall and healthy, clearly athletic, and likely Ding Anping's classmates from police academy. The other, slightly shorter and more handsome boy, around sixteen or seventeen, was probably the younger brother of Ding Anping's pretty female classmate, a high school freshman. The other girl was Ding Anping's classmate's sister. That was the basic relationship structure. It was the same situation Ding Anping had described to them before; Li Wei didn't know their exact names. She hadn't expected so many people. Ideally, there would be four or five of them.
After Li Wei finished her popsicle, she wiped her hands and called Ding Anping and her aunt together for a long time before they finally agreed. Cheng Fei was a little doubtful: "Will this work? Isn't this a bad idea? Anyway, I'm fine with it. If you really have any objections, you can decide for yourself."
Li Wei retorted fiercely, "Why not? If there's no discipline, Uncle Ding, the initiator, will be held responsible for anything that happens. Even if nothing unexpected happens, I'm going to eat, drink, and have a good time. What's the point of disagreements and arguments? It's settled then, or I'll go myself!" Cheng Fei was already numb to Li Wei calling Ding Anping "Uncle Ding." There was nothing she could do; it was impossible to stop her.
Cheng Fei and Ding Anping reluctantly agreed, after all, they were quite looking forward to the trip and didn't want anything to go wrong. Ding Anping raised his voice: "Everyone, please be quiet, my little housekeeper has something to say, please be quiet."
Seeing everyone staring at her in silence, Li Wei stood up from the sofa, cleared her throat (she'd been giving too many speeches lately, and this leadership habit was taking hold): "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Li Wei, and Cheng Fei is my aunt. This trip was our idea in the first place; we wanted to take advantage of the summer vacation to travel and have some fun. Since there are so many of us, we need to plan things out properly. Losing things and money is a minor issue, but losing face is a major one. So let's plan things out beforehand to avoid chaos."
Before Li Wei could finish speaking, a pretty girl of seventeen or eighteen years old said dismissively, "We've been out before, why are you making such a fuss? If we get lost, it's not our problem. You're the one who should be worried!"
Li Wei took one look and saw that it was someone's younger sister. She was wearing a beautiful sky-blue dress, and her ponytail was curled. She was very pretty and charming, but her expression was somewhat unfriendly, and she didn't know where the unfriendly expression came from.
Li Wei was clearly a troublemaker. Now was not the time for politeness: "Whether I lose my way or not is none of your concern. I'd like to know what preparations you've made for this trip. Don't hold everyone back!" Judging by your appearance, you're bound to be a burden.
"Why should I tell you what I've prepared?" the girl asked arrogantly.
"Lingling, what are you saying? Lingling is spoiled. Don't listen to her, everyone. Let me tell you. When we go out together, we need to plan ahead. Otherwise, a large group can be a hassle. When we go out to play, all we need to do is bring some clothes and money. Oh, we brought our student IDs. We brought everything we should have." A boy with tanned skin said.
Li Wei glanced at him. He seemed like a rather honest and simple person. He was one of Ding Anping's classmates: "May I ask your surname?"
"Hehe. My name is Zhao Yan. Call me Brother Zhao." Zhao Yan smiled. He thought to himself that this kid seemed quite capable. He really didn't like meddlesome kids.
Li Wei continued, "Okay, Brother Zhao. Let me tell you what we've prepared so everyone can have a reference. We'll have a change of clothes, toiletries, an umbrella, a water bottle, several common cold, diarrhea, painkiller, and hemostatic medicines, student IDs, and household registration books. I won't go into details about snacks and personal items for girls. The most important thing is to bring enough money. We need a rough budget for three meals a day, accommodation, transportation, tourist attraction entrance fees, and shopping. Otherwise, going there without money and coming back will be a real problem. If everything above is fine, then I suggest finding two people to manage the accounts and money. I won't manage the accounts myself. I recommend myself for managing the money because I bring the most money. I earned it myself. I think that's sufficient. Everyone, let's discuss it quickly. Time waits for no one." Li Wei finished speaking and sat down, leisurely observing the somewhat dazed expressions of the group of clueless young men. Hmph. It would be good if some people were dissatisfied and didn't go.
Zhao Yan and the others, who had initially been somewhat skeptical or even harbored other ideas, were dumbfounded after listening to Li Wei's explanation. Putting everything else aside, none of them had brought as much as Li Wei had described. The boys, in particular, were practically nothing but money and themselves. The girls, even in their less impressive case, were far less well-equipped than Li Wei.
Not to mention them, even Ding Anping, who was assigned to his own country by Li Wei, never expected that going out would involve so many rules. He never had so much trouble when he went out before.
The boys seemed unanimously dismissive, and another round-faced boy spoke up: "It doesn't have to be so complicated. When I used to go out for a stroll, it was never this troublesome."
The others didn't say anything, but they clearly felt that Li Wei was making a fuss over nothing.
Li Wei didn't take it seriously: "Okay, since you all think there's no need to prevent headaches, toothaches, or stomachaches, forget it. Anyway, I've taken precautions. What about the last one? Do you have any objections?"
Before anyone else could speak, Zhao Lingling chimed in again: "So what if you have a lot of money? Why should we let you manage our money? You're just a little kid."
