Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 412 Don't Believe Those (One Person, One Room, Happy Birthday to Myself)

The older woman shook the hundred-yuan bill in her hand and said with a smile, "This is enough for my quota today."

In those days, the people selling things on trains were mostly railway employees, unlike in later years when it was mostly contracted out and sales were optional. These employees had quotas to meet.

"Hey buddy, wanna buy some water? How about some playing cards? We also have checkers, chess, mahjong, Chinese chess, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and beer. What do you want?" he said to Xiao Wei.

Xiao Hong asked, "You even have mahjong? How can we play it on the bus?"

The salesperson said, "Small ones, even smaller than Chinese chess pieces, they're magnetic, want them?" Mahjong had already taken hold in Northeast China by 91. The nationwide mahjong craze in Northeast China began around 90.

It existed before, but it wasn't as widespread. It seems like everyone suddenly became addicted overnight. However, unlike in the south, you had to do it secretly, blocking the windows. The police had special officers who would patrol everywhere, listening for any sounds. If you were caught, you'd be fined thousands of dollars; even a small beating wouldn't do.

Xiao Hong shook her head and said, "Get a bag of peanuts, two bottles of beer, and three bottles of water."

The saleswoman immediately perked up: "Okay!" She took the items out of the cart, looked around but couldn't find a place to put them, so she just placed them on the mat. "Twenty-one, twenty for you." Xiaowei paid, and Xiaohong said, "Why are these things on the cart so expensive? Once we're on the cart, this money is practically worthless."

The woman selling breakfast laughed and said, "Food on the train is definitely more expensive. It's much more work to bring it up and cook it than to eat outside. Besides, how many times a year do you actually eat on the train, right?"

She straightened the food cart: "Breakfast is ready! Millet porridge and boiled eggs. I just bought eight servings. You'll get hungry if you don't eat. These big, white, sweet steamed buns and oily leavened flatbreads are so delicious. Breakfast is ready!" She then pushed the food cart away.

The guy selling general merchandise took Xiaowei's money and walked in the opposite direction.

Xiao Hong nudged Xiao Wei and said, "Go call them to eat, it'll get cold soon."

She was sitting inside and couldn't see the aisle. Xiao Wei laughed and said, "We don't need to shout. This lady's voice is more effective than ours."

Chen Hui appeared before Xiao Hong, rubbing his eyes. Xia Maosheng and Geng Hui followed behind him with towels and toothbrushes. Xiao Hong said, "Go brush your teeth and wash your face." Chen Hui's face twitched, but he still turned around and went. Xiao Hong called Geng Hui to sit inside and eat.

Sure enough, eight portions were just right. Xiao Hong and Geng Hui each had one portion, while Xiao Wei and the other two each ate two portions. Then Chen Hui noticed the beer, grabbed the peanuts, and he and Xia Maosheng each had a bottle of beer, chewing on the peanuts and drinking.

Xiao Wei tidied up, gathered up his lunchbox and other belongings, and threw them into the trash can at the front of the carriage.

When I returned, there was a man sitting on the bed, in his forties with a long, parted hairstyle.

Xiao Wei glanced at him and sat down next to Xiao Hong.

The man was in the upper bunk, and I didn't notice when he boarded the train. Right now, he's eating an egg.

In those days, taking the train meant either paying a high price for a meal in the dining car, which few ordinary people could afford or afford, or bringing their own food. Cookies, old-fashioned cakes, old-fashioned bread, a couple of sausages, and a water jug ​​were considered a relatively high standard of living. Some even brought lunchboxes, packing their cooked meals in plastic wrap and carrying them on the train.

The most common way to prepare eggs is by boiling them. They are convenient, easy to carry, can withstand being crushed, and are nutritious.

Back then, when you took a long-distance train, the carriages were filled with boiled eggs at mealtimes, and you could smell the eggs even in your breath.

As for instant noodles, they were considered a high-end food in those days. Only families with relatively good living conditions would occasionally buy a few packs for their children as a treat, and they weren't yet on the train menu. Besides, instant noodles at that time were all packaged in bags and couldn't be prepared by soaking. Instant noodles only became a mainstream food after 1995, and cup noodles came even later, only becoming widespread in 1998.

The sight of trains filled with instant noodles is a scene from the year 2000 onwards.

Xiao Hong and Geng Hui sat on the bunk, looking out the window and talking. Xia Maosheng and Chen Hui sat opposite them, chewing peanuts and sipping beer. The uncle peeled an egg and talked to Xiao Wei, who was sitting opposite him with nothing to do: "Young man, are you going home or visiting relatives?" Let alone traveling, in those days, this word was purely high-class and ordinary people did not have this concept in their daily lives.

Xiao Wei looked at the half-full plastic bag of boiled eggs the uncle had on his lap; there seemed to be at least twenty. He'd already eaten three or four, apparently planning to fill up on eggs alone. "Go see my brother! What are you doing, just eating eggs? Didn't you bring anything else?"

The uncle chuckled, popped the peeled egg into his mouth in two bites, took a sip of water from his old green canteen, swallowed, and said, "Eggs aren't good? They're nutritious, filling, and save money. They're all home-cooked. Where's your brother?"

Xiao Wei said, "Xingcheng," glancing at the eggshells scattered on the ground.

The uncle shook the eggshells and yolks scattered on his legs onto the ground, clapped his hands, tied the bag up, and placed it on the corner of the ladder. He took out a cigarette pack from his pocket and said, "Xingcheng? What are you doing in that place? I know that area well. It's not a big place, and the population isn't large. It was under the jurisdiction of Chagan for a while, but then it was transferred back to Dongmeng. What's your brother doing there?"

Xiao Wei watched as the older man took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, saying, "Isn't smoking prohibited in the carriage?"

The middle-aged man chuckled dismissively, revealing egg yolk on his teeth. As he pulled a lighter from his pocket, he said, "Nobody cares. That's just to scare people like you who don't ride the bus often. For people like us who're constantly on the road, who cares? They don't allow smoking? Why can't we smoke? Right?"

Xiao Wei said, "Don't smoke here, go smoke at the front of the carriage."

The middle-aged man paused for a moment, looked at Xiao Wei, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Wei pointed at Geng Hui and said, "My friend is pregnant."

The middle-aged man glanced at Geng Hui, waved the lighter in his hand, and said, "It's okay. I smoked before my wife was pregnant, and the child was still alive and kicking. He's in high school now. Don't believe those things, they're useless."

As he spoke, he lit a torch and held the cigarette in his mouth towards him. Xiao Wei leaned over, reached in, and took the cigarette from his mouth, saying, "Uncle, you may not believe us, but we do. If you want to smoke, go smoke over there. Don't smoke here, okay?" He handed the cigarette back to him.

The middle-aged man took the cigarette Xiaowei offered, feeling a little embarrassed. He stood up and walked out, saying, "These young people nowadays, they're lawless and unruly, always meddling in other people's business." He muttered as he took a few steps forward, lit his cigarette, and sat down on the side seat.

Fortunately, he was walking in the opposite direction of the train, and the wind blew backward, carrying the smoke away. A few people over there frowned and stuck their heads out to look, but didn't say anything.

The train attendant emerged from his cabin, still half-asleep, and stretched languidly. This guy had been sleeping the whole time, except for the brief stop when the door opened. The female attendant in the next carriage was much more diligent than him.

He washed his face, tossed his hat onto a bed, and started sweeping the floor with a broom, ignoring the few people smoking.

(End of this chapter)