Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire-Chapter 83 - 77: Heading to Peng City
Chapter 83: Chapter 77: Heading to Peng City
Lu Jiaxin had timed her trip to the station perfectly, but upon reaching the waiting hall, she found it to be a sea of people, so packed that squeezing through was impossible. At times like this, she particularly missed the high-speed trains and airplanes.
Gu Wenfeng knew she couldn’t stay in crowded places, otherwise, she would feel uncomfortable, “Let’s sit outside for a while and come back when it’s time to check tickets.”
Looking at her watch, Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, “The ticket check will start in just over ten minutes. Let’s just wait here!”
After a pause, she explained, “I don’t get motion sickness on trains.”
In fact, she didn’t get motion sickness in cars within the Forty-nine City either, as long as the roads back home weren’t too bumpy, and the cars weren’t so crowded with people and passengers carrying poultry. The odor was too much for her to handle, and that’s what made her feel utterly nauseated.
While they were talking, the announcement for the Peng City train to start ticket checks and boarding was made. Because it was the starting station, passengers could board the train half an hour early, so there was no rush for them.
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After most of the passengers had entered the station, Lu Jiaxin and Gu Wenfeng headed to the ticket checkpoint. They were carrying quite a bit this time, including a change of clothes, two scrolls of calligraphy, an ink slab, biscuits, and fruit. But Gu Wenfeng was carrying all of these, while she only held a canvas bag.
The two tickets they purchased were for a lower and a middle berth. Upon finding their carriage, they discovered an elderly person sitting in their lower berth spot.
The old man said with a bit of embarrassment, “Young man, I have a ticket for the upper berth. But as you can see, at my age, it’s really inconvenient to climb up and down.”
“You have my word, I won’t take advantage of you. If you are willing to swap with me, besides paying the difference in the ticket price, I’ll give you an extra ten yuan as compensation.”
Lu Jiaxin, observing his white hair and the wrinkles across his face, estimated he was over sixty and immediately gave up the lower berth to him without a second word. She declined the compensation, but took the difference in the ticket price.
Having woken up early that day, Lu Jiaxin was really tired, so she climbed to the upper berth, exchanged a few words with Gu Wenfeng, and fell asleep. By the time the train started moving, she had already drifted into dreamland.
Meanwhile, Xue Mao finally arrived home. He had been sitting on the train for over thirty hours, and his rear was sore. The driver was friendly and dropped him off on Radiance Road, even helping to carry his belongings inside.
Xue Mao packed some fruit for the driver and accompanying staff, expressing his thanks again and again. Once he had seen them off, he immediately locked the door behind them, and according to Lu Jiaxin’s instructions, he placed the scrolls in a secret compartment in her wardrobe, and hid the ink stick and inkstone inside a vegetable cellar.
After stowing everything away, Xue Mao’s tense nerves finally relaxed, and following a shower, he went to bed.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
Loud knocking sounds woke Xue Mao from his sleep. Hearing Lu Jiajie calling from outside, Xue Mao yawned as he went to open the door.
The first thing Lu Jiajie said when he saw Xue Mao was, “What were you busy with in the Ancient Capital that you’re only returning now?”
He had assumed that Lu Jiaxin would return to the Forty-nine City at most ten days late, but it had been over half a month. Had it not been for calls from the eldest brother every two or three days, he would have had to go back to the Ancient Capital to search for them.
Xue Mao had already discussed this with Lu Jiaxin and replied with ease, “My biggest dream has always been to own my own house. To help fulfill my dream, Jiaxin bought me a house in the Ancient Capital. It was only that the house was too dilapidated, so we stayed back to find someone to repair it.”
Lu Jiajie didn’t know what to say, “Xue Mao, you should know that Jiaxin still relies on her dad for support. If my Third Uncle finds out, he might stop giving Jiaxin money.”
Xue Mao feigned helplessness, “Jiaxin said that having a house in the Ancient Capital is like having a root there. I was strongly against it, but she insisted on buying it. Brother Jie, you should know her temperament well; nobody can stop her once she’s made up her mind.”
Lu Jiajie was both anxious and annoyed, saying, “Third Uncle won’t give you the living expenses anymore, all the money is spent, how are you going to live in the future?”
Xue Mao was truly not worried, “Brother Jie, rest assured, even if Uncle doesn’t give us money, we can still support ourselves.”
Lu Jiajie frowned, “I know Jiaxin has money left over after buying the house, and I know you can make money with the snack stand. But she has developed a habit of spending money lavishly, what will she do when she gets married? Which family would dare to take such a daughter-in-law who spends money like water?”
Xue Mao didn’t like hearing this, “Sister does spend a bit more, but she has never wasted it on nonsense, it’s all spent where it should be. Also, Sister is very good at making money, she doesn’t need to spend a man’s money.”
Seeing Xue Mao still wholeheartedly defending Lu Jiaxin, Lu Jiajie felt weary.
Xue Mao then asked about Second Uncle Lu and His Wife, and upon hearing they had already gone back, he was quite surprised, “Weren’t they here to see Qiangqiang and Xiaofeng? Why did they leave so soon?”
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Mainly because a trip to the Forty-nine City isn’t easy, so once here, they should ideally stay a bit longer. Their quick departure didn’t make sense.
Lu Jiajie maintained a calm facade and said, “The cow back home got sick, that cow is my dad’s lifeline. Once they got the call from home they hurried back in a panic.”
Xue Mao responded with an “oh” and couldn’t help but yawn.
Lu Jiajie asked, “Why are you so sleepy, was someone noisy on the train and you couldn’t sleep well?”
Last time, Jiaxin bought a hard seat because she didn’t have money, but surely she must have bought a sleeper ticket for her return trip. In general, taking a sleeper should be more comfortable unless you’re unlucky enough to run into some weirdo.
Xue Mao shook his head, indicating he had come back by hitchhiking; sitting for over thirty hours left not only his butt sore, but his whole skeleton felt like it had fallen apart.
Lu Jiajie said in surprise, “Why did you even hitchhike back?”
Before, Lu Jiaxin had told him that she doesn’t get motion sick on trains, only on buses. Jiaxin isn’t someone who likes to rough it; hitchhiking doesn’t sound like her.
Xue Mao told the truth, as it would come out soon anyway, “Sister didn’t come back; she went to Peng City with Brother Gu, and it will be a while before she returns.”
“What is she doing in Peng City?”
Lu Jiaxin had already thought out her story, and Xue Mao just said what she taught him, “Sister bought a painting at the antique market. She believes it’s genuine, but it couldn’t fetch a good price in the Ancient Capital. She heard that Peng City has many Hong Kong people, who are generous spenders, so she took the painting there to sell.”
Lu Jiajie stared dumbfounded, then snapped back to reality and became anxious, “Just buying a painting from some street stall and thinking it’s genuine, then running all the way to Peng City with the hopes of selling it to Hong Kong people. If it really gets sold and they discover it’s a fake and call the police, Jiaxin could end up in jail.”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. And here Brother was saying that she has become sensible and acts with measure, yet she ends up doing something foolish.
Xue Mao said, “Brother Jie, those rich folks aren’t fools; they will definitely confirm the authenticity of the item before they buy.”
Although they both believed the item was genuine, having it appraised by an expert would be more reassuring. If it weren’t for Lu Jiaxin wanting to make a killing to secure the next five years of her life, he wouldn’t have agreed to sell the painting.
Lu Jiajie was not in the mood to listen to him and left in a hurry.
