After walking for nearly 20 minutes, Ye Yaodong noticed that his father's steps were getting slower and slower and not as brisk as before, so he patted him on the shoulder and asked him to rest for a while.
Then after resting for about five minutes, he crawled under the carrying pole and picked it up.
Father Ye didn't rush to do it anymore. He had walked a long way and his shoulders were a little sore.
He just said a few words to the person beside him, "If you can't do it, just tell me."
"A man can't say no."
Ye's father glared at him and kept talking nonsense to him, but he didn't insist. It was not the first day he knew what kind of person his son was.
"If you get tired later, put it down and let me do it. We'll take turns carrying it so we can both take a break. We've already entered the city, so we'll probably get there in a little while. When we get there, we'll buy some food to fill our stomachs. We don't know what time we'll be able to transfer to the bus home in the evening."
"Um."
"If you had bought a store in the county, you wouldn't have to go through so much trouble... We have to travel so far, and there is no car that takes us there. I don't know how many times we will have to go back and forth in the future. The car fare will be quite a lot..."
"It's too much trouble to take the bus by myself. There are only two buses a day, unlike our county town, which has one every one or two hours. It's close and convenient to go back and forth..."
Perhaps because he no longer had the burden on his shoulders, he felt a lot more relaxed. Father Ye started muttering to himself as he walked.
Ye Yaodong felt physically tired, hungry, and mentally tortured by his father. It was too painful.
"Don't say that anymore. There is no gold nuggets to buy in the county, and..." In the future, transportation will be more developed, with direct highways, and it will only take an hour to get there.
"Besides, why don't you buy it in town? It's more convenient and you can walk there. Oh, yes, it's better to buy it in our village. You don't even have to go outside. You can walk there with your eyes closed."
"You are such a person, I have to say a few words to you and you have this attitude..."
"You've already bought it, so don't talk about 'what if' or 'if'. You won't lose money. It's already a done deal. Why do you keep bringing it up every other day?"
It annoys people who listen to it.
"Don't you think it's troublesome to go back and forth, and feel sorry for the travel expenses?"
"Haven't you made your money back? I sold 80 or 90 yuan today, so even if you make 2/3 of it, you'll still make 50 or 60 yuan. Stop nagging me. There are pros and cons. It's good enough to make money. What's the big deal about trouble? If you're afraid of being poor, don't be afraid of trouble. Save your breath. I've been talking all day and I'm dying of thirst."
Father Ye also shut up.
In the past, he would have cursed a few words, but it was really meaningless and unnecessary to bring up the old matter of the store.
Moreover, they had already arrived in the city, and the bustling scene around them almost stunned Ye's father. He could not see enough to see, so how could he care about talking
Before going to catch jellyfish, the farthest place he had ever been in his life was the county town, and he had only been there twice. He was sent there by the production team at the time. He had never been anywhere and returned to the village immediately after finishing his business.
Ye Yaodong breathed a sigh of relief after his ears were quiet. As he walked towards the center, there were more and more people on the street, and he could hear hawking everywhere, as well as the ding-ding-ding sounds of bicycles passing by. His mood also improved.
"Dad, there are tea eggs for sale over there. Let's buy two to eat first. It will fill our stomachs."
Thinking there would be no shortage of food around the market, he didn't ask Aqing to prepare any at night.
"Well, there's a scallion pancake stall over there, would you like to buy two?"
"Okay, I'll go. You don't speak Mandarin, so just stay here and watch over the load. I'll also ask how far it is to the station."
"Okay."
Ye Yaodong went and came back quickly. After finding out that the station was only ten minutes' walk away, they were no longer in a hurry and simply ate by the roadside.
During this time, there was a little boy walking around shouting to sell newspapers. He even walked up to them and asked them if they wanted any.
The father and son were so hungry that they had no time to talk. The boy almost choked on the egg yolk and just shook his head. The newspaper boy left immediately and asked about the next target.
Some peddlers carrying loads on their shoulders were walking and shouting their wares, asking all kinds of questions to passers-by.
The father and son looked around while eating. After they finished eating, they wiped the food on their bodies and continued walking towards the station.
Father Ye also said happily: "This city is really lively, there are people everywhere, there are vendors everywhere, there are bicycles everywhere, it's rare to see a few in our countryside, the road here is good, clean, and the place is big. We have been walking for almost an hour. If we walked to the town in our countryside, then this long road belongs to the city..."
"Otherwise why is it called a city?"
"I don't know if your mother will ever have the chance to visit the city in her lifetime. It's so lively..."
Ye Yaodong found it funny, and it was indeed true.
In his previous life, he had never been to the county town once until he was 30 years old. It was very normal for the older generation to never be able to visit the city in their entire lives.
The old lady has never been here. She is so old that she can only count the number of times she has been to the county town on five fingers.
He smiled and said, "There will definitely be opportunities. Times are changing. It will definitely be convenient to come to the city in the future."
