Chapter 13 Why are you being so dramatic?
The trains of this era differed from the modern configurations of China; everything was simple and practical.
There is no air conditioning in the vehicle, but there are two ventilation vents on the roof.
Heating is provided by kerosene heaters, with three heaters in each carriage.
The private room door was a closed wooden-framed glass door, with a white cloth curtain hanging with eight red characters printed on it: "Hard work and self-reliance".
There are two rows of berths on the left and right sides, divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower. Shen Wanjun's berth is on the top level on the left.
"Comrade, this is my seat."
Shen Wanjun placed a small suitcase into the luggage compartment on the lower bunk, which was about 28 centimeters high.
The box contained only two sets of clothes and some food.
These things were temporarily taken out of Shen Wanjun's space. These days, people carry a lot of bags when they travel far.
If she doesn't bring any luggage and only a small bag, she'll inevitably be mistaken for a bad guy.
It was already dark, and the only lighting in the carriage was a 15-watt incandescent bulb.
The bed creaked, and Shen Wanjun saw a woman sit up.
Gao Xiaoman took out her train ticket and looked at it, then casually said, "Oh, I made a mistake, my seat is in the opposite berth."
After saying that, she lay back down, showing no intention of moving.
Shen Wanjun raised her voice: "Comrade, please come down, this is my seat."
Knowing you're in the opposite bunk, why don't you get down and stop occupying someone else's spot? How can you be so shameless?
Gao Xiaoman turned over, facing the wall and refusing to look at Shen Wanjun.
He said calmly, "You can sleep in my spot, it's the same."
Where are you located?
"Didn't I just say? Upper bunk on the right." Gao Xiaoman's tone was somewhat impatient.
Shen Wanjun hesitated for a moment, since both sides were upper bunks and there was no difference.
When traveling, it's better to avoid trouble, so she was considering whether to sleep in the right-side bunk.
A tall, plump woman got there first, climbed onto the upper bunk on the right, and lay down.
Shen Wanjun: ?! What's going on?
Now that both sides of the bed are occupied, Shen Wanjun tapped on the side of the bed: "Hey, comrade, get down, this is my spot."
"If you don't get off, I'm going to call the train conductor."
Gao Xiaoman sat up abruptly, her small, fair face flushed red.
"What can you do if you sleep in the bunk opposite mine?"
“I had something else to ask you.” Shen Wanjun met her gaze, the atmosphere tense.
Gao Xiaoman glanced down at Shen Wanjun and said, "What's with the pretense? This isn't your home."
"Me, being dramatic?" Shen Wanjun chuckled. "You're sleeping in my bunk, and you're calling me dramatic?"
Gao Xiaoman looked Shen Wanjun up and down. She was beautiful and knew how to dress. She looked like a capitalist's daughter.
Although Shen Wanjun tried her best to dress modestly, the clothes in her wardrobe were anything but modest.
After a busy day of shopping, she hadn't put on any makeup, yet her skin looked even more radiant.
Gao Xiaoman saw through Shen Wanjun's identity as a capitalist's daughter at a glance, not because she had superhuman eyes.
Rather, she had seen Shen Wanjun in the newspaper; compared to the Shen family, their Gao family's social standing was far too low.
Her parents, both teachers, sensed an impending storm and, without a word, offered her a train ticket to leave.
Gao Xiaoman still doesn't understand why her parents were so resolute.
With anger simmering inside and then encountering Shen Wanjun who was making things difficult for her, Gao Xiaoman finally found an outlet for her frustration.
His mind raced, churning out a torrent of words, ready to launch into a long lecture on Shen Wanjun.
Make her realize her true identity: the Shen family has fallen, and Shen Wanjun is no longer a rich young lady, but a helpless dog at the mercy of others.
Unfortunately, before she could even speak, the fat woman in the opposite bunk interrupted her.
The plump woman took out her train ticket, jumped down from the upper bunk, and shoved it at Shen Wanjun.
"Comrade, could you help me check if this is my designated spot?"
Shen Wanjun looked at it carefully and said with a smile, "Big sister, you didn't sit in the wrong seat, this is your seat."
The plump woman immediately put her hands on her hips and looked at Gao Xiaoman, "What's wrong with you, woman? How can you just spout such nonsense? I thought I was in the wrong place."
"You look like a decent human being, yet you do such despicable things. I'm ashamed for you."
The chubby woman unleashed a torrent of abuse, leaving Gao Xiaoman's face flushed and her eyes red-rimmed.
The Gao family lived in Shanghai, and their life was neither too good nor too bad.
Gao Xiaoman was pampered and cherished by her parents from a young age.
She had never suffered such injustice before; she was like a delicate flower that had just stepped out of a greenhouse and was immediately hit by a storm.
Feeling wronged, confused, and at a loss.
Just then, a train attendant heard the commotion and came over to ask, "What are you all doing? The lights are about to be turned off."
Upon seeing that the train attendant was male, Gao Xiaoman immediately burst into tears and accused Shen Wanjun.
"Comrade, she's causing trouble and disturbing public order. Arrest her immediately."
Faced with Gao Xiaoman's attempt to shift the blame, Shen Wanjun calmly explained, "Comrade, she took my seat. Look, this is my ticket."
"She offered me the bunk across from hers, saying it was her spot. But the bunk across from hers was already taken."
The plump woman shoved her ticket into the train attendant's hand: "Comrade, look at this, I don't even know where I'm supposed to sleep."
After carefully checking the ticket information, the train attendant coldly said to Gao Xiaoman, "Where's your ticket? Let me see."
Gao Xiaoman was a little confused; why was he so fierce?
She handed over her ticket and pointed at Shen Wanjun, saying, "My ticket is definitely fine, but as for her, that's hard to say."
The train attendant looked at her ticket and said directly to Gao Xiaoman, "Get down. Your ticket is for a seat, this is a sleeper berth."
Gao Xiaoman tried to argue, but how could that be?
She clearly told her parents to buy sleeper tickets, so how come they couldn't even buy her a single sleeper ticket?
Gao Xiaoman felt a strong sense of dissatisfaction. Why was Shen Wanjun, a rich young lady in Shanghai, able to easily buy a sleeper ticket even when leaving the city?
"Comrade, you should check her votes carefully; there's definitely something wrong with them."
The Shen family's property was burned down, and all their assets were donated. Where would Shen Wanjun get the money to buy tickets?
In Gao Xiaoman's view, being homeless and unable to afford food is more in line with Shen Wanjun's current situation and identity.
“Her ticket is fine. Comrade, if you don’t leave now, don’t blame me for contacting your workplace.”
In those days, passengers who bought hard-seat tickets but went to sit or lie down in hard-sleeper carriages without permission faced severe penalties.
At best, they will be expelled on the spot; at worst, they will be reported to their work unit for public criticism and a major demerit, which will be recorded in their personnel file and become a stain on their record for life.
There were even cases of detention or labor punishment, such as making them clean train carriages.
After Gao Xiaoman saw her train ticket information, all her arrogance vanished instantly.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, they were driven away like stray dogs.
Shen Wanjun climbed onto the upper bunk, covered herself with the army green quilt, and fell asleep fully clothed.
The clanging of the copper bells signaled that the lights should be turned off.
At 9:30 p.m., the flight attendant rang a bell and turned off the overhead lights in each compartment.
The entire carriage was plunged into darkness, with only two 5-watt blue lights at the end of the corridor providing a pitiful glow.
In her dazed state, Shen Wanjun heard someone open the door to the private room.
The slight click of the latch startled Shen Wanjun awake in the darkness.
Someone came in and locked the door from the inside. What was he trying to do?
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