Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space novel Chapter 535

Chapter 535: Chapter 418: Refugees Fleeing Famine

With improved mood, the continuous rain started to appear poetic in Zhou Jiao’s eyes. Such a beautiful season would be wasted if spent cooped up at home growing mushrooms.

Seduced by the beauty of the plan, Zhang Guoqing resolutely picked up his son and followed his wife merrily on the route to the provincial city.

Upon reaching the provincial station, Zhang Guoqing realized that they hadn’t yet decided their destination. For safety’s sake, he bought train tickets going north, planning to wander their way along the route as a family.

They boarded the train and searched for seats. Zhang Guoqing noticed something unusual as they entered. The flow of passengers was massive; the compartments were packed. Compared to their trip last summer, the crowd was overwhelming.

Zhang Guoqing let Zhou Jiao and their son sit inside while he keenly listened to the discussions around them and observed everyone’s attire.

A middle-aged man across from them looked at their family of three and smiled: "Are you two taking the child to visit relatives? Where will you get off?"

Zhang Guoqing gave him a thumbs up, "Uncle, good eyes! My cousin is getting married, and we can’t miss it. Even in the rain, we have to go. Uncle, are you heading home or on a business trip?"

The man laughed heartily at the compliment, "Going home. I just got back from the South, and I’ll be home in three hours. Ah, finally going home. Living away is really tough."

Someone next to him, curious, asked, "South? Where’s that? Wow, you’ve got guts, venturing within the pass. I’ve never been beyond the pass in my life."

The middle-aged man, seeing someone his age looking envious, humbly waved his hand and laughed, "Nothing worth mentioning. If you want to go out, just find a car and head back south; you can definitely venture beyond the pass. I go on business trips to the South every year, I’m used to it. This time I went the furthest. You know the noble province, right? That’s where I went."

"How’s that place? Can you get used to the food? Our unit transferred several people from the South a few years ago, their way of eating is really different from ours."

The middle-aged man looked around and said in a low voice, "That place is so poor that even the rats don’t go in the house. There was a flood last month, so I came back first."

"Tsk tsk...Really pitiful. It’s been raining here for a long time too. The sky seems to be leaking. How long have you been out this time? You know this year the harvest is poor here, right?"

The middle-aged man shook his head, "I left in March, so this is considered an early return. Usually, I come home after the first snow. Brother, tell me, how’s this place now? My wife writes but never mentions it."

Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao exchanged glances and silently listened to their chat.

"...You guys are lucky. Your place wasn’t hit as hard as ours by the disaster. I left just last week, and I don’t know how things are now. Do you know what’s being supplied in our city?"

Hearing this, Zhang Guoqing abandoned his thought of going further north. With a young child, he planned to get off at the next big city for a two-day rest.

Seeing Ping’an getting sleepy, he took him into his arms and gently patted him. Unintentionally, he noticed a child in the aisle looking enviously at his son. The child was so thin it was just skin and bones. Zhang Guoqing sighed inwardly, another child suffering. Fortunately, it’s summer; what if it were winter and the child was barefoot?

He lowered his head and listened carefully to the child talking to a man, recognizing a Lu Province accent.

"Grandpa, I’m hungry."

"Once we find your dad, you’ll have food. Drink water, water will fill you up."

Zhang Guoqing heard only suppressed sounds of a woman scolding the child and two older children possibly stopping their mother from hitting the young boy.

Perhaps because he was a father himself, hearing the child’s restrained cries of hunger made Zhang Guoqing’s nose sting. He took a slow breath and glanced down the aisle.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify