Chapter 215: Unexpected Conversation

"I, I don't know, he never told me..." Wu Zhekun stood up, his words stumbling.

He seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further with Lu Cheng, turned, walked two steps, then paused.

"My advice is you should set clear boundaries with Lin Qingyan as soon as possible, and don't even think about investigating this—the Qin Family isn't easy to deal with."

After Wu Zhekun finished speaking, he walked straight to the other side of the carriage and sat down.

Outside, the railway emitted a clank, accompanied by the howling cold wind.

Lu Cheng sat there in silence; he had only been asking casually, bored on the train, but seeing Wu Zhekun's strong reaction made it clear he was deliberately hiding something, and it made Lu Cheng realize the matter wasn't that simple.

Moreover, Wu Zhekun ended with "the Qin Family isn't easy to deal with"; could the case actually involve the Qin Family?

Seeing Wu Zhekun apparently trying to avoid the topic, Lu Cheng knew further probing would get him nowhere.

After about five or six hours of travel, the soldiers lost their initial excitement, curled up, and dozed off with their eyes half‑closed.

Lu Cheng went to the locomotive, took out locally made Xiangshan brand cigarettes from the Capital City, and handed out a single one to each person.

"Master Liu, how many days will it take to reach Manzhouli?"

Liu Baoquan, the train's driver, while operating the controls and holding a cigarette, replied, "We just set out, can't say for sure; if nothing goes wrong, it'll still take three to four days."

The Border Frontline gave a deadline of five days; the supplies must be delivered safely within that period.

Because military supplies are no trivial matter, any delay that prevents timely delivery equates to postponing military operations, and in severe cases constitutes the crime of delaying a military action.

So, despite the escort seeming glorious, that glory is essentially exchanged for one's head.

Before arriving, Lei Zhan Ge explicitly explained the seriousness of the situation; whether Lu Cheng accepted the mission was entirely his own choice.

Lu Cheng knew this was an opportunity Lei Zhan Ge had secured for him; if he refused, Lei Zhan Ge would surely be disappointed.

So Lu Cheng accepted without hesitation; such glorious chances are rare, and many people secretly vie for them.

Lei Zhan Ge was very pleased that Lu Cheng could take the task, showing he had chosen the right person.

However, the military is no joking matter; Lei Zhan Ge had Lu Cheng sign a military order guaranteeing on‑time delivery, or face military punishment.

With plenty of time, Lu Cheng relaxed, grabbed an iron shovel nearby, and together with a few coal‑adding workers, carried coal into the furnace.

Liu Baoquan saw and said, "Hey, Group Leader Lu, how can you do this work? Just sit and rest."

"No problem, Master Liu, this damned cold makes everyone shiver; moving around a bit will warm us up. Besides, I've dreamed of being a train driver since I was a kid, and this rare chance lets me learn from you—coal‑adding starts from the ground up."

Liu Baoquan laughed, "Group Leader Lu does sound nice, but the Train Police have the better job. Among the eight railway sections, our Jiwu Section is the hardest—dirty, tiring, and hot. In winter it's tolerable, but in summer the furnace side can reach over sixty degrees; you'd fry to death."

Lu Cheng added another shovelful of coal and said casually, "But your wages are high, and your status and benefits are high too."

"Ha ha, that's true."

Liu Baoquan, already an eighth‑grade master craftsman, is experienced and highly skilled, earning a monthly salary of 130 yuan.

With railway travel allowances calculated hourly, his monthly earnings reach about 150 to 200 yuan, and he even gets priority for room assignments.

Even Liu Jian'an alone, despite having no employed family members, can support his whole household comfortably.

As evening approached, the western sunset slipped behind the mountains, and with night slowly descending, the train roared as if diving into the mouth of a black beast.

Lu Cheng dropped the iron shovel, used the towel around his neck to wipe sweat, feeling much more refreshed; working by the furnace was indeed dirty, and the sweat‑soaked towel turned black.

"Master Liu, I'll go to the rear carriage to fetch dry rations for you; we'll take turns eating."

Liu Baoquan also knew that transporting military supplies was no trivial matter, especially since time was precious, and even meal time had to be saved.

So the dry rations consisted of convenient canned food and fried noodles; the fried noodles aren't the usual strands but rather salted flour that's been fried.

The cans were placed beside the furnace to warm up, and when ready, Lu Cheng had Liu Jian'an and the others distribute them to the big group.

As for the five fresh recruits who rode along, their meals weren't provided by the railway; they each brought their own dry rations.

Seeing them gnawing icy buns, Liu Baoquan felt a pang of conscience and gave each a meat can.

Lu Cheng tossed a heated meat can to Wu Zhekun, who was still chewing a bun.

Wu Zhekun froze for a moment, "I'm not asking for special treatment; you take it back, I won't eat it."

Lu Cheng laughed, "You've got some ambition, but this isn't special treatment—consider it a gift from your senior uncle; at worst I just eat one less portion."

Hearing that, Wu Zhekun stopped being polite, ate it without hesitation, since it was essentially Lu Cheng's share.

With meat cans available, everyone's buns tasted much better.

Lu Cheng sat beside them, grabbed a handful of fried noodles, chewed a couple of bites but couldn't swallow—they were too dry, so he drank water to wash them down.

"Haodazi, why are you doing this? Leaving a good life at home to endure hardship on the Border Frontline—there's no meat can there, and you could still get off now."

Wu Zhekun cast a sidelong glance, "My father said a true man must achieve greatness; it's not just about enduring hardship. If the country needs me to sacrifice my life, I won't even blink."

Lu Cheng felt moved; even in this era, young people still have ideals and ambitions.

After the meal, Lu Cheng went to the locomotive, looked around, found nothing, and returned to the carriage to sleep.

Since most of the supplies were warm‑clothing items, there was no need to worry about temperature at night; several cotton quilts were spread over them, warm and comfortable.

Listening to the wheels clanking on the iron rail outside—"clank, clank"—everyone drifted into a drowsy sleep.

Somewhere in the late night, the train emitted a sudden screech of emergency braking.

Lu Cheng, having drunk a lot of water while eating fried noodles, suddenly needed to urinate.

Standing at the junction with the locomotive, Lu Cheng urinated onto the rail below while shouting, "Master Liu, why has the train slowed down?"

"Group Leader Lu, we just got a dispatch from the forward traffic section saying a passenger train will pass the junction in about an hour; we need to slow down to let it through."

Lu Cheng pulled up his trousers, shook them, and asked, "With this yielding, how long before we can resume normal speed?"

"Probably a little over two hours."

With an old‑style steam locomotive, you can't just accelerate instantly; a lot of preparation is required. Since this shipment of military supplies must stay ahead every second, ample time must be reserved to handle sudden emergencies—who knows if a natural disaster might occur later.

Lu Cheng immediately decided, "Master Liu, don't slow down."

"Ah, that's impossible! If we don't slow, when we reach the junction the two trains will collide."

Lu Cheng persisted, "You go ahead, I'll handle the radio coordination."

Liu Baoquan was skeptical, wondering if a junior Train Police officer could coordinate everything, unaware that Lu Cheng possessed the Imperial Sword.