Even though it was just daybreak, when Zhang Tie walked out of the airport, he had found that it had long been boisterous outside the airport.
This airport was over 20 miles away from Dongyang City, which was a long distance away from Dongyang City. Previously, this place was a barren saline-alkali land. However, now, a small town had formed around this airport.
There were two boisterous commercial streets outside the airport, on which there were numerous taverns and shops. As the sun rose, these taverns and shops had started to sell breakfast.
Some taxis had been waiting in the parking lot outside the airport. Zhang Tie found that 2/3 of them were traditional coal-fired steam vehicles; 1/3 were fiery-oil taxis. However, these taxis also used dual-drive engines with smaller displacement than military SUVs. Over the past 2 years, as Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory introduced more and more dual-drive engines of different types and displacements, these small-displacement dual-drive engines were changing the lives of commoners in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory.
In addition to these ordinary cars, many engines had even been installed in agricultural machinery in the fields, such as combine harvesters and multi-purpose tractors. After the use of dual-drive engines, the work efficiency had been greatly increased, and the labor efficiency in the fields had been greatly improved.
"Hum …" With a roar, a two-wheeled motorcycle rushed out of the exit of the underground parking lot of the airport behind Zhang Tie. The rider wore a helmet similar to that of a pilot and a leather jacket.
The roar of the motorcycle attracted the attention of many people on the street. The rider enjoyed this feeling very much as he stepped on the accelerator and disappeared in the street.
With the introduction of dual-drive engines, motorcycles, which Zhang Tie had only read about in the documents before the Catastrophe, reappeared. Additionally, they became more and more popular. Before fiery oil came into being, this kind of traffic tool could barely be seen on the streets due to the irreconcilable contradiction between the volume of its engine, its driving force and its manipulation. Occasionally, some factories or mechanics would produce some motorcycles with two wheels. However, those motorcycles were as ugly as monsters. As a result, their driving convenience, safety and comfort were greatly reduced.
Watching those motorcycles and those Fiery-Oil vehicles that could be used as taxis, Zhang Tie had a weird feeling which he couldn't even identify.
Finally, Zhang Tie revealed a smile as he shook his head and boarded a common steam taxi...
…
"Ahh, the road ahead is being repaired. My car couldn't pass it. I could only send you here …" It only took the taxi more than half an hour to arrive at a place.
The road in front of this place was under construction. There were a lot of construction materials and stones piled up on the roadside, making it difficult for taxis to pass through. At daybreak, there were already many people working in full swing on the roadside. Amidst the rising dust, a few camel machines were making earth-shattering noises as they crushed those stones …
"Alright, just drop me off here. I'll walk the rest by myself …"
"If you want to go to God's Favor Town, it's still 1 or 2 miles away from here. It's not easy on the way. Additionally, there's no vehicle on the way. When I came here last time, it was just an unpaved road. I'm afraid that it would take a few more days to build it into a highway …" The driver reminded Zhang Tie kindly.
"Master, I'll give you a gold coin. Wait for me here. When I come back, you can send me back to the airport!"
"Ah, you're not joking with me again, are you?" The taxi driver watched Zhang Tie with a dubious look, "Even if you want me to wait here for one day, you don't need to pay me 10 silver coins. If you give me a gold coin and let me wait here like an idiot, if you run away, I won't have any gold coin at all. Additionally, I have to pay the toll for this trip. If that happens, my business will be delayed. Do you think I'm stupid … "
Zhang Tie became slightly stunned. Closely after that, he revealed a smile as he took out a gold coin and gave it to the taxi driver, "I'll pay you the gold coin first. Just wait for me here. If I don't come back in the evening, you can leave first!"
After weighing the gold coin, the taxi driver's dubious look turned into a brilliant smile, "Fine, I will wait for you here. I can even wait for you for one week, not to mention one day …"
After giving the driver a gold coin, Zhang Tie got off the taxi. The driver then turned the taxi around and parked it under the shade of a tree on the roadside.
…
Zhang Tie got off the taxi in a newly-built farmstead and town over 60 km away from Dongyang City.
Although vehicles couldn't pass it, people could easily pass it. Zhang Tie didn't feel that this road was dirty and messy. Therefore, he walked towards afar along the drainage ditch which was made of stones and cement.
By the roadside were patches of farmland. It was April, and the farmland was delightfully green. A field of beans was growing delightfully. At this moment, the sky had completely brightened, and there were people coming to work in the fields one after another.
Just like in the fields, the road was filled with workers repairing the road. These workers lived in tents on the roadside. Apart from children, there were men, women, old, and young. Although the conditions of the accommodation were not good, everyone's morale was very high when they were working. Their eyes were filled with the light of hope, and their faces were filled with joyful smiles. Some people even sang the work song. The sound of the song rose and fell, attracting the surrounding people to respond.
"Come on, everybody …"
"Heyo … heyo …"
"Come on, let's fix the road …"
"Heyo … heyo …"
"Fix this road …"
"Heyo … heyo …"
"Every family has a bright future …"
"Heyo … heyo …"
The tone of the song was passionate with the special rhythm of local Hua dialect, which was very infectious. It was not the accent of Youzhou Province or Northeast Military Region; instead, it was the accent of western provinces and prefectures in Taixia Country.
On the way here, Zhang Tie didn't see anyone slacking off. Everybody was working happily in laughter and singing. Perhaps only these laborers could truly feel how happy and hard-won it was for a person to work and create his own homeland by hand.
In the eyes of others, such a scene might be interesting; however, in Zhang Tie's eyes, he felt pretty satisfied. The rough and straightforward labor chant was like the sound of nature in Zhang Tie's ears …
(To be continued.)
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