“I didn’t hit you, why are you crying?” Su Xiaotian said speechlessly.
The little boy continued to wail.
As soon as the child started crying, the middle-aged woman became indignant.
“What’s wrong with you? You have to provoke such a young child? Can’t you just let him have his way?”
Doting on her son, the middle-aged woman completely forgot the fear of her mother-in-law being thrown on the ground.
Su Xiaotian was angered by this remark.
“I let him have his way? Why should I let him have his way? Is he my son?” When these words were spoken in Su Xiaotian’s tender voice, everyone around couldn’t help but laugh.
“You, you…” The middle-aged woman felt that Su Xiaotian must be thinking of taking advantage.
“What about me? Anyone with eyes can see that your family is in the wrong, and you have the nerve to ask me to let him have his way now?”
When Su Xiaotian said this, it didn’t seem like anything was wrong. However, her clear eyes suddenly looked at the train attendant.
Upon seeing Su Xiaotian’s gaze, the train attendant involuntarily avoided it.
Everyone around saw it clearly, especially another person leaning on the lower bunk, watching the commotion.
This little girl was indeed quite interesting.
“How am I wrong? He’s just a child, what’s wrong with you letting him have his way? What’s wrong with people nowadays being so cold-hearted?” The middle-aged woman, with reddened eyes, looked as if she was about to cry.
“Don’t cry, lest people think I’m bullying you. I’ll ask you, how old is he? I let him have his way? He’s a child, but am I an adult?”
The gazes of those around them couldn’t help but dart back and forth between the two of them.
Su Xiaotian and the boy looked very similar in age, only a year or two apart.
It was hard to imagine asking a child of a similar age to defer to another child.
“I hate people like you the most, always thinking the whole world owes you. I’m telling you, if you don’t want me to take action, hurry up and take your child away!”
Su Xiaotian’s words were full of confidence.
She even remembered to glance at the boy crying on the bunk.
The boy was now also scared by Su Xiaotian and dared not cry loudly, only sniffling.
“Comrade, aren’t you going to discipline this ill-bred brat? Are you just going to watch this brat bully us poor and lower-middle peasants?” The middle-aged woman suddenly turned her gaze to the train attendant.
The train attendant had intended to play peacemaker, but who knew that both parties were difficult to deal with? It was too late to leave now.
“This female comrade, it was your fault in the first place. Let me see your tickets!”
Fearing that the middle-aged woman would cause trouble, the train attendant simply did his job and asked the middle-aged woman to produce her tickets.
The middle-aged woman’s eyes flickered upon hearing the train attendant’s words.
The train attendant was an old hand on the train, and he could tell from the middle-aged woman’s eyes that she was likely traveling without a ticket.
Su Xiaotian also saw it. She gave the train attendant a meaningful look, her meaning very clear: Look, this is the person you are protecting.
The train attendant felt even more embarrassed, and his voice immediately turned cold: “Comrade, take out your ticket!”
The middle-aged woman no longer had her previous arrogance, lowering her head and making a gesture of rummaging through her pockets.
The train attendant waited patiently. People like this were most likely without tickets.
Even if she turned her pockets inside out, she wouldn’t find a train ticket.
“Our train tickets were stolen by a thief. Oh dear, the thief was too terrifying! Heavens, once we board the train, everyone bullies us. How are we supposed to live!” The old lady’s reaction was much faster than the middle-aged woman’s. While the middle-aged woman was rummaging through her pockets, she had already started to wail and act.
The train attendant couldn’t help but sneer. She was indeed quite good at acting.
“This comrade, you say your train tickets were stolen by a thief. Can you tell me where your seat is?”
“In, in carriage sixteen, row thirty-two…” The old lady racked her brains to fabricate a story.
“Carriage sixteen? Are you sure?” the train attendant asked with a half-smile.
This one wouldn’t give up until the Yellow River was reached.
“Yes, definitely. I want to go to carriage sixteen to find my seat!” The old lady knew it wouldn’t be good to drag it out any longer, so she turned over and prepared to escape.
“Then come with me to find it. Coincidentally, I’m going to carriage sixteen!” The train attendant stopped the old lady.
The old lady, who had intended to flee, was suddenly blocked by the train attendant. She thought about throwing a tantrum, but soon recognized the situation and knew that she couldn’t provoke the train attendant further.
She said hesitantly, “If we’re going together, then let’s go together. However, my seat might already be taken, and perhaps the person sitting in my seat is the thief.”
