When the young railway officer pushed the door open, five fully armed soldiers followed behind him. Li Luoyu noticed their grip on their weapons—steady, controlled. Trained veterans, without a doubt.
She gave a slight nod. “You’re all aware of the situation?”
The leading soldier nodded. “We are.”
Li Luoyu turned and led the way. “Let’s go. That man has a gun at his waist. I suggest you take the three of them away directly—avoid harming innocent people.”
But when they returned to Car No. 12, the carriage was in an uproar.
A young male “sent-down youth” without an assigned seat had wandered over from another carriage. When he saw the so-called “stinking old intellectuals” being watched by Red Armbands yet still sitting comfortably, chatting and drinking water, something in him snapped.
He kicked over a nearby enamel mug and cursed loudly:
“Bah! Why do you ‘stinking old ninths’ get seats? Why do you get to sit comfortably, drink water, and chat? Why?! You should give up your seats to those who need them most!”
Others who had been standing quickly chimed in.
A burly man slammed his fist against a seatback. “That’s right! You ‘stinking old ninths’ should be kneeling in coal dust, not sitting! I’ve worked in a steel factory for ten years and still can’t get a seat ticket—why do they get to sit?!”
An old man wiped his sweat. “I’ve carried two baskets of goods across three carriages—my legs are cramping! And you lot are glued to your seats!”
“Hey! You ‘stinking old ninths,’ stand up and give your seats! Deaf or what?! Can’t you see my child is exhausted and asleep? Have you no conscience?!”
“Exactly! Who gave you the right to sit? I’m a worker—I’m the most honorable!”
The young man grew more convinced he was right. “Yeah! Make them stand! They don’t deserve to sit!”
“Get up and give your seats to the revolutionary masses! I’m a worker—I’m the most glorious!”
“Give up the seats!”
Grandpa Cui and the others turned pale. As they gripped the armrests and stood, their knees trembled, their bodies swaying as they prepared to give up their seats.
Grandpa Li let out a heavy sigh and slowly rose as well.
Seeing them stand, the crowd grew even louder, chanting in unison:
“Give up the seats!”
“Give up the seats!”
“Give up the seats!”
Li Luoyu heard the rising chant from afar. A surge of anger shot straight to her head. If these were zombies, she’d have cut them down one by one—heads rolling across the floor.
She stopped caring about the soldiers behind her. With a light push off the seat frames, she moved through the crowd in a swift, almost ghostlike manner, then leapt onto a seat and roared:
“I dare anyone to try!”
Her shout carried a surge of mental pressure, making everyone’s ears ring. Those closest to her clutched their ears as blood trickled from their noses.
The noisy carriage fell instantly silent.
“… ”
The soldiers behind her exchanged looks: Was that… a real-life lion’s roar?
Only the rumble of the train tracks remained.
The young man stiffened his neck, unwilling to yield. “Why? Who do you think you are?”
Li Luoyu looked down at him coldly, her eyes brimming with undisguised hostility.
“Who am I? Good question.”
She yanked open her canvas bag and pulled out a red booklet stamped with an official seal.
“The Great Leader said: Without investigation, there is no right to speak. Have you investigated us? What gives you the right to insult us so recklessly?
The Party teaches us to ‘serve the people’—not to incite the masses into shouting slogans while devouring others!”
She pulled out another yellowed certificate.
“My father, Li Yanzhi, and my mother, Luo Zhi, were both national-level scientific researchers. The dual-purpose machine guns those soldiers are holding—my father helped develop them. They were murdered by foreign agents while protecting state secrets and the lives and property of the people.
I am the child of martyrs. Have I ever used righteousness as a weapon to bully others?”
She pointed at Grandpa Li.
“My grandfather fought in the Pinghu Campaign, the Crossing of the Yangtze River Campaign, and the war against foreign forces. In the Wucheng Campaign, he personally led troops to break through the ‘UN forces’ defensive line, turning the tide with interweaving tactics. He spent half his life on the battlefield—he’s fought in hundreds of battles. His medals can’t even fit in a single box.
Now he’s been framed and forced into exile—does that mean he deserves your insults?
You’re not insulting ‘stinking old ninths’—you’re insulting a hero who traded his life for your peace!”
Her gaze swept across everyone in the carriage, her voice cold and clear.
“Tell me—does he deserve this seat?”
The crowd, carried by the atmosphere, responded:
“He does!”
Li Luoyu nodded.
“Grandpa Cui is a nuclear physicist. His work is classified at the highest level. He spent ten years in the Gobi Desert, eating sand. Radiation burned through three layers of skin on his fingers—his little finger is ruined. Now his hand trembles even holding a pen!
You’re not insulting ‘stinking old ninths’—you’re insulting the people who plucked stars from the sky and hid them inside missiles!
So I ask you again—does he deserve this seat?”
“He does!”
“Grandpa Pei is a traditional Chinese medicine inheritor. The asthma medicine he developed is still sold in hospitals and pharmacies today. Five thousand years of medical heritage—how did it become ‘trash’ in your mouths? Do you even think?”
“And Grandma Xu—she’s a master of obstetrics and gynecology. In a single year, the babies she’s delivered could fill ten train carriages! Her model worker photo is still hanging in the halls of Beijing hospitals. If she hadn’t accompanied Grandpa Pei into exile, do you think she’d tolerate your insults?”
“And Grandpa Yang—he devoted twenty years to the fields. The high-yield rice varieties he developed could fill the granaries of three provinces! Of every ten bowls of rice you eat, three come from his work!”
Li Luoyu took a deep breath, her expression filled with frustration and disappointment.
“Tell me—do they deserve these seats?”
The response thundered:
“They do!”
Li Luoyu’s voice turned firm and cutting.
“Let me tell you this—yes, we’ve been framed and sent to the countryside for ‘re-education.’ You call us ‘stinking old ninths.’
But we were born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze. Every one of us stands taller than you—more dignified, with stronger backbone. Our spines will always be straighter than yours!”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Applause erupted throughout the carriage.
“Well said! Without our predecessors carrying the burden, how could we live in peace today? Young lady, you’re right—I was too extreme. I’m sorry!”
The worker who had spoken earlier had tears in his eyes as he bowed deeply.
Li Luoyu stepped aside slightly. “The people you owe an apology to aren’t me—they’re the ones who carried the burden for you.”
She lightly jumped down from the seat, tilted her head, and gave a signal to the soldiers blocking the doorway—then strode toward the old woman at the far end of the carriage.