The trains in the 1980s were basically green leather cars. Before the train entered the station, you could hear the roaring sound and the billowing smoke in the distance.
As soon as the car rang, the surrounding passengers began to stir, either looking at their watches or looking at the big clock of the train station to see if it was the flight they were waiting for.
Although it was already two o'clock in the morning, Jiang Jianjun was still in good spirits. He woke up the two children half an hour before the train arrived at the station and waited in the waiting area beside them.
It was the first time for Jiang Shengnan to travel far, and he had been curious about the train described in the textbook for a long time.
Different from Jiang Liu, who has seen a lot of the world, the old-fashioned green leather car is a giant in Jiang Shengnan's eyes. The peeling paint on the outer shell made her see an indescribable beauty.
Their station is one of the stops where the train stops. After the train stopped, a group of passengers who were about to get off rushed down, and those who were about to get on the train rushed forward for fear that they would not be able to get on the train.
"Follow Dad."
Jiang Jianjun held the luggage and had no time to pull the two children, so before boarding the train, he specially tied a rope around the children, and tied the other end of the rope to his waistband to prevent the children from getting lost.
However, despite this guarantee, Jiang Jianjun still worried a few times.
This train has been running for several years. Even if it is cleaned by a special person every day, it will be overhauled every once in a while, and the interior and exterior decorations are still unavoidable. Looking around, the leather covers on the seats on both sides are basically cracked, there are some old stained cars, and the windows don't look so bright.
It is winter now, and the doors and windows will not be opened except when the passengers arrive at the station to get off the train. Many passengers have already come and gone on this train whose terminal is thousands of miles away.
The smell of feet, the strange smell of mixed food, and the smell of some caged poultry peeing and peeing, in a small space that has not been ventilated for a long time, has brewed into a special chemical attack gas, Jiang Shengnan has not yet. When I was too happy to get on the train, I was forced to hold my nose, and when I couldn't hold it any longer, I breathed through my mouth.
Jiang Jianjun loves his son, and usually buys a seat ticket when he travels far, but this time he took two children, so he naturally chose the more expensive sleeping ticket, or the more comfortable soft sleeper among the sleeping tickets.
The soft sleeper is different from the ordinary hard sleeper. It is in the form of an independent small box. There are six beds in a room with a door. Except for the passengers in the soft sleeper, other people generally cannot enter.
These days, the families who are willing to spend money to buy soft sleeper tickets are generally not bad, so the environment of soft sleepers is also very good, with stronger security and privacy, and there is almost no need to worry about the risk of being stolen.
Sure enough, when Jiang Shengnan walked to their cubicle, the strange smell lessened a lot.
Jiang Liu and Jiang Shengnan are ten years old and eleven years old, and their height is less than the limit for children to buy a full ticket. Therefore, Jiang Jianjun can only buy two soft sleepers. In the middle of the night, he is afraid of waking up other people in the car and hugging them. He took his daughter to the upper bunk, and then he and his son slept in the lower bunk.
In addition to having independent space, the soft sleeper is also good. It does not need to be divided into three beds, upper, middle and lower, and it is more comfortable to sleep.
At this time, Jiang Shengnan was already very sleepy. Although he was still very excited and surprised, he soon fell asleep with the sound of the train banging.
Early the next morning, she was woken up by the conductor's shouting to sell food. It turned out that she slept until noon.
"Comrade, do you want to drink water?"
A middle-aged woman dressed as a conductor pushed open the door and came in, carrying a kettle with the logo of the Railway Bureau in her hand.
Jiang Shengnan watched her dad take out two enamel water glasses from the suitcase like magic, and asked the conductor to pour two glasses of water.
After pouring the water, the conductor closed the door and left, and Jiang Jianjun handed the water cup to his daughter and son.
"The water on the train is burned by boilers, and each boiler is located at the junction of some carriages. There are too many people on the train, and there are queues for pouring water. Moreover, the water supply of the train is also limited, and it is not possible every time you go. drink hot water."
Jiang Jianjun handed out water and explained to the two children who had never traveled far: "From time to time, there are conductors on the train who are pouring water from a kettle. Have a drink."
