Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 141: Changing the Bed

She stood on the bunk across the corridor, walking over to Yang PeiMin’s bed as she spoke.

"This is a trip to where?"

She was dressed in military uniform, looking sharp and spirited.

Yang PeiMin stood up and gestured for her to sit, looking at her and couldn’t help but exclaim, "It’s meeting an old friend in a foreign land."

Qiao Ying let out a snort of laughter, "The train hasn’t even started yet, so you’re a bit early with that sentiment." She made herself at home, sitting on Yang PeiMin’s bunk without ceremony.

"You brought your own bedsheet?" Qiao Ying glanced beneath her, then looked at Yang PeiMin again with a surprised expression on her face.

Since that performance they met at, Qiao Ying had been eager to learn about makeup from her, but as Yang PeiMin had returned to Da’an Town and she herself seemed to be constantly performing, the little she learned from Yang PeiMin left her itching with curiosity. Hence, she took to pen and paper as she had said she would, and started writing letters to her.

About one or two letters a month, and she had already sent three. Qiao Ying really wanted to make friends with Yang PeiMin, and upon learning that she was also a military family member, her enthusiasm grew even more. She shared her own situation and her interest in makeup in the letters.

Back and forth, the two had developed a bit of a friendship.

Yang PeiMin sat down too, raising an eyebrow, "I have some quirks."

Qiao Ying examined her face closely and laughed, "Could it be the legendary obsession with cleanliness?"

"Spot on!"

They chatted and joked for a short while and then inquired about each other’s destinations.

"It seems we’re destined to cross paths. We’re going to the same place for a training session." Qiao Ying’s eyes sparkled with excitement. "If it’s in the same military region, it would be great to have company."

Yang PeiMin nodded in agreement, feeling the same longing; she too wanted someone to talk to. Shen Yiguang wouldn’t always be there to accompany her in the dormitory. But Qiao Ying was coming over for work after all, where would she find the time to idle away? Yang PeiMin had her doubts.

"Last time, that eyebrow tip you mentioned, the standard three-point-one-line method, I just can’t seem to grasp it. You’ll have to demonstrate it for me again when you arrive."

They had barely exchanged a few words when someone who seemed to be Qiao Ying’s comrade called out to her.

"I’ll be right back."

Yang PeiMin urged her to go quickly.

After Qiao Ying left, Yang PeiMin also took out the steamed buns and stuffed buns from her bag, which Chen Guizhi had insisted she take in case she got hungry,

together there were about twenty, each the size of an adult’s fist. She could only eat two before feeling full. Before boarding, she had given half to Yang Peijun, telling him to take them back. If she couldn’t finish them, it would be wasteful, and with the weather, they wouldn’t last long. If she couldn’t finish them today and didn’t want them tomorrow, it would truly be extravagant.

Reflecting on her journey so far, if there was one significant insight she had gained, it was the preciousness of food.

She took the food out and placed it to the side so as not to speed up the spoiling process, took a few sips of water from a bottle, and planned to wash her hands. But that wasn’t practical at the moment, so she bore the discomfort on her hands and took out a handkerchief, wiping them a few times to make do.

She reshaped her bundle into a pillow, planning to doze off when sleepiness overtook her, as she was unsure whether Qiao Ying would come by later. Lying down and then having to get up again would indeed not be a graceful sight...

She took off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the bunk, and by now the train had started moving. The opposite bunk and the top bunk both had occupants.

The people on the top bunk were a couple with a child. The husband sat on a small stool in the aisle while the wife went up and down with the child, taking care of drinks and other needs. Yang PeiMin moved to the other side and took out another clean handkerchief, thinking of making a mask or something.

The smell in the train carriage was really... the odor of removed shoes, body sweat, and leek dumplings... but even more glaring was the young couple sitting opposite her, subtly flaunting their affection...

She was so bored now, wanting to play on her phone, listen to music, eat snacks... but none of these were available.

She didn’t know where to rest her gaze. The young wife opposite was wiping her husband’s sweat and whispering in his ear, then softly giggling. After wiping, she even called to her husband to take out some food to eat, and while eating an apple, she didn’t forget to furtively size up Yang PeiMin.

Yang PeiMin simply took out a notebook and started to draw random things.

Her ears couldn’t find peace either, with the sudden intrusion of a child’s sharp cry into the noise, followed by parents chastising, "Why are you howling? The ticket we got is just like this, hurry up and lie down. I haven’t even blamed you for wetting your pants yet, and you are already howling. Who spoiled you?"

"Are you getting up there or not?" Immediately following these words was the slap-slap sound of a hand.

Yang PeiMin could not help but look up towards the source of the noise.

It was a passenger from the bunk above her. The boy being hit was only about five years old, crying loudly from the spanks of his father.

Someone, either out of pity for the child or annoyed by the noise, said, "Aren’t all children like this? Stop hitting him, don’t scare the child."

"You don’t know this little rascal, he’s been fussy ever since we got on, drinking water, going to the toilet and whatnot. Now that we’ve got these upper bunks, it’s not convenient, this rascal has already wet his pants. We’re poor at home; where can we get so many pants for him to change into? Instead, I haven’t started blaming him, and he’s started howling. I’m also getting angry," said the boy’s mother, explaining to the person who tried to intervene, "I’m sorry for disturbing you all." She then politely apologized to everyone around.

The boy was still crying, and his father sternly growled at him to go back to the bunk, his hand continuing to slap in time with the boy’s head shakes.

He cried even louder, "I don’t want to be up there; I’m scared of falling!"

Then his stocky father forcefully picked him up, ready to toss him onto the top bunk. The five-year-old was entirely conscious of what was going on, resisting fiercely and screaming unwillingly.

Many people could no longer watch in silence, "Comfort him properly; if you put him up there like that, he’s more likely to fall."

"This isn’t a joke; if he falls, it would be terrible. The child’s mother, hurry and calm him down."

"The child doesn’t want to; why not switch him to a lower bunk?" said someone from a top bunk.

"Then who wants to switch with him?"

"I think this young lady here would; she’s all by herself, lightweight, and it would be more convenient for you all if you swapped." The girl in the bunk opposite Yang PeiMin pointed to herself and said so.

Once someone pointed out a solution, the boy’s mother immediately came over gratefully to thank Yang PeiMin.

"Thank you for your kindness, looking at how you present yourself, you seem good-hearted..." The child’s mother was dressed simply and her hair was a mess, looking like she hadn’t put much effort into her appearance. In today’s crowd, it would be difficult to find someone like her, but her eyes kept darting to Yang PeiMin’s bunk with an eager expression... fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Yang PeiMin originally had the same idea, but being pushed into the situation like this was indeed not very comfortable.