Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 87 - 085 Train Station at Midnight

Chapter 87: 085 Train Station at Midnight

After Qin Xi’s negotiation, several police officers quickly took out handcuffs, shackled the person, and dragged them outside.

Everyone was shocked, what was going on? Wasn’t it said that the child was the result of the wife’s affair?

At this moment, the policewoman holding the child came over, her expression stern, and said: "Everyone can register and leave first. These two may be members of a human trafficking gang and could be stalling for time. We need to expedite the interrogation to prevent more children from being transferred out. We hope everyone can cooperate with the work."

The crowd, who had never seen such a situation, was in an uproar. So the earlier claims of a wife and a lover having a child were also false? Just to gain sympathy?

After coming to their senses, everyone became angry, and many started cursing vehemently.

Li Xianglu then went over to look at the child, who was abnormally drowsy, and said with some concern: "The water he drank might have contained sleeping pills, and now it looks like he has a fever."

The policewoman, who also had a child, nodded and said: "We’ve already asked the station to send a vehicle, he will be taken to a nearby hospital soon."

Train services all operate on a schedule. Currently, without internet access, one cannot buy train tickets to other places from Provincial City in the counties, but only at the station.

Qin Xi suggested that everyone first have a meal at the military quarters’ guesthouse near the train station, and she would go out to buy the tickets first.

Since Mr. Li was a retired military officer, he was able to enter the cafeteria inside the military area’s guesthouse with a retired cadre’s ID.

By now, it was nine o’clock, and besides a few on-duty staff, there was no one else.

Qin Xi, holding the ID and money, went to buy the tickets first, while Mr. Li looked at the menu, and after ordering a large pot of tea, he sat there watching the time, planning to order food when it was about right.

But the cafeteria staff was not pleased, urging them repeatedly: "Hurry up, we are about to close. If you’re not going to eat, please leave quickly."

Li Xianglu, somewhat helplessly, took over the food tickets and money from Mr. Li, went to the service window, looked at it, and then said: "Four bowls of mutton soup, one jin of pork and cabbage dumplings, six jin of Baiji Bread."

The service window staff was taken aback upon hearing this, but didn’t react much. Most people coming here for a meal were about to travel long distances, and taking some steamed buns with them wasn’t unusual, so they tallied up: "Four bowls of mutton soup, two yuan and forty cents, no food tickets, one jin of pork and cabbage dumplings, one jin’s food ticket, two yuan, one jin of Baiji Bread twenty-eight cents, six jin one yuan and sixty-eight cents plus four jin and eight taels of food tickets." After quoting the price, they started calculating again.

Li Xianglu smiled and said: "A total of six yuan and eight cents, plus five jin and eight taels of food tickets."

The cashier, after doing the mental math, realized it was indeed correct, and said with a smile: "Young lady, you’re quite adept."

Li Xianglu smiled and said: "Master, here are the food tickets and money, could you also include some garlic? I’ll pay some extra."

Garlic was cheap in rural areas, but in the city, it was rationed to each household. If you ran out of your quota and wanted to eat it, you had to buy it on the black market. However, cafeterias usually had plenty, so the cashier smiled and said: "Alright, I’ll give you ten cents’ worth of garlic."

The mutton soup was served swiftly, with two bowls brought out within ten minutes of ordering. Qin Zhen hurriedly went forward to help serve the meals, and when the two brought them back, Mr. Li waved his hand and said: "Eat first, if need be, we can have it reheated later."

Li Xianglu glanced at the bowl, noting the layer of green onions floating on the milky soup. Picking through with her chopsticks, she saw half a bowl full of lamb offal. So much! She peeked at Mr. Li, hesitant to offer him any, as it was too late, and too much food would be hard to digest. So instead, she added a few chopsticks’ worth to Qin Xi’s bowl at her side. Qin Zhen watched, mouth twisting, as Li Xianglu once again seemed to overlook his big, living presence.

The dumplings were freshly wrapped and took twenty minutes to serve. Sixty dumplings per jin, steaming hot.

Mr. Li had only half a Baiji Bread and a big bowl of lamb offal soup, which filled him up. Meanwhile, Qin Zhen continued to eat his dumplings non-stop.

Li Xianglu had been watching the door when Qin Zhen came in, covered in snow.

Li Xianglu quickly stood up, took a small towel from her bag, and went over to help brush off the snow. Surprised, she said, "Is it snowing now?"

Qin Xi smiled and replied, "It started when I went out, and it’s getting heavy now."

Li Xianglu felt the bowl of lamb offal soup; it was lukewarm, edible, but on such a cold day, lamb offal had a strong smell even when hot, let alone when it had cooled down. So, she shamelessly carried the bowl to the window and handed over 20 cents, saying with a smile, "Sir, could you please reheat the soup for me? It’s gotten a bit cold."

It was the same person who took the money before. After glancing at the 20 cents and accepting it, he smiled and agreed.

Li Xianglu breathed a sigh of relief. Not long after, the soup was ready. As she brought it back, she saw Qin Xi handing over some tickets to Mr. Li and hurriedly stood up upon seeing her approach.

Taking the bowl from Li Xianglu, Qin Xi ate heartily. He had only some thin porridge in the morning and some bread with filling at four in the afternoon. Now, at ten at night, he was starving.

Li Xianglu leaned in to look at the four tickets, surprised to see that two were sleeper berths, while the other two were hard seats. Mr. Li nodded contentedly and said, "Good, during the day you two come here to sleep, Xiangxiang and I will give you our places."

Qin Xi broke the Baiji Bread into small pieces, soaked them in the soup, took a spoonful of chili sauce, stirred it in then said, "No need, it’s just about thirty hours or so, no trouble."

Li Xianglu’s mouth fell open—thirty hours? From the Provincial City to Shanghai? But she quickly closed her mouth again. Right, the best trains today were diesel-powered, and many were still steam-powered, moving slowly. Even the fastest only went up to 48 kilometers per hour, so thirty hours to Shanghai made sense. Thinking of this, Li Xianglu felt deflated, wishing for a speed increase.

After the meal, carrying the packed Baiji Bread and a large bottle of boiled water, they headed to the train station’s waiting room.

The military control had ended, and the train station was bustling with people, lively even at night.

The train station in this largest city of the Northwest was much more famous and grand compared to stations in other places, with its retro architecture. Li Xianglu reminisced about the dilapidated station she had visited in her previous life, where many people preferred the spacious and well-lit North Station in the suburbs.

When they found the waiting hall inside the waiting room, it was already eleven o’clock. Mr. Li normally slept by ten at the latest, and he was already nodding off, frequently checking his watch. Li Xianglu hoped time would pass quickly and that there would be no delays.

Qin Xi spoke indifferently, "Did you hide those two parcels?"

Li Xianglu, with hazy eyes, shook her head and said, "I don’t know."

ps: I haven’t checked the monthly ticket yet, am writing first. If I have enough by tonight, I’ll update more. I’m so sleepy and really want to sleep, but I have no drafts saved, so I plan to take a shower and keep writing!