Chapter 55 of 100
Chapter 55
6 min read1,464 words
"Alright." Xiao Yuanhang agreed and then glanced at his watch, saying, "Reporter Tang, the train is about to arrive at Linjiatai Station. I'll go out and make arrangements. I have their address, and I'll tell you after I send them off the train."
Tang Wanjun nodded and said, "Alright, no rush, you go ahead and take care of it."
As soon as Xiao Yuanhang opened the door of the compartment, he found Chief Conductor Wang Keqin, Duty Conductor Shichuan, Chief Inspector Zhao Baocheng, Inspector Peng Hui, Chief Dining Car Attendant Yang Dali, and Soft Sleeper Car Attendant Shan Xiaoling all waiting outside. Seeing Xiao Yuanhang come out, they all asked in a flurry, "How is it? How is it? We just heard the baby crying, was it born?"
Xiao Yuanhang understood their anxiousness and smiled, saying, "The birth went very smoothly, mother and child are both safe!"
Seeing everyone heave a sigh of relief, Xiao Yuanhang said, "Since you're all here, when we arrive at Linjiatai, help me carry them. I've already called the station to send an ambulance."
"Alright, alright, that's good!" Everyone nodded in agreement. Chief Dining Car Attendant Yang Dali handed a small basin to Xiao Yuanhang, saying, "Xiao, this is the boiled eggs you asked me to cook."
Xiao Yuanhang took the basin and turned to open the compartment door and walked in. Since Zhao Erni had already put on her clothes, he didn't close the door. Everyone crowded to the door to see the little passenger born on the train. Xiao Yuanhang handed the eggs to Zhao Dazhu, saying, "These are the boiled eggs from the dining car for your wife. Take them, and eat them when you're hungry later."
Zhao Dazhu took the eggs and said repeatedly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you all!"
Tang Wanjun quickly took out her camera and snapped a photo of the scene, then started taking more photos of the crowd at the door, which made Wang Keqin and the others quite surprised. Xiao Yuanhang explained, "This is Reporter Tang. She was a barefoot doctor in the countryside. Thanks to her help today, otherwise it would have been a matter of life and death!"
At this moment, the announcement came over the intercom, announcing the upcoming arrival at Linjiatai Station. Xiao Yuanhang looked at the crowd outside and said, "We don't have a stretcher on the train, so we'll use this mattress to carry her off. Also, they have a lot of luggage, so help carry that too."
"Alright, alright!" Everyone nodded in agreement. Wang Keqin and Shichuan came in first to take out their luggage and carry it to the door. When the train slowed down at the station, everyone used the mattress to slowly carry the new mother, Zhao Erni, to the door. As soon as the train stopped, Shan Xiaoling opened the door, and Xiao Yuanhang, holding the passenger record, got off the train first. Then, everyone slowly carried Zhao Erni down.
As soon as they got off the train, the station's passenger service officer came up and asked, "Is there a new mother on the train?"
Xiao Yuanhang turned and pointed, saying, "Yes, that's her. The baby was born on the train!"
Seeing everyone carrying the new mother off the train, the station's passenger service officer quickly turned and shouted for the ambulance to come over. The ambulance arrived, opened the back door, and everyone helped carry the new mother into the ambulance. Xiao Yuanhang handed over the passenger record to the station's passenger service officer and briefly explained the situation.
After everyone had carried the new mother into the ambulance, the medical staff began examining her and placed their luggage in the ambulance. Just as the ambulance was about to leave, the nurse called for Zhao Dazhu to get in. Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhao Dazhu looked at Xiao Yuanhang and the others who had given his wife and son a second chance at life, and he knelt down on the platform, his forehead hitting the concrete with a thud: "You are all good people. I may not be able to repay your kindness in this life, but in the next life, I will work as a cow or a horse to repay you!"
Everyone quickly helped Zhao Dazhu up, and after some persuasion, they sent him into the ambulance. The doors closed, and the ambulance drove away with a siren.
When the train arrived at Linjiatai Station, Lin Zhigang, the water supply attendant, who had been playing with two attendants, lifted the curtain and looked out. When he saw the station sign, he suddenly remembered the note he was supposed to deliver. Realizing he had forgotten such an important task, he turned pale and hurriedly left the compartment, ran a few steps, and rushed to Chief Conductor Zhang Yaping's compartment to seek help.
While helping the Zhao couple off the train, Tang Wanjun followed, taking photos continuously. After the train left Linjiatai Station, Xiao Yuanhang wrote down the names and addresses of the Zhao couple and himself for her and started chatting with her. However, Tang Wanjun avoided answering questions about her workplace, asking instead about Xiao Yuanhang's personal life and work, as if they were having a casual conversation.
Seeing that Tang Wanjun didn't want to reveal her workplace, Xiao Yuanhang didn't press further. He wanted to invite her to dinner in the dining car that evening, but she declined, saying she was tired from the earlier commotion and needed to rest. She then returned to her compartment.
Xiao Yuanhang asked Soft Sleeper Car Attendant Shan Xiaoling to clean up Compartment 9 and lay out a new set of bedding. After making these arrangements, he went to patrol the hard-seat carriages.
When he reached Carriage 5, his mentor Li Guiying came up to him, "Yuanhang, I just saw the pregnant woman being taken to the ambulance. Did she give birth?"
She had been working in her carriage and didn't know what had happened later, so she couldn't help but ask.
The passengers who had helped earlier were also very concerned and gathered around to ask. Xiao Yuanhang said loudly, "Thank you all for your concern and help. The pregnant woman gave birth to a baby boy on the train, and both mother and child are safe. They were just taken to Linjiatai County Hospital by ambulance!"
The passengers in the carriage cheered, all happy for the successful birth.
When Xiao Yuanhang reached the crew room of Carriage 5, he had a sudden idea and opened the door, calling Li Guiying in, "Mentor, come in, I need to talk to you about something."
Li Guiying followed Xiao Yuanhang into the crew room, closed the door, and asked, "Yuanhang, what's up?"
Xiao Yuanhang said, "Mentor, I want to start a business, but I don't have enough money. How much do you have? I just need to borrow it for a couple of months."
Since he decided to start a business selling pine seeds, Xiao Yuanhang had been thinking about the capital. His family had no savings due to his father's illness, his sister had just gotten married and didn't have much money, and his friends were even poorer. Transporting a batch of pine seeds would cost at least ten thousand yuan, and the thousand or so yuan he had was far from enough.
So, Xiao Yuanhang thought of borrowing money from his colleagues. Most of them had been working on the Huanghai Line for years, dealing in cigarettes, ginger, and local specialties, and they all had some savings. If he could borrow a thousand or two from each of them, the capital problem would be solved.
However, borrowing money without a good reason would be difficult, except from his mentor Li Guiying. Xiao Yuanhang thought of offering high interest rates. If he promised high returns, most of them would be interested. If he could borrow from four or five people, the capital problem would be solved.
Li Guiying said, "I have about two thousand yuan in my savings account. How much do you need?"
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PS: When I got home tonight, I saw that my book had made it to the Three Rivers recommendation. I'm really excited! The Three Rivers votes are very important, so I hope everyone can take a moment to vote for me while reading. Thanks a lot, everyone!
It's midnight, and it's time for the new week's ranking push. My book can stay on the list for three more days. To get a good position, I'll add an extra chapter at midnight. Please come and help me push the ranking. The other two updates will be at noon and 7 PM tomorrow!
Thank you to the readers "Shizheng," "Hanyouzi," and "Jiuhou Buluanxing" for your support!