Chapter 25 The Four Seasons Train (2)
Zhu Ming looked at her as if she were an idiot. “Are you stupid, or am I?”
The old woman huffed. “Such a rude young lady! No manners!”
Zhu Ming retorted, “You’re about to die, and you’re talking about manners?”
She stood up, waving her train ticket. Countless eyes fixated on it. “Who wants to give me food coupons? Of course, I’m not trading this directly.”
“Miss,” a young woman with pigtails said, flashing a bright smile. “If you don’t want to trade your ticket for food coupons, how about we play a game?”
Finally, someone reasonable. Zhu Ming moved to their table. The three people at this table looked like university students and hadn’t tried to tempt her with food.
As she left, the old woman and the couple glared at her back but didn’t follow.
The girl with pigtails said, “We’re playing a little game. If you win, we’ll give you all our food coupons. If you lose, you give us your ticket.”
“What game?”
“Cards.”
She took out a deck of cards, shuffled it, and said, “We’re playing a simple game of combinations. Fives of a kind, three of a kind with a pair. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first wins.”
Everyone had their own agenda. Zhu Ming wouldn’t agree so easily. “How do I know you three won’t team up and cheat?”
The girl said, “You can deal.”
Zhu Ming took charge. “No. I want to change the game.”
She suggested a simpler game of guessing high or low.
The pigtailed girl exchanged glances with her companions and said, her eyes downcast, “Fine. We’ll play your game.”
Zhu Ming suddenly stood up. “Actually, I don’t really need food coupons. Sorry to bother you. Enjoy your game.”
“Wait!” the girl with pigtails said quickly, afraid she would go to another table. “Then we won’t bet your train ticket. We’ll bet something else.”
“Something else?” Zhu Ming looked at her, a playful smile on her face. “I don’t have anything else to bet. And we’re all students. Gambling is illegal, you know? Focus on your studies.”
The girl with pigtails was getting anxious, desperate to keep her at their table.
One of her companions chimed in, “If you go to other tables, you’ll have to meet their demands to get food coupons. It’s better to stay here with us. We can play something simple.”
Zhu Ming: “?”
The pigtailed girl stamped on his foot. “Idiot!”
Zhu Ming couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I see. So you’re all waiting for me.”
The pigtailed girl said, “Miss, you might not be able to meet other people’s demands, but we’re easy to negotiate with. How about this, you find something unimportant to trade with us? We’re all young people. Let’s help each other out. We don’t want to see you starve to death.”
Just as she was trying to persuade Zhu Ming, the door to carriage 18 opened.
Accompanied by a rumbling sound, a small cart filled with goods rolled in.
“Woof!”
Zhu Ming leaned out to see… a cute black and white border collie pushing the cart, wearing a small bib.
As everyone knew, border collies weren’t dogs.
Her stomach growled at the sight of steaming lunchboxes and freshly cut fruit. The invitation had clearly stated that food coupons were needed to purchase items from the cart.
Zhu Ming seemed to be the only normal person in the carriage. Seeing her lack of reaction, the canine vendor continued pushing its cart into the next carriage without pausing.
The girl with pigtails seized the opportunity. “The vendor will come back around. Do you want to trade with us for food coupons?”
Zhu Ming thought that was a good idea and sat back down, the occupants of the other tables looking slightly disappointed.
“What kind of unimportant things are we talking about? Give me some examples,” Zhu Ming asked.
The pigtailed girl licked her lips. “Like your voice, your hearing, your eyesight, or your hair, your fingernails, your clothes… Just throwing out ideas, of course! Don’t worry! Anything you have, you can trade!”
Zhu Ming considered it, then said, “I do have something I can trade, but I don’t like taking advantage of people, so let’s play a game, as I suggested earlier. If you win, I’ll give each of you my… chips. If you lose, you give me all your food coupons.”
The strange university students’ faces lit up. “Deal! What are you betting?”
Suddenly, a cute little girl from the next table stumbled over and hugged Zhu Ming’s leg. “Don’t trust them, big sister! They’re bad people! Ah!”
