Sun Lan shook her head and said, "I'm not very familiar with Sister Jin.
Sister Qian, have you noticed the way those men in the yard look at us? It's so disgusting."
Qian Lili stared into Sun Lan's eyes and said with a smile, "I didn't pay attention. It's not as weird as you say.
Besides, we are not little girls anymore, who would like us?
You are worrying too much."
Sun Lan nodded. "It seems you're right. Let's go! It's freezing! Let's go back and make dumplings."
Qian Lili said to herself, "Oh no! If I can't find this button, my cotton coat will be ruined.
You don’t know that this cotton coat was bought for me by my dead man.
This is the only piece of clothing I was given in my life. I kept it in the bottom of the box all these years and didn’t want to wear it. I didn’t expect that the button would be lost when I wore it out.
It was still there when I got off the train.
Oh, could it have fallen on the way here?
I'll look along the road."
Sun Lan hesitated for a moment, "Isn't this a bad idea? They're waiting for us to go back and make dumplings."
Qian Lili curled her lips and said, "It's so choking in that room. I feel like I can't breathe. I won't join in the fun.
I'm more concerned about finding my button."
As the two were talking, Sister Jin came out and said, "It's cold outside! You two should hurry inside and warm yourself by the fire."
Qian Lili said she was going to look for buttons, and Sister Jin waved her hand, "Then you two shouldn't run too far, or they'll snatch all the dumplings away in no time."
The two of them agreed with a smile and followed the same route they came from, heading towards the train station.
When they found the village entrance, Sun Lan didn't want to leave anymore. Qian Lili was a little unwilling and was about to say that she would look for it again.
"Moo, moo" the sound of a cow came from behind.
When the two turned around, the old man from that morning came driving the ox cart again.
“Hey, is this old man going to the train station?
I remember there's a small shop in the train station lobby, why don't you ask him to buy some instant noodles for us?" Qian Lili's eyes sparkled.
Seeing Sun Lan staring at her, Qian Lili smiled and said, "Sun Lan, let me tell you, I can't eat that mutton at all. It's too smelly.
I don't like dumplings stuffed with chives either." Qian Lili took out ten yuan and handed it to Sun Lan.
Sun Lan stretched out her hand to stop the ox cart and gestured, but the old man didn't understand.
Another man came out with his hands behind his back and spoke a few words in dialect to the old man. The old man reached out and took the money.
The man said in broken Mandarin, "Sure, he'll buy you some instant noodles."
Then he walked towards Sister Jin's house with his hands behind his back.
Qian Lili quickly pulled Sun Lan and said, "Sun Lan, I have a little stomachache now. I think my period is coming early. Why don't we go to the station together and buy some sanitary napkins?"
After saying that, without waiting for Sun Lan to speak, Qian Lili pulled Sun Lan to catch up with the ox cart. Seeing Qian Lili sitting on the ox cart, Sun Lan had no choice but to sit on it as well.
The ox cart swayed from the intersection ahead to another village.
Several women carrying baskets on their backs got on a bullock cart, which then drove along the path to the train station in no time.
The old man returned the ten yuan to Qian Lili.
Qian Lili took the ten yuan, took out a handful of change from her trouser pocket and handed it to the old man. The old man reached out and took two yuan.
There were quite a few people in the station hall, talking and chattering.
Qian Lili looked around and said, "Sun Lan, there are so many people taking the train here. No wonder there's a station here."
Sun Lan hummed, "That's right. All the villagers within a hundred miles travel by train."
Sun Lan stopped talking abruptly and looked at Qian Lili. "I also heard it from Sister Jin."
Seeing that Qian Lili didn't notice what she said, Sun Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
Qian Lili was staring at the nearby store. Sun Lan pulled her over and said, "Let's go buy something."
Qian Lili bought instant noodles and sanitary napkins at the convenience store. The train had not arrived yet, so they had to wait for the old man to pick up passengers before taking the ox cart back together.
Qian Lili also asked the owner of the convenience store about the arrival time of the train, and only then did she know that there were three trains arriving at this small station every day.
The first train they took came in the morning, and now it is noon and the second train is about to arrive at the station. The last train is at seven o'clock in the evening, which is the one they will take to the south.
Because this is a mountainous area, villagers nearby travel by this green train, which seems to be four stops away from Mashan County.
Qian Lili suddenly covered her stomach and frowned: "Oh no! Not good!
It seems like my period has really come, I have to go to the bathroom again." After saying that, she picked up the sanitary napkin and turned around and walked quickly towards the bathroom.
When she entered the toilet, she was disappointed to see only a row of squat toilets without even a cubicle.
What disappointed her even more was that the toilet didn't even have a window.
Even in such cold weather, the stench is so bad that there is no place to step.
No wonder Sun Lan was too lazy to follow her in.
Qian Lili turned around and walked away, but bumped into someone.
When Qian Lili raised her head, she was stunned.
"Why are you here?"
"Is it you?"
Qian Lili never dreamed that she would meet Hong Ling here.
Hong Ling was wearing a long black cotton jacket, a pair of black cotton shoes, and a black headscarf on her head. She was dressed just like the old ladies in Sister Jin's family.
Qian Lili was just about to ask Hong Ling to save her when she was pushed into the toilet by Hong Ling and almost stepped on shit.
The next second, Hong Ling grabbed Qian Lili's hand and said anxiously, "Lili, please save me!
I was sold to the mountains by Sister Wu, and the two men outside were the ones who bought me.
They are taking me by train to the county hospital today to have the IUD removed and want me to go back and give birth to their child."
Qian Lili's scalp tingled when she heard this. She couldn't even get rid of Sun Lan, a woman alone, and now there were two men involved. There was no way she could escape.
Hong Ling held Qian Lili's hand tightly. Qian Lili quickly thought of a solution, "Hong Ling, let's get on the train and leave here first.
Come on! Let’s change our shoes.”
The two people's feet are the same size. After changing shoes, Qian Lili took off her cotton coat and put it on inside out, and the red coat turned into a blue-black coat.
She took off the black headscarf from Hong Ling's head and put it on her own head, covering most of her face.
The two of them discussed in a low voice, "Hong Ling, I'm going out first."
When Qian Lili came out, she saw Sun Lan and the two men standing opposite the toilet.
Sun Landong was just looking around, while the two men were staring at the toilet door.
She walked towards the platform with her head down. The train was approaching with a clang sound. Qian Lili breathed a sigh of relief as the platform became lively.
As soon as the train doors opened, the crowd rushed in.
Qian Lili seemed to hear Sister Jin's voice, "Sun Lan! Sun Lan!"
The next second, Sister Jin rushed into the train station with several men.
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