Chapter 2 p1
Having a child actively interact was great. The attendant was immediately drawn in by the sound. At first glance, he saw an honest-looking father with a child.
Easy to sell to – that was the attendant’s first thought when he saw Bai Qingyu.
But as he got closer, he realized that the interacting child was really too small, and the adult might not be willing to give him snacks. He also noticed the family’s financial hardship. Their clothes were washed out and old-fashioned. In this situation, pushing a sale by taking advantage of a child’s gluttony would make one feel guilty. The attendant smiled and said, “You can try it for free, and buy it if you like it.”
He took out a milk tablet and placed it in Bai Xiaocha’s hand, “A gift from uncle.”
Bai Xiaocha’s eyes lit up, and he curled his fingers around the milk tablet, “Thank you, uncle.”
“Such a good boy, not crying or fussing. Here’s another reward.”
“Oh?!” Another reward for not crying? Bai Xiaocha’s mouth opened slightly, as if he were dizzy from the sweetness of the extra candy, even he himself becoming like a soft milk candy.
“Aww, so cute,” the attendant sighed as he moved on to the next carriage.
Bai Qingyu, “Thank you.”
“Thank you, uncle—” Bai Xiaocha stood on Bai Qingyu’s legs, leaning against the back of the seat to watch him go, then sat down, opened his small palms, one in each hand. He looked left and right, they were the same size, “Which one does Dad want?”
Bai Qingyu took the one on the left and unwrapped it for Bai Xiaocha.
Bai Xiaocha held the milk tablet in his mouth, looked out the window for a while, and then fell asleep in his father’s arms.
It was just the time to change from hard seats to hard sleepers. Bai Qingyu picked up the basket, held his son, and slowly moved a few carriages to find their sleeper berth. He placed the sleeping Bai Xiaocha in the lower bunk.
He was a small bundle nestled in the corner, leaving enough space for two more adults to sit on the lower bunk.
Bai Qingyu took out a half-crocheted woolen shoe from the basket. It was slightly larger than Bai Xiaocha’s current foot size, perfect for him to wear this winter.
This was a new skill he had learned, and he was crocheting it rather slowly.
The auntie on the opposite bunk watched for a while, rubbed her hands, and said, “Let me help you, I’m feeling a bit itchy to crochet. I can crochet any pattern.”
Bai Qingyu was taken aback and handed her the crochet hook, “Thank you, sister.”
He had brought two crochet hooks, so they could each crochet one shoe.
The two of them buried their heads in their handiwork. By nightfall, Bai Xiaocha already had a pair of cotton shoes. Bai Xiaocha hadn’t woken up in the middle, and Bai Qingyu hadn’t fed him anything. Then it was time to change carriages again the next day.
The guy in the upper bunk had been scrolling through short videos since he got on the train. Before going to sleep, he came down to use the restroom. His gaze swept over the child in the lower bunk, and he frowned, putting on his headphones and turning up the volume in resistance. He didn’t want to hear the child’s screams.
The train clanged all night. The guy in the upper bunk didn’t sleep well, anxiously waiting for the child below to cry. But he waited all night and didn’t hear anything. Instead, the others were packing up, showing that his worries were unfounded.
Just then, the auntie who had been crocheting with Bai Qingyu said, “Are you getting off soon?”
Bai Qingyu, “I’ll change to hard seats in an hour, three more stops.”
The auntie said, “Then wake the child up and feed him some milk before you go. We have space in the sleeper berth. You go make the formula, and I’ll watch him for a bit.”
“Uh…” Bai Qingyu was stuck because Bai Xiaocha had never had milk. He mumbled, “I was in a hurry and forgot to bring formula. It’s okay, I’ll feed him when we get off.”
In principle, tea deity cubs could survive on sunlight and dew, just growing slowly. To grow faster, they needed to eat human food. But with eating and drinking came elimination. On the train, it was best not to eat or drink, just to bask in the sun.
“There are still three hours until you get off,” the auntie said, “The child must be hungry. You’re so careless. What will you tell your wife? Go to the dining car and buy a bottle of pure milk, warm it up with hot water.”
Bai Qingyu was in a difficult position. It wasn’t that he was stingy with money, he was afraid that Bai Xiaocha would wet the bed if he drank milk. The train wasn’t their own bed. He pretended to push Bai Xiaocha, “Baby, wake up.”
Bai Xiaocha didn’t wake up. Bai Qingyu said innocently to the auntie, “He’s sleeping too soundly, he’ll cry if I wake him up.”
Damn it… The guy in the upper bunk felt a tightening in his temples. The short video about child abduction he had just watched immediately came to mind.
