The train rumbled past at high speed across the fields.
Lu Ming was lying on the soft big bed. He just took a nap and looked at his watch. It was already past eleven o'clock.
I didn't sleep last night. At 8 o'clock this morning, I took the train from Donghai Central Station. The starting point is Donghai Central Station and the end point is Nicolo.
Nicolo is one of the largest city-states in the Western Free Cities Alliance.
It is also the seat of the City-State Alliance Parliament.
A loose alliance of hundreds of free city-states joined the empire as a whole and became one of the five federations of the empire.
But in reality, this alliance was extremely loose, with many conflicts and constant wars between city-states.
The alliance headquarters is located in Nicola.
The main symbol of the alliance's existence is the Alliance Parliament.
Regardless of size, each city-state has a representative as a member of the alliance. There is no difference between large city-states and small city-states. In the parliament, each has only one representative and one vote. It seems fair, but it makes it impossible for this alliance parliament to resolve any conflicts between city-states. It is just a symbolic existence and a place for verbal battles with hostile city-states.
This train from Donghai can go directly to Nicola City.
However, Nicolo City is located in the northeast of the Western Regions. From Nicolo City to Bat City, there are more than two thousand miles of distance, of which more than a thousand miles are connected by railways, and the rest are garbage roads and dirt roads. Especially in Bat City and the nearby city-states, the main means of transportation is horse-drawn carriages.
However, due to the discovery of the super-large oil field, Fila Petroleum has already planned to connect Bat City to the Western Region railway network.
There are not many railways in the Western Regions, just two main lines, east-west and north-south. Once Bat City joins the railway network, the number of merchants coming here to pan for gold will inevitably increase explosively.
Therefore, if the Beiguan Merchants Group can gain an advantage in this area today, it will have a promising future.
However, there are not many business people from Beiguan participating in this inspection team. There are only more than 20 business representatives in the economic and trade delegation, and they only represent 11 companies and individuals, some of whom may not have any connections.
Lu Ming paid more attention to these people. Of course, unwillingness to participate in this inspection activity does not mean incompetence, or even that they lack pioneering spirit. It is closely related to the company's own goals and strategies. On the contrary, those who actively explore may be the company itself that is heavily in debt and is looking for a life-saving straw.
You can't generalize anything.
The members of the trade delegation and the accompanying staff of the City Hall occupied almost the entire carriage No. 15, which, together with carriage No. 14, were first-class carriages.
There were also 200 armed personnel from the Joint Matrix, in addition to weapons, supplies, vehicles, etc., several additional carriages, and three helicopters, which were also reinforced on the roofs of the additional carriages.
The carriage where Lu Ming was located was also an additional carriage.
At this moment, lying on the soft big bed, Lu Ming looked at the scenery outside the window rapidly receding.
Large glass windows provide a clear view of the rural scenery outside.
Lu Ming sighed inwardly, capitalism is so comfortable.
In the same period of my previous life, my country would have no technical problems in making such super-luxury carriages. This is not hard-core technology, but soft decoration. But even the special trains for top leaders would not be made like this, right? After all, we have to pay attention to the impact and not be too extravagant.
In the East China Sea, as long as you are rich enough, you can enjoy things that ordinary people can't even imagine.
The additional carriage is a luxurious sightseeing family carriage.
In fact, it is the kind suitable for aristocratic families traveling with many servants.
It is an upgraded version of the luxury soft sleeper compartment.
The Empire Standard luxury soft sleeper carriage is basically composed of 8 independent compartments, with only 16 berths in the entire carriage. Each high-end compartment is a double room with upper and lower berths, with a separate bathroom, and is equipped with a sofa, coffee table, phonograph, radio, safe, etc.
The luxury sightseeing family carriage consists of a master bedroom and four independent private rooms. The four independent private rooms, like the luxury soft sleeper carriage, are double rooms equipped with separate bathrooms, sofas, coffee tables, phonographs, etc.
The master bedroom is the size of four independent private rooms combined and occupies half of the carriage.
There is a large luxurious bedroom and observation deck, a bathroom with a bathtub, and a reception room with a bar outside. It can be regarded as a luxury hotel suite on a train.
This kind of luxury sightseeing car is not a regular carriage on the train. It is only available at the Donghai Central Railway Station. For the departing train that meets the mileage standard, usually more than 1,000 kilometers, a sky-high fee will be charged to add it for passengers.
The journey from Donghai to Nicolo is more than 10,000 miles, and the cost of adding this luxury sightseeing carriage is 5,000 yuan.
If a soft sleeper is used for 16 people, the average cost is 300 yuan per person.
The first-class carriage ticket from Donghai to Nicolo costs only 50 yuan per person.
The third-class carriage ticket price is 9 yuan.
However, this luxurious sightseeing car is indeed comfortable.
Lying on the high and soft snow-white bed, looking at the scenery passing by outside the window, the green fields, the flowing water under the distant bridge, and the vague outline of the village, it is really enjoyable.
"Where is the next stop..." Lu Ming asked lazily.
"Master, you're awake! The next stop is Vogis." A tender voice came from outside, and I didn't know if it was Luo Yi or Luo Er.
In the Lu Mansion on Hepu Road, the two of them were the chief servants responsible for serving him, but in reality, ever since he bought these slaves, the number of times he met them was limited, and when he returned home, they were just background boards, and he never even looked at them straight in the eye.
