Chapter 62 Train Station
The bus slowly started up, Qiu Ye sat by the window and waved goodbye to her godfather who was still standing outside.
The bus was going to take them from Oil City to the train station in the provincial capital, where they would board a direct train to Lanzhou. At that time, there was no highway from Oil City to the provincial capital, and the road was all gravel, so people on the bus were shaking up and down. However, this could not reduce the students' desire for travel in the bus, they all knew each other, and as soon as they got on the bus, they started chatting with each other.
Some classmates also saw two unfamiliar children on the bus and curiously asked questions. Zhao Shuyan generously introduced Qiu Ye and his sister to all the students, saying they were her own children, and since they were also studying art, they came along this time to sketch from life.
On this four-hour drive, Qiu Ye almost got to know all thirty-four students and three other teachers in the car. They were really enthusiastic, knowing they were Zhao Laoshi's children, and started pulling them into a never-ending conversation.
Qiu Ye knew that the leader of this trip was Director Feng, the head of the Fine Arts Department at Shi Da University, and also her godmother's direct superior. This was already his third time leading a team to Xinjiang for inspiration, and he had been to many other places as well, making him an extremely experienced team leader. Qiu Ye took advantage of her youth and made silly faces at Director Feng sitting next to her, hoping to leave a good impression on him. This was mainly because Qiu Ye was used to being poor and would occasionally see leaders at a loss for what to do.
Director Feng couldn't help but smile when he saw the youngest girl on the train, who wasn't crying or making a fuss, and was even smiling at people. He felt relieved and his concerns dissipated. When they first signed up, Teacher Zhao said he would bring his child from home to Xinjiang, and Director Feng had to agree out of respect for Teacher Zhao, but he was also worried. A child under the age of 10, taking such a long train ride, if she were to cry and make a fuss on the train, it would be unbearable for everyone. Now, looking at this child, who is actually quite good, not to mention her bright smile, has put his mind at ease.
Some people also recognized the two children as the ones who sell glutinous rice balls at the cafeteria entrance every day. Qiu Ye frankly acknowledged it and said: Thank you to all the brothers and sisters for supporting our business before, and I hope that in the future, we can understand each other, help each other, and complete this wind collection task together.
Qiu Ye's generosity won everyone's favor, and several girls kept sending delicious food to Qiu Ye. Qiu Ye looked at the many tea eggs in her hands and felt a bit overwhelmed by the enthusiastic hospitality.
They arrived at the provincial capital amidst laughter and cheerful chatter.
Arriving at the train station, it was packed with people. Qiu Ye stood in the bustling train station and felt a bit overwhelmed, not expecting so many people to be rushing for trains at this time. The train stations of Oil City and here were truly incomparable - one was like a large shopping mall, while the other was like a vegetable market.
Qiu Ye also studied at a university in the provincial capital in his previous life. When he was on summer break, the train station and trains were packed with people, but that was during peak travel season, so it was somewhat understandable. However, these days, no matter what holiday or festival it is, why are there still so many people taking the train to such a remote place? Qiu Ye thought to himself, no wonder people say you don't know how crowded China is until you get to the train station.
Actually, Qiu Ye had some misconceptions. Not everyone waiting at the train station is taking their train. Train stations have always been bustling with people from all directions, and there are people from all over the place, going to all sorts of destinations.
Qiu Ye was quite capable of stirring up trouble after her rebirth, but now that she saw such a chaotic environment and the dark crowds inside, she hesitated for a moment. What a headache!
Fortunately, Director Feng had rich experience. After entering the train station, he organized everyone to a marginal area of the train station, gathering everyone together, letting male students surround a small circle outside, while female students and children were in the middle, avoiding collisions with people coming and going. After settling everyone down, he went to pick up the train tickets with a male teacher.
This time's train tickets were uniformly purchased by the university, probably through railway connections, so everyone had a sleeper and was in the same carriage.
Before long, the two teachers who went to get the tickets came back with sweat all over their faces, holding train tickets. The time for boarding was not far away, so they didn't let everyone move freely and waited at the original place for a while before checking the tickets and getting on the train.
Qiu Ye had already gotten used to the noise in the train station and remembered seeing a fruit stand at the entrance, so she wanted to buy some to bring onto the train. She leaned over to Zhao Shuyan and whispered: "Auntie, I just saw someone selling apples outside, can my brother and I go buy some to eat on the train? Qiu Ye remembered what her mother said, that when they went out, everything had to be done under instruction. Actually, she was also intimidated by the crowds of people at the train station, it wasn't easy to get in or out, you had to push through a sea of people.
Zhao Shuyan had just helped organize the students to rest in place, and now she heard the request of her aunt's daughter and felt a bit difficult. It was really not easy to think of the train station at this time.
At this time, a male student standing beside him came over and asked: Teacher Zhao, what's wrong? Is there something going on?
Qiu Ye knew this male student, his name was Chen Kai, they just chatted on the bus, he's a very enthusiastic and straightforward boy.
Qiu Ye whispered to him her thoughts, actually she didn't necessarily want to buy fruit, but felt that on the train for about ten days, eating big buns and salted vegetables every day was really boring.
Chen Kai patted his chest and said: It's just this matter, I'll take care of it. I'll go out with Mingzi now, and we can also buy some things to bring back. The Mingzi that Chen Kai mentioned was Li Minghao. Originally, everyone called him Haizi, but he felt that the nickname Haizi was detrimental to his majestic image, so he asked everyone to start calling him Mingzi instead. He was actually a 1.7-meter-tall glasses-wearing man with no grandeur or majesty to speak of - at least, that's what Qiu Ye thought.
Chen Kai finished speaking and made a gesture, preparing to break through the encirclement with Li Minghao behind him. As a result, he was caught by Zhao Shuyan.
Since you're going, why don't you ask everyone if they want to buy anything? You can buy everything at once and bring it back, so that when we get on the bus, no one will be missing anything. Zhao Shuyan had just seen a few female classmates who were tempted when Qiu Ye said she wanted to buy fruit, and now someone volunteered to go out and buy some, of course they should take care of everyone in the group.
As soon as Zhao Shuyan said this, the girls in the inner circle started chattering about what they wanted to buy. In the end, Director Feng suggested that one of the girls be responsible for recording everything they needed to buy and writing it down on paper. Then, with Chen Kai as the leader, five students went out to buy things together. They were specifically told to return within half an hour, even if they couldn't buy everything.
Chen Kai and five other classmates accepted this glorious and arduous task, held their heads high and charged into the sea of people, disappearing in the blink of an eye without a trace.
