Chapter 138
Qin Su frowned: "I remember you told me before that garbage breeds bacteria, so we should pay more attention to hygiene."
“That’s right.” Ye Yan patted her head. “Perhaps we can suggest that every street in the capital implement garbage sorting.”
As they spoke, the sound of horses' hooves approached from afar, kicking up dust, and a coachman shouted, "Make way! Make way!"
Ye Yan led Qin Su to the side of the street, watching as a carriage and several horses sped past, with people on the road screaming and dodging.
Qin Su said unhappily, "Whose family has such bad manners? Riding a horse so arrogantly in the street, what if someone gets hurt?"
She turned around and pointed in the direction the carriage had gone, and the guards in the crowd silently followed to investigate.
Once the matter is investigated, it will be reported to Emperor Jingxi's desk. It seems that whoever did this today will not get away with it.
But Qin Su still felt uncomfortable.
She just happened to run into this; what if she didn't normally encounter it?
"Ye Yan, you mentioned that in some places government officials direct traffic on the roads. Is it permissible to do that in the capital?" Qin Su asked.
Ye Yan's lips twitched: "Traffic police?" But there are no traffic lights right now.
Qin Su thought for a moment and said, "It seems like that won't work. Adding too many people to the government would create a bureaucracy."
“How about this, we select people from the common people, sign contracts with the government, and have them patrol the streets and inspect sanitation and roads.” Based on what she had heard from Ye Yan, she boldly suggested, “For example, people should walk on the right when entering the city and on the left when leaving the city, and pedestrians should walk on both sides.”
The more Ye Yan listened, the more familiar it sounded. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that this was just a modern temporary worker wearing a red armband.
It's truly remarkable that Qin Su could come up with such a thing.
He thought this method was feasible, but...
“Since it’s a contract with the government, there must be rules and regulations, and specific details,” Ye Yan said. “The patrolmen must also be literate and understand the regulations. Their treatment and wages are not much on their own, but together they represent an expense that requires careful consideration.”
Many government orders may seem like minor matters, but their actual implementation requires a great deal of behind-the-scenes work and cannot be accomplished with just a few words.
Qin Su rested her chin on her hand and pondered, “Let me think… The censors can think of the rules and regulations. Watching them argue and waste their breath every day is pointless. As for the patrolmen, we can first select them and set up a literacy class.”
Ye Yan was both amused and exasperated by what she said about the literacy class.
Before he could say anything, Qin Su waved her hand and said boldly, "As for money, that's not a problem. Once my glass is finished, I'll sell it and make lots of money!"
Ye Yan was taken aback. He asked, bewildered, "Liuli? When did this happen?"
Qin Su was even more confused than him: "Huh? Didn't I tell you? Master Hou started doing this only a few days after he came back."
Ye Yan: "?!"
His first reaction wasn't, "How come Hou Dongrui even knows how to do this?", but rather, he was surprised that Qin Su had so many things on her own that he was unaware of.
Ye Yan subtly empathized with Emperor Jingxi from a while ago, feeling a sense of melancholy that "the child has grown up and no longer needs me."
Seeing his expression, Qin Su felt a little guilty and muttered, "Did I really not tell you? Maybe I forgot."
After all, there are so many things to do in a day, how could a little child remember them all?
She shook Ye Yan's hand and said generously, "I'll share some of the money with you when I make it."
Ye Yan deliberately asked, "How much is one point?"
Qin Su said, "One-tenth."
If the glass is successfully developed, it's obvious that the profits will be enormous. One-tenth of Qin Su's amount may not seem like much, but in terms of actual gold and silver, it could be extremely substantial.
Ye Yan asked, "Don't you feel bad about giving me so much?"
Qin Su said, "It's alright, you're more important than gold and silver."
Ye Yan paused, his expression complex: "You... how come you've been like this since you were little?"
Sweet words flow effortlessly from their lips, and they don't even realize there's anything wrong with what they're saying.
Qin Su asked, puzzled, "What? Honest, frank, and likes to tell the truth?"
Ye Yan: "..."
Forget it, he can't compare to Qin Su in either words or shamelessness.
Qin Su pulled him: "Let's go, quickly carry me to see the play."
Ye Yan resignedly picked her up, his earlier melancholy vanishing.
Qin Su curled her lips into a triumphant smile.
The book says that friends are prone to conflict, but that's not true. Look how easy it is to coax her friends.
***
This year, Dayu and the capital city were exceptionally lively.
First, they nearly encountered a locust plague, but ultimately the ducks turned the tide and won. Then, a new tune emerged from the capital, which was said to be some kind of drama. It was unlike any opera they had ever seen before. The makeup was bright and attractive, the tune was unique and melodious, and the story it told was about events of the current dynasty and the current year. The people who heard it exclaimed, "So that's how it is!"
Not long after the drama became popular, the government suddenly ordered a cleanup of the streets and hired a group of older people or people who were not in good physical condition to attend a temporary school for two months to officially begin patrolling.
In autumn and winter, Dayu had a new product: wool from the grassland trade. After some processing, it was cleaned and made into wool yarn, which was very comfortable to weave into clothes. I heard that the court was also looking for people to improve the spinning machine. I wonder what it will look like.
The entire capital was bustling with activity, a scene of great joy.
The residents inside the city gradually accepted the changes, taking it step by step, and didn't think much of it, but outsiders who came to the capital were always amazed.
In March of the following year, Sun Mao, the governor-general of Huainan, went to Beijing to report on his duties.
When they were still more than ten miles from the capital, he heard the coachman and guards discussing something. He had a strange feeling, but he was engrossed in his book and didn't pay attention to it.
When they arrived at the city gate, Sun Mao noticed that the carriage had been stopped for quite some time and that people seemed to be talking outside. He then curiously lifted the heavy curtain.
"What? Is there a problem with the documents?"
The people outside hadn't expected to disturb him, and quickly said, "No, no."
One of Sun Mao's close attendants stepped forward to explain to him, "Governor, I found the paving material rather strange, so I thought I'd ask the officials in the city about it."
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because once he did, Sun Mao realized what was going on.
No wonder he felt something was off earlier; the carriage had become much more stable, and he could read without any more jolting!
Although the roads around the capital are better paved, he had been to the capital before, and they were not as safe as they were.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the path the carts had traveled was not the usual dirt road, but a hard, dark gray surface. Despite the large number of people and vehicles that had walked this path, not a single trace had been left.
Sun Mao asked in surprise, "What is this?"
The attendant scratched his head: "They said this is something new that was just laid out this year, it's called, oh right, it's called cement!"
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