Chapter 65: Ultimately Not the Same Kind of People Anymore

For people in their line of work, every moment was like dancing on the edge of a cliff.

If luck was on their side, as it was now, they could chat with ordinary people.

But they had to remain highly vigilant at all times.

If any link in the chain failed, it would instantly become a rhythm of stepping on the sewing machine.

If luck was against them,

forget about disguising their identities to chat with others; even finding a solid opportunity to sit down would be difficult.

However, it seemed she had been overly suspicious this time!

As expected of someone she had her eye on.

The person appeared innocent, and their thoughts were quite simple.

After concealing the emotions in her eyes, she looked at Shen Yi’an and explained.

“I’m allergic to bananas.”

“Other fruits are fine, though!”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yi’an showed a regretful expression. “Then there’s nothing to be done!”

“I only brought two bananas and one orange. I need to save the orange for when I get carsick.”

“If you want to eat, you’ll have to wait until we get off the train to buy some.”

Before the Female Boss could react, the Female Comrade eating a banana beside them brightened up.

“You have an orange too?”

“That’s a rare treat. Can I try it?”

Seeing Shen Yi’an’s awkward expression of ‘fearing the orange would be taken,’ she immediately pouted in dissatisfaction.

“And here I kindly reminded you earlier today. I didn’t expect you to be so stingy.”

“It’s just an orange, as if no one can afford it!”

“If there were any sold on the train, I’d buy one myself!”

“Hmph!”

After letting out a cold snort,

she decisively finished the banana in her hand in two or three bites, casually tossed the peel on the table, and then lay down to sleep.

As if the person who had been clamoring for something to eat earlier wasn’t her at all.

To this, Shen Yi’an really wanted to say that her orange and banana were from the train.

Although they didn’t cost money, it proved that such things were sold on the train.

But noticing the frequent twitching of the Female Comrade’s eyelashes beside her, she knew the other was just making excuses to cover up the awkwardness of the moment.

So, she said nothing more and lowered her gaze, falling silent.

Because of this, she successfully avoided further conversation with the Female Boss across from her.

Heavens!

As expected of the leader of a human trafficking ring, her vigilance was unmatched.

If Shen Yi’an had the ability to drug a banana without peeling it, why would she even be sitting on this train?

She might as well have been recruited by the authorities.

Still, it was just as well she didn’t eat the banana.

With someone else eating it, it further proved her ‘innocence.’

When the arrest operation began later, even if the Female Boss across from her suspected there was a mole nearby, she wouldn’t suspect Shen Yi’an of being the informant.

Perfect!

Just as Shen Yi’an was thinking this, the Female Boss’s unfriendly gaze fell on the Female Comrade, whose eyelids kept twitching.

Though she said nothing, the occasional twisting of her wrists showed she was in a very bad mood.

And rightly so.

Anyone who finally had a chance to exchange a few words with a desired target would naturally be angry if a fool ruined the moment.

As the atmosphere grew quiet on their side,

in the train conductor’s duty room at the other end, the family of three, who had been called away by the train attendant under some pretext, were now being ‘reprimanded.’

“…Your child goes missing, and instead of reporting it to the police or seeking our help, you bring your wife and daughter to risk your lives.”

“What, now that the Old Master is gone, the friendship between our families has ended too?”

“Speak! Do you think I can’t do anything if you keep silent?”

After being lectured repeatedly for quite some time, the embarrassment on Song Zhaoxu’s face had long since faded away bit by bit.

After being scolded once more, he could no longer bear it and simply stood up, confronting Li Beizhao head-on.

“Have you said enough?”

“I’ve already told you, I can handle my own affairs. I don’t need you meddling.”

“What, just because you’re a soldier, you think you’re something special? You can ignore the will of the people?”

“Bullshit!” Li Beizhao, usually steady and composed, was so furious that he cursed.

“Are you, damn it, just an ordinary citizen? Huh?”

“What did Old Master say when he left? Didn’t he tell us to watch out for and help each other?”

“And what do you do? When trouble comes, you don’t even make a peep.”

“What, do you want people to think the country has wronged the descendants of loyal martyrs?”

