Chapter 8: Kidnapping Rings, I Really Am A Pilot
Three hours of waiting ended, and the passengers rushed into the station and boarded the Jingpu train.
As before, Fang Wen didn’t skimp on himself and bought a seat in the luxury carriage.
He carried his luggage, following behind the female student, tailing her onto the train.
Just as the female student thought he had some nefarious intentions, he sat on the other side of the carriage.
A few minutes later, the train started up; this would be the longest long-distance journey in terms of time.
At first, the passengers in the carriage were still in the mood to chat, but later it gradually became dull.
The mother and daughter leaned together and fell into a deep sleep, completely unguarded against the middle-aged man sitting opposite.
Fang Wen, in another row of seats, kept observing the situation over there.
He saw it: the middle-aged man kept sneaking glances at the bracelet on the bun-haired woman’s wrist and her shoulder bag.
But because there was someone sitting next to him, he hadn’t made a move.
Until the person beside him got off the train and left.
Fang Wen planned to catch him in the act when he made his move.
But the middle-aged man still didn’t act; instead, he stood up, stretched lazily with exaggerated posture, and made a sound.
This action caused a stir in the carriage.
A strong man stood up and went straight to the middle-aged man’s side to sit down.
Although the two didn’t speak, their eyes communicated.
It seemed there really was a problem.
But now there were two of them; even if he made a move, he wouldn’t have the advantage, so he needed to think of another way.
Fang Wen picked up his handbag, stood up, left the luxury carriage, and went to the vehicle commander’s room at the rear of the train.
After an eight-hour journey, the train stopped at a midway station for half an hour.
Passengers who felt uncomfortable all over from sitting on the train for so long got off to rest.
The mother and daughter followed the middle-aged man out of the carriage.
The two of them chatted and laughed with the middle-aged man on the platform.
Unbeknownst to them, the strong man from across the aisle quietly approached from behind.
The two big men suddenly made their move, slapping their palms onto the mother and daughter’s shoulders.
With just this blow, before the mother and daughter could react, they became dazed.
In this state, the two obeyed the middle-aged man’s words completely and were about to follow him off the platform.
At that moment, the vehicle commander rushed over with several attendants and tackled the two men to the ground.
“They’re human traffickers.”
The vehicle commander raised the middle-aged man’s hand, showing the passengers the ring with a short needle on his finger.
Hearing this, the passengers on the entire platform were outraged.
No matter the era, everyone despised people who trafficked children and women.
A crowd rushed over and beat the two with fists and feet until the station’s police officers arrived, took them into custody, and then they stopped.
While they were beating the human traffickers, Fang Wen tried to wake the mother and daughter on the side.
The mother and daughter stood there with blank eyes, unresponsive no matter who called; they seemed to only listen to the middle-aged man.
An old woman gave a suggestion: “Splash them with cold water. I’ve heard from the elders that no matter what drug it is, it loses effect once they’re startled.”
Hearing this, Fang Wen opened a bottle of Shanhai Pass Soda and splashed it on the mother and daughter’s faces.
Under the cold water’s stimulation, the two finally came to.
“What’s going on?” The bun-haired woman rubbed her temples, turned to look at the middle-aged man whose clothes were torn and face bruised and swollen, and said in surprise: “Why did you beat him? Is there no law in this world anymore?”
The vehicle commander pointed at Fang Wen and explained: “If this young man hadn’t found us, you two would have been abducted and sold. Don’t you understand? They’re human traffickers.”
“Human traffickers?!” The bun-haired woman’s face changed drastically; recalling the previous scene and hearing the passengers talking all at once, she finally understood.
At this time, the train’s whistle sounded, and the passengers hurried back to the carriage.
The middle-aged man and his accomplice naturally couldn’t board again; the mother and daughter, still shaken with fear, walked into the carriage, looking at the two human traffickers through the window with eyes full of fear.
In this era, once abducted and sold, it was a done deal; they could never come back.
Therefore, the bun-haired woman was very grateful to Fang Wen; after the train started, she took the initiative to come to his side.
“Young man, thank you so much. Your great kindness, my daughter and I will never forget. Shuyun, thank your benefactor.”
The female student looked ashamed, head lowered.
“Sorry, I thought you were a bad person; I really was blind. Thank you for not holding a grudge and saving us from danger.”
Seeing the mother and daughter’s appearance, Fang Wen smiled.
“Actually, from Tianjin onward, that man’s behavior seemed strange to me; which passerby is that enthusiastic? But without evidence, I couldn’t say anything rashly. Later in this carriage, his accomplice arrived; though they pretended not to know each other, they kept exchanging glances, so I figured there was a problem and alerted the vehicle commander. I think you two shouldn’t forget to thank the vehicle commander and the other attendants.”
“Yes, yes. Shuyun, we still need to thank the other benefactors.”
Immediately, the mother and daughter went around the train, thanking everyone who had saved them.
After this incident, the two decided Fang Wen was the good person and insisted on sitting with him.
Looking at the mother and daughter who had changed seats and sat opposite him, Fang Wen said helplessly: “You two are…”
The female student seemed much more sensible, saying solemnly:
“I’m Shen Shuyun, my mom is Mu Xinqin; we’re two weak women traveling a thousand miles to find family, with no one to rely on, afraid such things might happen again. Mr. Fang is also going to Shanghai; could you look after us? We’ll be endlessly grateful later.”
So that’s it; since he’d started, he’d see it through as a good person.
Fang Wen smiled back: “Sure, we’ll go to Shanghai together; it’ll be good to have company on the road.”
This promise relieved the mother and daughter.
The female student Shen Shuyun returned to her usual temperament, eyes wide as she asked: “Eldest brother Fang, what do you do exactly?”
“I really fly airplanes; I didn’t lie to you.” Fang Wen said helplessly.
“I don’t believe it; airplanes are rare things, there are only a few in all of China. I get it; you must have some reason you can’t explain. I won’t ask.”
No matter how Fang Wen explained, the female student wouldn’t believe it; whatever, Fang Wen stopped talking about it.
The Jingpu Railway is 1000 kilometers long, but the train speed is only 30 kilometers per hour.
Yet this was the fastest mass north-south transport method in the Republic of China era.
It took over 30 full hours for the train to reach Nanjing Pukou Station.
Pukou Station and Xiaguan Station are separated by the Yangtze River; a ferry is needed to cross, a gap in north-south train travel before the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was built.
Fang Wen and the mother and daughter got off, took the ferry across the river.
Fortunately, they could buy tickets for the next Nanjing-Shanghai train, needing only to wait one hour to board.
This was probably the best news of the entire journey.
After waiting one hour, the three boarded the Nanjing-Shanghai train, endured another ten-hour journey, and finally arrived at Shanghai Station.
Outside the station, someone was there to pick up the mother and daughter.
Before leaving, Shen Shuyun specially asked Fang Wen: “Eldest brother Fang, how can I find you later?”
Fang Wen took out a pen, wrote something on a notebook, and gave it to Shen Shuyun.
“Eldest brother Fang, I’m off.”
Shen Shuyun happily got into the car.
In the car, she opened the note; seeing the handwriting, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Eldest brother Fang’s handwriting is so ugly. Huh, French Concession Rue Albert 270-273, China Airlines Pilot Villa?”
She couldn’t help but look surprised; so eldest brother Fang hadn’t lied—he really was a pilot.
