On this side,
The Educated Youth Office’s vehicle delivered them to the train station, where dedicated staff arranged for the Educated Youth to board the train.
All the educated youth going down to the countryside had gathered here, and everyone was heading to different destinations.
Su Qiu’s assigned location for going to the countryside was Hei Province. As for which Production Brigade she would be sent to, she would follow the local personnel’s arrangements after arrival.
After boarding the train,
Upon hearing that the journey would take two days and one night, Su Qiu almost vomited.
She got motion sickness no matter what vehicle she took. Especially with the train—before even stepping on board, her head had already started spinning.
Two days and one night was practically asking for her life.
Fortunately, this body was still fairly resilient. Although Su Qiu constantly felt nauseated and wanted to vomit, she did not actually throw up.
Su Qiu secretly searched through her dimension space for things to ease her discomfort.
She ate various sour preserved plums, and occasionally sneaked a bite of ice cream away from others.
Fortunately, it worked, and it became less unbearable.
That night, Su Qiu, being a night owl, did not fall asleep. She placed her luggage under her feet, sat in her seat, and leaned her body against the chair, which was more comfortable than sitting upright.
Suddenly, a faint rustling sound of rummaging through bags made her perk up her ears.
It sounded like petty theft. It seemed to be right behind her seat. Su Qiu secretly narrowed her eyes and looked through the gap in the chair.
Upon closer inspection, she froze for a moment.
Wasn’t this man the one who got beaten up in the alley that day?
High cheekbones, heavy brow ridge, sharp and sinister eyes, and a downward-curving mouth—he looked exactly like a bad person.
Perhaps because he was too nervous while rummaging through bags, he was sitting sideways near the window, acting cautiously and lightly.
Su Qiu observed him. There was a bag at his feet, another in his arms, and one more in his hands as he rummaged through it.
Clearly, the bags had different colors and patterns—some rough, some refined. They were obviously not his.
Su Qiu did not dare to look any longer and withdrew her gaze, not wanting to meddle.
This person clearly looked dangerous, his eyes darting around vigilantly.
In the middle of the night like this, if she stood up to report it, she might get hit before she even managed to reach anyone.
If it were her previous strong body, she might still have been able to handle it a bit. But now this small frame looked like a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl. One punch might break her bones.
In any case, the situation was here. By daytime, people would definitely discover the stolen bags, and they would inevitably report it to the train management. Then she would speak up.
She needed to prioritize her own safety.
……
The next day,
As expected, as soon as dawn broke, someone was already shouting that their money had been stolen.
The train administrators made a round of inspection but found no clues. With so many people on the train, it was too difficult to investigate thoroughly—after all, every educated youth carried money, and it was impossible to clearly account for everything.
They reminded everyone to be more vigilant and then left.
The ones who lost their belongings were three young girls, who immediately burst into loud crying.
“My grain tickets and money for going down to the countryside! Which heartless thief took them? Aren’t they afraid of retribution!”
“Please, whoever took it, return it. I finally got twenty yuan from my family. That’s my living expenses for half a year…”
Another thin girl stood there with a pale face, trembling as she clutched her worn bag.
As a fellow woman, Su Qiu felt uncomfortable watching this. In this era, women were treated more harshly. Compared to favored boys in families, most of those sent down to the countryside were young girls.
Life was already hard enough, and money and grain tickets were their only foundation for survival.
Su Qiu prepared to get up and go to the restroom, intending to see if there were any administrators nearby.
Unexpectedly, just as she stood up, the man behind her also suddenly stood up sharply.
Su Qiu calmly glanced back at him and then slowly walked toward the restroom.
The man, in his early twenties, saw Su Qiu’s thin figure and her puzzled glance, and slightly relaxed—but he still remained wary.
This little girl probably hadn’t noticed anything.
Niu Dali gritted his teeth, clutching the items hidden in his pocket, and followed her. He watched closely as she entered the restroom, and only after seeing her come out did he finally let it go.
