Chen Lan divided the money and tickets in her hands into several portions. She kept one portion for the travel expenses back to the imperial capital. The rest she gave to Mother Liu, specifically for her and her own mother’s living expenses. For the children’s living expense subsidies for this semester, Chen Lan prepared them on a school-by-school basis! The subsidies for several students attending Harbin Medical University were entrusted to her eldest brother, Wen Kai, for safekeeping. The subsidies for those attending Harbin Normal University were given to her eldest daughter, Chunni. The subsidies for students attending the Military Engineering Academy were entrusted to Jiaxing. The subsidies for students attending other schools were all given to Mingzhe for unified safekeeping.
Furthermore, Chen Lan specifically prepared an emergency fund to be kept by Mother Liu, to guard against unexpected situations where the family or the children might need money.
The journey from Harbin to the imperial capital was approximately 1,200 kilometers long, traversing four provinces and two municipalities in North China and Northeast China.
Fortunately, there was a direct express train from Harbin to the imperial capital, eliminating the need for transfers. However, at this time, trains were still pulled by steam locomotives, so even express trains were not very fast, with a maximum speed of around 50 kilometers per hour. Coupled with the fact that the train stopped at almost every station, a smooth journey would still require at least thirty-odd hours on the train.
Chen Lan thought that if everyone sat in hard seats, it would be too arduous. Besides, she wasn’t lacking the money, so why wouldn't she indulge when she could?
Therefore, Chen Lan ultimately decided that everyone would travel back to the imperial capital in sleeper berths. So, after Xu Mingxuan obtained the introduction letter from his workplace, Chen Lan handed the introduction letter and money to Xiang Xi, entrusting him with the full responsibility of purchasing the sleeper tickets. He had considerable experience in this regard, and Chen Lan was confident that Xiang Xi would find a way to secure the currently scarce sleeper tickets.
Chen Lan’s guess turned out to be correct. As soon as she informed Xiang Xi of her intention to have him buy sleeper tickets at the train station, he readily agreed.
He accepted the introduction letter and money that Chen Lan handed him, casually placed them into the military satchel he carried, and then confidently set off for Harbin Railway Station with Xiao Shuan, riding their bicycles.
Two and a half hours later, Xiang Xi and Xiao Shuan returned with a proud air. Upon seeing Chen Lan, Xiang Xi handed all the sleeper tickets and the change back to Chen Lan.
Chen Lan glanced at the ticket prices and exclaimed internally, “My goodness! I didn’t expect sleeper tickets to be so expensive now. Each ticket cost a whopping 39.3 yuan. Keep in mind that an ordinary worker’s monthly salary at this time was only around thirty to forty yuan. A single sleeper ticket was almost equivalent to a worker’s monthly salary. Some with lower wages couldn’t even afford one sleeper ticket from Harbin to the imperial capital!”
Of course, for the introduction letter to purchase sleeper berths for this return trip to the imperial capital, Chen Lan still sought Xu Mingxuan's help through his connection at the Materials Bureau.
To this end, Chen Lan generously gifted each office in their Materials Bureau a thermos and five enamel cups to silence any potential gossip about Xu Mingxuan engaging in favoritism.
After arranging matters at home, Chen Lan, accompanied by her daughters Jia Hui and the group including Xiang Xi, bid a reluctant farewell to her mother and Mother Liu, and then departed Harbin by train.
The group boarded the train at 8:30 PM. After spending two days and two nights on the train, at 10:10 AM on the third day, the train finally arrived at the imperial capital’s railway station.
As they disembarked, Chen Lan tightly clutched her two daughters’ hands, following behind Xiang Xi and the rest of the group. After all, everyone had been away from the imperial capital for decades, so Xiang Xi, Xiao Shuan, Xiao Shan, and Lin Mao all appeared exceptionally excited, chattering animatedly about how grand the new railway station was.
Chen Lan, however, felt a sense of apprehension as she neared home. Having been away from the imperial capital for decades, Chen Lan had no idea about the condition of their house.
After all, that house was her mother’s only cherished memory, and her elderly mother had always been thinking about their old house in the imperial capital.
Although Chen Lan was lost in thought, she didn’t forget to hold her two daughters’ hands tightly, following the throng of people carrying large bags and small parcels as they exited the new imperial capital railway station.
Chen Lan knew the current location of this new railway station. To the north of the station plaza was Tiananmen Square, and to the south was Qianmen Street.
It was known that Qianmen Street was the most prosperous area in the imperial capital, with countless shops. The cloth shop, silver shop, and pawnshop that Chen Lan’s family had donated to the state were all located on Qianmen Street.
The group emerged from the station onto the vast station plaza, finally returning to the imperial capital they had been away from for a long time. Chen Lan took a deep breath and looked back at the overall appearance of the new railway station. This magnificent building, with its strong national style, was the new railway station.
This railway station took only seven months and twenty days from breaking ground to opening for operation in September 1959, creating a miracle in architectural history at the time.
It adopted the traditional Chinese architectural style with a symmetrical structure, and its roof was covered with bright yellow glazed tiles, giving it an imposing and solemn feel. Chen Lan couldn’t help but marvel inwardly, truly worthy of being one of China’s ten most famous buildings at that time.
While the mother and daughters were admiring this nationally renowned landmark, Xiang Xi called out from behind, “Little Lan, why are you three dawdling? Hurry up! Let’s find a state-run restaurant to eat first, and then we can discuss which guesthouse to stay at?”
Xiang Xi asked passersby for directions, and then, with Xiao Shuan, he skillfully led the group to the public bus stop in front of the station plaza. They took a bus to the state-run restaurant closest to the station – the Zhaojialou Restaurant.
The Zhaojialou Restaurant was the same Zhaojialou where the infamous incident of burning Zhaojialou occurred during the May Fourth Movement.
Zhaojialou Restaurant also had an attached guesthouse. After several days on the train, everyone was exhausted and had not rested well. Therefore, after discussing with Xiang Xi and Xiang Dong, Chen Lan and the others unanimously decided to stay at the Zhaojialou Restaurant Guesthouse for the night.
As soon as they entered the restaurant, Chen Lan and her two daughters were responsible for securing seats, while Xiang Xi and the others queued up to buy food vouchers. As for what dishes to order, state-run restaurants at that time only had a few options, such as crispy duck, kung pao chicken, mapo tofu, and stir-fried mixed vegetables. In any case, Xiang Xi was very experienced with this, and having returned to a familiar place, they could order whatever they liked.