Volume 2: Empire Chapter 117: First Visit to Winter Capital
Before the breakthrough of steam technology, Great Anbaburg was just an inconspicuous village. Located at a high latitude, it was in cold weather for half of the year. The people living here relied on hunting and growing potatoes for a living, and their life was very hard.
After steam technology entered a new era of rapid development, a group of steam scientists discovered that the underground of Great Anbaburg contained extremely rich geothermal energy that could be easily developed.
There is a large natural cave underground, with a high-temperature heat source and an underground river with abundant water. During the excavation of the underground heat source, steam scientists discovered high-purity iron ore resources here.
The originally poor and barren Great Ambabol suddenly became a treasure land with cheap energy and abundant resources.
Steam scientists have built a city heating system based on geothermal energy and underground rivers, using pipelines to transmit high-temperature and high-pressure steam to any part of the city. Factories that need to use steam to drive machines can use this world's cheapest and most efficient energy for production as long as they are connected to the city heating system.
Geothermal heat is used for iron ore mining and iron processing, allowing Greater Ambabol to produce the world's cheapest steel.
International investors flocked to the city, and factories were built one after another. A large number of workers were attracted by the fancy publicity of the city, and brought their families across the ocean and snowy plains to the city.
Thus, in just a hundred years, Great Anbaburg became the largest industrial city in the entire Northland. It squandered steel and energy recklessly, connecting cities in the Northland with railway networks; it used a complete and advanced urban steam heating system to help other cities complete steam industrialization.
The technological and price advantages have made Northland's steam machinery products popular around the world, and have also created many large heavy industrial companies with extraordinary influence on steam machinery technology.
September 14, 2604 in the Century Calendar.
Great Anbaburg led several major industrial cities in the North to establish the Art County Federation and announced that all the vast territories in the North belonged to the Art County Federation.
At that time, the North was filled with non-human tribes and dozens of small human countries and territories. They faced the steel and steam-armed Art County soldiers, and had no power to resist them, so they were wiped out and annexed one after another.
In a short period of time, the land controlled by Art County Union expanded dozens of times, and the entire northern land fell into the hands of this emerging country. The war brought countless wealth and resources to Art County Union, which further stimulated Art County Union's appetite for land, so this northern steel behemoth set its sights on its southern neighbor... the Golden Shield Empire.
It was just that during this period, the Golden Shield Empire had an emperor who worked hard to promote the industrialization of the country. The expansion of the At County Federation was blocked at the northern border of the empire, and the two countries fell into a long-lasting border confrontation.
Winter Capital is another name for the Great Anba Fort.
The moment Luke stepped off the train, he felt the welcome of this snowy city. The biting cold wind blew the heavy snow like goose feathers, and penetrated through the gap of the collar. Even though Luke now had a fire attribute physique, he was also shocked by the sudden cold.
The cold air he exhaled made the glasses he was wearing look blurry.
Luke put down his suitcase, took off his glasses, took out a deerskin towel from the pocket of his windbreaker, and wiped the lenses while observing his surroundings.
This is the train station in the winter capital, and the platform is full of travelers who have just walked out of the train. There is a huge temperature difference between the warm carriage and the outside, and most people are walking quickly in the wind and snow with scarves wrapped around their necks. At this time, you should find a place with heating as soon as possible, and it would be even better if you can have a cup of hot coffee.
Luke wiped his eyes and put them on his nose, immediately looking like a scholar. He adjusted the deerstalker hat on his head, then bent down and grabbed a hand that was trying to take his suitcase.
"Ah!" The owner of the hand screamed because of the pain, and she begged again and again: "I'm sorry, sir! I'm not a thief, I just want to help you hold the suitcase..."
"Hasn't anyone ever told you that taking something that belongs to someone else without the owner's permission is stealing?"
Luke saw the thief, a thin girl who looked only in her teens. She was wearing a baggy and dirty miner's uniform and a felt hat with ears. Although she was wearing gloves, they were full of holes and her exposed hands were covered with frostbite.
