Han Fei came to the dining car and bought three bowls of corn porridge and three boiled eggs. The pickles were free, so he paid another twenty cents and asked the chef to heat up the steamed buns made of two-grain flour for him.
After carrying breakfast back to the carriage, the family of three finished their breakfast. Li Xue began to teach Lele to read, while Han Fei lay on the bench to catch up on his sleep.
The train ran for another day and finally passed Shanhaiguan and arrived at the border of Hebei Province.
"The best level in the world."
Children who are just beginning to learn to read want to read everything they see, and the little ones happen to know these five words.
"Lele is awesome! He knows so many words now!"
As children grow up, they will always give us surprises inadvertently.
There were no literacy cards in those days, so it was very simple for Li Xue to teach Lele to read. She just pointed with her fingers when reading a book or newspaper. Li Xue had no idea how much Lele could recognize.
When the train reached the interior, more and more passengers boarded along the way.
Because Han Fei and his family went from the starting station to the terminal, they saw the ups and downs along the way and listened to different dialects from different places, which was quite interesting.
The green trains of the 1970s and 1980s were not only slow but also stopped at every station. The train from the Northeast to Suzhou took four days and four nights.
Along the way, Han Fei's family tried to save as much as possible and their food was not very good.
It’s not that Han Fei is stingy and doesn’t want to let his wife and children eat well, it’s just that the meals sold on long-distance trains only accept national food coupons or special train tickets.
National food coupons are a rare commodity. The few pounds of national food coupons Han Fei had on him were exchanged in the black market in advance.
Lele didn't suffer any injustice along the way because she was still breastfeeding. As for Han Fei and Li Xue, they were both people who had been through hard times, so this little bit of hardship was nothing to them.
On the morning of the fifth day, the train finally arrived at Sioux City Railway Station.
"Mom, is this the city? This threshing ground is much bigger than the one in our village."
Following the crowd leaving the station, Han Fei and his family of three arrived at the square in front of the station.
Before coming to Suzhou this time, the farthest place Lele had been to was the town. The little guy looked at the square in front of the station with a face full of curiosity.
"Yes, Lele, this is the city. This is the square in front of the station, not the threshing ground in the village. People in the city don't farm."
Li Xue was amused by her son's words, but it was really a shame not to use such a flat square to dry crops.
"How can someone not grow food? What do they eat if they don't grow food?"
Lele asked curiously.
"The grain we grow in the countryside must be paid to the government, and a large part of the grain we pay is used to ensure food supply in the city."
Li Xue and Han Fei are particularly good in this regard. They never find any excuse to fool their son just because he is young.
Lele suddenly stopped talking, and his favorable impression of the city people also dropped.
Children who grew up in rural areas know from an early age how difficult farming is.
Although Han Fei and Li Xue did not have to go to the fields to earn work points because they taught at school, Lele had seen the other members working in the fields.
In Lele's little world, he regards city dwellers as robbers who get something for nothing.
"Lele, whether you are from the countryside or the city, you are all serving the people, just with different divisions of labor.
Farming in the countryside is very hard, and working in the city is not easy either. Everyone is working hard to make the country stronger."
This was the first time Han Fei said something insincere to his son, but in fact he didn't really mean it.
Farmers are obliged to pay public grain, but they need to pay for everything produced in the city, and they will not be given a penny less.
The reason why he said this to his son was because Han Fei didn't want Lele to develop a sense of class antagonism from an early age.
"Xiaoxue, take Lele and wait here for a while. I'll go to the phone booth in front and call Baiyi."
The last time Yang Baiyi wrote back to Han Fei, he left him the phone numbers of Jinyun Villa and the agency’s staff quarters.
"Hello, I'm Yang Baiyi, who are you?"
I dialed the number and a familiar voice came from the other end.
"Hello, Comrade Yang Baiyi, I'm Han Fei, and we're now at Sucheng Railway Station."
As soon as the call was connected, Han Fei quickly introduced himself and told them their current location.
Telegraph and telephone charges were not cheap in the 1970s and 1980s, so Han Fei tried to keep his language as concise as possible.
"Okay, just stay there and don't move. I'll pick you up now."
After hanging up the phone, Yang Baiyi called the staff quarters and asked his uncle Xiao Fuxing to drive to the train station as well.
Han Fei and his wife planned to entrust Lele to themselves, and then they would live in the dormitory.
Living in a dormitory, a conservative estimate is that they would bring two sets of bedding, plus a change of clothes, which would not be enough to fit in the trunk of his Hongqi car.
"Wanru, make some more breakfast. Captain Han and his family have arrived. I'll go pick them up now."
After saying something to Lin Wanru, Yang Baiyi took the car keys and left.
Because Jinyun Villa was farther away from the train station, it was Xiao Fuxing who arrived at the train station first.
"Captain Han, Comrade Li Xue, Xiao Lele, long time no see!"
As soon as he got off the car, Xiao Fuxing walked quickly towards Han Fei's family with a smile on his face.
When they arrived in Su City, many people tried to get close to Xiao Fuxing because of his status, but Xiao Fuxing was very cautious.
He always felt that the smiles of those who approached him were more flattering and less sincere, and their words were more smooth and less down-to-earth.
In his heart, the educated youth from Chenjiatun were more sincere and less utilitarian.
"Comrade Xiao Fuxing, long time no see. I'm sorry to trouble you again."
Han Fei was very happy to see Xiao Fuxing again, and the two of them held hands tightly.
Lele stood aside, looking at Xiao Fuxing curiously. When Xiao Fuxing left Chenjiatun, Lele was too young and had no memory of him.
"Captain Han, Comrade Li Xue, Bai Yi is on his way. Let's wait for him here. Lele, have some candy first."
Xiao Fuxing took out a handful of candies from his pocket.
Lele did not take the candy, but hid behind Li Xue.
Before coming here, the most common thing Lele heard was not to talk to strangers and not to eat food given by strangers. Almost every educated youth said this to him.
"Lele, your uncle gave you some candy, go ahead and thank him."
Lele is Yang Baiyi's godson, and Xiao Fuxing is Yang Baiyi's uncle, so they are real relatives.
"Thank you, uncle."
Although Lele was unfamiliar with the term "uncle", he knew that as long as the word "uncle" was included, he was definitely not a stranger.
"LeLe!"
A steady and imposing Hongqi sedan stopped in the square, and Yang Baiyi got out of the car.
"Godfather!"
Lele cheered and threw herself into Yang Baiyi's arms.
"I calculated the time and you'll be here soon. Hurry up and load your luggage into the car. We'll talk when we get home."
Yang Baiyi took Lele to Han Fei and gave him a hug.
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