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of a whip cracking echoed through the air. Crack! The child, as if struck by an invisible force, fell to the ground, crying.
But the louder she cried, the more she violated the train etiquette rules. Invisible attacks rained down on her. Zhu Ming quickly scooped her up and covered her mouth.
The little girl, about six or seven years old, soft and cuddly, tears welling up in her eyes, tugged on Zhu Ming’s sleeve. “Don’t listen to them, big sister! Come with me!”
The pigtailed girl’s face darkened. “Even if you go with them, miss, they might not be as easy to negotiate with as we are.”
Zhu Ming stroked the little girl’s head. “She’s right. If I go with you, will you give me food coupons?”
The little girl nodded vigorously. “Big sister, I don’t want to be their accomplice anymore! Actually, this train—”
An invisible force silenced her. Her face turned red, unable to speak, she could only look at Zhu Ming pleadingly.
“Miss, give her to me,” the little girl’s mother, a young, intelligent-looking woman, said, reaching out. “She’s just a child, so naive… She didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
How could Zhu Ming refuse such a gentle beauty? She carried the child over to their table.
The pigtailed girl didn’t stop them, perhaps due to the train etiquette rules, but she glared at the family with hostility.
Unlike the previous family of an old woman and a middle-aged couple, this family was much more appealing: a young, handsome husband, an intelligent, beautiful wife, and a cute, well-behaved daughter.
“You seem different from the others,” Zhu Ming said with a faint smile. “Tell me what you can.”
The little girl leaned against Zhu Ming, her soft hair pleasant to the touch. Sniffling, she said, “You’re so smart, big sister! We are different. Maybe it’s because, as long as the three of us are together, we’re happy.”
The wife smiled at her daughter and handed her a lollipop. “Silly girl, don’t you think it hurts? Have some candy. Daddy and Mommy will talk to big sister.”
She looked at Zhu Ming, her eyes filled with sadness and bitterness. “Miss, you’re different from all of us. You have a train ticket. I don’t know how you got it, but don’t trade it for food coupons.”
“Why?” Zhu Ming raised an eyebrow.
The wife replied, “Because to get food coupons, you have to trade something in return. They might start small, but they’ll ask for more and more. You’ll become weaker and weaker, and eventually, you’ll die on this train.”
“But if I don’t trade for food coupons, I can’t buy food, and I’ll starve to death.” Zhu Ming glanced at the lollipop in the little girl’s hand. “Are you offering me free candy?”
The wife shook her head, unfazed by Zhu Ming’s attitude. “No. If anything, I hope you’ll eat less of what others offer you. You must have noticed… everyone here…”
Her voice trailed off, almost drowned out by the rhythmic clatter of the train.
Her eyes were filled with fear and anguish. She shook her head with a bitter smile. “The rules prevent us from telling you directly, but I think you understand. Of course, if you’re really hungry, it’s alright to eat a little. The consequences aren’t severe, maybe just some diarrhea.”
Zhu Ming agreed wholeheartedly. “That old woman earlier was practically forcing oranges on me. Even if they were ordinary oranges, her attitude was terrifying. I’m just a normal, weak girl. Of course, I’m wary in a strange place like this.”
“Yes, they’re too eager,” the wife sighed. “Perhaps they all have unfinished business. But our family has come to terms with our situation. As long as we’re together, nothing else matters.”
Hearing his wife’s words, the husband embraced her. “Honey, I’ll always be here for you and our daughter.”
The little girl, lollipop in mouth, climbed over to join them. The family hugged tightly, a heartwarming scene.
Zhu Ming waited for them to separate before speaking. “So, how are you planning to help me? Words are useless without action.”
The little girl sat back down beside Zhu Ming, smiling sweetly. “Of course we have a way, big sister! We can also trade! As long as it’s mutual, we can play any game and trade anything! How about this, you give me a kiss, and I’ll give you my food coupon.”
That was easy enough. Zhu Ming picked up the little girl and kissed her soft cheek. The little girl giggled, pulled a food coupon from her pocket, and handed it to Zhu Ming. “Keep it safe, big sister! Don’t lose it, or you’ll have to trade with someone else again!”
