The police officers were about to say something when Ling Chengyan heard the loudspeaker start to announce ticket checking information: Train K*** is beginning ticket checking, passengers taking train K*** please queue at gate four for ticket checking.

Ling Chengyan nodded to the two police officers and said, "We’re going to check tickets now, thank you for your hard work, comrades."

Then, with her two children, she picked up the luggage and headed straight for the ticket gate.

Ling Chengyan and her children were standing in line, almost at the ticket gate, when Wang Liansheng hurriedly ran back carrying a bag of items.

Ling Chengyan took out a ticket and handed it over, "You queue at the back, we’ll get on the train first."

Wang Liansheng agreed and was about to take the ticket when a passenger behind Ling Chengyan and her children spoke, "Why should a whole family split up? Go together, it’s not cutting in line!"

Others chimed in, "Yes, it’s not cutting in line."

"No, it’s not cutting in line."

The people smiled kindly at the family, and a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties said with a smile, "I just checked on the kids, they’re alright."

After he finished, he added, "I’m a doctor from the provincial hospital, my surname is Zhou."

Wang Liansheng shook hands with Dr. Zhou to thank him, then bowed repeatedly to thank the passengers in line.

While chatting, they reached the front for ticket checking, Wang Liansheng thanked everyone once again, then followed his wife and children to check tickets and entered the station.

In the rush, they couldn’t buy sleeping berths, only four hard seat tickets.

Once on the train, the hard seat compartment was crowded, the seats were naturally all taken, and the aisles were filled with people.

The family of four managed to find their seats, stowed their luggage, and sat down.

There were still people pushing and squeezing to find seats, even those with no-seat tickets held onto a slim hope of finding a rare empty seat.

The train windows were open, the fan above shook its head as it blew but created little breeze.

The platform was crowded with people seeing off the passengers, some were handing things into the train, while others were saying farewell to friends and family onboard. In sight, on the small platform, some were crying, some were laughing, encapsulating many joys and sorrows, the various tastes of life.

Woo... the train whistled and slowly started, clanking along the tracks, departing the platform, leaving the city behind.

Houses on either side quickly retreated from a bustling landscape to more sparse, followed by fields, waterways, and small black boats on the river.

Wang Liansheng took out a can of tangerines, shook it towards the kids and smiled, "I’ll open it for you to eat."

Life had improved now, canned fruits once hard to come by were no longer a favorite. The two children showed little interest, nodding as they both leaned against the windows to look at the fields and river networks outside.

"Mom, look, there’s someone rowing over there," Shi Tou pointed out the window, calling for Ling Chengyan to see.

Standing, Wang Liansheng smiled helplessly, ruffled his son’s hair, and humorously scolded, "You naughty boy, even if you don’t like eating them, you have to. Otherwise, what will you drink water from?"

Xia Tian suddenly realized and started giggling.

Daddy was sly, making them eat canned fruit was just to get a cup for drinking water.

Shi Tou felt a bit aggrieved, hiding behind Ling Chengyan, peeking out with eyes to protest against his dad, "Dad, stop touching my head."

Wang Liansheng stared at him, "You little rascal, now you don’t even let dad touch your head?"

Xia Tian helped explain to dad, giggling, "Touching heads makes you stop growing, Shi Tou’s afraid of that."

"You’re still so young, already worried about not growing tall? Boys grow taller later, you know?"

While joking, Wang Liansheng left with the can, shortly returned with it open.

Beside the canned fruit, he also borrowed two spoons from the dining car, "Come on, eat up, once we’re done we’ll go to the dining car for a meal." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The two children weren’t eager.

Wang Liansheng looked at the large can, troubled, having bought a large can thinking of the family’s drinking needs... If he knew earlier, he would’ve gotten a small one instead of worrying about unfinished canned fruit.

Ling Chengyan chuckled, picked up the can and a small spoon, got up and invited the passengers on the opposite side of the seat, "Freshly opened can, let’s share with the kids, have some together."

Behind her were two children as well, a girl about five or six and a boy around seven or eight, their clothes were somewhat old, the boy’s shoes even had holes revealing his toes.

Earlier when Wang Liansheng returned with the large can, Ling Chengyan heard the sound of the children behind swallowing.

"No, no, we can’t take your things to eat..." said the elderly couple with them, their hair greyed and weathered faces, judging from their clothing, were likely rural folk.

Ling Chengyan smiled warmly, shaking the can in her hand, "Such a big bottle, our two kids can’t finish it. Let’s share it instead of wasting it; think of it as doing us a favor."

After exchanging several pleasantries, Ling Chengyan managed to give away half of the can, leaving the other half for her two children, each with a spoon to eat on their own.

Shi Tou was young, not paying much attention to the two kids, but Xia Tian noticed keenly, tugged at her mom’s clothes and whispered, "Mom, there’s candy in my backpack..."

Ling Chengyan understood her sympathy for the two children.

But she didn’t encourage Xia Tian to give candy, instead patted her arm to indicate eating the canned fruit, "Finish quickly, your dad ordered food, if we’re late, it’ll get cold."

The two children didn’t just eat themselves, they spooned out orange segments for mom and dad. The family of four, a few bites each, finished the half can.

With the empty can and two spoons, Wang Liansheng called wife and kids to the dining car.

The dining car had a chef preparing meals, not the most delicious, but they were freshly made and better than eating bread and crackers.

The dining car was not very full, only half occupied. As the family arrived, the chef had already prepared their ordered meals, served them, and they sat together to eat.

Wang Liansheng also bought two bottles of Tsingtao beer, opened, poured a glass for Ling Chengyan first and smiled, "Everything bought on the train is good stuff, these beers aren’t easily available back home."

Beer had recently become popular, especially refreshing in the summer. However, limited beer production often meant not drinking freely; finding a case of beer for gatherings was a joyous occasion.

Especially the famous Tsingtao beer, highly sought after, some people even pulled strings and used connections just to buy a few bottles.

Though Ling Chengyan didn’t particularly enjoy beer’s taste, since Wang Liansheng poured for her, she didn’t refuse, drinking a bit, the cool liquid had some bitterness but refreshed completely upon swallowing, tingling bubbles rising made her scalp feel pleasant.

"Mm, it’s really good. Authentic Tsingtao beer is truly fragrant. Try savoring this thick aroma, the smooth and refreshing liquid, no off-taste... great stuff." Wang Liansheng praised repeatedly, causing Xia Tian and Shi Tou to turn their heads and look at him.