Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 793 Destiny
Tuoba Jing left, and Xia Lin didn't go to see him off because he was confined to the hospital and couldn't leave, but he still knew that Tuoba Jing was gone.

Xia Lin wasn't sure what Emperor Jingtai was going to do when he returned, but he would most likely do something, since the days Xia Lin was unconscious were truly terrifying.

Perhaps Tuoba Jing was an emperor lacking political wisdom and a foolish father, but he was still the emperor of a legitimate dynasty, and all his decisions would have a profound impact on the future. All Xia Lin could do was hope that he could land safely in this hard landing and not cause any major disasters.

Regardless of the circumstances, Xia Lin has achieved all three virtues this time: loyalty, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. He wielded great power without usurping the throne, demonstrating loyalty; though his hands were stained with blood, he did not instigate a large-scale war, thus ensuring peace for the world, demonstrating propriety; he secured all the resources in the east without resorting to war and even asked for gratitude, demonstrating wisdom; he kept the late emperor's promise to save the Wei dynasty from collapse, demonstrating trustworthiness; and even though he had brought the powerful families that held the power of the pen to such a state, he was still highly regarded among the common people and among many scholars.

In particular, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he left a few places where the old system was still followed. After seeing the miserable state of those places, people naturally understood who their enemy was. This completely kicked the so-called tradition of aristocratic rule into the ditch.

If Xia Lin were to die now, his historical reputation would reach an unprecedented level, and he might even be recorded in the annals alongside Xiang Yu.

But unfortunately he didn't die. Since he's still alive, we should keep going.

However, Xia Lin is still young, and at around thirty years old, he is in the prime of his life and is recovering quite well. Although he will definitely have to stay home for a hundred days, he should be able to get out of bed and do some simple exercises in about ten days.

Looking at her newborn daughter through the wall, Douyazi's genes for having daughters are really good; it's basically like ruining the first account and then having a new one immediately.

"Sir, these are pastries that Xiao Wu made for you."

That day, Xiao Wu and his eldest son came to visit him. Although they were still separated by the iron fence, at least they could see each other.

"No one at school is bullying you anymore, right?"

Xia Lin ate her pastries in small bites, enjoying the sunset from her wheelchair, while Li Zhi quickly interjected, "Second Senior Brother is really powerful now; no one dares to bully Sister Xiao Wu anymore."

"Okay, that's good then." Xia Lin yawned. "I've been locked up here these past few days, it's been really awful. By the way, tell me about any interesting news outside."

The two children chattered excitedly about the interesting things that had happened outside recently. Although Xia Lin didn't think much of it, seeing the children happy made her very content.

Not long after they left, Zhang Jianzhi arrived. Because he was in a different class, he got out of school a little later than the other two. After he arrived, he began to report to Xia Lin on the construction progress of the closed test site.

These days repeat themselves. His body has recovered quite a bit, but he is still relatively weak. After all, this is the first time he has truly walked through the gates of hell. It is understandable that they do not let him out.

As autumn gradually arrived, when the forests were ablaze with color, the train whistles would normally be wailing loudly. But he waited and waited every day, like someone longing for a lover, yet there was still no news.

He didn't blame the students. After all, for them, building a train was a process of going from zero to one. Even with blueprints in front of them, it was difficult for them to build the corresponding things. It was inevitable that the progress would be slower. He just hoped that no one would get injured during this period.

"Don't think too much these days, just focus on getting better. Let me tell you, this time you're not going anywhere."

There are probably no more than ten people in the world who can talk to Xia Lin like that. Eight of them are elders, and the rest are only Dong Niang and Tang Bao'er.

Dongniang never talks so much nonsense, so it's really hard to guess who the person in front of her is.

"These days have been so boring here," Xia Lin said, lying in her hospital bed. "I really want to get out."

Tang Bao'er sneered, "There's no way you can get out. You'll just stay here obediently for a hundred days. I've already told Dong Niang that if you try to escape, she'll prick you with needles."

"I'm so lonely, sister. I've never been this useless in all these years, I just can't stay still."

