Traveling Back to the 1960s: The Entire Internet Teaches Me How to Build Missiles

Chapter 76 Arrival at the Gold and Silver Beach

"Freshly baked sesame seed cakes! They're fresh out of the oven!"

"Boiling water—hot boiling water!"

"Attention passengers—"

In the bustling train station, all sorts of noises mingled with the clanging of wheels hitting the rails, creating a particularly lively atmosphere.

Several vendors carrying loads on shoulder poles weaved through the crowd, while travelers with luggage, net bags, and enamel mugs hurried to nearby restaurants for a hot meal.

Everything felt new and interesting to Zhou Yunxiao.

"Bang! Swill collection time!" He was chewing on a toothpick when he saw a boy leading a skinny old horse, pulling a cart behind it.

There were swill buckets on top, and people were going from house to house along the street, banging on clappers to empty the swill.

Several older children helped push rickshaws and pull small carts at the exit. After pushing the carts up the bridge, they would ask the drivers for a tip, usually just one or two cents.

Zhou Yunxiao clicked his tongue in amazement.

Mu Chunsheng came over, picking his teeth. "What's wrong?"

"Kids these days are really capable."

Zhou Yunxiao replied that these kids were probably only in junior high school, but they were all incredibly hardworking and capable.

Mu Chunsheng said matter-of-factly, "What's so strange about that? Back in my hometown, kids as young as ten can go down to the river to break stones and sell them for money. After school, they also have to collect coal cinders, pick potatoes, and dig sweet potatoes to supplement their family's income. Otherwise, how would they eat their fill in these years?"

Zhou Yunxiao nodded and turned his gaze away from the diligent and busy children.

At this moment, Mu Chunsheng patted him on the shoulder and said excitedly, "Look, there are comic books for rent over there. Let's go take a look. We have nothing to do this morning, so let's kill some time."

Zhou Yunxiao followed and saw a child who had spread a white cloth on the corner of the train station and laid out a bunch of comic books on it. Next to him was an earthenware jar containing a few coins.

Seeing a crowd gathered, the child, like a little adult, expertly announced: "Rent comic books! We have 'How the Steel Was Tempered,' 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' 'The Five Heroes of Langya Mountain,' and 'Landmine Warfare.'"

"The Beautiful Little Goldfish"—two cents for the thick one, one cent for the thin one. No charge if you haven't finished reading it before departure!

—”

Chief of Staff Xu and the other comrades also gathered around, squatted down to pick through the books on the stall, then greeted the boy, found a place nearby to sit cross-legged, and began to read with great interest.

Zhou Yunxiao had no interest in these comic books. After all, he grew up in an era of material abundance, and his house was filled with bookshelves full of extracurricular reading materials, which he had already read all of.

He was more interested in the poorly printed books on the other side.

A basic edition of "The Barefoot Doctor's Handbook," "Scientific Pig Farming and Fermentation Bed Technology," "High-Sugar Sugar Beet Cold-Resistant Improvement Formula," and "Experience in Crop Disease and Pest Control" —

This is the same Surian material that was "transferred" over before. It's already available on the market, some printed by Renmin Publishing House and some by Zhonghua Book Company.

Zhou Yunxiao exclaimed and exchanged a knowing glance with Captain Mu, who was flipping through "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" beside him.

Mu Chunsheng gave him a thumbs up without saying a word, the subtext being that the things he copied back then had been promoted, which was remarkable.

Only a handful of people knew about this, and Mu Chunsheng was one of them.

He had personally witnessed how Comrade Xiao Zhou's fingers developed thick calluses from translating those documents, and how his eyes were always dark-rimmed, looking like he might suddenly die at any moment.

Now, hard work pays off, and people all over the country can learn these skills.

Seeing that everyone else was reading, the young boy at the bookstall came over to serve Zhou Yunxiao: "Comrade, why don't you pick one to read too?"

Zhou Yunxiao casually asked, "Are these books readily available in the market?"

