Tianjin people will never lose SAN

Chapter 318 Selling Bridge Tickets (Part 4) (k+)

A huge blue ship was floating on the vast ocean. Several watchmen were smoking and chatting on the deck, and the focus of the conversation was Mr. Alva.

Everyone's opinion was surprisingly unanimous: Mr. Alva was crazy.

"The other day I went to the kitchen in the middle of the night to get something, either downstairs or upstairs, and I saw Mr. Alva sitting at the table, not saying a word, just crying silently."

"Hey, what's that? Laughing and crying at the same time, have you ever seen that? Hehe... I haven't seen it either. It was the young widow who was in charge of cleaning the cabin who told me about it.

One day when she was cleaning Alva's bedroom, she saw him leaning on the bed alone, flipping through a booklet. He was laughing as he read it, but suddenly he started crying loudly for no apparent reason.

"Hmph, you two are so short-sighted. What does Mr. Wordsworth do? Don't you know it? It's not new that he's a little mentally abnormal.

But that day... I saw Mr. Alva with my own eyes, he took out a small statue from the bedroom, it was said that it was imitated from some invention, and he punched and kicked the statue of the child on the deck, it hurt me to see it. "

A few people looked at the starry sky, felt the sea breeze, and chatted about Alva's gossip.

In a room on the freighter, Alva was still flipping through the book "Nicholas the Husband".

The manual of the machine? Where is the manual? He read the book to pieces, but he didn't see a word about the principles of invention, maintenance and disassembly!

Between the lines are Nicholas' life stories.

But it was precisely these life stories that made Alva feel uncomfortable. His impression of his father was divided into two parts, before and after the age of fourteen.

Before the age of fourteen, he pieced together the image of his father from other people's descriptions. Nicholas was in the early stages of his career at the time, rarely went home, and often slept in the workshop.

In the words of my mother, my father was the most outstanding inventor in the Western Continent, a tragic figure whom she admired and felt sorry for.

As for my father's friends, they sighed and complained about the injustice of the world. Just because Nicholas did not know how to adapt, he was suppressed by the people of the Gear Church.

But in the mouths of those strangers, my father was an ambitious but incompetent inventor. Not only were his inventions dangerous, but he was also very harsh in his treatment of workers. It was only because the priests of the Church of Wisdom gave him a break that he was able to survive.

Like his mother, Alva believed in and admired his father, but all this ended when he was 14 years old.

Bad news came one after another. First, his father's factory moved to a new location for some reason. He had to say goodbye to his childhood friends and go to the city of Noveden.

Soon after, my mother's pneumonia became serious and she passed away from Alva before the winter.

From then on, Alva only had a father who was obsessed with work to rely on in the world. The clockwork toys in his bedroom were the last bond between him and his father.

That was his expectation for Alva, and also his mother's dying wish, to inherit his father's legacy and continue the obsessive pursuit of knowledge.

Everything was going well at first, right? Alva looked out the window from his bed. When did everything change? Perhaps it was when he was first brought to New Newland by his father.

In New Newland he realized two things. First, he was different from his father. He might be a genius picked out of a hundred, but his father was a genius picked out of ten thousand. Although they were both geniuses, there was an insurmountable gap between them.

Second, in addition to steam technology, there are also gods in this world, and forbidden spells that are difficult to describe but incredibly powerful. Since there are these things, why do I still have to work hard to conduct research and invent things in the field of mechanics? Is this really... worth it?
The only bond was torn apart by the two forces, and finally broke completely a few years ago on the day my father decided to officially remarry.

The images he had pieced together before the age of 14 were shattered. He was no longer needed, and no one wanted to understand him. Alva completely embarked on a new path of his own.

But now...

Looking at "Nicholas the Unruly" in his hand, Alva realized that he had never truly understood his father. Neither the inventive genius before the age of 14 nor the stubborn and obstinate father image after the age of 14 was the real Nicholas.

It turns out that my father had also been confused and fragile. Under his meticulous appearance, he was cunning and gentle in his heart.

Alva wanted to talk to someone about his thoughts, but looking at the entire freighter, how many people were normal? Even if they were normal, who would listen to his thoughts?

He was already an adult, and not so easily swayed...but, at this moment, he had a lot to say.

After saying it out, maybe his stance won't change, but it's okay to say it out. Now he's almost going crazy keeping it in his heart.

The heavy rain that Wordsworth was waiting for did not come, and Alva found the note with the phone call record from the last page of "Nicholas the Ugly".

