Chapter 7: Republic Of China Long-distance Journey, An Unusual Train Trip
After receiving the appointment letter, he had to report to Shanghai within the remaining less than 7 days.
Although there was ample time, going early had its advantages; he could understand the situation there in advance, which would facilitate his work after joining.
Fang Wen still followed the same approach as in the future for joining a new company; it was unknown what that would be like in this era.
He put away the appointment letter, packed his belongings into a small leather suitcase, and didn’t need to bring anything else, traveling light.
Instructor Liu, waiting outside the dormitory, handed him two paper tubes containing packages of silver dollars.
“These are 120 silver dollars, including a 100 appointment allowance from the Ministry of Communications and a 20 reward from the school. You can use them before your salary is paid next month.”
120 silver dollars were equivalent to an instructor’s monthly salary. Receiving this bonus before even starting the job was exceptional welfare.
Fang Wen put away the silver dollars and, accompanied by Instructor Liu and his fellow students, boarded a military vehicle to head to the Beiping train station.
The military vehicle stopped outside the train station. The group disembarked, saw Fang Wen into the waiting room, and engaged in pleasantries while waiting for the train.
After a while, a staff member from the station shouted through a loudspeaker.
“The train to Tianjin is about to depart. Hold your tickets and line up to enter the station.”
Fang Wen bid farewell to his instructor and classmates, lined up at the back, and moved forward. At the ticket checker, a pair of scissors would snip off a corner of the ticket stub as a form of verification.
The crowd entered the platform, where a train was already waiting. Passengers found their carriages and boarded.
Fang Wen boarded carriage number three and surveyed the situation inside.
As it was a first-class carriage, the ticket price was double that of a regular ticket. The environment here was good; although it was full, it wasn’t crowded.
He found his seat, located in the middle of the carriage, near the window.
Next to him was a middle-aged man in a Western-style suit and leather shoes, and opposite him were a woman with her hair in a bun and a young girl in student attire.
He walked over, sat in his seat, and placed his handbag to his right, close to the carriage wall.
Toot.
The whistle sound blew, and with the train’s movement, the people in the carriage gradually became more lively.
The middle-aged man took out a small bamboo basket containing items, retrieved some dried fruit and peanuts, and placed them on the shelf in front of him.
“These are some snacks prepared by my wife. Fellow travelers are friends, why don’t you all try some?”
Fang Wen waved his hand to refuse.
The young girl opposite reached out her hand, but before she could take anything, the woman with her hair in a bun lightly swatted her hand, causing her to retract it.
The woman smiled and said, “Mister, you are too kind. Are you from Tianjin?”
“I’m going there to transfer. I have business in Shanghai,” the middle-aged man replied.
The woman with her hair in a bun showed a hint of joy, “We are also going to Shanghai to visit relatives. We could travel together!”
The middle-aged man looked at the two opposite him with surprise, “Fifty hours! And there will be delays in between; it could take up to three days if it’s slow. How did you two weak women decide to travel alone? Isn’t that a bit rash?”
“My father is gravely ill there, so of course, I have to go take care of him,” the young girl replied.
“So that’s how it is. Your filial piety is commendable. Leave this to me; just follow me closely along the way,” the middle-aged man assured them, patting his chest, which made the woman with her hair in a bun feel more at ease.
Fang Wen observed from the side.
From a third-person perspective, he felt the middle-aged man was a bit questionable; most people are very cautious when traveling, and someone so enthusiastic is rare.
However, he couldn’t just make assumptions; what if the person was genuinely kind-hearted?
Therefore, he didn’t get involved and turned to look out the window at the scenery, lost in thought.
The conversations of the three could be heard from time to time.
Along the way, the middle-aged man actually became acquainted with the mother and daughter until the train arrived at Tianjin Station.
After disembarking from the train, Fang Wen took out his itinerary for the journey south.
In this era, traveling thousands of miles was not so convenient.
Although there were trains, many sections of the route were not continuous, requiring multiple transfers.
Taking the train from Beijing to Tianjin was the first stop.