Faced with this torrent of harsh words, Song Zhaoxu’s face instantly flushed a deep, purplish red.

“I didn’t!!”

“I just… I just didn’t want to trouble you whenever something happened.”

“Even though Old Master said we should watch out for each other, what right does the Song Family today have to stand alongside people like you?”

As he roared these words, the veins on his tightly clenched fists bulged instantly.

“Nowadays, the most accomplished person in the Song Family is Brother Chaowen.”

“Although the Songjia Shifu Private Kitchen Restaurant he runs has made a name for itself in Jingshi, compared to the Li Family, it’s like heaven and earth.”

“We already feel ashamed enough for not fulfilling Old Master’s wish to dedicate ourselves to the country. How could we have the nerve to come running to you whenever trouble arises?”

“We’re just not on the same path anymore, don’t you understand?”

Finally having spoken the words that had weighed on his heart for so long, Song Zhaoxu’s body visibly relaxed.

The Song Family, or more precisely, Old Master Song.

Like Old Master Li, he was one of the few who had miraculously survived the front lines of battle.

As founding fathers, they naturally enjoyed the nation’s highest honors.

But the Song Family was different from the Li Family.

Apart from Old Master Li, the Li Family had two sons.

The eldest, Li Zhenghong, had fought for the country on the front lines alongside Old Master Li even before the nation’s founding.

He had both skill and brains.

After the founding, when Old Master Li stepped back, he became the pillar of the Li Family.

As for the second son of the Li Family,

to ensure the Li lineage continued, he was kept safe in the rear.

After the founding, he secured a position through his own abilities.

Thus, the Li Family settled down in Jingshi.

But their Song Family had only Old Master fighting on the front lines.

He barely made it back alive, but due to injuries sustained earlier on the battlefield, he didn’t last many years.

On his deathbed, he still urged his descendants to dedicate themselves to the country.

Perhaps the Song Family truly lacked the genes for military service.

They were eliminated in the very first physical fitness test.

Not only did they lack the physique for soldiering, but they also had no talent for politics.

His father and his four siblings, seeing that they couldn’t fulfill Old Master’s dying wish, simply returned to their hometown to farm.

Coming from peasant stock, it was easy to return to their roots.

When they left, they said that Jingshi was left for the younger generation like them to make their way.

As for how far they could go, it was entirely up to them.

Tempered by reality, only the two cousins remained in Jingshi to develop.

Although his cousin Song Chaowen wasn’t physically strong, he was exceptionally clever.

Using the connections left by Old Master to acquire land, he gradually built up what is now the ‘Songjia Shifu Private Kitchen Restaurant’ of its current scale.

Making a fortune was one thing, but he had also built a solid network of connections.

Then there was him.

Although he hadn’t succeeded in joining the military as hoped, nor did he have a head for business, he had secured a position in the market supervision department with quite promising career prospects.

But fate had other plans.

Perhaps it was also Song Zhaoxu’s destined misfortune: not long ago, his son, who had just started second grade in elementary school, suddenly went missing.

From his daughter’s account, her brother had taken her out to buy candied hawthorns when a man suddenly rushed out from a street corner and snatched him away.

She had chased after them but couldn’t catch up, and she tripped over a stone, knocking herself unconscious on the road.

Having witnessed her brother being taken, his daughter developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Every time she fell asleep, within less than half an hour, she would be tormented by nightmares, incessantly crying out phrases like, “Don’t take my brother!” or “Let go of my brother!”

In just a short time, she became slow to react and emotionally numb.

With his son missing and his daughter in such a state, his wife naturally wasn’t faring well either.

Seeing his family on the verge of falling apart, he applied for a leave of absence without pay and took his wife and daughter to search for traces of his son.

The information they pieced together eventually pointed to his son being abducted by human traffickers.

After immense hardship, he finally managed to make contact with the leader of the human trafficking ring. It was then that the Li Family, whom the Old Master had once urged to watch out for and support each other, appeared.

Not only did they appear, but they also learned about his son’s abduction.

Logically, there should have been no issue.

But when he heard the words “watch out for and support each other,” he couldn’t hold back anymore.

Was it that he didn’t want to maintain a relationship with the Li Family?

The real question was, was he even worthy?