Four days later, outside the Star Engraving County.
The Star Engraving train station had been built near Haizhu Port; both the port and the station sat in Star Engraving’s outer city—that is, Chengxia Village, which had no protective city walls. Chengxia Village existed by clinging to Star Engraving County, like an accessory dangling off the city’s leg.
Star Engraving County’s earliest inner city actually included only that small, blessed area near Mirror Lake, but after centuries of expansion and developnt, the population of the outer city outstripped that of the inner city. That’s why an outer city wall had been built, and the Qian Yuliu clan and other commoners had finally been acknowledged as "noble cityfolk"—of course, to the natives of Mirror Lake, they were still just mud legs.
Honestly, Chengxia Village wasn’t so kind of disaster; it was like an oversized Eighteen Street, just with a few more hoodlums, rougher security, dirtier streets, worse education, but if you lived there long enough, you got used to it.
Le Yu was dragging his suitcase, walking into the muddy, post-rain outer village, his steel-toed boots sinking halfway into the sludge. Qian Yuya followed closely behind, dragging her suitcase too, curiously checking out the nearby factories coughing up black smoke, and the villagers who hawked their goods right on the filthy wastewater-soaked streets like nothing was wrong, so even flower-selling girls who solicited custors in broad daylight.
Chengxia Village basically produced no grain—most of the land outside had been bought up by the nobility and big rchants for building factories. Villagers worked the docks or in factories, and the rest served those two groups in daily life. As for why the wealthy didn’t build their factories in town, it was partly because labor outside the city was cheaper (or sotis unpaid), but even more because the Governor wouldn’t allow it.
Le Yu, seeing the unplanned chaos of Chengxia Village, realized how developed Star Engraving County’s infrastructure was: food production bases, weapons factories, military roads—everything was in place. Ding Yi had made Star Engraving County into a self-sufficient fortress from the very start; there was no way he’d let light industrial plants take up precious space inside the city.
This was why Ding Yi’s two-day lockdown could set the wealthy and powerful into utter chaos—not just because their incos dried up, but because they were genuinely scared: "If a war broke out, all their ans of production out in Chengxia Village would be blown to hell!"
"All these wealthy folks are praying for a peaceful life, but that ans they’ll have to fight against the mud-legged folks praying for the sa peace..." Le Yu glanced at so workers passing by, and suddenly realized what White Night planned to do after taking the city.
Though the Linhai Army needed to be drawn in, White Night likely wanted to directly recruit these workers, building a force whose anti-imperial, anti-feudal, anti-nobility ideology matched his own from the ground up!
"Sir, miss, please spare so change..."
"Mister, please show so pity..."
A huddle of beggars crowded in, but when they noticed Le Yu’s navy blue coat, they dared not co too close, only stretching out dirty hands from a ter away, begging. Le Yu spotted another well-dressed person in the distance getting mobbed by the beggars, losing his wallet in the commotion.
But the beggars, even if they didn’t recognize Le Yu’s black vest underneath, sure knew that Linhai Army officer’s coat he wore—soone they wouldn’t ss with for anything.
Le Yu knew these beggars all had gangsters backing them, so he didn’t react. Instead, Qian Yuya couldn’t help herself and took out her wallet, giving so money to each beggar. In return, she received endless blessings: "May you be rich, miss," and "Good people get repaid, sir and miss," and so on.
Le Yu stood by watching. When the beggars finally left, Qian Yuya suddenly asked, "Why are there so many poor people?"
"Good question—congratulations on stepping into White Night’s ideological zone..." Le Yu answered absently as he walked, "According to relative logic, poor people exist because of rich people—without rich people, there’d be no such thing as poor people."
"That’s not the sa." Lately Qian Yuya had heard enough of Le Yu’s sophistry to be on guard, and quickly found the loophole: "I’m asking why poor people appear, not just what defines a poor person. Poor and rich are opposites, but the rich aren’t the reason the poor exist."
"Really?" Le Yu shrugged, "One pie: the rich get the bigger share, the poor get less. If twenty percent of people get eighty percent of the pie, and eighty percent of people share the twenty percent left, do you think the poor are getting enough to eat? Do you really think the rich aren’t the cause of poverty?"
"Is... is that really how it works..." Once again, Qian Yuya got roped in by Le Yu’s logic. "Then, how can we fix the poor problem?"
"There are three ways."
"Three?!" Qian Yuya said with delight.
"First, set a fair pie-splitting system so everyone gets so; second, make the pie bigger, so even the lowest on the totem pole get full; third..."
Le Yu drew a finger across his throat, "Kill off a crop of both poor and rich, and let the chaos reshuffle the hierarchy."
Qian Yuya fell silent as they walked together to the station. The train station was crude, and nearly empty as only one train left today. Guarding the platform, however, was the Linhai Army—ard to the teeth at the entrance, giving no one the ti of day.
But when they saw Le Yu’s navy coat, they flinched, then snapped off a salute.
Le Yu returned the salute and handed his luggage to Qian Yuya, "This is as far as I can take you. You’re on your own from here."
Qian Yuya took the suitcase and asked, "Brother, should I... switch majors?"
"Why do you think that?"
"Because being a dical Officer can’t save the poor." Qian Yuya said, "I used to think that treating illness would help ordinary people, but poor people aren’t sick—they don’t have the pie. Even if I beco a dical Officer, I won’t be able to help them... Do you know how to make the pie bigger?"
