Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 140 On the Car

Yang Peijun saw her in this condition and began rummaging through his luggage, pulling out a porcelain water jar for her. "Here, use this instead of spitting on the floor." It was actually Yang PeiMin who, after much deliberation, decided to bring the cup. After all, she wasn’t accustomed to drinking from a cup others had used, and since she had already mailed the heavy dried fruits, she was now only carrying her clothing with her on the road and could still manage.

Yang PeiMin looked at him admiringly. It was thoughtful of him to come up with that idea, but it was also nauseating. She quickly waved her hands, asking him to put it back.

Yang Peijun hesitated for a moment, looking at her once or twice without putting the jar down. "Never mind, I’ll hold on to it for you, in case you need it in a hurry."

Yang PeiMin leaned back in her seat, feeling too weak to criticize. She covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, with no desire to speak. Her stomach felt like it was in rebellion, and the rural bus stopped at each station, constantly loading and unloading passengers. The inertia from the stops and starts tormented her.

The Yang Family spoke in loud voices. When Yang Peijun spoke these last two sentences without any attempt to conceal them, nearby passengers could not help but overhear and started laughing.

"This lad is honest. He’s even brought a water jar on the trip."

"That’s right, the young lady is lucky."

Yang Peihua quickly explained to the person who spoke from behind, "She’s my younger sister."

"Oh, they’re siblings? No wonder they look somewhat alike."

Yang Peihua did indeed bear some resemblance to Yang PeiMin, but with facial features more like Yang Dahai, dark skin, and a brawny physique, it was hard to discern the similarities in their facial features without looking carefully.

Once the extroverted Yang Peihua started talking, it was somewhat difficult for him to stop.

"Uncle and Auntie, where are you heading?"

"Our daughter married into the county town and just had a grandchild. My spouse and I caught a couple of our home-raised chickens to bring them over for some nourishment," they explained, signaling to Yang Peijun with the chicken in hand.

Good heavens, no wonder she had smelled chicken droppings. Yang PeiMin couldn’t help but crack open the window again...

Yang Peihua chatted away with the fellow rural passengers during the journey, even mentioning that his sister was going to T city to visit relatives.

Yang PeiMin: "..."

When they arrived at the county town and got off, Yang Peihua still seemed to have more to say.

"Our rural folks are all genuine."

Yang PeiMin got off the bus and immediately covered her mouth, dry-heaving twice. Fortunately, she had managed to hold it in during the ride. After a moment to recover, she felt better. Hearing Yang Peijun’s comment, she couldn’t help but look at him speechlessly.

They were now to take another bus to the city.

This time, they were on a long-distance coach, a two-hour journey. Yet, having bought their tickets, they still had to wait, and it took about an hour before they could board.

By the time they reached the city, it was already 11 AM.

Yang PeiMin had asked around for the train schedules, which seemed to run three times a day. She hurriedly bought their tickets; the departure was at two in the afternoon. Holding the tickets in hand, she felt a sense of resolve, now able to think of other things.

Like going to get something to eat.

Yang Peijun pointed to her bundle, saying, "Your mother-in-law packed you a dozen or so steamed buns and stuffed buns. We can just make do with those. Besides, your mother-in-law’s buns are really substantial, lots of meat in them, they have a good taste. I gulped down eight this morning, and I can still eat a few more," he said, his face expressing his craving.

Yang PeiMin knew he wanted to save money for her, as she had seen his astonishment when she took out more than ten yuan to buy the tickets.

She laughed and shook her head, "I don’t want to eat this, let’s go find a restaurant and order a couple of dishes to go with rice. I can’t let you come all this way and have you return on an empty stomach. Come on, don’t dawdle like an old woman."

Yang Peijun was provoked to speechlessness and gave her a look, "I see you’ve got money now."

They found a state-owned restaurant near the train station.

Yang PeiMin, worried that he might still be concerned about his wallet, said, "Your sister was a substitute teacher for a few months, so I’m someone who earns a salary too. Whatever you feel like eating later, just order it. Don’t worry about saving on my account."

Yang Peihua’s smile nearly split his face.

"Basking in little sister’s light," he then sighed. They were close in age, just two years apart. When they were kids, they had gotten into plenty of verbal tiffs, and the original owner loved to tattle. When Zhang Minghua unfairly twisted his ear, he often wished he could toss his little sister into the river. He bitterly thought that with her temperament, she’d do well not to get married at all.

Little did he expect that after her illness last year, she struggled back from the brink of death and seemed to have become a different person — more sensible, sweeter, and obediently married to a promising soldier. She even managed her in-law’s relationships well, as evidenced by her mother-in-law getting up early to make breakfast for her.

Recently, she even persuaded their mother and Huang Yingzi to start the caramel business. Their father had no choice but to let the women try, but they were surprised when it truly took off, bringing in ten or so yuan in income a month.

Thanks to that engagement, in less than three months, they would be able to pay off their debts to the production team, and this month, the food at home had improved. They even had meat once, prompting their mother to remind everyone to be grateful to big sister but not to mention outside that she brought back the recipe since her in-laws didn’t have it either.

Then he said, from the bottom of his heart.

Hearing this, Yang PeiMin rolled her eyes at him, "Enough talk, just eat your fill and quit your yammering."

With her big-eater brother around, Yang PeiMin wasn’t worried about leftovers. She ordered several dishes to her liking, knowing that Yang Peijun would just nod in agreement. As long as there was meat, he’d nod anyway.

Roasted chicken, braised fish, roasted pork knuckle, stir-fried pork slices with vegetables, and some small wontons, plus a vegetarian dish. Yang PeiMin, having had her fill of eggs, was really hankering for meat.

The two siblings ate their way through more than two yuan’s worth of food, almost having to waddle out with their hands on their waists.

Yang Peijun even marveled, "This is the best meal I’ve had in my life."

Yang PeiMin disagreed, "How old are you to be saying ’in your life’? The good days are still ahead."

Yang Peijun, thinking of something, also nodded his head, "You’re right, I’m about to become a father soon. I’ll be depending on my son in the future."

Yang PeiMin: "..."

They returned to the train station to wait.

She had bought a sleeper, and buying a train ticket required an introduction letter. As for soft-sleeper or anything first-class, ordinary people without a rank couldn’t buy those.

She gave Yang Peijun the money for his return trip and boarded the train.

Finding her spot, it was a lower berth; she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

Then her need for cleanliness kicked in, and she pulled a bedsheet from her bundle to spread out before sitting down.

"Oh my, Yang, what a coincidence to run into you here."

There was actually someone she knew on the train.

Yang PeiMin quickly turned around to look.

It was Qiao Ying.