Chapter 185 Taking the train to the provincial capital and missing
It’s not that Lin Mei, who was in her hometown, didn’t want to follow Liu Xiaoe and the others to the provincial capital.
The most important thing is that she had a miscarriage and has not yet been born. She cannot go to visit relatives before she is born. According to the customs in their rural areas, it is very unlucky for people who are not yet born to visit other people’s homes. thing.
Li Xiu didn't know if this custom existed in the provincial capital, but he didn't dare to let Lin Mei bring trouble to the Gu family.
During the month that Lin Mei was in confinement at her parents' home, Xie Chunlei visited her several times. At first, he wanted to take her back, but then Lin Mei refused to go back every time, forcing him to separate the family. , he came less often.
In order to save her breath, Li Xiu encouraged Lin Mei to go to the provincial capital to relax, showing that she would not let Lin Mei go back easily if she didn't take an attitude of solving the problem this time.
Lin Mei trusts her mother, but she feels that she is too easy to deal with. The provincial capital is so far away, and for rural girls like them who have never left the county town in their lives, the provincial capital is too intimidating to them. It's too far away.
"Girls and daughters-in-law, stop nagging. No matter how far away the provincial capital is, it is still in our province. If you don't leave the province, it is considered a local. Visiting relatives in your own locality, what are you afraid of?" Li Xiuhen's own family My daughter has no future and is so cowardly in traveling far away.
Lin Mei felt excited and timid at the same time, "Mom, you said it so easily. You have to know that I have only been to the county seat once, and I don't even know which direction the city is, let alone taking the train. Went to the provincial capital.”
Li Xiu: "Since I haven't been out before, I didn't put the opportunity in front of you this time. It's an opportunity to go out and see. You have to seize it no matter what. When you get to the provincial capital, take the opportunity to let Lin Shuduo take you to see him. The world.”
In fact, Li Xiu has never been to the county town. When she was young, she heard others talk about the wonderful world outside and she yearned for it.
Now that she is older, she hopes that her daughter can take her place and go out to see the world.
I don’t know if what Li Xiu said moved her. The next day, Li Xiu sent her to the countryside to take a bus. Lin Mei got on the bus with excitement.
Compared with the provincial capital, the county seat and the city are both small cities. Lin Mei took the shuttle bus to the county seat and took the shuttle bus to the city directly at the station.
When she arrived in the city, the bus station was a little far away from the train station. She had to ask several people to find the train station.
At the train station, it was a bit difficult to communicate because she spoke in a strong dialect. She finally found the ticket window and bought a train ticket to the provincial capital. The train actually took more than two hours to arrive at the station.
Slowly it gets dark outside, but the train station is still quite busy. There are many people taking the train in the waiting room, most of them with large and small bags piled in front of the seats.
Lin Mei didn't dare to go out of the waiting room to buy food when she was hungry. She could only nibble on the dry biscuits and eggs Li Xiu prepared for her. If she felt choking, she would drink cold water and swallow it.
"Comrade, you are well prepared. You have brought dry food and water bottles." The square-faced aunt sitting next to me said.
Lin Mei glanced sideways at the aunt next to her. She was well-dressed and looked like a female director in a factory or on the street. However, her lips were peeling, as if she hadn't drank for a long time. Water.
"Auntie, didn't you bring water and dry food?"
The square-faced aunt smiled helplessly: "I only brought dry food and a water cup. I thought there was a boiling water connection on the train, so just bring a water cup. I didn’t expect to wait for this train for so long.”
Lin Mei thought that it would be difficult for everyone to go out, so she wandered off. Shaking the kettle, "If you don't mind, I'll pour you some water."
The square-faced aunt took out an enamel jar from her luggage bag with a grateful expression, "Thank you, comrade, you are so kind-hearted. , What a kind-hearted person.”
“You’re welcome, everyone is helping each other out.”
"Which train did Comrade take?"
The square-faced aunt drank the water poured by Lin Mei, and the two started chatting casually.
Lin Mei raised her wrist and glanced at her watch: "The train at eight ten o'clock should be entering the station soon."
"Oh, that's great, I happen to be there too." We are really destined to take this train." The square-faced aunt looked happy, happy to be on the same train as her.
Coming to a strange place, Lin Mei felt uneasy. When she heard what the square-faced aunt said, she was also very happy, "Really, aunt, where are you going?"
"It's far away to Zhengzhou."
"Where is Zhengzhou?"
For Lin Mei, who has never traveled far and has not studied for two years, she really doesn't know where Zhengzhou is. where?
"Zhengzhou is the capital of He Province. It is almost to the capital city from Zhengzhou. Comrade, where are you going?" asked the square-faced aunt.
"I'll go to the provincial capital." Lin Mei really didn't know how far away Zhengzhou was or how far away the capital was, but that didn't stop her from sighing: "It's so far, so you still have to stay on the train for two years." Day?”
