Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 1 Northland Train
"Check tickets! Check tickets! Legs! Move your legs!" On the noisy train, two ticket inspectors stood at one end of the carriage and shouted.

The speed of sound transmission seemed to be very slow. Half a minute later, Yan Hui, who was in the middle of the carriage, discovered the ticket inspector. He looked around, as if looking for a hiding place.

"Hey, hey," an old lady wearing a red wool scarf saw Yan Hui's embarrassment, pushed someone aside, and pointed under her seat, "Here, here!"

Yan Hui didn't care about anything else. He thanked him, took a deep breath, and slid under the chair with his bag. Seeing this, several passengers pulled their bags out to make room for Yan Hui.

Yan Hui was clearly not the only one trying to get under the chair. For a moment, there was some confusion, but the ticket inspector ignored them and continued checking the tickets one by one. As they neared Yan Hui's side, the adults with seats nearby began to block him with their legs and bags, forming a strange tacit understanding.

The space under the seat was extremely narrow, with two people squeezed in. The combined smell of feet was disgusting, but Yan Hui didn't care. He silently counted the number of times the wheels rolled over the rails, and felt that his waist finally had a chance to relax - he had been standing for too long.

"Come out, come out, young man!" After a few minutes, the old lady kicked Yan Hui's shoes.

Yan Hui didn't want to come out, he wanted to lie down for a while.

Although the ground was cold, it felt so good to lie there. His legs could finally rest for a while.
Two days ago, on February 25, Yan Hui said goodbye to his grandparents and left his hometown alone for the first time.

It was 1995 and he was 16 years old.

After an hour and a half on the motorbike, a six-hour bus ride, and over 20 hours on the train, he arrived in Yuzhang from his hometown in southern Fujian. After sleeping overnight at the train station, he boarded a train to Fengtian. By this point, the train had already passed Shangqiu and should arrive tomorrow.

He actually bought the ticket, but he didn't know where he went.
It's okay! Just a little difficult!
Yan Hui, lying under the chair, was thinking about this trip.
"Come out, young man, the ground is cold!" The old lady called again, interrupting Yan Hui's thoughts.

He knew that if he stayed downstairs, other people's packages would have to be hung outside, so he could only twist his body to retreat from downstairs and bow to the aunties and uncles here to express his gratitude.

"It's okay, it's okay!" The old lady was very happy to see Yan Hui. "The ticket inspector has left, so he shouldn't check anymore!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Yan Hui didn't know what to say. He hugged his bag tightly, looked around on tiptoe, and then chose a less crowded aisle to walk through.

The ticket inspector had already left, and the place was filled with people and packages. When Yan Hui reached this side, he found it just as crowded. Not only was there no place to sit, but standing was even uncomfortable. His back and legs ached, and he wanted to find a place to lean on, but there was no suitable place.

A middle-aged man next to Yan Hui finished checking his tickets and was ready to take a nap. He moved his butt forward to the edge of the seat, leaned his head sideways, hugged his clothes, and closed his eyes with an uncomfortable look on his face, which made Yan Hui extremely envious. He looked everywhere but couldn't find a place to lean on.

Where's the ticket?
Thinking of this, Yan Hui touched the money sewn into his pants. The thickness was fine, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

There are still 175.5 yuan left.

Time is more unbearable than anything else. After counting countless rails, the train finally stopped at another station called Liaocheng.

There is actually such a name. Do people in this city love to chat?
Hahaha, Yan Hui finds joy in the midst of adversity.

While some people were getting off the train, Yan Hui immediately found a suitable location, the pile of luggage on one side of the carriage.

He had been staring at this spot for a while, but there had always been people leaning on it. This wasn't personal luggage, but the train's own packages. There were three or four large bags, which should contain some bedding from the sleeper car, so you could sit and lean on them.

He was stuck here, and the bus was a little crowded, but he didn't relax at all. He leaned back as much as he could to let the people in front of him pass through one by one.

Finally, everyone who should get on the bus got on, and Yan Hui sat down, leaning against the pile of luggage.

He was rather thin, standing at 1.7 meters tall and weighing only about 110 kilograms. The luggage bag could fully support his weight, which allowed him to find a very suitable position. For a moment, he felt so comfortable that he almost moaned.

After a few minutes of pleasure, he realized he had to pee a little bit, and suddenly he felt a little regretful. He regretted not going to the toilet before, but there were several people watching his position, and getting up would mean losing.

Fortunately, he hadn't drunk any water today, so he should be able to hold it for a few hours without any problem.

The reason why these things are piled up in this carriage is because there is a sleeper carriage next to it. Yan Hui had tried to pass before, but was not allowed to pass there.

After sitting there for a while, Yan Hui felt a bit chilly again. He wasn't cold with the packages behind him, but he was a bit chilly in front of him. After all, this side was close to the connection between the carriages, and a slight breeze would make it chilly.

