There were no direct tickets available.
Only after asking did Lin Shuang learn that to reach her base, she had to transfer trains twice along the way.
Once she reached the temporary rest station for family members, she would have to transfer to another mode of transport again.
Just hearing about it gave Lin Shuang a headache.
Having grown accustomed to the convenient transportation of modern times, she really wasn’t used to anything here.
In the end, she managed to buy a hard-seat ticket, which cost her twenty-six yuan and forty cents.
Tossing the train ticket into her space, Lin Shuang squeezed her way out of the crowd.
The sky was blue, the air was fresh, and a gentle breeze brushed against her face.
Just as Lin Shuang was soaking in the beauty of the moment, a jarring scene caught the corner of her eye.
Looking closer, wasn’t the old man who got bumped into the very same uncle who had been selling fish last night?
Without a second word, Lin Shuang rushed over and extended her leg. The middle-aged man stumbled forward, and Lin Shuang seized the opportunity to pin him to the ground.
“Help!”
Evidently, this pickpocket was a seasoned thief who knew how to create a scene to break free.
However, when his pair of tiny, bead-like eyes caught sight of Lin Shuang, he changed his mind.
“Daughter, I’m your father after all. I only ate a single baozi of yours—was it really worth chasing me all the way here?”
The onlookers who had stopped to watch were puzzled at first.
Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, they immediately understood and began voicing their criticisms toward Lin Shuang.
“Young lady, don’t blame this auntie for calling you out—filial piety toward parents is only natural. What’s wrong with him eating one of your baozi? Even if he did no work at all, you ought to take good care of him.”
“That’s right, girl, quickly let go of your father. What does it look like, holding him down like this?”
“Girl, if you continue being disobedient, don’t blame us for getting involved.”
“Right, if you don’t release this comrade right now, watch us drag you off to the security office.”
The noisy chatter buzzed incessantly in her ears, but Lin Shuang didn’t have time to talk back.
She hadn’t expected this “weakling,” whom she had easily pinned down, to possess such astonishing strength; it took quite a deal of suppression to finally make him behave.
“Fine then, someone please go fetch the railway police.”
“He’s not my father—my father died a long time ago.”
“Uncles, aunties, grandpas, and grandmas, instead of standing here accusing me, why don’t you check whether the money in your own pockets is still there?”
Hearing Lin Shuang’s words, everyone’s expressions changed drastically.
“Oh no! Which absolute bastard did this?! My egg money that I just sold—I worked hard to save it for two whole months, how did it just vanish like this?!”
Not uniquely, another voice chimed in.
“Mine is gone too!”
“Mine as well…”
Oh boy! All at once, over a dozen people stepped forward, claiming their money was missing.
Some quickly came to their senses and immediately surrounded the man on the ground to give him a kick.
It was also at this moment that the railway police pushed through the crowd and arrived.
“What are you doing, what are you doing? Everyone stand back.”
Police officers held authority at any time. The moment he spoke, the surrounding crowd backed away—though only enough to clear a space, as they certainly didn’t want to miss out on the drama.
Once the officer approached, Lin Shuang immediately pointed at the fish-selling uncle. “Comrade, I saw with my own eyes that he bumped into this elderly man and took the chance to swipe the money off him.”
The other people who had lost their money thought about it and realized it was indeed the case, joining in one after another: “Comrade, I remember now—I was bumped into by someone earlier too.”
Once one spoke up, others followed, and everyone’s account was largely the same.
It seemed the thief was quite skilled at this trick, using it repeatedly without fail.
In the end, no matter how the thief on the ground tried to defend himself, he was taken away by the railway police.
Lin Shuang was also brought along to give a statement.
After signing her name and stepping out, Lin Shuang unexpectedly received yet another certificate of commendation for acting courageously for a just cause.
As soon as that man entered the small room, he confessed to everything.
Not only did he steal, but he was also involved in human trafficking of women and children.
Following his confession, the police followed the leads and quickly rounded up a gang of his accomplices.
Just as she was feeling cheerful, the fish-selling uncle came up to her and stuffed a piece of grilled fish into her hands.
“Girl, thank you. If it weren’t for you today, this old man would have…”
It was clear that the fish-selling uncle had indeed been badly shaken.
Lin Shuang offered a few words of comfort, only then learning that the uncle had also come to the train station to buy tickets.
The thief earlier had not only stolen a stack of small-denomination bills from the elderly man, but also swiped two train tickets he had just purchased.
