He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

Tuesday, November 30th, sunny

"Disciple, are you ready? Come out with me today."

The master, dressed in a blue robe with a black jacket over it, called out to Leyou, who was eating in the kitchen.

"Alright, Master."

Leyou followed his master out the door in a daze, without asking any questions.

"Wow, Master, this bridge looks scary, but it also looks amazing."

After walking for more than ten minutes, Leyou pointed to the bridge and said to his master.

"Haha, if you have free time, go out more often and broaden your horizons."

This bridge is called Yuxian Bridge, and its history can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty.

The Encountering Immortals Bridge stood there, its iron chains spanning the wooden boats across the river.

A gust of river wind blew by, causing the iron chains to clang and the wooden boat to creak.

(I traveled through Jiangxi when I was a child, but when I went back later, it had become an iron boat.)

The linked wooden boats were covered with planks for pedestrians to walk on, and from a distance, they looked like a magnificent sight of chained wooden boats dominating the river.

Several small boats were moored on the river in the distance.

Pedestrians crossed the bridge one after another, some carrying things.

Some people were leading their donkeys slowly through the area; I was really worried for them.

Leyou followed his master onto this ship bridge he had never seen before.

I felt a little panicked as soon as I got on the boat. The water was moving beneath the boat, and the iron chains fixed to the shore were clanging loudly.

Leyou pulled on his master's robe and followed him forward. They slowly walked to the center of the river. Suddenly, a strong river wind blew, and he could clearly feel the wooden boat shaking and swaying under his feet. He also swayed from side to side involuntarily.

Looking around, a sudden feeling of fear welled up inside me. Just then, a few waves crashed against the wooden boat, causing the linked boat to form a concave shape.

If it weren't for the people around, I would really feel isolated and helpless, as if I had been abandoned, especially for people who can't swim.

After carefully crossing the Encountering Immortals Bridge, the master and apprentice soon arrived at a station.

The station in front of us was a row of single-story buildings, with a large building in the middle with yellowish walls and the words "Shaozhou Station" written on it.

"Master, where are we going? Is this a car ride?"

"Do you still remember what the team member you brought home said back then?"

Someone told me this a few days ago, so I had you take a few days off from school to broaden your horizons. We're taking the train to Guangzhou today.

"Alright, Master, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Leopard Qiang should know, right?"

"You didn't even ask!"

Leyou looked at his master helplessly, then lowered his head and followed him to buy tickets.

"Why did Master only get a third-class ticket?"

"We'll talk about that later. We need to go inside and wait for the train."

"Woo~"

"Woo~"

A loud noise came from afar, growing louder as it approached.

What came into view was a train belching black smoke slowly coming to a stop.

Upon closer inspection, Leyou noticed that the locomotive was steam-powered and that people inside were shoveling coal.

Behind the locomotive are rows of carriages, each marked with a number.

Seeing that the train had stopped, the villagers rushed forward and squeezed into their respective carriages.

Leyou followed his master directly into the very last carriage.

Upon entering, Leyou found the place packed with people, the noise and shouting filling the air, giving her a headache.

Then a strange fragrance wafted over. Good heavens, isn't that... feet? Does anyone not wash their feet?

Leyou covered his nose and hurriedly pulled his master inside.

After finding a seat, Leyou tilted her head and asked curiously:

"Master, you know this place very well?"

"Three years ago, several of your senior colleagues died on this very railway."

They all fell here. I was shot because of it. It's very important to us.

My disciple, you must protect it well. It travels north to Wuchang, south to Guangzhou, and passes through Hunan and Hubei provinces.”

"It has many uses, especially during this time of national crisis, as it can transport people, various resources, and all kinds of equipment..."

Seeing that his master was not very interested, Leyou changed the subject, saying:

"Master, why did we get third-class tickets? What about second-class and first-class tickets? You said you'd tell me later."

"First-class and second-class status are not things we can simply choose to achieve."

I've seen foreign missionaries have second-class tickets before.

I heard that the seats in the first-class carriages are as soft and comfortable as a goose feather.

The second-class carriages were slightly less comfortable, but still quite pleasant.

Ours was third class, a world of difference, and the environment was completely different. I'd heard before that a scholar surnamed Guo in Beijing also traveled in third class, just like us.

"Then why didn't you look at the number and only remembered that you got into the last carriage, Master?"

"Winter, one, two, three; Summer, three, two, one."

This is related to the coal at the front of the locomotive. In winter, it's not cold near the front, but cold away from it; the opposite is true in summer. Plus, there's a lot of coal ash, so it looks dirty.

After finishing speaking, the master closed his eyes to rest and stopped talking.

Leyou didn't dare to disturb his master, and after more than 20 hours, they finally arrived at Huangsha Station.

Because Leyou hadn't rested at all on the train last night, having to guard against the waves of harassment from Wenque and also afraid they would disturb his master's rest, he had to hold on until he got off the train.

After buying some food outside the station, Master told Leyou to rest for a while before leaving the restaurant. After walking a few steps, he turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Leyou dozed off and fell asleep on the table.

……

"Ow!"

After sleeping for three hours, Leyou stretched comfortably and saw that his master was already sitting in front of him.

The master pushed the small jar in front of him and said:

"Eat up, this Minxin double-skin milk pudding is pretty good!"

"We'll be leaving after we finish eating; the rest of the food has been prepared."

Leyou nodded and immediately opened the paper on the small jar, then began to eat it spoonful by spoonful with a ladle.

The master watched with a smile, stroking his beard incessantly.

After finishing his milk, Leyou followed his master out of the restaurant.

But the master walked over to a 28-inch bicycle with the Manchu logo and called out to it.

"Master, you're amazing! You can get a bicycle so easily."

"I borrowed it from a friend. If you want it, just kill a few traitors and you'll definitely have it."

Master teased:

"Alright, hurry up and get on, we're going to Tuyang Road later, it's still a long way."

"Alright, Master, how about I ride you to show you the way?"

"You should rest well. Your master isn't so old that he can't ride a bicycle."

After 16 hours of legwork, we finally arrived at Tuyang.

The sky was beginning to brighten. The exhausted master and apprentice found a restaurant, agreed on a price, booked a room, and fell into a deep sleep.

……

"Master, what's wrong?"

Leyou stared blankly at his master who had woken him up, and suddenly felt like crying. He was so tired, and he wanted to sleep.

"Come with me quickly, or we'll be too late!"

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the room. Leyou was so startled that he immediately jumped off the boat, put on his shoes, and followed his master.

Looking at his master who was walking briskly ahead, Leyou was panting heavily, his hands on his hips, and his tongue sticking out.

It's truly because young people respect the elderly and care for the young; otherwise, how could they not catch up?

Soon the master and apprentice arrived at a two-story house.

There were already many people around the house, and everyone greeted the master.

To his surprise, some people greeted him, but what was infuriating was that they all called him Madman!

If it weren't for the fact that the other side had more people, they would have beaten him black and blue just for that hateful nickname.

Men, be fierce!