This is also Jiang Jianjun's experience after many long trips. In winter, the inside of the carriage is as cold as an ice cellar, so hot water is urgently needed. Every time he goes to pick up water, it is like fighting a war. Comrade conductors poured water for themselves, feeling that it was the same as capitalism, but after trying the trouble of pouring water on their own a few times, I was accustomed to seize every opportunity the conductors pass by with the kettle.
"Don't drink it all, save a little, mix it with cold water, brush your teeth, and have lunch soon."
There should be no hot water in the washroom on the train by now. In winter, when you brush your teeth with cold water, you have to brush them off. Jiang Jianjun looked at his son's millet teeth and didn't know when his son would be able to replace his teeth. , When the teeth are replaced, it can be regarded as a little adult happy.
Time flies so fast! In a few years, the son will also have a grandson.
Jiang Jianjun looked at his son's little teeth lovingly, and then touched his round head.
*****
When Jiang Liu and his sister Jiang Shengnan returned to the carriage, Jiang Jianjun had already bought a lunch box. He bought a mapo tofu, a braised pork chop, a stewed pork with sauerkraut and three bowls of rice.
The train box lunches of this year are different from those of later generations. The ingredients are abundant, and the oil and materials used are very generous. The braised pork chop is thick and thick, and the lunch box is full of soup, which is the best for bibimbap. .
Mapo tofu also tastes very good, numb, spicy, hot, salty, tempeh is very fragrant, soft and tender tofu and minced yellow beef complement each other.
It was the first time for Jiang Shengnan to eat mapo tofu, because her family didn’t know how to cook this dish, and she didn’t have the habit of going out to restaurants. Spicy and spicy tofu can be so delicious. Before that, in her mind, tofu could only exist in cold salad or soup.
It takes two days and two nights to reach Zhushi from their hometown, which means that the three of Jiang Jianjun have to eat several meals on the train.
The lunch on the first day did not disappoint Jiang Liu and Jiang Shengnan, and the same was true for the following meals.
The white flour buns for breakfast are said to be milk buns mixed with milk, with a milky fragrance. The noodles are well kneaded, soft and fluffy without lack of tenacity. , even Jiang Liu, a picky tongue that has been raised in several worlds, can't fault it.
As for the dinner, in addition to the mapo tofu that Jiang Shengnan must order, they also tried the spicy and sour chicken feet with chopped pepper, the sour and appetizing cold salad, as well as Dongpo pork and Shanghai famous Braised bamboo shoots and fried smoked fish in vegetable oil.
Except for the Dongpo Pork, which may have been a little cold and the fat solidified, it affected the taste. Every other dish did not disappoint them.
Compared with the home-cooked dishes that my grandmother and mother made over and over again, Jiang Shengnan suddenly ate a different kind of delicious food. He was so happy that he didn't want to get off the train.
"I'm going to drive a train later."
Jiang Shengnan thinks this job is great, and can eat such a delicious work meal every day.
Jiang Liu wanted to laugh as she listened to it. It is estimated that when she is of working age, the working meal on the train will no longer be like this.
I heard that before the meals on the train were contracted to individuals or units, the chefs who worked on the train were the chefs of the big restaurants and restaurants back then. Naturally, the craftsmanship is nothing to say, and now the profit and loss of meals on the train is public. The chef also pays attention to the generous ingredients. After the train meal is contracted privately, in order to reduce the cost and increase the profit, there will not be as much weight and seasoning as it is now.
The envy in the little girl's eyes was almost blinding, Jiang Jianjun smiled after eliminating the unfinished meals for the children.
"Don't you think your dad eats so well when he goes out?"
Jiang Jianjun stacked the lunch boxes into a stack, ready to take them to the trash can at the connection of the carriages later.
"That's why I'm taking you on this trip, I'm willing to sleep in a sleeper, Dad can't bear to eat so well, I have to save money for your siblings to study, I have to save money for your brother to buy a house and marry a wife, and I have to save money. Earn dowry for your sisters, if every time you go out you have to eat and drink spicy food, will the money wait for the northwest wind to blow?"
