Chapter 600: Green Car Trip
In mid-March of the Gregorian calendar in 1990, on a sunny day, Gao Mingcheng followed Deng Wanwan and others and took a train to the provincial capital.
Although there is a train station in the county, this railway line does not go directly to the capital, so they have to take a train to the provincial capital first, and then buy tickets from the provincial capital to the capital.
There was no online ticket purchase at the time, and people had to go to the local area to queue up to buy tickets. When they got off the train and went to the ticket purchase location, they were immediately shocked by the huge crowds of people.
When buying tickets in the county, it is relatively easy to buy train tickets because there are fewer people and the busiest time of the Spring Festival travel rush has passed.
But buying a train ticket in a big city like a provincial capital is extremely difficult!
Wang Xun was used to this. He had a lot of experience in buying tickets, so he said to Gao Mingcheng and the others, "You guys go find a place to rest. I'll go queue up to buy tickets!"
As he spoke, he observed and chose a team with relatively fewer people to stand in.
Gao Mingcheng looked at the long queue in front of him. With his eyesight, it was difficult for him to see the ticket seller at the front. He thought, Wang Xun was lucky to be able to buy a ticket within two hours!
So he said to Deng Wanwan, "Let's go to a nearby restaurant and sit down to eat. After we finish eating, I will replace Brother Wang in the queue."
Deng Wanwan had no objection and agreed directly.
It takes about three hours to get from the county to the provincial capital by bus. They had eaten before leaving, so they were not very hungry now. However, there were many people and a lot of luggage, as well as elderly people and children. It would be difficult for them to endure waiting outside in the wind for several hours.
Besides, they have plenty of money, so even if the restaurants near the station are a bit more expensive, they can still afford to eat there.
Under the leadership of Gao Mingcheng, they found a restaurant and ordered some dishes.
Although Deng Wanwan's parents are very old, this is the first time they have traveled far away in their lives, so they looked timid. When they learned that the meal was very expensive, they felt painful. Finally, after Deng Wanwan's persuasion, they ate some.
Because it was not meal time, there were not many people in the store. After explaining to the boss that they wanted to wait for their relatives who were queuing to buy tickets, the boss agreed to let them sit here and wait.
After Gao Mingcheng was full, he took a bowl of freshly fried noodles and prepared to go find Wang Xun.
"Wanwan, you just stay here and don't run around. I'll go bring food to Brother Wang." Gao Mingcheng said before leaving.
"Oh, okay!" Deng Wanwan responded.
Because he knew where Wang Xun was ranked, Gao Mingcheng walked towards that position.
Half an hour had passed from the time they ordered the food to the time they finished their meal, and half an hour later, Wang Xun didn't seem to have moved forward at all!
Gao Mingcheng had good eyesight and found the person quickly. He handed the fried noodles to Wang Xun and said, "Brother Wang, you eat the fried noodles first. I'll go to the front to check the situation."
This bowl of fried noodles contained meat and eggs, and was freshly cooked, so it smelled delicious. It attracted many people's attention, and some people's stomachs even made growling sounds.
Those who had food and water with them took them out and ate them immediately, which made it difficult for those who didn't have any food, so they could only endure it.
Wang Xun stood for more than half an hour and was really hungry, so he started eating in big mouthfuls.
Gao Mingcheng wanted to go to the front to see what was going on, but he didn't expect there were too many people and he couldn't squeeze in! Everyone looked at him warily, fearing that he would cut in line. At the same time, there were people at the station maintaining order, and from time to time there were scoldings.
There was no other way, Gao Mingcheng could only give up the idea of going to the front to take a look.
Seeing that he squeezed out soon, Wang Xun couldn't help laughing.
While eating fried noodles, he said to Gao Mingcheng, "Can't squeeze in? Haha, this is still good. When I bought tickets in the capital before, I queued for six hours! It was very cold at that time. I was wearing a thick cotton coat and a hat. I didn't dare to speak. If I spoke, I would breathe out white air from my mouth!"
"Brother Wang, please find a place to sit over there and eat. I'll queue for you," said Gao Mingcheng.
Under the gaze of the people around him, Gao Mingcheng stood in the line, while Wang Xun walked away with the bowl.
Gao Mingcheng has already told Wang Xun the name and location of the restaurant. After Wang Xun finishes eating, he can sit there and rest for a while.
After waiting in line for a while, the people in front started to move forward, so Gao Mingcheng followed suit.
Queuing was actually quite boring, so Gao Mingcheng simply looked around, his eyes wandering through the crowds of people.
