Great time travel

Chapter 63, South China Sea Railway Journey ([-])
"...Woooo——" Accompanied by a loud whistle and the soot slowly drifting from the chimney at the front of the train, the carriage of the train began to vibrate slightly. Get up and act.

——Although the whole set of railway system around the island of Hainan Island just completed in this time and space is a 22nd century black technology product obtained from the world of Doraemon, but to put it bluntly, it is only an antique toy-level thing.So not only are the locomotives using ancient steam locomotives, but the train itself runs very slowly, with an average speed of only [-] to [-] kilometers per hour. In addition to the time spent at various stations on the way to add coal and water, a train drives from Lingao to Sanya. It takes about ten hours.Moreover, the load capacity of the train is also seriously small-each carriage of a modern train can carry about [-] tons of cargo, and a whole train can pull up to [-] tons of cargo.However, the steam train on the Hainan Island Ring Railway in this time and space can only carry fifteen tons per carriage, and one locomotive can pull up to seven to eight carriages, transporting less than two hundred tons of goods, which is simply incomparable with modern trains. Compare.

This train from Lingao to Sanya has seven carriages attached to the back of the locomotive, one of which is a fuel tank for coal, and the rest are two third-class carriages, two second-class carriages, and one first-class carriage and a dining car.Because the locomotive will continuously emit a lot of soot and water vapor, the first-class carriage and dining car of the steam train are hung at the end, and then the positions of the second-class carriage and the third-class carriage are moved forward in turn.

The so-called third-class carriages are actually flat-top convertibles, which are used for both passenger and cargo. They are so simple that they have neither a roof nor seats, but a fence is installed around the floor of the carriage to prevent passengers from falling.Because there are no seats, the passengers can only sit on the floor, and when they can't sit down, they simply stand crowded - since it is completely open-air, there is no ventilation problem.But once it rains, everyone will be drenched, and under the scorching sun, the weak are also prone to heat stroke... When the steam train starts to run, the endless soot and water vapor It is poured from the front of the car to the rear, and it can even choke the passengers on the front few wagons to death.

Fortunately, the poor people who are only willing to buy third-class tickets to go out these days are usually born with countless hardships. They can basically bear the sun, rain, coal smoke and water mist—otherwise they would not It is possible to live to such an old age in this cruel world.

The second-class carriage is also a convertible car, but it is finally the same as a modern sightseeing car, with rows of wooden long chairs installed, and a canvas shed above the head to shelter from the sun and rain.Moreover, it was buffered by the third-class carriages in front, and the soot has faded a lot here.Xu Xiake and his clan brother Xu Zhongzhao were sitting in the second-class carriage, facing the tropical sea breeze blowing, watching the original ecological scenery around them.Hainan Island in the late Ming Dynasty, although it has been cultivated and developed by Chinese ancestors for 700 years since Zhuya County was established by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it is still sparsely populated, with a total population of less than 100 million. .Even in Lingao, an industrialized town with a large population explosion, the train leaves the station within 10 minutes, and the roadside is full of jungles, barren mountains and mountains... Fortunately, this railway is built along the coastline, and most of the roads They are not far from the sea, and the cool sea breeze blows from time to time, which dispels the humidity and sweltering heat of the jungle, and refreshes people.

"... Sigh, luckily I didn't try to save money and bought a third-class ticket, otherwise this old bone of my brother would have to be crushed!"

While drinking the herbal tea in the bamboo kettle, Xu Zhongzhao looked at the crowds in the third-class carriages in front, and couldn't help muttering in a low voice with lingering fear—the two flatbed cars in front were crowded with passengers and passengers. Goods, from a distance, people piled on top of each other, just like ants swarming.There are still quite a few passengers who really can't squeeze in, some hang on the fence, some climb up the luggage pile, and even in the compartment where the coal is loaded, there are many passengers who are not afraid of getting dirty, and they don't care about the coal dust. It turned black from head to toe, and turned into an African black.

"...It's really crowded, no wonder the third-class train tickets are so cheap." Xu Xiake also looked uneasy, "...but... with so many people and goods loaded, this train can run as fast as a horse ...This Australian's water and fire mechanism is really amazing..."

sex

Just as Xu Xiake was leaning lazily on the chair, squinting at the locomotive in front of him that was emitting billowing black smoke, trying to see some secrets of the "Australian Mechanism", a loud yell in a northern accent interrupted him. out of his mind.

"... Rice is on sale! Rice is on sale! Instant noodles, rice balls, eight-treasure porridge, peanut cakes, fruit candies, and various canned food are on sale!"

Accompanied by the loud shouting, a "salesman" with short hair and blue clothes with four pockets pushed a small cart and moved over from behind. At the same time, there was a burst of food aroma, The Xu family brothers couldn't help swallowing.

