Chapter 42: Chapter 40 On the Train_2
Lu Jiaxin, who had bought two meat dishes and one vegetable, thought the flavor was quite good and the price acceptable. It wasn’t like in the future, where it was both expensive and bad-tasting.
Gu Wenfeng had a big appetite and ordered two extra servings of white rice. Seeing him eat so heartily, Lu Jiaxin felt her appetite growing as well.
Sitting opposite them was an elderly man with half-white hair, who also bought a boxed meal but originally didn’t have much appetite. However, seeing how deliciously Gu Wenfeng ate, his appetite suddenly increased.
After eating, the old man exclaimed, “Youth is good indeed! Like when I was thirty, I could eat two aluminum box meals and still get hungry before mealtime.”
Lu Jiaxin said nothing, only thinking to herself that it was because people didn’t have much grease in their stomachs back then. With more grease, one couldn’t even finish a single box meal.
Gu Wenfeng wasn’t someone who enjoyed chatting, but since the old man was conversing kindly, he responded, “Everyone gets old, no one can escape it.”
Lu Jiaxin looked at him somewhat unexpectedly. Zhao Dajun couldn’t keep things secret and would spill everything within a day, but Gu Wenfeng hadn’t said a word. She felt he was a man with a story.
Their sleeping berths on the train were well located, one on the bottom bunk and one in the middle. When they first boarded the train, someone wanted to switch with them, but Lu Jiaxin refused.
It was convenient to do anything from the lower berth, and if it was an elderly person with mobility issues or someone with children, she would display the spirit of Lei Feng. But the person who approached them was in their prime at forty-something, and she was unwilling to inconvenience herself.
Gu Wenfeng had a clear role; this trip he was only responsible for ensuring Lu Jiaxin’s safety. He would warn her of any dangers, but otherwise, he stayed quiet.
After the meal, the old man started small talk with Lu Jiaxin. Old people like to tell stories from the past, and this old man was no exception. If this were in the Forty-nine City, she wouldn’t have been keen to listen, but with time to kill on the train, it seemed like a way to pass the tedious time.
It gradually grew dark, and the lights in the carriage turned on. The old man also got tired of talking and went to the water room to fetch water.
Gu Wenfeng said to Lu Jiaxin, “Should we switch berths? You take the middle bunk.”
He felt sleeping in the lower bunk was not very safe. Many people lost their valuables and money at night while traveling by train. The hard-seat carriages were the hardest hit areas, and although it was somewhat better in the sleepers, thefts still occurred. Lu Jiaxin had mentioned she brought along valuables, and judging from the weight of her luggage and the banks she had visited earlier, she must have carried a large amount of cash this time.
After the lights in the carriage were turned off, a few people were still talking. There was a strange smell in the carriage, and Lu Jiaxin tossed and turned in bed until the middle of the night before she fell asleep.
A scream woke her, and when she sat up, she hit her head on the iron frame. However, at that moment, she already wasn’t concerned about her forehead because Gu Wenfeng was pinning someone down with their hands behind their back.
Lu Jiaxin asked, “Brother, what happened?”
Gu Wenfeng spoke loudly, “He tried to steal our luggage, and I caught him red-handed.”
Lu Jiaxin, under the dim light, saw the army green duffel bag on the floor and her heart skipped a beat, but she didn’t show it on her face, “Brother, we haven’t lost anything, have we?”
Her canvas bag contained two thousand, and all the remaining money was in the luggage bag. This money was for buying a house, and losing it would mean her efforts were in vain.
Gu Wenfeng glanced at her and said, “Don’t worry, nothing was lost.”
As word spread in the carriage about catching a thief, passengers quickly checked their belongings. A passenger near the door had been robbed, with over five hundred yuan missing from their bag.
The train police arrived quickly, handcuffed the thief, and took him away. The missing five hundred yuan was also found on the thief and returned.
The passenger who lost the money specially came over to thank Gu Wenfeng. If it hadn’t been for his vigilance in catching the thief, the money would not have been recovered.
Lu Jiajie and Lu Jiaguang had dinner at the Railway Bureau and then went home. On their way, they encountered a vendor selling candied hawthorns and bought three skewers.
Despite having a strained relationship with his aunt, he wouldn’t take it out on a child. More importantly, he did not want to start another argument over such a trivial matter. However, upon reaching home and seeing Big Sister Ma there, he immediately took the candied hawthorns into his room.
Lu Jiajie didn’t want to see his aunt’s unpleasant demeanor. Just as he was about to say he wasn’t going to have dinner at home, Mother Ma walked out of the kitchen.
Upon seeing Lu Jiajie, Mother Ma scrutinized his clothes and demanded, “Jiajie, that’s not the outfit you wore out at noon. Where have you been?”
Smelling something fishy, Big Sister Ma interjected, “Jiajie, that’s a new shirt and it fits you well. Who bought it for you?”
If she had asked nicely, he would have explained, but the way she insinuated as if he’d done something shameful annoyed him. Lu Jiajie replied coldly, “What business is it of yours who bought it? You’d better spend your time taking care of your kids, instead of bringing home failing grades.”
Big Sister Ma turned white and then red, touched to the quick as her two sons were poor students, “My Little Gang might not be great at studying, but he’s honest and upstanding, not like some people who are up to no good.”
Lu Jiajie was furious, “What do you mean by that? Just because your man likes to sneak around, do you think all men are the same? Sorry to disappoint, but I like to keep things clean, unlike your man who isn’t picky about getting dirty.”
He had learned the word “clean freak” from Lu Jiaxin.
Big Sister Ma was livid, “Lu Jiajie, you’re talking nonsense. My husband is a decent man, how dare you slander him?”
He could have endured jibes about being a kept man, but baseless accusations of infidelity had to be countered, or by tomorrow, the whole building might be abuzz with rumors of his philandering.
Lu Jiajie retorted, “Whether he’s decent or not, you know best, and we all know.”