Chapter 122: A Failed Attempt at Trickery
When Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang returned to the carriage, it was lively inside.
“Boxed meals! Boxed meals! Today’s menu is one meat dish and two vegetable dishes—stir-fried pork belly with beans, braised winter melon, and cold cucumber salad!”
“Beer, cigarettes, peanuts, sunflower seeds, soda! Free hot water! Beer, cigarettes, peanuts, sunflower seeds, soda! Free hot water… Comrade, please move your foot back a bit, careful not to get burned.”
The passengers with standing tickets were irritated, but didn’t dare to complain.
Xu Huazhang asked Mu Lantu if he wanted to play chess.
Mu Lantu shook his head. The hard seats were already uncomfortable enough—he didn’t want to wear out his brain cells too.
The train was crowded, and there weren’t many topics they could chat about. Since Xu Huazhang couldn’t keep him entertained, he pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds for him. Cracking seeds gave him something to do, so he wouldn’t be bored.
Mu Lantu had 005 turn on a TV drama—The Sea in My Dreams. A period drama, quite fitting for the mood.
Xu Huazhang continued reading his book.
Once the meal cart and snack trolley had passed, the carriage gradually quieted down. Some passengers ate, while others nodded off.
The broadcast came on:
“Next stop, Dongshun Station. Passengers getting off, please take your belongings and disembark in an orderly manner. The train will stop here for three minutes. Next stop…”
The train slowed until it came to a stop.
As soon as it halted, the carriage turned into a steamer—hot and stuffy. Adults grumbled while children cried.
Outside the windows, the rumble of cart wheels approached.
“Boiled eggs, cold noodles, fried cakes, fried twists, sticky rice sticks! Boiled eggs, cold noodles…”
“Huazhang, do you want fried cakes, twists, or sticky rice sticks?”
Xu Huazhang looked into his sparkling eyes with gentle amusement—did he just want an excuse to get off and stretch his legs?
“Sure.”
“Wait here, I’ll buy some for you.”
Mu Lantu perked up and left with a spring in his step. He returned satisfied, carrying half a jin each of fried twists, fried cakes, fried crullers, and sticky rice sticks.
Nearby passengers looked on in disbelief. What a spender.
“There are both salty and sweet twists. I tried them—they’re very crisp.”
“Alright, I’ll eat later. I’m full for now.” Xu Huazhang opened his bag for him to put the food inside.
“Brother Mu, Brother Xu.”
Miao Jiaze showed up again, bringing two bananas.
Mu Lantu used the paper bag from the sunflower seeds to pack him a handful of sticky rice sticks.
“Why are you here again?” Xu Huazhang asked.
Miao Jiaze crunched down a few sticks. “Brother Zhang and Comrade Xiao Zhang just got on the train!”
Mu Lantu was surprised. “That’s good. How did they catch up? By car?”
“Yes. Not sure about the details. I just said hi and came to find you guys. Want to go hang out? Let Brother Xu watch the luggage, hehe!”
Xu Huazhang shot him a look.
Mu Lantu also wanted to go join.
“Huazhang?”
Xu Huazhang handed him a packet of sunflower seeds and his water bottle. Eating too many seeds made one thirsty.
Mu Lantu slung the bottle over his shoulder and left with Miao Jiaze.
The train started again.
Aside from Xu Huazhang, Du Xuewen, and Yan Xuan (Du Xuewen was also left behind to watch the luggage, and Yan Xuan probably hadn’t been notified), all the other Educated Youths from the Dongfanghong brigade were gathered at the junction between Carriages 8 and 9. Zhang Guodong and Zhang Jingxian were surrounded in the middle.
Miao Jiaze squeezed in. “Brother Zhang, great you caught up! Where’d you find a car?”
Zhang Jingxian’s cold cheeks flushed faintly pink.
Zhang Guodong said with relief, “Thanks to Comrade Tang Mingjie. We didn’t have time to return to the brigade, so I thought of asking the Educated Youth Office for help. Jingxian and I were on our way there when we ran into him. Once he learned our situation, he immediately accompanied us, helped get us a new letter of introduction from the office, and borrowed a car from a comrade at the police station. He drove us to Dongshun Station and waited for the train in advance.”
“Comrade Tang Mingjie?” Yue Xiaoying hesitated. “If I’m not mistaken, isn’t he Aunt Chunhua’s nephew?”
“Yes.” Zhang Guodong felt greatly relieved. Today’s misfortune might actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
He knew Tang Mingjie had liked Jingxian since their first meeting at the Chen family’s. Later they bumped into each other twice more.
In the car, Tang Mingjie had confessed directly, and Jingxian seemed to like him too. They exchanged contact information. Unless something unexpected happened, Tang Mingjie would become his brother-in-law.
The Zhang family used to be well-off, but times had changed. Tang Mingjie’s family background was clean and reliable. If Jingxian married him, Zhang Guodong would have nothing to worry about.
“Thank you all for your concern. We should find seats now,” Zhang Guodong said.
Actually, he still owed Xu Huazhang money and hadn’t been willing to buy tickets—this was just an excuse. Fearing trouble with their letter of introduction again, he didn’t want to sit with the others.