Although Tang Bao'er is already thirty-three or thirty-four years old, she is truly as radiant as an ageless goddess. She is not much different from when I met her in Luoyang. On the contrary, she has a more domineering temperament. Perhaps it is because she is in charge of a large group. She is now like a fully bloomed Luoyang flower of wealth and honor, gorgeous and grand.

As he spoke, Xia Lin's hands became restless. After all, he could only secretly touch her when Dong Niang came to give him acupuncture, but he would usually suffer some physical pain. Dong Niang would not be ruthless, but she would never let him off easily. However, he had no such concerns in front of Tang Bao'er.

"Stop fooling around." Although Tang Bao'er complained, she didn't say anything more: "You're already like this, why are you still making a fuss?"

"Let me tell you, don't look down on me. I'm fully recovered. These 100 days are to see if I'll have any follow-up infections or complications. After all, sepsis can be really deadly. But I think I'm definitely fine now. Why don't you give it a try?"

Tang Bao'er gave him a particularly charming look, then gently tucked her hair behind her ear: "Have you washed it?"

"I just finished washing it, didn't I?"

It has to be said that Tang Bao'er is really amazing. Just standing there, she is a person with an extremely high level of sex appeal. Moreover, according to Xia Lin's speculation, there is a very high probability that she was Yang Yuhuan's maternal grandmother in the official history. Her identity information, location, and the people around her have all been matched.

Rounding up, this is practically Yang Guifei! If Xia Lin weren't so career-driven, he would have long since stopped attending court and ignored the chaos outside. He could have easily become the biggest and strongest aristocratic family, or even reversed the situation and restored the glory of the aristocratic families of the Jin Dynasty, only replacing the Wang and Ma families sharing the world with Xia ruling the Central Plains.

I'll bring you more food tomorrow.

Anyway, after everything was mostly finished, Tang Bao'er was clearly very satisfied. Her smile was warm, and she walked with a charming air.

Xia Lin leaned against the hospital bed and lit a cigarette: "You don't have to come every day. Young people should be more restrained."

However, that was just empty talk. For the next month, either Tang Bao'er or the Princess came. In any case, they didn't intend to let Xia Lin live. However, in order to take care of his health, they did not act as wildly as before, which gave Xia Lin some breathing room.

Two months passed in this boring, leisurely, and absurd way. The Mid-Autumn Festival had just passed, and he seemed to have really gotten used to this life of being kept at home. At noon, he was enjoying the cool autumn breeze under a tree.

Suddenly, he heard a distant and long horn sound in the distance.

"Woo..."

This voice was like a beam of light piercing through the clouds, instantly waking him from his dream.

A ship's horn sounds!
It's a ship's horn!

This was their pre-arranged code: one long blast followed by three short blasts, signifying that everything was ready. Sure enough, after the long blast ended, three sharp flute notes followed. At that moment, Xia Lin felt as if summoned by destiny. Forget the gentle embrace of love and the cool autumn breeze; this was the clarion call of the era! The first ray of sunlight piercing through this endless dark age!
He didn't even have time to change his coat; he went straight to the three-meter-high wall in his hospital gown. Looking up at the towering wall, he took a deep breath and exhaled three times: "Please, Lord Guan, possess me!"

After saying that, he pushed off with both feet and jumped up in two quick leaps. Then, with a light flip, he went down from the other end.

He ran wildly along the road until his heart rate exceeded 180 before he calmed down a bit. Panting, he arrived at a donkey cart parked by the roadside waiting for passengers: "Quick, to the north of the city!"

The driver looked him up and down and said, "Sir, I need your money."

Xia Lin jumped into the car without bothering with any more words: "Let's go to the north of the city first!"

The driver didn't know what to say, after all, although he was dressed strangely, he seemed to be a man of extraordinary bearing. So he raised his whip and cracked it, and the donkey started running.

Upon arriving at the testing grounds in the north of the city, the donkey carts were not allowed to pass through the outer perimeter, but Xia Lin didn't waste any words and directly pointed to the position guarded by the soldiers: "Make way!"

When the soldiers saw that it was Lord Xia, they dared not stop him and quickly made way for him.

