Thump, thump, thump!-Ano de 1979: Comendo carne com esposa e filhos(Fogo dos Espíritos da Vila)

Hou San pulled and tugged, dragging A-Zhe along with him until they reached the escalator.

Under A-Zhe’s curious gaze, Hou San stepped right onto it.

Glancing back and seeing A-Zhe standing frozen in place, Hou San paused in surprise. "What are you just standing there for? Get on up here!"

A-Zhe stood at the entrance of the escalator, lifting a foot in hesitation, but ultimately didn't dare to step down.

Facing such a novel contraption for the very first time, A-Zhe’s heart was filled with apprehension.

Right behind him stood three middle-are men carrying rolled-up bedding, their faces etched with equal hesitation and unease.

Li Xiangdong walked over and said, "Don't overthink it. Just treat it like walking up regular steps."

As he spoke, he even smiled at the three middle-are men who were stretching their necks to listen.

One of the middle-are men said shyly, "Little comrade, would you mind showing us how it's done?"

"Sure, watch how I do it."

With that, Li Xiangdong stepped onto the escalator.

Walking against the moving steps, he explained, "Don't worry, you just need to plant one foot on it."

A-Zhe and the three middle-are men behind him watched Li Xiangdong's demonstration with expressions of utter shock.

They hadn't even dared to step on it, yet this guy was actually playing around on it!

Seeing the crowd of passengers gathering around the escalator growing denser, Li Xiangdong felt a sudden surge of dread.

Today was his very first day on the job, and he certainly didn't want to cause a public spectacle just because of an escalator.

If a crowd-gathering incident broke out, as one of the parties involved, he would undoubtedly be in deep trouble!

He urged hastily, "A-Zhe, can you do this or not? If not, take the stairs and stop blocking the way here!"

A-Zhe also noticed the growing number of people surrounding them and realized the situation was looking sketchy.

Gritting his teeth, he lifted his foot and gave a little hop, landing right on the moving escalator with a loud thud.

The three middle-are men carrying their bedrolls saw A-Zhe jump on, and one of them remarked, "Big brother, second brother, I think this little comrade's method is top-notch!"

Without missing a beat, the three of them imitated A-Zhe and leaped onto the escalator one after another.

Thud!

Holy crap!

Seeing this scene unfold before his eyes, Li Xiangdong couldn't help but twitch...

He looked down at the crowd below and saw that, apart from a few individuals with eager expressions, everyone else was roaring with laughter.

Damn it!

This was way too dangerous!

Staring straight at A-Zhe, Li Xiangdong warned, "No more jumping from now on!"

At the second-floor escalator landing, Hou San was bent over the railing, laughing so hard he was rocking back and forth.

Seeing Li Xiangdong come up, he walked over with a cackling laugh, completely ignoring the strange looks shot at him by the surrounding passengers.

"Dong-ge, hahahaha, this is too damn funny, A-Zhe actually jumped on, haha... cough, cough, cough..."

As Hou San laughed, he ended up choking on his own spit.

Seeing Hou San's wretched state, Li Xiangdong, who was already struggling to hold back his laughter, took another look at A-Zhe. With another loud thud, A-Zhe leaped right off the moving escalator.

Having suppressed his mirth until now purely to maintain his dignity, Li Xiangdong completely lost his composure. He clutched his stomach and squatted on the ground, roaring with laughter.

Hou San was coughing and laughing at the same time right beside him.

With his face burning red, A-Zhe pulled the brim of his hat down lower, walked over to Li Xiangdong, gave him a gentle kick, and muttered through clenched teeth, "Dong-zi, can you stop laughing already?!"

Li Xiangdong took two deep breaths, stood up, and said, "Not laughing, not laughing anymore. But that was way too dangerous, I told you not to jump, how could you..."

Thud!

Before Li Xiangdong could finish his sentence, the three middle-are men leaped off the escalator. They walked up to A-Zhe and said, "Little comrade, your method is fantastic!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Hou San bent over laughing all over again.

"Cough, cough~ Olders, you can't just jump on escalators like that. If you're too scared to step on next time, you should just take the stairs."

After giving his reminders and guided by Hou San, they moved on to their next stop.

When he saw the waiting room sofas, tables, and the escalators earlier, Li Xiangdong hadn't shown any emotional fluctuations, but arriving at this spot brought an expression of genuine astonishment to his face!

A dedicated infant waiting area!

It wasn't a large space, furnished with only a dozen or so cribs exclusively intended for infants in arms to sleep and rest.

This kind of service mindset, decades ahead of its time, made even a time-traveler like Li Xiangdong mentally give it a thumbs-up!

Since the area was occupied by mothers resting with their children, the three of them only looked from the outside.

A-Zhe kept muttering expressions of disbelief. The awkwardness of riding the escalator earlier had been completely thrown to the winds!

Hou San said smugly, "Dong-ge, A-Zhe, what do you think? Was that awesome or what?!"

This time, Li Xiangdong and A-Zhe were very cooperative.

A-Zhe nodded and said, "Extremely awesome! I've truly opened my eyes today!"

Li Xiangdong chimed in, "Indeed impressive! But Hou San, as your older brother, let me teach you a trick. When you get home off work tonight, go to your uncle and make a suggestion: they should assign a guide by the escalator. Jumping onto a moving escalator is just way too dangerous!"

Resting his chin on his hands with his fingers intertwined, Hou San blinked his hollow-looking triangular eyes and rolled them around twice. "Thanks a lot, Dong-ge. I'll go talk to my uncle about it the minute I get home."

"Heh."

Li Xiangdong smiled faintly.

A-Zhe protested indignantly, "Hou San, you've got to treat me to a meal tomorrow when we get to Tianjin. If it weren't for me, Dong-zi wouldn't have thought of that!"

Hou San patted his chest and boldly promised, "If I treat, I treat."

A-Zhe made his demand, "I want to eat Goubuli steamed buns."

"No way, those are way too expensive!"

Hou San jumped in place with anxiety. "I'll treat you at the Tianjin railway station cafeteria instead."

A-Zhe said with dissatisfaction, "Damn it! Who are you trying to fool? Do I need you to treat me just to eat at a cafeteria?"

"What's wrong with the cafeteria? Aren't meal tickets bought with money? I don't care, take it or leave it, but I certainly don't have the cash to buy you Goubuli buns!"

With that, Hou San strode toward the ticket barrier.

A-Zhe followed closely behind him, trying every trick in the book to make Hou San part with his money.

The three walked between two long lines and reached the ticket checkpoint. Hou San walked right through, while A-Zhe continued to pester him step by step.

Li Xiangdong nodded and smiled at the ticket collector, then followed them inside.

Passing through a long corridor, they went down the stairs to the platform.

Hou San pointed ahead to two workers dragging a dozens-of-meters-long water hose, their clothes completely soaked through. "A-Zhe, stop nagging. Look over there, Dong-ge, those are the routine station duty workers from the water supply team under the jurisdiction of the Beijing Railway Station."

Li Xiangdong’s gaze followed those two colleagues, watching as they dragged the hose in their hands toward a train parked alongside the platform.

He then watched another colleague take the hose, sling it over his shoulder, and climb up the ladder between two train cars to reach the roof.

He sighed from the bottom of his heart, "This job is truly not easy."