The train attendant was also patient. He said, “It’s okay. As long as you clearly state how many tickets you purchased and the seat numbers, I will definitely help you find them. However, you must confirm them clearly before I can help you retrieve them!”
The old lady was overjoyed to hear the train attendant’s words, secretly thinking that this train attendant was truly unobservant, believing such a lie.
However, it was good that he believed her.
If the train attendant believed her, she could openly have a seat.
Although a seat was not as good as a bunk, being able to find a seat openly was better than nothing.
The old lady pondered and gave her daughter-in-law a look.
The middle-aged woman immediately pulled her precious son and said, “Let’s go, let’s go find our seats!”
The boy looked at his mother and grandmother with a blank expression. Did they have seats?
When were the tickets bought? He had no idea.
However, he didn’t think much of it, only thinking that they had seats and quickly followed.
Su Xiaotian couldn’t help but smile at the train attendant’s actions.
This young train attendant, who initially seemed like a peacemaker, turned out to have some skills.
After seeing off the unrelated people, Su Xiaotian tidied up the bunk, gently shook off the dust, and then beckoned Chi Ge to rest.
“Grandpa Chi, you’re not feeling well, lie down and rest first.”
Chi Ge looked at Su Xiaotian with admiration. The little girl was indeed good, decisive and capable.
It was fortunate that he brought Su Xiaotian this time. If he hadn’t, he, a grown man, would have felt too embarrassed to lay hands on a woman.
“You all should rest too. It’s very boring on this journey. It will take several days,” Chi Ge said to Su Xiaotian and the others as he sat on the bunk.
“I’ll go to the upper bunk, and Xiaotian and Fourth Brother will sleep on the middle bunk.”
The three-tiered bunk meant that the space decreased as you went higher, so Chi Yiyuan chose the highest one.
Su Xiaotian quickly said, “I’m young, I’ll go to the highest one.”
“You sleep on the middle bunk between me and Grandpa, and Fourth Brother sleeps opposite you,” Chi Yiyuan said firmly.
No matter how capable Xiaotian was, she was still a young girl. The train was too chaotic, so it was essential to protect her well.
Upon hearing this arrangement, Su Xiaotian immediately understood.
She didn’t insist further and nimbly climbed onto the middle bunk.
Leaning on the bedding, she looked down and met a pair of scrutinizing eyes.
Seeing Su Xiaotian, the young man on the opposite lower bunk smiled and said, “Little girl, you have great strength!”
“Xiaotian, don’t talk to strangers,” Chi Yiyuan quickly said, “Lie back down!”
Su Xiaotian said “oh” and quickly lay back down.
Chi Yiyuan felt relieved and climbed onto the upper bunk to rest, not forgetting to instruct Su Xiaosi to keep an eye on Su Xiaotian.
Su Xiaosi nodded, but inwardly disagreed.
There were six berths in the two opposite bunks, occupied by five people. Four of them were their own people, so what was there to be afraid of?
The young man smiled dismissively at Chi Yiyuan’s demeanor and then turned to chat with Chi Ge.
Su Xiaotian lay on the middle bunk, took out a book from the system library, and began to read wholeheartedly.
The books she took out from the system library now were all profound agricultural treatises.
Although she didn’t understand why the books she took out recently were all related to agriculture, Su Xiaotian was still very interested. She even considered practical applications while reading.
Su Xiaotian suspected that the system intended to train her into a glorious agricultural scientist.
After all, from the beginning until now, the books she saw the most were indeed related to agriculture, including planting and breeding, and even some hydrology and meteorology.
Strictly speaking, these all fell under the broad category of agriculture.
Su Xiaotian also wished she could broaden her knowledge, not just read agricultural books forever.
The next few years would be a period of rapid economic development. It would be great if she could read more books on business and economics.
But this thought was just a fleeting thought. Su Xiaotian knew very well that this was not up to her.
Even Anna had said that she didn’t have this authority, and it was random.
Su Xiaotian knew that when she focused on reading, she would maintain a posture for a long time. To avoid attracting the attention of Su Xiaosi opposite her, Su Xiaotian chose to face the wall, pretending to be asleep.
Su Xiaosi didn’t think much of it. Seeing that Su Xiaotian seemed to be asleep, he felt much more at ease.
He lay on the bunk, and with the rocking of the train, he also drifted off to sleep.
Chi Yiyuan was worried that the young man on the lower bunk might have ill intentions towards Su Xiaotian and kept checking on him.
