[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji":3,"chapter-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-58":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Siheyuan: Food, Love, and Family in 1960s Beijing",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2314108,4526,"Chapter 58: Chapter Fifty-Nine: Something Happened Again","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-58",58,"\u003Cp>Train conductor Liu Guoyou had worked on the railway for many years and was very familiar with its quirks; he spoke with great wit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yimin said to Li Xuewu: “During escort duty, communicate often with the conductor—they’re seasoned veterans with plenty of experience worth learning from.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This remark was Wang Yimin flattering Liu Guoyou; this entire mission depended on the conductor arranging meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu, naturally perceptive, replied: “Indeed, we’ve barely traveled far and already ran into this—plus we must constantly signal the duty signalman. Railway workers truly have it tough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Guoyou wore a look of deep suffering and said: “Railway workers like me all have terrible tempers—it’s the work environment. People on the ground think we’re all hot-headed and arrogant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they talked, Liu Guoyou opened up about his own amusing story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Last month, after a heavy snowfall, my fellow conductors and I finally got a chance to eat together. To warm up and shake off the chill, we had a bit of liquor—I got drunk and passed out cold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When they carried me home, my wife was dealing with some family matter. She tried every method to sober me up, but nothing worked, so she called a friend who works on the railway.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The friend said: “Try shouting, ‘Snow’s falling! Get to your post and clear it!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My wife didn’t understand, but she did it anyway.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she shouted it, before the words even faded, I shot straight up from bed, wide awake, yelling: ‘Let’s go! Grab the tools...’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hahaha!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After chatting for over an hour, Han Zhan woke up and got up to relieve Li Xuewu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu was no longer sleepy from all the commotion, and since Liu Guoyou’s story was something he’d never heard before, he found it fascinating—he told Wang Yimin to rest first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yimin yawned, took off his coat, and climbed into bed; Han Zhan picked up his cup and went to get hot water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the high-speed train jolted violently, then emitted a piercing screech as it slammed on the brakes, throwing Han Zhan straight to the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu was also thrown, his shoulder slamming into the window frame; the train screeched and coasted another hundred meters before stopping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scream had come from Han Zhan—hot water had spilled onto his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t make a sound!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu whispered sharply, unlocked the safety, raised his rifle, and crouched in the lower right corner of the observation window, peered out quickly, then dropped back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside was pitch black, no light anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yimin hadn’t even put on his coat—he rolled off the bed clutching his rifle, hit something hard, and let out a muffled grunt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Zhan shook his hand, crouched low, grabbed his rifle, and crawled toward the observation window at the other end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Guoyou jumped up at once, ignoring Han Zhan still on the floor, and rushed to the observation window to lean out and check ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu and the others were guards—their role was protection and retaliation; he was the conductor, so he had to take the initiative to investigate any situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, the night was utterly dark, nothing visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu swapped positions with Wang Yimin, moved to Han Zhan’s side, and helped him check his injuries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yimin, now in Li Xuewu’s spot, took the rifle, unlocked the safety, and burst out the door onto the platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the train had come to a complete stop, Li Xuewu saw Han Zhan’s hand was only red—no open wounds—and finally stood at the door with his rifle ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the door, he noticed a flickering light moving toward them from the locomotive direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Guoyou squeezed out the door, stood on the platform, stared at the light ahead, and muttered: “The train might have hit someone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu walked over to Wang Yimin and asked: “Master Wang, how should we handle this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yimin pulled back inside and said: “We only guard the cargo, not people—leave it to the conductor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Han Zhan had straightened himself, rifle in hand, standing behind the group: “Conductor Liu, let’s go check.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Guoyou shook his head: “We can’t get off yet. The hit is just my guess—we must wait for the engineer to come to us. If we jump off now and it’s just a minor locomotive malfunction, the train will leave without us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing nothing amiss outside, Li Xuewu, Han Zhan, and Wang Yimin returned inside, watching ahead through the windows, waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about five minutes, the engineer arrived running with a flashlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Guoyou leaned on the platform railing and asked: “Engineer Han, what happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Engineer Han stood beside the tracks and replied: “Just hit two people. Only one’s under the train—I spent ages searching before finding the other on the slope below the rails.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dead?” Liu Guoyou asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Engineer Han answered: “The one under the train is dead. The one on the embankment is still breathing—huffing and puffing. Come down and take a look.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Guoyou re-entered the carriage and called Li Xuewu and Wang Yimin to follow him off the guard car, walking with Engineer Han toward the front...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The collision occurred near the middle-front of the train. Engineer Han had come down with the fireman; the assistant engineer stayed on the locomotive, and the fireman waited at the impact site.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Engineer Han led them first to the spot where the boxcar had crushed someone, shining his flashlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No good—head’s gone,” Wang Yimin muttered, then refused to look further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu had seen everything—yet he studied the body closely and felt something was off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically, if the head was gone, the body shouldn’t still be rising and falling—yet this man’s chest was moving slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the others about to leave, Li Xuewu pointed at the man under the train: “Look—he’s still moving.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those three beside him were terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Engineer Han’s flashlight trembled in his hand—the light’s up-and-down motion revealed his extreme nervousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Guoyou snatched the flashlight from him and shone it directly on the man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The light confirmed it—the man was indeed moving, though faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu said to Wang Yimin: “Master Wang, lend a hand—get him out. You got the nerve?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Guoyou added: “We’ve got to get him out—we can’t leave without him. You hold the light—I’ll help Comrade Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1059,"2026-06-20T13:46:54.288Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","df9cdf77cc4c56a1529176828ebdb66fbb134851a7c8d5eb0a2f18892c88f25c","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-59","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-57",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-cover.jpg"]