As for where the fish-selling uncle was headed and what he was going to do, Lin Shuang found it inappropriate to pry further.
After the two parted ways, Lin Shuang was just about to find a secluded spot to bring out her bicycle when her hand was tightly grabbed by someone.
Once she clearly saw the person’s face, Lin Shuang narrowed her eyes slightly, quietly easing the force in her hand as she waited to see what his angle was.
The first thought that crossed Lin Shuang’s mind was: What were Shen Lingfeng or Lin Lanlan and her mother up to this time?
There was no other reason—with just a single glance, Lin Shuang knew who he was.
Lord Ting—the very man who had harmed her former self in her past life.
“Xiuhua, Big Brother finally found you.”
If you’re going to make up a lie, at least pick a plausible excuse—someone old enough to be her grandfather really had the nerve to say that.
“Dad didn’t blame you for eloping with that man. He told me that once I found you, I must bring you home—our family will always forgive you.”
Lin Shuang let out a leisurely “Oh,” unable to hold it in any longer.
As mentioned, why did she recognize someone at first sight even though she had never met him before?
Naturally, it was because this Lord Ting had a very distinct appearance.
If you chopped off his head and placed it right next to the Leshan Giant Buddha, people would ask who copied whom.
Furthermore, during his younger years when he fought ruthlessly with others, half of his left ear had been sliced off.
If these two traits alone weren’t enough to confirm it, the way he looked at her was disgusting, as if she were his prey.
If Lin Lanlan and her mother hadn’t said something in front of this man, Lin Shuang wouldn’t have believed it for a second.
Suppressing her disgust, Lin Shuang continued to observe.
“Even if you beat Big Brother to death this time, Big Brother is still taking you back.”
“To find you, Mom and Dad have been traveling all over the place this past year. Now they’re so sick they’re barely holding on. Younger Sister, you must come back with Brother this time to see Mom and Dad one last time.”
More and more onlookers gathered around.
Inevitably, there were busybodies among them.
“Little girl, you really are restless. Hurry up and go back with your brother.”
“That’s right, don’t leave yourself with regrets! Hurry back to see them one last time.”
The noisy chatter didn’t affect the workings of Lin Shuang’s mind.
A human trafficker?
Lin Shuang felt it wasn’t that simple!
Suddenly, Lin Shuang sensed something amiss—there were accomplices among the crowd.
Whether someone was just an onlooker or a plant, Lin Shuang could tell at a single glance.
That person’s eyes carried a ruthless streak; Lin Shuang guessed he was holding a sharp weapon in his hand.
At this point, Lin Shuang felt a bit flustered. She could easily escape on her own, but with so many people around, it was hard to say whether the other party, out of desperation, might take their anger out on innocent bystanders.
“Disperse quickly!”
As she spoke, Lin Shuang had already swiped a letter from the man’s person.
Then, with a swift raise of her knee, the man instantly turned pale from the pain, doubling over onto the ground.
At that exact moment, that person suddenly lunged out from the crowd, thrusting a sharp weapon straight toward Lin Shuang.
Lin Shuang cursed under her breath.
She had merely come to buy a train ticket—who on earth had she provoked?
It was fortunate that it was her; had it been her former self, she would have lost her life all over again.
Just as Lin Shuang thought she could kick the man away in the next second, several dark figures suddenly pounced toward them, pinning down several people in an instant.
What broadened Lin Shuang’s horizons even further was that the auntie who had just been advising her was actually one of the bad guys as well.
Her judgment had truly slipped!
Seeing Zhuang Zhiyuan leading the group, Lin Shuang wasn’t surprised.
Having been unluckily taken to the police station once again, after completing her statement, Lin Shuang received a three-hundred-yuan reward, and her hard-seat ticket was upgraded to a sleeper ticket.
It wasn’t that she was reluctant to spend money on a sleeper ticket, but rather that in this era, money couldn’t guarantee you could buy one.
“There’s an additional reward, but it will be issued later.
Your contribution this time was immense, so I’ve already reported it to higher authorities.”
Lin Shuang vaguely sensed that it was the letter she swiped that prevented the villains from having the chance to destroy or transfer evidence.
Lin Shuang also learned from Zhuang Zhiyuan that Lord Ting had indeed targeted her at the instigation of Zhou Qingman.
In summary, thanks to Lin Shuang acting as bait, their men were able to rush over in time and catch them red-handed with the evidence.
As for the person who had lunged at Lin Shuang, it could only be attributed to internal strife within their group.