TYH-DCI | Chapter 15 – “I can’t take this anymore—none of us can!”

Seeing this, the woman looked satisfied. Standing nearby, she fanned the flames even further.

“Quick, arrest this thief! Who knows—maybe she didn’t just steal from one person!”

Originally, Jiang Lai didn’t want to bother with her. But the woman simply wouldn’t stop escalating things.

Enough was enough—she couldn’t tolerate it anymore, and neither could anyone else around her.

She released Wang Shengnan’s hand and strode straight toward the woman.

Then—smack, smack—she delivered two hard slaps across her face.

The force was so strong that the woman’s cheeks instantly swelled and turned red.

The woman immediately tried to strike back in a frenzy, but Wang Shengnan quickly stepped in to help Jiang Lai.

The previously noisy dining car fell silent. The train security officer had also noticed the disturbance and rushed over, one hand already near his belt.

Jiang Lai noticed the officer’s holstered weapon and immediately restrained herself. Even though she was in the right, she knew better than to escalate things further.

“What’s going on here?” the officer asked as he stepped into the dining car.

The server clicked her tongue. “No idea what’s wrong with this woman. She came in out of nowhere, insulting people for being poor and then accusing someone of theft.”

The officer looked at Jiang Lai and the others. Instinctively, Jiang Lai stepped in front of Wang Shengnan.

“Officer,” she said calmly, “it was like this. These two—this man and woman—were originally seated with us in the same compartment.

At noon, this female comrade started speaking very rudely, so we argued a little. After that, they left their seats and never came back.

Just now, while Comrade Wang and I were buying food, she suddenly appeared again, insulted me, and then falsely accused me of stealing money!

She didn’t just insult me—she said I was a thief. That’s serious slander. I lost my temper and slapped her twice.”

The officer turned to the woman. “What do you have to say?”

“I’m innocent, comrade!” she cried. “Don’t listen to her nonsense! Someone clearly said they lost ten yuan and a ration ticket! I was just doing the right thing—how is that slander?”

She quickly added, “I wasn’t the only one who heard it—everyone in the dining car heard it!”

The officer looked around. Several passengers nodded in agreement, and even the server confirmed it.

Just as the server was about to speak, the officer signaled her to stay silent.

“Who lost money?” he asked loudly.

The dining car fell completely quiet. He asked again.

Finally, someone nervously spoke up.

“Comrade… it was me. I lost money and a ration ticket.”

The officer pushed through the crowd and approached the man.

“How much did you lose? What kind of ticket? How many?”

The man wasn’t far from Jiang Lai. He had only seen her take out a ten-yuan note and a ticket.

He hadn’t clearly seen what kind of ticket it was—but in a place like this, what else could it be?

So he said firmly, “Ten yuan and one ration ticket.”

The officer returned to the server and took the money and ticket Jiang Lai had just handed over.

He asked again, “Are you sure it was ten yuan and one ration ticket?”

The man hesitated. “It should be… yes…”

The officer’s expression turned cold. “What do you mean should be? Are you sure or not?”

The man grew nervous. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded. “Yes. I’m sure—ten yuan and one ration ticket.”

The officer studied him for a moment. The man finally let out a breath of relief.

Then the officer asked again, “Where was your ration ticket issued?”

The man thought quickly. Since they were still in Guangdong, and the train had departed from there, he answered decisively:

“Guangdong Province.”

The officer asked again, “Are you certain?”

“Yes, I’m certain,” the man replied immediately.

The server couldn’t help but laugh. “You can’t even identify your own ration ticket, yet you’re accusing someone else of theft? Besides, she came from the left carriage and you came from the right—you didn’t even interact with her. How would she have stolen anything?”

The man tried to argue weakly. “Maybe she stole it earlier…”

The officer’s face darkened. “What she gave you is a nationally valid ration ticket.”

The man immediately realized something was wrong.

“Then… maybe I remembered incorrectly,” he muttered quickly.

Without another word, he turned and hurried out of the dining car.

The officer didn’t pursue him further.

He then turned to the woman who had caused the accusation. “And you? What do you have to say?”

The woman opened her mouth several times but couldn’t form a single coherent response.

Jiang Lai refused to let her off easily.

“Officer,” she said, “we are all educated youth sent to rural areas to build the country. This comrade has repeatedly harassed us. I seriously suspect she may be a bad element deliberately stirring up division among passengers!”

She wasn’t a kind person by nature. She believed in reciprocity—if others showed her kindness, she returned it; if they crossed the line, she would not hold back.

And accusing someone of theft in this era was no small matter. In serious cases, it could even lead to execution.

Today, the woman had only narrowly avoided consequences because of luck. But what if she hadn’t?

The officer seemed to take her words seriously.

In the end, he escorted the man and woman away from the dining car.

After the incident ended, the server turned to Jiang Lai. “Do you still want your food heated?”

Only then did Jiang Lai remember the buns. “Yes, yes—please heat them!”

A short while later, the server returned with their order.

“Here you go. And the hot water is free this time,” she said.

Thinking of their bamboo cups—and the fact that one of them was leaking—Jiang Lai also bought four small bamboo cups and some hot water.

The four cups cost two cents, and the server returned her eight cents in change.

“Thank you, comrade! You’re truly a model worker serving the people!”

The flattery clearly pleased the server, who smiled and saw them off warmly.

The two girls made their way back through the crowded aisle carrying their food.

Thinking about how Jiang Lai had instinctively protected her earlier, Wang Shengnan felt a warmth in her chest.

But then she looked at all the things they were carrying and couldn’t help but worry.

“Jiang Lai,” she said, half scolding, half concerned, “how can you spend money so impulsively? You barely brought any luggage. When you get there, you’ll have to buy everything. What will you do then?”

In her mind, Jiang Lai looked like someone who had come unprepared. Wang Shengnan herself had already arranged for her bulky items—bedding and winter clothes—to be mailed ahead.

Mailing parcels wasn’t cheap, so she assumed Jiang Lai was planning to buy everything after arrival.

She sighed. “Forget it. If you don’t have enough money later, tell me. I can lend you some. You can pay me back slowly.”

Within just one day, the seemingly cold and distant Wang Shengnan had already helped her multiple times—and even offered to lend her money after knowing her for less than a day.

Jiang Lai genuinely liked her. It had been a long time since she met someone so straightforward and sincere.

She smiled, eyes curved. “Don’t worry. My luggage was shipped ahead. And I’m dressed like this because my family wanted me to stay low-key and avoid trouble. They said it’s safer to keep a low profile when traveling.”

She gave a playful wink, deliberately telling a harmless white lie.