mesbooks Chapter 53 Returning to the City
Chapter 53 Returning to the City
Chen Weidong's house wasn't his own; it was allocated to the educated youth by the village. Now that he's left, he definitely has to return it to the brigade.
"I see."
He Yan took the key and nodded. Just then, Wang Jianshui drove the carriage over.
"Uncle Wang."
"Captain Wang."
……
The group immediately greeted each other, and then everyone worked together to load all the luggage onto the carriage in no time.
"We'll be going now. When you have time to visit Yanjing, remember to come and see us."
"must."
As she watched Yangjiatun recede into the distance, Su Man's eyes involuntarily reddened. When it was time to leave, she felt a little reluctant. After all, she had lived here for so long, and it would be a lie to say she had no feelings for it.
"Alright, we'll come back whenever you want."
Chen Weidong comforted him.
"That's right, Xiao Su, you can come back anytime you want."
Wang Jianshui tapped his pipe.
The roads are much easier to travel on now compared to last winter.
"Come back and visit often when you have time."
Wang Jianshui took Chen Weidong directly to the station.
"Definitely, please take good care of yourself."
"Then I'll be going now."
Watching Wang Jianshui drive away in his carriage, Chen Weidong felt a pang of sadness. He didn't know when they would meet again.
After getting into the car, he first settled Su Man and her child in, and then he slowly moved the packages he was carrying upstairs.
With a long whistle, the train started clattering along.
Chen Xiaosui sat on Chen Weidong's lap, looking around with curiosity. This was her first time riding a train, and she was full of excitement.
However, as more and more people boarded and the carriage became increasingly crowded, Chen Xiaohui also became listless.
After a while, someone pushed a bulldozer-like wheelbarrow, repeatedly clearing away the people sitting in the aisle, shouting in broken Mandarin as they went: "Make way, make way! Boxed lunches—boxed lunches—"
"A hot boxed lunch—two cents a serving—"
"Braised pork belly box rice - 50 cents a serving -"
"Meat and vegetables included—all you can eat!"
Upon hearing this voice, Chen Xiaohui's head immediately straightened up again.
"Want some?"
Chen Weidong asked, looking down, and Chen Xiaosui immediately nodded.
"Comrade, what dishes are available?"
Chen Weidong asked the train conductor.
「有猪皮饭、凉拌粉丝0.25-0.30元；青椒炒肉丝、木须肉、红烧肉0.35-0.50元；红烧排骨、溜肉段、炒肉片0.50-0.90元，同志，你想吃点啥？」
"Give me braised pork and shredded pork with green peppers, plus a cold glass noodle salad, and two large bowls of rice."
Having just sold sheep yesterday, Chen Weidong has plenty of money and is very confident.
"You can't eat that much, comrade. Just one dish and a bowl of rice will do."
Seeing Chen Weidong's extravagant spending, Su Man felt sorry for him and quickly whispered something to him.
Perhaps because he was used to spending money lavishly since childhood, coupled with the devaluation of money later on, Chen Weidong became accustomed to ordering two or three dishes for a meal.
Moreover, if one has to control even what one eats, then life is indeed meaningless.
Even if it's not about indulging in lavish meals, at least one must eat well and be full; this has always been one of Chen Weidong's life principles.
However, this was beyond Su Man's spending threshold, who was always frugal. She felt that ordering one dish for Chen Xiaosui was enough, while she and Chen Weidong could just eat cornbread.
"It's a long journey, we won't arrive until tomorrow. Sui Sui is still young, we can't let her go hungry, it's a good opportunity for her to taste braised pork."
Chen Weidong reassured Su Man, "Comrade, let's stick to what we agreed on earlier. How much is it in total?"
"That's one dollar and thirty cents in total."
Chen Weidong took out some money and handed it to the train attendant, who then used a rectangular, open-top aluminum lunchbox to serve him the food.
"Comrade, you eat first, I'll come back to get the lunchbox in a bit."
Unlike the disposable lunch boxes used later, the aluminum lunch boxes are now recycled by the train staff after the food is eaten, and then washed and reused.
Chen Weidong nodded, put the lunchbox down, and handed the chopsticks to Su Man. "Wife, you and Sui Sui eat first. I'll hold An An."
"You feed Sui Sui first, I'm not hungry."
Su Man smelled the aroma, her stomach already rumbling, but she was still reluctant to part with the meal. It cost her 1.3 yuan, which was too extravagant for her; it would have been enough to eat for several days in Yangjiatun.
"We'll be in Yanjing a long time. If you don't eat enough, how will you take care of the kids later? Hurry up and eat, or the train conductor will come to collect your lunchboxes."
After much persuasion, Su Man handed Chen Xiaoan to Chen Weidong and started eating while holding Chen Xiaosui.
The people around looked at the lunchbox with envious eyes, then silently took out the cornbread and steamed buns they had prepared beforehand and ate them with hot water, their eyes occasionally glancing at Chen Weidong.
Their expressions ranged from curiosity and envy to jealousy, but more than anything, they were scrutinizing and skeptical, as if they were looking at aliens.
Of course, there was also no shortage of whispering among themselves.
"What does this person do?"
"I don't know. Their clothes aren't anything special, but they're very particular about food. They're not like us."
"Exactly, he's obviously got a lot of money to burn. If he keeps spending like this, he'll run out of money sooner or later. Just wait and see, he'll be crying one day."
……
Su Man and Chen Xiaosui ate half of it, leaving a lot for Chen Weidong.
He took the chopsticks, took a bite, and it was indeed the same taste. Although it didn't have the same appealing color or aroma as the later pre-cooked dishes, it still tasted delicious and was healthy. It was definitely one of the warmest memories of the green trains of this era.
……
"Hey, why isn't Writer Chen here today?"
"You don't know? They've gone back to the city."
"What do you mean? Did you go to the county town?"
"No, they went back to Yanjing. Their whole family went back. I ran into them this morning. Our captain personally drove them there."
"Yanjing! I guess we won't see Chen Zhiqing anymore! I never thought that Chen Zhiqing and his wife would be the last group of educated youth to return to the city."
"It's normal to choose him, after all, Chen Weidong has even published articles in Yanjing Magazine. I heard that even our brigade received commendation from the county because of this."
"They definitely won't come back. We're in this remote mountain area, with no food or drink. Any educated youth who left probably never wants to come back in their lifetime."
"Hey, look, isn't that Liang Xiao and Widow Li's family?"
"That's true. I thought Liang Xiao would be among those returning to the city, but I didn't expect Widow Li to have taken him down."
"What do you mean, 'Li the Widow's husband'? He's the husband of Li the Widow's daughter."
"It's all the same. Anyway, it's a live-in marriage, so Widow Li is getting a good deal. I just don't know how long Liang Xiao can hold out."
Hahaha……
The group chatted and laughed non-stop. Without Wang Jianshui watching over them, they weren't as enthusiastic. They chatted and slacked off, quite enjoying themselves.
Chen Weidong has returned to the city!?
When did this happen?
Why that scoundrel?
He had thought about He Yan and Fu Xiao, but he never imagined that the brigade would give Chen Weidong the spot to return to the city.
There's definitely something fishy going on here!
unfair!
Liang Xiao's eyes were filled with jealousy, and he wished he could take her place.