Su Qing smiled at Li Huan and said, "I’m not going. My family packed some food for me."

As she spoke, Su Qing patted the package Fu Yuzhen had given her. "I should eat this soon. It won’t be good if I let it sit for too long." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Alright then, I’ll go to the dining car to get some food," Li Huan said.

"Okay, be careful then."

"Okay."

Li Huan left for the dining car. Su Qing then unwrapped the package from Fu Yuzhen. She hadn’t opened it since receiving it, so she had no idea what was inside.

She opened it up to find a glass jar filled with sauce, six steamed buns, ten meat buns, and an aluminum lunchbox packed with sliced sausages. Besides that, there was also a bag of fried peanuts and a bag of fried meatballs.

A note was tucked inside the package. It told Su Qing that the jar contained a mushroom and meat sauce that would keep well, so she could eat it slowly. The sausages in the lunchbox were already steamed and could be eaten directly, but she was advised to finish them soon. The note also reminded Su Qing not to go hungry on the road and not to trust strangers, among other things.

The earnest reminders warmed Su Qing’s heart.

"Wow, your family treats you really well." The person sitting across from Su Qing couldn’t help but feel envious after seeing all the delicious food in her package. He had overheard Su Qing and Li Huan’s conversation and knew her family had prepared all this for her. He sighed internally. ’No wonder the little lady has such a temper. She must be spoiled rotten by her family, not afraid of anyone!’

He glanced at the cornbread bun and pickled vegetables in his own hands and swallowed quietly.

"Yes, my family is very good to me," Su Qing replied with a smile. She took out the sausages, meat buns, and fried meatballs, deciding they would be her dinner for the evening.

"Su Qing, I’m back!"

Li Huan returned quickly, navigating through the crowd with a lunchbox in her hands. She sat down and said to Su Qing with a grin, "I got some braised pork belly and Di San Xian. The food on this train looks pretty good. I can’t finish it all by myself, so let’s eat together."

Even though Su Qing hadn’t gone with her to the dining car, Li Huan had still gotten extra food, planning to share it with her.

The moment Li Huan returned, the aroma of braised pork belly filled the train car. Many people couldn’t help but swallow as they smelled it. The scent was so tantalizing that they quickly took a few more bites of their own steamed buns or cornbread, as if the smell alone could make their plain food taste better.

"Why did you get so much?" Su Qing was exasperated. She knew Li Huan wanted to share with her, but this was far too much. Both dishes were very hearty portions.

"We’ll eat it together! Food tastes better when you share," Li Huan said, smiling as she placed the lunchbox between them. "Don’t you dare be polite with me. If you are, it means you don’t see me as a friend."

Su Qing couldn’t help but press her lips into a smile. To be honest, in both her past and present lives, this was the first time she had met a girl like Li Huan. She was so open and unguarded, and once she decided she liked you, she would devote herself to being good to you—simply and purely good, with no ulterior motives. Even someone like Su Qing, who reflexively put up a wall around herself, found this kind of personality hard to resist.

"Alright," Su Qing said, unable to refuse Li Huan’s kindness. "Let’s eat together then. I have sausages and fried meatballs here, and these meat buns my aunt made. They’re delicious."

"Okay!" Seeing Su Qing willing to share her food, Li Huan’s eyes lit up. She nodded eagerly at Su Qing, for some reason reminding Su Qing of an adorable kitten. Su Qing couldn’t help but smile again.

Though the meat buns had cooled down a bit, Fu Yuzhen’s skill in making them was superb. Su Qing and Li Huan each took one, and with a small bite, a rich, savory aroma wafted out. Combined with the fragrance of the braised pork, it was pure torture for the people sitting around them. They looked at the cornbread and steamed buns in their own hands with hearts full of envy.

Food was precious in those days, and no one would be thick-skinned enough to ask for some, so they could only feel envious in their hearts.

But a big forest is full of all kinds of birds, and there are always exceptions.

"Grandma, Grandma, I want braised pork! I want a big meat bun!" A little boy’s crying shouts rang through the train car. Everyone looked over and—well, what do you know—it was the grandson of the old woman who had tried to steal Su Qing and Li Huan’s seats earlier.

Su Qing glanced up. ’Well, I’ll be.’ She hadn’t noticed before, but at some point, the old woman and her grandson had actually swapped seats with someone. Now, the two of them were sitting not far away.

The little boy was twisting like a pretzel, clinging to the old woman’s arm and whining, his mouth stretched open in a half-cry as he yelled.

Su Qing looked away. As long as they didn’t bother her and Li Huan, she wouldn’t pay them any mind. Li Huan also acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing, and the two continued to happily enjoy their lavish dinner.

The old woman was being worn down by her grandson but was still intimidated by the look Su Qing had given her earlier. She didn’t dare go looking for trouble with Su Qing, so she gently patted her grandson. "Bao’er, wait until we get off the train. Grandma will take you to eat something nice."

It wasn’t that she was unwilling to buy the braised pork for her grandson; she was simply short on cash. She’d heard a meat dish on the train cost several yuan, even more expensive than at a state-run restaurant. How could a farming family like theirs possibly afford it?

The little boy refused to give in and continued to wail, annoying the people around them. They silently cursed the person who had swapped seats with the pair.

The boy’s crying was the only sound disrupting the entire car. Someone couldn’t help but mutter, "Is this ever going to end? Can’t you control him? Who can stand all this crying?"

The old woman couldn’t placate him, so she said in a passive-aggressive tone, "Bao’er, that’s their braised pork. We’re not worthy of eating it."

The little boy immediately wiped his tears, pointed at Su Qing and Li Huan, and yelled, "Grandma, go snatch the meat for me! Didn’t you say girls are just money-losing baggage who don’t deserve to eat meat? They’re just a couple of money-losing girls! They don’t deserve it! I hope they choke to death on that meat! I hope they die a horrible death!"

The crowd gasped when they heard this. Even if you favored boys over girls, those words were far too vicious.

So, before Su Qing or Li Huan could say anything, many of the people around them had already started to verbally attack and condemn the grandmother and grandson.

"How are you raising your child? For such a little kid to say something so vicious, what will he become when he grows up?"

"My god, what’s wrong with girls? Aren’t girls people? We have gender equality now! Women hold up half the sky! What gives you the right to put down girls like that? You think being a boy makes you so great?"

"What kind of backwards feudal thinking is this? Did those girls commit murder or arson? Did they rob someone? To say something so malicious... and from such a small child, too. It must have been taught by the adults at home. It’s just too much."