Then the wife asked Zhu Ming to braid the little girl’s hair, and the husband asked her to take the little girl to wash her hands. They traded all their food coupons to Zhu Ming.
Just then, the cart returned.
Rumble, rumble—
The canine vendor pushed the cart, standing on its hind legs.
“Vendor, I want to buy something.”
“Woof!”
Every item on the cart had a price tag. Three food coupons were enough for a bottle of water and a lunchbox. The prices were outrageous.
Not one to pass up a chance to take advantage of the situation, Zhu Ming patted the vendor’s behind while it wasn’t looking.
The border collie: “…”
Fortunately, the vendor was generous and didn’t seem to mind. It barked and continued on its way.
As Zhu Ming ate, the wife said, “We only have three food coupons, so we can’t help you much. Eat slowly and make it last. Here are some candies. Eating them during the day is fine. If you’re really hungry, eat some candy to tide you over. Try not to trade with anyone else for food coupons.”
“I don’t have to trade for these candies?”
“No, only food coupons require trading.”
“Thank you.”
Zhu Ming quickly finished her meal, then, with the bag of candy and the remaining water, returned to the university students’ table, ticket in hand.
The pigtailed girl’s face lit up when she saw her.
The wife stared at her in surprise.
Zhu Ming smiled at them over her shoulder. “Sorry, I want to buy a lot of things, so I need more food coupons. By the way, you said I could trade anything I have, right?”
The pigtailed girl nodded eagerly. “Yes! Don’t listen to that family’s nonsense! Everyone is the same! Why are we the bad guys? We want to help you too!”
The little girl quickly said, “But the cart only comes once a day, big sister! It’s useless to trade now!”
The pigtailed girl interrupted her. “Little girl, don’t interrupt the adults. Even if she can’t use the food coupons now, she can save them, can’t she?”
That was true. Zhu Ming tapped the table. “We were interrupted earlier. Sorry to keep you waiting. Who asked me what I was betting?”
The male university student spoke up. “Me. What are you betting? Don’t tell me it’s that bag of candy?”
His tone was dismissive, as if annoyed by her stinginess. Zhu Ming, ever so thoughtful, replied, “Since I said I would trade something of mine, of course I’ll keep my word, unless you specifically want to bet the candy.”
The male student’s face brightened. “Sure, sure! What are you willing to trade?”
Zhu Ming held up her right hand. “A slap.”
Silence descended upon the table. After a moment, the pigtailed girl, as if questioning her own hearing, asked, “What did you say?”
Zhu Ming smiled sweetly. “A slap. Didn’t you hear me? Whoever wins against me gets a slap from me. I guarantee it’ll be loud and clear. One not enough? Two? Three is my limit. My hand will hurt.”
The pigtailed girl jumped to her feet, her voice shrill with anger. “How dare you insult us like this!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she stumbled and fell back into her seat, her pigtails askew, as if someone had struck her on the shoulder.
“Ow!” She glared at Zhu Ming. “No good deed goes unpunished!”
Zhu Ming chuckled, wiggling her fingers. “It’s just an offer. Take it or leave it. If you don’t want to trade, that’s fine. After all, the little girl said the cart only comes once a day.”
Regardless, Zhu Ming’s offer was insulting. Even the most patient person would be enraged. But the pigtailed girl was even more tolerant than Zhu Ming had expected. After a moment, she forced a smile. “Don’t joke around. Just bet the candy. It’s yours anyway.”
Zhu Ming said, “I didn’t realize you were so eager to give me your food coupons.”
The pigtailed girl and her companions’ smiles faltered. Damn it! Now that she had realized their eagerness, she would probably refuse to play again!
Zhu Ming, never one to disappoint, picked up the cards and expertly shuffled them. “Since you’re so sincere, I’ll graciously accept. I’m bored anyway. Come on, let’s play that simple game you mentioned.”
“Fine,” the pigtailed girl said through gritted teeth.
The cards were dealt. Zhu Ming’s hand was terrible, but she smiled and said, “I haven’t played cards in a while. Let me practice a few rounds. If I keep losing, I won’t be in the mood to bet.”
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