Ice City Arrived

"Master, to the train station!"

"Metered or not?"

"Base fare, why use the meter."

"Got it."

In the taxi, Chen Xingguo handed Chen Hao a savings passbook.

Chen Hao took it. "What's this?"

"The stakes."

"Didn't Mom already give me the stakes?"

"This is my share."

"Where did you get the money? Did you steal it from Mom?"

"When it's between husband and wife, how can that be called stealing?"

"How did you know where Mom keeps her money?"

"No matter where my secret stash is, she can find it. I also know exactly where she keeps her money. We've been playing cat and mouse for decades. Your mom likes to play, so I'll humor her."

"You did that on purpose?"

"Otherwise, with your mom's intelligence, she'd be looking forever. It's all experience, kid, you should learn from it."

"Really? I don't believe it! How will you explain it when we get back?"

Chen Xingguo said dismissively, "Heh~ Don't you know the status of Northeast men in the family?"

"A washboard?"

"Probably unavoidable." Chen Xingguo sighed with some gravity.

Then he patted Chen Hao's shoulder and said earnestly, "Son, remember, you're a grown man now. Do whatever you want with all your heart. I, your father, am your strong backing. When I decided to join the army and serve the country, it was your grandfather who supported me against all opposition. This is our family tradition."

"Dad~" Chen Hao's expression was a little emotional.

When he earns money in the future, he must give his dad more pocket money.

"Look at you, don't put on that act, it's embarrassing. I'm considering this an investment. When you make a lot of money in the future, you'll have to pay me back with interest!"

"Uh, no, I wanted to ask, when is your birthday again?"

He raised this son for so many years, and he doesn't even remember his father's birthday. "Hey, give me back the passbook!" Chen Xingguo made a move to snatch it.

He looked up and saw Chen Hao's sly expression, realizing the kid had done it on purpose. He instinctively raised his hand and gave him a flick on the head.

"You brat, you dare to play tricks on your old man!"

At Chen Hao's home.

"Chen Xingguo, you scoundrel, just you wait." Wu Xiuhua looked at the missing savings passbook and knew exactly what had happened. She glanced at the washboard standing by the wall, already worn smooth and about to be retired, no longer possessing its former might.

She let out an angry roar and stormed out, wondering if durians were available at the fruit store this season!

"After passing Shanhaiguan, if you have something, find Benshan."

"Investment doesn't cross Shanhaiguan."

The first sentence is literal. If you have people, everything is easy. Back then, Uncle Benshan's influence, everyone understood. Later... well, everyone understood too. Living out his retirement peacefully is considered good.

The second sentence means that in the Northeast, just having money is useless if you don't have connections. Many entrepreneurs have failed in the Northeast. Yes, they lost a lot of money.

In the Northeast, people are more useful than money.

From large-scale business operations and qualification reviews to small matters like opening a shop, setting up a stall, or buying train tickets, it's all the same.

You have to know that at this time of year, buying tickets requires queuing at the train station or ticket window from early morning. In the dead of winter, it's a real hardship.

After waiting for several hours, you finally get to the ticket release. Even if you're third in line, if you're unlucky, you can't even get a seat ticket, only a standing ticket. Even then, you're happy, at least you got a ticket.

Sometimes people wonder where all the sleeper and hard seat tickets go, who buys them so fast.

Xu Pengkun, holding two seat tickets, handed them over when he saw Chen Hao approaching.

Chen Hao took them and looked.

Wow, good heavens, they were two consecutive seat tickets.

But thinking about Big Bird's relatives working at the train station, it wasn't surprising. After all, having connections makes things easier.

Xu Pengkun was also sent off by his father. After seeing his son off, he chatted with Chen Xingguo on the side. The two unfortunate fathers took the opportunity to smoke.

The train station was packed with people. Chen Hao and his friend said goodbye to their respective fathers and then went to queue for ticket inspection.

Chen Hao carried two bags, one for eating on the train and the other for eating at school.

Xu Pengkun behind him was no different. They glanced at each other's luggage and shared understanding smiles.

At this time, the ratio of students returning to school and migrant workers heading to the city was fifty-fifty. They were swept along by the crowd towards the train car doors without much effort.