The girl who was caught was very scared. She begged, "I sincerely apologize to you, dear sir. My... my father's leg was injured, and I just want to... want to get something to eat."
Please don’t hand me over to the sheriff… please.”
At this time, a sheriff wearing a dark blue cotton windbreaker and a big beard came over: "Sir, are you in trouble?"
Luke released the girl's hand and nodded to the sheriff: "No, no trouble. This is my first time in Dongdu and I hope to find a guide. This..."
The girl immediately said, "My name is Permina Crichens, you can call me Mina, sir!"
Luke told the sheriff, "Miss Mina has volunteered to be my guide."
Mina was too scared to look directly at the sheriff, but she added, "I just wanted to help these gentlemen with their luggage, and I accidentally touched the frostbite on my hands, so I screamed."
The sheriff had actually been keeping an eye on Mina for a long time, and he wanted to catch her so that he could go back to the security post and interrogate her while enjoying the heating.
What was unexpected was that a stranger would actually shelter a thief.
This made the sheriff very unhappy. He looked at Luke with an unfriendly look and said in a contemptuous tone: "First time in Winter City? What are you doing here? I think you look like a spy from the Golden Shield Empire's Secret Service."
Luke certainly didn't think his identity had been exposed. This was just an excuse for the sheriff to make things difficult for him. He took out his ID and a letter from his pocket and said politely to the sheriff, "I'm a steam engineer. I came to Winter City this time to be hired by Harut Heavy Industries to inspect the steam pipeline."
Hearing that the other party was a steam engineer and was hired by Harut Heavy Industries, the sheriff's face changed immediately. He stood up straight, took the certificate with both hands, and returned it with both hands after checking it was correct.
"Mr. Luke, please forgive my unintentional offense. I am so nervous because the spies of the Golden Shield Empire are too rampant.
Welcome to Winter Capital.
Do you want me to call a car for you?"
"Thank you. I just need a car to take me and my luggage to a warm hotel. It's really too cold here." Luke put the documents and letter back into his pocket, then took out a piece of Atcoin and gave it to the sheriff.
This kind of "language" is used all over the world. The sheriff happily took the coin and said, "Please follow me, Mr. Luke."
"good."
Luke wanted to get his luggage, but it was already in Mina's hands. She looked at Luke with pleading eyes, and snow had already accumulated on her hat and shoulders: "Sir, I will be a qualified guide, and... very cheap!"
The sheriff walking in front noticed that Luke was not following, so he stopped and waited.
Luke thought for a moment, then said to Mina, "Well, I do need a guide. But if I find you stealing from me, I will hand you over to the sheriff."
"Sir, I promise I won't steal from you. Thank you, sir."
After saying that, Mina dragged the box forward, as if she was afraid that Luke would go back on his word.
Luke could only smile and follow.
After leaving the train station, the sheriff easily found a taxi. He also enthusiastically handed over a business card, telling Luke to go to him if he encountered any trouble, and looked at Mina who was sitting in the car holding a suitcase with a hint of meaning.
Luke thanked the sheriff, got in the car, and told the driver the address of the hotel he was going to.
As the sheriff waved goodbye, the car drove away on the snow and soon disappeared in the heavy snow.
The wealth and fame of Winter Capital are built on steam, so steam engineers have a transcendent status here, and the Steam Guild is an organization that everyone here must respect.
Once you offend the Steam Guild, you won't be able to find anyone to repair steam leaks or other malfunctions in the future.
This is why the sheriff's attitude changed immediately after he knew that Luke was a steam engineer. A steam engineer, and one hired from outside by a large company, was definitely not someone a low-level sheriff like him could offend.
The heater in the car made Luke feel much more comfortable, and the girl also enjoyed the warmth after the severe cold.
Luke asked Mina, " Your father was a miner?"
Mina immediately answered when she heard the question: "Yes, sir. My father worked in the B36 mine in the underground steam city. During a steam leak, he was hit by a rock and his right leg was broken.
