Meanwhile, on the train, Li Wanqing was experiencing the full misery of riding a green-skinned train for the first time.
The entire carriage was packed with people. Luggage was everywhere, and adults and children were crammed together in a suffocating crowd.
When Cheng Nuo first boarded the train, she had been fascinated by everything around her. But after some time, the novelty wore off, and she became completely listless. She eventually curled up on her mother’s lap and fell asleep.
Li Wanqing was incredibly grateful that she had bought two tickets. Otherwise, there probably wouldn’t even have been enough room to stretch out a foot.
“Miss, your child is so small. You can just hold her. Could you give me the seat?”
The speaker was a middle-aged woman wearing a dark gray blouse and a gray headscarf.
She looked rather friendly, but her eyes kept darting around suspiciously.
Especially the way she looked at Nono—it was filled with calculation. At first glance, she clearly wasn’t a good person.
Li Wanqing remained completely unmoved.
“No.”
“Miss, look, I’ll sit with you and can even help you look after the child. Wouldn’t that make things easier for you?”
The middle-aged woman put on an ingratiating smile, still refusing to give up.
She had been watching this mother and daughter ever since they boarded the train. After making sure no one else was traveling with them, she had finally made her move.
Ideally, she would be able to take the mother and daughter away according to plan!
Li Wanqing frowned and immediately became vigilant.
Could this woman be a human trafficker?
“No need. You should leave.”
The middle-aged woman’s expression darkened.
Seeing that persuasion wasn’t working, she immediately started making a scene.
She kept accusing Li Wanqing of taking advantage of public resources and deliberately occupying a seat that other people should be allowed to use.
That immediately angered everyone around them.
The carriage was already overcrowded and noisy. After sitting on the train for several hours, everyone was already irritable.
As soon as they heard that someone was deliberately occupying a seat, they became indignant.
Those who had been standing without a seat for several hours were especially furious, and some cursed Li Wanqing even more harshly than the middle-aged woman did.
Some people even tried to snatch the seat directly.
The commotion woke Nono, and when she saw the scene around her, she immediately burst into tears.
Li Wanqing reached behind her seat and pulled out a rolling pin.
Waving it around, she shouted, “I paid for this seat. If any of you dare to take it by force, I’ll report you to the police!”
At those words, some people backed down.
But the middle-aged woman who had been stirring up trouble sneered.
“Stop bragging! Who buys a separate seat for a child? You have money to burn, don’t you?”
A woman in her fifties who was sitting across from Li Wanqing became angry as well.
“Why do you care how other people spend their money? You’re the strange one here. You’ve been staring at that child from the moment you got on the train. You wouldn’t happen to be a human trafficker, would you?”
The middle-aged woman’s eyes narrowed, and the guilt on her face was obvious.
Most people in this era were still simple and honest. The moment they heard she might be a human trafficker, everyone began looking at the woman with suspicion.
The middle-aged woman panicked.
She immediately turned around, pushed through the crowd, and ran!
…….
The people who had been causing trouble instantly realized they had been used.
They no longer dared mention the seat.
Li Wanqing gave the woman across from her a grateful look.
“Thank you, Auntie, for helping me.”
As she spoke, she took a flatbread from her bundle and handed it over.
“I made this myself. If you don’t mind, please have one.”
The flatbread was slightly browned on both sides and looked delicious.
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony. My surname is Li. You can call me Auntie Li.”
Auntie Li smiled as she accepted the flatbread.
Five or six hours had passed since she boarded the train, and she was actually getting a little hungry.
She had brought food with her too, but it clearly didn’t look nearly as appetizing as this.
Li Wanqing’s eyes lit up.
“What a coincidence! My surname is Li too. Maybe if we traced our family trees back a few generations, we’d find out we were relatives!”
Auntie Li immediately laughed.
“That’s true!”
“It’s not easy for a woman to travel with a child by herself. Are you going to visit relatives?”
A hint of sadness flashed through Li Wanqing’s eyes.
“The child’s father is a soldier. He was seriously wounded, so I’m taking our daughter to see him.”
“She hasn’t even met her father once since she was born.”
Auntie Li immediately felt sorry for them.
“That’s how it is with soldiers. You never know what might happen to them one day…”
She didn’t continue.
Going on would only rub salt into Li Wanqing’s wounds.
“My son is also a soldier. I’m traveling this time to take care of my pregnant daughter-in-law.”
After steering the conversation away from the sad topic, the two women continued chatting.
Only then did they discover that Auntie Li’s son and Cheng Baichuan were actually stationed in the same military district.
“What a coincidence! You can’t even escape fate!”
Auntie Li happily patted her chest.
“Once you get to the military district, come find me if you need anything. Auntie will definitely help you.”
Li Wanqing readily agreed.
This could be considered her first acquaintance in the military compound.
The train ride from the provincial capital to Sichuan Province took nearly twenty hours.
Auntie Li was extremely kind. She helped entertain the child and even fetched hot water to mix Nono’s formula.
She was a tremendous help to Li Wanqing.
That night, the two women took turns resting.
Fortunately, they didn’t encounter anyone else looking for trouble along the way.
The train arrived at the Sichuan railway station at around ten the next morning.
Li Wanqing gathered her belongings, picked up her daughter, and got off the train.
“Wanqing, my son will be coming to pick me up later. Come with me.”
Auntie Li looked at her worriedly.
Li Wanqing shook her head.
“Someone should be coming to pick me up. Besides, I probably won’t go to the military district right away. I need to go to the hospital first.”
Auntie Li thought about it and felt that made sense.
“All right. Once you get to the military district, make sure you come find me.”
Li Wanqing nodded.
“I definitely will.”
Not long after they parted ways, Li Wanqing stood at the station exit with her daughter.
She waited for quite a while, but no one came over to ask for her.
Then she noticed a man in a green military uniform standing near the exit. He looked as though he was waiting for someone too.
Thinking she might as well ask him first, she approached him.
To her surprise, he really was there to pick her up.
“Are you Battalion Commander Cheng’s wife?”
Xiao Wu looked utterly astonished.
Then… the child in her arms had to be Battalion Commander Cheng’s daughter?
When had Battalion Commander Cheng gotten married?
This was explosive news!
He could guarantee he was the first person to find out.
Li Wanqing nodded, her face filled with concern.
“How is Cheng Baichuan? Will my daughter and I still be able to see him?”
Although she already knew that the man wasn’t dead, she still had to put on an appropriately worried expression in front of others.
At the mention of this, Xiao Wu looked a little embarrassed.
“Well… Battalion Commander Cheng woke up yesterday.”
Li Wanqing blinked.
That quickly?
Xiao Wu: “……What do you mean, that quickly? He’s been asleep for nearly two years!”
Two hours later, Xiao Wu brought Li Wanqing and her daughter to the hospital where the military district was located.
Cheng Baichuan was currently undergoing examinations.
Xiao Wu put their belongings down on the floor.
“Sister-in-law, you and the child rest for a while. I’ll go get you something to eat.”
Li Wanqing nodded and placed her daughter on the floor.
Over the past two days, the little girl had become steadier and steadier on her feet. She could barely sit still anymore.
After Xiao Wu left, Li Wanqing took a towel, wet it with some water, and wiped both her daughter’s face and her own.
After sitting on the train for so long, she felt like she was practically starting to smell.
When she returned after pouring out the water, she suddenly saw Nono hugging someone’s leg.
In a muffled little voice, she was calling out,
“Daddy…”