He stood up and took off his coat under the expectant gazes of two or three people next to him. Then he sat down, put the coat on, and looked away, not wanting to meet those gazes.

After about a few minutes, Yan Hui fumbled around in his clothes and actually found the ticket in his inner pocket!

Although it was a ticket without a seat, it gave him confidence. He carefully put away the ticket and lay down peacefully until the train passed Qinghe and Hengshui, then passed Suning Bazhou, and arrived in Tianjin.

Yan Hui didn't move for a full six hours. Although he didn't drink any water, he really couldn't hold it any longer.

Jincheng was a major station, with many people getting off and getting on. Twenty or thirty people were crammed onto the train, and Yan Hui leaned back hard, squeezed by the crowd and nearly wet his pants.

The car started again, and the smell of roast chicken filled the air. It must have been bought by someone at the platform in Tianjin. But the smell did not impress Yan Hui at all. He just wanted to pee.

"Brother," a young man approached and tried to touch Yan Hui, "Brother, I've been standing all day and my waist is about to break. Can you let me lie down for a while? I'll give you a... two pieces of candy, okay?"

Yan Hui naturally remembered this man. He had locked eyes with him seven or eight times throughout the afternoon, and he knew the man's predicament. This man had probably been waiting for Yan Hui to get off the bus, but when Yan Hui didn't get off in Jincheng, he simply couldn't stand it anymore.

"Two dollars for one stop of rest." Yan Hui thought for a moment and said.

"Brother, I have no money."

"Those four candies." Yan Hui didn't know whether what the other party said was true, but he really needed to get up and go to the bathroom.

"Okay, okay, okay, brother, thank you, thank you!" The young man took out four pieces of Jia Jia milk candy from his pocket and handed them to Yan Hui.

Yan Hui took advantage of the situation to stand up, took the candy, rubbed his right leg, and made sure it was not occupied by a third person, then left and went straight to the bathroom.
The train was still running forward with a "dang dang" sound. Snowflakes were spraying upwards from the toilet outlet. It was full of ice. I wondered if anything would fall from it.
Fortunately, it was just peeing, Yan Hui aimed at the frozen area
call.
freed
I just passed by the connection between the carriages and heard that we will enter Shanhaiguan in two more stops.

Shanhaiguan, that's what his elder brother told him, a place guarded by gods!
After coming out of the toilet, Yan Hui's stomach began to growl.

Worries piled up one after another. He asked around and learned that the next stop was Tangshan, which would arrive in over an hour. The smell of instant noodles from the sleeper car kept irritating his nose, and he suddenly remembered the roast chicken he had just had.
By the time the bus reached Suning, the lunch box had gone from 5 yuan to 3 yuan. He'd thought he'd buy one if it were 1.5 yuan, but it never came. He didn't feel hungry while holding his urine and freezing, and all he had left was candy.

He took out a piece of Jia Jia milk candy and put it in his mouth, feeling that this business was really worth it.

Yan Hui's father has always said that Yan Hui is cut out for business, and these four pieces of milk candy are his first business this time, so it's worth it!

"Make way, make way," a flight attendant said as he was walking towards the sleeper car with a bag. Because the bag was quite large, it was difficult to pass through.

Everyone around him made way, and Yan Hui followed the conductor's gaze. The matter was simple: a passenger in the sleeper car from Jinshi noticed a large oil stain on his quilt and requested a change of bedding. Just as he did so, two more passengers also complained about the filth.

After the flight attendant changed the bedding for the three people, he put the dirty bedding back into the bag and walked back.

Yan Hui was very familiar with this package. He followed the attendant back to the carriage where he had been before, where a quarrel had already broken out.

"Whoever occupies this place owns it. Stop messing around with all these useless people!" The place where Yan Hui originally stayed was now occupied by a middle-aged man. This middle-aged man was short, had dark skin, and didn't look like a good person.

"How can you be so unreasonable! I was just making room for the flight attendant to get something, and you are trying to steal it!" The young man who bought a seat with candy was very angry.

Neither of them gave in, but the man lying down didn't budge, tilting his head to the side. The young man who had traded candy for a seat kept talking in the same old, futile way.

"Make way, I'll put my bag down." The flight attendant didn't care. "Get up, get up."

The middle-aged man looked up and found that it was the flight attendant who came back. He reluctantly bent his body and signaled the flight attendant to put the package under him.

The flight attendant, keeping her distance, was about to stuff the package under the man. Yan Hui saw this and knew something was wrong. If he didn't take action now, after the flight attendant left, neither he nor the young man would be able to get rid of the man.

Judging from the actions of the person who gave him the candy, he was the type who was easily bullied. He was not worried that this person would not give him a seat at Tangshan Station.