When he saw that he was only focused on chatting with his grandfather, he felt much more relieved.
Chi Ge and the young man chatted and got along very well.
They talked a lot, almost as if they had found a kindred spirit.
Chi Yiyuan gradually began to worry.
What was this person’s identity? How could he gain his grandfather’s trust so much? He couldn’t be a swindler, could he?
While reading, Su Xiaotian also overheard the conversation between Chi Ge and the young man. From the young man’s demeanor, she felt that he was a very upright person.
After reading more than half of the book, Su Xiaotian felt tired, so she put the book back into the system library and then fell asleep hazily.
On the swaying train, it was indeed the best place to sleep.
When Su Xiaotian woke up, the outside of the train was already filled with golden sunset!
Su Xiaotian climbed down from the middle bunk. Chi Ge had also fallen asleep at some point.
However, the young man opposite was engrossed in reading a book.
Su Xiaotian didn’t see what book the young man was holding, nor did she want to pry into his privacy. So, she only found a few cups from her bag.
She first took Chi Ge’s cup to get water, then Chi Yiyuan’s cup, then Su Xiaosi’s cup, and finally her own cup.
To avoid waking Chi Ge, she quietly sat on the seat next to the bunk, watching the sunset outside.
This was Su Xiaotian’s first time traveling far from home. She felt that the vast desert and desolate scenery outside were all so beautiful, giving her a feeling of open-mindedness and exhilaration.
The young man on the opposite bunk placed the book in his hand on the small table.
“Little girl, you have good skills. Have you practiced?” the young man asked.
“I’ve practiced a little.”
Since the other party had spoken, Su Xiaotian couldn’t bring herself to be too distant, so she replied indifferently.
“Little girl, don’t worry, I’m not a bad person. I just think you have good skills.” Feeling Su Xiaotian’s distant attitude, the young man quickly said.
“Oh!” Su Xiaotian replied indifferently, “I’m a country child, I have great strength!”
“Little girl, you’re too humble!” The young man smiled and said, “Let me introduce myself, my name is Hua Xiucheng.”
Just then, Chi Yiyuan woke up. Seeing Su Xiaotian talking to a stranger, he quickly said, “Xiaotian, why did you get down?”
“Brother Yiyuan, the sunset outside is very beautiful!” Su Xiaotian said with a smile, her eyes and brows filled with radiance.
Chi Yiyuan simply climbed down from the upper bunk himself and sat opposite Su Xiaotian to watch the sunset.
In fact, it was more like Su Xiaotian watching the sunset, and Chi Yiyuan watching Su Xiaotian.
The young man, Hua Xiucheng, looked at these two children and suddenly felt that it was a very beautiful painting.
As the sunset faded its last ray of light, Chi Ge and Su Xiaosi woke up.
Su Xiaotian quickly helped Chi Ge to sit up, “Grandpa Chi, you’re awake? I’ve fetched water, and the temperature is just right now.”
“Old Chi, your granddaughter is very filial!” Hua Xiucheng said with a smile.
“This is not my granddaughter, she is my little disciple!” Chi Ge said with a smile after taking a sip of water.
At this time, Su Xiaotian had already taken out a packet of vegetable pancakes from her bag.
“These are homemade vegetable pancakes. Comrade Hua, would you like to share?”
Hua Xiucheng originally intended to refuse, but smelling the aroma of the vegetable pancakes, he finally did not refuse.
“I’ve been on the train for two days, and I’ve finished all the food I brought. The train food is really not good. Since Old Chi has invited me, I won’t be polite!”
When Hua Xiucheng said this, the three young people looked at him in disbelief.
Did this person not understand what polite words were?
Grandpa Chi was clearly just being polite, so why did he really want to eat?
Hua Xiucheng naturally saw the looks the young people gave him.
However, he firmly adhered to the principle that if I am not embarrassed, others will be, and directly picked up a vegetable pancake.
“It smells so good. Anyone who can make such vegetable pancakes has good skills, better than the chefs in state-run restaurants.”
“I think so too. After eating these for so many years, I never get tired of them!” Chi Ge clearly liked Hua Xiucheng.
Su Xiaotian didn’t have any ill feelings towards Hua Xiucheng, so she didn’t say anything.
On the other hand, Chi Yiyuan felt that this person’s intentions were impure, but since his grandfather had invited him, he couldn’t say anything.
It was too frustrating!
[Author’s Note]
Babies, the update is finished! Love you, muah!