Chapter Thirty Arrival in Nanjing! Seeking Recommendation Tickets!

  After entering Dingzhou County, not far from the street, two newspaper vendors were seen with a bundle of new newspapers on their backs. The slightly immature hands held up a copy of the newspaper and shouted loudly: "Newspaper for sale! Newspaper for sale! Tens of thousands of Japanese troops launched a fierce attack on Xifengkou, the 29th Army fought bloody battles! Sell newspaper sell newspaper!"

  Zhang Xinghan heard this and walked up in big strides, saying: "Give me a newspaper!" He then awkwardly patted himself all over, only to find that he didn't have any money on him.

  Du Qianxue quickly took out a few copper coins from her bag, the newsboy handed over the newspaper to Zhang Xinghan after receiving the coins, and then took out another copy of the newspaper from his bag and continued to shout and sell newspapers elsewhere.

  Zhang Xinghan opened the newspaper, hastily scanned it, and indeed, the progress of the war was still unfolding along its original historical trajectory. His killing of a Japanese general had apparently not changed history. But thinking about it also made him feel at ease - if history could be changed so easily, would it still be history?

  "What's wrong?" Du Qianxue asked, looking at Zhang Xinghan with a furrowed brow.

  "The Japanese army is launching a large-scale attack on the various passes of the Great Wall, and although our troops have temporarily halted the enemy's advance with bloody battles, all units have suffered heavy casualties. The Great Wall line may be lost!" Zhang Xing said with a somewhat solemn tone.

  "What's going to happen?" Du Qianxue asked with a worried and surprised expression. Although she didn't understand military affairs, she had a strong sense of patriotism and concern for the people, which was why she, a young lady from a wealthy family, would volunteer to join the communications department.

  "It's hopeless! The fall of the Great Wall is not something we can change! However, the Nationalist government should soon sign a ceasefire agreement with the Japanese army!" Zhang Xinghan said with a heavy expression, shaking his head.

  "A ceasefire agreement?" Du Qianxue looked at Zhang Xinghan with a puzzled expression.

  "Right! It's the Armistice Agreement!" Zhang Xinghan nodded and said, then immediately added: "Let's go! These are not things we should be concerned about, nor can we change them! I must hurry to Nanjing to complete my studies this morning!" Zhang Xinghan did not want to tell Du Qianshuo that the Armistice Agreement was actually the unequal Treaty of Tianjin, because at this stage, knowing these things would do her no good, and as a woman, she was powerless to change anything.

  "Oh!" Du Qianxue nodded obediently upon hearing this.

  Zhang Xinghan slightly raised his right arm, hummed twice to Du Qianxue, who looked at him with a puzzled expression. Then Zhang Xinghan smiled faintly and said: "Shouldn't the wife hold her husband's hand?"

  Du Qianxue's cheeks suddenly flushed with two red clouds, and she pouted, then gently grasped Zhang Xinghan's right arm, the two walking forward together.

  "How did we end up in Nanjing?" Du Qianxue asked as she walked with her head tilted.

  "Take a boat!" Zhang Xinghan replied without looking up.

  "Take a boat? Are you saying take a boat south from the Grand Canal?" Du Qianshuang's beautiful eyes lit up.

  "Uh-huh!" Zhang Xinghan nodded and immediately said: "Let's go, first find a place to stay and rest well for the night. Tomorrow we'll think of a way to get to Hengshui, and from there take a boat south!"

  "Oh!" Du Qianxue puckered her mouth and nodded slightly.

  After circling around the county town, the two of them found a fairly clean small inn. This inn was also a tavern, with the first floor being the tavern and the backyard and second floor being guest rooms.

  The two of them stood still in front of the hotel entrance, looking at a conspicuous sign hanging on the door. Although it was written in traditional Chinese characters, this did not stump Zhang Xinghan, who had graduated from college and received higher education.

  "Fengxiang Tavern" Zhang Xinghan whispered.

  "In fact, there is also a Fengxiang wine house in Nanjing, which is much larger than this one! When we arrive in Nanjing, I'll take you to eat at a place where the chef's dishes are all top-notch!" Du Qianshuo said, looking at the sign of the wine house.

  "Really?"

  "Hmm!"

  The two of them walked into the tavern arm in arm, laughing and chatting. The shopkeeper at the door saw this and hurriedly greeted them with a smile: "Gentlemen, are you here to stay or just for a snack?"

  "Accommodations!" Zhang Xinghan said calmly.

  "Excuse me, would you like two rooms or one room?" The shopkeeper asked with a smile all over his face.

  "What do you think?" Zhang Xinghan raised his arm, which was tightly held by Du Qianshuo.

  "Oh! One room available! Sir, please wait a moment! I'll go and arrange it!" The shop assistant shouted in a sharp voice.