The donkey cart drove straight in, all the way to the core area of ​​the test site. When they got there, they saw that the place was shrouded in smoke, and the huge, gleaming front of the cart was spewing out steam. It was clear that they had reached the testing phase.

Xia Lin got off the donkey cart and said to a student, "Go and pay my bill."

The student was momentarily stunned and exclaimed, "Headmaster, you're still alive!?"

"Stop talking nonsense and pay up."

"Okay, okay... I'll go right away."

The locomotive stood there, exactly as Xia Lin had dreamt of it countless times in the dead of night. The tracks stretched into the distance, and a small group of people were around it, conducting final adjustments and maintenance.

They were all extremely excited to see Xia Lin return. At that moment, Xia Lin took a deep breath and jumped onto the hood of the car, sitting down in the driver's seat.

"Don't try to take it from me! I'll start."

Coal was shoveled into the furnace, and water was added to the boiler's water supply line. After three checks, the final step, closing the valve, was finally reached. This was the legendary clutch. The moment the lever was pulled down, success or failure would be decided.

Xia Lin was also very nervous at this moment. A flatbed was also attached to the back of the car, and it was full of participants in the project. It is no exaggeration to say that if the boiler exploded, less than 30% of the people from the chief engineer to the designers at all levels would survive. However, they all sat on it without hesitation. In addition to excitement, everyone's face showed more anticipation for the first pass data.

"Are you ready?"

"Alright!" A unified, youthful voice rang out, making Xia Lin feel as if he had been rejuvenated, filled with energy: "Hold on tight!"

The control lever was pulled down, the clutch engaged, and the sealed boiler began to drive the crankshaft, and this behemoth actually started moving.

Steam billowed forward with tremendous force, and Xia Lin's hands even trembled slightly.

His hands trembled, as did the ground beneath his feet.

They drove smoothly and slowly out of the test site, moving forward along the already laid tracks. The soldiers guarding the route heard the commotion from afar, but at first no one reacted. However, when they saw a huge, ferocious beast spewing thick fog and rushing towards them, even the best soldiers were almost scared out of their wits.

But the monster didn't eat people; instead, many people rode on its back, and it galloped along the railway tracks like a tamed wild horse.

Although it's not fast, not even as fast as a horse, what does it matter? It's moving, isn't it? As long as it can move, nothing else matters.

Of course, there are still problems, such as various strange noises and difficulties in operation, but these are not important. What is important is that it gets moving.

The locomotive continued forward, and countless people stopped along the way. Some were screaming in terror, while others simply stood still, closed their eyes, and waited to die.

But the excitement they felt when the train passed by them, and when they even saw their own children sitting on it, was indescribable.

"Headmaster, my hometown is just ahead. Could you slow down a bit? I told my parents that when I pass through my hometown on the day I succeed, I want them to come out and see me."

"Well, you've leaked the secret."

Xia Lin teased the train conductor next to him while sounding the horn. How many people would believe such a thing? It wouldn't reveal any secrets anyway; it was just the pride of a young man that he couldn't hide.

The car slowed down, and villagers who heard the horn ran out. The young boy next to Xia Lin leaned out and shouted, "Father! Mother! I'm here!"

Xia Lin could even hear screams from the crowd, but by then the train had already passed by. When she looked back, she saw that the boy next to her was already sobbing uncontrollably.

"What happened to your little finger?" Xia Lin asked softly.

"I was crushed by a steel mill a few days ago, but it's nothing serious, just a minor injury. As long as I don't lose my thumb, I can still work." The young man raised his hand and smiled shyly, wiping away the tears on his face. "I just don't dare tell my family, afraid they'll worry. Isn't it the same for you, Headmaster? I heard you also had a near-death experience this time."

"It's alright!" Xia Lin patted his chest. "I'm tough."

The train, shrouded in mist, arrived just like that, bringing with it the dawn of a new era.

They drove the train all the way to Leping Township, where everyone got off and began processing the data at the final test site.

Xia Lin jumped out of the driver's seat and lay down on the grass. He took a deep breath, and although the air was full of the smell of coal smoke, he found it incredibly sweet.

(End of this chapter)