Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 792 - 666: Heading North

Along the way, the further north the train traveled, the fewer passengers boarded and disembarked at the stops. Zhang Guoqing’s family, along with the Wang father and son, left the county early in the morning, arrived at the provincial station, and then boarded the train with their tickets. By then, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Taking advantage of the sparse passengers, after dinner, Mr. Wang lay down on an empty seat to rest. Uncle Wang leaned over considerately, but got a glare from him, which made Zhou Jiao chuckle to herself.

Fortunately, there were few people; otherwise, carrying a large sum of money while traveling, Uncle Wang would have been even more nervous. She couldn’t forget how on the bus from the county to the provincial city, Old Wang kept a constant watch on Mr. Wang’s right side.

"Alright, we don’t even know if we’ll arrive in the second half of the night, you should rest for a while too."

"Dad, after we get off this train, what do we do next? How do we get to senior brother’s in the middle of the night?"

Mr. Wang waved his hand, "Don’t worry, once he receives the telegram, he’ll be at Meihekou waiting for us. Just pay attention to the station names so you don’t miss it."

"Alright, go back to sleep."

Zhang Guoqing saw that it was still early. He looked at his son sleeping in his arms and gestured with his hands to indicate that he’d be watching, letting Uncle Wang go to sleep first.

After getting off the train, they still had to take a bus and then transfer to a horse carriage—quite a hassle. Judging by the train’s snail-like pace and all these small stops along the way, they might reach their destination just as the dawn breaks.

In the latter half of the night, after Ping’an woke up and both father and son visited the toilet, they specially consulted the attendant. As expected, they would arrive at their destination at around three or four in the morning, just before dawn.

Back in the carriage, when Zhou Jiao drowsily opened her eyes to look at them father and son, and then fell asleep again, Zhang Guoqing felt both amused and exasperated.

Before coming, he had learned from Mr. Wang that they needed to transfer, so he planned to leave Zhou Jiao with their son at home to wait for him. However, both mother and son simultaneously refused. Now they knew what it was like to suffer, didn’t they?

The just-awake Mr. Wang gestured him in to catch some sleep as well.

Zhang Guoqing nodded and gently patted the child in his arms before closing his eyes. It was the deep night, and the rhythmic "clank-clank" of the train, along with the snores in the carriage, gradually coaxed him to sleep.

He didn’t know how long he had slept. He was dreaming of a ginseng larger than a radish when Zhou Jiao suddenly woke him with a pat. He regretfully shook his head, "Arrived?"

Zhou Jiao looked at him with concern, "Are you very tired?"

"No, I was having a beautiful dream..." Zhang Guoqing hadn’t finished speaking when he heard Mr. Wang call for him from the front. He quickly responded, shouldered his luggage, carried his son, and pulled his wife along as they walked out.

"No hurry, the doors haven’t opened yet."

Zhang Guoqing nodded with a smile.

"Put an extra coat on the child, it’s cold outside."

Zhang Guoqing took the clothes handed to him by Zhou Jiao and wrapped them around the child, "Grandpa Wang, when we reach the station, should we hold up a sign?"

Mr. Wang laughed and shook his head, "No need! With this group of ours getting off, unless he’s blind, he’ll surely spot us. Seven or eight years ago when I came, that kid used a horse carriage for pickup. I don’t know how he’s arranged it this time."

"Alright, you handle it." Zhang Guoqing didn’t bother to inquire where the person worked now, or how far his home was from the future well-known Shen City; they would see as they went.

As they left the station, the sky had already begun to brighten. Not far away, a middle-aged man, upon seeing their group, immediately raised both hands and waved, striding quickly towards them.

"Here!" Mr. Wang burst into hearty laughter upon seeing the person.

"Uncle, you finally made it. I arrived a bit early, what took you so long? Are you starving? There’s some dry food in the car, and I just fetched some hot water. Come, let’s get in the car first and talk."

The man was tall and strong; unless you noticed his gait and the way he subtly sized up others with sharp eyes, you would think he was just an ordinary farmer.

Mr. Wang patted his shoulder with a smile, following him outside, "How’s the family?"

"Very well. Uncle, stay a few more days this time, I’ve prepared plenty of good wine."

"Has your master gone out again?"

"I knew I couldn’t hide it from you. Even if he’s not home, how much wine can there be..."

The two walked shoulder to shoulder in front, talking and laughing heartily, while Zhang Guoqing and Uncle Wang shook their heads behind them. Talking about wine certainly made the old man happy.

A horse carriage was parked not far by the roadside, with a piece of blue coarse cloth tied outside the compartment. When they reached it, Mr. Wang instructed Zhang Guoqing’s family of three to enter with Boss Wang, while he and his apprentice drove at the front.

That "apprentice" pointed to a bundle inside the compartment, smiling, "It’s all yours, the water’s in the kettle."

After repeatedly voicing his thanks, Zhang Guoqing let Zhou Jiao go in first, then placed their child onto the quilt inside the carriage, before pulling the always courteous Uncle Wang into the car as well.

Perhaps this vehicle often carried people, or maybe it was for another reason. The carriage interior was exceptionally spacious, and the few of them inside didn’t feel cramped at all.

Once they were all seated securely, with a shout and a flick of the whip from the "apprentice" outside, the horse carriage set off on the dirt road. As they exited the city, the road grew uneven, and those inside the carriage were bumped up and down; yet Ping’an, who had slipped into dreamland, remained completely unaware and slept soundly.

Uncle Wang, who was also accompanying the child, fell asleep as well. He probably hadn’t slept soundly on the train either; now that he relaxed, he quickly started to snore softly with the carriage’s sway.

Zhou Jiao slowly climbed up to lean against the carriage, subtly rubbing her waist which had nearly been shaken to the breaking point earlier.

Listening to the loud conversation between Mr. Wang and his apprentice driver at the front, the couple exchanged bitter smiles and shook their heads. For the next three-plus-hour carriage ride, forget about sleeping, even staying intact was a challenge.

After more than half an hour, the boisterous conversation at the front gradually quieted. Through the carriage window, many woods appeared wherever they went, and further in the distance were continuous mountain ranges.

"...Lin Quan, how much have you collected?"

"Uncle, why do you need so much? I didn’t ask, but you ought to pace yourself. Why spend money on these things? If we went up the mountain together, would we come back with any less?"

Maybe Mr. Wang gave him a look, because the man laughed, "Alright, alright, I’ll just say it. I’ve notified familiar old hunters and ginseng-picking teams around us to save anything precious for me. However, I promised a few of them that the prices of their three-hundred-year wild ginseng would be higher than the purchase station prices. Is that okay?"

Mr. Wang must have thumped something, making a thudding sound, "Don’t worry about the price, just make sure the goods are good. The only thing is, don’t spread it around too much."

"You’re underestimating me, Uncle. Am I that foolish? Besides, those old guys also emphasized keeping this quiet, for fear of criticism if people found out.

Uncle, since the establishment of the people’s commune, even they can’t take long leaves for mountain trips, and many things have risen a lot in price. Think it over when you get back."

Mr. Wang: "No need to think! My patch of land has gone up a lot too. What’s the price of the under-forest ginseng from breeding farms now?"

"Why are you even asking about that? Small years and weak medicinal effects might fool the unknowing. I heard from an old buddy that thirty-year-old under-forest ginseng fetches over twenty, but what’s the use of that? The prices of our wild ginseng have been significantly inflated by those breeding farms."