The clear whistle sounded louder and louder, echoing in the lightly clouded sky, as if it could tear the sky. The huge vibration stopped after a few minutes, and the imperial train officially stopped.
At this time, everyone in the small factory put down their work, ran out of the factory gate, and hurried to the station to watch the excitement.
Of course, Cassia was no exception. After simply clearing away the utensils on the table, he followed the crowd and jogged to the station.
Although I have been here in the small town at the foot of Nalilac Mountain for five years and am no stranger to imperial trains, I still see the nearly six-meter-high body again every year, the steel rails that are comparable to the size of light trucks, connecting them
The huge and heavy alloy axle, the careful and ingenious brake device, and the countless tangled steam metal pipes that are so rough that they are like raging animal blood vessels, combined with the 15mm carefully welded steel pipes on the car.
Specially made black iron steel plates, everything is covered with traces of erosion by various natural forces.
The entire train was like a sleeping black-scaled dragon, and the thick column of steam still gushing out from the front was his breath. At this moment, it was parked quietly on the edge of the pitifully small platform in the small town. The iron block weighing tens of thousands of tons was like a train.
No matter how many times you see the long dragon lined up on one side, the strong, rough, thick, simple, direct and shocking feeling will never change.
This is because since the development of industry, countless scientists in the empire have participated in the invention of the innovative technology - super vapor compression device, and then combined with the emerging energy sources of electricity, this great achievement can be accomplished.
Cassia's heart is full of excitement and uncontrollable yearning. In a few days, he will take such a giant train to the Imperial Heavy Industry School. He imagines that it is very likely that such a great machine will be used in the future.
As a result of her labor, Cassia was not only filled with unspeakable excitement, but also overflowing with impatience.
It was a strong sense of urgency. The seventeen-year-old boy was eager to go to more prosperous areas, see more unexpected and strange things, and get to know more people with different personalities and talents. He was also eager to pass the Imperial Heavy Industry
With this sign, he found a well-paying job. His mother and sister were almost everything in his life now, and the seventeen-year-old boy longed to carry a warm place that could accommodate them on his shoulders.
It wasn't until dusk began to fall that everyone began to disperse.
The station was brightly lit all night, and all kinds of textile and industrial goods that had been stored for more than half a year had to be liquidated in just a few days when the imperial train was parked, and then exchanged for cheaper raw materials and returned
There are huge profits among them.
In the past few days, the workers who have been busy for a year can finally shake their shoulders and rest for a while. The ones who should be extremely busy at this time are the nobles who have been enjoying themselves all year long. How many levels are there in the division of interests?
, the price of goods, the price of raw materials, heavy handling costs, the amount of insurance on the car, the amount of protective measures,,,,,, etc.
In the school where Cassia attended, the theology teacher once said: "As long as interests are involved, everyone can become ugly."
Let these bitter businessmen and mean nobles take care of all the fussing and uncompromising matters.
Children of the same age as Cassia in the small town took advantage of the rare free time in these few days to finally feel the warmth of family and relatives.
Kasia also stays at home every day, and the work in the textile mills and factories has temporarily come to an end. Her mother and sister have stayed at home with Kasia these days, helping to pack all kinds of luggage.
Cassia is also actively preparing. If she goes to Imperial Heavy Industries and can find a good job immediately while studying there, it will make the family life much easier.
My younger sister Lilia is six years old this year and is about to go to school. Tuition fees are not a small expense.
Before going to school, Cassia had already checked the information about Imperial Heavy Industries School. If he could get the annual student award from Imperial Heavy Industries, these problems would be greatly improved.
The annual student reward of the Imperial Heavy Industry School is 350,000 holy coins. More importantly, these rewarded students also have the opportunity to enter the Saint Dorag Military School.
The two schools with the highest institutions in the empire have extra generous monthly subsidies. If she can enter, it will be a huge help to both her mother and her sister. Cassia secretly has a plan in her heart.
Five days later, her sister Lilia was holding a pencil in her hand and was clumsily writing extremely non-standard fonts on the paper. Cassia sat next to her sister, gently rubbing Lilia's head with one hand, and holding Lilia's slender hand with the other.
With his little hands, he slowly corrected the writing of each font.
Lilia studied very seriously, but as a child who sometimes still has a runny nose, her learning progress cannot be complimented.
"Brother,,,,Ka,,Xi,,Ya,,"
Next to the white paper is a graffiti, which simply depicts a little man with a round head and a smiling face. Lilia is writing the name of the little man underneath one stroke at a time.
Cassia just watched quietly from the side, feeling extremely calm inside.
There is one more day like this left.
As soon as it got dark the next day, the early morning silence of the small town was broken by the deafening sound of the whistle.
Cassia dragged her luggage from the bed. After a final hesitation, she carefully came to the bedside and took out a simple wooden box from under the bed. Inside was a brand new high-strength alloy steel sword with a black hilt and a snow-white blade.
Sword. This was specially made for Cassia by Vixey, the little boss of the factory, using leftover parts a few days ago.
"The outside world is far more chaotic than the frontiers in the empire's rear. The war never shows signs of stopping. It is best for you to hold this short sword for self-defense." Vixey had been wandering outside for a long time earlier.
When I was in middle age, I came to live in a small town at the foot of Mount Lilac in despair.
After cleaning up, his mother and sister were already waiting for him outside.
We walked together on the wide streets, surrounded by neat bungalows. There were other families on the road sending their children to the direction of the empire, but most of them were people who went to work in various parts of the empire. People of the same age like Cassia,
There are nearly thirty in the whole town, but among them there are only three from civilians, including Cassia. Most of the resources of the empire are controlled by a small number of nobles.
