Taking a train journey in the height of summer is truly taxing work. Although there is some breeze entering when the train is moving, during the day the sun beating down on the train's metal plating makes it unbearably hot.
Zhang Yu could only secretly feel fortunate that they were heading north, with the temperature slowly dropping, especially after passing Shanhaiguan; once the sun set, it became much cooler, and even during the day, it wasn't as hot, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.
However, after just a few days on the train, even though Zhang Yu washed her face and wiped her arms daily, she still felt like she smelled like pickles, and her hair was already greasy.
Zhang Yu initially thought that the lack of sleep and poor meals on the northbound journey would deter anyone, but she soon realized that these were not the real issues—the biggest problem was not being able to bathe.
