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

"Brother, how do you calculate the prices here? This is outrageous!" Zhang Ye glanced at the price list and immediately couldn't suppress his anger. He turned to question the waiter next to him.

He really couldn't understand why the purpose of opening this railway line was to provide convenience to the grassroots people, but an ordinary steamed bun was sold at five times the market price!

What’s the difference between this and robbing money openly?

Faced with Zhang Ye's aggressive questioning, the waiter seemed quite calm.

He still had a professional smile on his face as he responded calmly, "Hello, sir. Regarding the pricing issues here, I'm not the one who makes the final decision."

Obviously, he was already accustomed to such inquiries, so he answered them with ease and comfort.

The waiter then further explained, "Think about it. Opening a brand new transportation route like this requires a massive investment of manpower, material resources, and money. If it doesn't turn a profit after opening, wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

"The government's money doesn't just come out of thin air. Properly raising prices is also about recovering the initial investment costs as quickly as possible."

"You're absolutely wrong!" Zhang Ye's face was filled with anger, his brows furious. He suppressed his dissatisfaction and fiercely retorted, "We bought tickets when we boarded the train! That money has long been remitted to the railway financial system. Isn't this what you call the construction cost?"

Zhang Ye grew increasingly angry as he spoke, his voice rising an octave unconsciously. "Once a railway is opened, it should operate normally for at least several dozen or even hundreds of years! Shouldn't the cost be amortized based on the number of years it's used? Do we have to invest 100 million yuan in construction and expect the first train to make back all the money?"

Faced with Zhang Ye's well-reasoned rebuttal, the waiter remained quite calm.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a slightly embarrassed smile, and he said softly: "Haha, sir, what you said does make sense. However, you are right about this kind of thing, and I am also right. These are the prices set by the superiors."

Although the waiter's attitude was relatively friendly and he did respond to Zhang Ye's questions, his answers were hardly satisfactory.

Zhang Ye's face instantly became extremely gloomy, as if a storm was about to come.

He waved his hand impatiently and ordered in a harsh tone, "Call your leader over here! I want to see what kind of leader is so tough and unreasonable!"

Hearing this, the waiter still had a professional smile on his face. He nodded gently and replied, "Okay, sir, please be patient and wait here for a moment."

Obviously, such scenes were already commonplace to him, and he was naturally familiar with handling them.

Not long after he left, a middle-aged man in a neat uniform slowly walked towards the rear carriage.

He walked with steady steps and an upright posture. A metal badge with the word "Train Conductor" prominently hung on his chest. It was obvious that he was the person in charge of this train.

The conductor came to a stop in front of the group and nodded politely. Then, lowering his voice, he asked gently, "Gentlemen, are you dissatisfied with our train service? I hope you will share your thoughts."

Zhang Ye confronted the train conductor bluntly and got straight to the point: "The prices are ridiculous! I'd like to ask how you calculate costs. Take this steamed bun, for example. It's ten cents, five times the market price! Is this how you treat the general public?"

After saying this, he stared at the train conductor with a sharp gaze, as if he wanted to see through him.

Faced with Zhang Ye's sudden and aggressive questioning, the train conductor was stunned.

He originally thought that these were just some minor issues that needed to be dealt with, but he didn't expect to be met with such harsh accusations and criticisms.

Looking at the passenger in front of him who was aggressive and ready to accuse him, the conductor instantly lost his confidence.

While he was hesitantly responding and trying to explain the reason, he was cautiously glancing at Zhang Ye's profile, which was mostly covered by the mask, secretly speculating about this person's identity and background.

After all, a person who can possess such a strong aura and sharp words is definitely not something that ordinary civilians can possess.

Who knows, maybe it was a superior leader who came here in disguise to inspect the work!

Thinking of this, a thin layer of sweat broke out on the conductor's forehead, and his tone became more respectful when he spoke.

"You just need to answer the questions, don't worry about anything else!" Lu Shan took out his military officer's ID from his jacket pocket, hoping to give the other party some obvious hints and warnings in this way.

The train conductor, who was standing by and witnessed the whole process, felt his heart suddenly skip a beat, as if it had been hit hard by a heavy hammer.

His face turned pale in an instant, and a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead unconsciously.

Although he had not yet seen the specific rank shown on Lu Shan's officer certificate, just by observing the extraordinary temperament revealed in Lu Shan and the people around him by their dress and gestures, the train conductor knew that these people were definitely not ordinary people, and they might have encountered an extremely difficult opponent today.

"Well... sir, you are right, but the issue of prices is indeed uniformly set and arranged by our superior railway department after careful calculation." The train conductor smiled and bent his body slightly forward, showing a respectful look.

At this moment, his brain was working at a rapid pace. He racked his brains to think carefully before speaking each word, trying to figure out how to speak smoothly and comprehensively, and try not to offend the big shot in front of him who seemed to have a prominent background.

After all, if the other party's identity is really as noble and prominent as imagined, and even the senior leaders of the railway department can be easily controlled and dealt with, then he would be completely finished!

"Besides, sir, you see, our special line has just been opened for a short time. Currently, there are relatively few passengers who take this train and choose to dine in the dining car. If the price of the meals is set too low, the various costs of the dining car staff cannot be effectively recovered and compensated, so we have to..." The train conductor rubbed his hands nervously while speaking, and his eyes occasionally stole a glance at Lu Shan's expression, for fear that if he said something wrong, it would lead to serious consequences.

"According to what you said, if there is only one table of people eating, then they should pay for all the expenses for today?" Zhang Ye glanced back at him, and the cold eyes made him tremble and almost collapse to the ground.

"This is ridiculous! Change the price! Change it immediately!" Without waiting for the conductor to react, Zhang Ye slammed the table and ordered in an unquestionable tone, "Who can stand going without food for over ten hours on this train?"

"Change the price immediately and notify all passengers through the in-car announcement that the price is reduced by 80%. Anyone who needs to eat can come immediately. If you encounter anyone who can't read, you must patiently explain the price!"

"Sir, sir, I really can't make the decision to reduce the price by 80%!" The conductor was almost crying, trembling all over, with an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Don't worry about it." Lu Shan stepped forward and reminded in a low voice, "Just follow orders. Before you get off the car, you will receive relevant documents and notices from your superiors!"