"Who says it's not the case? It's not easy to go out when you eat, drink, and drink in the car, and you don't get enough rest at night."
Lin Mei nodded: "Yes, it's not easy to go out."
The two hit it off immediately, and the more they chatted, the more they became interested.
When the train entered the station, since there were not many passengers on the train, the two of them considered that sitting together could take care of each other, so they did not separate. Instead, the square-faced aunt followed Lin Mei and sat next to Lin Mei. On the side seat.
The square-faced aunt learned through chatting that it was Lin Mei’s first trip away from home and she took great care of her.
The dining car on the train still sells food after eight o'clock, and the square-faced aunt invites Lin Mei to eat with her no matter what.
Lin Mei looked at the luggage stuffed under the seat and hesitated: "Auntie, we have all left. What if this luggage is stolen by others?"
The square-faced aunt asked : "There are no valuables in your luggage bag, right?"
Lin Mei shook her head: "No, just some daily necessities and clothes."
"That's okay."
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The square-faced aunt knew from her words and deeds that she often went out. She patted the passenger next to her and asked someone to help her look at her luggage.
Lin Mei was pulled out of the original carriage and looked back several times in the middle. She was a little worried, but she also believed in the square-faced aunt. She said she was fine, so she really was fine.
The meals on the train are not expensive, and they don’t require food stamps. A portion of fried pork with chili and a portion of braised eggplant cost less than 50 cents for two meals.
After the meal, the relationship between Lin Mei and the square-faced aunt seemed to get closer.
“Auntie, the food here is really delicious, and it has more oil and water than the vegetables fried in our countryside.”
"The food on the train is pretty good. It's a little worse than the food in our state-owned hotel. Next time you have time, I'll invite you to eat in our state-owned hotel.
There is a senior manager in our state-owned hotel. Cook, fry duck and chicken The craftsmanship is really amazing, I guarantee you will want to eat it again.”
“Such a good craftsmanship, I am so well-informed that you are full of praise. I will try the taste if I have a chance.” Lin Mei swallowed her saliva, she was greedy for meat these days. "I will definitely take you there if I have the chance." The square-faced aunt gave her a thoughtful look and promised.
Then the two of them returned to their seats and chatted casually with the people next to them. The carriage gradually became quiet. Everyone was sleeping, reading, and dazed. .
Lin Mei and the square-faced aunt lay on the table and fell asleep.
Arrived at the station closest to the provincial capital, the square-faced aunt woke up and found that Lin Mei was still sleeping. She stood up, picked up the cup, and picked up Lin Mei's kettle with one hand to open the water.
After Lin Mei woke up, the square-faced aunt handed over the kettle, "I went to fetch water just now, and I also fetched a kettle for you. The water shouldn't be hot by now, why don't you drink some? Let's rest again."
"Thank you." Lin Mei took a nap. The food she ate at night was a bit salty, so she wanted to drink some water, so she took a few sips.
Lin Mei drank water and went back to sleep, but the square-faced aunt couldn't sleep for a while, so she took a book from her bag and started reading.
Until the train pulled into a station again and stopped slowly. The square-faced aunt glanced at Lin Mei, who was sleeping soundly, and returned to the book.
“Didn’t your niece get off at the provincial capital? She’s already at the provincial capital station. Why don’t you wake her up?” the person sitting next to her reminded the square-faced aunt.
Because after getting on the bus, the passengers heard Lin Mei keep calling the square-faced aunt as aunt, so they thought that the two of them were aunt and niece.
The square-faced aunt smiled gratefully at her and explained: "Thank you for reminding me that the provincial capital we are talking about is Zhengzhou, not here. My niece has never traveled far, so she talks about everything. It’s the provincial capital, you misunderstood.”
“Oh, so you are from Zhengzhou?”
"Yes, I am from Zhengzhou, and I work in the subdistrict office. On this business trip, I took my eldest niece who was married far away to visit her relatives." At least we need to stay for a few more days."
The square-faced aunt nodded: "Who says it's not the case? I was always thinking about my daughter who was married far away. I heard that the couple had a fight, so I asked me to help them take her back when I was on a business trip. "
"Then you are really a good aunt." Kind-hearted traveler. After taking a look at Lin Mei's clothes, she looked at her clothes well, and then looked at the square-faced aunt who was also well-dressed. She thought that her mother's family was in good condition.
These parents’ families, who are in good condition, really feel sorry for their daughter, and will take her back if she feels a little wronged by her husband’s family. This back and forth trip felt like a waste of fare.
After passing the provincial capital, the square-faced aunt woke up Lin Mei and asked her to go to the toilet and come back to eat and drink some water before going to sleep.
