A migrant worker's epic trip home(2)

The dining car was only five carriages apart from where he was, but it took him at least 40 minutes to get there. Every now and again, he tripped over luggage or people.

He sat down at the dining car table and read the menu. Most hot dishes were sold for 20 to 30 yuan each. "That's too expensive," he complained, finally ordering just one dish and some rice.

Hard work and irregular eating habits have led to deteriorations in his health, and he had stomach surgery in 2003.

Following the meal, Luo bent over the table and slept until 5 a.m. on Monday. He walked back to his carriage, found a quiet corner and sat motionless on the floor until the train arrived at Chengdu East Station at around 6 p.m..

By then, he had traveled 26 hours by rail.

After he got off the train, Luo took the subway to a bus terminal near another train station in the northern suburbs of Chengdu. On all his previous trips, Luo had taken buses from there to his home county of Longchang. This year, however, things were not the same.

"The workers at the terminal said buses to Longchang did not go from here any more," he said. "They said I had to travel to another bus terminal, or wait until tomorrow to try my luck here."

Luo decided he could not wait. He jumped back on the subway and returned to Chengdu East Station, where he bought a ticket for a slow train from Chengdu to Longchang that night.

The five-hour train ride got him to the Longchang county seat at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

It was foggy outside. Several taxi drivers were waiting for business, but none were willing to take Luo and his huge luggage that weighed at least 30 kg to the countryside in the misty weather.

Eventually, he had to offer nearly three times the standard fare to persuade a driver to take him home. The 10-km ride cost him 40 yuan.

It was 3 a.m. when Luo arrived home in Guangcan Village of Jin'e Township. He didn't have to knock on the door too hard; his wife had been waiting all the while.

After he put his luggage down, he took out the stuffed toy and crayons he had bought for his daughter and left the gifts at her bedside table. The girl was fast asleep.

His wife cooked him a quick meal: a hot bowl of soup with vegetables and eggs.

Luo sipped the soup, and smiled for the first time after leaving his son in Nanjing. "So it's been another year," he sighed as he took out his cell phone and showed his wife pictures of their granddaughter.

From Wuhu to Nanjing and further on to Sichuan, Luo covered more than 2,000 km across three days. "It's worth the trouble as long as I can get home," he said. "I hope we'll have a big family gathering next year."