Thinking of this, Yan Hui immediately said, "Sister steward, the bedding in your bag is covered in oil. Is it okay to press it under you?"

Yan Hui knew that the oil couldn't possibly seep through the quilt and the package, but the others didn't know that. The man lying there suddenly became nervous and asked, "Huh? It's all oil?"

The flight attendant was a little unhappy about being delayed. She pointed at the middle-aged man and said, "This place is not a place to lie down. Stop talking nonsense. Get up! I'll put my bag here first!"

As he said that, the flight attendant pulled the middle-aged man. The man didn't know what to say and wanted to stand up to see what the package looked like.

While the man was getting up, Yan Hui behind him crawled down along the package that had been put down, pretending to occupy the area.

The middle-aged man was furious and tried to pull Yan Hui, but Yan Hui didn't move, and the young man immediately came over to help him.

The flight attendant put the package away and turned away.

The middle-aged man obviously knew who Yan Hui was. He had seen Yan Hui several times in the afternoon. Seeing Yan Hui looking at him indifferently, he knew there was nothing he could do and chose to leave.

"Come here," Yan Hui called out to the young man who had given him the candy, "this place is for you. Go to Tangshan Station."

The young man was a little surprised. He looked at Yan Hui for several seconds, then took out a bag of Little Foreigner's yogurt from his pocket and handed it to Yan Hui: "Thank you, thank you brother! This is for you!"

Yan Hui didn't expect that there would be some unexpected surprise. He was really thirsty and hungry, so he didn't hesitate to give up his seat, bit the yogurt with his teeth, and started drinking it directly.

"Brother, thank goodness you're here. I wasn't paying attention just now." The young man sitting here was a little embarrassed. "I'm really sorry, I didn't pay attention to him."

"It's okay," Yan Hui finished squeezing the yogurt into his mouth in seconds. "If it's lost, just find a way to get it back. I'll just treat it as... well, after-sales service!"

"Thank goodness you're here. By the way, brother, where are you getting off?"

"I'm going to Fengtian to look for my uncle. What about you?"

"You're going to Fengtian? I'm going to Fengtian too!" The young man was very happy. "School is about to start, so I have to go to school. Are you visiting relatives?"

"Yeah, sort of." Yan Hui nodded, then thought of something, "Are you going to school? High school?"

"No, I'm in college, a freshman."

"You're in college already?" Yan Hui, who hadn't continued his studies after graduating from junior high school, was very shocked because the other person looked even younger than him.

This young man is also thin, slightly taller than Yan Hui, but his skin color is a bit dark.

"Well, I've been going there for half a year. School starts late in the Northeast."

"What did you study in college?"

"I'm from Shenyang University of Technology. If you have time, you can come visit me at our school. My name is Ma Junliang."

"My name is Yan Hui," Yan Hui nodded, "I can write to you when I'm settled."

"Uh-huh!"

Time passed quickly as people were chatting, and they soon arrived at Tangshan Station. Yan Hui asked Ma Junliang to guard this position while he went downstairs to buy something to eat. After drinking the yogurt, he became even hungrier.

As soon as he left the station, the biting cold wind filled his whole body. Yan Hui shuddered and looked at the direction from which the wind was blowing. He felt an unprecedented strangeness and fear.

They say the north is cold, but how could it be this cold? How cold would it be if we passed Shanhaiguan?
Isn't it said that spring is almost here?
Fortunately, the wind was favorable, and Yan Hui quickly ran to the small vendors on the platform. It was a common understanding that things sold outside were cheaper than in the train. But after asking the price, it was still a bit expensive.

The steamed buns that usually cost 2 cents each are sold for 4 cents here, and the fried cakes that cost one yuan each outside are sold for two yuan here. However, the fried cakes are freshly baked in a small stove.

"Boss, can you charge me 5 cents for a steamed bun and a bag of kelp shreds?" Yan Hui asked while hiding downwind from the stall, shaking his body.

"No, this is not beneficial at all."

"Okay, give me a steamed bun, 40 cents." Yan Hui took out the 50 cents he had prepared and handed it to the other party tremblingly.
The vendor took the money, took out a steamed bun, looked at Yan Hui, sighed, and took out a small bag of kelp wrapped in a transparent plastic bag and handed it to Yan Hui: "Forget it, the kelp will be ten cents for you."

"Thank you, brother!" Yan Hui said gratefully, and took the two things and was about to run back. However, the wind made him feel sluggish, and his right leg was out of control.
"Take the wind! Take the wind! Get in from the next carriage!" shouted the vendor.

After hearing this, Yan Hui thanked him, staggered along the wind, and ran to the next carriage, finally leaving the snowy place.

After entering the carriage, Yan Hui took out a cold steamed bun and ate it slowly as he walked, feeling like a corpse.

Based on a true story

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(End of this chapter)