There was no time to waste. He Xiaoman quickly gathered the few belongings she had, and using the excuse of a bathroom break, slipped into the Spatial Dimension to fetch some Spirit Spring Water. Then, she prepared to set off with the two children.
Liu Cuifen and her group watched them with venomous glares. Liu Cuifen suddenly spoke up: "I'll have Changlin and Chunyan escort you to the station."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of He Xiaoman's lips. This old woman was shrewd—pretending to see them off while actually sending spies to keep watch. But since they wouldn't be able to figure anything out anyway, she readily agreed: "Then thank you kindly, Second Aunt."
As they stepped out of the courtyard, the neighbors who had been watching earlier crowded around again.
News of the Jiang family's burglary had already spread far and wide. Seeing He Xiaoman leaving with the two children and nothing else, everyone felt deeply sorry for her and began pressing things into her hands.
Aunt Wang handed over a few steamed buns and a small jar of pickled vegetables. Aunt Li stuffed some sweet potatoes and a few pieces of candy into her hands. Even the notoriously stingy Old Man Zhang offered a few pancakes. The village party secretary even had the brigade captain drive them over on a three-wheeled cart.
Looking at the small mountain of food piled in her arms, and then at the three-wheeler parked by the gate, He Xiaoman felt her nose tingle slightly.
This place might be a poor, remote village, but there were truly many kind-hearted people here.
After thanking the villagers profusely, He Xiaoman and the children climbed onto the brigade captain's three-wheeler.
In just over ten minutes, they arrived at the commune.
It was just past noon. Originally, He Xiaoman had wanted to take the children for a proper meal before heading to the county town, but the bus to the county was just about to depart, so she had to give up on that idea.
Just before boarding, she turned to look at Jiang Changlin, speaking with a half-smile: "Second Uncle, you've been following us the whole way—did you manage to figure out where I hid the family's things?"
Jiang Changlin's face stiffened. He had always believed that He Xiaoman had stolen the goods and hidden them somewhere in the room, but here she was about to board the bus without even an extra bundle!
Could she really have managed to sell off all the family possessions overnight? Even a deity couldn't do that!
This was truly bizarre.
Seeing that he remained silent, He Xiaoman turned to the brigade captain: "Brigade Captain, the Jiang family has been suspecting me of stealing their things. Today, you can bear witness—when I boarded, I only had the food the villagers gave me. If the Jiang family starts spreading rumors later, I'll have to trouble you to speak up for us."
The brigade captain shot Jiang Changlin a cold glance and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Yanchuan's wife. Everyone here has seen it—you only brought these things. If the Jiang family makes any more trouble, I'll definitely report it to the brigade and have it dealt with seriously."
After thanking the brigade captain, He Xiaoman boarded the bus to the county town with the children.
This was Jiang Xingci's second trip to the county town, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
Jiang Xingheng was still a little worried, but he was much more relaxed than last time. When the bus jolted, his small body instinctively leaned closer to He Xiaoman, thinking to himself that now the whole brigade knew they were going to join their father in the army—she wouldn't dare sell him and his little brother off now.
He Xiaoman noticed him drawing closer, and a gentle smile spread across her lips. She took out the steamed buns the neighbors had given them and let the two children have something to fill their stomachs first.
When they reached the county town, the bus station wasn't far from the train station, so He Xiaoman hurried over to buy tickets without stopping.
This was a small station with few train departures, but they were in luck—there were still seated tickets available on the 8 PM train to the city where Jiang Yanchuan was stationed. He Xiaoman immediately bought three.
Jiang Yanchuan's military unit was in G City. She asked the ticket clerk and learned they would need to ride the train for nearly twenty-something hours to get there.
There were still nearly three hours before departure, so He Xiaoman took the children to a small restaurant near the station for a simple meal, then stopped by a supply store to buy some snacks for the train ride.