Later, he was really bored, so he started chatting with people around him. He knew a lot of local dialects, so it wouldn't be too difficult for him to communicate with people from all over the world. Besides, most of the people who appeared at the provincial capital station were from their own province, and only a few were from other places who came here to transfer.
After waiting in line for about another hour, Gao Mingcheng's team suddenly moved forward quickly. Gao Mingcheng felt surprised and tiptoed to look forward. Now he could see the ticket seller from a distance. It turned out that a whole family was queuing up to buy tickets together, so after buying the tickets, they all left at once.
Some people bought tickets and left, and naturally there were people who had just lined up at the end of the line, making the line still look very long, like a long dragon.
Fortunately, half an hour later, it was finally Gao Mingcheng's turn to buy a ticket!
"Hello, I want to buy train number 191 to the capital, and I want seven hard sleeper tickets!"
Gao Mingcheng briefly explained the situation, and after the conductor announced the price of each ticket, he lowered his head and took money from his bag.
The conductor was an experienced worker and he quickly counted the ticket money and then handed the ticket to Gao Mingcheng.
The moment Gao Mingcheng got the ticket, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At present, the Beijing-Kowloon Railway has not been opened yet. To go from the provincial capital to the capital, one must take the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway. The distance between the two is about 2,000 kilometers. At a speed of 48 kilometers per hour, it will take 41 hours!
If the train encounters an accident on the way, it may take even longer. After all, it is not uncommon for trains to be delayed.
Squeezing out from the crowd, Gao Mingcheng walked towards the previous restaurant.
"I've bought the tickets. The train leaves at 21:34 and we'll arrive in the capital at noon on the third day!" Gao Mingcheng took out a ticket and handed the rest to Wang Xun, asking him to keep them.
The ticket Gao Mingcheng bought was a hard sleeper. He was lucky to be able to buy it. If he couldn't buy it, he could only buy a seat ticket. Once he bought a seat ticket, there was a possibility that he could buy a ticket without a seat!
By then, the whole family will have to spend more than 40 hours in the car, which is really miserable!
Wang Xun took a look at the ticket and said with satisfaction, "Just buy a hard sleeper!"
Although the tickets were bought, there were still several hours before boarding the train, so everyone had to wait patiently.
After dark, the temperature dropped a lot. Deng Wanwan considerately wrapped the two children tightly in their coats, fearing that they would be cold.
Deng Wanwan's stepson was a naughty boy, but he was frightened by the floating corpse in the lake and the rumors of finding a scapegoat, so he looked unhappy.
Her stepdaughter, however, was quite well-behaved and was willing to call Deng Wanwan "mom".
Human emotions are like this. If you like me, then I will definitely like you to some extent. So Deng Wanwan and her stepdaughter held hands all the time, and from their expressions, they looked like a real mother and daughter.
After finally making it to nine o'clock in the evening, people taking their train could start queuing up for ticket checking.
There were quite a few people queuing, but several of them had bought tickets to enter the station. People holding tickets can help their relatives carry their luggage into the station, and after putting the luggage and people on the bus, they can get off the bus and return.
Although Deng Wanwan and her companions had tried their best to reduce their luggage, there was still a lot, half of which was food.
We will be staying in the car for more than 40 hours, so we naturally have to prepare some food in advance.
Because they had both old and young people, Gao Mingcheng offered to help them carry a bag.
As the queuing crowd checked their tickets and entered the station, Gao Mingcheng quickly found the train number and the carriage they were going to take, and walked towards the carriage with Deng Wanwan and the others.
The hard sleeper carriage they were going to had a small number of people, but the doors of the hard seat carriages were packed with people! Some people even climbed in through the windows with the help of their relatives and friends!
After arriving at the carriage, Gao Mingcheng took his middle berth ticket and quickly found the corresponding place.
The seven tickets he bought included two lower berths, three middle berths, and two upper berths. Gao Mingcheng naturally wanted a lower berth, but since Deng Wanwan and her family had both old and young people, he chose a middle berth.
Although they bought the tickets at the same time, their seats were not together. Gao Mingcheng's ticket was a short distance away from theirs.
Gao Mingcheng finally breathed a sigh of relief after he put his things down.
It was already 9:30 in the evening when they got on the train. At 10 o'clock in the evening, the pale fluorescent lights in the sleeper car would be turned off, leaving only the dim light of the night light under the small table in the middle of the spring seat in the narrow aisle, like a candle that was about to go out.
