Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 74 Searching in a strange city?

According to statistics from the book "Urban Green Life", the area of ​​"natural or artificially trimmed lawns, gardens and deciduous forests" in Rustin accounts for about two-thirds of the entire city. This data may surprise those who have lived in big cities for a long time, or even go against some intuition, believing that civilization and nature cannot coexist in modern cities.

In fact, this city has always been like this.

Amid low whimpers, the Dawn gradually slowed down and finally stopped at the Rodrance train station in the northern part of Rostin. If this name were placed in the Middle Ages, its meaning would be "a place where the wind blows...where life is stimulated." Today, as the only train station in the city, welcoming passengers from all directions, it invisibly fits the impression it left centuries ago.

Lingge got off the train carrying his sister's small black suitcase. The first thing he saw was the unique wooden dome of the platform. The architect ingeniously designed it as an umbrella-like canopy supported by many dark brown pillars. The surface was covered with evergreen ivy, and dark green oil lamps were hung on the branches. Every passenger who came here for the first time would feel as if they had stepped into a forest in ancient times and were walking under the gaze of an ancient towering tree when they looked up.

The passengers all walked in the same direction, flowing slowly like a river, and that was the exit of the train platform. Lingge took Metien and Alice and followed the crowd, and it took about fifteen minutes to reach the end.

Unexpectedly, what connects Rodrence train station to the city block is a small square. It is paved with red bricks and does not cover a large area, at least not spacious, but the design is very exquisite. Because it is close to the train station, commercial properties are naturally gathered nearby, with bakeries, snack shops, open-air cafes and even hotels, all closely together, with a compact layout.

In the center of the square is a circular garden, where evergreen plants flourish in winter, and some flowers bloom in the cold wind, which is particularly beautiful. There are several rows of benches for pedestrians to rest. The inconspicuous gray wild pigeons are not afraid of people, and they stroll leisurely in the garden, on branches and on the red bricks of the square. They are the descendants of wild pigeons that lived in this city centuries ago. Now they are accustomed to coexisting with people. The city magazine calls them "lovely elves and cunning, fierce rogues", and these two different names are actually not contradictory.

They were better at observing people's words and expressions than the clowns in the circus. When they saw Ling'er walking by with an expressionless face, they took the initiative to avoid him. But when Metien and Alice were about to go over, they jumped in front of them and stuck their heads out, as if asking curiously: Don't you have anything to give me to eat?
The two girls were entangled and had no choice but to buy a bag of pigeon feed from a vendor selling food nearby to get rid of these rogues. Of course, looking at their expressions when feeding the pigeons, they might also be enjoying it.

"This city is completely different from Linville City."

Linger told them what was mentioned in the book, which he read on the train: "It is actually close to the border of the kingdom. You can enter the territory of Leisenburg by crossing the Sosen Mountains. Due to its remote geographical location, the industrialization process here is relatively slow, and it still retains its original appearance from centuries ago. It is more like a slightly larger town than a city."

"After entering the new century, the Rustin City government wanted to change the status quo, develop industry, and catch up with the wave of the steam age, but it was unanimously opposed by local residents. They have lived here for generations and have long been accustomed to its appearance. They refuse to transform the city with steel and gears."

That was Alice's first impression.

“The city of Rustin is a tourist city.”

She also told the truth.

"So the city government had to compromise and accepted the proposal of the church union to start developing tourism, which turned out to be very effective. In the decade from 1845 to 1855, the industrial output value of Rustin City was negligible, but tourism income alone supported the reputation of "prosperous city", and it was once rated as "one of the ten most livable cities in the world" by the Westland Times."

After passing through a wide and open passage, Ling'er's story came to an end, and the three people's eyes suddenly became clear.

What catches your eye is a street covered with fallen leaves. It is paved with pure white stone slabs. Under the soft yellow-brown carpet are ruts left by wheels, which makes it look very old. In the middle are planted evergreen trees of not just a single species, which cast cool shades. The houses on both sides of the street have white walls and red brick roofs, with a neat and consistent style, exuding a sense of classicism and elegance.

The green environment of the city is very good. There are small gardens and fountains every few meters. The gurgling water flows into the canals on both sides of the road, in which floating fallen leaves, fishweed, water lilies and unknown small fish. Every household has a flower bed: the flower bed in front of the door, the hanging flower box under the window sill, the potted plants by the window... all have beautiful flowers blooming in winter, exuding a faint fragrance. The sky is very clear and transparent without clouds. The refreshing scene that can only be seen in the suburbs of Linville is commonplace here, so passers-by often don’t care. When greeting each other, they will not mention how the weather is today. This seems to be different from the general national conditions of the Kingdom of Brittany, but it is quite similar to the nearby Leisenburg.

"So beautiful!"

Metien, who grew up in the "Heartbroken City" of Linville, was stunned when he saw this scene.

Alice was also amazed. She didn't expect that in the 19th century steam age, there was such a vibrant and prosperous city. It completely overturned her perception of "steampunk". If it weren't for the thunderous roar of trains behind her and the traces of steam pipes and gas pipes in the street layout, she would probably think she was in a fantasy world.

"Let's go."

Linger carried a small black suitcase in one hand and held his sister's hand with the other, walking towards the nearby public transportation station. As for Alice? She would catch up by herself, and Linger only had two hands.

Unlike Linville or most cities, the public transportation system in Rustin City, apart from the subway that has gradually emerged in recent years, does not have steam trains, but has been replaced by retro-style two-horse carriages. This carriage has a traditional two-story carriage, and the upper carriage is open to the sky. In spring, passengers sitting by the railings often reach out to break off the tender branches of the trees along the road and bring them home to feel the breath of spring.

It is winter now. Although the trees on the roadside are evergreen, their leaves have become a little old due to the cold wind, so no one does this.

At Alice's strong request, the three of them finally sat on the upper carriage. With the neighing of the black draft horse, the wheels rolled through the streets. Alice looked down at the flower beds and canals on the roadside, and occasionally she was more interested in the Pennisetum and morning glory that grew tenaciously in the cracks of the cement.

The carriage started from Solans Street outside Rodrance Railway Station, passed through White Flower Lane, Sheep Street, Lulan Elk Street and Joseph Street, and finally arrived at Sherrill Street in the west of the city.

These names are very interesting and full of the local style of Rostin. Solansi means "bleak autumn leaves". In the Middle Ages, this was the first place in the city to welcome autumn; White Flower refers to a white flower similar to hops, which has medicinal value. Rostin people use it to treat simple colds; Sheep Street is not a street for raising sheep, but "the street where sheep return from grazing". The city still retains the ancient shepherd profession; Lulan Elk means "where you see the wilderness", because the end of the road stops at a country path leading to the wilderness; Joseph's name means "the poet and his flowers". William Connor, the father of modern botany, collected the habits and characteristics of 217 plants here.

As for the meaning of Scherer Street, it is relatively simple: fairies and sycamores.

Although no one knows how these two words are connected, at least Lingge, Metien and Alice may know the origin of the meaning of "fairy".

The "Fairy Sleep" inn mentioned by Saint Shalia is on this street.

　Give me some meow, and also, thank the ghostwriter for the 1 reward. He gave too much, and I have to thank him now ().

　　
　
(End of this chapter)