Mu Lantu went with Miao Jiaze to where he and Du Xuewen were, played a while, then strolled back.
A female comrade stood beside Xu Huazhang. Mu Lantu quickened his pace.
“Comrade, I feel carsick. Could I sit inside for a bit?” she asked boldly, meeting Xu Huazhang’s gaze.
Everyone nearby knew what was going on, smirking with amusement.
Mu Lantu, now closer, didn’t approach right away. He leaned casually against another seat, arms folded, watching the back of Xu Huazhang’s head with interest.
Since he had left earlier, Xu Huazhang had been sitting on the aisle seat, leaving the inside empty to prevent others from taking it. He now silently shifted inside and placed both backpacks on the aisle seat.
The woman reached for the bags.
Mu Lantu strode over. Xu Huazhang looked at her coldly, his gaze utterly devoid of warmth.
Startled, the woman withdrew her hand, her smile stiff.
“Don’t misunderstand, I just wanted to sit for a while.”
“Comrade,” Mu Lantu said lightly, “if you’re carsick, it’s better to find a train attendant.”
Another handsome man appeared in front of her. Liao Qingqing’s head spun for a moment. “No need to make a fuss, I’ll just get some air.”
Mu Lantu nodded. “I can tell it’s not serious—otherwise you wouldn’t have been standing this long without issue.”
Someone chuckled.
Liao Qingqing ignored it, her gaze moving between Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang.
Mu Lantu’s voice cooled. “Could you step aside? That’s my seat.”
She stepped back. “Comrades, you two are together? Where are you headed?”
Xu Huazhang closed his book.
Mu Lantu asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Noisy,” Xu Huazhang replied.
Liao Qingqing’s face darkened. These men had no manners!
Mu Lantu said, “Let Uncle Yalikun watch our luggage. We’ll go walk around another carriage?”
With a haughty snort, Liao Qingqing marched off.
Xu Huazhang put away his book and peeled a banana for Mu Lantu.
“What was that about?”
“Tang Mingjie helped them,” Mu Lantu said. “Eat this one too. Bananas spoil quickly.”
Xu Huazhang obeyed. “So, did you figure out what happened?”
“No.” Mu Lantu asked, “Who do you think it was?”
“Hard to say. We don’t know those people well. Neither of those siblings are the type to make enemies easily.”
Mu Lantu couldn’t think of a suspect either—maybe only the Zhang siblings knew for sure.
The afternoon passed tolerably, but the night was brutal.
Passengers in hard seats could only doze against the table or seat backs, waking stiff and sore.
After barely five minutes of sleep, the attendants suddenly shouted loudly:
“Wake up, everyone! Wake up! Next stop is… Passengers getting off, please prepare in advance…”
They went shouting from one end of the train to the other, filling it with complaints.
The attendants were wronged too. They weren’t trying to wake people up on purpose, but worried passengers might miss their stops. And with so many pickpockets on board, they couldn’t guarantee everyone’s property safety—so they had to wake people periodically.
Mu Lantu grew irritable, drifting in and out of sleep countless times. Every time he finally nodded off, he was woken within two minutes by the diligent shouts of the train attendants.
When exhaustion hit, he felt like collapsing anywhere, even on the floor. That’s how he felt now.
Xu Huazhang couldn’t help either. Some things couldn’t be solved with money. The whole situation had been too sudden—otherwise, he would’ve arranged sleeper tickets ahead of time.
Xu Huazhang even offered to stand so Mu Lantu could stretch out and sleep on the seat.
Mu Lantu refused. It was just one night—he could endure.
[Host, someone’s watching you and Brother Xu. Probably a pickpocket.]
Mu Lantu snapped awake but didn’t open his eyes.
Xu Huazhang shifted slightly.
“So sharp—worthy of being my man,” Mu Lantu thought proudly, discreetly poking his thigh.
Xu Huazhang stilled.
After a while, faint steps approached, along with a faint stench—the smell of someone who’d smoked heavily for years.
The aura drew closer. Even though the man moved quietly, Mu Lantu could sense his position by the fluctuation of the smell. The figure carefully pulled something from his pocket…
A dagger?
“Pssst!”
A faint hissing sound. Mu Lantu held his breath. As a hand reached out, he seized the wrist, eyes snapping open with a cold, dangerous gleam.
The pickpocket—a thin man, nearly thirty, ordinary-looking—stared at him in shock, then glanced around nervously. With his free hand, he pulled a dagger and snarled: “Let go! Or you’ll regret it!”
Mu Lantu twisted his wrist. The man cried out in pain, dropping the dagger, which Mu Lantu pinned underfoot.
The whole carriage stirred awake.
“What’s going on?”
“Looks like they caught a thief!”
“A thief?”
“I’ll go get the attendants,” Xu Huazhang said.
Mu Lantu nodded, staring into the thief’s eyes. “Who sent you?”
If the man had simply picked them out as rich based on clothing, Xu Huazhang in the aisle would’ve been the easier target. But the thief had bypassed him for Mu Lantu inside—that wasn’t normal.
He had reason to believe the thief had been directed by someone.