Not long after Su Qiu returned, several others also went to the restroom one after another. Niu Dali remained anxious, watching them closely, trying to read something from their expressions.
Unfortunately, none of them showed panic or guilt.
Only then did he slightly relax. It seemed no one had seen anything. If someone had, they would have already reported it to the train attendants.
Su Qiu sat in front, took out dry food prepared by her sister, and took a bite.
If she had not seen it wrong earlier, that man had been holding his pocket tightly, as if hiding a weapon.
Thinking of that man’s murky, sinister gaze that looked like he wanted to kill someone, he resembled a deranged murderer from television dramas.
Moreover, since Su Qiu was sitting in front of him, she did not dare act rashly.
By the time the sky darkened again, there was only half an hour left before the train arrived.
People gradually went to the restroom, each carrying large and small bags for fear of losing their belongings.
Su Qiu’s valuables were all in her dimension space. Her luggage consisted only of bedding, but she still followed the crowd and carried it with her toward the restroom area.
Perhaps because they were about to arrive, even the train attendants no longer strictly managed things. The man also stopped suspecting others and simply held his bag tightly.
Su Qiu glanced at that bag without showing any expression. When she saw a train administrator drinking tea at the corner of the corridor ahead, her eyes lowered slightly, and she walked straight toward that direction.
She slipped a note from her pocket into the person’s hand and then walked to the opposite women’s restroom entrance.
The entire process took less than two seconds.
The note had been written secretly by her at noon. She originally planned to hand it over earlier, but she had not found the opportunity all afternoon.
Now there were only 30 minutes left before arrival. Fortunately, the man had relaxed his vigilance and did not follow her over.
The train attendant glanced at the girl in confusion, then opened the note in his hand. After reading its contents, he was immediately shocked.
This person had a weapon!
He quickly maintained a calm expression, put away the note, and rushed to report it to his superiors.
With 10 minutes left before arrival, several train attendants came in and instructed the female comrades to queue up and prepare to disembark first, while the male comrades would wait another five minutes.
Everyone did not suspect anything. The female comrades packed their things and lined up to leave.
Su Qiu packed her belongings, but the female comrade next to her accidentally knocked over a glass jar, and liquid spilled onto the floor behind them.
The man behind Su Qiu panicked, grabbed the bag on the ground, and immediately shouted angrily: “Are you blind? If you ruin my things, can you afford to pay for them!”
The female comrade was so frightened that she cried.
Some male educated youths wanted to speak up for her, but seeing how fierce the man was, they simply kept quiet.
Su Qiu gently pushed the female comrade and said: “Hurry and go. Don’t delay getting off the train.”
The female comrade wiped her tears and, feeling wronged, carried her belongings and went out.
The female comrades were moved to another carriage to wait for disembarkation.
On the other side, the male comrades did not receive any arrangements—instead, a group of uniformed police officers arrived.
The police directly drew their guns and shouted at Niu Dali: “The man by the window, put your hands behind your back and squat down. Otherwise, we will open fire.”
Niu Dali’s face turned pale upon seeing the police. The next second, he looked toward a young man in the back seat, pulled out a small knife from his pocket, and tried to rush forward to take him hostage.
However, a nearby police officer immediately leapt forward and kicked him down.
Several officers then rushed in and subdued him.
One of them confiscated his weapon and searched the bags he was carrying.
Weapons were strictly prohibited on the train, yet his bag contained not only a small knife but also ropes.
After inspection, they found not only the stolen money and grain tickets but also two small gold pieces and some forged documents.
The police officers were all shocked. Could this be some kind of spy?
The situation immediately became serious. The police arrested him and returned the stolen money to its owners.
They also issued a thirty-yuan reward to the comrade who reported the case.
After the train conductor learned of such a serious incident, he personally met Su Qiu, shook her hand to express gratitude, and awarded her twenty yuan.
Su Qiu carried the fifty yuan reward as she got off the train. Having done a good deed and even received a reward, she felt quite pleased.