Behind me is the earth

The scorching air shines on the golden earth. The September air carries the lingering power of the summer heat, lashing people's dark skin. Hot beads of sweat drip onto the hot concrete floor. The ground has been evaporated by the high temperature before it is even wet.

Occasionally, a gust of sea breeze blows on the sweaty skin, taking away some of the heat.

Although the workload of the workers on the dock is not as large as that of Dongluo Continent, they drive trucks and use cranes to work. These new machines produced under industrialization have replaced a large amount of heavy manual labor.

However, due to the inconsistency in transportation standards such as ship size and container size, machinery cannot complete all the work. There are still a large number of hard workers pushing trolleys up and down between the trestle and the ship.

"Brother Liu, are there any big shots coming today?"

A young man pushing a trolley and a dark-skinned man who looked to be in his thirties asked.

"I don't know. Yesterday, the steward at the dock came over to lecture us, saying that officials were coming today and asked us to abide by the rules and tidy up.

Look at this pier, how clean it is! Yesterday morning, there was still a large amount of building materials and waste piled in that area. "

Brother Liu said.

"I saw it as soon as I came in the morning. Not just that area, but the entire day yesterday was being cleaned! I thought the person who came must be a high official!

Brother Liu, shall we go take a look soon? "

The young man said excitedly.

"Fuck you, such a big official, can you squeeze in and see? If you push over there, I'm afraid I'll really push you to the ground like an assassin!"

Brother Liu whispered: "Do you know Governor Ge who was transferred to Bowan?"

"I know."

The young man nodded repeatedly.

“He had been here before when Area 1 of the pier was just opened. At that time, the people surrounding him were all from our pier, and there were also officials from Baocheng County Yamen and various real Yamen who came to play us.

Those of us who are really struggling can’t squeeze in! "

Brother Liu told the young man very gossipy.

After hearing the secret, the young man suddenly felt that he had something to talk about, and he was ready to share it with his parents, brothers and sisters when he returned home.

"Lao Liu, Xiao Zhao, you two, stop talking and run faster. These ships must unload their cargo quickly and let them leave the port!"

On the trestle, a steward shouted to the two of them.

"I'm coming!"

The two of them started running quickly.

At night, I still have to collect wages from the steward!

Although he is just a small official on the dock, talking to these laborers is the best thing!

Due to different standards, trolleys cannot be used between the trestle's springboard and the ship. A group of laborers could only carry the goods with their hands and shoulders. If the goods were too heavy, they would set up pulleys on the ship and use manpower to lower the goods to the trestle below.

The young man and Lao Liu each carried five sacks down.

"Brother Liu, haven't we had a bumper harvest in the past two years? Why does the imperial court always buy grain from outside? In the past few months, the rice shipped from Yan State, Yue State, and Lu State, boat after boat, is probably It can all accumulate into a mountain!”

The young man was very curious about the fact that the imperial court had been buying grain from these southeastern countries since the early rice matured.

After all, the "immortal seeds" allocated by the imperial court, coupled with the continuous good weather in the past few years, the grain output has reached new highs year after year, and the people's families have enough food and clothing, and we have ushered in the best era!

Calculated this way, the grains handed in every year would fill up those granaries.

"Don't these young people understand? I listened to the Voice of Qi in the teahouse last night. The imperial army has been holding swords for the country on the front line!

Nowadays, the imperial court keeps driving the barbarians north on the frontal battlefield. The imperial court is hoarding these grains in order to fight back against the barbarians and prepare to unify the north!

At that time, it will be used to provide relief to the victims in the north. "

Lao Liu's spirit perked up.

The young man smiled shyly, he really didn't know this.

I don’t know why Lao Liu cares about this. As an ordinary citizen, he only cares about the life of cooking rice, oil and salt, and doesn’t care much about the world situation. What happens on the far northern front is too far away for him.

"You southerners were born in a good place, with the protection of the king, and you have not experienced the war and chaos in the north these years..."

Seeing the young man's expression, Old Liu guessed what he was thinking. After putting the grain on his shoulders on the cart, he couldn't help but glance at the north.