Moreover, Cassia is not yet an orthodox civilian. His father was once a second-class warrant officer and had the lowest baron title. However, with the death of his father, these things have passed.
The long black dragon has awakened, and several steam columns and black smoke are like twin twin dragons rising straight into the sky.
The side of the train was full of garbage left over from moving goods over the past few days and had not yet been cleaned up. The side of the platform was full of people, all of whom were waiting to board the train.
"Cassia, here, here."
Cassia walked into the platform and heard someone calling him.
That was one of the three civilians, named Luo Wei. There was a pretty girl standing in front of Luo Wei. At this time, she nodded gently to Cassia. She was the last of the three civilians, named Ai.
Lin.
Although the three of them go to different schools, traveling to various parts of the empire is the best means of transportation.
The conductor in work clothes at the front began to let people carrying heavy luggage board the train one after another.
Although there were many people with commoner backgrounds, they were squeezed into the narrow side of the platform when they boarded the train. The other side was a passage specially opened for nobles, and the other twenty or so students were among them. They were dressed in gorgeous clothes.
The clothes, both in terms of exquisite workmanship and fabric, are all of the best quality. The boots are polished to a shiny finish, and even the suitcases seem to exude the light of high-end goods.
On the other hand, Cassia had prepared a good set of clothes, but she was reluctant to wear them. The shoes must be cheap rubber-soled canvas shoes, and the suitcase was also made of rolled hard leather and sealed with a thick rope.
The most important thing is that the noble passage opened is for serious passenger cars, but Cassia and the others are on cargo boxes.
That's right, they can't afford real passenger carriage tickets, so they can only live in simple cargo boxes with some goods. And the fare is calculated based on the price of the goods, which is twenty-two holy coins per kilogram.
It is the price of ordinary human beings.
Although I feel a little uncomfortable, I can only accept it. Soon, these people in the cargo box will know that this price is not only useful when taking the imperial train, but also in any region of the empire and in all walks of life.
These are all standard prices, the prices of human beings.
"Brother, if you want, you must come back." Lilia's eyes were firm and full of tears.
While Cassia was amused by these tragic words, she touched Lilia's head and said goodbye to them.
Walking into the cargo box, until the heavy steel-framed iron door was closed, and the faces of her mother and sister were obscured by black metal, Kasia suddenly felt an unbearable feeling in her heart.
Shaking her head vigorously to get rid of this uncomfortable mood, Cassia found a nearby place to sit down.
The huge cargo box was divided into three levels. They were on the top level, which was quite spacious and contained many packed and sealed goods. Cassia and the others sat on these wooden boxes in twos and threes.
There are several large vents on the top of the cargo box, and the cold winter wind blows inside, causing papers to fly.
Luo Wei used his hands and feet to pick up a lot of waste paper at once. It was really uncomfortable to sit on the bare board, so it would be good to use these waste papers as a cushion.
Everyone followed suit, and when Cassia finished doing this, the last long-lasting whistle sounded, and the entire cargo box began to shake slowly.
The imperial heavy train left the station.
The train car shook steadily, and the metal equipment on the two floors below made collision sounds from time to time. Rowe and Irene sat on Cassia's side. Although the light near the vent on the roof of the car was good, the three of them were not in the mood to read.
The imperial column shook for a while, but one by one they fell asleep.
The rest of the journey is like this. Every day when I have time, I read the books in my suitcase. When I feel hungry, I go to the food storage box to buy some cheap food.
Luo Wei got off the bus after the twelfth day, and he wanted to transfer to other areas. Two days later, Irene also got off the bus and went to a nearby city where her school was located.
The people on the bus got off one by one and got on again. The passengers changed one after another. Only Cassia looked at her luggage quietly and always sat in the same position.
It was really lonely, or lonely, or dull. There were no windows around, only the unchanged scenery from the roof vent. The people in the car didn't know where they had passed. They could only know that they had arrived again by stopping and walking.
A station, and then there are noisy sounds outside. Occasionally, the carriage I am in will be opened, and I can see various station structures. Sometimes the light at the vent dims, and I know that I have entered a dark place again.
In the tunnel, if you are bored, you can count to see how long the tunnel is.
When the imperial train is moving forward at full speed, you can hear the harsh sound of the wind blowing against the iron sheets outside. When it encounters heavy rain, you can also wait for the thunderous explosions amidst the sound of raindrops hitting the iron sheets.
The journey was absolutely boring. Most of the people in the carriage did not know each other. Everyone was like bamboo shoots that had not been moistened by the spring rain. They were all bored in the soil and did not want to say a word.
The harsh sound of metal friction came out from below again, and the speed of the imperial train gradually slowed down. Several whistles sounded regularly, and then faint cheers mixed with the overwhelming noise spread into the carriage from a long distance.
There was a lot of noise and a large number of people.
Then there was a sudden roar like a wild beast, scolding, insults, and finally the threatening bursts of several honeycomb revolvers. Then except for the sound of the train, the station fell silent. Then for a moment, more
Roaring, insulting, screaming, wailing and the crackling of gunshots all broke out in an instant.
Cassia put her luggage tightly under her feet, put one hand on her leg, and held the high-alloy dagger behind her with the other hand. Like everyone else in the carriage, she waited quietly for the train to stop at the station.
As Vixey said, even if Cassia didn't see the outside world, she knew it was indeed a mess. (To be continued)