Chapter 10: Reporting to the Railway Bureau

In November, the nights in Si Jiu Cheng were already very cold; after a while, they would have to pull out the heating iron stove.

After a sleepless night, the next day Lu Cheng got up very early, walked to the basin, turned on the faucet to wash his face, then squatted over the basin to brush his teeth.

The neighbors in Da Za Yuan looked as if they had seen a ghost, finding it unbelievable.

Usually Lu Cheng would sleep until the sun was high; getting up this early, as today, was a first ever for him.

Zhao Daye, who had gone out for a walk and returned, also looked surprised.

"Oh dear, is this San'er getting up? Today the sun seems to be planning to rise from the west!"

Lu Cheng, with foam at his mouth, said, "Zhao Daye, you went for a walk and came back—didn't you fall?"

Zhao Daye glared, "I'll beat you, you little rascal."

Chen Xianglan had already prepared the meal: steamed buns with three‑fold noodles and thin porridge, plus a plate of pickled vegetables bought from Liu Bi Ju.

Thus the breakfast was handled simply.

Wearing an apron, Chen Xianglan wiped her hands while shouting toward the basin, "San'er, have you finished brushing? Hurry up and eat; after the meal, go report in quickly—today is the first day, no tardiness allowed."

"Got it, Mom." Lu Cheng gulped a large mouthful of clear water, tilted his head back and spat it out a few times, "Whoa, whoa."

Lu Ying heard the call to eat, stretched lazily out of Xi Er Fang, sat at the dining table, and began eating a bun.

Lu Cheng, seeing his sister's hair in disarray, teased, "Sis, you're way too slovenly—no face wash, no teeth brushing, and you're already eating. Look at me, I stress hygiene; you should learn from me."

Lu Ying glared, "Oh, you finally got up early, and now you're lecturing me."

"Alright, alright." Chen Xianglan set down the bowls and chopsticks, "You two—when apart for a day you miss each other like crazy, together you can't stay two minutes without quarreling, fighting since childhood; when will you finally grow up?"

Lu Ying tugged her hair and said, "Mom, whether I've grown up is hard to say, but your big son has grown up, and now there's even a daughter‑in‑law… um…"

Before she could finish, Lu Cheng shoved a mouthful of pickled vegetables into her mouth.

The sibling tacit understanding needs no explanation; Lu Ying quickly caught on. For this matter, they should first see Lin Qingyan's opinion—if Lin Qingyan disagrees, even the parents' words are useless.

Chen Xianglan walked over, combed Lu Ying's hair, and asked, "What daughter‑in‑law? Has San'er been flirting with some girl again?"

"No, no, Lu Cheng has been quite honest these past two days," Lu Ying said, biting a bun while glancing sharply at Lu Cheng.

That clearly meant, "You're not honest at all."

Lu Cheng returned a smile, meaning he was grateful for his older sister's mercy.

If Lu Beitang found out about his courting Lin Qingyan, it would surely be another belt‑flogging.

After breakfast, they had to report to the Railway Bureau at Xizhimen Station.

Since Lu Cheng had just been reborn, his memory of this era was inevitably hazy; after asking his sister, he learned how to transfer the transport routes.

First, walk to Mishi Avenue Station, take the No. 103 tram, get off at Zhanlan Road Station, then transfer to Route 7 or 23, alight at Xizhimen Outer Station, and finally walk to the Railway Bureau.

From their residence to Xizhimen is about eight kilometers, requiring two vehicle changes; in this era of underdeveloped transport, that's already a long journey.

Capital City does have an operational subway line, but it doesn't reach Xizhimen; only after 1984, when Fuxingmen Station was built and Line 2 formed a closed loop, did it pass through Xizhimen.

Before long, the big‑braided tram stopped at the roadside.

Lu Cheng squeezed onto the tram through the front middle door, shouted at the ticket clerk, "Zhanlan Road, stop!"

The ticket clerk tore the corresponding station ticket from the board: "Four cents."

There are two fare rules: one for city routes, where ten cents covers the entire trip.

Lu Cheng took a suburban route, priced by distance segments; when later transferring to a bus, the base fare was five cents.

Since it was only the first segment or just slightly beyond, it was essentially the base fare, totaling about ten cents for the whole trip.

Lu Cheng paid, after which the clerk took a double‑ended red‑blue pencil and, with the red tip, drew a wavy line on the ticket to prevent reuse.

The blue tip was for recording revenue.

"Hold onto your tickets; comrades who just boarded, move inside."

As Lu Cheng squeezed toward the back to alight at the rear door, a newly boarded laborer shouted, "Monthly ticket!"

The ticket clerk compared the photo with the person to prevent misuse, then waved a hand and called out again, "Passengers who just boarded, please buy tickets."

With a clanging "ding‑ding" sound, the tram started moving.

When they reached Zhanlan Road Station, the ticket clerk shouted into the carriage, "Zhanlan Road arrived, female comrades first, women can hold up half the sky."

Then he stuck his head out and said, "Comrades riding bicycles ahead, make way; the revolutionary masses are getting off."

Listening to the clerk's announcements, Lu Cheng felt like laughing, but such distinctive phrasing defined the era.

After transferring, about half an hour later, Lu Cheng arrived at the Grand Courtyard of the Xizhimen Railway Bureau.

Inside the guard post stood a uniformed police officer on duty; seeing someone approach, he extended his arm and asked, "Comrade, who are you looking for?"

Lu Cheng produced the Introduction Letter from the Street Office and said, "Hello, Comrade, I'm here to report in."

The on‑duty officer took it, examined it carefully, confirmed it was fine, and said, "Hello, Comrade, keep the Introduction Letter, turn left ahead to the Traffic Police Unit, then go straight to Team Captain Zhou's office."

"Thank you, Comrade."

Lu Cheng kept the Introduction Letter, followed the directions, and arrived at the Traffic Police Unit office.

The captain, Zhou Weihua, was a middle‑aged man transferred from the military department.

Lu Cheng stood at the doorway, about to greet, but swallowed his words as Zhou Weihua was on the phone.

"Director Tang, rest assured, our Traffic Police Unit will do our utmost to crush that theft gang on the train; we won't let the criminals run rampant… hey hey, goodbye Director Tang."

After hanging up, Zhou Weihua noticed the unfamiliar Comrade at the door.

"Hello, Comrade, are you here for business?"

Lu Cheng stepped forward a few paces, took out the Introduction Letter and handed it over, "Hello Captain Zhou, I'm here to report in."

"Lu Cheng?" Zhou Weihua raised an eyebrow at the Introduction Letter, then stood up and shook hands.

"I know you; you're Xu Erye's disciple, please have a seat."

After Lu Cheng sat down, Zhou Weihua set the Introduction Letter aside and chatted casually, "How's Xu Erye lately? I haven't seen him for a while."

"Thanks for your concern, Captain Zhou; my Master is in robust health."

"That's fine then; if you have time, bring me something good."

The Traffic Police Unit is relatively special; it generally only accepts former soldiers or police academy graduates. For a streetwise guy like Lu Cheng to get into the Railway Bureau Police Team, Xu Erye certainly didn't hold back.

Xu Erye's disciples all have some skill, and Zhou Weihua also prized that, which is why he reluctantly took Lu Cheng on.

"Xiao Lu, today is your first day of reporting; let me tell you about the salary and benefits."

Lu Cheng was very interested in this topic; under the planned economy, purchases and sales are unified, and everything each person can eat is rationed.

If the household could have another wage earner, it would relieve a large part of the pressure.

And Lu Cheng had long heard that the railway system's benefits are quite good.

"Team Captain Zhou, you speak."