If there was any problem with the invention, Alva thought it might be a good thing. The freighter would be forced to dock, and Alva would have someone to talk to about his stupid thoughts.

……

On the streets of New Newland, the cold wind was howling. Liu Yonglu leaned against the carriage, smoking a cigarette and looking at the lonely night. Unconsciously, he really felt like a middle-aged man hiding in the parking lot to smoke after get off work.

"Captain Ricky, your hot cocoa."

Kogan walked out of the coffee shop on the corner, holding two cups of hot drinks:

"Is it okay to ask you to come out so late to pick someone up with me? Miss Millie Tang won't... well, have any objections, right?"

"Humph, what opinion can she have? Shouldn't I be the one to handle family matters?"

"It still has to be you, Captain Ricky."

Kogan handed over the hot cocoa and gave him a thumbs-up:
"Did you realize long ago that Miss Millie Tang was a girl?"

"Of course, otherwise what are we using our eyes for? It was the first time I saw her, and once she passed in front of me, I could see everything clearly."

"So, Captain, you have been planning this for a long time?"

"Hey, I can't say that. I can only say that outstanding people are attracted to each other."

This afternoon, Liu Yonglu received a call from Kogan, saying that Prince Rupert would get off at King's Cross Station tonight, and asked him if he had time to accompany him to pick him up.

Prince Rupel, a member of the Black Gem Family mentioned by Herama, might have some connection with the Kingdom of Mu. Liu Yonglu thought about it and decided that since he had nothing to do at home, he might as well go with Kogan.

He took the coat from the coat rack and prepared to go out.

"Ricky, what are you doing out at this late hour?"

Millie Tang was reading a book and taking notes at the dining table.

"Well, Kogan has a little trouble handling that kid, so I'll go over and take a look."

"Oh...wait a moment."

Mili Tang stood up while talking. Liu Yonglu stood there, his heart pounding. He thought, could there be some special ceremony before going out? He looked at the backyard with a sly look. Xiaohu was squatting beside the tree playing with ants by himself, not looking into the living room.

He blew air into his palm again and said, "Okay, I didn't eat garlic today, so my breath is fresh."

"Make dinner before you leave, otherwise what will Xiaohu and I eat tonight?"

The next second, Millie Tang put the dishes she was going to cook for the evening on the table, and then, as if she had seen through Liu Yonglu, she walked over and poked his head with her finger. "Captain Ricky, after you send Prince Rupel off, do you have to hurry home for dinner?"

Kou Gang's words brought Liu Yonglu back from his thoughts.

"Hey, no, no, it's normal for a gentleman to come home late after doing something important, Mi Li'er can understand.

By the way, what is the procedure for picking up people later? When these princes and nobles get off the train, do they know that someone is coming to pick them up? What if they don’t want to go with us?”

Kogan sniffed and blew on his coffee:
“Distinguished guests from the southern continent are generally unaware of this.

Many countries do not have good relations with us. If the official pick-up and drop-off are carried out in a high-profile manner, they will be more vigilant and feel that they are being monitored.

And didn’t the Novidon incident happen before? Afterwards, when the Sheriff’s Department counted the bodies, they found that three or four sheriffs were missing, and they suspected that the pagans were behind it.

So the process now is that we pretend to be a coachman waiting outside, and if someone is willing to ride in our carriage, we will take him to the destination.

If they have booked a carriage in advance, or have their own team, we will follow behind them. "

"Oh... OK, if the prince gets in the car later, you just follow my instructions and we..."

Liu Yonglu bumped Kou Gang with his shoulder, and the two smiled at each other.

……

At this moment, on the steam train, a fat man was eating heartily in the dining car. There was only one dining car in the entire train, but at this moment, there was no other irrelevant passenger in the dining car except the fat man himself.

There was a table full of delicious food and wine, but the fat man was eating without paying attention to his appearance, and the table was covered with sauce and red wine.

The eight followers were divided into two teams, guarding the front and rear doors of the car.

One of the captain-like men looked at Prince Rupel who was eating, and seemed to be struggling with what to say. After a while, he could not help but walked to Rupel's table and said carefully:
"Your Excellency, would you like me to help you close the curtains?"

The captain meant well. It was getting dark, but the lights were on inside the carriage, and everything could be seen clearly from the outside. The steam train was about to arrive at the station, and the speed was gradually slowing down. If an assassin with malicious intentions really shot him, His Excellency the Prince would be a sitting duck.