Seeing that no one else spoke, Li Wei sneered, "So you're saying you're going to eat, drink, and relieve yourself on your own? We're all eating at the same table, and you're planning to cook for yourself? I have no objection to that, but I think everyone's relationship is pretty good. It's better to keep things clear even between close brothers to avoid unnecessary suspicion and to make arrangements for food and lodging. If you all have this opinion, then I have nothing to say. Just consider what I said earlier as me talking in my sleep."
After Li Wei finished speaking, she glanced at Zhao Yan and the others, sat down and remained silent. At the same time, she considered that if things didn't work out, she would drag her aunt and uncle along. She didn't care whether they lived or died; it would be much easier that way.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Ding Anping tried to ease it, since there were two people he was on good terms with: "Well, hehe, if everyone disagrees, that's fine, I don't care. It's just that our little housekeeper has some ideas..."
Li Wei glared at him fiercely, "What country are you from?" Ding Anping shut his mouth somewhat awkwardly.
Chen Qian, a female classmate who was on good terms with Ding Anping, spoke up: "I think it's a good idea. We're all part of a group, after all. Otherwise, everyone has their own ideas and habits. Let's not turn a good thing into something unpleasant. If there are any disagreements, we can resolve them later. At the very least, we should reach a consensus before we set off. I agree with Li Wei's opinion. Besides, she is clearly better prepared than us. I believe everyone can sense that."
In the end, apart from Zhao Lingling pouting, everyone else agreed to form a temporary activity group. Ding Anping was the group leader, Chen Qian and Li Wei were in charge of money and accounts, the other three boys were in charge of external affairs such as buying tickets and carrying luggage, and the girls and the little boy Chen Jingguang were in charge of internal affairs such as looking after the house.
Finally, we tallied up the money everyone had brought. Several families seemed to be well-off, with some bringing as much as three or two hundred yuan. In the end, everyone contributed one hundred yuan for unified management, and we would make up the difference if needed.
Li Wei manages the accounts, and Chen Qian manages the money.
Looking at the money collected, Li Wei felt a chill run through her. Her aunt alone had brought five hundred yuan, and she, needless to say, even though her aunt had stopped her from taking that much, still had nearly two thousand. How could she possibly live such a life of debauchery with these kids? So frustrating!
A group of teenagers thought Li Wei was unhappy about not getting the job of managing the money, and they found it quite amusing. However, the kids had paid a hundred yuan without missing a penny, so it wasn't unreasonable for them to have a say.
It finally started to look somewhat interesting. A group of us arrived at the station half an hour early, but the train was delayed by more than twenty minutes before we boarded. We all had sleeper berths, which we had bought through connections. After boarding, there was another flurry of activity as we moved between berths, but we finally managed to get into adjacent carriages.
The first stop is Shanghai, which takes about three days. At this point, the train speed is slow, so three days is still considered fast.
After settling in, it was already noon. Everyone ate a simple meal of the food they had brought, and then played cards while snacking. The four of them split into two groups. Zhao Lingling, who had squeezed Cheng Fei out, was ruthlessly eliminated because she didn't know how to play cards. Li Wei volunteered to take her place and made a face at Zhao Lingling, which made Zhao Lingling roll her eyes at her in anger.
Li Wei's group also included the young Chen Jinguang, the round-faced Zhou Honggang, and Ding Anping. Although Li Wei's skills weren't top-notch, she was very experienced, having played this game countless times before. During her lunch break at work, she did nothing but battle it out with these cunning and seasoned poker players every day—even a pig would evolve from a novice. So, she managed to hold her own against the boys, even winning and losing, which impressed them.
While considering whether to call for a card, Zhou Honggang glanced at Li Wei and said, "You're pretty good, kid. No wonder you're in charge of the money. Does someone in your family always gamble?"
"Tch, my family lives a respectable life. Who plays cards all the time? I don't even like playing this low-skill game. I'm not trying to discourage you, but it's not that I'm good at it, it's that you guys are too naive. Haven't you heard that there are always people better than you?" Li Wei felt that these guys needed to be put down, otherwise they would become arrogant and ignorant. Look at their sullen and resentful little faces, they just wanted to tickle them.
Zhou Honggang threw down a card and said, "Oh ho, you're pretty cocky. So tell me, what kind of games do you play that require skill?"
Li Wei played her last side card and put down all the cards in her hand: "I have all trumps now, I won, hehe." When luck comes, you can't stop it! Looks like I should get something for it, at least a little note or something.
Watching Ding Anping shuffle the cards, Li Wei continued to gloat: "There are many games that require skill, like poker."
Li Wei reached out and took the shuffled cards from Ding Anping, handing them to Zhou Honggang: "Just pick one, look at it, remember it, and put it back. I'll show you the simplest magic trick."
Zhou Honggang drew a card as instructed, looked at it, and the others craned their necks to take a look before putting it back. Li Wei handed him all the cards: "Reshuffle the cards twice, then put them face down on the table."
Li Wei's fingers lightly swept over the row of cards that Zhou Honggang had placed, finally touching one of them, pulling it out, and saying mysteriously, "Now, please witness the magical moment!"
They threw out the card, and everyone saw that it really was the Ace of Hearts from before.
Before anyone could say anything, Li Wei chuckled and said, "A mere trick, a mere trick, haha."
Everyone: ...
I've seen what it means for a petty person to get ahead.
Unfortunately, they were unaware that their ordeal had only just begun.
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