A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

"Be extremely careful! Please be very careful!"

Su Nianci nodded heavily, then stuffed the weighty entrustment and a few small bills, damp with sweat, into her inner pocket.

"Aunt Zhang, I understand. Please go back now, it's getting late." She took Little Stone's hand and bowed deeply to Sister Zhang.

A cold night wind suddenly swept up, making Su Nianci's thin clothes flutter loudly.

"Sister, where are we going?" Little Stone shrank his neck, his little hands instinctively gripping Su Nianci's clothes. His stomach was full, but his heart was pounding.

"Let's go to the waiting room." Su Nianci's gaze fell on the brightly lit yet eerily eerie train station building not far away.

The station during the day and the station at night are two different worlds.

When Su Nianci pulled Xiao Shitou back into the waiting hall, she instantly understood the meaning of Sister Zhang's words.

The bustling, hopeful, and noisy atmosphere of the daytime has vanished. In its place is a stagnant air, a mixture of sweat, cheap tobacco, and despair.

In the vast waiting room, the long wooden benches were slumped over, people sprawled out. Most used their worn-out luggage as pillows, curled up, trying to draw a sliver of warmth from the cold night. Occasionally, a few weary snores and the muffled cries of babies could be heard, but mostly there was a deathly silence.

A series of gazes, some numb, some wary, and some malicious, swept across the dark corners like searchlights, lingering for a moment on Su Nianci and the cloth bag containing steamed buns in her arms before slowly moving away.

This is not a rest stop for travelers, but a refuge for the disillusioned. Every person is a potential prey, and perhaps a potential hunter.

Su Nianci's heart instantly jumped to the highest alert level. Her small hand tightly held Xiao Shitou's, and her gaze calmly and sharply swept across the entire hall, like a young leopard that had entered unfamiliar territory, quickly assessing the danger level of every corner.

Don't go to corners! While corners may be secluded, they're also the easiest places to be ambushed. Don't go near the toilets! They smell terrible and are a gathering place for all sorts of people, making them a prime target for illicit activities. And don't stay near the doorway! With people coming and going, you're an easy target for thieves.

Sister Zhang's words echoed in her mind—find travelers who look honest and reliable, and who have families with them, and put them together!

Her gaze finally settled on an area slightly to the right of the center of the hall.

There sat a family of four. A kind-looking man, a woman with a worried expression, holding an infant in her arms, and a little girl about the same age as Su Nianci sitting at their feet. Beside them were two huge snakeskin bags tightly bound with hemp rope, clearly belonging to farmers who had traveled a long way to return home to visit relatives.

Beside them sat a man in his forties. He wore a faded old military uniform, and although his face was weathered, his back was ramrod straight, his posture impeccable, and his sharp eyes were vigilantly surveying his surroundings. He was clearly a veteran.

They're the ones!

Su Nianci, holding Xiao Shitou's hand, walked straight in that direction without the slightest hesitation.

Her approach immediately alerted the family. The kind-hearted man instinctively pulled the snakeskin bag beside him further in, and the woman hugged the child in her arms even tighter.

Only the old soldier glanced at her indifferently before looking away.

"Uncle, Auntie, good evening." Su Nianci stopped in front of them, a polite but slightly timid smile on her face.

The kind-looking man looked at her warily: "Little...little girl, what do you want?"

Su Nianci didn't directly say she wanted to join them, as that would be too abrupt and likely to cause offense. She pointed to the empty seat next to the man's feet, which was only about half a person's width wide, and asked softly, "Uncle, is this seat taken? My brother... he's tired and wants to rest his feet."

The man hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Xiao Shitou, who was even smaller than Su Nianci and looked exhausted, and his heart softened. He nodded and said in a deep voice, "No one's here, have a seat."

"Thank you, Uncle!" Su Nianci said sweetly, then pulled Xiao Shitou and squeezed into the small empty space.

She didn't immediately try to get close to them, but just sat quietly. After a while, she took out two large white steamed buns that were left over from the bowl of meat soup that Sister Zhang had given her during the day, which she had packed away, from her cloth bag.

In the dimly lit waiting room, the two dazzlingly white steamed buns exuded a deadly allure.

The little girl next to her, upon seeing the steamed buns, immediately swallowed hard, her eyes widening. She tugged at her mother's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, I want to eat white flour steamed buns too..."

