"Just sit down like this, step on these, and hold the front of the carriage steady." Ji Yingying gave a simple instruction, and the Emperor sat down and tried it out. He actually drove it for a while.
[Haha, shocking, right, folks? This is a modern invention; our era still needs further development before we can have something like this.]
Then all the ministers stopped discussing state affairs and lined up to test ride the bikes.
"If I could ride this carriage to the morning court, it would be much faster," Lord Gong began again.
Does he think the Ministry of Industry doesn't have enough work to do?
"My dear colleagues, if you want a car, you can. Give me the money. One hundred thousand taels of silver per car, and I will buy it for you."
[Haha... 100,000 taels, I made a profit!]
[You shrewd businessman...] Xiangxiang didn't stop her, since it wasn't a big deal anyway.
"Your Highness, could you please give me a smaller amount? I want to buy it."
"Your Highness, can we produce it?" Lord Gong started discussing again, and the group chattered away, undeterred by the wind and rain.
"Okay, you can write me a plan and buy it from me. Or, you can find a good person to buy my production rights and run it yourself."
The Emperor, who was listening nearby, immediately thought her plan was good and said, "It's feasible, it's feasible. This vehicle is very useful. It's fast to ride and can carry people in the back."
"More than that! Send someone to bring two baskets, three, and a shoulder pole."
Ji Yingying personally showed them how to carry the goods.
Two baskets are supported by a shoulder pole, placed on the back seat, and tied with a rope. Another basket can be placed on top to secure it.
"If you're worried about the front of the vehicle tilting up, you can use a bag, a cloth bag will do. Put a little bit of stuff in it and put it here. But then you can't ride it, you can only pull it by hand. This is very suitable for ordinary people, such as when hauling firewood or rice, they don't have to carry it by hand."
At that time, which village could afford a cassava cart? Let alone a horse-drawn cart or a donkey cart.
However, such expensive bicycles won't be distributed to rural areas; they're only for rich people to show off.
"Your Highness, please have mercy on us and give us a cheaper price. It's cold in winter and we have to get up very early to go to court. With this car, we don't have to get up so early."
"Don't you have a carriage? It's cold to ride a carriage when it's cold!" The carriage is comfortable.
"We don't have a carriage, so we usually walk to court. We don't have any other means of livelihood at home, so we rely entirely on the salary of this humble official."
Indeed, many of them are.
"My parents are really something; I had a carriage as soon as I arrived in the capital."
【Ergouzi, you're being silly. Where did your father get a carriage? He always rides in your mother's carriage. As for your carriage, it belongs to the Crown Prince's residence; it was given to you by the Crown Prince, and so did your nanny. Have you forgotten?】
【Oh dear, I almost forgot. It seems the Crown Princess sent it. Okay, I'll give the Crown Princess a bicycle so she can ride it around.】
"Can it be cheaper?"
Someone asked, but the emperor didn't say anything and just waited for Ji Yingying to make a decision. They knew very well that Ji Yingying couldn't stand this.
"this……"
"Your Highness, your car is so exquisite, you should let people know about it."
"Yes, such a beautiful and fast car should be available to the people. Can we offer a cheaper price?"
One hundred thousand taels of silver is an astronomical price. Besides, it's not like she doesn't have blueprints.
"Your Majesty, say something! I don't have the money to give you a discount." Ji Yingying directly pulled the emperor aside, jokingly, this carriage cost her fifty thousand taels.
It’s too expensive, now it’s too cheap, who will make up for the remaining money?
"Then why don't you have the Ministry of Works do it? Or why don't you try doing business with that minister in the court and get the carriages made?"
This is a matter that benefits the country and the people, so he won't say much, or this little ancestor might become stingy.
Good grief, I regret it now, I shouldn't have ridden it.
So what should you do?
What else can I do... Even the emperor doesn't care, he's clearly telling me to pay, but I won't, I don't have any...
The Emperor: ...It's one thing to scold him, but to be so shameless.
"The car is right here. I'll lend it to you for three days. Just three days. Study it carefully. Once you figure it out, it's yours."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor quickly pushed the Ministry of Works out and said, "My dear Gong, why don't you hurry up and take them back? The Ministry of Rites has been busy lately. Please assist the Ministry of Works in developing the blueprint and writing the plan."
Influenced by Ji Yingying, they stopped talking about memorials and started calling out plans for anything that needed to be made.
"Yes, I will go back and study it immediately."
"You old bastard, three days, you must return it to me in three days!" Ji Yingying didn't care about her dignity anymore and started cursing.
After the truck was driven away, everyone finally felt the cold; after all, it was October, and it was indeed getting cold.
After returning to the Imperial Study, the Emperor said, "My dear ministers, tomorrow is the Imperial Examination. You..."
[So it was to finalize the plan.]
As soon as her voice rang out, the emperor immediately called her name: "My dear little Ji, you must not be lazy tomorrow. You must supervise the students entering the examination hall."
"Okay." She responded weakly. She had to get up early again and felt like she couldn't hold on any longer.
After listening to the emperor's discussion with the examiners, she was released. After coming out, Ji Yingying went to the Dali Temple.
"Lord Gongsun, it's been a long time!"
"No, no..." Lord Gongsun was also flustered. What was this little ancestor doing here?
"Sir, go check out this gambling house. You might be able to solve a big case."
Ji Yingying provided a gambling house to Lord Gongsun, and not long ago Rong Yi also reported what the gambling house owner did, all of which were based on Ji Yingying's thoughts.
"Okay, okay, I was just about to check..."
"A message from Lord Rongyi?"
Lord Gongsun immediately shook his head and was about to find an excuse. After all, Rong Yi had instructed him to keep it a secret from Ji Yingying.
But before I could find an excuse, Ji Yingying had already found one herself.
"I know you have some resources, so you can do it yourself."
"Okay..." After the people left, Lord Gongsun immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked people to monitor the gambling house. This was taught by Mu Kaiji. First, keep an eye on them, and then send people to go deep into the house to arrest the criminals directly.
Fortunately, he made arrangements early, otherwise the shop owner might have escaped.
It's likely that Ji Yingying's thoughts were overheard by his people, who then sent him a message.
They started surveillance too early and caught him red-handed. Then they searched the house and found the mutilated bodies in the basement, along with... something else in his cooking pot.
It took several days to resolve this matter. In addition, the emperor issued a ban on gambling, decreeing that anyone found gambling dens or engaging in gambling would be arrested and exiled if they were not executed.
…………
On the second day, the examiners all knew that this person would not wake up, so they sent people to Ji's house to invite him. Ji Yingying had no choice but to get up, change her clothes and go to the examination room.
The examination room was already packed with people, just waiting to be checked in.
"The examiners are here, why won't they let us in?" a student asked.
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