He didn't know if his family was still here, if the village still existed, if the twenty acres of land at home were deserted...

There was silence for a moment.

The cart was quickly filled, and the two of them pulled it toward the rear.

"Remember it, twenty bags, one cart."

A steward here in charge of recording waved his hand and asked people to load the grain onto the truck.

"I said Xiao Zhou, you are so young, you should go to school for two years. It is better than working as a laborer on the dock. It is hard work and you can't make any money..."

The steward said to the young man while he carefully pinned his pen to his breast pocket.

Before he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly looked into the distance.

Seeing that he suddenly became silent, Lao Liu and Xiao Zhou followed his gaze to the depths of the sea. Just where the sea and the sky met, a tall mast appeared in their eyes. They were already accustomed to ships with just masts, but when a large number of ships approached the port boundlessly, they still felt an unusual atmosphere.

"Woo~wuwu~"

The unique sound of steamboat whistles, high and loud, came from the sea.

At the port, a large number of small boats pierced the sea surface, heading towards the huge fleet amid the rolling white waves.

Even the laborers know about these boats.

They come here together with trucks, cranes, and forklifts. After entering the water, they can run very fast without anyone shaking the paddle. The speed is as exciting as flying on the sea!

"Lao Liu, Xiao Zhou, go to work quickly and move the food away as soon as possible to make room for these ships."

The steward shouted at the two of them.

"good!"

The two people quickly pulled the cart and left.

The steward found a high place and jumped up, looking at the fleet in the sea.

Yaoyao looked around and saw that the ships had all formed into one, covering the sky and the sun. There must have been more than fifty ships. They came all at once, which put a lot of pressure on the port.

The dispatchers on those small boats are probably under a lot of pressure.

When he was looking at the seaside, there was a sudden noise behind him, a sound of gongs and drums, and shouts of "avoid".

He looked back and saw a group of people, surrounded by officials on the dock, walking towards the edge of the port. They all reached the operating area where no one was allowed to enter casually in the past.

"It seems Governor Huang is here!"

In order to prevent conflict with Shangguan, the port officials held a meeting in the morning and revealed some news to these junior officials.

One is the Governor's inspection, and the other is the arrival of the fleet.

He turned to look at the banner that had just been displayed on the port: "Welcome the Yuntai Fleet to return victoriously!"

Those who played gongs and drums also gathered at the edge of berths 1 to 10, playing exciting military music.

With a long whistle, Yuntai's flagship slowly sailed into the berth.

The gangplank was lowered, and he looked from a distance. A female general in fiery red and with an excellent figure walked at the front. She got off the boat first and shook hands with Governor Huang in a neither humble nor overbearing manner. She stood up straight when shaking hands. She seemed to be a good general. His status is no less than that of Governor Huang, a high-ranking official in the military!

The excitement over there had nothing to do with him. A man on another armored ship that was moored not far away caught his eye.

While everyone was being greeted by Governor Huang and getting off the boat in a polite manner, there was a man there who spread his arms and began to glide lightly, gliding over the sea water, the trestle, and people's heads, and landed in the distance. He was not far away from the flower bed.

He couldn't help but stare at the strange stranger who could fly in the air, which was rarely seen among the people.

The man noticed his gaze and actually walked towards him and said hello: "Hello, your place is really a wonderful place, isn't it?"

"right······"

He didn't know how to answer, guessing that this person might also be an official in the military.

Xia Ke didn't talk to him anymore, smiled and walked slowly, looking at the busy trucks, cranes, etc. on the port, with a relaxed smile on his face: "Gulu, I should have come at the right time. "

"maybe."

A realization emerged from his mind.

"You should be happy that I have hope of returning home."

Xia Ke reached out and gently knocked on the metal of the crane, making a "dong dong" sound.

"Happy, haha."

Guru conveyed his happiness.

"Boring guy."

Xia Ke curled his lips and stopped communicating with it.