It was time to go to bed, so Gao Mingcheng took out toiletries from his bag and prepared to go to the open bathroom at the end of the sleeper car to brush his teeth and wash his face.
Although he told Xuanyuemei at home that she only needed to bring two sets of clothes, Xuanyuemei still brought a lot of things for him when she packed her luggage, including toiletries and some food.
The weather is cold now, so even if you bring food on the bus, it will not spoil easily, so Xuanyuemei cooked twenty eggs for him and bought some braised dishes, bread and snacks.
As for water, Gao Mingcheng had bought bottled mineral water from a store near the provincial capital station.
Bottled mineral water has a long history. As early as 1930, the Laoshan Bottled Mineral Water Factory was established in Qingdao. Before the 1980s, it was the only bottled mineral water manufacturer in China. However, at that time, it was a glass bottled product with a single product and high price.
But after entering the 1990s, mineral water in plastic bottles became all the rage! It was considered a "fashion" for people to hold a bottle of mineral water while traveling, which brought convenience to people when going out, so advertisements for mineral water were everywhere.
He bought a bottle of mineral water, but Deng Wanwan's parents brought an enamel cup with them on the train. There was hot water on the train, so they could use the enamel cup to drink water.
Gao Mingcheng quickly washed up, went to the toilet, walked to his bed in the swaying carriage, and prepared to climb into bed to sleep.
The light is dim now and it’s not suitable to do anything.
While he was washing up, the others were also getting ready to wash up and go to bed.
But not long after, a conductor came over and asked them to change their tickets. This was a treatment only available to hard sleeper passengers. When they were about to get off the train, the conductor would remind them again and then change their previous tickets back so that the passengers could get off the train with their tickets.
Amid the sound of groaning, Gao Mingcheng slowly fell asleep, with one of his hands remaining on the luggage bag.
There is a thick stack of cash in this luggage bag!
Not only him, but other people in the carriage also carried valuables with them. Even when they were sleeping, they would hold them tightly or use them under their heads to stay alert at all times.
By the early morning, the carriage gradually became silent as most people fell into a deep sleep. Even if there were some who were still awake, they did not dare to make any noise.
At this moment, someone suddenly came with a flashlight and shone it on each bed.
When the flashlight shone on Gao Mingcheng, he opened his eyes reflexively and then threw a peanut in his hand towards the light source.
"Ouch!" The peanut hit the face of the young man holding the flashlight, and he screamed in pain.
At this time, some people had been awakened by the light and heard the scream, so they stood up one after another, and soon someone loudly asked the young man what he wanted to do.
Seeing this, the young man quickly smiled and said that he was looking for a bed.
"Have you found it?" Gao Mingcheng sat up and stared at the young man with shifty eyes.
There are all kinds of people on the train, but pickpockets and human traffickers are the ones that everyone hates the most.
"Found it, found it." The young man did not dare to anger the crowd. He walked away dejectedly while talking. Seeing him leave the carriage, the others knew that the young man must have been up to no good!
So some people cursed a few words, while others lay down again to sleep, but they held their luggage bags even tighter in their hands.
After this little incident, the rest of the night was peaceful.
When people are sleeping, time passes quickly. When the morning light shone through the car window, Gao Mingcheng opened his eyes immediately.
His bed was the middle berth, and the middle berth took up most of the window space!
Here, you can easily see the scenery outside the window, but it is also easily affected by the light, making it difficult to sleep during the day.
Soon after he woke up, others also woke up. The carriage, which had been quiet all night, became lively again. However, Gao Mingcheng got up early and washed up early, so no one competed with him for the use of the faucet.
But when more people wake up, it will be difficult to use water!
If you meet someone who is particularly slow in washing, you will have to wait for a long time!
It was the first time for Deng Zhiyong and his wife to go out, and they knew nothing about the situation on the train. Deng Wanwan carefully introduced the layout of the carriage to them, and took them to wash and go to the toilet. As for the two children, they were left to be taken care of by Wang Xun.
When everything was ready, they called Gao Mingcheng over to eat.
Mother Deng opened several cans and said to Gao Mingcheng with a smile: "These are the side dishes I made myself. They are the best to eat with porridge, steamed buns, and bread!"
Gao Mingcheng took a look and saw quite a few side dishes, including the common buckwheat, dried radish, and grapefruit peel, as well as a bottle of roasted dried fish in fermented black beans, which was cooked with a lot of oil and chili peppers. It looked delicious!
(End of this chapter)
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