Please pull the trigger for this world one more time.

A piece of ice crystal drifted in the wind, and under the morning sun, it liquefied into an inconspicuous drop of water, nourishing the withered tree in winter.

In the blink of an eye, it was Frost Moon Day 175.

Early in the morning, long queues formed in front of the Imperial Bank, as most people receive their year-end paydays in these days—once they receive their salaries, they can buy New Year's goods or new clothes, and then enjoy a night of revelry with friends.

Several young men in military uniforms stood in the middle of the line.

"I never expected we'd get a stipend this year," Han Dafu said, his face beaming with surprise. "I just don't know how much it will be."

"You have an intermediate-level military doctor certificate. Normally, you would receive a stipend of 300 silver dollars per season (180 days), but we certainly won't get that much in our first year."

Mo Zian stood behind Han Dafu and said, "After all, we only caught the tail end."

"There are just too many people," Chen Bunei said, somewhat exasperated. "I've never seen so many people in my neighborhood."

The line grew longer and longer, and soldiers from the garrison had already arrived to maintain order. Mo Zian took out his pocket watch to take a look, and just then, the bronze doors of the Imperial Bank slowly opened.

As a result, the people outside poured into the bank lobby like a floodgate being opened.

"Slow down, slow down! Don't push! Don't cut in line!"

Soldiers from the garrison, holding megaphones, shouted at the top of their lungs, "Anyone who spits in public will be fined five silver dollars! Maintain order!"

Mo Zian and his group were practically swept into the hall by the crowd. The hall had a total of ten windows, and a sign on the far right window read "Military Personnel Priority".

"Excuse me, please let me pass."

Mo Zian stood at the front, parted the crowd, squeezed to the window, subconsciously adjusted his slightly askew wide-brimmed hat, and said to the middle-aged female clerk behind him, "Hello, we're here to collect our military pay."

"Show me your military officer's ID." The female clerk seemed very experienced, briefly comparing the photo on the ID to the passbook. "Passbook."

Mo Zian handed over his passbook. The teller glanced at it, then opened the ledger beside him, flipped through a few pages, and said, "You have a total of 170 silver dollars in your account, 150 silver dollars for your specialty occupational allowance, and 20 silver dollars for your military pay. Would you like to withdraw them all?"

"Of course, take them all out."

Seeing the female teller take out a stack of banknotes and a small amount of silver dollars, Mo Zian frowned and asked, "Why are there so many banknotes? Aren't they silver dollars?"

"Didn't you hear the radio broadcast? It's a new policy," the female clerk said without looking up. "Only soldiers like you can still see silver dollars; most people have paper money now... Okay, what denomination do you want?"

......

Several young people who had withdrawn their money gathered again at the main entrance. Looking at the colorful banknotes in his hand, Mo Zian felt as if he had returned to a past life.

"What?! So many banknotes!" Han Dafu said with some disdain, looking at the banknotes in his wallet.

But Chen Bu'nai seemed quite pleased, waving a wad of cash in his hand: "I think paper money is great. It's convenient to carry around; you just need to fold it up and put it in your pocket, and you don't like to lose it."

Chen Bu'nai put the banknotes into his inner pocket, then stuffed the silver dollars into the bottom of his backpack. "We're heading to the station to catch our train now. Happy New Year in advance, goodbye."

Goodbye, and Happy New Year in advance!

After saying goodbye to the others, Mo Zian looked at Han Dafu, who seemed to be in a daze, and asked, "What's wrong?"

The hamster in front of me had a serious and profound expression, its eyes slightly gazing at the street ahead: "Old Bi, do you think... I might one day become the person I used to hate the most?"

Mo Zian asked, as if sensing something, "What kind of person do you hate the most?"

"The person asking this is obviously a rich person."

Okay, Mo Zian guessed that was it. He touched the tip of his nose and looked at Han Dafu, "Rich man, you haven't eaten breakfast anyway, how about a treat?"

"How wonderful!"

......

The two hadn't gone far when they arrived at a mutton soup restaurant.

Food for the "rich".

