Chapter 57: Who is the Adult, and Who is the Child?

"Make way, make way, the train is about to leave... Watch your step, no one's responsible if you get shoved!"

A bear of a man was charging blindly through the crowd, his thick, brawny arms pulling and tugging left and right to push the people in front of him aside.

Many angry passengers turned their heads, opening their mouths ready to hurl curses.

But upon seeing Li Dayong's massive build, along with the sharp, piercing gazes of Jin Peng and Li Ye, they had no choice but to swallow their grievances and hold their tongues.

According to traditional martial arts training, one must first build a solid foundation. Li Ye and his two martial brothers still held quite an advantage when weaving and elbowing their way through such a dense crowd.

Protecting Teacher Ke in the center in a wedge formation, the three of them broke out in a heavy sweat and finally squeezed onto the waiting platform just as the train pulled into the station.

Yet, upon seeing the incoming train, even the usually calm Li Ye could not help but blurt out, "Holy shit."

This was a transit train running from Shanghai to Beijing, having already passed through countless stations along the way. By now, it was packed with people like a tin of sardines, and Li Ye felt that stuffing even a few more people inside might cause it to burst.

Experienced passengers on the platform had already begun scrambling for positions, turning the luggage in their hands into "throwing" missiles.

Teacher Ke hurriedly said, "Later, we'll throw our luggage in through the window, and then I'll climb in."

Only then did Li Ye realize that these people intended to climb through the windows to board the train.

A carriage only had one door, but it had a dozen windows; any opening would do, as long as you could get inside.

Yet, imagining Teacher Ke climbing through a window, Li Ye found it simply inconceivable.

"Teacher Ke, hand me your train ticket."

"Oh, here... what do you need the ticket for?"

"Wait for me a moment."

Taking Teacher Ke's ticket, Li Ye hurried back toward the rear of the train, where the sleeper carriages were located.

After all, the provincial capital of Dongshan was a major city, so even a transit train was bound to have an allotment of sleeper tickets. Li Ye figured he would try to find a way.

Reaching the rear section, the platform was considerably less crowded.

Li Ye began sizing up the waiting passengers.

Those walking with a steady, unhurried gait and lifting their chins slightly when looking at others were people accustomed to giving orders.

No, not them.

Those with two fountain pens stuck in their breast pockets were senior intellectuals; some were easy to talk to, while others were stingy.

Not suitable.

Ah, this old gentleman had large hands and feet, palms covered in calluses, and deep wrinkles of hardship on his face. At a glance, he was one of our beloved working-class brothers, and might even be a top-tier senior mechanic.

Li Ye stepped forward, first pulling out a cigarette, then speaking.

"Uncle, excuse me, may I ask you something? Are you heading to Beijing?"

The old man was very alert; he looked at Li Ye, pushed away the cigarette, and said, "State your business if you have any, don't pull this routine on me!"

Li Ye felt a bit awkward and hurriedly held up the ticket for him to see, "Uncle, I'm not a bad person. It's like this: my relative is also going to Beijing and bought a regular seating ticket..."

"But she's a female comrade, traveling all by herself. Not to mention the hardship along the way, she simply won't be able to handle the pushing and shoving. Do you think I could pay the difference and exchange tickets with you?"

"A female comrade?"

The old man frowned and did not refuse immediately.

Under such traveling conditions, who would be willing to trade a sleeper ticket for a hard seat?

Li Ye hurriedly pointed toward Teacher Ke, "It's her... that big guy over there is my brother, and the one right beside him is my relative... With her physical condition, on that train..."

At this moment, Teacher Ke's hair was ruffled from the shoving, making her look quite disheveled.

The old man squinted his eyes to look over and said, "Oh, your relative is a refined person!"

Li Ye said, "She's a teacher, but her health has always been poor. It takes over a dozen hours from here to Beijing, and an ordinary person crammed into the front cars simply couldn't endure it..."

The old man nodded and said, "That is true. People with weak constitutions suffer terribly when traveling at a time like this."

Seeing an opening, Li Ye pulled fifty yuan straight out of his pocket and shoved it into the old man's pocket along with the ticket.

"Please help us out, Uncle. If there were any other way, I wouldn't want to lower myself to begging others..."

"Hey, you child, I..."

Somewhat displeased, the old man reached out to pull the money back out, but upon feeling the thickness of the stack, he suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Actually, it doesn't cost that much. My hard sleeper is 23 yuan, and the seat ticket is 12.50. You only need to make up the difference of 10.50 for me."

"How could we possibly do that!"

Dragging the old man toward Teacher Ke, Li Ye said as they walked, "Sitting through more than ten hours on a hard seat is more exhausting than working two extra days of overtime. If I let you lose out like that, it wouldn't be doing the right thing."

"Hah, working two extra days of overtime is no big deal. You young people just lack exercise."

Hearing Li Ye's words, the old man felt much less uncomfortable.

As they squeezed up in front of Teacher Ke, Li Ye spoke up first, "Teacher Ke, I spoke with this uncle here, and he's willing to show great spirit and trade his sleeper ticket with us."

Upon hearing this, the old man immediately handed the ticket to Teacher Ke and said with a strong sense of civic duty, "A real man from Dongshan just can't bear to watch a woman suffer. This is only right."

"This, this... how can I impose upon you like this? Let me pay you the difference!"

Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, Teacher Ke began rummaging through her small bag.

With a wave of his large hand, the old man said, "No need, your boy already paid. Hurry up and get on board!"

Li Ye quickly picked up Teacher Ke's luggage and then asked Li Dayong and Jin Peng to help the old man board the train.

"Ah, thank you then! Thank you!"

Teacher Ke expressed her gratitude profusely as she hurried toward the sleeper carriage with Li Ye, while Li Dayong and Jin Peng helped the older worker push his way onto the train.

Being a talkative person, the old man asked, "Is that female comrade a relative of yours too?"

"Relative?"

Jin Peng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "She's not our relative right now, but it's hard to say about the future."

"Huh?"

Jin Peng explained, "The kid from just now is my younger brother. In the future... he might just have to call Teacher Ke 'Mother'."

"Ah~" The old man suddenly understood and said, "So that's how it is! No wonder that boy was so enthusiastic! Well, I suppose I did a good deed today and helped bring about a good match!"

...

Because there was a ticket inspector at the entrance of the sleeper carriage, it was not crowded at all over here.

Li Ye escorted Teacher Ke to the entrance, casually handed her two duffel bags containing cigarettes and alcohol, and then leaned in to say in a low voice:

"Teacher Ke, back when I asked Wen Leyu to help me proofread, we agreed to give her a portion of the royalties. She kept refusing to take it, but this time she had me give it to you first. It's at the very bottom of the bag."

"This won't do."

Teacher Ke decisively refused, but Li Ye had already stepped back and turned to leave.

"Teacher Ke, if there's anything you don't need, just bring it back. Don't mistreat yourself when you're away from home."

Teacher Ke: "........"

"Have a safe trip, and if conditions permit when you arrive, send us a telegram."

Teacher Ke: "........"

"When you get to Beijing, don't stay in small inns; stay in a proper hotel. Don't grudge the money."

Having said these few words, Li Ye's figure was already swallowed up by the crowd.

Urged on by the ticket inspector, Teacher Ke boarded the train. She remained unsettled even after reaching her assigned berth.

[I actually ended up being lectured by a child.]

Teacher Ke could not help but smile. The scene just then made it seem as though she were the child who had never traveled far from home, while Li Ye down below was the elder seeing her off.