Back to 1978: Getting rich starts with treasure hunting

Lin Mei in her hometown didn't want to go to the provincial capital with Liu Xiaoe and the others.

The most important thing is that she had a miscarriage and she is still in confinement. She can't go visit relatives before she is in confinement. According to the customs in their rural area, it is very unlucky for someone who is not in confinement to visit other people's homes.

Li Xiu didn't know whether this custom existed in the provincial capital, but he didn't dare let Lin Mei bring bad luck to the Gu family.

During the month that Lin Mei was in confinement at her parents' home, Xie Chunlei visited her several times. Initially, he wanted to take her back home, but later on, Lin Mei refused to go back every time, forcing him to separate from the family, so he came less often.

In order to prove herself, Li Xiu encouraged Lin Mei to go to the provincial capital to relax, saying that if the Li family did not take the attitude to solve the problem this time, she would not let Lin Mei go back easily.

Lin Mei trusted her mother, but she felt that she was too much of a pushover. The provincial capital was so far away, and for rural girls like them who had never left the county, the provincial capital was too far away.

"Girl, stop hesitating. No matter how far the provincial capital is, it is still in our province. As long as you don't leave the province, you are still local. Just visit your relatives in your hometown. What are you afraid of?" Li Xiu hated her daughter for being so cowardly when she went on a long journey.

Lin Mei was both excited and timid. "Mom, you say that so easily. You should know that I have only been to the county town once. I don't even know which direction the city is in, let alone taking a train to the provincial capital."

Li Xiu: "Since you have never been out, I am giving you a chance this time. You must seize the opportunity to go out and see the world. When you get to the provincial capital, take the opportunity to ask Lin Shuduo to take you to see the world."

In fact, Li Xiulian had never been to the county town. When she was young, she also yearned for the wonderful world outside when she heard others talk about it.

Now that she is old, she has not fulfilled her own wish, so she hopes that her daughter can go out and see the world on her behalf.

It was not known whether it was what Li Xiu said that moved her heart, but the next day when Li Xiu sent her to the village to catch the bus, Lin Mei got on the bus with an excited look on her face.

Compared with the provincial capital, the county town and the city are both small cities. Lin Mei took a bus to the county town and then took a bus directly to the city at the station.

When they arrived in the city, the bus station was a bit far from the train station, and she had to ask several people before she could find the train station.

At the train station, it was a bit difficult to communicate because she spoke with a strong dialect. I finally found the ticket window and bought a train ticket to the provincial capital, but the train took more than two hours to arrive.

As it slowly got dark outside, the train station was still quite busy. There were quite a few people taking the train in the waiting room, most of them with large and small bags piled in front of their seats.

Lin Mei didn't dare go out of the waiting room to buy food when she was hungry. She could only eat the dry biscuits and eggs prepared by Li Xiu for her. If she felt choked, she would drink some cold boiled water to swallow it.

"Comrade, you are well prepared. You even brought dry food and a water bottle." The square-faced aunt sitting next to him said.

Lin Mei turned her head to glance at the aunt next to her. She was dressed quite elegantly and looked like the women's director in a factory or on the street, but her lips were chapped, as if she hadn't had any water for a long time.

"Auntie, don't you have any water and dry food?"

The square-faced woman smiled helplessly: "I only brought dry food and a water bottle. I thought there would be hot water on the train, so I just brought a water bottle. I didn't expect to wait so long for this train."

Lin Mei thought that it was not easy for everyone to go out, so she shook the kettle and said, "If you don't mind, I'll pour you some water."

The square-faced woman took out an enamel pot from her luggage bag with a grateful look on her face. "Thank you, comrade, you are so kind-hearted. You are such a beautiful and kind person."

"You're welcome. We all help each other when we're out and about."

"Which train did you take, comrade?"

The square-faced aunt drank the water poured by Lin Mei, and the two began to chat casually.

Lin Mei raised her wrist and glanced at her watch: "The train at 8:10 should be arriving soon."

"Oh, that's great. I happen to be taking this train as well. We are really destined to meet." The square-faced aunt looked delighted and was happy to be on the same train with her.

Lin Mei was feeling uneasy in a strange place. She was very happy to hear the words of the square-faced aunt. "Really? Where are you going, aunt?"

"It's very far to Zhengzhou."

"Where is Zhengzhou?"

For Lin Mei, who had never traveled far and had not studied for two years, she really didn't know where Zhengzhou was.

"Zhengzhou is the capital of Hebei Province. From Zhengzhou, you will soon reach the capital. Where are you going, comrade?" asked the square-faced aunt.

"I'm going to the provincial capital." Lin Mei really didn't know how far Zhengzhou and Beijing were, but that didn't stop her from sighing, "It's so far, so you'll have to stay on the train for two days, right?"