The lamb bone broth forms the base, encompassing tenderly stewed lamb offal, lamb head meat, and a small amount of tendons and ribs—meat that was originally considered "leftovers" is given a new lease on life in this way.

The ingredients in the soup are the core secret of the shop. Every shop that survives has its own unique characteristics. The offal in the soup is the most challenging to prepare because if it is not handled properly, these offal pieces can easily leave an unpleasant smell.

Sprinkle with chopped green onions and cilantro, and a bowl of mutton soup is ready to be served.

The snack dish next to it contains the mutton soup's most beloved accompaniment—crispy sesame flatbread.

First, take a bite of the crispy on the outside and soft on the inside sesame flatbread, then scoop a spoonful of mutton soup full of offal. This is another perfect performance of meat and wheat.

With the addition of ghee, it creates a culinary stage play called "Street Life".

Compared to the classic pairing with sesame flatbread, Mo Zian prefers another pairing and way of eating it—breaking the sesame flatbread covered with roasted sesame seeds into irregular small pieces, soaking them in soup, and then scooping them up with a spoon to include all kinds of ingredients.

Han Dafu added several spoonfuls of chili to the mutton soup, and the spiciness completely ignited the entire bowl of soup, pushing the flavor to a unique climax.

"Boss, another bowl, please!"

......

Having eaten seven sesame seed cakes, Mo Zian wiped his mouth, still somewhat unsatisfied.

He wanted to eat more, but he really couldn't eat anymore. On this cold winter day, fine beads of sweat appeared on the tips of their noses and foreheads.

"Hiccup..." Even the bottom of his voice carried a hint of water as Mo Zian spoke, "Dafu, have you bought the train tickets to Tianhe Port?"

"belch……"

Han Dafu patted his belly, "Don't worry."

"Okay." Mo Zian nodded, then said in a slightly more serious tone, "I'm going there this time to recruit a batch of workers in Tianhe Port."

"Hiring?" Han Dafu, who was drinking the last mouthful of soup in his bowl, stopped.

"Yes, our factory is about to be set up, and we're looking for some people we know well and who are reliable."

Mo Zian looked at Han Dafu and said, "We've already thought about the compensation. As long as the person is reliable, even an apprentice who knows nothing can earn 2-30 silver dollars a month for a season, with room and board included."

"Really?" Han Dafu's eyes lit up. "Apprentices get paid?"

"They can't stay apprentices forever."

Mo Zian said seriously, "The factory does a lot of delicate work, which is quite technical. We don't want to do one-off business; we need a stable pool of skilled workers."

"Okay!" Han Dafu nodded emphatically. "I'd be completely at ease letting you work at Lao Bi's house, but... can I come and check on things at your place first?"

"Of course!" Mo Zian readily agreed, "Even if you didn't say anything, I would still take you there."

......

We've eaten.

Mo Zian rode his motorcycle, carrying Han Dafu, through the increasingly bustling downtown area, and went straight to the [United Eight Directions] factory area in the eastern suburbs.

The black iron gate was wide open, and some movers could be seen bustling around inside and out. Mo Zian and Han Dafu arrived at the gate, and two people wearing gray coats stepped forward.

"Sirs, you..."

Before one of them could finish asking, another, slightly older man, suddenly pulled him aside. "Hello, young master."

Mo Zian looked at the man in front of him, who appeared to be in his late thirties, with some surprise. "Brother, do you know me?"

"Young Master, you're too kind. Just call me Lao Liu." The man in front of him bowed slightly. "The head of the household showed me photos of several of the owners and their sons. I've met them before."

"Old Liu, where are you from? Your accent doesn't sound like you're from the Guangwu City area," Mo Zian continued to ask.

"My ancestral home is in Lingxi Province. A few years ago, my hometown suffered a disaster, and I fled to Guangwu City," Old Liu said with a hint of reminiscence. "At that time, I was starving to death. The landlord gave me some food, which saved my life."

Mo Zian nodded and smiled slightly. "I'll go in first. The young lady behind me is surnamed Han, and she's one of us."

"Alright, the boss is waiting for you at the factory."

......

The two entered the factory. He didn't go directly to find Gui Haishuo, but instead took Han Dafu on a tour of the factory, including the factory area and the reserved workers' dormitories.

