After that, the two of them stored some of their belongings in the space so the journey would be much more comfortable.
“Beihan, let’s bring one thermos with us and leave the rest for Mom and Dad,” Ye Qinglan said, leaving both quilts at home. She already had plenty of similar quilts inside her space.
“Wife, you’re in charge of this family. I’ll listen to whatever you say,” Zhou Beihan replied obediently.
That afternoon, Ye Qinglan brought a large pile of supplies to Li Chunxiang, including milk powder, honey, brown sugar, white sugar, dried meat, sausages, and malted milk.
She removed all the original packaging. Some items were transferred into clear glass jars. Li Chunxiang happily accepted everything, planning to enjoy them little by little.
She had no intention of sharing them with anyone. These were gifts from her second son’s wife. She wouldn’t even give any to her own daughter. She and her husband would keep them for themselves.
“Mom, we’ll leave our bedding here. Here’s the key to our room,” Ye Qinglan said quietly.
“Alright. Don’t worry about us. Your father and I are still young. If you get pregnant, write to us. I’ll come and take care of you after the baby is born,” Li Chunxiang said, showing her usual favoritism.
Early the next morning, Zhou Jingyuan drove the tractor to take them to the train station. He had just learned how to drive it from Zhou Kai a few days earlier.
Before leaving, Ye Qinglan spotted Ye Bailian. She didn’t dare come closer and simply stared at Zhou Jingyuan. It looked like the novel’s male and female leads would probably get married soon as well.
Lately, Ye Bailian had learned to behave herself and no longer caused trouble for Ye Qinglan. As long as she could marry Zhou Jingyuan, she would be satisfied. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about starving in the countryside.
To Ye Bailian, Zhou Jingyuan represented food. As long as she married into the Zhou family, she would never go hungry.
Zhou Beihan carried two large bags of luggage. Although they looked heavy, they were actually very light. All the truly heavy items had already been stored inside Ye Qinglan’s space. They couldn’t travel without any luggage at all, or people would become suspicious.
“Mom, Dad, take good care of yourselves. If you’re tired, don’t force yourselves to work. You have three sons, and all of us will support you in your old age,” Zhou Beihan said reluctantly.
“Second Son, just take good care of Qinglan. Don’t worry about anything else,” Li Chunxiang replied. She disliked Ye Bailian so much that she had even started treating her third son less warmly because of his relationship with her.
“We’ll write to you,” Ye Qinglan said as she said her goodbye.
After everyone finished saying their farewells, the couple rode the tractor to the train station.
Watching them leave, Zhou Jingyuan couldn’t help feeling envious of Zhou Beihan. Ye Bailian simply couldn’t compare to his second sister-in-law.
The couple boarded the train with their luggage, found their sleeper compartment, and settled in.
They took out a thermos and two enamel mugs.
“Wife, I’ll go get some hot water. Don’t leave the compartment,” Zhou Beihan said gently.
“Okay, Beihan,” Ye Qinglan answered obediently.
Ye Qinglan took out a roll of cashmere yarn from her bag. She planned to knit Beihan a sweater and a pair of wool pants. She picked up her knitting needles and began working.
Soon, two young men entered the compartment. Judging by their age, they looked like educated youths.
Then another man and woman came in, appearing to be a married couple. The woman carried a child in her arms, but the child remained completely motionless as if asleep.
Ye Qinglan glanced at the child.
His clothes were made of high-quality fabric, and he wore an expensive pair of shoes.
She carefully observed the couple again.
Their own clothes were patched, and the woman looked worn and haggard.
They didn’t seem like the child’s parents.
Ye Qinglan immediately thought of human traffickers.
If the child had been drugged unconscious, then the two of them were almost certainly traffickers.
“Wife, I brought the hot water. What would you like to drink?” Zhou Beihan asked loudly enough for everyone to hear.
The child, however, showed no reaction whatsoever.
“Beihan, my stomach hurts. Can you take me to the restroom?” Ye Qinglan said while secretly giving him a meaningful look.
“Alright. Put your things away first. The train hasn’t started moving yet, and the restroom is still locked. Let’s wait there so we won’t have to stand in line,” Zhou Beihan replied naturally.
“I think I ate something bad this morning. I’ll ask the train attendant for some medicine later,” Ye Qinglan said, clutching her stomach as she left the compartment with him.
“Wife, what’s going on?” Zhou Beihan whispered.
“The couple across from us are probably human traffickers. That child must be unconscious. His clothes are expensive, and those shoes cost at least several dozen yuan. Ordinary people couldn’t afford them,” Ye Qinglan explained logically.
“Wife, I’ll report this to the railway police. Don’t let them notice anything. We’ll wait for the right moment before arresting them,” Zhou Beihan whispered.
“Okay. I’ll just say you’ve gone to buy medicine.”
They split up.
After the train had been moving for a while, Ye Qinglan returned to the compartment, still pretending to have a stomachache. She clutched her abdomen and lay on the lower bunk, acting convincingly.
“Comrade, where did your husband go?” the man across from her asked.
“He went to buy medicine from the train attendant. I upset my stomach this morning,” Ye Qinglan replied, her pale complexion making the lie even more believable.
After a while, Zhou Beihan returned with a train attendant, who handed over a few pills.
“Wife, your stomach will feel better after taking this medicine.”
“This medicine works very well. I’ll be going now,” the attendant said before leaving the compartment.
About half an hour later, the man across from them got up to use the restroom.
He never came back.
Taking advantage of the woman’s distraction, Zhou Beihan suddenly snatched the child from her arms and immediately carried him outside to the train attendant.
“You’re stealing my child! Somebody help! They’re kidnapping my child!” the woman screamed.
“That’s rich,” Ye Qinglan said coldly. “You’re accusing others of the very crime you’ve committed.”
As soon as she spoke, everyone in the compartment turned to look at the woman.
At that moment, two railway police officers entered the compartment.
They handcuffed the woman and took her away.
The little boy was brought to the attendants’ office.
Zhou Beihan went to give his statement.
Just like that, the human traffickers were caught.
Ye Qinglan no longer needed to pretend her stomach hurt.
She took out her cashmere yarn and continued knitting while drinking the milk powder Zhou Beihan had just prepared for her.
Having done a good deed put her in an excellent mood.
“Comrade, how did you figure out they were human traffickers?” one of the young men on the upper bunk across from her asked.
“That child had been unconscious the whole time. His clothes were high quality, while the couple didn’t look like wealthy people,” Ye Qinglan explained.
Both young men nodded repeatedly.
“Comrade, you’re very observant. We’re both educated youths, and we’re heading to Jiang Province to be sent to the countryside,” one of them said without revealing too much, still remaining cautious.
“Hello. We’re heading to Jiang Province as well,” Ye Qinglan replied, revealing only part of the truth herself.
Soon, Zhou Beihan returned to the compartment.
Ye Qinglan took out their lunch.
There was braised pork and several homemade dishes she had packed in her previous life, all stored in lunch boxes.
She also took out steamed white-flour buns—at least twenty of them in one large bag.
“Eat as much as you want. The bag is full of food. I packed plenty for us,” Ye Qinglan said, knowing how much her husband could eat.
“Wife, you should eat more meat. As long as I’m full, that’s enough for me,” Zhou Beihan said, feeling as though he had fallen into a life of unimaginable happiness.