At the table, Rupel, who was eating, didn't even look at the captain. His eyes were still on the bright and bustling night scene of Moses Sader outside the window, and his mouth was constantly "grunting" as he enjoyed the ribs in his hand.

"Your Excellency, for your own safety, would you like to..."

The captain had just said half of his words when he saw Rupel's fat hand covered in sauce slapping his head.

He could clearly dodge, but he didn't dare to. The next second, the captain was slapped hard in the face and took three or four steps back.

“Why are you pulling the curtains? Do you really think that anyone among Moses Sadeh’s group of cowardly guys can assassinate me?

When that brat Andrew came to Alavi, he didn't even dare to breathe in front of me. What are you making such a fuss about?
Get out, all of you get out!"

The other followers were also silent when they saw this scene. Some people in the group also saw the problem, but none of them were as loyal as the captain.

Prince Rupert ruled for more than ten years and loved to boast about his bravery.

People from the Black Gem Family are like this, stubborn and tyrannical. Even if you sincerely want to do good for them and consider their interests, they won't appreciate it and will think you are looking down on them.

So most people just lowered their heads and dared not speak.

After a few dozen minutes, the train stopped completely. Prince Rupper wiped his hands with a napkin, put on his luxurious peacock green cloak, got out of the train, and took two deep breaths of the cold yet fresh air.

The captain followed behind with his face covered. He originally wanted to suggest that His Excellency the Prince sit in the carriage he had arranged for him, but now he became timid and dared not say anything.

"Look, Kogan, is that the fat guy?"

Liu Yonglu took the last puff of his cigarette and threw the butt on the ground. He nudged Kou Gang with his elbow, and then they saw a tall, fat man in exotic clothes leaving the station.

This fat guy is quite tall and has a big body. The most noticeable thing about him is his head. He is bald and has no hat. He has a pair of small eyes and no eyebrows, but his skin is shiny and smooth. At first glance, it looks like a big egg.

However, this egg was decorated with various colors. Rupel wore a necklace around her neck, with various colored gems strung together. The smallest one was as big as a pigeon egg, and the jewels were dazzling.

"Yes, King Rupert III, let's go over and ask. If they don't want to ride in our carriage... then forget it."

Kogan had this evil intention, but when he saw Rupel's sturdy appearance and the fierce light in his eyes under the street light, he couldn't help but feel a little scared and began to back down.

"Don't be afraid. Even though he looks so tall and straight, he's just bloated."

Liu Yonglu and Kougan jumped onto the carriage. Kougan was in charge of holding the reins tightly. Liu Yonglu was standing by, looking at Rupel with a smile on his face. When the carriage arrived, Liu Yonglu quickly jumped off the carriage and tried to put on a very respectful expression:

"Sir, did you just get off the bus?"

Prince Rupel glanced downwards without saying anything.

"Where are you going? We two brothers will take you there. To tell you the truth, we have been working here all day and haven't opened yet.

My old brother just kept complaining to me, saying that if there was nothing to do, I should go home and eat.

I didn't let him go. I said, look at the night sky today. The Big Dipper is shining brightly. That means a great person is coming. Hey, guess what? I guessed right. You are coming.

Please get in the car. Is this our first time in New London? When we get back, people ask you if you went to Helen Street? You say no. Then people ask you if you went to the Summer Palace? You say no.

Hey, by then people will think you are lying with open eyes and trying to cover up trouble.

Not only will we take you to your destination, but we will also provide a tour guide to explain the nightlife in New Nulund. There is a lot of fun to be had there."

Prince Rupper blinked his eyes. He didn't understand what Liu Yonglu was saying, but he felt that the man in front of him was particularly respectful. He was happy from the inside out, and his smile was very pleasant. Seeing him was like seeing a relative.

Oh, I am missing such a lovely person by my side.

"Humph."

He snorted coldly and was about to get into the car. Liu Yonglu quickly took two steps to open the door and welcomed the big egg in.

The followers behind the prince had just witnessed their captain being beaten, and no one dared to bring themselves to bear this misfortune. They looked at each other and decided to just follow behind.

Liu Yonglu and Kou Gang smiled at each other. Kou Gang waved the whip and the carriage disappeared into the night.

I'll post one chapter first. Today is the weekend, and my daughter didn't take a nap and kept pestering me to play. I'll post the remaining 2,000 words later, and you can see it if you wake up early.

Sorry, sorry.

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(End of this chapter)