That little boy was bowing to my dad on the platform, just like this."
The man made a gesture.
Even though the man's gesture wasn't very precise, Tan Wenbin could tell that it wasn't a bow, it was a traditional greeting.
"That's quite extraordinary."
"Hey, guess what, there's even more extraordinary stuff.
The little boy said he ran with his sister through the whole train, and saw that my dad seed to be the most blessed person; he was sure his sister would have a good life if she followed him."
Tan Wenbin laughed, "Well, he sure wasn't wrong."
The man was well-dressed, and those two kids were also dressed very neatly; you could tell they ca from a well-to-do family.
Also, being willing to bring children along to help his wife look for relatives showed a lot about the family environnt.
The man humbly said, "Ah, just making a living."
Tan Wenbin teased, "So, your dad ended up adopting them?"
The man's face flushed with embarrassnt as he flicked so ash off his cigarette:
"Well, actually, it was my parents who adopted her. My mom really liked her and even specially invited a famous fortune-teller from Jinn to help my wife pick a na. In the end, the fortune-teller chose—'May the rest of her life be smooth and her family clean and pure.'
After all, even though she was given to them willingly, she was still considered an abandoned child, with quite a tough fate. My parents hoped to make her feel like one of the family, to have a legitimate background, free from prejudice.
So my wife took on our family's surna, becoming Zhang Shunqing.
Actually, my wife and I knew from a young age that we weren't blood-related. Since we were little, we never called each other 'brother' or 'sister,' we just called each other by na.
Then, when I was in college, we secretly started dating. We originally planned to keep it from the family, but then… she ended up pregnant.
You have no idea, I almost got beaten to death by my dad with a belt, and my mom scolded to no end. Both of us were kicked out, and they said they wanted to cut ties with us."
Tan Wenbin took down the cigarette from behind his ear, lit it, and nodded in understanding, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
If it were like in the old days in rural areas where a girl was raised as a future daughter-in-law, that'd be another story.
But the parents truly raised her like their own daughter, and she ended up with their own son, it was indeed quite a disgrace for the family.
"However, less than a month after chasing us away, my parents softened up. After all, my wife was pregnant, so they let us move back in, and gradually accepted it.
However, they changed my wife's na; she couldn't have the sa last na as our family anymore.
Coincidentally, when my dad carried my wife off the train back then, she had a longevity lock on her with her last na inscribed, so they changed her na back to her original surna.
Moreover, in a further bid to wash away my disgrace, my dad insisted that if we had twins, the second child would take my wife's surna.
Hey, it turned out my son was the younger one.
My dad really went through with it, but I bet he often wakes up feeling aggrieved in his sleep.
Hahaha!"
Tan Wenbin asked seriously:
"So what's your wife's na now?"
"Jie Shunqing."
...
In the soft sleeper compartnt, Run Sheng placed the still asleep Xiao Yuan on the upper bunk.
Tan Wenbin sat on the lower bunk, turned his head, and looked out at the platform through the window.
The train hadn't departed yet; there were many people on the platform.
Tan Wenbin saw outside, a little boy was leading a younger girl this way; the little girl jumped up and began to pull at the window's edge.
This scene startled Tan Wenbin, causing him to stand up abruptly.
The little girl smiled at Tan Wenbin, shouting in a crisp voice, "Cherries, want so cherries? We picked them ourselves, they're super sweet and delicious!"
Tan Wenbin exhaled a sigh of relief, nodded with lingering fear.
"Hehe." The little girl, seeing Tan Wenbin's interest, happily looked back at her brother, "Brother, quick, give it to , give , he wants our cherries!"
Next, the little girl turned back: "Uncle, how many do you want?"
Tan Wenbin: "I'll take them all."
"Haha!" The little girl laughed, even more, urging, "Brother, hurry up, he wants them all!"
Tan Wenbin took out so large bills from his wallet and handed them to the little girl.
The little girl's eyes widened, her mouth ford an "O."
She quickly reached out to grab the money, then helped her brother pack the cherries, wrapped in folded newspapers, to pass them over.
Tan Wenbin received them one by one.
At this ti, the station staff blew the whistle, and the train began to slowly depart.
The transaction complete, Tan Wenbin sat down and saw, from his previous position, the girl taking out the money he had given her, showing it to her brother; she danced around happily like a joyous butterfly.
Yin ng ca over from the next carriage, and upon seeing the small table covered in paper packets, she reached out and peeked inside, surprised:
"You like cherries that much?"
"Ah You likes them."
Just then, Lin Shuyou ca in from the dining car carrying two large bags of boxed als.
Yin ng pointed at the cherries on the table: "Ah You, Brother Bin bought these for you, don't waste them, eat them all."
Lin Shuyou was slightly taken aback, fearing that if he ate all those cherries, even his urine might turn red!
The train was gradually picking up speed, almost leaving the station.
Just then, a small figure ca running up quickly—it was the little boy.
He tightly closed his lips, mustering all his strength to run along the platform, catching up to the window, and threw the money in his hand through the window gap.
The money thrown in had large bills, small change, and coins.
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