Chapter 34 – First Watch
A few days ago, Chen Xinran returned home, choosing an evening when everyone was present. She placed the receipt copies she had transcribed from the post office onto the table and immediately demanded her stepmother return the one thousand yuan owed to her.
Tian Xue gripped her chopsticks tightly, not daring to breathe.
Her stepmother looked utterly bewildered. “Didn’t I give it to you long ago?”
Chen Xinran sank comfortably onto the sofa in the main room, her demeanor relaxed. “Well, I wouldn’t know about that. All I know is, I never saw the money.”
Her father, Tian Jianming, wore an equally grim expression. “Are you implying that someone in this house stole your money?”
Chen Xinran waved a dismissive hand. “Not necessarily. But a thousand yuan is no small sum. If no one took it, then I’ll have to report it to the police. Money doesn’t just vanish into thin air, does it?”
Tian Jianming wanted to slam his chopsticks onto the table, yet deep down he knew this daughter would never fall for such tactics.
She was made of stone; no matter how kindly you treated her, you could never warm that heart of rock.
Tian Xue turned pale with fright.
In her modern life, she was merely a student not yet twenty; though she could talk a big game, when faced with real trouble, she lacked any true decisiveness.
She took the thousand yuan, originally planning to bring Zhao Nan over; at that moment, with her stepsister distracted and unsettled, there would be no way to trace the missing money.
But who could have expected Zhao Nan to prove so difficult to win over? After the first few times when he wasn’t on guard against her, he began avoiding her every single day.
Every gift she sent was rejected one by one. Whether it was small snacks or a large wristwatch, it left Tian Xue, who had crossed over into this life, feeling utterly frustrated.
As time went on, Tian Xue grew resentful too. Let them be whoever they wanted to be; did they really think she was some prized commodity?
She simply stopped going to the oilfield, clinging to a sliver of hope: what if her stepsister didn’t know about this money at all?
After all, the money had been sent quite some time ago, yet her stepsister had never mentioned it. Perhaps she genuinely had no idea!
Tian Xue numbed herself while spending money recklessly. Unlike the later periods of inflation, a thousand yuan now held astonishing purchasing power.
Before transmigrating, Tian Xue came from an ordinary family; only now did she truly experience the joys of being wealthy, fair, and beautiful.
With a decent family background, good looks, and money in hand, Tian Xue walked down the street with her back involuntarily straightened.
But now, with her stepsister aggressively confronting her at her doorstep, Tian Xue finally felt fear. In just over half a month, she had already spent half of her thousand yuan.
Now, even if she wanted to admit it, there was no way.
Stung by Chen Xinran’s attitude, her stepmother wore a smile but voiced her doubt: “I sent Xiaoxue to deliver one thousand yuan to you long ago. Xinran, have you been spending a lot of money recently?”
Her words clearly implied that Chen Xinran was too extravagant with her spending and had therefore concocted an excuse to return home asking for more money.
Chen Xinran smiled back in return: “If that’s how you put it, then I understand. Dad, I’ll be leaving now. Tomorrow, I’ll go report this to the police and see what happens.”
Tian Xue cried out involuntarily, “Don’t—”
In that instant, all eyes turned toward her.
Tian Xue steeled herself and tried to reason with her older stepsister: “It’s been so long; there’s no chance of finding it back. Why bother reporting it to the police?”
Chen Xinran looked at her with a faint, ambiguous smile. It was all too obvious—so obvious that without her saying a word, both her stepmother and father beside her had already guessed what was wrong.
The stepmother was utterly shocked. Tian Xue had always been timid; how could she possibly have done something like this now?
As soon as she realized the gravity of the situation, she hurriedly stepped in to cover for her daughter.
Chen Xinran was truly willing to call the police.
The outcome was remarkably satisfying: the full thousand yuan was returned, and even as Chen Xinran walked far away, she could still hear her father’s furious shouts and the weeping of her stepmother and stepsister.
With the thousand yuan in hand, Chen Xinran had originally planned to send it all back, but her uncle stubbornly refused to accept it. He insisted that he was now wealthy and that a thousand yuan was no longer a significant sum.
Reluctantly, Chen Xinran decided to keep the money for now, intending to return it to her uncle when he visited next year for the ceremony.
The thousand yuan hadn’t yet been deposited at the post office when Qian Qing announced her plan to travel to the provincial capital to restock goods. Chen Xinran figured the money would just sit idle in the post office anyway, so it made more sense to let Qian Qing use it for her business ventures.
After spending this time together, Chen Xinran felt that Qian Qing was both hardworking and sharp-minded; she was bound to make something of herself in business sooner or later. Chen Xinran was more than willing to add fuel to Qian Qing’s fire, curious to see just how far she could go.
Qian Qing declined twice, but seeing that Chen Xinran’s offer was sincere, she finally accepted her kindness.
She was truly short on cash; a trip to the provincial capital was no easy feat, and bringing back more goods meant greater profits. She had already made up her mind: when the time came to repay the debt, she would definitely calculate interest for Chen Xinran based on the duration.
****
Everything was ready, and the day of departure had finally arrived. Zhou Hao had specially arranged a shift swap with a colleague so he could carry Qian Qing’s bags and accompany her all the way to the platform.
“Be careful on the road, and stay sharp. Once you arrive, I’ll have Old Ding meet you at the South Square. You’ve met Old Ding before; he’ll be holding up a sign then, so make sure you don’t miss him.”
Even after the train pulled away, Qian Qing couldn’t help but look back, searching for Zhou Hao’s figure until it disappeared from view.
The tickets they had purchased were for two window seats. The train was scheduled to depart at 9:00 AM, with the journey to the provincial capital taking approximately five hours. Though it was only a five-hour trip, they dared not blink an eye the entire way.
