Chapter 1050 - Kind And Benevolent (1/2)
Although it would take 23 hours for Ren Xiaosu's steam locomotive to travel from the Zhou Consortium to the Northwest, he had to make many rest stops along the way. Therefore, the actual journey would take about a day and a half.
After all, no one could get any rest as there were no sleeper cars attached to the steam locomotive. Everyone just stood and squeezed together in the carriages. They could not even make their way to the toilets to relieve themselves. As such, he had to set up camp and let everyone take a break for a few hours.
However, no one complained about the cramped space within the carriages or the fatigue they experienced during the journey. They were all harboring hopes of leading a stable life once they got to the Northwest.
At that time, they would have food to eat and work to do. They also would not have to worry about getting dragged into the war for the time being.
Everyone knew there would be a war between the Wang Consortium and the Zhou Consortium in the near term, so it was definitely a blessing to be able to leave that place quickly.
Besides, the Northwest and the Southwest were relatively stable for the time being. The refugees also heard that the headquarters of the Hope Media had been moved to the Northwest.
Before leaving, Ren Xiaosu promised them they would be given food when they arrived in the Northwest. No one was worried he would go back on his word either. Perhaps Ren Xiaosu himself did not expect he would have such a good reputation in the Central Plains.
Actually, Ren Xiaosu had also thought about piling on more refugees on the outside of the train so he could transport more of them at once. But he was really worried those people would get blown away by the strong winds as the steam locomotive traveled at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour.
After a day and a half, the steam locomotive arrived outside of Stronghold 144 in the Northwest. Wang Yuexi had already organized the stronghold's staff to process the household registration for the new residents, with many banners flying in the open area.
”Welcome to the Northwest, fellow Northwesterners!”
”Tender for farmland: What you reap is yours to keep.”
”Welcome to our big family in the Northwest!”
The stronghold employees waited outside of the steam locomotive and greeted every refugee who disembarked with a smile, ”Welcome to the Northwest. We'll be family from now on.”
The aroma of roasted and fried sweet potatoes was lingering in town. All of the refugees could not help swallowing their saliva.
Although every one of the steam locomotive's carriages had doors, Ren Xiaosu did not open all of them. Instead, he had the refugees line up and disembark from the first carriage. Then he just waited outside that door and shook hands with everyone in a friendly manner.
Ren Xiaosu smiled amiably as he shook hands with everyone. ”All y'all're safe now. Hurry up and get registered. Once you're done, we'll be one family, and all y'all will have potatoes to eat!”
The refugees were deeply moved and thought the future commander of the Northwest was just as upright, kind, benevolent, excellent, and affable as the rumors had said.
”Thank you, Future Commander!”
”Thank you so much, Future Commander!”
”Future Commander, I love you!”
Serious, Ren Xiaosu corrected, ”Don't love me, just thank me.”
The refugees lined up one by one to disembark from the train. Just the process of disembarking the train lasted for several hours, but Ren Xiaosu still shook hands with everyone nonstop. The sight was simply too touching.
Off to the side, Wang Yuexi sighed emotionally and said, ”Sure enough, Future Commander is kind. These refugees must be a little terrified after arriving in the Northwest. Future Commander is helping alleviate their fears, and he can only achieve that by greeting them with the utmost enthusiasm! Future Commander has to shake hands with more than 6,000 people. If it were y'all, would you have this patience? Only Future Commander can do that!”