Luo Jiuxi and his wild wife looked at the hard flatbread in their hands, then at the steaming noodles placed in front of them. Smelling the scallions and sesame oil, the flatbread in their hands immediately lost its appeal!
The King of Liang slurped up a mouthful of noodles. "So delicious!"
Xiao Liangguo is mostly mountainous with little plains, making it unsuitable for wheat cultivation. Therefore, they rarely eat wheat-based foods. They already find them delicious when they eat them normally. Now, after two months of travel, sitting on a speeding train they've never seen before, they enjoy their food even more. They even chew and swallow the scallions carefully.
But he looked at the portly official and asked, "Banquet? Can we get there tonight?"
They set off from Xiao Liang Kingdom and traveled all the way to Xuancheng. Even with Su Heng's truly fast pace, it still took them two months, and he had to change his horses several times!
Thinking of that bearded Fang He made her feel resentful. All he wanted was to go back to the Great Jin Dynasty. Why was he so eager to return?
Although Luo Jiuxi quietly told him while he was complaining that Su Heng was in a hurry to go back to see his fiancée, "Your fiancée is a goddess, why are you in such a rush! Besides, it's been two years since we last saw each other, what's a few more days or half a month?"
But getting back to the point, he put aside his resentment towards Su Heng's hasty journey and began to doubt the fat official's words. Although Xuancheng was only a little over two hundred li from the capital, at their previous fast-paced horseback riding, it would still take them four or five days to travel there. Could they really arrive by train today?
Several people, like Fang He, looked at the sky outside. It was just past noon. If, as the fat official had said, they could have the banquet prepared by the emperor, then the journey that would have taken four or five days could now be completed in just two or three hours!
Even if the train is fast, this is still a bit of a pipe dream!
Not only did Fang He and his group from the small Liang Kingdom not believe it, but even the people from the Great Jin Kingdom who had returned from the small Liang Kingdom were not very convinced. However, they did not raise any questions because they could not undermine their own country. They ignored the fat official's boast and went to admire the other items in the carriage!
The chubby official remained unconvinced by their doubts and disbelief, smiling mysteriously. He had been just as skeptical when he first sat down, but reality had slapped him in the face, leaving him almost stunned!
Two and a half hours later, as the sun set and the setting sun shone like gold, the group got off the train at the train station on the outskirts of the capital. When they got off, Fang He and the old man almost collapsed because their legs went weak.
"Have we...have we arrived?"
Hearing the cheers and whistles from the people getting off the train in other carriages, Fang He asked, trembling, his disbelief bordering on confusion.
It really did arrive on the same day! They weren't exaggerating!
The portly official nodded and said, "We've arrived! The car is already waiting outside. Please follow me!"
Su Heng saw the fat official's mysterious smile and instinctively felt that the emperor's showing off was definitely not just that.
Led by a portly official, they exited the train station, only to be shocked by the sight before them.
Previously, the outskirts of the capital were a desolate wasteland, barren except for weeds. Now, however, not a single weed grows. A wide, flat road runs through the middle, leading to the city gate in the distance. Various stalls are set up on both sides, and each stall is crowded with people. Some are excited people who have just come from the train station, while others look much calmer and are probably from the city.
Although it was lively, everything was in good order. The stalls were arranged in a specific order, and every place was clean. Even the food stalls were spotless, without a single stain or vegetable leaf. The owners warmly greeted the customers.
"Sir, please get in the carriage!"
The portly official led them to a relatively spacious area, where they stood in front of two small pink houses. Immediately, someone respectfully went over and opened a door, gesturing for them to enter.
"This is?"
Su Heng curiously examined the pink little house, which was long and rectangular and had wheels like a carriage. However, the wheels were different from those on a carriage; they were black and looked like some kind of glue.
"This is called a sedan chair. Like a horse-drawn carriage, it's a means of transportation, but the effects are quite different. You'll know once you sit in it."
The chubby official explained that he particularly enjoyed the task the emperor had given him, finding it incredibly satisfying to watch Su Heng and the others' expressions shift from shock to confusion to bewilderment.
And you can even ride in a car!
You should know that there are only these two carriages in the entire Great Jin Dynasty. The emperor is usually reluctant to ride in them. They are only brought out for guests or when the emperor wants to show off.
However, he wouldn't tell them that the Great Jin Dynasty only had these two vehicles; he wanted to shock the people of Little Liang Kingdom first. Moreover, to demonstrate the grandeur of a great power, he suppressed his excitement at being able to ride in a sedan, seemingly already accustomed to this kind of high-tech equipment that the people of Little Liang Kingdom didn't even know existed!
I learned the term "high technology" from Chuanwen. Ah, speaking of Chuanwen, I feel incredibly proud!
"This thing is so short, can anyone sit on it?"
Fang He raised a question, and the old man next to him slammed his fist on the pink car, making a loud banging sound. With each bang, the fat official felt his heart bleed with heartache, but he couldn't stop him, and he couldn't let the people of Xiao Liangguo see his heartache!
The chubby official resisted the urge to rush forward and kill the old man, and instead invited the group into the car.
Because there were too many people in the group, only Su Heng and a few other important people, such as Fang He, were invited to ride in the carriage. Su Heng and two other officials from the Great Jin Dynasty rode in one carriage, while the chubby official, Fang He, and the little old man rode in another.
However, when they got into the car and saw that there was already someone sitting inside, and it was a woman, they were all stunned.
"Why is there someone in here? And she's quite pretty!"
Fang He was a lecherous old man. When he saw the beautiful woman in the seat in front of him, he thought she was a female entertainer prepared by the Great Jin Dynasty for them. His eyes were already filled with lust.
The driver was Zhao Xuejiao. She wasn't good at research, but for the safety of all the female students, Chuanwen suggested that she learn to drive as soon as these two cars were built. Fortunately, she wasn't too stupid, and after learning, she was in charge of one of the two cars.
She glanced at the bearded man in the rearview mirror, and the chubby official quickly explained to Fang He that Zhao Xuejiao was the driver.
Not to mention that they couldn't afford to offend Zhao Xuejiao because she was the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, they would have been eager to treat her like royalty just because she was one of only two people in the entire Great Jin Dynasty who knew how to drive a car!
The drivers of both cars were female students. Besides driving, they were also responsible for maintaining the cars. These skills were passed down from teacher to student, not from male. So now, every female student at the school—well, even someone like Zhao Xuejiao, who was only half-baked—was a national treasure!
Upon learning Zhao Xuejiao's identity, Fang He hesitated for a moment before quickly apologizing. Although Zhao Xuejiao's father was only the Minister of Personnel, he was the Minister of Personnel of the Great Jin Dynasty! The Great Jin Dynasty was something they had always aspired to, and after witnessing the train today, they dared not offend it even more!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
