Age: My Small World

Border City.

This city, located at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, is considered the most prosperous place within a radius of thousands of kilometers.

With the arrival of the new era, the city has gradually seen more Han Chinese faces, and the streets are bustling with people.

Of course, it's nothing like the skyscrapers of decades to come. Right now, there are only cement houses and tile-roofed houses like in an ordinary county town, and even shacks are everywhere. The development of the times takes time.

Yang Jun paid no attention to these things; his focus was on his surroundings.

When he first arrived, he was able to sense some unfamiliar animals around the train, which excited him.

Yang Jun has a latent desire to collect animal artifacts; it would be very interesting if more unique plants and animals appeared in the small world.

However, the most urgent thing is to get a good night's sleep at the guesthouse.

Jiangcheng is located in the northwest, surrounded by deserts and plateaus. So even though the altitude itself is not high, it can still cause breathing difficulties, especially for those with respiratory diseases.

People who come here for the first time will definitely feel a bit out of place, let alone those who have been traveling by train for several days.

So as soon as they got off the bus, Yang Jun and the others couldn't wait to go to the guesthouse.

As for Tu Xingguo and the others, they had been picked up early and were said to be continuing their journey and had not yet arrived at their destination.

"Don't forget to treat me to dinner." Before leaving, he hadn't forgotten what Yang Jun had said.

Yang Jun shook his head. It seemed unlikely that they would be able to have this meal, and he didn't even know if they would ever see each other again.

Following the contact to the guesthouse, they were not treated specially and settled in like any other normal person.

Since they were taking a rare break, none of the three had time to say much, and they slept soundly that night.

When Sun woke up the next day, he couldn't even remember what he had eaten the day before, which showed that he still had some aftereffects.

“You forgot about the big plate chicken and noodles you had yesterday,” Wei Ye reminded him.

"Okay, then it seems I really don't remember."

Sun patted his face.

Fortunately, after a night's rest, the three of them have recovered.

He stopped dwelling on what he had eaten yesterday and instead looked at Yang Jun: "Yang Jun, what do we do now?"

"Didn't we say we'd wait for someone to pick us up first, and then we'd talk about it once we got there?"

Yes, they haven't arrived at their destination yet; Jiangcheng is just a transit point.

It wasn't until the three of them had lunch that they met their real contact.

The man arrived in a Jiefang brand truck and waved to them.

Yang Jun was taken aback. This was so ambiguous. Shouldn't it be a top-secret operation?

However, he didn't ask any more questions. After confirming the contact code, he then told Sun Buyong and Wei Ye to get in the car.

"Comrade, where are we going now?"

Yang Jun couldn't help but ask a question.

The driver was wearing a green military overcoat, and I couldn't help but shake my head when I saw their rather thin clothes.

He then said, "I can't say. You'll find out when we get there." And then the car fell silent.

An afternoon passed, and even as evening approached, the sky was still bright, and the sun could still be seen.

Yang Jun knew this was due to the time difference.

After driving for so long, we still haven't arrived at our destination, which shows that this place is really not close.

"Screech!" The truck suddenly stopped, and the man driving waved to the three of them.

"Let's get off the bus and get something to eat first."

He gave each person two flatbreads, which were quite soft, unlike the dry ones they ate on the road.

"There are water bottles in the car, take one if you want a drink."

In the Northwest, staying hydrated is absolutely crucial. Dehydration can trigger a host of complications, so everyone carries plenty of water bottles with them at all times.

For example, Yang Jun and his group received a serious warning from the person who hosted them during their meal yesterday.

The man had a slight local accent, but his appearance was more like that of a Han Chinese, so he was probably a Han Chinese who lived in this area.

Since the establishment of the Protectorate of the Western Regions during the Western Han Dynasty, Jiangcheng has been considered eastern territory. From that time onwards, Han Chinese from the east have continuously traveled to the Western Regions, either for business or for livelihood.

Of course, there were also those who survived being captured by foreign tribes.

Today, their descendants have also integrated into the local community.

"By the way, take these guns with you in case of emergencies, something might happen." After hesitating for a moment, the driver took out several guns hidden in the car and equipped the three men.

Yang Jun was taken aback for a moment, and couldn't help but ask, "Comrade, tell us what might happen so we can be prepared."

The driver was right to trust them, since they had already checked their documents and they were all his own people.

“You’re from the capital, so you might not know, but in the countryside, many people like to go out on the road and stop cars to rob them.”

The man gave a wry smile and began to explain.

They then learned that the man was actually being robbed at gunpoint by villagers along the way.

Yes, it's the kind of open and aboveboard tactic, where the entire village, young and old, would be mobilized to intercept any passing car and forcibly seize their supplies.

This is why we are committed to literacy campaigns and rural education programs. They are all aimed at helping people who have never been exposed to law and knowledge to understand right and wrong, and to help them abandon their semi-primitive lifestyles so that they can access the better world. Otherwise, if this continues, future generations will gradually become detached from society, which will be detrimental to their survival.

It has to be said that this is something that probably only we could do, and we actually succeeded. After decades of persistence, even in the most remote mountain valleys, there are no longer people who are completely ignorant of the outside world. At least, there is no shortage of things like television sets.

Of course, even Yang Jun is in short supply of television sets now, so they are not yet widely available.

"Is no one in charge?" Sun asked.

No wonder the man looked somewhat helpless. Given their status, they shouldn't have harmed the villagers. Why not give them these supplies instead?
But things can't always stay this way. What if these people get used to robbing and become even more outrageous in the future?
That would be condoning their bad behavior.

"Of course someone is in charge. The village chief and accountant were originally replaced by students to teach everyone about the law. But this work needs to be done gradually. Right now, some people are still taking advantage of people not paying attention to run out and block the road. There's nothing we can do about it."

"By the way, try not to fire any shots later. If you do fire, it should be for warning purposes only, and not to hurt anyone."

"Don't worry, we won't harm the innocent."

Yang Jun and the other two naturally knew what they were doing. (End of Chapter)