The Republic of China: A Letter of Appointment Creates the Most Powerful Warlord

Chapter 283: Mortal Breath, Interesting Stories on the Journey

"It's different. They have a smell." Zhang Ye frowned slightly, staring at a few people not far away, muttering to himself thoughtfully.

In fact, even he himself is not sure whether this feeling is accurate, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. It will never go wrong to be cautious in everything.

Time passed minute by minute, and about ten minutes later, accompanied by a low roar, the train slowly started.

The empty station was left behind in an instant, replaced by a turbulent carriage.

The carriage was filled with noise, with various voices blending together to form a continuous, chaotic chatter.

In recent years, the independence military government has vigorously implemented a series of policies conducive to economic development, especially providing great support and encouragement to business and trade.

One of the important measures is to implement fee reductions for long-distance transportation such as trains within the seven regions.

This policy has significantly reduced ticket prices, attracting many people to travel by train.

Because of this, the carriage at this moment is full of all kinds of people.

There are big business bosses in suits and ties who look very stylish, young and loving couples taking their children to visit relatives and friends, and several elderly people with hunched backs and unsteady gaits who are rushing to other places to live with their children with great anticipation.

These people from different classes and backgrounds gathered together to form a vivid and real social picture.

Here, you can feel the full atmosphere of the mortal world. Although it is a bit noisy and the environment is not very good, for Zhang Ye now, he likes this feeling the most.

"Uncle, where are you going?" Just as Zhang Ye was looking around, he suddenly saw an elderly man standing in front of the seat opposite him.

The old man looked reserved and tense, huddled in the crowded crowd like a frightened rabbit, not daring to move a muscle.

"I... I'm going to Shanghai. My son runs a small business there. Since he couldn't come home for the New Year, it's boring for an old man like me to stay at home alone. I wanted to go over and see how he's doing." As the old man spoke, he raised his hand and scratched his snow-white hair.

He was wearing a slightly worn cotton-padded jacket made of coarse cloth, with several patches of different colors on the hem.

Just from the way he's dressed, you can tell that the old man doesn't live a comfortable life.

However, when he mentioned his son, a faint smile involuntarily appeared on his wrinkled face, just like a ray of warm sunshine penetrating the clouds in winter, warm and kind.

"Uncle, please come over here and sit down to rest your legs! It takes you more than ten hours to get here from Shanghai. If you keep standing like this, your body will not be able to bear it!" Zhang Ye invited enthusiastically with a smile.

As soon as the words fell, the guard sitting next to him quickly stood up, stepped forward with a swift movement, and offered his hand to support the old man.

"Oh no, no! This is not possible! You have spent money to buy the seat tickets. It's okay for me to stand for a while, but I can't take advantage of you!" Seeing this, the old man hurriedly shook his hands to refuse, with a firm attitude, as if he was afraid of causing any trouble to others.

The most important thing is that he once heard that there were scammers everywhere on the train, and if one was not careful, one would very likely end up in a miserable situation where both his money and life would be lost.

Although he himself did not have much money, for an old farmer like him whose ancestors had made a living by farming the land and had worked hard all their lives, even if he only lost a penny, it would make him heartbroken and difficult to let go for a long time.

"Uncle, you can rest assured, we are not bad people!" Zhang Ye smiled slightly and easily saw through the deep worry in the old man's heart.

He was wearing a mask at the moment, and the people around him were all wearing neat suits and shiny leather shoes. No matter how you looked at them, they didn't look like ordinary people at the bottom of society, so it was normal for the old man to be afraid and not dare to approach easily.

"We are all children from poor families. To tell you the truth, my father was also an honest farmer in the past. He spent almost his entire life digging for food in the loess." Zhang Ye was recounting his past experiences. When he mentioned this, he couldn't help but recall his old father in his previous life.

That taciturn man always works hard in silence on weekdays, with the sole intention of supporting the family.

If I had not traveled through time, I might still be by his side at this moment, fulfilling my filial duty, taking care of him in his old age and seeing him to the end of his life, living a simple and ordinary life.

"Oh! Farming is so difficult! Not only are you exposed to the wind and sun, but you also have to be nervous all the time, for fear of encountering a disaster year!" After listening to his explanation, the old man, who had been full of vigilance, finally breathed a sigh of relief and slowly sat down with the guard's careful support.

"That's right! It's really not easy! After working hard for a whole year, it's pretty good to have a few full meals in the end!" Zhang Ye nodded with deep emotion and chatted casually following his words.

Since coming to this world, he has witnessed too many innocent and poor people dying in war and famine.

In his previous life, he had heard the elders in his family talk about the tragic conditions in the years of famine, but he had not experienced it personally at that time, so he did not have a deep feeling about the difficult situation of having no food or water.

However, when he saw with his own eyes the dead bodies with swollen bodies and pus oozing from their wounds, when he saw with his own eyes the miserable scenes of people having to exchange their children for food in order to survive, he deeply realized the endless terror and despair brought by hunger.

These days, it is not easy for ordinary people to survive. It is even more difficult to live a decent life and take care of their family.

"It's been okay these past two years. After Marshal Zhang arrived, he reduced a lot of taxes, and people's lives have become much better." The old man leaned on the corner of the table, thinking of this year's harvest, a smile on his face. "The seeds the government distributed this year are amazing. Combined with fertilizers and pesticides, one acre of land can yield over a thousand kilograms of grain. I've lived for over sixty years and I've never seen such a high harvest!"