Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 174 - 0174: Finally Meeting 2_1

Chapter 174: Chapter 0174: Finally Meeting 2_1

"Hello, older sister, my name is Feng Qingxue. My partner is injured and in the hospital, and I’m going to see him." Feng Qingxue disclosed her destination but didn’t mention the name of the hospital, only the provincial city name.

After a quick conversation, Feng Qingxue learned the names of her two female co-passengers. The older one was Wang Cuilan, a department-level officer from the mining bureau in her own hometown, and the younger one was Lu Aihong, a section-level officer from the neighboring county. Both were on business trips out of their home province and had boarded at the same station as Feng Qingxue, choosing berths right next to her despite having boarded three to five days earlier.

After boarding the train, Feng Qingxue had asked the conductor. It would take half a month to reach her destination.

Half a month!

Upon hearing the answer, Feng Qingxue felt short of breath.

For her, who is used to traveling by airplane or high-speed railway, fifteen days is an eternity—half a month, or one twenty-fourth of a year. The length is staggering.

She finally understood why no one would take such a long trip unless absolutely necessary—it simply took too long.

And the ticket was not cheap, she had paid forty yuan for her sleeping berth.

Lu Aihong laughed, "We are from the same area, no wonder I have felt so close to you these days on the train."

"Sister Aihong is right. My uncle’s surname is Wang, and my boyfriend’s family is named Lu. Don’t you think we might be distant relatives sharing food from the same pot a hundred years ago?" After all, isn’t intimacy the emotional product of interaction? One cannot be shy when making friends.

Feng Qingxue was open and generous, which made Wang Cuilan and Lu Aihong feel delighted and enthusiastic.

"What a coincidence! It shows that we sisters were destined to meet."

"Yes, Sister Cuilan, you and Sister Aihong must give me your contact information. After I visit my boyfriend and return home, I’ll have the opportunity to visit both of your homes."

Wang Cuilan said, "Sure, don’t forget. I welcome your visit anytime."

Lu Aihong also nodded and smiled. The three exchanged contact information, in reality, they told each other their home address.

The journey seemed less taxing with company, the time passed as they chatted about everything under the sun.

At noon, when the train conductor came with the dining cart, Feng Qingxue asked Wang Cuilan and Lu Aihong to buy their meals first. After they finished, she handed an aluminum lunch box to the conductor and spent one cent to buy a dish of sponge gourd and egg drop soup.

There was a shortage of black bread, and when it was Feng Qingxue’s turn, there was none left. So, she used two Grain Tickets to buy a white steamed bun.

Lu Aihong noticed that Feng Qingxue handed the conductor a military Grain Ticket which had a face value for five pounds. The conductor gave her four pounds and eight ounces worth of national Grain Tickets in return. Surprised, Lu Aihong asked, "Sister Snow, does someone in your family serve in the army?"

Feng Qingxue put away the returned Grain Ticket and change and replied with a smile, "My boyfriend is a soldier."

Wang Cuilan and Lu Aihong suddenly remembered that Feng Qingxue had mentioned her boyfriend was injured and hospitalized. Upon receiving this information, they understood everything—the injury must have occurred in combat. Suddenly, they felt a wave of respect towards him.

When the train attendant poured hot water into Feng Qingxue’s military water bottle, he filled it up to eighty percent.

Prior to this, he had only filled Feng Qingxue’s bottle less than halfway.

It would be unjust to blame him though - you would imagine, with such a long train and so many passengers, even if the train attendant was a Hercules, the thermoses on his trolley couldn’t possibly fill up every passenger’s water bottle or cup.

...With ten yuan, one could take a 500-kilometer train journey, likely in a sleeper car, because according to the information I found, a ticket from my home to Shanghai cost two yuan and eight cents, whereas a berth was much more expensive, nearly ten yuan. It seems that the ticket I mentioned in the text was calculated according to the distance. It was said that a lot of blue-collar workers and soldiers spent their salaries on transportation back then, hence many of them didn’t return home for years and only sent money back. It’s heartbreaking (╥_╥).