By the time they finished all that, it was almost 8 PM. She quickly took the children through the ticket gate and onto the platform.
Once they boarded the train, Jiang Xingheng's worries finally dissolved completely.
They were really going to find their father!
This time, his mother hadn't lied to him. The excitement in his eyes could barely be contained.
Jiang Xingci didn't share his older brother's worries. His eyes went wide as he looked at the crowded car and said excitedly, "Mommy, there are so many people on the train."
"That's right." He Xiaoman tightened her grip on his hand. "So you must hold my hand tightly and not get lost."
Hearing this, Jiang Xingci immediately squeezed her hand harder.
He Xiaoman led them forward. When she found their seats, she discovered that an older woman and a young girl were occupying them—and the two had even fallen asleep.
This small station was a mid-route stop, and seat-stealing happened from time to time. He Xiaoman first asked the nearby passengers to verify their tickets. After confirming they were correct, she gently shook the two awake and held out her tickets: "Comrades, these are our seats. Would you mind moving?"
The older woman glanced at her and said rudely, "I can't read. What do you want me to do with this? There was no one here just now, so I sat down."
He Xiaoman then offered the ticket to the young girl, who also shook her head: "I can't read either."
He Xiaoman knew perfectly well that the two were mother and daughter.
She took a deep breath and said patiently, "Since you can't read, then I'll say it plainly—these are our seats. Please get up."
The older woman looked her up and down, then suddenly clutched her chest and cried out, "Oh dear, young lady, my heart is hurting something fierce. I'm old and can't stand for long. You're young—how about you let me have your seat for a bit? Just a little while."
He Xiaoman stood her ground. "Ma'am, I've got two kids with me. Surely you wouldn't take seats from children too?"
The older woman hadn't expected this seemingly delicate young woman to be so tough. Her eyes darted around, and she forced a tearful tone: "Young lady, I'll be honest with you—I'm on this train to see a doctor. My daughter's been standing the whole way too. Have a little kindness and let us rest a while, won't you?"
He Xiaoman had no patience for entitled people like this. "If you keep this up, I'll have to call the train police."
At that, the older woman exploded, slapping her thigh and shouting, "Why are you young people so aggressive? It's just a seat! I'm not moving, so what are you going to do about it?"
He Xiaoman felt her own temper flare, and she was just wondering whether to make a scene when Jiang Xingheng beside her suddenly burst into tears, sobbing, "Mommy, didn't you say Daddy is a soldier and nobody would bully us?"
He Xiaoman froze. This kid reacted fast.
Jiang Xingci didn't quite understand why his brother was crying, but if his brother was crying, then maybe he should cry too?
The next second, he burst into loud wails as well: "Mommy, I wish Daddy could come pick us up—then nobody would dare take our seats."
He Xiaoman almost laughed out loud. These two little ones were natural-born drama kings.
With the children crying, the whole carriage turned to look. A passenger immediately asked He Xiaoman, "Comrade, are you a military family?"
He Xiaoman nodded, letting her eyes redden at the right moment, and said with a hint of grievance, "We're on our way to join him at his post. It's really inconvenient traveling with two kids…"
The people around immediately began murmuring, pointing at the woman who had tried to take the seat—
"I think you look healthier than this young lady. You don't seem sick at all."
"Her husband is out there protecting our country, and here you are bullying his wife and kids. Don't you have any shame?"
"Exactly. She paid for her ticket. Why should she give it to you?"
"Let's get the train police to sort this out!"
The older woman was flushed red from the crowd's scolding. She could no longer keep up the act, so she grabbed her daughter and slunk away, giving up the seat.
He Xiaoman quickly thanked everyone, then sat down with the two children, planting a kiss on each little face. "My clever darlings—you helped Mommy get our seats back."
Both little faces instantly turned as red as boiled shrimp. Their eyes sparkled, and their hearts felt like they'd been sprinkled with sugar.
Mommy had just called them "darlings"!