The Girl Who Dared to Blossom

CHAPTER 18

Shien's heart gave him a start when he heard these words.

This is not great.

Is Mingyue actually considering him? Why would she invite him to dinner on her own, if not?

He's not daring to mess with this woman; she goes to his third brother!

Shien quickly protested, grabbing his butt, hobbling, and running. "No need, no need!"

Mingyue watched Shien in silence. Did she really look that scary?

He ran faster than a bunny.

Swiftly approaching Mo Baichuan, Shien said, "Third brother, I've returned the ticket to the female comrade."

Mo Baichuan nodded and said, "Hmm." "Go buy two tickets back to Beijing."

Returning to Beijing?

We just got off the train from Beijing, and now we're going back to Beijing. Shien asked, looking at Mo Baichuan in shock, "Third Brother, aren't we going to Dam Village?" How in the world does he want to do this?

Does he just want to goof around?

Everyone has eagerly come to Beijing. Mo Baichuan replied indifferently, "We're not going. We're going straight back to the base." Visiting Dam Village would then be useless.

Shien questioned bewilderedly, "Weren't you out looking for a person? Now we're returning to the base without finding her?"

"What? Do you find my choice objectionable?" Mo Baichuan asked, throwing a straight glance at Shien.

Shien was shaking just looking at this simple picture. "No no, let's return to the base—we're going back to the base right away."

He would not dare to question Third Brother's choice, even if he had a hundred guts...

Shien was harbouring a stronger opinion by this point. Is the third Brother returning to Beijing in search of his pretty female comrade?

Maybe the Third Brother was looking for someone like this lovely friend!

**

After visiting a nearby small restaurant, Mingyue packed some food and brought it back to the inn.

Her younger sister was fast asleep in the inn. Mingyuewas looking worried when Xiumei came from the bathroom and said, "Yangyang, I want to take a bath, but there's no tub. What should I do?"

Place the food on the table, Mingyue said quietly, "Mom, wait, let me see."

The showers were foot operated back then.

This type of shower was nothing new to Mingyueg. However, it was extremely strange to Xiumei, a country woman who had recently arrived in Beijing. It took her some time to come to terms with it.

"Mom, it works like this. This is called a shower. When you step on this pedal, water will spray out. You can stand under it to wash."

Xiumei scowled. She was naturally thrifty. "No good, no good! That's such a waste of water!"

Mingyue Laughed. "It's sanitary and convenient to wash like this. It's popular in the city. Go take a shower quickly, we'll eat after you're done. We have to get up early tomorrow to take the train."

"Yangyang, do they charge for the soap? HowShufench does it cost?" Xiumei asked after nodding "Alright."

"They don't charge for it, Mom. Use it as you like," Mingyue said, shaking her head.

"Really?" Xiumei shouted with joy. "Then I'll wash my hair too."

"Okay," nodded Ni Yang.

Xiumei moved quickly. After using the loo for less than an hour, she grinned and said, "Yangyang, I have to admit, although that thing wastes some water, it's very convenient to use. I never dreamed that one day I'd be able to use things that city people do."

After arranging the food, Mingyue said to her mother, "Come here and let me blow-dry your hair," looking at the hair dryer on the table.

Prior to the freedom, hair dryers were already in use; they had just not yet made their way into country areas.

Xiumei questioned bewilderedly, "Blow dry?" and "How do you blow dry?"

In a mysterious tone, Mingyue answered, "You'll know when you come over."

Mingyue Switched on the hairdryer, which started to hum right away, causing Xiumei to move closer. Xiumei was surprised and started to stand up as a gust of hot air puffed towards her face at the same moment. "My goodness! What's going on?" she cried.

Mingyue began to blow dry Xiumei's hair while he laughed and said, "Mom, this is a hair dryer. See, it can blow hot air. It's specially designed for drying hair."

"How come the minds of people in the city are so brilliant? By the way, Yangyang, how did you know about all these?" Xiumei asked, looking surprised. She had never seen anything like this before and figured Mingyue Hadn't either, but how did Mingyue know how to use a hairdryer and a shower?

Mingyue bluffed, saying, "I learned all these from books." There was no way she could have revealed her return to her mother.

Naturally, Xiumei did not know what was taught in textbooks because she was ignorant. She sighed and nodded, "Indeed, there's a world of difference between us - the illiterate, and those who can read." She continued by saying, "Yangyang, you just graduated from junior high school. When we get to Beijing, let's try to continue your education."

Mingyue, who had always been good at studying since she was young, looked down and whispered, "We'll see." Attending university was required, but she didn't really care whether she continued to study or not.

She most definitely did not want to become ignorant later in life. In her former life, college qualifications held great importance.

She had escaped from an old bachelor in a past life, and through self-study she had won entry to a famous university. Her goal is to be accepted to Peking University this time.

Xiumei let out a sigh. She thought they were seeking safety in Beijing. If they could only live, they would be thankful. She felt that her child was not getting the best care and that obtaining an education was just a pipe dream.

Xiumei went to bathe the children after supper. Mingyuewas packing their bags in the meantime.

They only had one bag, which held food for the trip, and not many belongings. They kept everything in a knitted bag because plastic bags had not yet been made.

Zhou Zheng gave her an envelope, which Mingyue took out of the bag. There was a thick stack of banknotes beside the reference letter and family record. She counted the notes and found that there were 1080 yuan.

It's true that Zhou Zheng was giving. A thousand yuan in this age was worth a hundred thousand yuan in the next.

But in the end, it turned out that paying 1,000 yuan for two lives was a really good deal.

Mingyue took three ten-yuan notes and safely carried the leftover ones. The train was not totally safe and was packed with people. Pickpockets could easily steal their money if she wasn't careful.

Mingyue Took the money and closed the family record. Her sister's name was changed from Shufen Laidi to Ni Yun, and her own name was changed from Shufen Yang to Mingyue.

She was going to be called Mingyue from now on—the real Mingyue!

Mingyue was filled with hope for her future as she peered at the brand-new family register!

The mother and daughter pair awoke at five o'clock the following morning. They had a train to catch, and it left at half past six.

They carried the child and left for the train station after eating some noodles downstairs. Yesterday there weren't many people buying tickets, but today the train was full. It was an incredibly thick crowd.

Mingyue said, "Mom, be careful," as he cleared a way for Xiumei through the crowd.

The train brought a wide range of people, including women, children, and farmers with their animals. It smelled really bad, and you could even hear the sounds of ducks and chickens.

Mingyuetightly gripped Xiumei with one hand while holding their bags in the other. After travelling through the throng, they finally found their sleeping section.

The sleeping area was a lot quieter. There was an upper and lower formation of bunk beds on the train. Mingyue had bought two tickets for the lower bunk. The beds were perfectly positioned next to each other. The people in the top bunks weren't there when they got there. It was only slightly past six, but the train was due to leave at half-past six.

During the trip, Ni Yun acted properly and didn't say anything.

Mingyue Picked up the cup and said, "Mom, I'll go get some water." Mingyuethen got up.

Xiumei nodded, "Hmm."

When Mingyue Came back with the hot water, the person on the upper bunk was already there.

It was a fortysomething woman. She wore makeup, drew thin, curved eyebrows, and her hair was permed. She wore a pair of sparkly little leather shoes, the newest bell-bottom pants and a white top. She looked lively and energetic, definitely a city girl.

Her clothes were definitely the style standard for this time period.

With a quick glance at the woman, Xiumei felt a sudden sense of shame as she looked down at her own clothes.

The woman looked like she would be nice. She asked, "Are you two heading to Beijing as well?" as Mingyue walked in.