My father and his co-workers had already reported to the mine that the section of steam pipe needed to be replaced, but no one listened to them.
He is the only earner in the family..."
At the end, Mina couldn't help but choke up.
Luke could imagine how difficult it was for Mina's family right now, and there were many people in Winter City who were injured in the steam accident like Mina's father.
Winter Capital is full of pipes that transport high-pressure and high-temperature steam. These pipes were built at different times due to the different development stages of the city. The earliest pipes can even be traced back to when the city was first built a hundred years ago.
Steam pipe accidents are common here.
It is common sense to replace a broken pipe, but replacing a steam pipe is a major repair project that is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Therefore, except for pipes that must be replaced in a timely manner, most pipes are used as long as they can be used, repaired as long as they can be repaired, and replaced only when an accident really occurs.
Especially for production plants, the time spent downtime due to pipe replacement is money lost.
As for the casualties of the workers...does it matter?
The factory owner won’t even pay for medical expenses.
Luke took out two 100-dollar Ate coins and gave them to Mina: "These are your rewards for being a guide. When you get to the hotel, go home."
Mina happily took the coins, but after a moment's hesitation she returned one of them: "Sir, one is already a lot."
Luke refused to take it. "I just feel sorry for your situation. Take it and buy yourself a pair of warm gloves. This is all I can do for you..."
"Thank you, sir." Mina folded the coin solemnly and put it carefully in the inner pocket of her clothes. Then she seemed to remember something and said, "Sir, you came to Dongdu alone! During your work, you need a servant to take care of your daily life...
You can hire me. I can cook, wash your clothes and clean your room.”
Luke said: "I think the people in the hotel will help me take care of these things."
"But if you need to stay in the winter capital for a while, staying in a hotel is very expensive. You can rent an apartment and hire a servant, which will definitely save you at least half of the cost."
Luke considered Mina's suggestion seriously.
What I have to do in winter is not something that can be completed in a short time. There is a large turnover of people in the hotel, and it is easy to be targeted by people with different purposes. If I rent an apartment, it is quite suitable for my current status, and it is much more convenient to go in and out than staying in a hotel.
"Do you have any suitable apartment recommendations for me as my guide?"
Hearing Luke accept her proposal, Mina immediately said: "I know, I know a clean apartment. My job..."
Luke smiled and said, "You are hired. You will be my maid while I work in Dongdu. If you do a good job, you will get a bonus after I leave."
"Thank you, thank you, sir!" Mina, who had a job, was so happy that she wanted to stand up and thank Luke.
"Hahaha, sit down and tell the driver the address of the apartment."
"Yes, sir."
Luke found the apartment under Mina's guidance. The owners of the apartment were an elderly couple who lived on the first floor and rented out four separate rooms on the second floor.
The old couple both knew Mina, and after learning that Luke was a steam engineer, they gladly accepted the offer made by Mina.
Luke was very satisfied with the apartment, which had a bedroom, kitchen, separate bathroom, and living room. The room was very warm, and although the furnishings and furniture were a bit old, they gave people a very cozy feeling. What satisfied Luke the most was that the bedroom window faced a secluded path. According to the mobile phone map, there was a pipeline leading to the underground steam city near this path.
What an unexpected surprise!
Luke readily paid three months' rent and gave Mina some money to buy some food and daily necessities. He also asked her to buy herself a set of clothes, because a maid should look like a maid.
Mina went shopping, and Luke put down his luggage, tidied his bedroom, and went to Harut Heavy Industries with his ID and letter. He really found a job for himself at Harut Heavy Industries, and now he was going to report to the company to work.
Harut Heavy Industries Company owns industries in all fields in Dongdu, including mining, metallurgy, steam industry, real estate, and finance, and has its own steam heat source production and transportation pipeline system.
Checking hidden dangers, troubleshooting and providing maintenance guidance all require very professional steam engineers.
Luke forged a steam engineer certificate for himself, and then was recruited by Harut Heavy Industries Company to work as a temporary worker in Dongdu for a period of time.
