The streetcar hummed as it traveled through the stronghold. It wasn't that Ren Xiaosu had never taken a streetcar before, but this was his first time seeing such a "bus."
Everyone only needed to pay 20 cents into the box at the entrance when they got on the streetcar, and they would be able to ride it far away. It wouldn't even be a problem for them to ride it from the starting station to the final station.
Wang Fugui had heard of the streetcar a long time ago. After all, when he interacted with the people in the stronghold in the past, he would always talk about the novelty of the stronghold.
So when Ren Xiaosu said he wanted to tour the stronghold, Wang Fugui said the streetcar was the most convenient and cost-effective mode of transportation.
"Bro." Yan Liuyuan leaned against the window and said, "The people in the stronghold definitely don't have to worry about such things. Life is so convenient and safe. All you have to do is do some easy work in the stronghold, and you can enjoy a life that's hundreds of times better than a refugee's."
"How can people not have troubles?" Ren Xiaosu sat next to him and said with a smile, "Even Luo Lan will have troubles. These things won't decrease with the increase in material wealth."
"That's true." Yan Liuyuan nodded. "Then do you think there's a kind of person in this world who doesn't have any troubles at all?"
Ren Xiaosu said, "Yes, dead people."
Yan Liuyuan slowly turned around and looked at Ren Xiaosu. "Bro, do you think that's appropriate on such a festive day?"
"Even a fool like Chen Wudi has troubles." Ren Xiaosu sighed. At this moment, Chen Wudi was sitting in the last row, and his face was still swollen. No one knew where this fellow had gone yesterday and who had beaten him up so badly.
On both sides of the streets of this stronghold city, there were stalls selling soup dumplings, tofu pudding, and the like. There were also stalls selling hardware and miscellaneous goods. It was a dazzling lineup.
There were pedestrians coming and going on the sidewalks beside the street. Occasionally, there would be people riding bicycles speeding down the street.
Ren Xiaosu asked, "How much does a bicycle cost in the stronghold? I feel like it's quite convenient to use it as a means of transportation."
In the past, there was also a "squire" in town who bought a bicycle that was available in the stronghold. However, it was stolen that very night. In order to escape the squire's pursuit, the thief rode the bicycle to another stronghold.
Bicycles were considered a luxury in town, the kind that could not be bought even if one wanted to.
"I'll go ask around in the afternoon." Wang Fugui said, "It shouldn't be cheap. After all, there's such a shortage of resources right now. Look at the clothes of those people riding on bikes. They're quite well-dressed, so it looks like they're relatively rich in the stronghold."
"I should have asked Jiang Wu more along the way." Ren Xiaosu lamented. They had never been to the stronghold before, but Jiang Wu had grown up in the stronghold.
However, Jiang Wu had already gone back to school to report for duty as a teacher. She should also be at 13th High School in the stronghold.
…
Along the way, Ren Xiaosu heard someone next to him discussing something. "Did you hear? Stronghold 113 has been abandoned. I heard that the earthquake that caused the stronghold to collapse, and even the people from the Kyung Clan have fled to our stronghold."
"Are you serious?" Someone said in surprise, "The radio news didn't mention anything about this."
"They definitely won't tell you about it on the radio." That person said with a smile, "But I have a friend who has a working relationship with the Kyung Clan. He told me that the big shots of the Kyung Clan arrived at our stronghold yesterday. He said they even brought a few dozen refugees with them."
"Refugees?" The other person said in surprise, "What are the refugees doing in the stronghold instead of working hard outside?"
Ren Xiaosu looked at them but did not say anything. Someone else said, "Who knows? I wonder if they'll bring in diseases, bacteria, and pollution from the outside."
"Shh, look at those people behind us. I think they're those refugees!" someone said in surprise.
With this reminder, the other people on the tram turned around and looked at them. The more they looked at them, the more they felt that Ren Xiaosu and the others might really be refugees.
Then Yan Liuyuan was surprised to see all of them get off the tram at the next stop.
In just one stop, they were the only ones left on the tram. If the driver did not have to drive, Yan Liuyuan felt that he would have gotten off the tram already!
Ren Xiaosu looked at the six of them. They had all changed into clean clothes today, and everyone had also taken a bath. Their faces and bodies were no longer dirty.
But the problem was that there was a huge difference in the style of clothes that refugees could buy, or the skin of refugees that had been exposed to the sun, in the first place.
"Bro," Yan Liuyuan said in a low voice, "I feel like the people in the stronghold are not friendly at all."
None of the stronghold residents even came to ask about it. They only guessed that they were refugees and avoided them like the plague.
This was because they might be carrying germs from the outside. The stronghold had taught them since they were young that the reason refugees could not enter the stronghold was because they had been "contaminated."
Ren Xiaosu did not answer. He just said calmly, "Sister Xiaoyu, go and buy two new sets of clothes for each of us tomorrow. We'll all change into our new clothes and look more like the stronghold residents."
"I'm not wearing it," Yan Liuyuan said in a low voice. It was as though he would be bowing to the stronghold residents if he wore the new clothes.
Ren Xiaosu said, "Whether it's in the wilderness or in the stronghold, you have to integrate and understand the environment to survive. Only then will you have the ability to resist. When you can't change your environment, you have to learn how to disguise yourself first."
When Wang Fugui heard this, he was stunned. He did not expect Ren Xiaosu to apply his wilderness survival theory to the stronghold. Was he treating the stronghold like the wilderness?
Ren Xiaosu continued, "We might have to leave the stronghold one day. Everyone, be prepared."
Yan Liuyuan's eyes lit up when he heard this. As someone who knew Ren Xiaosu the best, he could tell that Ren Xiaosu was already thinking of leaving!
Meanwhile, Wang Fugui said with a smile, "Why don't we leave tomorrow? For some reason, I always feel that life in town is more comfortable."
"There's no hurry." Ren Xiaosu shook his head and said, "We can't get out of here right now anyway. We'll talk about it when I find an opportunity."
At this moment, the bus arrived at the terminal. Ren Xiaosu and the others were planning to take the bus back the way they came. But at this moment, they saw many stand-alone houses further ahead of the terminal with small courtyards.
From afar, this area did not seem small, but it was much more secluded compared to other places.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu stopped the streetcar driver and asked, "What is this place?"
"This is the wealthy area of our stronghold." The driver said, "Only the rich and powerful can live here. There are no streetcars here because the people who live here all have their own cars."
As he spoke, the driver shrank back as he was afraid of getting too close to Ren Xiaosu.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
