Chapter 140 Is Mom the Magic Brush Ma Liang?
Jiang Haitang's hands trembled, and she said in surprise, "Why didn't you tell me in advance?"
"Haitang, don't you want to?" Lu Liangchen's heart suddenly hung in the air.
"No, it's just that if you had told me earlier, I could have sorted it out." Jiang Haitang said a little nervously.
She was really worried that her research results might not be good enough.
"Your research data is already very good, there's no need to sort it out." Lu Liangchen's heart was relieved, and he smiled and comforted her, "It's okay, we can just take it over. If there are any questions, Uncle Hu will contact us."
Jiang Haitang thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the case, and the uneasiness in her heart eased a little.
As we were talking, the train had already arrived at the train station. The platform was crowded with people, carrying large and small bags, their faces showing either the joy of returning home or the reluctance to leave.
Xiao Wu helped them move their luggage off the train, bought them a platform ticket, and helped them get on the train.
"This is what my mother asked me to bring for you, Director Lu. My mother said that you should eat it on the way." After putting the luggage away, Xiao Wu handed the bag he had been carrying to Lu Liangchen.
"You take it back. We have enough food to eat." Lu Liangchen declined seriously.
"This is the task my mother assigned to me. I dare not take it back." Xiao Wu laughed and quickly turned around and got off the train.
"When we come back, we'll just bring some local specialties back to Xiao Wu Niang as a return gift." Jiang Haitang took the bag, put it under her feet, and said to Lu Liangchen.
This time when he went to Beijing, Lu Liangchen used his connections to buy two sleeper tickets. Compared with the crowded and noisy hard seat car, the sleeper car was much quieter and more comfortable.
They got on the bus early, and except for their lower bunk, the people in the other bunks had not yet boarded the bus.
Little Taozi looked around the carriage curiously, her eyes full of novelty: "Dad, is this a bed? Can we sleep on it?"
Lu Liangchen picked up Xiao Taozi, showed her the bunk above, and explained patiently.
At this time, Jiang Haitang went to get some hot water and made some milk powder for Xiao Taozi.
"Come on, Little Peach, come down and drink some milk powder, okay?"
I left home early this morning and Little Taozi hasn't had her milk powder yet.
Since bringing Xiao Taozi home, Jiang Haitang and Lu Liangchen have taken great care of her, giving her three meals of milk a day. She drinks milk when there is milk, and milk powder when there is no milk. This is how the originally thin Xiao Taozi gradually gained weight.
Little Taozi sat down obediently, holding the cup and began to drink milk: "The milk powder is so sweet, I like it."
Little Taozi is a child who can provide a lot of emotional value to others. She praised the milk for being delicious while drinking it, which made the two adults laugh.
The whistle sounded, the train started slowly, and then began to accelerate.
Outside the window, snowflakes are falling, and the sky and the earth are vast.
Although the temperature in the train was not high, after Xiao Taozi finished drinking her milk, Jiang Haitang settled her on the bunk and carefully covered her with a quilt.
Little Taozi, however, was not sleepy at all and kept pestering Jiang Haitang and Lu Liangchen to tell her stories.
Jiang Haitang handed the task to Lu Liangchen, and took out a notebook and started writing and drawing.
"Haitang, what are you busy with?" Lu Liangchen asked curiously.
"Our wool sweaters are already on the market and the performance is very good. I think we can design a few new patterns. We can't just produce one style of wool sweaters." Jiang Haitang said without raising his head.
Hearing that it was serious business, Lu Liangchen did not disturb Jiang Haitang, but cleared his throat and whispered a story to Xiao Taozi.
The train swayed rhythmically on the rails, and the snow scene outside the window rapidly receded like a flowing ink painting.
Little Taozi opened her round eyes and listened attentively to the story of "Ma Liang with the Magic Brush". She would imitate Ma Liang's movements of waving the brush from time to time.
"Dad, when I grow up, I want to be Ma Liang, the magic brush man."
Jiang Haitang was immersed in the design draft, and the pencil rustled on the paper.
Little Taozi saw her drawing and suddenly asked, "Dad, is Mom the magic brush Ma Liang?"
Lu Liangchen was stunned, then laughed.
Jiang Haitang also put down her paintbrush and stood up to walk around in the aisle, laughing as she did so: "Mom is not Ma Liang, the magic brush."
At this time, a cough was heard from the bunk next door. Jiang Haitang turned around and saw a white-haired old lady covering her mouth with a handkerchief, and the young woman next to her was patting her back with a worried look on her face.
"Grandma, drink some water to moisten your throat first. After we get off the bus, we will go to the hospital to buy medicine." The young girl held a cup of water and fed the old woman.
Jiang Haitang walked over and asked softly, "Sister, what happened to the old lady? I brought some common medicine, maybe it can help."
The young woman raised her head, her eyes full of gratitude. "Thank you, comrade. My grandma has this old illness. She coughs incessantly whenever she catches a cold."
Jiang Haitang returned to the bunk to get some cough syrup, poured a cup of hot water, and watched the old lady take it.