Jiang Jianjun took the opportunity to educate the two children, but he was telling the truth. He himself is not a person who pays attention to food and clothing. He often buys a seat ticket when back and forth. He is too tired to buy a hard sleeper ticket.
As for the three meals, steamed buns are the most cost-effective, the noodles are also good, and you can eat it with just one topping. The experience of ordering three or four dishes for every meal like this has never happened to Jiang Jianjun, because he The volatility of this business, coupled with the risk of speculation, made him not dare to spend money arbitrarily. For fear that one day people will be arrested, but they have not saved the money, and a few children and their mothers and wives will have to live a hard life.
So every time he goes out, he will reduce his expenses to a minimum, and then take home some of the money he earns and give it to his wife, and part of it to honor his wife.
He is a standard machismo, it doesn't matter if he suffers, his children and wife must be happy, and he wants to be the kind of excellent man who can support the whole family.
"In the future, when I drive the train, grandma, mom and dad, and eldest sister, second sister, and younger brother will all be able to eat delicious train meals."
Hearing Jiang Jianjun's words, Jiang Shengnan felt a little embarrassed. She forgot her father's hard work to earn money outside.
The most expensive soft sleeper on the train is still constrained, and the back pain is sore when sleeping, not to mention the ticket and hard sleeper. Jiang Shengnan imagined the scene of riding the train for two or three days in a row, and couldn't help feeling a little distressed for his father.
"Good girl, ambitious."
Jiang Jianjun laughed. When his daughter got married, he should take care of his husband and children. He, a father, would have the nerve to eat a daughter. He was still waiting for his son to give him old age.
But he didn't attack his daughter's filial piety, and gave new advice cheerfully, "It's better to fly a plane than a train, how expensive is the plane ticket, the food on the plane is definitely more delicious, Dad hasn't been on it yet. As for the plane, if you can fly in the future, Dad will borrow your light to take a plane."
Jiang Liu, who was on the sidelines, was embarrassed to say that airplane meals in later generations were even more unpalatable.
"airplane!"
However, Jiang Shengnan had a new ideal because of his father Jiang Jianjun's words. The food on the plane really wanted to taste it.
"This eldest brother, this is your child, so sensible and filial."
The passengers in the same room couldn't help but join in after listening to the conversation between the Jiang family's father and daughter.
"Your children are really sensible. They don't look like my family. They cause me trouble in the net day. What you said just now is so good. We are parents for the good of our children, so what's the point of suffering for them."
"Hahaha, it's really sensible. These two children have both passed the double-percentage exam at the end of the semester. To satisfy the children's little wishes, I will take them to play in the Pearl City."
Jiang Jianjun held his back, why is my father illiterate, and his sons and daughters have excellent grades.
"Wow, this is amazing."
Everyone satisfied Jiang Jianjun's little wish to show off his children and began to praise him.
"Where, I used to be very naughty, but even if I grew up and sensible, don't worry, your children will understand the hard work of adults sooner or later."
Jiang Jianjun complimented a few words in satisfaction.
The chatterbox was opened. Except for Jiang Liu and Jiang Shengnan, all the adults in this compartment were married and had children. They talked about the topic of children, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively.
*****
They got on the train in the middle of the night, and it was already ten o'clock in the evening when they arrived in the Pearl City. Fortunately, the Pearl City is very prosperous now. Even at night and the weather is cold, there are still many tricycles waiting outside the train station to take these guests from afar to different guest houses or private small hotels.
The temperature in Pearl City was warmer than the hometown of Jiang Shengnan and others, but in the middle of the night, the three of them still put on their thickest clothes.
Because there was a lot of luggage and two children, Jiang Jianjun ruthlessly called a taxi.
Through the glass window, Jiang Shengnan looked at the colorful neon lights and the row upon row of tall buildings.
This is Pearl City!
Looking at this big city, which is completely different from a small village, as Jiang Liu thought, a hope called ambition grew in Jiang Shengnan's heart.