Xu Zijiang wanted to buy a sleeper ticket, but for some reason, sleeper tickets departing from here were suddenly not available for sale. They weren't sold out, but rather simply not sold at all. They would only start selling them at the next station. Perhaps there was some special situation here.
However, you can also buy tickets in advance here, so Xu Zi bought a seat ticket for one segment first. When they arrived at the next station, they could get off the train and go back to the soft sleeper carriage. It would only take a little over two hours, which was actually not too bad.
"Okay, sure."
Little An'an obediently took the mat and placed it under her bottom. Yu Jiu and Xu Zi had prepared a lot of food, including dry rations and snacks. After finishing her egg, little An'an started eating sunflower seeds. Then she looked out the car window and saw a lot of chattering, but she was careful to keep her voice down so it wasn't too noisy.
Actually, it's fine as long as the kids don't cry in the car. Little Yuanyuan is asleep again. Yu Jiu touched Yuanyuan's smooth, fair face and completely relaxed. It seems that her two little ones aren't the type to cause a fuss when they go on a long trip. Her younger son is especially undisturbed when he's asleep; he won't be startled awake and suddenly cry. It seems she won't get scolded.
"Xu Zijiang, you said..."
Yu Jiu also took out a handful of melon seeds and started cracking them open while talking. But she had only just begun when someone sat down in the seat opposite them, next to little An'an. It was an old man with his two grandsons, who were about the same height and age and looked like twins.
Their arrival immediately made the already lively carriage even noisier.
However, Yu Jiu didn't mind, and she even reminded An An to sit properly.
“Someone’s here to sit. Grandpa is with your brother and sister. An’an, move over a little.”
"OK."
An'an, who was originally sitting quite far out, immediately moved a lot further in, with her thighs almost touching the carriage, leaving them a lot of space, enough for one adult and two children to sit.
"Thank you. Are you family?"
The old man chuckled and lifted his grandson onto his lap, then placed his granddaughter between them, sitting close together with little An'an. The two children seemed a bit shy, merely glancing timidly at An'an and Yu Jiu without saying a word.
"Yes, a family of four."
Yu Jiu smiled politely and shared some melon seeds with the two children. The old man even asked his grandchildren to thank Yu Jiu, but Yu Jiu quickly waved his hand.
"It's nothing, no need to thank me."
She thought the conversation would end there, but the old man was quite talkative and kept chatting with Yu Jiu about this and that. Yu Jiu didn't like talking to strangers, so she secretly stepped on Xu Zijiang's foot under the table.
Xu Zi was just waiting for Yu Jiu to ask him for help. He had been watching happily without saying a word until Yu Jiu stepped on his toes. Only then did he slowly take over the conversation and chat with the old man so that Yu Jiu and little An'an could eat sunflower seeds without worry.
Because I needed to tidy up the house one last time before leaving, I got up quite early today. After eating some sunflower seeds and drinking some leftover wine, I felt a bit sleepy. An'an was also sleepy, so the mother and son lay down on the table and fell asleep together.
When I woke up again, Xu Zijiang woke me up and said that we had arrived at the next station and they could change carriages to sleep in soft sleepers, where they could sleep however they wanted.
Yu Jiu yawned, quickly picked up little Yuan Yuan, and let Xu Zi carry her luggage. She also remembered little An An.
"An'an, come here. Mommy is holding your hand. Don't get lost. You must stay close to Mommy and Daddy when you're out, okay?"
"Yes, Mom."
Little An'an rubbed her eyes and then shook her head cutely, as if trying to shake away her sleepiness, her braids swinging along with her.
Then she took Yu Jiu's hand and got off the train with Xu Zijiang.
Following the signs, the group found their carriage. Xu Zi bought two soft sleeper tickets, enough for two adults and two children to sleep in.
However, after she got on the train, she realized that the old man and his two children had been following behind them the whole time. The three of them had also boarded the carriage, and their seats happened to be right next to their berths.
"you····"
"They also bought soft sleeper tickets. I checked their tickets and saw that their tickets were in the same carriage as ours, so I let them come with us. We were busy with our luggage and children and couldn't take care of them, so we just let them come with us."
Xu Zijiang laughed heartily and explained to Yu Jiu that it was just a coincidence.
"Oh, I see."
Yu Jiu understood. However, the old man had brought two grandsons, but only bought one soft sleeper ticket. It might be a bit cramped to sleep, but it was still better than a seat ticket.
"Yes, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I would have spent ages looking for this carriage. I can't read, and I was afraid the train would leave before I could get on. I also have two grandsons with me."
At this moment, the old man smiled sheepishly. He had two children with him, but he didn't carry much. He only had a small package, which he guessed contained clothes.
"It's already noon. Are the two children hungry? We have some steamed buns and eggs here. Please give them some. Don't be shy. They're from your family. We've given you too much. It's too hot to eat them all. They'll spoil quickly if you leave them out. Don't waste them."
Since they seemed to have such a connection, Yu Jiu decided to share some of her food with them, including some pickles and steamed buns. The old man had indeed forgotten to bring any food; he had wanted to buy a boxed lunch, but it was too expensive, so he planned to wait until later, when he heard it would be cheaper. However, the two children were already hungry.
He was still thinking about buying a boxed lunch later, but unexpectedly, Yu Jiu gave him so much food. Yu Jiu wasn't just pretending; she directly stuffed the food into the two children's arms, and the old man couldn't refuse, so he had to accept it.
An'an was also eating a steamed bun, but her bun had pickled vegetables and a large piece of thinly sliced meat inside, almost making it look like a hamburger. Little An'an held her stuffed bun, moved closer to the little girl, and started to chat sweetly.
"Sister, my name is An'an, I'm almost four years old. How old are you? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you going to play? I'm moving with my mom, dad, and little brother."
"We're going to see my mom and dad. I'm six years old this year."
The little girl answered shyly and softly, but An'an was bold enough. She squeezed in with the other person and chatted away, eventually becoming familiar with them and even befriending the little boy.
When it was time to sleep at night, she refused to sleep obediently with Yu Jiu. She wanted to sleep with the other girl. Seeing that she was happy, Yu Jiu couldn't bear to see the old man and the two children huddled together in one bed, struggling to sleep, so she readily agreed.
"How can that be? Nannan is going to sleep with An'an, so where will you sleep?"
The old man felt very embarrassed, as he had already received a lot of care from Yu Jiu and Xu Zijiang along the way.
"It's okay, the three of us can just huddle together and squeeze in. We're all small."
Yu Jiu shook his head indifferently.
"Yay! That's great! Thank you, Mom, love you~~~"
Little An'an happily blew Yu Jiu a kiss. Yu Jiu chuckled and loosened her braids, telling her to quickly lie down with the other girl. Yu Jiu slept on the outermost side, An'an in the middle, and little Nannan on the innermost side.
The three of them could actually sleep comfortably, though it was a bit of a struggle, but as long as they slept on their sides, it wasn't a big problem. Seeing that everyone was happy, Xu Zijiang didn't want to spoil the fun, so he took little Yuanyuan and slept on another bed.
Around midnight, the lights in the carriage were off, leaving only the lights in the aisle outside. Yu Jiu suddenly felt the urge to urinate. She got up groggily and saw that Xu Zijiang was also asleep, so she didn't tell him and planned to go and come back quickly. Unexpectedly, when she came back from the toilet, she found that her bed was empty!
Where's her child? Where are other people's children? Where are An'an and Nannan?
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