Chapter 37 - Arrival (2)
They didn’t have a lot of luggage with them; just the one bag with the old clothes of the three of them. She had thought about buying some new clothes for her children, but things happened and she was distracted. Then she figured they’d be leaving City Xi soon, and it was already difficult enough to have two children in tow. They might as well pack light. As long as she has money, she could buy them new clothes after they have settled down in City Nan.
As for herself, she had no plans to buy new clothes in the next six months. The first item on her to-do list was to lose weight. She would buy new clothes after she had lost some weight. There was no reason to be wasteful.
After Ye Tianbao was done with the bathroom, Shu Yan had Ye Jingjing went and used it too. It wasn’t easy to do anything with two children in tow, going to the bathroom was even worse.
Sitting across from Shu Yan was a very honest looking middle-aged couple. They looked to be in their fifties. The man was quiet, but the woman was very chatty.
“Hi, sister. Where is the kids’ father? How come he wasn’t with you?”
Shu Yan’s heart dropped. As a woman with two kids, she was definitely the prime target of human trafficker. She must be cautious. People were difficult to read; one couldn’t be too careful.
Shu Yan smiled calmly, “Their father works in City Ning. He said he misses the kids and had me take a trip with them.”
“City Ning is a good place. What does he do? He must make good money. How else would he ask you to take a trip. A round trip there is not cheap,” said the woman very matter-of-factly.
“He worked too hard and didn’t even come home for the new year, which was why he misses the kids now and had me take them to him.” Shu Yan stroked Ye Tianbao’s head slightly. Leaning close to him, she whispered into his ear, “Don’t say anything.”
Ye Tianbao was so frightened that he pushed himself against Shu Yan’s chest and Ye Jingjing tightly held onto the corner of her mother’s clothes.
Children were very sensitive; they could sense the adults’ emotions.
“That is true. We all work hard for our kids, right?” chuckled the woman as she looked at her two children. “You two kids are so pretty. The daughter is a bit skinny though. Here, these are my homemade hardboiled eggs, take a couple.”
Shu Yan felt even more alarmed. She smiled lightly and said, “No, no need.” She declined, “We brought our own food.” She took a bag of hardboiled eggs out from her pocket and gave them two in return. “Our family made these for us. I worry that they won’t keep in weather like this. Here, try some of mine.”
“We have ours too. Save them for the children.”
The two pushed the eggs back and forth and finally all four of the eggs ended up on the floor, “Aiya! I’m… so sorry. Here, I’ll give you a couple more.”
“No need. You young people are so concerned about hygiene. The shell is still there. All the same after you peeled them.” The woman waved her hand, picked up the eggs, peeled them, and ate them with her man.
Were they not crooks? Was she being too overly cautious? It didn’t matter. It was better to be suspicious rather than regretting after something bad had happened.