This child clearly hadn’t suffered any hardship, he was fair and clean, his face so tender you could pinch milk out of it, and he looked nothing like his “dad.” He hadn’t woken up or been fed for more than ten hours. Could such rough care raise such a delicate baby?
The guy, relying on the fact that he was 1.5 times bigger than Bai Qingyu, said bluntly, “Is he sleeping too soundly or did you give him sleeping pills? Is this your child?”
Bai Qingyu was stunned. Sleeping pills, he had seen them on TV. He didn’t have any. He explained, “I didn’t give him any medicine, he just loves to sleep.”
The guy, “Then wake him up.”
Bai Qingyu, “It’ll disturb everyone.”
The guy, “I’m not afraid of being disturbed, just prove that you didn’t give him sleeping pills.”
The auntie on the opposite bunk helped Bai Qingyu explain, “Is there a misunderstanding? The young man looks honest.”
The guy, “It’s this kind of inconspicuous person in the crowd who is suitable to be a human trafficker.”
At 6:30 in the morning, the attendant patrolled each carriage, waking up passengers who were about to get off. Hearing the argument and keywords, he asked Bai Qingyu to show his ID card.
The scene at the security checkpoint was replayed. Bai Qingyu proved his identity again.
The attendant, “It’s his child.”
Although the misunderstanding was cleared up, everyone agreed that Bai Qingyu should still wake the child up and feed him.
The attendant said, “The sleeper berth is indeed more convenient.”
The guy in the upper bunk looked at the photos on Bai Qingyu’s phone. He seemed to have inadvertently exposed the father and son’s awkwardness. The honest dad probably didn’t have money to buy milk on the train, that’s why he was evasive. The guy took out a carton of milk from his bag, “I’m sorry, I misunderstood.”
Bai Qingyu thought Bai Xiaocha wouldn’t wake up because he hadn’t slept enough, but he couldn’t refuse the kindness. He snapped his fingers by Bai Xiaocha’s ear, “Wake up.”
A minute later, Bai Xiaocha was sucking on the milk, taking a sip, pausing, placing the milk carton on the table between the two beds, propping himself up, craning his neck to look at the guy in the upper bunk, “Thank you, uncle.”
He took another sip, and said again, “Thank you, uncle.”
The guy in the upper bunk looked down and saw the child’s starry eyes looking up at him, further confirming that Bai Xiaocha was starving, “No matter how poor you are, you can’t let a child go hungry.”
Bai Qingyu, “Big brother is right.”
Bai Xiaocha shook the milk carton. There was still half a bottle left. He held it up to his father, “Dad, drink.”
Neither father nor son had eaten. Bai Qingyu had been a tea deity for a long time and could eat or not eat. But Bai Xiaocha had been brought to the human world after birth, living and eating with Old Man Deng. He was a greedy baby and accepted any food offered to him.
Bai Qingyu pretended to take a sip and turned the straw towards Bai Xiaocha, “One sip each.”
Bai Xiaocha felt like there was so much milk in this bottle. His tummy was already bulging from drinking.
The guy in the upper bunk observed secretly, feeling more and more ashamed. They were so poor, yet they had raised such a polite and well-behaved child. He had been a bit like “why don’t they eat cake” when he questioned Bai Qingyu.
He thought of his own child. Well, he wasn’t even as well-behaved as a one-and-a-half-year-old, only demanding KFC. This child could return so much emotional value for just a bottle of milk.
Bai Xiaocha was full. He sat in the corner of the lower bunk, holding the cotton shoes like plush toys, touching his left cheek, then his right cheek.
The yarn Bai Qingyu bought was soft and fluffy, very comfortable to the touch.
The auntie on the opposite bunk felt sorry for him again, “Where do you live? Give me your address, I’ll send you my grandson’s toys later. He’s ten years old and doesn’t play with them anymore, they’re very new.”
Bai Qingyu, “Thank you, you don’t need to give him toys. I’ll rent a place when I get to Nancheng and buy him some.”
“Then leave your contact information, find a place first.”
Bai Qingyu was very grateful. He didn’t have anything valuable to give. One should repay kindness, and deities should be even more generous. Bai Qingyu thought for a moment and gave Bai Xiaocha’s food – a bucket of local eggs – to the guy and the auntie.
The guy in the upper bunk said he was on a business trip and couldn’t cook eggs.
Bai Qingyu looked at the auntie on the opposite bunk. The auntie loved to chat and had said this was her way home. She had no reason to refuse.
“Aww, keep them for yourself.”
“It’s a small token of appreciation, they’re eggs from my free-range chickens, very fragrant,” Bai Qingyu said. He planned to raise chickens in the city if possible, to lay eggs for Bai Xiaocha.
“—Alright.”
…