The kid said this book is everywhere, you can find it in any bookstore, and there's no worry about it selling.

Zhou Yunxiao nodded solemnly, then patronized the young man's business by buying him a copy of "How the Steel Was Tempered".

Then, I sat down and revisited it.

Unbeknownst to them, a group of team members who were idly reading comic books around the station heard the departure announcement.

Then everyone dusted themselves off, dropped a penny or two into the boy's earthenware pot, returned the book, and went to the military supply room at the military station to retrieve their luggage.

"Thank you, comrade. Come again next time you want to read a book." Kid waved happily from behind, seeing how much he had earned.

Zhou Yunxiao walked forward with his arms crossed, "So sensible!"

Once on the train, the attendants arranged for me to be in a soft sleeper compartment reserved for high-ranking officials. The train then traveled along the Lanzhou-Qinghai Railway to Tianduo City.

This trip was significantly faster.

Compared to the distance from Dongfeng Base to Jincheng, the distance from Jincheng to Tianduo is only 200 kilometers, and it only takes half a day to stop at the station.

It's quite rare that the journey from a base to the city is longer than that between two major metropolitan areas across provinces.

This gives us a better idea of ​​just how vast and expansive the Badain Desert must be.

The same rare thing happened in Tianduo as well.

As Staff Officer Xu led everyone out of the train carriage, two officers in green military uniforms stepped forward from the crowd of people waiting to greet them: "Comrades from Jincheng?"

Staff Officer Xu calmly looked at the cut, "Hmm, she's come to her parents' house to pick up her daughter."

"Hehe, welcome, welcome! We've been waiting for you for so long! The bride's dowry is all ready, and you can leave anytime!"

The station was crowded and noisy. After both parties confirmed their identities, Staff Officer Xu shook hands with them solemnly. "Thank you for your hard work. From now on, the bride will be taken care of by her in-laws. Shall we go and visit her home?"

"Okay, come this way with us—"

Zhou Yunxiao, Mu Chunsheng, and a few others also hurried after them, carrying their suitcases, and got into a large truck covered with a military green and gray cloth outside the train station.

A large truck carrying the 501 Special Task Force departed from Tianduo Station and headed straight for the Jinyintan Base in Haiyan County.

The comrade who came to meet us said to everyone, "Our altitude is high here. If anyone feels dizzy or short of breath later, please raise your hand."

"Let me stop for a bit, let's stop and rest, have some water and catch our breath. Please don't push yourself. Our medical facilities here are limited, we don't have many oxygen cylinders, so please bear with us—"

"No way, it's just that our altitude is indeed high, averaging over 3,000 meters, much higher than yours. Many high-ranking officials who come to inspect here aren't afraid of gunfire on the battlefield, but they get dizzy as soon as they get out of the car—"

Zhou Yunxiao, standing nearby, asked curiously, "How did you manage to build the base at such a high altitude in such a harsh environment?"

He thought the Badain Desert was tough enough, but when he saw this plateau, he felt it was nothing compared to it.

The other party said, "Well, at the time, after several rounds of strict discussions, we overruled the objections and dismissed the original engineering corps. We recruited a group of locals from Tianduo City and the surrounding areas, and then took them on a three-day, three-night drive around the plateau before sending them to the base to participate in the construction."

Many engineering soldiers still don't know where they are. They think it takes days to deliver a letter home, but actually the post office is right outside their door and the letter is delivered to their door.

Chief of Staff Xu chuckled and said, "Your strict orders are really clever; you have a strong sense of secrecy!"

After driving for most of the day, it got completely dark. All I could see were big trucks circling around on the plateau. I didn't know how the drivers knew the way, but they were driving fast and steadily.

Zhou Yunxiao even suspected that Yan Ling didn't even trust his own people and was deliberately making the driver go in circles.

It wasn't until nine o'clock at night that a large number of shadowy lights appeared in the distance.

The large truck honked its horn a few times, three long and one short, and the headlights at the base entrance turned on, revealing a row of military uniformed figures standing tall in the light and shadow.