Lin Mei fell asleep in a daze. She didn't know where the train was when she was woken up. She obediently went to the toilet, came back and ate two boiled eggs, drank half a pot of water, and lay on the table. It didn't take long before he fell asleep again.
The train stopped at the station, and the people in the carriage got off one after another. Those who got on the train had no idea about the situation of Lin Mei and the square-faced aunt. Naturally, no one noticed that Lin Mei was awake throughout the day.
When Lin Mei was woken up by the square-faced aunt again, she didn't pay attention to which station she was after getting off the train, thinking she was in the provincial capital.
“Auntie, why did you get out of the car with me?”
The square-faced aunt took all the luggage out of the car and said, "This is my first time coming to the provincial capital, so I'm a little worried. I just want to meet a friend here, so I'll see you off, so that you don't go astray or go astray because you're not familiar with the place. I'm being bullied."
"Actually, I can ask for directions even if I'm not familiar with the place. You don't have to get off at this stop specifically for me." Lin Mei was extremely moved and felt that this person was the best. Auntie Lian is so warm and sincere towards people.
"Don't think too much, I really want to visit an old friend."
Lin Mei didn't know what was going on, her head was groggy, she only knew that the square-faced aunt was familiar with this place. , just follow her.
Lin Shu knew that Lin Mei had arrived in the provincial capital by car two days later.
The reason was that Xie Chunlei was on vacation. Thinking that Lin Mei was already in confinement, he came to the Xiaohe Production Team to pick Lin up. Only then did he know that Lin Mei had gone to the provincial capital to relax.
It's just that he has already gone to the provincial capital. No matter how angry Xie Chunlei is, he can't do anything to his mother-in-law. He can only borrow the office phone to call the Gu family after going to work the next day.
"What? Lin Mei came to the provincial capital?" Gu Jiu was surprised to receive a call from Xie Chunlei. Hearing that Lin Mei had come to the provincial capital, he wanted to ask about the situation.
It was just that Jie Chunlei on the other end of the phone felt something was wrong when he heard what he said, "Gu Jiu, judging from your tone, does it mean that Lin Mei hasn't arrived at your house yet?"
" Yes, when did she come to the provincial capital?”
"Whose phone number?" Lin Shu was almost out of confinement and had already cleared the lochia, so she was in the mood to hold the baby and go downstairs for a walk.
She happened to go downstairs and heard Gu Jiu's words. She thought of the letter she received last time and thought that Lin Mei had arrived in the provincial capital.
Gu Jiu nodded. When he heard the other end of the phone telling him that the person who was supposed to arrive in the provincial capital the day before yesterday had not seen anyone for the third day, he had a bad feeling in his heart.
"Why didn't you call me and tell me after Lin Mei got on the train? It's been three days now, where did you ask me to find someone?"
The person on the other end of the phone listened. He said that Lin Mei had not found the Gu family yet and was very anxious. "It's a long story. The fact is that Lin Mei went to the provincial capital. I only found out yesterday. I called you from the office phone to confirm as soon as I got to work today." .”
"Okay, it's useless for you to explain to me. It's better to find someone first." Gu Jiu hung up the phone after saying this. He didn't want to listen to people who would make excuses whenever something went wrong.
"What's going on? Who called? I heard the content of your chat. Did Lin Mei come to the provincial capital and then disappeared?" Lin Shu got a rough idea.
Gu Jiu: "Yes, the call was from Xie Chunlei. He told me that Lin Mei had arrived by train the day before yesterday. She was supposed to arrive at the provincial capital the day before yesterday, but we haven't seen anyone yet. I will first call my friends at the police station to help find the person.”
In the later generations when there were probes, it was difficult to find a missing person, not to mention the era when conditions were difficult and supplies were scarce. It was even harder to find a missing person. sky.
Lin Shu knew that even though Gu Jiu said so and asked his friends at the police station to help find someone, subconsciously, no one had high hopes.
Fortunately, Comrade Liu Xiao'e went to the breakfast stall to help. Lin Shu asked Gu Jiu to go to the train station to find out if anyone saw Lin Mei leaving the station that day.
Wang Suzhen and the nanny help with raising the children at home, so she can keep busy.
Gu Jiu hurried out of the door, and Wang Suzhen frowned slightly: "Why didn't your cousin call us in advance when she came to the provincial capital, so that we could arrange someone to pick her up?"
"Who knows what they are thinking?" Lin Shu never thought that Lin Mei would be so bold and dare to come to the provincial capital alone.
But the people at home were even more careless and didn’t know how to call them or send them a telegram to let them know.
"If you don't arrange things in advance, you will end up in a hurry. I hope nothing happens this time." Wang Suzhen concealed her worries and sighed slightly.
Three days have passed. If something happened, it would have happened already. Lin Shu only hoped that Lin Mei would be smarter and not be kidnapped. Instead, she got off at the wrong stop and was delayed for a few days. time.
(End of this chapter)