Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 617 Don't Open the Window

The train had passed several stops, but still no one entered the compartment where Tang Zhitong was.

At noon, the voice of the conductor shouting "boxed lunches" could be heard in the hard sleeper aisle.

There is no such saying as "Beer, drinks, mineral water, peanuts, melon seeds, and eight-treasure porridge, please move your legs in, everyone, make way", because even if you are the boss, your configuration is not that high.

Tang Zhitong stretched his tired wrists, closed the dictionary, stood up and walked to the aisle: "Comrade, how much is the lunch box?"

"40 cents per person, two yuan deposit." The conductor replied while delivering lunch boxes to other passengers in hard sleeper beds. He did not mention the tickets.

"Give me one." Tang Zhitong said as he took out money. Huang Ruifeng and others from next door also poked their heads out at this time.

Tang Zhitong smiled and said modestly, "Secretary Huang, you go first."

"First come, first served. You first, you first." Huang Ruifeng waved his hand, indicating that Tang Zhitong should go first. After he said this, the other team members were reluctant to speak and waited for Tang Zhitong to buy first.

"Then I won't be polite." Tang Zhitong handed the counted money to the conductor and took the lunch box from him.

"Eat quickly, I'll come collect the lunch boxes later." The conductor handed the lunch box to Tang Zhitong and instructed in a commanding tone with full confidence.

The lunch box is just an ordinary aluminum lunch box. When opened, there is rice at the bottom and vegetables on the top, but no meat. I don’t know if this can be considered the earliest boxed lunch.

"Forty cents a portion, it's not cheap." Zhao Xin also bought one, sat opposite Tang Zhitong, and complained after opening the lunch box.

"It's good to have something to eat. This is only on the train. You may not be able to eat it in other places." Tang Zhitong took a look at the dishes in the lunch box, stood up and took the bag from the upper bunk. Inside was the tableware wrapped in newspaper by Xiao Wang.

There are lotus root strips on top of the rice, which are rarely seen in Beijing at this season. Tang Zhitong guessed that it might be because the railway took advantage of its connection between the north and the south, and the east and the west, and purchased them from the place of production.

As for whether 40 cents is expensive or not, it depends on personal opinion.

Four cents may not seem like much at first glance, but you have to know that most workers now only earn about thirty yuan a month. If you add the round-trip ticket, it is really not cheap.

If you have enough money to eat on the train and can also get a letter of proof to buy the ticket, right, then it’s not that expensive.

Although Zhao Xin said the food was not cheap, he ate it without any hesitation. He brought the lunch box to his mouth and ate quickly.

Tang Zhitong ate a little more elegantly, after all, he hadn't been hungry much in the past year.

Tang Zhitong could probably guess the reason why Zhao Xin was cold at first. It was nothing more than an opportunity for promotion. But given the current environment, it would be better to stay in the city than to be promoted to other places. He didn't know if anyone would still be interested in this opportunity for promotion and transfer after this trip.

Once he started eating, Zhao Xin became speechless. At the end, he slowed down and carefully scraped the rice grains on the lunch box with a spoon, trying to get every grain into his stomach.

After eating all the rice in the lunch box, Zhao Xin did not stop. Instead, he took a kettle from the side, unplugged it and poured water into the lunch box, washing away the taste in the lunch box and pouring it into his stomach.

Tang Zhitong ate a little slower, but in a similar manner. Even though he wasn't starving, food couldn't be wasted.

"Here, the water temperature is just right." Zhao Xin saw Tang Zhitong finish eating and handed over his kettle.

"Thank you." Tang Zhitong accepted Zhao Xin's kindness with a smile, took the kettle and poured it into his lunch box.

Once it is poured out, it is dry.

Tang Zhitong did not return it immediately, but looked at the kettle in his hand.

There are obvious bumps on the surface, and the spout of the kettle is not spiral-shaped, but a wooden stopper, just like a thermos stopper, tied to the strap with a rope.

There are red stars and the words "August 1st" printed on the front, and it looks like a military product.

"Your kettle is quite exquisite. Where did you get it?" Tang Zhitong looked down on the kettle and wanted to compliment it, but he was at a loss for words.

The design of this kettle is obviously unreasonable. The stopper is not stuck tightly. If it is used in the military, it will probably fall over if you run a little. If you lie down or crawl on your stomach, there will probably not be much water left in it.

I don't know how this design passed the review, it's too rough. Isn't this a waste of aluminum?

"It belongs to my brother. It was issued to him by the army when he was fighting in the Northeast a few years ago." Zhao Xin said with a proud expression.

"Wow, it has a great background. I didn't expect it to be a personal belonging of a hero and a witness to history." After hearing the background, Tang Zhitong began to find excuses for his previous shallow understanding. Perhaps this design was the highest craftsmanship available at the time?