At this time, many workers in the factory had already started working. Li Yu was directing the workers to produce parts in the large workshop on the first floor.

The two then met Gui Haishuo in his office on the top floor.

After receiving several beautifully packaged gift boxes from Gui Haishuo, Mo Zian did not linger. He went to the market to buy some more things before heading to the station in Guangwu City.

......

dusk.

woo-

The train sounded its whistle and slowly pulled away from the platform. The winter sun shone on the station's large iron sign, casting its light into the distance.

Midway through the train journey.

Mo Zian and Han Dafu bought separate double second-class sleeper compartments, a display of their extravagance after just receiving their paychecks.

I found my number using the information on my ticket, opened the wooden sliding door, and found a not-so-spacious compartment inside.

In the center of the compartment was a small, fixed table, and on either side were two single beds that weren't too wide—a pretty good standard for a passenger train with limited space.

Under the table was a heater filled with boiling water, which came from the train's large boiler and flowed through the entire train, keeping the interior warm as spring even in winter.

Pulling the sliding door shut out a lot of noise. Mo Zian put down his luggage and glanced at his pocket watch.

"It's 6 PM (酉时), shall we go to the dining car for dinner?" Mo Zian asked excitedly, "Or should we wait until later for a late-night snack?"

"Old Bi, is this your first time going out?" Han Dafu said somewhat sarcastically.

"How could this be the first time?" Mo Zian immediately denied. "I went to countless places with my master and mistress when I was little... What's that rope for?"

"I don't know." Han Dafu tugged at it a few times. "This doesn't look like a lamp."

"Where is the light?"

"Hmm...is this the one by the window?"

……

Not long after, there was a knock on the sliding door, and Mo Zian opened it.

"Hello, sirs, you've rung the bell. How can we help you?"

A waiter in a dark blue uniform stood at the door. Mo Zian turned around and glanced at Han Dafu, who was humming a song while looking out the window.

"Oh, I see..." Mo Zian picked at his toes, then suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Excuse me, what time do you serve dinner here? Can I order here?"

"Of course, there's a menu in the drawer on your left."

The waiter across from me pointed to a spot and said, "Our train has hot food available day and night, but after 21:00 PM, the selection is much smaller, basically just late-night snacks like wontons and noodle soup."

Seeing Han Dafu take out the menu, the waiter continued, "If you two officers would like to order now, you can tell me directly, or you can order from the food cart later and have it delivered."

"Then I'll do it in a bit, thank you."

"You're too kind."

The waiter turned and left. Mo Zian closed the sliding door again and stared at the hamster, both feeling that the other was a country bumpkin.

"Come on, come on, let's take a look at what we're going to eat," Han Dafu said eagerly. "I've already made my choice, I want this braised pork with rice."

"I'll have braised pork too..."

"Don't choose the same thing as me," Han Dafu frowned. "How are we going to switch things up?"

"Isn't braised pork delicious? I want a whole serving of braised pork," Mo Zian protested.

"No, you don't want to." Han Dafu pointed to the menu, "Don't you think this Kung Pao swordfish chunks smell even better?"

Mo Zian gave in, admitting that the hamster was right—seafood was rare in Guangwu City, but it was available on this train traveling to and from Tianhe Port.

"Alright then, I'll take the Kung Pao Swordfish chunks." Mo Zian stared straight at Han Dafu. "Go ahead."

"I'm not going." The hamster opposite turned its head away, then lay down on the bed in a somewhat pouty manner. "No, no, no, no..."

The two decided to pull the rope one more time. Not long after, they opened the sliding door, and thankfully, it was another waiter.

After ordering the food, the wait began, filled with anticipation and longing.

Han Dafu pushed the window open a crack, and a cool but fresh gust of air blew into the small cubicle, which was warmed by the heater. The only downside of the cubicle was that it was a bit stuffy, so getting some fresh air was very comfortable.

"Aren't you cold?" Mo Zian asked.

"It's alright." Han Dafu rested his chin on his hand, looking out the somewhat dark window. "It doesn't feel as cold this winter."