However, this time when he went to the Western Regions, he took them both with him at Hanzhu's persuasion. After all, they were ready-made translators who knew a little about the local customs and practices.
Especially when I heard from Hanzhu that Luo Yi had relatives in the Bat City-State.
The Tidra people are a large ethnic group in the Western Regions, and they have settlements in many city-states.
The hundreds of city-states in the Western Regions actually did not speak the same language, but people of different races in the city-states could barely communicate with each other. The differences between their languages were similar to the various dialects of the same language, except that some of these dialects were extremely different.
"Master, can we help you get dressed and wash?" asked a tender voice outside.
"No, I'm too lazy to move." Lu Ming responded, and then said: "If you are hungry, you and Uncle Sun and Dahei can make something to eat."
The additional carriage is in the last section and is not connected to the other carriages, so you cannot go to the restaurant during the journey. Fortunately, there is a separate kitchen where you can cook your own meals.
In the carriage, besides Luo Yi and Luo Er, there were also Sun Bo and four black slaves guarding the house.
The train rattled and swayed slightly in its unique rhythm. I looked at the scenery outside and lay on the soft big bed. Gradually, I felt tired and fell into sleep.
…
At around eight o'clock in the evening, the train stopped in Raccoon City and would stay there for about an hour. This was a large station, the capital of Hamilton State, and a transportation hub for the midwest region. The locomotive also needed maintenance.
Lu Ming got off the train but did not leave the station. He went to the coffee shop in the row of shops on the platform. He was accompanied by Sherlock, Wen Liangyu and the young boss of Wangji Gold Industry. His surname was Wang and his name was Wang Jinfei. He was in his thirties and was very steady. Many important matters of Wangji had been decided by him.
Sherlock is the leader of this economic and trade delegation and Lu Ming is the deputy leader.
After all, Sherlock is older and has much more experience than Lu Ming.
However, after Gao Wangshi's commotion at the meeting yesterday, it was clear who had set up this group.
Four people sat by the window in the coffee shop, drinking coffee and chatting.
Wen Liangyu's status in the Beiguan business community is no longer the same as it was a year ago. His most impressive title now is no longer the union chairman, but the boss of Wen's Real Estate Company. One of the several construction sites near the Freedom Building belongs to him.
Wang Jinfei was also introduced to this economic and trade delegation by Wen Liangyu. Wang Jinfei called Wen Liangyu "Uncle Wen", Sherlock "Uncle Sherlock", and Lu Ming "Uncle Lu", with an extremely respectful attitude.
Lu Ming has become accustomed to young people treating him as their elders, because he is usually on the same level as their elders. The Zhongzhou people's tradition attaches great importance to the order of generations, so it is natural for him to be older.
According to seniority, since he and Wen Liangyu are on equal terms, it is only natural for Wang Jinfei to call him "uncle".
"Jin Fei, Jin Fei..., your name doesn't seem right, right?" Sherlock had no scruples when talking to these small businessmen, and asked with a frown.
Wang Jinfei smiled and said, "Yes, when my father named me, my family had not yet started the gold business. In fact, I have changed my name, but my friends and my fourth uncle still remember my name."
"Oh, what name did you change it to?" Sherlock asked.
When Wang Jinfei told Sherlock the changed name, he smiled and said it was a good name.
Lu Ming was drinking coffee and listening to these boring talks. He felt a little bored and asked Wen Liangyu, "Fourth brother, has Brother Liu talked to you on the phone since the New Year?"
Wen Liangyu smiled bitterly: "He is almost an immortal now, his thought realm is too high, I have no topics to talk about with him."
Lu Ming nodded. "I still don't know what's going on. I can only go there and see. The regional representative office said that they have sent a fax to the mayor of Bat City to inquire about this matter. Logically, a small public security station would not dare to mess around. But I heard that some mayors of the city-states in the Western Regions can't control the people below at all. They are just decorations. I don't know if this is the case in Bat City."
Wen Liangyu also sighed, "It's hard to tell. Like you said, let's see when we get to the land."
Outside, there was a sudden commotion and many people ran towards one place. Some passengers who were waiting for the bus threw their suitcases aside and left them there without a care.
Sherlock's officer, who was standing at the entrance of the coffee shop, walked in quickly. He was also full of excitement, "It's Miss Nicole! Miss Nicole is at the station!"
Sherlock frowned, "A movie star, what's the big deal!" He stood up and said, "Let's go and have a look."
Wen Liangyu was stunned for a moment, shook her head helplessly, and said to Lu Ming: "Let's go and take a look."
Wang Jinfei on the side was also eager to try, but seeing that his two uncles had not moved yet, he did not want to rush out like a headless fly.
"Well, let's go take a look!" Lu Ming stood up. He hadn't seen Nicole for a long time. Recently, to make way for the big production of Reno Pictures, her crew had a break. They had been working intensively for more than half a year. Even if they made a lot of money, it was not good to always be on this tightrope. This could also be regarded as giving them some time to recuperate and recharge. It seemed that Nicole was also traveling around.
Logically, when traveling, she would definitely wear sunglasses and a mask to cover her face, but I don't know how her whereabouts were exposed.
Lu Ming was pondering, and when he came out of the coffee shop, he saw a crowd of people gathered there, a sea of black.
Shaking his head, he said, "Okay, I'm going back to the carriage. I won't squeeze into this."
Wen Liangyu smiled and said, "I'll walk around a bit, see you at the next stop!"