"Who says it's not true? You have to eat, drink, defecate and urinate in the car, and you don't get enough rest at night. It's really not easy to be away from home."

Lin Mei nodded: "Yes, it's really not easy to go out."

The two hit it off immediately and got along better and better the more they talked.

When the train arrived at the station, there were not many passengers on the train, so the two of them considered that they could take care of each other by sitting together, so they did not separate. Instead, the square-faced aunt followed Lin Mei and sat in Lin Mei's seat.

The square-faced aunt learned through chatting that this was Lin Mei's first time traveling far away, and she took great care of her.

There was still food for sale in the dining car on the train after eight o'clock, and the square-faced aunt insisted on inviting Lin Mei to eat with her.

Lin Mei looked at the luggage stuffed under the seat and hesitated: "Auntie, we are all leaving. What if the luggage is stolen by someone else?"

The square-faced woman asked, "You don't have any valuables in your bag, do you?"

Lin Mei shook her head: "No, just some daily necessities and clothes."

"That's okay."

The square-faced auntie knew from her words and actions that she went out often. She patted the passenger next to her and asked him to help watch her luggage.

Lin Mei was pulled away from the original carriage. She looked back several times during the journey, feeling a little worried, but she also believed the square-faced aunt. If she said that everything was fine, then it should be fine.

The food on the train is not expensive and does not require food coupons. One serving of fried pork with peppers and one serving of braised eggplant, two meals cost less than fifty cents.

After the meal, the relationship between Lin Mei and the square-faced aunt seemed to become closer.

"Auntie, the food here is really delicious, and it's more oily than the dishes we cook in the countryside."

"The food on the train is pretty good, but a little worse than the food in our state-owned restaurant. Next time when I have time, I will invite you to have dinner at our state-owned restaurant.

There is a chef in our state-owned restaurant who is really good at stir-frying duck and chicken. I guarantee you will want more after trying them."

"Such excellent craftsmanship has won praise from you, a knowledgeable aunt. I will definitely try the flavor if I have the chance." Lin Mei swallowed her saliva. People are craving for meat these days.

"I will take you there if I have the chance." The square-faced aunt looked at her meaningfully and promised.

Then the two returned to their seats and chatted with the people next to them. The carriage gradually became quiet. Some people were sleeping, some were reading, and some were daydreaming.

Lin Mei and the square-faced aunt were dozing on the table.

When they arrived at the nearest station to the provincial capital, the square-faced aunt woke up and found Lin Mei still sleeping. She got up, picked up the cup, and took Lin Mei's kettle in one hand to boil water.

When Lin Mei woke up, the square-faced woman handed her the kettle. "I went to get some water just now, and I got you one too. The water shouldn't be hot by now. Why don't you drink some before you rest?"

"Thank you." Lin Mei had a nap and the food she had eaten in the evening was a bit salty. She just wanted to drink some water, so she took the water and took a few sips.

Lin Mei drank the water and went back to sleep, but the square-faced aunt couldn't fall asleep for a while, so she took a book from her bag and started reading.

Until the train pulled into a station again and slowly stopped, the square-faced aunt glanced at Lin Mei who was sleeping soundly, and her eyes returned to the book again.

"Didn't your niece say she was going to get off at the provincial capital? Now we've arrived at the provincial capital station, why don't you wake her up?" the person sitting next to her reminded the square-faced aunt.

After getting on the bus, the passengers heard Lin Mei calling the square-faced aunt "Auntie" all the time, so they thought the two were aunt and niece.

The square-faced aunt smiled at her gratefully and explained, "Thank you for reminding me. The provincial capital we are talking about is Zhengzhou, not here. My niece has never been far away, so she always talks about the provincial capital. You misunderstood."

“Oh, so you are from Zhengzhou?”

"Yes, I'm from Zhengzhou, working in the subdistrict office. This time I'm on a business trip and I'm bringing my niece who married far away home to visit her family."

"Oh, it's not easy to go back to your parents' home after marrying far away. You have to stay for at least a few more days."

The square-faced lady nodded: "Who said it wasn't true? My sister-in-law is always thinking about her daughter who married far away. I heard that they had a fight, so they asked me to help them take her back while I was on a business trip."

"Then your aunt is really nice." The kind-hearted traveler took a look at Lin Mei and saw that she was not badly dressed. Then he looked at the square-faced aunt who was also well dressed, and thought that her family was well off.

These well-off families really love their daughters and would take them back home if they were wronged. She felt that going back and forth was a sheer waste of transportation money.

After passing the provincial capital, the square-faced aunt woke up Lin Mei and asked her to go to the toilet, come back to eat something and drink some water before going to sleep.

