Chapter 206: The Little Train Sets Off
Chapter 202 of "The Great Ming in the Box" opens revealing: After exchanging formal greetings, they proceeded to business.Dian Deng Zi clasped his fists and said,... Keep going!
After exchanging formal greetings, they proceeded to business.Dian Deng Zi clasped his fists and said, âLord Bai has brought me here, claiming that three thousand folks from Qingjian County could find shelter. That is why Iâve come to see for myself.â
Gao Yiye smiled. âThe Deity has already arranged everything. Please follow me.â
She took the lead, followed by Dian Deng Zi, his two subordinates, Bai Yuan, Thirty-Two (the steward), Tan Liwen, and others. Soon, the group arrived at the Gaojia Village Train Station.
It was a small, colorful plastic house, recently placed there. Of course, the ticket booth inside was empty, with no one selling tickets.
An empty track lay before the station. The small train was not at the platform.
Seeing this strange colorful house and the odd colorful track, Dian Deng Zi was bewildered. âMiss, why have you brought me here? What do you intend?â
Gao Yiye replied, âNot to worry. Just wait a moment.â
Bai Yuan hadnât seen the small train during his last visit to Gaojia Village, but he guessed it must be a divine artifact bestowed by the Deity. He suppressed his questions and waited patiently.
Soon, a distant âchoo-chooâ sound echoedâan artificial whistle enforced by Li Daoxuanâs rule, requiring the train to signal before entering the station to prevent anyone from foolishly playing on the tracks.
After the âchoo-choo,â came a rhythmic âclunking sound.â A massive, multicolored big train, pulling over a dozen carriages, rolled into the station.
Even Bai Yuan, who had some expectation, gaped in awe, his jaw dropping open. As for Dian Deng Zi and his two men, they were utterly dumbstruck.
All three of them stared like awestruck idiots, mouths agape as if drooling.
As the train stopped before them, two engineers jumped from the engine, locked the train door, and bowed to Gao Yiye and Thirty-Two. âSaint Lady, Steward Thirty-Two, are you waiting for the train?â
Gao Yiye smiled. âWe have guests in the village. The Deity has arranged for them to take the train to Refugee Valley. Prepare quickly.â
The two engineers hurried to the engine at the other end of the train, climbed in, and readied for departure.
Gao Yiye then addressed the still-stunned trio: âGentlemen, please board the train.â
Only then did Dian Deng Zi snap back to reality. âYou want us⌠to get on⌠this?â
Gao Yiye laughed. âYes! Seeing such a cute train, wouldnât you like to try riding it?â
Dian Deng Zi wiped cold sweat from his brow. âYou call this mighty and terrifying giant train⌠âcuteâ? Miss⌠is that really the right word?â
Gao Yiye chuckled heartily. âThe Deity himself called it that! He said this is the âcute small train.â Since the Deity put it that way, I dare not change the description.â
Just as they were talking, a sudden âthudâ sounded beside them. Bai Yuan had dropped to the ground in a dramatically disappointed kneeling postureââorzâ!
Thirty-Two stared in surprise. âMr. Bai, why did you suddenly kneel?â
Bai Yuan remained prone, wearing a pained expression. âSeeing this giant train before me⌠I realize my skill in charioteering is worthless. That âDrivingâ art among the Six Arts of Gentlemen⌠scratch it out! Forget it!â
Everyone: ââŚâŚâ
Bai Yuan abruptly leapt up and charged toward the engine, shouting as he ran, âEngineers! Let me learn how to drive this!â
He dashed lightning-fast, scrambled onto the engine, and squeezed in beside the two engineers.
Everyone: ââŚâŚâ
Whatever. Reasoning with this nonsensical fellow was pointless.
The group boarded the train and sat in the carriages.
The plastic seats inside the carriages were roughly made, but Dian Deng Zi and his men paid no attention to such details. All three pressed their faces against the windows, gazing outside in wide-eyed astonishment.
The train gave a loud âChoo!â and started moving with a clunking sound, pulling out of Gaojia Village Train Station toward Refugee Valley Train Station.
Soon, the train passed through a vast wheat field. Plump wheat ears streaked past the window, while the wind at sixty kilometers per hour blowing against their faces refreshed their minds.
Dian Deng Zi and his two companions immediately felt their hearts calm down as they traveled in this train.
âAmazing, this giant train!â
âIt really is amazing!â
âWhat kind of divine place is this?â
After a short while, the train whistled âChoo!â once moreâthey had arrived at Refugee Valley.
The train came to a halt. Gao Yiye stepped off first. Dian Deng Zi hadnât had his fill of the ride yet and wished to sit a while longer. But since the hostess had alighted, they reluctantly followed.
Gao Yiye pointed toward a nearby small mountain. âLook here. This is where youâll live.â
Dian Deng Zi hurried to the mountain pass and peered inside. Just thenâ Wow! The entire valley was filled with colorful buildings. A big pond lay at its center, surrounded by flowers and trees. At both ends of the valley stood two large gray castles, shielding the residential buildings at the heart of the valley.
âWhat a splendid place! Aside from having no farmland, it lacks absolutely nothing else!â
Gao Yiye smiled. âAs outsiders arranging farmland for you is difficult. But no matterâthe Deity will find you work. Rest assured youâll live comfortably.â
Dian Deng Zi was captivated by the valley, yet a small doubt lingered. âBut⌠all three thousand of us will pour in at once. The grain we needâŚâ
He hesitated several seconds before finally sighing aloud. ââŚwill this village have enough to share with us?â
Indeed: this was a famine year. It wasnât about moneyâit was about survival: without grain?
Even with prettiest homes?
The grandest trains?
The safest valleys?
The most plentiful jobs?
And mountains of copper coins?
âŚthey could all only end one way.
Worry yourself none.
Gao Yiye smiled once again. âSee that building in the valley? The one that looks like a granary?â
Hearing this, Dian Deng Zi rushed in with his men. They spotted a huge haystack-shaped building right away. He opened its plastic door and looked insideâŚ
âŚthe whole warehouse was stacked full to the brim with grain!
âThis⌠all of this?â
Dian Deng Zi felt his mind had just exploded. This single warehouse held enough food to feed his three thousand villagers.
For a long time to come.
Gao Yiye smiled quietly. âMr. Zhao⌠now you are at peace?â
âHah?â Dian Deng Zi jolted badly. âBut I never told you my surname!â
To spare his kinship trouble he had given his name as merely Dian Deng Ziâonly his home villagers knew his true name. Yet now this girl called him âMr. Zhaoâ outright.
He froze with terror.
Gao Yiye said: âZhao Sheng, sir, the Deity is a Deity from the heavensâwhy would knowing your true name be strange?â