  "Ah..." Du Qianxue stretched out her hand to stop him.

  Zhang Xinghan interrupted her and whispered in her ear, "Director Du, have you ever seen a couple staying in a hotel and still living in separate rooms? This is to avoid unnecessary trouble." Zhang Xinghan then smiled slyly and said, "But don't worry, I absolutely won't make any moves at midnight!"

  "Hmph!" Du Qianxue's cheeks turned bright red as she stomped her foot on Zhang Xinghan's right foot, causing him to grimace in pain.

  Just then, the shopkeeper came over with a pot of hot water and the room key in hand, grinning mischievously as he walked quickly towards Zhang Xinghan and said respectfully: "Two gentlemen, please follow me!"

  Under the leadership of the shopkeeper, the two came to a guest room in the backyard. The shopkeeper put hot water on the table in the room and said a few words before leaving.

  Zhang Xinghan glanced around the room, a room of about twenty square meters, nothing special, a bed, several stools and a small octagonal table.

  On a wooden washstand beside the window, there was a small ceramic basin. A typical hotel room of the 1930s.

  Soon, the shopkeeper brought in several plates of hot dishes and a bowl of hot soup, along with several white steamed buns. He quickly walked over to place the food on the table, then respectfully said to Zhang Xinghan: "Sir, please enjoy your meal."

  "Hmm!" Zhang Xinghan nodded and waved his hand.

  The young shop assistant retreated with a respectful expression and closed the door on his way out.

  Zhang Xinghan picked up a pair of chopsticks, grabbed a white steamed bun and took big bites, saying to Du Qiansheng: "Eat!"

  Du Qianxue walked over to the table and sat down, but only picked up a pair of chopsticks to pick at her food, not eating the mantou.

  "What's wrong? Why aren't you eating mantou? How can we move on if you don't eat mantou?"

  "I've never eaten it before!" Du Qianxue said with some embarrassment.

  "What?" Zhang Xinghan was shocked and immediately asked: "Where are you from?"

  "I'm from Shanghai, I've been eating rice since I was a kid." Du Qianxue said timidly.

  "Exactly!" Zhang Xinghan thought for a moment and felt relieved. Looking at Du Qianshuang's words and deeds, as well as her temperament, she was definitely not an ordinary girl from a common family. From a young age, she had been raised with respect and luxury, wearing silk clothes and eating fine food, so it was natural that she couldn't eat steamed buns.

  She immediately picked up a steamed bun and said: "Everything has a first time, try it, this steamed bun is fragrant, soft, and delicious!"

  "Hmm!" Du Qianxue took a steamed bun, but unlike Zhang Xinghan's wolf-like devouring, she tore off a small piece with her hand and put it in her mouth, slowly chewing.

  It was probably her first time eating mantou, and the freshness overwhelmed her. Du Qianshuo unknowingly ate a whole big white mantou that was even bigger than her fist.

  But compared to Zhang Xinghan, it was still far from enough. The shopkeeper brought a total of four white steamed buns, and except for Liu Ruyan eating one, the remaining three were all swallowed by Zhang Xinghan in big gulps.

  After finishing dinner, the shopkeeper came again and took away all the tableware and leftover dishes.

  Zhang Xinghan brought the four stools around the table together, arranged them in two rows, and turned to Du Qianxue: "You sleep on the bed tonight, I'll sleep here!"

  "Oh!" Du Qianxue's face turned red as she nodded, although she knew Zhang Xinghan would definitely not be comfortable on the board, but out of a girl's conservative thoughts, she couldn't let him sleep with her on the bed.

  One night without a word, when the sky brightened and he woke up, Zhang Xinghan had an extra quilt on his body. This was naturally done by Du Qianshuai. In the second half of the night, she might have been afraid that Zhang Xinghan would catch a chill, so she covered him with the quilt. Zhang Xinghan knew this, but to avoid awkwardness, he pretended to be asleep and didn't wake up.

  After a simple wash, Du Qianxue settled the bill and the two of them hired a horse-drawn carriage to rush day and night, finally arriving in Hengshui. After buying two boat tickets in Hengshui, they boarded a passenger ship bound for Hangzhou. At that time, there were countless passenger ships and cargo ships running on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and it was easy to find boats going south or north.

  After spending about half a month on the passenger ship, the passenger ship finally arrived in Yangzhou, not far from Nanjing. After disembarking in Yangzhou, the two people crossed the river and headed south to Nanjing.

  At this time, Jiangnan was in the midst of a warm and blooming spring. The weather was much hotter than the distant North China Plain. Zhang Xinghan stood outside the ancient city that had stood for thousands of years, his heart racing with excitement as he shouted: "Nanjing, I'm here!"

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