Chapter 515: To Save on Fare, No Choice but to Fuss

Du Xiaojuan and Zhao Xinyi returned carrying two buckets of instant noodles filled with hot water.

"Uncle, Auntie, the instant noodles are ready. Careful, they're hot. Eat them once they soften."

Du Xiaojuan was unfailingly attentive to the two elders, Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan.

Li Xiulan saw it all, a simple smile on her face, very pleased.

Wang Zhanggen was also pleased, but he felt everything Du Xiaojuan did was only natural.

Just as it was natural for Li Xiulan to wash clothes and cook for him her whole life.

As the prospective daughter-in-law, Du Xiaojuan taking care of the two elders on this trip was only natural.

However, Wang Zhanggen had not made any excessive demands along the way; at most he instructed Du Xiaojuan to help pour water and throw out trash, nothing more.

He was actually not good at communicating with people, so he basically didn't speak much along the way.

Instead, Li Xiulan, Du Xiaojuan, and Zhao Xinyi chatted and laughed quite a bit.

Around three in the afternoon, Wang Dashan called to ask Du Xiaojuan:

"Xiao Juan, is the trip going well?"

"It's fine."

"My father has a bad temper. If he does anything wrong, please be more tolerant. You know, old people are very stubborn."

Wang Dashan made this call because he was afraid some misunderstanding would happen between Du Xiaojuan and his father along the way.

He knew his father's temper all too well.

He was a taciturn, narrow-minded stuffed jar.

A little carelessness could easily displease him.

However, this time Wang Dashan was clearly overthinking it.

Du Xiaojuan smiled and replied:

"Your father is doing very well. He just sat quietly in the car, said nothing, did nothing."

Hearing this, Wang Dashan was first a little surprised, then felt it was only reasonable.

His own father cared a lot about face. He might be unreasonable with family, but he definitely wouldn't cause trouble with outsiders, after all that would make him lose face.

"Good, good. Have you eaten lunch?"

Wang Dashan asked with concern.

"We just ate instant noodles." Du Xiaojuan answered honestly.

"Why didn't you eat a meal? Do instant noodles fill you up?" Wang Dashan asked again.

Du Xiaojuan could only smile bitterly:

"Your parents thought the boxed meals on the high-speed rail were too expensive. I couldn't persuade them, so in the end we ate cheap instant noodles."

"Alright, alright." Wang Dashan let out a long breath of turbid air, then said: "Xiao Juan, you've worked hard this time. When you return from Beijing, I will properly compensate you."

"How will you compensate me?" Du Xiaojuan laughed, feeling a sense of anticipation in her heart.

"I won't tell you for now. Leave some suspense. When you return, I'll give you a surprise!" Wang Dashan said thus.

Du Xiaojuan smiled and replied:

"Then I'll look forward to it."

In the blink of an eye it was six in the afternoon.

The high-speed rail arrived at Beijing Railway Station right on time.

Du Xiaojuan and Zhao Xinyi dragged their suitcases, bringing the two elders Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan, to the taxi stand, preparing to take a taxi to the hotel they had booked in advance.

There were many passengers queuing for taxis here. They queued for a good while before it was their turn to get in the car.

I don't know if they encountered a black car or what the reason was.

At that time online ride-hailing was not as widespread as it is now, and taxi drivers overcharging was very common.

Du Xiaojuan and the other four had just gotten in the car and told the destination when the driver master said:

"No meter. Flat fare of one hundred yuan."

"Why so expensive? I saw online that it's usually only thirty or forty yuan to get to the hotel I want to go to." Du Xiaojuan couldn't help but frown.

There was some distance from here to the hotel, but surely it wouldn't cost one hundred yuan.

"No choice. This is the market price. You outsiders don't know. Beijing's roads are very winding. And now it's rush hour for getting off work. If I go to your hotel and back, I estimate it will be past eight before I return to the station."

The suitcases had already been put in the taxi trunk. Du Xiaojuan didn't want to fuss. One hundred yuan was a bit expensive, but she wanted to get to the hotel quickly. Because after leaving the luggage at the hotel, she still had to go to Tsinghua University to meet Xiao Hua.

This itinerary was quite rushed.

And she was too lazy to quibble over this small amount of money.

So she said: "Let's go, let's go. One hundred it is."

However, Li Xiulan hurriedly said:

"Xiao Juan, let's not take his car! This is too black!"

The driver master was not flustered, only said lightly:

"If you don't take it, get out quickly. There are plenty of people who will take my car. I don't worry about having no customers."

The driver master was very arrogant, but what he said was true. He indeed didn't worry about having no customers.

The taxi stand had a very long queue.

Many people wanted to take a taxi but couldn't get one. They naturally had no need to indulge passengers. If they could earn more, they would earn more. Asking for more money was only natural.

"Xiao Juan, let's get out!"

Li Xiulan said angrily.

She was afraid of poverty and couldn't stand being overcharged like this.

One hundred yuan was not small money in her eyes. When she was young, she worked hard as a masonry worker all day to earn only 15 yuan. Now taking a taxi cost one hundred yuan, which was equivalent to six or seven days of her wages. How could that be acceptable?

Wang Zhanggen also thought it was too expensive, and they could look at other taxis.

So he also immediately got out of the car.

Du Xiaojuan and Zhao Xinyi, seeing this, could only follow suit and get out.

He took the suitcase down.

That driver went to pick up other passengers and left quickly.

Du Xiaojuan hailed another taxi; this time she did not immediately put the suitcase in, but first asked:

"Master, how much to Xijiao Hotel?"

"Which Xijiao Hotel?" the driver asked.

"The one near Tsinghua University," Du Xiaojuan said truthfully.

"No meter, eighty yuan."

The price this driver gave was a bit cheaper.

Du Xiaojuan felt it was acceptable; now was peak hour for commuting, taxis were hard to get, and paying a bit more was normal.

But she still had to consult Li Xiulan and Wang Zhanggen's opinions.

After all, she had to respect these two elders.

"Uncle, Auntie, I think we can take it; what do you all think?"

Li Xiulan still shook her head:

"Too expensive; why don't we take the bus instead!"

Wang Zhanggen echoed:

"Right, why not take the bus, or take the subway; there's no need to take a taxi—being ripped off aside, it might not even be faster than the bus or subway!"

Du Xiaojuan could only let out a long sigh and patiently explain:

"Uncle, Auntie, actually this isn't very expensive; this bit of money means nothing to me. The main purpose of taking a taxi is to avoid some trouble. Whether we take the bus or the subway, we'll have to drag our big bags and small bags and walk for a while, and now during peak hour, the buses and subways will definitely be crowded."

Du Xiaojuan didn't want to exhaust herself physically and mentally just to save this bit of money; this didn't fit her way of doing things.

But Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan's philosophy was different; they felt that if they could save some money, spending a bit more time or enduring a bit more trouble was no big deal.

So Li Xiulan said:

"Let's still take the bus or subway; even if you have money, you can't spend it recklessly. You and Dashan will get married in the future, and there will be plenty of places to spend money."

Zhao Xinyi instead persuaded: "Auntie, Sister Juan is afraid you and Uncle can't handle it; Beijing's buses and subways are very crowded. Why don't we still take a taxi?"

Li Xiulan firmly refused:

"Don't take a taxi; just the bus and subway. You all choose one."

Du Xiaojuan had no choice and finally said:

"Fine then; let's take the subway."