In the years following the launch of reform and opening-up, the policy of sending educated youth to the countryside was abolished, university entrance examinations were reinstated, and those who had been sent down gradually began returning to the cities.
But there were only so many factories, and the individual economy was still in its infancy. With so many people idle, all sorts of chaotic incidents naturally began to sprout.
Things were relatively fine in their own province, but they had heard that in some remote areas, people were climbing onto trains to steal, while others were stopping vehicles on the road to rob passengers.
Taking this into account, Zhou Hao spoke with Old Ding in advance and arranged to have the money remitted directly. Carrying three thousand yuan on one’s person would be conspicuous no matter how it was hidden; there would be no peace along the entire journey if they did so.
In the end, Qian Qing and Qian Yu each tucked fifty yuan into their clothes, leaving nothing in their bags but a few changes of clothing and some dried provisions.
As soon as they boarded the train, Qian Qing went to find the conductor. Chen Xinran knew her; they had both grown up in the same railway compound.
Qian Qing headed straight for the conductor’s rest area in Carriage Nine. She never believed that leveraging connections was anything wrong. If you have such ties, why shouldn’t you use them?
Besides, a master can only show you the way; cultivation depends on the individual. She had nurtured this relationship through her own abilities, so wasn’t this network now truly hers?
The conductor’s name was Lin Xiaohui. She had an oblong face with narrow, elongated eyes at the corners. Dressed in her uniform, she was sipping tea from a cup.
Upon hearing that Qian Qing had been sent by Chen Xinran, the attendant immediately became much warmer.
“You’ve come at just the right time; someone has indeed returned a ticket here. Come along, and I’ll issue you a sleeper berth.”
Qian Qing thanked her, then took her sister’s hand as they each grabbed their bags and followed behind Lin Xiaohui.
After squeezing through two carriages, they finally reached the sleeper compartment. Lin Xiaohui issued them a ticket and pointed to the lower berth: “There it is.”
Qian Qing couldn’t have been more pleased; she handed over the jar of chili sauce she held in her hand.
“I didn’t bring anything else since I was rushing to catch the train, but please take this jar of chili sauce. My mother made it by hand; its flavor rivals that of any state-run restaurant.”
The chili sauce had, of course, been prepared in advance, yet it was certainly insufficient to repay the favor of someone using back-channel connections to secure a sleeper berth.
But in human relationships, the worst thing one can do is calculate everything too precisely.
If everything is calculated too precisely, how can there be any further interaction next time?
It’s like young men and women who are mutually interested, arranging to have a meal together. If you treat me this time, then naturally I’ll have the chance to treat you next time. But if you split the bill right there on the spot, down to the last penny, it basically means that’s the end for both of you; whether there’ll even be a second meeting is anyone’s guess.
Doing business means owing favors; this time I owe you, and next time when something good comes my way, I’ll naturally have a proper reason to come repay you. The repayment may not be equal, and then you’ll owe me instead.
Coming and going, interacting and moving about—that is how connections are built.
Qian Yu listened in complete confusion as Qian Qing explained the reasoning behind her actions.
She had only asked casually; after all, the gift they had given was somewhat meager. There was still a larger bottle in their bag, which would have looked much more presentable.
Qian Qing, however, was intentionally grooming Qian Yu. Her sister was wonderful in every way, except for being far too honest. Whenever someone gave her an inch, she felt compelled to give back three miles, never willing to take even the slightest advantage.
Such behavior might be seen as honest and straightforward in daily life, but in business, it’s a bit too blunt.
The green-skinned train swayed rhythmically, and before they knew it, noon had arrived. The pair skipped the dining car, making do instead with some steamed buns and soybean paste they’d brought along.
After passing through two cities, Qian Qing began to feel nervous.
“This stretch runs through the mountainous region; the next stop after this one will be the provincial capital.”
So, extra caution is needed on this stretch; many pickpockets strike right here. As the train slows down near the mountainous area, the bold ones dare to flip open the windows and jump out with their loot, while the timid ones simply squeeze off at the station just before the provincial capital.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Qian Qing spotted a commotion up ahead. Several men were huddled together smoking, when one with a thin mustache seemed to lose his balance and leaned against another man in the middle of the carriage who was also smoking.
Not long after the man with the mustache moved away, the smoker suddenly bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“Where’s my money?! Who stole my money?!”
Qian Qing pushed her sister’s forehead back down; out here, they could barely protect themselves. Zhou Hao had specifically warned her that trains were full of criminal gangs working in groups, urging her not to let anger cloud her judgment and do something reckless.
With hearts pounding in their chests, they passed through the mountainous region until the train finally arrived at the provincial capital.
Hand in hand, the two made their way out of the station and headed toward the South Plaza to meet someone.
The South Plaza was bustling with people; many sat on the ground resting, burdened by large bundles slung over their shoulders.
Just as Qian Qing was worrying about how to find the person, the sound of gongs being struck echoed from somewhere nearby.
Recalling the circumstances of her last encounter with Old Ding, Qian Qing sensed trouble; she grabbed her sister and plunged into the crowd.
Sure enough, in the center of the throng stood three or four hooliganish young men, each holding a gong. Beside them was a large sheet of white paper bearing the names of Qian Qing and Qian Yu.
Old Ding squatted to the side, a cigarette pinched between his fingers and sunglasses perched on his nose; behind the dark lenses, his eyes darted about, scanning to see which one was his sister-in-law.
Finally spotting Qian Qing, Old Ding hurriedly stood up, crushing out the cigarette butt in his hand. He slapped a young man on the head, “Stop knocking!”
After speaking, he leaned in close, took off his sunglasses, and revealed a baby-faced visage.
Qian Qing: “…Old Ding, are you returning to your old trade?”