That evening, Jiang Qiao packed some things in the mezzanine, keeping them for the elderly couple in case of emergency. As for the things her father had bought for her, she was told to pack them all up and take them with her.
The remaining people helped pack their luggage. Although they were reluctant to part, they knew that all good things must come to an end, and it was already a lucky thing to be able to meet again.
Qiao Jie was talking to his sister and brother-in-law downstairs, while Ma Liu and Jiang Qiao finished tidying up and quickly went to rest.
Even though they were reluctant to part, the next day, Qiao Jie and his family said goodbye to the reluctant Deng Mei and her husband, and the three of them boarded the train with their luggage.
Because of the serious incident that happened on the ship before, Jiang Qiao dared not be careless this time. She chose a different mode of transportation. Even if something happened, at least it would be on land. She didn't want anything to happen to the two old men. They were both so old. Even if she could swim, she couldn't handle them.
Jiang Qiao and the other two weren't particularly interested in taking the train; it was too slow.
When Jiang Qiao bought the tickets this time, she pulled some strings. People like them, without connections, would find it difficult to buy sleeper tickets. But she had some food on hand, so she slipped some money to people, and they happily helped her get them.
She didn't think the person who helped her was bad; on the contrary, it was just human nature. They were both short of food, and to not react at all to temptation would be a reaction that wasn't normal.
The two old men assumed she had asked a friend to arrange it and didn't ask any further questions. After getting on the bus, they saw three other people: a middle-aged woman with a three- or four-year-old boy, and a middle-aged man wearing glasses.
The man was clearly not related to the mother and son, as they were each busy with their own things after coming up.
At first, everyone greeted each other politely and then rested on their berths.
The old man didn't sleep much, so Jiang Qiao took out some food so that he could have something to eat if he got hungry. She also brought them hot water and made tea so that the two old men could chat while drinking tea.
Just as I was about to lie down and rest for a while, I saw the little boy on the opposite bunk staring longingly at the food they had placed on the table.
However, the little guy seemed to be very well-mannered. Although he was envious, he didn't say anything. Jiang Qiao had also looked at the three people before. Although they were wearing clothes that were neither new nor old, at least they didn't have patches, so their families must be quite well-off.
"Want some?"
Jiang Qiao couldn't resist asking the little boy first. Seeing that Jiang Qiao was paying attention to him, Lu Chen lowered his head a little embarrassed. But he was a little hungry, so he couldn't help but look up at Jiang Qiao, blinked, and then nodded.
Jiang Qiao smiled and took out some snacks from her bag, handing them to Lu Chen from a distance.
Lu Chen's mother, Ding Qian, felt embarrassed. "Young man, don't spoil him. Lu Chen, quickly return the things to your sister."
Lu Chen couldn't listen to his mother. He hadn't eaten enough since arriving at his maternal grandmother's house. His mother told him to bear with it and that it would be fine once they got home, but he was starving.
He deftly tore open the paper, and the little guy's eyes lit up immediately when he saw what was inside.
He grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth.
While eating, she didn't forget to report to her mother, "Mom, Mom, it's dried mango, and it tastes just like the one we received at Grandpa's house."
Jiang Qiao was surprised. The dried mangoes in her hand were from overseas, just for her own convenience. She never expected that the person she was meeting had eaten them before.
She was a little confused. Who would send this thing to the other party? As far as she knew, there was no such thing as processing in China.
However, she suddenly remembered something. She had mailed things to several families before, and she added two more items to her second uncle's family, including this dried mango. After all, they lived in the capital and had access to some things that were much better than what her father's family had.
She looked at Lu Chen with a puzzled expression. "Little friend, can you tell me your name?"
Before Lu Chen could speak, Ding Qian interjected, "He calls Lu Chen my son—"
Since they both shared the surname Lu, Jiang Qiao couldn't help but suspect that this mother and son were related to her in some way.
Ding Qian then asked Jiang Qiao his name, and Jiang Qiao didn't feel there was anything wrong with telling her his name.
When Ding Qian heard Jiang Qiao's name, she looked at Jiang Qiao with a puzzled expression. In her memory, she seemed to have heard this name before, from her parents-in-law, who said that she was the child of a comrade-in-arms.
"Jiang Qiao? You know Gu Zhengfeng?"
Now it wasn't just Jiang Qiao who was laughing; even Grandpa Qiao and Ma Liu were amused. "Comrade, you've hit the nail on the head this time. Gu Zhengfeng is Jiang Qiao's father. I just don't know how you know her father?"
Ding Qian clapped her hands. "Oh my, speaking of which, we're all family. My father-in-law knows Jiang Qiao's father. Have you heard of Jiang Qiao?"
Jiang Qiao smiled and nodded, "Hello, sister-in-law. If you hadn't brought it up, I really wouldn't have recognized you. I never expected that we would meet on the street."
Since everyone knew each other, they naturally sat down and started chatting. Jiang Qiao came down and invited Ding Qian and her son, as well as the man with glasses, to come over for tea and a bite to eat.
The man in the glasses is named Chen Jianwu, a university teacher. He went back because his mother passed away, and he wanted to see her off on her final journey.
Seeing Chen Jianwu's sorrowful expression, Qiao Jie patted him on the shoulder and said, "Take care and accept the inevitable. Everyone has to go on like this, sooner or later. Those who have passed away are gone now, and those who are alive should live well. Here, have some tea to soothe your throat."
Chen Jianwu was actually quite curious. He really didn't know where these three people came from. He couldn't tell that ordinary people wouldn't be so leisurely on a train, but these three people seemed to be enjoying their journey, which was completely different from other people.
Although their clothes weren't very nice, the food and drinks they had were better than what he, as a teacher, had received.
"Grandpa, what do you do for a living?"
Qiao Jie smiled as he held his teacup. "I used to treat patients, but I'm getting old and don't see as many anymore. I was just taking my granddaughter out to visit my brother, and it turns out that I only have one brother left. The three of us got together and decided to move in together to retire."
"This is good, we can look out for each other."
Ma Liu handed a crab shell pastry to Chen Jianwu, saying, "Don't just drink tea, eat something. It's not easy for you on the road."
Looking at what he had in his hand, Chen Jianwu didn't know whether he should eat it or not. It was quite expensive. He was a local and knew it was delicious, but with such a low salary, who would be willing to buy this? They couldn't even afford to eat.
Qiao Jie urged from the side, "Eat, eat, eat, you'll remember the taste of home. Come on, Xiao Ding, you and your mother should eat too—"
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