Chapter 62 Yellow River
Everyone sitting in carriage number seven was a high school graduate, but graduating from high school does not equate to high personal quality.
Everyone's family economic situation is different. At mealtimes, some people eat white flour steamed buns, some eat large meat buns, some eat mixed grain pancakes, and some even eat wild grass and mixed grain cornbread.
The economic gap between urban families is not large, but the difference can be widened by the number of working people and the number of people in the household.
It's not surprising that there are thieves.
After Wang Haiquan finished speaking loudly, everyone checked their bags.
Someone's face changed drastically after checking, "My money and tickets that I put in my bag are all gone."
Song Lubai was relieved that her mother had the foresight to sew two inner pockets into her clothes.
Besides losing money, people also lost soap and pens.
However, not many people lost their belongings. Including Song Lubai, a total of four people lost their belongings. All of them were among the first group to board the bus.
Based on the location of the package, the lost package was within eight meters of the shelf above the seat where Song Lubai had previously been sitting.
After recording the situation, Wang Haiquan said to everyone in standard Mandarin, "You are all educated people, and you are still wearing military uniforms. Don't you feel ashamed that this kind of thing happened in a crowd?"
The person who lost something looked grim, while those who neither lost nor stole anything were observing everyone in the crowd, trying to spot the thief with their eyes.
When Wang Haiquan spoke again, he read through the list of lost items he had written down. "Put the items where I told you to before 7 a.m. tomorrow, and we can give you a chance. If you don't return the items and we catch you in the act, you'll be in big trouble."
Song Lubai thought this method of catching thieves was good.
Fearing being caught, the thief would definitely return the items in the middle of the night. At that time, the train carriage is pitch black and everyone is basically asleep. Returning the items quietly at that time saves the thief's face and also gets the items back.
While Song Lubai was eating a pancake with water, everyone was still indignant, cursing the unknown thief for his depraved character and being a black sheep in the group.
There were kind-hearted people in the carriage who carried around pickled vegetable bottles and distributed them to others.
As the man was distributing the pickled vegetables from the jar, he glanced in Song Lubai's direction several times, which Song Lubai naturally noticed.
Sure enough, not long after, the boy came up to her with a jar of pickled vegetables and bent down:
"Comrade, these are some pickled vegetables I made myself. Please try them."
The other person didn't dare to look her in the eye. Song Lubai smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, comrade, but I'm about to finish my pancakes, so I don't need to eat them with pickles."
The boy immediately replied, "I still have some pancakes here, I can share them with you."
Song Lubai smiled and declined, "The journey will take several more days. I appreciate your kindness, but you need to take care of yourself first. I've already eaten my fill. Thank you."
Lin Dahai once said that she was greedy. He said that greedy people don't seem valuable, and that being greedy when you go out will make others laugh at you.
She kept those words in mind.
She never skimped on food at her own dinner table, but she never accepted a single piece of candy from strangers when she was out.
The man nodded regretfully, then mustered his courage and said, "Then next time you want some pickled vegetables, just ask me. My mom's pickled radish strips are delicious."
Wei Yang withdrew his gaze from the connecting area between the carriages on that side.
He felt that these young people were very energetic.
There were quite a few men in the carriage. When this man was delivering the pickled vegetables to Comrade Song, many of them glanced over, seemingly very interested in whether he would be able to deliver them successfully.
Indeed, Song Lubai was eye-catching in the crowd. Her face was fair and delicate, yet not bland. In the words of scholars, she seemed to have a refined air about her, and her temperament was very attractive.
During the day, Song Lubai couldn't go to the cargo compartment, so she either switched seats with other people or walked around at both ends of the compartment.
Fortunately, everyone was easy to get along with and would give up their seats to those without, taking turns to sit together, so the day wasn't too unbearable.
The train made an unexpected stop in the evening, and everyone got off to get some fresh air for a long time.
The crimson glow of the sunset had faded, and the afterglow was being swallowed by the deep blue sky. At the edge of the field of vision lay a vast wilderness, its color tinged with dark green by the deep blue sky.
The wind in the open field was very comfortable, wiping away everyone's fatigue.
After passing through the tunnel for half an hour, it was completely dark, and the buzzing sound from the tunnel still echoed in Song Lubai's ears.
It was another long night. Song Lubai sat on the rehab sheet, leaning against the inner wall of the carriage. She looked up sleepily and could see the man sitting on the bench with his back straight.
This guy is really good at enduring things. The light in the carriage is so dim, how come he can't relax his body to sleep?
Hearing movement inside the carriage, Song Lubai lazily opened her eyes; it was already broad daylight.
As Song Lubai stood up, she saw the surging torrent outside the window and excitedly asked the person next to her, "Is this the Yellow River?"
She had only read about the Yellow River, the mother river, in books and had never seen it in person.
Seeing this turbid yet vibrant river, she instinctively felt that it was the Yellow River.
After receiving Wei Yang's affirmative reply, her eyes lit up with even more interest.
Her tone was light and cheerful: "Comrade Wei, how did you know this was the Yellow River?"
Upon hearing the words "Yellow River," everyone, whether they were half-awake or not, was drawn to the window by Song Lubai, and they all exclaimed in surprise.
Almost none of them had ever traveled far from home, so the Yellow River undoubtedly broadened their horizons.
Looking out the window at the roaring Yellow River, Wei Yang said, "I've taken this route once before. We'll pass through the Qilian Mountains, cross the western end of the Great Wall at Jiayuguan, and after Hami, there's a vast and boundless Gobi Desert ahead. You'll see a lot of scenery along the way. As for Xinjiang province, I've heard there are snow-capped mountains, but this is my first time going to Xinjiang. I got off at Hami on this train before, but unfortunately, I never saw the snow-capped mountains with my own eyes."
The crowd listened with great emotion, as if they were infected by the ceaseless flow of the mother river outside.
This was Song Lubai's first time traveling so far in her life. She had never seen the magnificent sight of the Yellow River's turbulent waves and its roaring eastward flow; she had never felt the wind on the Northwest grasslands; and she had never seen the silent, rolling green mountains standing under the sky.
She has gained a preliminary understanding of the vastness of the motherland's mountains and rivers in the past two days, and now she can better understand the meaning of Wang Haiquan's saying that "reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles".
Everyone crowded around the few windows, eager to witness the magnificent sight of the Mother River.
After admiring the sights for a while, Wang Haiquan called out four names, one of which was Song Lubai.
On the table in front of Wang Hai were the items that everyone had lost.
He distributed the items in order according to the records from yesterday.
Song Lubai's belongings were all intact.
The woman who lost her small wallet looked unwell. She said she was missing two ten-yuan bills, and her eyes were filled with tears, so it was clear she wasn't lying.
Wang Haiquan frowned, feeling that this matter was a bit difficult to handle.
All the large commemorative bags look the same, so even if you search your bag, you can't find them.
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