He looked into the distance. The second phase of the port project was still under construction. A large number of engineering equipment, with the help of strangers from the civil engineering and metal departments, and a large number of strong men who amazed him, the progress of the engineering team very fast.

Not far away, the railway tracks were laid directly to the port, and a large amount of goods were pulled there. After being loaded, they would be taken to their destinations as needed.

“It’s a magical place where different things collide.”

Xia Ke sighed.

"Xiaco, we will take the train and go to Beijing to report on our duties. The commander asked you to come with us."

A guard next to Yan Zi flew over.

"Go quickly, you can't beat that red woman!"

Guru urged.

Xia Ke nodded silently: "Okay."

When the guards caught up with Yan Zi, she had already completed the welcoming ceremony with Huang Wenguang.

"The warships are docked here and are on standby. The mountains and stone roads are cut, and Aixi is here waiting for instructions from the naval command.

I have communicated with the headquarters and after completing the mission, I will give you three months of vacation in turns.

Paul, you hand the merchant ship's account book to the port, and they arrange the unloading according to the procedures. Complete the handover immediately and come to Beijing with me. "

Yan Zi arranged the current tasks properly.

"yes!"

Paul agreed.

In the restaurant at the port, after having a full meal, Yan Zi took out a photo from her pocket while waiting for the train.

The photo shows a circular sign carved on a stone with a "V" symbol in the middle.

"Commander, the train is ready. Some rare things have been loaded on the train."

Paul came in to report to her.

"let's go."

Yan Zi stood up. She had put on a fiery red dress. She was as beautiful as a red pomegranate flower.

"Why has the train changed?"

When they came to the train, Yan Zi asked strangely.

The train has no chimney, and the blue front is very different from the original steam locomotive.

"Sir, this is the second-generation train. It has been put into heavy use in the first half of this year. It is much better than the first-generation train in terms of speed and comfort."

The train attendant heard the introduction and said.

Yan Zi entered the carriage along the gangway and sat on the sofa.

After a while, the train started.

There is not so much noise, and you can feel that it is smoother even when you are sitting here.

The rails, which have been compacted for a long time, have also been running in with the trains. As the train continued to accelerate, the speed quickly increased.

"Huh? What is that?"

Charcot, who was sitting by the window, suddenly straightened his back and leaned against the window to look at the sea of ​​blue flowers outside.

This sea of ​​flowers is located not far from the port. In the middle of the sea of ​​flowers, there is an iron tower more than eighty meters high.

"The imperial court began to promote planting in June. Now it is planted in all provinces across the country, and military areas have been designated as important. They are often built near train stations, and each railway station is responsible for protecting them. "

The attendant introduced.

"Gulu, this thing can release electromagnetic signals!"

Xia Ke shouted in his head in surprise.

"Yes, it's amazing. There is no such thing in my memory bank!"

Gollum rarely showed emotion.

As the train progressed, we saw more than a dozen seas of blue flowers along the way, each with a similar configuration.

At night, these sea of ​​flowers emit light blue light, and when the wind blows, it looks like a sea of ​​blue light, which is particularly beautiful.

When the train arrived in Qidu after more than twenty hours of running, it was already the evening of the next day.

"Xiaco, where is your metal ring? Show it to me again."

When he was about to get out of the car, Yan Zi asked for the treasure Xia Ke wanted to donate.

This metal ring has an extremely smooth surface, but it has a complex metal structure inside. When it is rotated gently, you can hear the sound of the gear rotating and emit some strange sounds. If the rotation speed is fast enough, it can even emit some Blurred light and shadow come.

This was her only gain when she went to Dongluo Continent to perform the main mission.

When the train arrived, Yan Zi came out of the train station and was in a trance when she saw the brightly lit city in front of her.

Nearly two years have passed and this familiar city has become so unfamiliar that it is unrecognizable!

"Commander Yan, the king is waiting for you in the palace."

Five black cars were waiting on the side of the road. The guard opened the door and welcomed Yan Zi and his party into the car.

After picking up the people, the convoy drove towards the inner city. (End of chapter)