Then I looked up and saw the poor people in the third-class carriages, each of them took out rough dry food such as flatbread and dried sweet potatoes from the burden baskets, shook off their cheeks and started chewing, and looked at the sun hanging high above their heads, slowly The family brothers finally realized that it was already noon meal time.

So, Xu Xiake, who was also hungry, turned his head to look at the sales cart, and found that the person who came was an ordinary-looking young man with dark complexion, just like the "naturalized people" and "Australians" in Lingao. With short hair like a monk, clean face, no beard at all, wearing a gray cloth double-breasted jacket, looks a little poor, but the clothes are very neat, and the whole body is clean and neat...

However, seeing him perform such a cheap job here, he is probably just a "fake hair" with his head shaved and easy to wear... Xu Xiake thought so.

——But in fact, this salesman pushing a trolley on the train to sell snacks is actually a real "true guy"... Although he did come here with a number of other northern refugees from thousands of miles away, and was later arrested The Lingao Senate was stuffed into the purification camp and had their heads shaved...

"...Uncle, here are the two big bowls of eight-treasure porridge you asked for! The bowl and chopsticks for the porridge are given to you!"

"...You want cigarettes? Uh, sorry, to prevent fires, smoking is not allowed in this car..."

"...Eh? Do you think this canned dace with fermented soya bean is too expensive? There's nothing you can do about it. It's sold at this price. It can't be any cheaper..."

Wearing a blue tunic suit, Li Meng squeezed out a stiff smile as much as he could, pushing a trolley on the train to sell all kinds of food and snacks, and then collecting pieces of "temporary currency" issued by the Lingao Traverser Senate from the passengers. "- Circulation volumes.

——Li Meng, the ex-Shandong salt lord who was hunted down by the government and army in Jiaozhou, Shandong for selling illegal salt, his family was ruined, so he had to act as a guest refugee and go to Lingao "Kun thief", carrying big bags at the pier in exchange for food, the most famous in this time and space One of the passers-by of the defeated dog group.

Ever since he saw the People's Liberation Army's airship fleet arrive at Lingao across time and space that day, Li Meng, who had suffered enough, hastily revealed his identity, and after a tedious review and interrogation, he was allowed to return to the modern world .

But the problem is that although Li Meng had a miserable life in the late Ming Dynasty, even in the modern world, Li Meng is just a jobless vagrant who has been unemployed for a long time and can barely pay the rent.Then, he has been fighting and killing for so long in the ancient society full of dangers. It may be difficult for him to adapt to modern urban life in a short time, and it may be even more difficult to find a job. Maybe he will be reduced to a beggar in a few days. Help me to beg for food.

What's more, as a former leader of the military group, Li Meng still has a few Shandong brothers who traveled with him across the ocean to come to Gao, and Li Meng needs to find a way to settle it—continuing to carry big bags at the pier is not a problem. Son, not to mention hard work and low income, you can only sleep in a dormitory, you don’t even have your own house, and you don’t even think about marrying a wife and having children... If you don’t fight with me, share joys and sorrows, and follow me The dead brother who wandered all the way to Hainan Island has been settled, and Li Meng is not at ease in the modern world!

So, he wanted to continue to work part-time in this time and space for a period of time, at least to save some money, and at the same time, he wanted to find a way to arrange a better future for the brothers.In the end, I really found a good job for Li Meng—since the opening of the railway around the island in Hainan Island, the General Railway Administration in Sanya originally used female conductors to sell goods and clean up. Who knows the moral quality of the people in the late Ming Dynasty It’s really worrying, it’s even surpassed the level of Japan’s subway idiots, and it’s comparable to the rape bus in modern India... As a result, female conductors from the modern world are frequently harassed and violated, no matter what the railway police warns And intimidation, even hanging a few idiots at the gate of the station is useless.

In view of the above situation, Li Meng brought his group of strong men from Shandong to recommend himself, and took the position of steward on one of the passenger trains. Big bags should be decent and easy.As for the Railway Bureau, no matter what, Li Meng was a modern person, relatively more reliable than the natives in the late Ming Dynasty, and knew how to work on the train.And those Shandong brothers are a bit stupid, but they all listen to the elder brother Li Meng and are willing to learn in order to make a living...

Now, some other people are shoveling coal at the locomotive, and some are cleaning the carriages, all of which are clumsy jobs.As for the salesperson who needs to use his brain (accounting) the most, Li Meng can only be responsible for it himself-he has to collect money and change, make tea for customers with a rattan shell thermos, and guide those Ming Dynasty soil turtles. How do they open cans and eat instant noodles, and how to prevent someone from stealing things in disorder, they are really too busy.Fortunately, the third-class carriage in front was too crowded, so the sales trolley only moved in the second-class and first-class carriages as usual, otherwise Li Meng would have even more headaches.

"...Young man, bring a big bowl of eight-treasure porridge to my brother. And what are those instant noodles?"