After overcoming many difficulties, the two, relying on their tall stature, managed to push their way to their seats. They quickly placed their luggage on the seats to reserve them. Under the seats, a fierce standing-ticket holder had already spread out a newspaper, securing a favorable position, resting their head on their luggage, and completely relaxing.

This is the price of a standing ticket with the treatment of a floor bunk.

After the two sat down, they both let out a sigh of relief. They were already sweating before anything even happened.

Chen Hao's throat felt a bit dry, so he chugged half a bottle of mineral water.

Well, so much for the shower today.

Before long, the aisle was packed with people, completely full and impossible to move.

Woosh~~~~~~

The train lurched and slowly started to move.

There were no high-speed trains back then, only express and ordinary trains. Trains without letters at the beginning and purely numbers were slow passenger trains, commonly known as green-skin trains.

Chen Hao's hometown was remote, and the only way to get to Ice City was this kind of green-skin train. It ran once a day, and for a journey of only five to six hundred kilometers, it took over ten hours.

Watching his hometown gradually recede through the train window, Chen Hao, carrying a huge sum of 40,000 yuan, was full of ambition, Confident that he could live for two hundred years and achieve great things, Fuck, I drank too much water and need to pee.

There was something magical on the train, something that could move unimpeded no matter how crowded it was, and that was

Ah, here they come, here they come! They're shouting their slogans as they walk!

"Beer, drinks, mineral water, peanuts, melon seeds, cured meat sausages!"

"Hey, comrade in front, move your legs back!"

In the crowded masses, in the narrow space, nothing could ever obstruct the pushcart.

So the pushcart also had a function – a vanguard!

Three or four people were already following behind the pushcart. Chen Hao took the opportunity to trail behind them. These people were either going to the toilet or out to the aisle to smoke.

Even with the pushcart clearing the way, it took over an hour for this round trip.

The train was lively, with people playing cards and drinking, but more were cracking melon seeds or chatting and boasting while dipping cucumbers in fermented bean paste.

Chen Hao and his friend were the latter type. Since they had nothing else to do, they chatted about trivial matters.

Xu Pengkun was explaining the specifics of selling his game account, while Chen Hao was explaining the concept of private servers, then they chatted about interesting anecdotes from Legend of Mir and embarrassing childhood stories, reminiscing nostalgically.

The two were engrossed in their conversation.

The guy downstairs, listening to them, kept rolling his eyes.

This guy had found a good spot as soon as he got on the train and fell asleep. He was groggy and half-asleep, constantly being told to move his legs, which annoyed him immensely.

And that wasn't all. Two idiots, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, were bragging loudly.

They would talk about making millions by selling something, or hundreds of thousands in just a few hours of trading.

They even talked about going to Beijing to start a company, become bosses, and hire a bunch of young ladies.

Damn, if anyone had millions, wouldn't they drive a car instead of taking this dilapidated old train? What, are they here to experience the hardships of the common people?

In this tiny place, he might have believed them if they said they were going to be bosses in Ice City, but Beijing? Dream on!

He hated these people who talked big on the train.

After thinking wildly for a while longer, the man twisted his body, turned over, and went back to sleep.

Time passed, and it was late at night. The noise on the train gradually subsided, with only the occasional cry of an infant.

The hard seats were indeed hard, and they were at a sharp right angle. Sitting made your back ache, and leaning over made your arms hurt. In the end, Chen Hao leaned against Big Bird's shoulder, his head bobbing like a pecking chick.

He dozed off for a bit, checked the time, and repeated this process: 2 AM, 3:30 AM, 6 AM.

He endured it like this, too lazy to even open the food his mother had prepared on the train.

The sun rose, and dawn broke.

Inside the carriage, the atmosphere became lively again, with the smell of instant noodles and foot odor mixing into an indescribable aroma.

After an unknown amount of time, the attendant's voice rang out like a heavenly melody.

"We are approaching the final destination of this train, Ice City Station. Ice City Station is almost here. Passengers disembarking, please take your personal belongings with you and prepare to get off!

Ice City has arrived.