At the same time, the design drawings for two-wheeled and three-wheeled bicycles were disseminated throughout the country through the "Xi Wen" newspaper.

Six months later, the entire Jingyue Avenue was opened to traffic.

The opening ceremony also marked the start of the first Daehee-Beijing-Vietnam Cycling Race.

The rules of the bicycle race were designed by Xiao Qingyin based on a famous bicycle race from her previous life.

The entire race is divided into fifteen stages, each with its own timed and ranked stages.

The total score of a participant is the sum of the scores from each segment.

The team that finishes in the shortest time wins the championship.

In addition to the champion, there were also runners-up, third-place winners, and ten excellence awards.

The champion will be awarded 10,000 taels of silver.

The runner-up received five thousand taels.

The third-place winner receives three thousand taels of silver.

Each winner will receive 500 taels of silver.

With such a generous reward, nearly 10,000 people participated, crowding the area outside the south gate when the competition began.

Zuo Miaomiao finally convinced her father to cover the entire event, but after setting off, she saw Fu Weiyun's figure.

What are you doing here?

She stared in astonishment at Fu Weiyun riding a tall horse.

Fu Weiyun chuckled: "I'll be in charge of leading the team to maintain order during this competition."

Zuo Miaomiao: "..."

What a ridiculous coincidence!

Fu Weiyun glanced at the big dumpling peeking out from behind the car window—half a year had passed, and the little orange had grown into a big orange.

He went to the Zuo residence to look for the cat, but it ignored him completely, so ownership naturally became Zuo Miaomiao's.

"You brought Yuanyuan along too?"

"Yes, I'm going away from home for two months, and I was worried it would be lonely, so I brought it with me."

Fu Weiyun smiled slightly: "It's good to let it broaden its horizons."

Having said that, he spurred his horse and rode off to catch up with the group ahead.

Looking at his tall, straight back, Zuo Miaomiao's anxiety about the unknown journey she had been facing when she left home suddenly subsided.

This was her first long-distance trip.

I'm really looking forward to it.

She picked up the big dumpling and took a deep breath.

"Yuanyuan, are you looking forward to it too?"

"Meow—"

After that, she sent the latest race results to the headquarters of "Xi Wen" via carrier pigeon every day, and "Xi Wen" then relayed the results to the public.

For a time, people across the country were keenly following the progress of the competition, and bicycle sales in various regions repeatedly broke new records.

People were surprised to find that bicycles, as a means of transportation, neither required the purchase and domestication of livestock, nor were they lightweight and easy to carry.

And it can walk freely whether on a wide road or a country path.

Whether carrying goods or people, a tricycle is in no way inferior to a horse-drawn carriage.

Those with money can buy steel or iron ones, while those without money can buy bamboo or wood ones.

You can even make it yourself.

—Anyway, as long as you buy a copy of "Xiwen", you will get design drawings.

In the countryside, almost everyone is a skilled craftsman. Most of the baskets, winnowing baskets, tables and chairs used at home are made by themselves, so figuring out a bicycle is no problem.

Chains wear out easily, and wooden or bamboo chains are not durable, but there are shops that specialize in making them, so you can just spend a little money to buy a set.

The price isn't much higher than a kitchen knife.

Before long, almost every household in Daxi had a bicycle.

For wealthy people, multiple bicycles are just multiple modes of transportation, and they are not very useful.

But for the vast majority of farmers, having bicycles has led to a rapid improvement in their quality of life.

No more arduous journeys of half an hour to work in remote fields.

When carrying fertilizer or harvesting crops, you don't have to carry it on your shoulders or back, which would break your back.

The effort that used to be enough to cultivate three mu of land can now be used to cultivate seven or eight mu.

Even going to the market can be quick and easy.

Going to the city is no longer an unattainable dream.

You can ride a bicycle and return on the same day without having to find a fellow villager to stay with or share a bed with other people's families.

You don't have to sleep on the streets to save a few cents on accommodation.

It's much more convenient to go to the city to buy or sell things, or to see a doctor and buy medicine.

At first, the muddy roads were bumpy and difficult to ride, but after local governments followed orders and cement roads were built to the village entrances, riding became much smoother.

Villages scattered like stars in the countryside are connected by cement roads and bicycles.

People work more efficiently, travel faster, and transact more frequently.

People, money, and goods are all circulating at a faster pace.

Small towns thus expand, small cities thus grow, and large cities become even larger cities.

With the construction of cement roads and bicycles, all of this happened naturally.

However, the rapid economic take-off occurred after the advent of steam trains.

Wei Yan developed the steam locomotive as the bicycle race was nearing its end.

On the day of the test run, Xiao Qingyin brought Yun Shu with her.

Yun Shu was still the same as before; only her eyes could move.

Thanks to the exercise aids designed by Wei Yan, she has been exercising her muscles with the help of others, and she looks relatively healthy.

However, the foundation he built up from his martial arts training in his youth has been completely lost.

The tracks had already been laid, but the steam train being tested only had three carriages. Yi Shuihan had brought all the court officials with him, and three carriages were simply not enough to accommodate everyone.

It can only be done in batches.

Xiao Qingyin and Yun Shu were naturally in the first batch.

When the deafening roar sounded and thick smoke billowed out, the train chugged along the railway, quickly leaving the scenery behind. Everyone except Xiao Qingyin, Yi Shuihan, and Wei Yan was stunned.

"That coal-fired cart runs faster than a galloping horse!"

"It's incredible that it can carry so many people."

"With this steam train, wouldn't it only take two or three days to travel to the capital or Nanyue?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!