Pei Nian curled up comfortably in her seat, tending her crops in the space and enjoying the unfolding drama. She looked far too relaxed for someone on a long train journey.
Along the way, she had been thoroughly entertained. Zhou Jin’s tongue was as sharp as poison, exposing Gao Juan’s little schemes with pinpoint precision every single time. It was immensely satisfying to watch, making the otherwise tedious trip surprisingly enjoyable.
Around noon, the carriage filled with the mingled smells of everyone’s lunches. Most passengers took out cold corn buns or coarse black-flour pancakes, swallowing them with difficulty alongside hot or cold water. Those in slightly better circumstances might have a boiled egg or a bit of pickled vegetables.
Pei Nian also prepared to “have lunch.”
She first took out her water bottle and drank a few sips of boiled water mixed with Spirit Spring water. Instantly, she felt refreshed and invigorated.
Then she reached into her cloth bag—actually retrieving food from her storage space—and took out an aluminum lunch box. When she opened it, two meat buns were inside, still faintly steaming. She picked one up and took a bite.
The rich aroma of the meat bun spread through the nearby seats, drawing countless glances. Many passengers chewing on dry rations couldn’t help swallowing.
Pei Nian acted as though she noticed nothing. She wasn’t about to starve herself just to spare other people’s feelings. Besides, aside from smelling especially good, the buns weren’t anything extraordinary. Plenty of other passengers were eating decent food as well.
Just then, a little boy sitting diagonally across the aisle suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, “Grandma! I want white-flour meat buns too! I want meat buns!”
The child was being held by a thin, gaunt old woman with sharp triangular eyes, high cheekbones, and a rather mean-looking face.
The old woman had already been eyeing Pei Nian’s buns. Seeing her grandson cry, she immediately seized the opportunity.
“Young lady,” she said with a smile, “my little grandson hasn’t had meat in a long time. He’s craving it terribly. Could you spare him one bun? He’s still growing. Poor child.”
Several nearby passengers frowned.
These days, every household struggled to get enough food.
Others nodded sympathetically. The child was crying so pitifully that giving him one bun didn’t seem like too much to ask.
Pei Nian looked at the old woman, ignored her completely, and calmly took another bite.
When the child realized he wasn’t getting the bun, he burst into loud sobs, his cries immediately attracting everyone’s attention.
A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit, looking like a government official, frowned and spoke.
“Young lady, when you’re traveling, people should help each other. It’s hard for an elderly woman to care for a child. Since you have extra food, sharing a little would be a good deed.”
Pei Nian glanced at him and silently rolled her eyes.
What a preachy old fool.
She couldn’t even eat lunch in peace.
After swallowing her food, she looked at the self-righteous man and said brightly, “Comrade, your moral awareness is truly admirable.”
The man immediately looked rather pleased with himself.
Then she continued.
“But these buns are my lunch. If I give one away, I’ll go hungry. Judging by your appearance, you seem to be a cadre. Your ideological standards must be much higher than ours. Why don’t you set an example by serving the people and share some of your own food with the grandmother and grandson?”
The man froze.
His hand instinctively pressed down on the gray travel bag resting on his lap.
“I… I don’t have any food,” he stammered awkwardly. “Just clothes.”
“Clothes work too,” Pei Nian replied without missing a beat, glancing at the child’s thin clothing. “There’s a draft in the carriage, and he’s dressed lightly. You could give him one of your clothes to keep warm. That’s helping others too.”
Someone nearby couldn’t help laughing.
Another person muttered quietly, “It’s the middle of summer. What keeping warm…”
The man’s face turned bright red.
He opened his mouth to argue, but Pei Nian leisurely added,
“Oh, right. When you boarded earlier and were putting away your luggage, I saw you eating boiled eggs from your net bag. Sharing an egg would be just as good as sharing a bun.”
Several pairs of eyes instantly turned toward his travel bag.
The man’s lips twitched.
He said nothing more, ignored the hopeful looks from the grandmother and grandson, and simply turned to stare out the window.
Pei Nian quickly finished the bun in her hand, then ate the second one as well before closing the now-empty lunch box.
Seeing that all the buns were gone, the little boy froze for a second before crying even louder, stomping his feet as his piercing wails filled the carriage.
For some reason, Gao Juan decided to jump in.
With a reproachful tone, she said, “How can you have so little compassion? Don’t you know you’re supposed to respect the elderly and care for children? Look how hard you’ve made him cry.”
Pei Nian: ?
Is this vicious supporting character mentally ill? Why is she targeting me?
Fortunately, the female lead despised the villainess so deeply that she never missed an opportunity to put Gao Juan in her place.
Zhou Jin said, “Gao Juan, since you’re so compassionate, why don’t you go to the dining car and buy the child some meat yourself?”
The grandmother and grandson immediately turned to stare at Gao Juan.
Startled, Gao Juan clutched her luggage tightly.
“I… I don’t have any money!” she shrieked.
Zhou Jin snorted.
“Listening to you just now, I thought your kindness knew no bounds. Turns out you’re only generous with other people’s things.”
Gao Juan’s face flushed crimson, and she shut up awkwardly.
Just like that, Pei Nian went from participant to spectator.
Sure enough, only the heroine could properly deal with the villainess.
After Zhou Jin finished speaking, Pei Nian looked at the still-crying child and said gently, almost coaxingly,
“There, there. Don’t cry anymore. Crying won’t help—I already finished my buns. But I heard from the conductor that the dining car is serving braised pork today. It’s glossy, fragrant, and absolutely delicious. If you want some, ask your grandma to buy it for you.”
That did it.
The child immediately grabbed his grandmother and shouted at the top of his lungs,
“I want braised pork! Grandma, buy me braised pork! I want braised pork!”
The old woman panicked.
Braised pork from the dining car?
How could she possibly afford something like that?
After fumbling around trying to cover her grandson’s mouth, she finally gave up and hurriedly carried him out of the carriage in utter embarrassment.
The carriage gradually returned to its previous bustle. Here and there, quiet chuckles and whispered comments about the earlier commotion could still be heard.
After sitting all morning, Pei Nian wanted to stretch her legs.
She said to Gao Juan, who was sitting on the aisle seat, “Excuse me. I need to get out.”
Gao Juan pretended not to hear.
As far as she was concerned, if Pei Nian had simply shared a bun, Zhou Jin would never have had the chance to embarrass her, and she wouldn’t have lost face in front of Jiang Xu.
Pei Nian looked at Gao Juan’s feigned deafness and smiled.
Perfect.
She had been wanting to make an example of someone.
The train ride from Su Province to Lin County would take two days and one night. She intended to eat well at every meal, and she didn’t want more fools coming over to take advantage of her or ruin her appetite.
She repeated calmly,
“I’m going out.”
Gao Juan still didn’t move.
Too lazy to waste more words, Pei Nian grabbed the back of Gao Juan’s collar. With a slight exertion of strength, she lifted her straight out of her seat, stepped sideways into the aisle, then set her back down.
The entire carriage fell silent for a brief moment.
As Pei Nian walked down the narrow aisle, she could feel countless eyes secretly following her—filled with curiosity, and even a trace of barely concealed awe.
Her face remained expressionless, but inwardly she knew exactly what had happened.
Mission accomplished.
The rest of the journey would probably be much quieter, and no one else would be foolish enough to come looking for free handouts.
When Pei Nian returned after strolling through two other carriages, Gao Juan’s expression was still unpleasant.
This time, however, her body was far more honest.
She had shifted noticeably toward the window, leaving a much wider gap for Pei Nian to pass.
Pei Nian found it rather amusing.
At least the woman knew when to recognize the situation.