Chapter 91: Arrival in Harbin

At the railway station in Bangye County, Li Xian was drenched in sweat.

The station was a small building with oil barrels still burning inside. A few barriers made a narrow passageway, with ticket sellers seated at high windows. Beside them was an old staff member with a long bamboo pole wrapped in red cloth.

Standing in the long line, Li Xian was puzzled by the bamboo pole until it poked him in the back.

"Hey, what are you looking at? It's your turn, move forward."

The bamboo pole was wielded like a spear by the old staff member, poking Li Xian and then pointing to a woman behind him.

"Not your turn yet, why are you pushing forward?"

Apparently, this was their job!

Li Xian, frustrated by the poor service attitude, endured it and bought tickets with Chen Shulin.

The long platform had dispersed the crowd from the small building, but once on the train, Li Xian experienced the true discomfort.

Inside the cramped train carriage, the mingled stench of smoke, dirty feet, sweat, and urine from the toilet made Li Xian immediately nauseous.

Though the carriage was not crowded, the space was filled with bags and luggage, with no place to stand. People gathered in groups—some drinking, others letting their children urinate on the floor, and some playing mahjong, attracting onlookers.

The conductor swept the floor with a large broom, cursing at the woman whose child was urinating, while vendors outside the train offered tea eggs and tofu rolls through the windows.

Once Li Xian adapted to the smell, he noticed that Chen Shulin had already found a seat. Clearly, Chen Shulin was used to this kind of scene, which was new and shocking to Li Xian.

After asking two elderly men who had their bare feet on the seats to move, Chen Shulin sighed.

"Damn it, no seats on this train in winter!"

But despite the lack of seating, they had to sit.

The green train stopped at every station, making the journey take over seven hours. By the time it was dark, and after Li Xian had dozed off numerous times, the conductor finally called out.

"Wake up, everyone! We're arriving in Harbin. Check your belongings."

Li Xian woke Chen Shulin, grabbed his bag, and went to the aisle to wait to disembark.

Looking out the window, Li Xian was filled with mixed feelings. Twenty years later, the small building and the two-story building before entering the station were abandoned and dilapidated.

But at that moment, they still glowed with lights, and families could be seen eating dinner amidst the rumbling of the train.

"Harbin, where I haven't been for many years…"

Reflecting on his brief college years in the city, Li Xian hummed to himself.

Only he knew how many years it had truly been since he last visited.

---

That evening, Li Xian and Chen Shulin stayed at a state-owned hotel next to the station. Early the next morning, they took a blue three-wheeled taxi to Tulong Street's agricultural market.

Standing at the entrance of Tulong Street, marked with large signs reading "No Smoking, Fine for Violators," "Advance Four Modernizations to Revitalize China," and "Improve Food Hygiene, Prevent Disease from Mouth," Li Xian was overwhelmed.

The street was filled with people!

Tulong Street, a so-called agricultural market, was actually just tents set up on both sides of a street, stretching for over two miles. Even though it was only a little past nine in the morning, the narrow walkway, less than three meters wide, was already packed.

The vendors' calls and bargaining sounds created a lively atmosphere, like a temple fair.

Parting the crowd like a river, Li Xian and Chen Shulin squeezed their way in. Soon, they found a stall selling toilet paper.

After the vendor in a blue smock with discolored white sleeves finished dealing with a supply order, Li Xian approached with a smile.

"Hello, miss. I'm the factory director of Xinlang Paper Industries from Bangye Forestry Bureau. I see you have many kinds of toilet paper. We also produce toilet paper…"

Initially, the vendor greeted Li Xian with a friendly smile, but her expression changed immediately when she heard Li Xian was selling toilet paper.

"Xinlang Teyou? I haven't heard of that brand. We only sell Yuma, Dahui, and Guosheng brands. We don't sell generic brands."

With that, she ignored Li Xian and attended to other customers.

Feeling like he had been thrown a bucket of cold water, Li Xian took a while to recover.

Beside him, Chen Shulin couldn't help but gloat. "I told you, Director, this is the provincial capital. Do you think everyone knows Xinlang Teyou?"

Li Xian gave him a glare but stayed in the stall, observing the vendor. Several regular customers from Shuangcheng placed orders for over fifteen hundred packs of Dahui brand toilet paper.

Seeing the unnatural pink color of the paper, which looked like it had been sun-dried for a summer, and its coarse texture, Li Xian felt a strong sense of disdain.

"Miss, how is the toilet paper sold?" he asked the vendor again.

"Seventy-five cents a pack, fifty packs minimum! What, young man, do you want to buy some to learn from?" The vendor taunted as she saw Li Xian hadn't left.

Seeing the pack of Dahui paper with only ten rolls, Li Xian chuckled and shook his head.

He thought, "Even with my eyes closed, I could make better paper! Learn? Learn what?"

With Chen Shulin, Li Xian left the stall.

The next few stalls selling bulk rolls of paper had similar reactions. Upon learning that Li Xian was just a small paper factory director from the forestry bureau, interest waned. One stall owner even cursed, almost leading to a confrontation with Chen Shulin.

Standing in the crowded walkway, squeezed like falling leaves, Li Xian sighed as he looked down the long Tulong Street.

"Damn it, this isn't working!"

Chen Shulin grumbled, "No kidding, if dogs were allowed here, they'd probably let them bite you."

Li Xian glared at him. "When you're out, can't you control your temper a bit?"

"How to control? This is how I am for life, take it or leave it!"

Recalling being kicked out earlier, Chen Shulin pushed away someone who had stepped on his foot, "Damn, are you blind?"

"Hey? Old **, who are you cursing?" The person he pushed got angry and raised a fist. Just as he was about to swing, he saw Li Xian standing in front of Chen Shulin.

"Hey? It's you?!"

The person's fist froze.

Li Xian was also surprised, looking the person up and down, then smiled.

"What a coincidence, what are you doing here?"