Xu Xiake looked at the dazzling array of food on the trolley, discussed with Xu Zhongzhao, and waved to Li Meng.

Hearing this, Li Meng took out a large spoonful of eight-treasure porridge from the porridge bucket on the car, put it into a rough coconut shell bowl, and then handed it over with a pair of crude wooden chopsticks, "...the porridge you want is ready ! There are three flavors of instant noodles, which one do you want? Or try them all?"

But Xu Zhongzhao took the bowl of eight-treasure porridge, stirred it a few times with chopsticks, and suddenly burst into laughter—perhaps because Qiongzhou is located in a remote place, and some foreign specialties such as walnuts, lotus seeds, and raisins are not easy to buy.Therefore, this eight-treasure porridge is also very local. It is a thick porridge made from a mixture of rice and millet (there is a special millet called chicken feet millet in Hainan), mixed with mung beans, peanuts, dried dates, and pineapple cut into small pieces. , sweet potato, coconut meat.Looking at the bright colors, it is quite attractive, and the sugar inside is also very good, which is very appetizing.

At the same time, Li Meng was still introducing to Xu Xiake the three types of instant noodles on the trolley—considering the cost of transportation, these instant noodles are all made of modern world machinery and raw materials from this time and space. Produced in a factory.Because the production of disposable paper bowls is too difficult (don’t think that the technology of making paper bowls and paper cups is very simple, just the heat-proof, waterproof and non-toxic coating on the inner wall of the paper cups is enough to stump all factories before World War II, and North Korea even It was at the end of the [-]th century that the successful development of the "Datongjiang" bowl of noodles was boasted as a glorious achievement), so they are all bagged noodles, divided into three flavors: Sichuan-flavored beef, seafood in clear soup, and chicken curry.Except that the plastic packaging was forced to be changed into oil-paper bags, sauces, seasoning powder and dehydrated vegetables and meat can only be placed in the small bamboo tubes that come with each box of instant noodles, and diners can scoop them up by themselves. The rest are similar to modern instant noodles. exactly the same.

Looking at the three kinds of instant noodles in the oil paper bag, Xu Xiake hesitated for a while, feeling that he had eaten all kinds of seafood twice in three days in Bopu Port, and also tasted the Tianzhu curry rice many times, and he was already a little tired. I ordered a pack of Sichuan-flavored beef noodles.

Li Meng took out the bread from the oiled paper bag, put it into another coconut shell bowl, sprinkled it with sauce, seasoning powder and dehydrated vegetable meat, poured boiling water, and covered it with a paper lid.Then handed the bowl and a pair of chopsticks to Xu Xiake, asking him to wait patiently for 3 minutes, and a bowl of steaming hot noodle soup will be ready.

After a while, smelling the delicious aroma gradually emerging from the bowl, Xu Xiake couldn't help opening the paper cover, looking at the lovely red soup like watermelon juice, couldn't help but praise: "...well, this bubble The noodles are really good, the price is not expensive, it’s ready in no time, and it smells delicious. Although I haven’t tasted it yet, two of the colors and aromas are already excellent, which really makes my index finger move.”

"...It seems to be quite fragrant, let me taste it."

At this time, Xu Zhongzhao had already finished his bowl of tropical-flavored eight-treasure porridge, and smelling the aroma of instant noodles, he could not help turning around, snatched Xu Xiake's noodle bowl, and poured a large amount of pepper into his mouth. Noodle soup with red oil, pepper, onion, ginger, and garlic spices... Immediately afterwards, Xu Zhongzhao, a Jiangsu gentry who had never tasted such an exotic product as chili in his life, was choked by the spicy noodle soup and coughed again and again, and even splashed tears.After a long time, he still felt twitching cheeks, burning pain in his throat and mouth, and even his lips didn't seem to be his own.

After Xu Xiake took back the noodle bowl and saw the situation, he suspiciously just took a sip of the soup on the edge of the bowl, but even so, he was still speechless for a while.Then he covered his flushed face, wiped away the tears that oozed from his eyes, and sighed with lingering fear:

"...cough cough, this is really eating fire! Don't people in Sichuan and Sichuan like to eat such things to ruin their stomachs?"

——At the end of Ming Dynasty, pepper was just introduced to East Asia, and China only planted it in a small amount in coastal ports, so the tolerance of the ancients to spiciness was far lower than that of later generations.And the place of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where Xu Xiake was born, has always been known for its light food taste.Finally, because the traveler's plastic technology is not good enough to make the ingredients of later generations, the seasoning of this kind of local instant noodles has to be scooped out of the bamboo tube by oneself, and it is often accidentally put in too much...

On the other side, when Brother Xu Xiake, who was sitting in the second-class compartment, was choked to tears by the super-spicy instant noodles, the future traveler in the first-class compartment and celebrities from Jiangnan in this time and space were also enjoying their lunches.