Then, from Tianjin, he would transfer to the Jingpu Railway to Pukou in Nanjing.
After that, he would take a boat from Pukou across the Yangtze River to Xiaguan.
From Xiaguan, he would take another section of the Nanjing-Shanghai Railway; Nanjing-Shanghai refers to Nanjing to Shanghai.
The entire journey involved 3 transfers and crossing the Yangtze River by boat. It was indeed likely to take over 50 hours, as the middle-aged man had said.
If there were delays in between and they missed a connection, it would take even longer.
Fang Wen couldn’t help but sigh that given this transportation environment, flying was indeed the most convenient and fastest method.
From this, he understood the importance of Civil Aviation in China. Although each flight could only carry 6 passengers, wealthy individuals would certainly not mind this.
Bringing his thoughts back, he walked to the ticket office to purchase a train ticket for the Jingpu section. He still had to wait three hours for the train to depart.
He couldn’t go anywhere during these three hours and could only wait in the waiting room.
The middle-aged man and the mother and daughter also purchased their tickets and entered the waiting room.
The middle-aged man glanced at Fang Wen. Such a sincere person, yet he didn’t greet Fang Wen, who had come on the same train. Instead, he led the mother and daughter towards another direction in the waiting room.
It was the young lady from a prominent family who saw him.
“Mom, isn’t that the person sitting opposite us? He seems to be going our way.”
“Why do you care about others? Speaking of which, Uncle Ye is such a good person, willing to help us mother and daughter. Go buy some food outside so we can eat together on the journey. Take these few silver dollars and don’t lose them.”
“I understand, Mother. I’m a student at Beiping Girls’ Middle School; I know what’s proper and sensible, unlike you young ladies from prominent families.”
“Stop your chatter. Just go when I tell you to.”
The young lady from a prominent family took the silver dollars and happily walked out of the waiting room.
Fang Wen hesitated, then followed her out, carrying his handbag.
He watched the young lady from a prominent family walk to the grocery store outside the station and wondered whether to warn her.
But how could he? He had no evidence to prove the middle-aged man had malicious intentions. However, if he didn’t intervene, it would be a minor issue for the mother and daughter to be deceived financially and sexually; being trafficked to some poor, remote region and suffering for a lifetime would be tragic.
While he was thinking, the young lady from a prominent family returned with food.
These were all local specialty products, wrapped in oiled paper and then tied with hemp rope.
She was walking quickly and carelessly, and the items in her hands snagged on another passenger, scattering all over the ground.
Fang Wen crouched down, helped pick them up, and handed them to her.
“Thank you,” the young lady from a prominent family said, looking up. “I’ve seen you before; you were sitting opposite me. Are you also taking the Jinpu train?”
“Yes,” Fang Wen replied, standing up from the ground.
“Then we’re traveling together. You’re not going to Shanghai too, are you?” The young lady from a prominent family took a liking to Fang Wen and started chatting.
“Yes.”
“What are you going to Shanghai for?”
“To fly an airplane,” Fang Wen answered truthfully.
The young lady from a prominent family couldn’t help but smile. “You’re lying; I don’t talk to liars.”
Immediately, she took her things and returned to the waiting room.
Fang Wen was a bit speechless. The real swindler was deceiving the mother and daughter, while he, telling the truth, was mistaken for a liar.
He shook his head and walked out of the station, intending to go to the grocery store to buy some food and beverages.
He selected some large twisted dough sticks and asked the employee to pack them. Then, he saw something novel on the shelf.
Soda.
Carbonated beverages existed in this era.
It was called Shanhai Pass Soda.
Upon asking the employee, it was produced by a factory in Tianjin and was quite famous locally.
He decided to buy 5 bottles as hydration drinks and asked the employee to tie them together with hemp rope.
Carrying two bundles in his left hand and his handbag in his right, Fang Wen returned to the waiting hall.
As soon as he sat down, he saw the young lady from a prominent family glare at him, giving him a “you’re a liar and I won’t talk to you” look.
Fang Wen suddenly found it a bit amusing.
Alright, he thought, it won’t be long before they know who the real liar is.