The old lady recovered her breath, took Jiang Haitang's hand, and said in a weak but sincere voice, "Good child, thank you. Are you going to visit relatives in Beijing?"
Jiang Haitang smiled and nodded.
"I just saw you drawing when I passed by. Do you work in a textile factory?"
Jiang Haitang said, "You have a very good eye. I work in a textile factory."
After hearing this, the old lady sighed and said, "I see that what you drew looks like the pattern of a sweater."
"Auntie, this is the pattern of a woolen sweater!" Jiang Haitang explained.
The young girl's eyes immediately sparkled. "Are these the woolen sweaters that Jincheng Textile Factory recently produced? Big sister, are you from Jincheng Textile Factory?"
Jiang Haitang nodded.
The old lady praised him, "Young people nowadays are amazing. I heard that wool sweaters are so popular that they're hard to come by. I also worked in a textile factory when I was young, and we didn't have anything like what we have now."
"So you are also an old worker in the textile factory." Jiang Haitang said immediately.
"My name is Tao Yuhe, and this is my granddaughter Zhao Xiaomei. You can call me Grandma Tao and call her Sister Xiaomei."
Jiang Haitang readily accepted the advice, and the three of them got along better and better as they talked. The old lady took out a cloth bag from her bag, which contained homemade dried fruits, and she insisted on sharing some with Xiao Taozi.
Little Peach held the preserved fruit in her hands and thanked them in a crisp voice, which made everyone laugh.
Jiang Haitang also took out the melon seeds she had prepared, and several people sat together, eating melon seeds and chatting.
The old lady shared interesting stories about her youth at the textile factory, and talked about the days when she and her fellow workers rushed to work. Although it was hard, it was full of joy.
Jiang Haitang listened attentively, and asked some old questions about textile technology from time to time. The old lady answered them patiently and also put forward many unique insights.
As we chatted, it was noon.
At this time, the train arrived at the station and would stop for ten minutes. Lu Liangchen took Xiao Taozi off the train.
Jiang Haitang stayed in the car, and the old man and the young woman also stayed in the car.
As the three were talking, they saw three generations of a family walking towards them with bags of all sizes.
It was normal for people to come and go on the train, and Jiang Haitang didn't think much of it.
However, the family of three stood in front of their bunk and refused to leave.
"Grandma, I like it here." The little boy pointed to the bunk where Xiao Taozi had just lain.
Jiang Haitang looked over immediately and saw Xiao Taozi's small floral quilt on the bunk. She guessed that the child had taken a fancy to the floral quilt.
Before Jiang Haitang could speak, she heard the elderly woman say, "Then we'll stay here."
As she spoke, the old woman placed the snakeskin bag she was carrying on the floor of the carriage.
The little boy immediately rushed to the bed.
"Comrade, this is our bunk." Jiang Haitang grabbed the little boy.
The little boy did not fall onto the bed as expected and immediately began to struggle.
"Ouch! Why are you pulling my grandson!"
The old woman's shrill voice pierced the noise in the carriage like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
She rushed forward and slapped Jiang Haitang's arm, which was holding her grandson, with her skinny but powerful hand. The force was not small, and carried the roughness and brutality of years of labor.
Jiang Haitang felt a numbness in her forearm and subconsciously let go.
The little boy was free, and he broke free like a loach. This time he threw himself firmly onto the bunk, pressing his whole body against the pink floral quilt, and rubbed it proudly.
"Comrade! This is our berth! Our tickets are here! Lower berth, right here!"
Jiang Haitang thought that the three people had found the wrong berth, so he hurriedly took out a few hard-board tickets from the inner pocket of his coat, unfolded them and held them in front of the old woman.
The old woman didn't even look at the ticket. She glanced at Jiang Haitang with her cloudy eyes, put her hands on her hips, and raised her voice with a strong local accent.
"What do you mean by yours and mine? Is your name on this berth? My grandson has taken a fancy to it; he likes the floral quilt! Seats on the train belong to whoever gets them first! You're a city girl, dressed like a decent woman, but why are you fighting for space with a kid? Have you got any sense?"
She engaged in a verbal battle, her saliva almost spraying onto Jiang Haitang's face.
"That's right!" The middle-aged woman next to her, who seemed to be the child's mother, also echoed.
She looked around and moved forward, trying to increase her momentum.
"The child is young and naive, but he just likes these flowers. What's wrong with you, an adult, giving way? When you're out and about, we should help each other!"
The little boy on the bunk was even more fearless when he saw that his grandmother and mother were backing him up. He deliberately crumpled up Xiao Taozi's flower quilt into a ball and held it in his arms, looking at Jiang Haitang provocatively.
Tao Yuhe couldn't stand it any longer, frowned, and couldn't help but say, "My dear sister-in-law, you can't say that. Train seats are assigned to designated seats. Comrades have tickets, and you're forcing them to take them. It's against the rules."
The young woman immediately turned her attention to the old man, stiffening her neck and saying, "What's it to you? Mind your own business! Go to sleep!"
She had just observed that this young woman was the only one in the entire carriage and was the easiest to bully.
And these two grandparents and grandchildren don’t have much fighting power.
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