Chapter Ninety: Fate's Design

“Do I want to chat with you or not?” Zhang Mingyang shot him a sour look.

Seeing the innocent expression on the country man’s face, he knew his tone had been a little too sharp.

“All right, old brother, we still have things to discuss here. Why don’t you just keep to yourself for a bit?”

At that, the country man nodded repeatedly.

“All right, all right. You’re busy; I won’t bother you.” With a smile, he actually fell silent.

Zhang Mingyang found his manner amusing and laughed.

Then he looked at Xu Fei.

“Fourth, did you see that?”

Xu Fei had seen it clearly from the side.

He lowered his voice and said, “Third Brother, this old brother has never been out of his village before. That’s normal.”

“All right, then I’m the one in the wrong.” Zhang Mingyang shook his head with a smile.

Just then—

“Peanuts, melon seeds, and sausage...”

“Soda, beer, drinks, cigarettes...”

A vendor pushing a cart of goods walked past them.

“Two packs of cigarettes.”

Xu Fei said as he took out five yuan and handed it to the vendor.

After taking the cigarettes, the country man also pulled two yuan from his waist.

“Miss, give me one of those.”

Zhang Mingyang took the cigarettes from Xu Fei, then glanced at the drink the country man was pointing to.

It was a bottle of cola.

“Oh, old brother, you’re quite fashionable, drinking this kind of thing?”

The country man smiled and nodded.

“I’ve come out on the road and haven’t tried this yet. I’ll give it a taste.”

What truly puzzled Zhang Mingyang and Xu Fei, though, was how generously this man dressed like a farmer spent his money.

Taking the cola the vendor handed him, the country man stared at it for a long while, not knowing how to open it.

“Big brother, look...”

Zhang Mingyang laughed and shook his head.

“All right, I’ll show you.”

He took the cola, popped it open for him, and said, “See that?”

The country man nodded with a grin.

“These foreign inventions really are something. We used to only drink the ones with bottle caps. This one opens with a pull, it’s truly amazing!”

Zhang Mingyang smiled and said, “Old brother, this is called a pull-tab can. Understand?”

“A pull-tab can?”

The country man seemed to think he understood what Zhang Mingyang meant.

He looked at the opened mouth of the can.

“Exactly. It opens with a pull. Pull-tab can—that’s right.”

Zhang Mingyang seemed to grasp what the man meant by “pull.”

“What is that? Hahaha, all right then, call it whatever you like.”

Zhang Mingyang did not bother with him and kept talking with Xu Fei.

Only Xu Fei’s gaze had already drifted to two men not far behind the country brother. From the moment the country man took out his money, their eyes had changed.

It was a look of greed.

Xu Fei knew this man had been marked.

He said nothing.

When you are away from home, it is better to have one less trouble than one more.

Besides, even if he wanted to intervene, now was not the time. There was a saying about catching someone red-handed.

He could not just walk up and accuse them of trying to steal.

“Passengers...”

Just then, the station loudspeaker crackled to life.

Xu Fei stood up.

“Old brother, tickets are being checked. Just follow us.”

The country man hurriedly gathered the two bags beside him, slinging one over his shoulder and carrying the other in his hand. He stood and nodded at Xu Fei.

“Right, big brother.”

Zhang Mingyang led the way toward the ticket gate.

Xu Fei followed behind.

Pretending to watch the commotion, he glanced back over the country man’s shoulder.

Sure enough, the two men had followed, though they kept a certain distance from him.

Very soon, they passed through the gate.

Xu Fei headed straight for his platform.

He had wanted to warn them, but those two men kept close enough to the country man that he feared being noticed.

If that happened, he would truly bring trouble down on himself.

When Xu Fei and Zhang Mingyang reached the platform edge, he turned around and was startled to see the country man standing behind them with a smile.

“My goodness, you startled me.”

Zhang Mingyang had really been surprised.

“What are you doing, old brother? You can’t scare people like that. How did you even stand behind us without making a sound?”

The country man grinned broadly.

“I say, big brother, what a coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Coincidence?” Zhang Mingyang glanced at him. “Which carriage are you in, then? Why are you standing here?”

“Carriage?”

Clearly, the old brother did not understand what he meant.

Xu Fei stepped forward and asked, “Old brother, where’s your ticket?”

The country man handed over the ticket he had just had checked.

Xu Fei looked at it.

“Now that really is a coincidence!”

Zhang Mingyang stood to one side and took a glance.

He looked at the country man and said, “We’re in the same carriage.”

“Really?”

The country man smiled even more brightly.

“Big brothers, you’re good people. Before I set out this morning, two magpies were calling outside my door. See? Didn’t I run into the two of you benefactors?”

“Oh, so you mean we’re the magpies, huh?”

Zhang Mingyang asked with a mischievous grin.

“No, no, you’re my benefactors.”

As the three of them chatted, the train slowly rolled into the station.

The country man stared at the train stopped before him, utterly dumbfounded.

“This iron lump can carry people? W-where do you even get on?”

Seeing his bewilderment, Zhang Mingyang pointed toward the carriage door.

“There, see that? We board from there.”

As he spoke, he walked ahead toward the door.

Xu Fei smiled at the country man.

“Old brother, follow me.”

“All right, big brother.”

And so they boarded the train.

After Zhang Mingyang found their seats, he claimed the one by the window. He tossed his bag into the corner and flopped down into the seat.

“Fourth, yours is here.”

Zhang Mingyang pointed across from himself.

The two of them were seated by the window, an excellent spot indeed.

Xu Fei sat down opposite him.

At that moment, the country man also came up to them.

“Old brother, this is your seat.”

Xu Fei pointed to the seat beside him.

“Oh, oh, wonderful! Big brother, we really are fated to meet.”

Smiling, the country man placed both of his bags on the empty seat beside Zhang Mingyang.

“Hey, if you put them there, where will others sit?”

“Right, right. Then where should I put them?”

Zhang Mingyang pointed to the luggage rack overhead.

Seeing that others were also placing their bags and personal belongings there, the country man followed suit and lifted both bags up onto the rack.

“Big brothers, thank you. This is my first time taking a train. If not for you, I wouldn’t even know what to do.”

Xu Fei smiled. “Old brother, no need to be so polite. By the way, what are you going to Nanjing for?”

“To see my daughter.”

With a smile, the country man took out a photograph from his chest.

“She graduated from university and was assigned to Nanjing, so I’m going to visit her.”

As he spoke, he held the photo out before Xu Fei.

“Oh, she’s quite pretty.”

Xu Fei glanced at the picture.

The country man nodded in satisfaction.

“My daughter isn’t just pretty—she’s also the only university student in our township.”

“Then you really are a fortunate man, old brother.”

“Hahaha, yes, that’s what everyone in the village says too.”

The country man looked lovingly at his daughter’s photograph.

Xu Fei, meanwhile, cast his eyes around the carriage.

He saw that the two men had, in fact, taken seats nearby, one in front and one behind.