"Times are changing, who can say for sure? You never know when you will be unlucky, that's what happened in those years."
"I will not do it again."
"Hopefully, it's so good now. I can do whatever I want and live my own life. I don't have to eat from the same pot all day. The money I earn is my own. I have hope for the future."
"Yeah, we're almost there. It should be just ahead."
The father and son saw that there were people in front of them, some carrying suitcases, some carrying bedding, and some holding bundles, so they couldn't help but quicken their pace.
Everything looks shabby these days, especially the station.
The surrounding walls were covered with mottled marks, and red slogans occupied an entire wall. However, there was a large bulletin board on the wall near the station, with various announcements and recruitment notices posted on it.
The front of the bulletin board was also filled with men and women of all kinds, crowded together, one coming out and one squeezing in. They walked from far to near, and the number of people around them never decreased.
"Dongzi, what are these things posted on top?"
"There are some notices, newspapers, job openings, rentals, everything."
"Oh, that's quite a comprehensive information. No wonder so many people gathered in front to watch, and there was never a shortage of information."
Father Ye stretched his neck and was very curious, but he couldn't read, otherwise he would have squeezed in to see what was written.
Ye Yaodong was not very interested in the bulletin board. After putting the sack down, he let his father watch it.
"It's just past one now, and there's still quite some time before the 2:30 train. You wait here for a while to avoid being crowded inside. I'll go into the station first to buy the ticket and confirm the time."
"Okay, you go. I'll be watching here. You should also keep your money close to you so that it won't be stolen. There are many thieves in places like this. If you're not careful, it's easy for someone to steal your money."
"I know. I'm careful."
He was carrying a cloth bag made by A Qing, which was specially used to carry money. He carried it close to his body just in case.
He first carried a cloth bag, then put on an autumn shirt, then a sweater, and finally a cotton jacket. With so many layers of protection, it would be strange if something could be stolen.
He only had three yuan in his pocket, which was enough for him and his father to eat, drink and buy train tickets. He wouldn't feel bad if the money was really stolen.
When he was selling goods at a stall before, he would put the money into his pockets first, and then when he had some free time, he would turn his back, lift up his clothes, and put the money into a cloth bag.
Even though it was just a three-dollar bill, he had to try his best to keep it from being stolen. He kept his hands in his pockets the whole time to prevent anyone from stealing it.
Even when he was queuing, he kept the money tightly clenched in his hand or put his hand in his pocket. Only when he was buying tickets at the window did he take his hand out to buy.
What he didn't expect was that after he bought the ticket, he lowered his head and looked for a few seconds while walking, and then put his hands in his pockets, only to find that his pockets were empty.
He had more than one dollar left from buying the ticket, but it's gone...
The money was clearly still there when I took it out to count it just now, but when I put it back and walked a few steps with the ticket, my pocket was empty.
The experts are among the people!
These three hands’ special skills are truly amazing!
Fortunately, he had his cloth bag close to his body, so he could feel it was still there. This place was really too chaotic.
He looked around but didn't see any suspicious people. The faces, some energetic and some sad, didn't look unusual.
Now I can only consider myself unlucky. Luckily there is only a little over one dollar left, so if it was stolen, it was stolen.
He didn't dare put the ticket in his pocket and just held it in his hand.
Since his pockets were empty anyway, there was no need for him to put his hands in them. He simply put them in front of his chest, hugged his chest and continued to squeeze into the crowd.
These days, hospitals are even less crowded than train stations.
It took a few years for the hospital to catch up and surpass the train station in popularity.
However, the high-speed railway station is still better during holidays!
He trotted over to the corner where his father was standing, panting, "I've bought the ticket, it's for 2:30, let's go in later, just wait outside first, and then go in half an hour earlier, the station is too chaotic. I bought a ticket, and before I'd even taken a few steps, the extra dollar I had left in my pocket for the ticket was gone."
"Ah? You got robbed? I told you there are a lot of thieves here. There are so many people here, it's very convenient for thieves to get in. I told you to be careful..."
"I kept my hands in my pockets the whole time, and took them out just when I bought the ticket. Who knew that in just a moment, they were gone? Never mind, it's not that bad, it's only a little over one dollar, so if it's gone, it's gone. Just consider it bad luck."
"It's not bad, it's just over one yuan, that..." Father Ye looked around, afraid of being heard, and whispered, "Is it still there?"
"Um."
"That's good."
Ye Yaodong looked around but couldn't find a place to sit. There were many people sitting on the ground or squatting around him. He simply opened the sack, took out a bag from it, spread it on the ground, and sat down.
He would never stand and follow if he could sit down, and he was quite tired after just walking a long way carrying a load on his shoulder.
"Sit down, Dad, and take a rest."
"Um."
"What's that smell? A bit fishy?"
After Ye Yaodong sat down, he did not tie up the mouth of the sack and just left it there. People passing by took a few sniffs and smelled the fishy odor.