Zhao Xin laughed after hearing this. Although his brother said that this kettle was not very useful, since he took it out, who wouldn't look at it with a higher regard after he told them its origin? He thought it was quite useful.

"I'll go get some water later and give it to you when it's full." Tang Zhitong placed the kettle on the small dining table in the partition of the hard sleeper, picked up his lunch box, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Thank you for your help." Zhao Xin did not refuse. The kettle could give him face, but it was a bit troublesome to get hot water.

There is a faucet for hot water in the hot water room next to the carriage, but the base is not stable. Because there is a strap under the kettle, it cannot stand steadily. Whether you hold it with your hands or hold it in your hands, it is easy to burn your hands.

Tang Zhitong put down the lunch box, put the spoon into the enamel cup that Wu Haiyang gave him, and walked out with the kettle in one hand and the enamel cup in the other.

When Zhao Xin saw the enamel cup in Tang Zhitong's hand, he was stunned. It turned out that this was a man whose family had someone going to the battlefield?

Tang Zhitong didn't know what Zhao Xin behind him was thinking, so he followed the direction Huang Ruifeng said and went to the water room to queue up for water.

Tang Zhitong looked inside through the aisle of the water room. There were tables and chairs inside, and it was obvious that this section was the restaurant.

Some people were already sitting down to eat in the restaurant. Tang Zhitong moved to the side and, relying on his extraordinary vision, took a clear look at the menu on the small blackboard in the restaurant.

The dishes served today include four vegetarian dishes and two meat dishes.

Six dishes are already more sumptuous than most people’s New Year’s Eve dinner.

Look at the passengers having dinner in the restaurant. They are well-dressed and none of them are wearing patched clothes.

"Comrade, it's your turn." Tang Zhitong was staring in a trance when the passenger behind him urged him.

"Oh, oh, thank you." Tang Zhitong hurriedly thanked him. No matter how rich the supplies on the train were, they were not as much as the stock in his own space.

However, I can tell those who need it later how to eat boxed lunches on the train.

Find a bus with a suitable departure time, the kind that provides lunch on board, buy a short-distance ticket, get off the bus and then take it back, and have dinner at the same time.

It takes half a day to go back and forth, and you can have two meals as long as you have money, just like paying real money to play games.

Tang Zhitong filled his own enamel cup first. When filling the kettle with water, he couldn't squat any longer, so he simply inserted the faucet into the spout of the kettle. This gave him room to cheat and he didn't have to worry about the boiling water scalding his hands.

When Tang Zhitong returned to the partition, the radio in the car just sounded: "Dear passengers, the train is about to arrive at Baoding Station. Please close the windows and draw the curtains. Dear passengers..."

"Why are you pulling the curtains for no reason?" Zhao Xin muttered to himself as he saw Tang Zhitong come in.

People are curious, especially when they are full.

The more he was forbidden to do something, the more he wanted to see what would happen. "Pull it up, the conductor must have their reasons for doing this." Tang Zhitong handed the kettle to Zhao Xin and advised kindly.

What reason could the conductor have? He was just afraid that someone would try to hijack the train...

Zhao Xin pulled it up, but not completely, leaving a gap.

Tang Zhitong smiled. As long as the windows were closed and no one could get in, it would be fine. It would also be nice to leave a gap for Zhao Xin to gain some experience.

Nowadays, whether it is the postal carriage, soft sleeper, hard sleeper, hard seat or restaurant, all trains use the same specifications, and the windows open up and down. The only difference between these carriages is the internal layout.

It’s better in winter because you can take off your clothes when it gets hot and fewer people open the windows.

If this happens in the summer, and there is no air conditioning in the car, people will get heatstroke if the windows are not opened.

After the conductor finished his broadcast, Huang Ruifeng was still worried and came over to check again. After confirming that the windows were closed and the curtains were drawn, he gave further instructions before leaving.

The conductor pushed a cart to collect lunch boxes and return deposits one by one.

After all these were dealt with, the train slowly stopped at the station.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

At this time, someone started banging on the car window, holding something in his hand and shouting outside:

"Eggs, eggs, hard-boiled eggs, eight cents each!"

"Steamed buns, steamed buns, hot steamed buns fresh out of the pot, five cents each!"

"Steamed buns, steamed buns, three for 20 cents!"

"Do you want it? Do you want it? Open the window and buy some. It's cheap and affordable!"

One lunch box was not enough to fill Zhao Xin's stomach. At this time, listening to the hawking sounds coming from outside the window, Zhao Xin was very tempted. It was because they were cheap!

