Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

Zhou Zhiyuan placed the paper on the table.

"I asked that when I went to the county town today."

"What?"

"The train to Beijing."

Lin Xiuhe looked down and saw that the paper was yellowed and had a few words printed on top.

Passenger train timetable.

Below are rows of densely packed small characters.

County town, provincial capital, Beijing.

For the first time, these three places were connected by a line.

Lin Xiuhe stared at it for a long time.

In her past life, she had never left this land.

The furthest I've ever been is to a regional hospital.

Now, Beijing is no longer just a name on a map, but a train about to be boarded.

Zhao Xiaomei came over at some point.

"Let me see."

She stared at the timetable for a long time, then suddenly exclaimed.

"Two days and one night?"

Li Hongmei also peeked over.

"That long?"

Zhou Zhiyuan nodded.

"We have to transfer trains. First, we go to the provincial capital, and then we take a northbound train."

Zhao Xiaomei was stunned.

"How much food should we bring?"

With that one sentence, everyone in the courtyard laughed. But after the laughter subsided, they suddenly fell silent.

Because everyone realized one thing.

Beijing is really far away, so far that it takes two days and one night by train, so far that once you leave, you might not be able to come back more than a few times a year.

Zhao Xiaomei lowered her head and suddenly fell silent, as did Li Hongmei.

The wind blew through the locust tree in the yard, rustling the leaves.

After a long while, Zhao Xiaomei asked softly, "Sister Xiuhe."

"Um?"

"When are you leaving?"

Lin Xiuhe glanced at the notification.

"End of August."

"There are about twenty days left."

Zhao Xiaomei nodded, saying there were still about twenty days left, but she felt inexplicably sad inside.

She suddenly realized that she used to feel that time moved very slowly. But since the college entrance examination ended, time seemed to have suddenly sped up.

The results are out. I've filled out my college applications. The acceptance letter has arrived.

The next step is to leave.

In the evening, Captain Wang arrived, carrying a notebook in his hand, and entered in a flurry of activity.

"Xiuhe."

"What is it?"

"Graduation celebration banquet".

Lin Xiuhe was taken aback.

"What kind of graduation celebration?"

"What else could it be but a graduation banquet?"

Captain Wang slammed his hand on the table.

Tsinghua University!

"Number one in the entire county!"

"This banquet must be held."

Li Hongmei immediately nodded in agreement.

"right."

"It must be done."

Zhao Xiaomei also perked up.

"I need your help."

Captain Wang laughed heartily.

"Now the whole commune wants to help."

After he finished speaking, he opened the notebook, which was already filled with names. Who provided the chicken, who provided the vegetables, who provided the tables and chairs—the notes were densely packed.

Lin Xiuhe was somewhat stunned by what she saw.

In her previous life, she had never experienced any of these things; no one celebrated for her, and no one was proud of her.

In this life, the entire commune is happy for her.

After Captain Wang left, it was already dark.

Li Hongmei and Zhao Xiaomei also went back.

The courtyard became quiet again.

Lin Xiuhe sat down at the table and took out the train timetable again.

Under the kerosene lamp, the edges of the paper glowed a warm yellow, making the two characters "Beijing" stand out.

As she looked around, a question suddenly came to mind.

Have you been to Beijing?

The sound was very soft, but there were only two people in the yard.

Zhou Zhiyuan naturally heard it; he was repairing the bicycle chain and paused slightly in his movements.

"no."

The answer was quick.

But Lin Xiuhe did not immediately look away, because this was not the first time.

Key training program, Professor Chen, train route.

Zhou Zhiyuan knew too much about many things, so much so that it seemed more like he had seen them with his own eyes than just heard about them.

Thinking of this, she suddenly asked:

"Then how do you know so much?"

The evening breeze swept through the courtyard, and the kerosene lamp swayed gently.

Zhou Zhiyuan lowered his head to wipe the engine oil off his hands, not answering immediately. After a few seconds, he looked up and smiled.

"There's an experienced master craftsman at the machine factory."

I visited Beijing when I was young.

"Listen to what he said."

This explanation is reasonable, or at least it sounds reasonable. But for some reason, the strange feeling in Lin Xiuhe's heart did not disappear; instead, it grew stronger.

She suddenly remembered many things that had happened since her rebirth.

On their first meeting, Zhou Zhiyuan reminded her to keep the documents safe. On the day of the commune's ruling, he had prepared the evidence in advance.

Before the college entrance examination, he knew the examination policies. Now, he knows about Beijing, Tsinghua University, and even Professor Chen.

Are these things really just coincidences?

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuhe didn't ask any more questions.

Zhou Zhiyuan didn't say anything more, and the two of them fell silent.

The only sound was the wind rustling through the leaves.

After a long while, Zhou Zhiyuan suddenly spoke: "After arriving in Beijing..."

Don't trust strangers too much.

"Especially those who actively approach you."

Lin Xiuhe raised her head.

Why?

Zhou Zhiyuan looked into the distance, his eyes momentarily dazed, as if he were remembering something.

"Because there's some loss involved."

"One serving is enough."

As soon as he finished speaking, the courtyard fell silent.

Lin Xiuhe looked at him, her heart skipped a beat, because what he just said didn't sound like a reminder, but more like something she had experienced.

Zhou Zhiyuan seemed to realize that he had said too much and quickly stood up.

"It's getting late."

"I'm going back now."

After saying that, he pushed his bicycle and walked out of the courtyard gate.

As night deepened, the wheels of the car made a soft sound as they rolled over the dirt road.

Lin Xiuhe stood in the courtyard, watching his figure disappear.

It wasn't until much later that they slowly withdrew their gaze.

On the table, a corner of the train timetable was blown open by the wind.

The top line of text was revealed.

Final destination: Beijing.