CHAPTER 316: CHAPTER 316: ON THE TRAIN

Since Lin Xue still had things to talk about with Bai Rumei, she wanted Bai Rumei to join them. If it was someone else, she felt that she wouldn’t want them to come over.

Because she saw that the two aunts were both looking this way, and their gazes clearly showed their desire to come over.

"Zhang Yuan, why don’t you go over with them! It’s just right, they’re in the compartment next door to us! We’re just one wall apart!" Lin Xue realized that Bai Rumei, along with her siblings, had come to the compartment next to theirs. She looked at Zhang Yuan, "Look! Besides you, we’re all girls here!"

"Alright!" Zhang Yuan smiled indulgently and walked toward the adjacent compartment. After all, he already had his wife; it wouldn’t hurt to spend a moment apart, especially when he’d be able to hold her in his arms every night once they were back.

In the end, Bai Rumei brought Bai Ruyue over too, making this compartment fully occupied.

The two aunts pursed their lips and found seats elsewhere. However, they were still quite intrigued by everything, having spent half their lives without ever taking a train before; they found it fascinating that there were beds where one could sleep.

Unlike these country folks, the Zhang Family members immediately headed for the seats at the farthest corner when they got on the train. They didn’t want to communicate with others at all, and each found a place to lie down.

This journey was indeed quite tiring. It was with great difficulty that they boarded the train, and they wanted to have a good sleep.

The train was in the afternoon, and not long after they boarded, it got dark. Two boxed meals were provided during the day, and with the dark of night arriving, so did hunger.

First, they collected money and gave tickets, then began distributing the boxed meals according to the number of meals purchased.

"Come, come, come! Hurry if you want to buy a boxed meal! They’ll be gone in a moment!" The older female attendant shouted at the top of her lungs, and the whole compartment heard it loud and clear.

Originally, they had eaten before boarding the train, so they weren’t supposed to be hungry yet. Lin Xue had planned to sleep and didn’t even get up.

But her uncle’s wife, Feng Minghua, was the first to express her discontent, grumbling in a low voice.

Then the two aunts craned their necks towards the train attendant, who surely thought they wanted to buy meals, walked over to them, and extended a hand, "Boxed meal? Twenty cents a serving!"

Eldest Aunt was a bit embarrassed, shook her head, and then looked towards Lin Xue’s direction, only to see that she hadn’t reacted at all, eyes closed, causing Bai Dajuan to sit back down with a gloomy expression.

"I don’t know what Xiao Xue is thinking, isn’t she going to let us have dinner?" Bai Damei whispered seeing the situation.

Just loud enough for two people to hear, since they were occupying the lower bunk, it was convenient for them to talk.

"Who knows, what else are we supposed to eat if not the boxed meals on this long journey? Did you bring any dry food?" Bai Dajuan also complained.

"Dry food? Where’s the time for that! We weren’t even told in advance that we’d be going to the Capital City, I wasn’t prepared for anything!" Bai Damei looked at her luggage, just a small bag, depending entirely on others for the journey.

Above them were the few children from their second uncle’s house and two from the eldest uncle’s house. With sharp ears, they overheard the two adults’ conversation and unceremoniously chimed in.

"Didn’t we eat before getting on the train? And didn’t everyone get a pack of biscuits too! I haven’t even finished my biscuits yet, I’m full and not hungry at all!"

It was the little girl from the eldest uncle’s family speaking. Although she was only ten years old this year, she had been raised by Feng Minghua to always speak directly to adults without leaving any dignity for them, and she spoke unreservedly.

"Yeah! I’m not hungry either, still haven’t eaten the biscuits!" echoed the little son from the second uncle’s family, speaking in a soft, cute voice.

"What do kids know!" Bai Dajuan glared at them.

The train attendant didn’t care about all that; if you don’t want to buy, there are plenty of others who do.

She just didn’t expect that people in a sleeper car couldn’t afford a meal.

Zhang Yuan had heard clearly, he was initially thinking of not getting involved, but fearing his wife hadn’t heard, he quietly informed Lin Xue.

Lin Xue shook her head, got up, and ordered thirty-nine boxed meals.

Not to mention these twenty-cent boxed meals, she had even taken them to the Capital City, so how could she possibly be short of boxed meals for this journey?

Once the two aunts had their boxed meals in their hands, they finally brightened up, feeling they had benefited from this long trip.

Eating a boxed meal with two dishes twice a day, they were sure to eat even better once they reached the Capital City. By the time they returned, they thought they might be plumper.

In fact, apart from a few curious children, no one else was really hungry, and what did people eat at home every day anyway? Wasn’t it just porridge with pickles?

They had already had two meals of solid food that day and such delicious dishes too. Combined with eating meat at the feast before they got on the train and another meal before departure, it wouldn’t matter even if they didn’t eat for a whole day tomorrow.

But they couldn’t resist a couple of demanding ones, like the two aunts and Feng Minghua, these three women were more eager than the children and were already eating the boxed meals.

The five elders all said they weren’t hungry and couldn’t eat; also, those who missed their families back home weren’t hungry at all, so they didn’t eat.

Lin Xue couldn’t skip them when buying boxed meals and had to buy per person and distribute them. As a result, meals that weren’t eaten went to waste.

Fortunately, when the attendant came over to collect the lunch boxes and saw so many people hadn’t touched theirs, she suggested they not waste them and keep them for later when hungry. The lunch boxes could be sent back later.

A few grown men had large appetites, so those uneaten boxes were finished by a few men in the evening, along with a few older children.

Eating the boxed meals may seem ordinary, even not very tasty to Lin Xue and her family, but for those who rarely traveled and whose homes lacked any good food, it felt like a celebration.

Seeing that their grandparents hadn’t eaten in the evening, Lin Xue secretly took out some pastries from her space, then took out tea leaves to brew them some tea to go with the snacks.

This was noticed by Feng Minghua, who craned her neck to look over. But having just eaten two boxed meals, she was truly too full to eat more; however, it didn’t mean she wasn’t eyeing those fragrant pastries.

She got up and went to find her young daughter and son, instructing them to butter up their grandparents to save her some of those pastries for later in case she got hungry.

Lin Xue saw everything and wasn’t upset; folks scrambling for a bite to eat didn’t even compare to her level. This might be the last time they’d meet, and they might never see each other again, so she just let them do as they liked!

Sometimes she couldn’t figure out how the same Niu Family could have someone as odd as her third aunt, yet she turned out so well, not inheriting any of her mother’s odd quirks at all.

Looking at the two aunts now, their eyes are as shifty as ever, thinking only about food. In contrast, the third aunt calmly played with her son, took a break when he slept, or chatted quietly with the person next to her. Looking so elegant, no one could guess she was from a rural background.

The most diligent among them all was Lin Shan, who started reading a book as soon as he got on the train. Once it got dark, he took out the small flashlight his sister bought him, continuing to read. Those unaware might think he was preparing for college.

Lin Chuan didn’t have such leisure; without eating, he fell asleep, snoring away.

Indeed, these past few days were most tiring for the two brothers; as boys in the family, they had to run around doing all sorts of chores. How could they not be exhausted?