With a cute and chatty little girl by my side, time flies by.

At noon, the conductor pushed the dining car back and forth selling food.

The train had stopped at several stations, and many passengers who bought station tickets came on, crowding the aisles.

"Beer, drinks, mineral water! Peanuts, melon seeds and eight-treasure porridge! Give way! Put your feet up!" the conductor pushing the dining car kept shouting.

I just left this time, and the next one is here soon:

"Lunch box! Lunch box! Would you like one?"

The aisle just passed a cart, and it was crowded with people. Several times he thought his cart wouldn't be able to pass, but in the end he just pushed through the crowd.

Wang Lin took his bag from the luggage rack and took out the food Li Wenxiu had prepared for him.

He ate steamed buns and fried dough sticks first.

Sun Xiaodie next to her looked at him eating with her big eyes open.

Wang Lin asked: "Are you hungry? Let's buy something to eat!"

Sun Xiaodie shook her head and said, "I'm not hungry."

As soon as she said she wasn't hungry, her stomach growled.

Wang Lin laughed, knowing that she was reluctant to spend money to buy food. Many people on the train were like this. They would rather go hungry than buy the expensive food on the train.

He took a steamed bun and handed it to her: "Eat it!"

"I'm not hungry." Sun Xiaodie licked her lips.

"Eat!" Wang Lin said, "I brought a lot of them!"

"Thank you, Brother Wang!" Sun Xiaodie stretched out her hand, took the steamed bun, and wolfed it down. She finished the big steamed bun in a few mouthfuls. She ate too quickly and made a burping sound.

Wang Lin asked: "You didn't bring any water?"

"I was in a hurry to catch the train this morning and forgot." Sun Xiaodie patted her chest, "It will be fine in a while."

Wang Lin glanced at her breasts and thought that hers were bigger than Zhou Zhou's. How could this little country girl grow so well despite not eating well?

"Drink from me, don't choke. Just don't touch my cup with your lips." Wang Lin pointed to the military kettle placed on the table.

"Thank you, Brother Wang." Sun Xiaodie picked up his kettle, unscrewed the lid, raised her head, carefully poured some water into her mouth, swallowed it, and immediately stopped hiccupping.

Wang Lin handed her another fried dough stick, and she finished it in a few bites.

In the afternoon, Sun Xiaodie leaned on the chair and dozed off, her head sliding down towards Wang Lin.

Wang Lin gently helped her upright.

But her head immediately slipped down again.

Wang Lin knew that she was working as a nanny in Shanghai, taking care of a mother and daughter who had just given birth. The baby made a fuss at night and she must have not slept well last night, so he let her sleep on his shoulder.

He was afraid that he would be bored in the car, so he bought a newspaper before getting on the bus. He was reading the newspaper now to find peace in the midst of the commotion.

The train arrived at Luzhou Station half an hour late.

When we got off the bus, it was already seven o'clock in the evening.

Fortunately, Li Wenxiu had prepared enough food for him. A few large steamed buns and fried dough sticks, along with plain water, were enough to satisfy his hunger for the day.

If he hadn't given some to Sun Xiaodie to eat, he could have saved a few for midnight snacks.

"Want to stay? Two and a half yuan a night!" Just after leaving the station, a middle-aged woman stopped Wang Lin and enthusiastically promoted, "A clean hotel with hot water."

Wang Lin knew that these stores were cheap, but he didn't dare to stay in a small hotel next to the train station with so much money.

It was his first time to come to Luzhou and he was unfamiliar with the place. After getting off the car, his eyes darkened and he didn't know where to go.

This is nothing!

Wang Lin had his own way to find a safe and cheap place to stay in this strange city.

In the late 1980s, many units' guest houses had not yet been restructured. They were public houses, clean and sanitary. They were occupied by people who were on business trips from various places or relatives of employees, so they were safe and guaranteed.

For example, the Shenfang Factory Guest House where Wang Lin works is very cost-effective. The employees in the factory have important events at home. If there are many distant guests coming and there is not enough room at home, they will arrange to stay in the guest house, which is cheap and respectable.

Wang Lin had made up his mind on the way here, and after getting off the bus, he found an enterprise or an institution or a government guest house to stay.

