Chapter 5 2. Ah Ji returns to the south

The last time I went back to the south, Ah Ji was still a baby in his arms, and he didn't know anything about it. This time was different, she was already a curious primary school student who ran around by herself, asking this and that. Ah Ji asked her father: "Why are the armrests of the seats on this train wrapped in velvet and trimmed with lace, so elegant!" Her father told her that this was a first-class train. "What class (carriage) are foreigners sitting in?" Ah Ji asked again.She found that the carriages for foreigners were square, without rows of seats, a bit like a living room, where they smoked cigars, drank soda, and had sofas around the table.Dad replied angrily: "Second class!" Ah Ji didn't understand why the second class (compartment) was more comfortable than the first class?She was too young to appreciate her father's aversion to the privileges enjoyed by foreigners in China.

Aji and his parents took the train from Beijing to Tianjin, stayed in a hotel for two days, boarded a ship named "Xinming", and sailed southward to Shanghai.This ship is as dirty, crowded and messy as the third-class cabins of Gu Erqian, Li Meiting, etc. in the TV series.Aji's family has a lot of luggage, many boxes of books, as well as boxes, baskets, and bedding including all the belongings.The whole family also has a concierge Zang Ming and his wife Zang Ma, plus a wastebasket covered with a thin cloth, in which is hidden the yellow and white lion cat that my father loves. back south.

Dad stood on the messy shore, took care of the luggage and boarded the boat, and kept holding Seventh Sister, never leaving his hands for a moment.Ah Ji knew that the three-year-old seventh sister was heavy enough, and she felt sorry for her father, who must have been exhausted from holding the chubby little boy for a long time.When the passengers boarded the ship, the mother led a group of children, looked after by male and female servants, and the father was the last to board the ship with the seventh sister in his arms.When he was about to step on the small wooden bridge between the ship and the shore, the small wooden bridge suddenly fell into the sea due to the movement of the bow.A Ji looked at her father helplessly on the boat, she was terrified, she was afraid that her father would not be able to get on the boat!However, Dad carried Seventh Sister in his arms and got off the boat calmly on the gangway at the stern, and all the luggage was also on board.

After everyone gathered on the boat, the first thing mother did was to find out the small toilet for the convenience of the children.The whole family is not in the same cabin, Ah Ji and the third sister are in another cabin, but the cabins are connected. The ship gradually sailed into the sea, passing through the Yellow Water Ocean, the Blue Water Ocean, and the Black Water Ocean.Crossing the Blackwater Ocean, the ship shook so badly that everyone got seasick.But seasickness can't stop the children's naughtiness and curiosity.Ah Ji and the third sister shared bunk beds. At that time, Ah Ji was eight years old and the third sister was thirteen years old.If Ah Ji wanted to make trouble with the third sister, he used the horizontal board on top of his head to prevent her from sleeping peacefully.But most of the time the two are on good terms.The third sister wanted to watch the sunrise on the sea, so she told Ajiru to wake her up if she woke up early.Later, it was the third sister who woke up Ah Ji. She climbed onto the upper bunk and watched the sun rise from the sea with the third sister.At first, there were two semicircular suns, which gradually turned into two full circles, and then separated. The color changed from deep red to golden red, and the sun came out from the sea. At that time, A Ji didn't know how to describe it. Already!"

Two or three days later, I arrived in Shanghai.Get off the ship and transfer to the "tugboat".The so-called "tugboat" is a large string of boats towed behind the small steamer, relying on the power of the steamer to sail forward.