Lin Mei was sleeping in a daze. When she was woken up, she didn't know where the train was. She obediently went to the toilet, came back, ate two boiled eggs, drank half a pot of water, and fell asleep again on the table not long after.

The train stopped at the station, and people in the carriage got off one after another. Those who were on the train had no idea about Lin Mei and the square-faced aunt. Naturally, no one paid attention to the fact that Lin Mei hadn't woken up all day.

When Lin Mei was woken up by the square-faced aunt again, she didn't pay attention to what station she was at after getting off the train, and thought she had arrived at the provincial capital.

"Auntie, why did you get off the car with me?"

The square-faced woman took all the luggage off the bus and said, "This is my first time in the provincial capital, and I'm a little worried. I just happen to be meeting a friend here, so I'll give you a ride so you don't get lost or get bullied in an unfamiliar place."

"Actually, I can ask for directions even if I'm not familiar with the place. You don't have to get off at this stop just for me." Lin Mei was extremely moved and felt that this square-faced aunt was so warm and sincere.

"Don't think too much. I really want to visit an old friend."

Lin Mei didn't know what was going on and her head was dizzy. She only knew that the square-faced aunt was familiar with the place and all she had to do was follow her.

......

It was two days later that Lin Shu found out that Lin Mei had come to the provincial capital by bus.

The reason was that Xie Chunlei was on vacation, and thinking that Lin Mei had already finished her confinement, he came to Xiaohe Production Team to pick up Lin. Only then did he know that Lin Mei had gone to the provincial capital to relax.

But the person had already gone to the provincial capital, and no matter how angry Xie Chunlei was, he couldn't do anything to his mother-in-law. He could only use the office phone to call the Gu family after work the next day.

"What? Lin Mei came to the provincial capital?" Gu Jiu was quite surprised to receive Jie Chunlei's call. When he heard that Lin Mei came to the provincial capital, he wanted to ask about the situation.

However, Xie Chunlei on the other end of the phone felt something was wrong when he heard his words, "Gu Jiu, judging from your tone, Lin Mei hasn't arrived at your house yet?"

"Yes, when did she come to the provincial capital?"

"Who's calling?" Lin Shu was almost out of confinement, and her lochia had long been discharged, so she was in the mood to carry the baby downstairs for a walk.

She happened to go downstairs when she heard Gu Jiu's words. She thought of the letter she received last time and thought that Lin Mei had arrived in the provincial capital.

Gu Jiu nodded. When he heard the person on the other end of the phone telling him that the person who was supposed to arrive in the provincial capital the day before yesterday had not appeared for the third day, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

"Why didn't you call me after Lin Mei got on the train? It's been three days now, where do you want me to find someone?"

The person on the other end of the phone was very anxious when he heard that Lin Mei had not found the Gu family yet. "This is a long story. The fact is that Lin Mei went to the provincial capital. I only found out about it yesterday. As soon as I got to work today, I called you using the office phone to confirm it."

"Okay, it's useless for you to explain to me. Let's find the person first." Gu Jiu hung up the phone after saying that. He didn't want to listen to people who always make excuses when something goes wrong.

"What's going on? Who called? From what I heard from your conversation, did Lin Mei come to the provincial capital and then disappeared?" Lin Shu got the general idea.

Gu Jiu: "Yes, the call was from Xie Chunlei, who told me that Lin Meida came by train the day before yesterday and could have arrived in the provincial capital the day before yesterday, but we haven't seen her yet. I'll call my friend at the police station to help find her."

In the future when there are cameras, it is very difficult to find a missing person, let alone in that era when conditions were harsh and supplies were scarce, it was extremely difficult to find a missing person.

Lin Shu knew that although Gu Jiu said so and asked his friends at the police station to help find someone, subconsciously, no one held out much hope.

Fortunately, Comrade Liu Xiao'e went to help at the breakfast stall, and Lin Shu asked Gu Jiu to go to the train station to find out if anyone saw Lin Mei leaving the station that day.

With Wang Suzhen and the nanny helping her take care of the children at home, she can handle it.

Gu Jiu hurried out the door. Wang Suzhen frowned slightly and said, "Why didn't you call us in advance when your cousin came to the provincial capital? We could have arranged for someone to pick her up."

"Who knows what they are thinking?" Lin Shu had never thought that Lin Mei was so brave that she dared to come to the provincial capital alone.

The people at home were even more careless and didn't even bother to call or send a telegram to inform them.

"If you don't plan things in advance, you'll be in a mess when the time comes. I hope nothing goes wrong this time." Wang Suzhen concealed her worries and sighed slightly.

Three days had passed, and if anything was going to happen it would have happened long ago. Lin Shu just hoped that Lin Mei was smart and didn't get abducted, but instead got off at the wrong stop and was delayed for a few days.