The woman awkwardly patted her daughter's hand and whispered a scolding, "Don't talk nonsense! That belongs to someone else!"

Su Nianci acted as if she hadn't heard. She broke a steamed bun in half, handed one half to Xiao Shitou, and then stood up with the remaining whole steamed bun and the other half.

She first walked up to the woman, handed the half-eaten steamed bun to the little girl with pleading eyes, and said with a smile, "Little sister, here, have this."

The little girl froze, and the woman froze too: "This...this won't do! We can't accept it!"

"Auntie, it's alright." Su Nianci's smile was sincere and warm. "It's not easy for anyone when they're away from home. My little brother is too young to eat one. These steamed buns get hard if left out too long, so give them to your little sister and don't waste them."

After she finished speaking, without waiting for the woman to refuse, she walked over to the silent veteran.

She held the whole, large white steamed bun in both hands and offered it to the veteran, saying in a tone of utmost respect, "Uncle, you look like a soldier to me. My father... my uncle is also a soldier. He said that soldiers are the protectors of us ordinary people. Please have this bun!"

These words and actions instantly stunned everyone present!

The honest-looking man and his wife's gazes towards Su Nianci instantly shifted from wariness and suspicion to shock and admiration. They never imagined that this girl, who looked even younger than their own daughter, would possess such magnanimity and grace!

A ripple stirred in the usually calm eyes of the retired veteran. He looked deeply at Su Nianci, then at the snow-white steamed bun in her hand, and remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Girl, what's your name?" He didn't take the steamed bun, but asked her name instead.

Su Nianci straightened her small back and answered clearly, word by word, "Reporting, Commander! My name is Su Nianci! My younger brother is called Little Stone! We come from the south and are going to Harbin in the north to join my father's comrades!"

The title "commander" sent a jolt through the veteran's body!

"How...how do you know this title?" This isn't a title an ordinary soldier would use! It's an internal title used by people of a certain rank and seniority in the military!

Su Nianci made the right bet!

"My uncle taught me that." Su Nianci's face showed an innocent yet proud expression. "He said that in the army, when you see a true hero, you should call him 'Commander'!"

Looking at the thin yet bright-eyed girl before him, he could no longer remain calm. He slowly extended his calloused and scarred hand, not to take the steamed bun, but gently placed it on Su Nianci's head.

"Good...good boy!" He said "good" twice in a row, his voice filled with undisguised excitement and appreciation.

Su Nianci knew that from this moment on, in this dangerous waiting room, she and her brother had finally found the strongest support.

The night grew deeper.

After sharing Su Nianci's kindness in giving them half a steamed bun, the kind-hearted man and his family completely let down their guard. The man's name was Li Daquan. He had brought his wife and children from his hometown in Henan, intending to go to his relatives' home in Northeast China to find work.

Su Nianci suggested, "Uncle, Aunt, Uncle Wang, it's not safe tonight. How about we take turns keeping watch? There are three of us adults, so each of us can keep watch for three hours. That way, everyone can get some sleep."

Li Daquan and Wang Dazhu were both stunned. They never imagined that this suggestion would come from the mouth of a five-year-old girl.

"Will this... will this work?" Li Daquan hesitated.

"Sure! Why not!" Wang Dazhu slapped his thigh and said decisively, "We'll do as Nianciwa says! I'll take the first shift! You all go to sleep!"

With the veteran's word, the matter was settled.

Li Daquan and his family quickly curled up in their seats and fell into a deep sleep. Su Nianci also let Xiao Shitou lean against her and closed her eyes.

The waiting room was even quieter late at night. Only the occasional cough from afar and the rustling of mice from some unknown corner could be heard.

Wang Dazhu sat on the far side of the bench, like a statue, vigilantly watching his surroundings.

Although Su Nianci had her eyes closed, she wasn't asleep at all. Her hearing became exceptionally sharp in the darkness.

About two hours later, a very faint, almost inaudible sound of footsteps came from not far away.

The footsteps, deliberately kept very light, carried a guilty conscience, and were slowly approaching their "safe haven."

Su Nianci's heart jumped into her throat instantly.

She could feel that Wang Dazhu beside her tensed up instantly, like a fully drawn bow!