He took bus No. 3 and came to the guest house of Anfang General Factory on Heping Road.

Luzhou has always been known as "Little Shanghai".

And Anfang General Factory is the place with the most people in Shanghai.

Wang Lin is a worker at Shenfang and has a latent affinity for Anfang.

Anfang is one of the largest textile factories in South China. Like Hesteel, it is the pride of its workers.

"A man marries Anfang, and a woman marries Gang." This saying is widely circulated in the local area.

Wang Lin walked into the guest house.

There was a slender and pretty girl sitting at the front desk.

Wang Lin first looked at the price list hanging on the wall, then took out a piece of paper and said: "Comrade, I am from Shenfang, and this is my letter of introduction for a business trip. I am here to stay."

The front desk smiled and said: "We are staying here, so there is no need to write a letter of introduction."

Wang Lin also knew that many places in the country no longer require a letter of introduction when staying in hotels, but just in case, for convenience, and to prevent the local police from checking documents, he still opened a letter of introduction at the factory.

"Are you from Shenfang?" The receptionist obviously liked him more, "Many people in our factory are from your side!"

"Are you?" Wang Lin asked.

"I'm not. I'm a native of Luzhou."

"If you have a chance, you can marry us in Shanghai!"

The receptionist smiled shyly.

"Is there a single room?" In order to ensure the safety of his money, Wang Lin was of course willing to pay more and live in a single room.

"There are no single rooms, there are double rooms." The front desk said, "Shall I open a double room for you that is not occupied yet? It only costs three yuan a night."

"That's okay." Wang Lin was too lazy to look for another place, so he agreed.

If no one stays tonight, then the double room he lives in is equivalent to a single room, and he doesn't have to spend any extra money!

The front desk took the key and took him to a room upstairs.

Very clean double room!

The room was large, with several chairs, two boiling water bottles placed on the long table, and two porcelain cups placed upside down on a flower and bird plate.

"The shower room and toilet are at the end of the corridor." The front desk told Wang Lin.

"Okay, thank you." Wang Lin put down his bag.

The front desk said you're welcome and left.

Wang Lin looked at the time, it was after eight o'clock in the evening.

It was April weather, and he was too lazy to take a shower. He took off the clothes containing the money, folded them, and put them under the pillow. He also took a coat, spread it on the pillow, and then took out a book to read.

In an era before television and mobile phones, traveling on business and reading newspapers were the best ways to relieve boredom and pass the time.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, Wang Lin was about to turn off the lights and go in to rest when the door suddenly rang.

He opened the door and saw a middle-aged man coming over at the front desk.

"Brother, the other rooms are full." The front desk explained to Wang Lin.

Wang Lin glanced at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man was wearing a wrinkled suit, his hair was a little messy, and he smiled at Wang Lin.

The front desk took the guest to the room, turned around and went downstairs.

Wang Lin asked the middle-aged man: "Comrade, why did you come to stay so late?"

The middle-aged man spoke with a strong local accent: "I came to Anfang to purchase goods. I came here in the middle of the night and waited for them to load the goods. I happened to have a nap and went back to the factory in the morning."

"Are you from a garment factory?" Wang Lin said, "from Wuhu?"

"How do you know?" the middle-aged man asked.

Wang Lin smiled and said: "I am from Shenfang. I am very familiar with your textile and garment factories! As soon as I heard your accent, I knew you were from Wuhu."

"Oh, what a fate!" The middle-aged man stretched out his hand and shook Wang Lin's hand, "My name is Deng Dabao. Because I am fat, others call me Fat Bao!"

Wang Lin smiled and said: "My name is Wang Lin! Comrade Dabao, how is your clothing sales?"

"Nowadays, we are talking about market economy. We are a small factory. The clothes we produce are not easy to sell!" Deng Dabao sells raw materials and is very talkative.

"You also have your own textile factory in Wuhu, how can you go to Luzhou to purchase goods?"

"Some fabrics are only produced by Luzhou Textile Factory. Now the production is so good that seersucker clothes are not easy to sell."

"Toned pants, bell-bottom pants, and floral short skirts are now popular, and many young people in Shanghai wear them."

Two people work in the same industry, and the more they talk, the more they become more speculative.
To be continued...