Zhao Xin peeked outside through the gap in the curtains. After confirming that the vendors outside were indeed holding dry food and eggs, he retracted his gaze and urged Tang Zhitong, "The things here are quite cheap. How about we open a window?"

"Forget it. The conductor must have their reasons for not letting us open the window. Besides, Team Leader Huang wouldn't let us open it either." Tang Zhitong shook his head firmly and even mentioned Huang Ruifeng.

Perhaps it was Huang Ruifeng's reputation that worked, Zhao Xin sighed and pulled the curtains closed completely.

Listening to the continuous banging outside the window, Zhao Xin was upset and stood up and said, "I'm going to smoke a cigarette, do you want to come?"

"You go ahead, I've quit." Tang Zhitong waved his hand, opened the Xinhua Dictionary, and planned to continue completing the unfinished work.

Zhao Xin came to the aisle and saw someone smoking there.

Zhao Xin felt guilty and did not move forward, but walked towards the car door.

"Comrade, how long will it take for the train to depart?" Zhao Xin did not take out a cigarette. He faced outside the train and asked the conductor on duty outside.

"What? Don't even think about getting off the train. Those selling things are all liars. As soon as the window is opened, they will try their best to climb up. You can't buy what they have even if you get off. They won't sell it to you. Just give up on this idea." The conductor was guarding the door and directly exposed Zhao Xin's little thoughts.

Zhao Xin's face suddenly turned bright red.

The person smoking next to him laughed out loud, perhaps because he felt that it was not nice to laugh at others, so he took out a cigarette and offered it to Zhao Xin: "The conductor just said the same thing to me."

"Thank you. Is there really someone who is hijacking a car?" Zhao Xin took the cigarette and his expression looked better.

"Yes, quite a few." Just as the man finished speaking, the sound of a whistle was heard outside.

"Did you hear that? The station is starting to kick people out." Hearing the whistle, the man explained the situation to Zhao Xin in a very professional manner: "This is a big station, the situation is better, and there will be people specially assigned to maintain order.

If it was placed at a small station, someone might actually smash the windows. It would be even worse in the summer, as the windows would have to be closed the longer the train stopped, and it would be so hot that people would die.”

"No, why would they have to climb through the window? Can't they just buy a ticket and come up?" Zhao Xin asked in confusion before he could even turn the corner.

"Hey, that requires a letter of introduction." The man explained with a wry smile and shook his head.

"If I can't get the letter of introduction, even if I get on the bus, I won't be able to stay in a hotel or eat when I get to the land." Zhao Xin hasn't figured it out yet and still doesn't understand.

"Young man, is this your first time traveling by train?" The man smiled and did not give Zhao Xin any more answers. People's hearts are hidden, so he should say what he should say and leave some room for what he should not say.

"Yeah, it's the first time." Zhao Xin nodded and admitted it.

"You'll understand after you sit here more often. Take your time smoking. I'm going to go back first." The man smiled, put the cigarette butt in the ashtray, and left.

Zhao Xin didn't figure it out until he finished smoking. After returning to the partition, he asked Tang Zhitong about his doubts.

Tang Zhitong also heard the whistle just now, and then the people outside who were banging on the car windows dispersed. At this moment, there was no more sound of banging on the car windows outside.

"Maybe they are fleeing from famine." Tang Zhitong opened the curtains and looked outside. They were all normal travelers coming and going.

"Escape from famine? That makes sense. Then how did they get in? Isn't there a ticket check at the entrance of the station?" Zhao Xin still couldn't figure it out.

"This station is not a closed one. If you can't get in through the entrance, you can find a gap along the railway that is not blocked. Then you can walk along the railway and get in, right?" This is not a secret. Anyone with a little common sense can figure it out.

Due to the limitations of economic level and steel production, both sides of the railway cannot be completely blocked, so it is open.

Fences will be erected on both sides of the railway only when steel production capacity explodes.

Life will find a way out. Even if a fence can be erected now, there will still be people who cut a gap and get in.

Tang Zhitong had actually seen this situation before. There were many gaps in the barbed wire along the highway in his hometown, and almost every village had one.

When people were going on a long journey, they would just go through the gap and simply stop the car with their hands.

When the driver sees someone waving, he will stop tacitly and keep pushing passengers in along the way until the aisle is filled with passengers sitting on small stools.

At that time, it was a contract system and everything was for the purpose of making money.

This is indeed somewhat unsafe, so there will be people checking for overload in front.

Before reaching the overload control point, the bus will stop in the emergency lane to allow passengers in the aisle to get off and transfer to the van.

After passing the overweight control point, pick up the passengers.

At that time, we were able to eat enough, it was just for convenience. Now we can’t even get enough food to eat, so even if we put up a fence, will it be useful?

(End of this chapter)