TYH-DCI | Chapter 14 – “She stole it—she must have stolen it!”

Neither Jiang Lai nor Li Zhaodi paid much attention to the small incident earlier. However, whenever Jiang Lai spaced out, her eyes would occasionally meet the woman’s.

The woman remained on high alert. Every time she noticed Jiang Lai looking at her, she would relax slightly—but still tightened her grip on the child in her arms.

After about two or three hours, Qiu’er and the others finally woke up. The sun outside the window had already begun to set.

Sleeping while slumped over was uncomfortable, so once they woke up, they stood to stretch their bodies.

They had originally planned to let Jiang Lai and Li Zhaodi rest next, but both of them insisted they weren’t tired, so they continued chatting instead.

Time passed quickly when gossiping—before they knew it, night had fallen.

By then, the food they had eaten at noon had mostly been digested, so they took out the remaining meat, buns, and steamed bread with pickles.

As the temperature dropped at night, Jiang Lai looked at the slightly hardened meat buns in Qiu’er’s lunchbox and said, “Qiu’er, I’ll take this to the conductor and ask them to heat it up. Eating cold food might give you stomach issues.”

Qiu’er agreed immediately. “That makes sense. Let’s go together then.”

Jiang Lai originally wanted to refuse, but Wang Shengnan spoke up first. “I’ll go with her. The dining car is pretty far, and you two probably won’t be able to squeeze through.”

Among the four of them, Wang Shengnan and Li Zhaodi were around the same height, about 172 cm. Jiang Lai and Qiu’er were slightly shorter—Jiang Lai about 165 cm, and Qiu’er around 160 cm.

Hearing that, Qiu’er didn’t insist, and let them go.

Led by Wang Shengnan, the two squeezed their way toward the dining car.

Along the way, Jiang Lai saw the same couple holding a child. The baby still seemed asleep, maintaining the same position on the woman’s shoulder as a few hours earlier.

Something felt off.

But Jiang Lai had never taken care of children before, so she wasn’t sure how long babies could sleep or whether it was normal for them to remain so still.

Afraid she was overthinking, she said nothing. The woman also happened to look over and smiled kindly at her, so Jiang Lai suppressed her doubts for now.

After a long struggle through the crowded aisle, they finally reached the dining car and let out a breath of relief.

“Oh my god, it’s so crowded. You were right—without you, I probably couldn’t have made it through,” Jiang Lai said.

Wang Shengnan waved it off casually and stepped forward with the lunchbox, intending to ask the staff to heat the buns.

But the server was too busy to pay attention to them.

Seeing this, Jiang Lai gently tapped Wang Shengnan’s shoulder, took the lunchbox from her, and stepped forward.

“Comrade, what dishes do you have today?” she asked.

The server’s expression softened slightly—customers meant business.

“We have potato stir-fry rice sets and cabbage-radish rice sets,” she replied.

Noticing Jiang Lai’s clothes, she didn’t even bother promoting the more expensive dishes. Even so, the meals weren’t cheap.

Jiang Lai glanced at the buns they were holding. “Do you have any single stir-fried dishes?”

The server grew impatient but still answered, “Yes, but they’re not cheap. Do you want them?”

“Yes,” Jiang Lai said calmly. “What dishes are available?”

Before the server could answer, the annoying man and woman from earlier appeared again.

“Oh, it’s you again, poor little beggar,” the woman sneered. “Still eating steamed buns and pickles at noon, and now you’re at the dining car? Can you even afford anything?”

She then turned to the server. “Comrade, you should be careful. Some people don’t look like they have money—they might even be here to steal.”

The server disliked the woman even more than she disliked Jiang Lai.

“This comrade, mind your own business,” she snapped. “Whether she can afford it is her problem. Don’t interrupt my work.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed the woman to the back of the line.

Wang Shengnan stepped forward, coldly staring at her. “Didn’t I tell you earlier? Brush your teeth before you talk. Why are you everywhere?”

The woman clenched her fists. “You… what are you so proud of? Hanging around a poor nobody like her just lowers your status.”

Wang Shengnan said nothing and stepped forward again, clearly ready to act.

Jiang Lai quickly pulled her back. “Impressive, Shengnan. Since when did you learn foreign language—you can even communicate with dogs now?”

The server couldn’t help but laugh, quickly covering it up.

“Enough. Go queue properly. Don’t waste everyone’s time.”

The woman gritted her teeth, furious, but had no choice but to retreat to the back.

In her mind, she thought viciously: If she can’t pay later, I’ll make sure she suffers for this.

Just then, Wang Shengnan reached into her pocket.

But Jiang Lai stopped her.

The server interrupted again. “You want your food heated? Wait over there. I’m busy.”

“No, I’m ordering,” Jiang Lai said quickly. “What dishes do you have?”

The server sighed. “We can make braised pork, twice-cooked pork, and stir-fried greens.”

“Then one twice-cooked pork and one stir-fried greens. Takeaway.”

“Do you have containers?” the server asked.

“No. Do you sell them? And a pot of hot water as well.”

“We do. Lunch boxes are 1 yuan each. Hot water pots aren’t loaned—either bring your own or buy one. A bamboo thermos is 5 yuan.”

“Then I’ll take one.”

The total: 8 yuan and 10 fen.

Wang Shengnan immediately grabbed her arm. “Don’t buy the thermos. I can empty mine and lend it to you.”

“It’s fine,” Jiang Lai said calmly. “I’ve got it covered.”

Before Wang Shengnan could insist, Jiang Lai had already taken out a ten-yuan bill and a ration ticket.

The woman who had been waiting for a chance suddenly screamed.

“No way! Look at her—she looks so poor! How could she possibly have ten yuan?!”

“That must be stolen! She stole it! Check your money! She stole from you!”

The dining car instantly erupted into chaos. People began checking their pockets and money.

Several opportunists even shouted, “Mine! I lost ten yuan and a ration ticket!”

Soon, multiple voices echoed the same claim.

The entire dining car descended into panic and confusion.