"Sure—colonial exploitation, nuclear fusion, imperial capitalism..." Le Yu smiled, "My clever little sister, do you think your brother is so Imperial Court Pri Minister or the Emperor’s ntor? Why not ask the magic conch, instead of , a tiny Statistical Departnt clerk? Besides..."
Le Yu gently ruffled Qian Yuya’s hair, "The only people you can save are the ones you can pay for yourself."
Suddenly, he snorted with laughter, "When I was your age, I also thought I was the only hero in the world, with grand ideals of remaking it. Well, since you’ve caught the sa disease, let your brother pass this ideal onto you. I hope that when you grow up and rember this, you’ll feel totally embarrassed."
Qian Yuya blushed, smoothing her hair, and said, "It’s not embarrassing at all..."
Le Yu pulled out his watch, "It’s about ti. Board the train."
"You’re really not coming to Yanjing with ?"
eting Qian Yuya’s pleading gaze, Le Yu sighed, "I’ve got sothing really important tonight—I just can’t leave. But I promise, as soon as things here are wrapped up, I’ll be on the next train to Yanjing. Though who knows, maybe so certain soone won’t even let a poor cousin from out of town crash with her by then..."
Le Yu truly wasn’t lying; he did want to go see the world in Yanjing. And after Star Engraving County’s liberation, he couldn’t care less about working on postwar recovery or joining the army. It made far more sense to roam around searching for secret wonders of the world, like the ti-traveling Divine Demon Well...
"You really know how to get on my nerves." Qian Yuya pouted her lips, "But I promised: If you beco disabled, I’ll take care of you for life. If you die, I’ll bury you in the family grave. So you don’t have to worry."
"Why does it always have to be getting crippled or killed..." Le Yu nudged Qian Yuya, "Take care of yourself, all right? Be careful out there."
Qian Yuya nodded, walked a few steps, then turned back, "You really will co to Yanjing, right? You’re not lying?"
"I will, I will, see? I even bought a ticket. I’ll just go refund it and get one for the next train." Le Yu waved the ticket as he spoke.
Bang bang—two suitcases hit the ground as Qian Yuya spun around to hug Le Yu. Le Yu sighed softly, patted her head, and smiled, "The Qian Yuya I rember wasn’t this clingy."
"And the Qian Yuliu I rember wasn’t this much of a silver-tongued slouch."
Qian Yuya let go of Le Yu, rubbed away the moisture at the corners of her eyes, took a deep breath, and held out her fist to him, "Next ti, it’ll be my turn to protect you."
Le Yu held out his right fist and bumped hers lightly, "I’ll be waiting."
"She really was smart."
"Even though neither Le Yu nor Qian Yuliu had leaked any news, the city lockdown, army shifts, and Star Engraving County’s open tension made everything obvious. The real reason Le Yu struggled so hard to get her out wasn’t hard for her to guess."
"She’d insisted on staying before because it seed like Le Yu would always hang around Star Engraving. When he finally hinted at leaving too, she agreed."
"After all, it was much simpler for one person to escape than two. Now that she left ahead, it’d be that much easier for Le Yu to flee solo."
"She had stayed behind to share hazards with her brother, but if she stuck around any longer, she’d only be holding him back."
Watching Qian Yuya’s silhouette disappear onto the train, Le Yu relaxed at last and turned away.
It was over—every last worry was gone.
’Qian Yuliu’s Ordeal’ complete, spiritual power increased by 30%. All mories of Qian Yuliu unlocked, though big deal, nothing about that old virgin is worth rembering.
’Survive 15 Days’ complete: gained 3 available points and one eternal skill upgrade opportunity.
Next, there was only one last quest left in Qian Yuliu’s personal storyline.
...
...
"Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu, over here, over here!"
Once on board, Qian Yuya spotted Li Ying waving at her from a seat, looking pixie-cute as always. Two maids stood behind Li Ying, lugging so much baggage it looked like they were moving house, not heading to school.
"Ying Ying." Qian Yuya glanced around, "Looks like there aren’t any seats left..."
Their tickets didn’t include seats—not that there were standing tickets either; it was just first co, first served.
"Little White, Little Black, find your own seats, okay? I’ll sit with Xiaoyu."
The two maids agreed in unison. There weren’t many open clusters of four left in the car, but finding a pair together wasn’t too bad. Qian Yuya and Li Ying walked through a carriage; Li Ying spotted a pair of girls with one seat open opposite them, and tugged Qian Yuya over, "Excuse , is anyone sitting here?"
The two girls shook their heads at once, "Nope."
Li Ying was a natural social butterfly. Once she sat down, she noticed the girls across were about the sa age as them, and a thought popped up, "Are you two heading to take the entrance exam for Yanjing Royal Academy too?"
The two girls blinked, then replied, "We are." "How funny, so am I."
"That’s great, then we’ll be classmates," Li Ying said excitedly, "I’m Li Ying, and this is Qian Yuya. What are your nas?"
The girl with braided hair, who was sipping so honey Five-Flower Tea, blinked, "I’m Kui Nianruo."
The other, a slightly older, gentle girl with long hair, glanced at Qian Yuya, closed her book, and replied, "I’m Lin Xue."
Reviews
All reviews (0)