Chapter 238 There is no wife in the wife cake
"As the saying goes, scarcity makes things valuable. We can't set the price too low from the beginning." Qu Fufeng decided to raise the price right from the start.
Steam carriages are destined to be a luxury of this era.
If the product is to be consumed by the rich, the price cannot be too low.
"My dear, what do you think is a suitable amount?" Lu Yanshi looked at him.
"Let's hold an auction and the highest bidder wins." Qu Fufeng smiled slightly.
His slaughter knife has been sharpened and he is just waiting for the rich people to come to him.
"That's right, and not everyone can enter this auction. You have to pay money. You have to pay one hundred taels of silver to enter." An Miaoyi raised her eyebrows and smiled.
"If they don't win the bid, we won't refund the money. They can use it as a deposit for buying a carriage in the future. After all, a steam carriage can't be built in a day or two."
"If you just look but don't buy, then this hundred taels of silver is given to us for free, and we won't suffer any loss."
Qu Fufeng looked at Concubine Min with admiration.
As expected of the daughter of the richest man, she is good at making money.
"Empress Min is right." Qu Fufeng nodded and spoke again, not wanting to be outdone.
"We also need to add license plates to the cars we sell, so that they are all registered with the government. Otherwise, if something happens to the car, we won't be able to find the owner. We can give the license plates for free, but if they want customized, unique ones, we'll ask them to pay extra."
He curled his lips and revealed a lewd smile.
An Miaoyi also smelled a business opportunity from his words, and she immediately added: "In that case, can we also provide unified training for the drivers? Let them take the assessment, and only after they pass the assessment can they drive on the road. We will conduct random inspections every six months, and those who pass will be awarded the title of Royal Certified Gold Medal Drivers, and those who fail will be fined."
"We can open a place to train drivers and help them improve their chances of passing."
Qu Fufeng was really impressed now.
He was still fussing about the car, and Concubine Min even thought of opening a driving school.
It’s really high.
Lu Yanshi was stunned when he heard this.
In terms of making money, it still has to be Concubine Min and Qu Fufeng.
As far as he was concerned, the only solution he could think of was selling the car.
As expected, professional matters should be left to professionals.
"Okay, let's do as you say. You can draw up a complete process and plan so that the people below know what to do." Lu Yanshi nodded with satisfaction.
Five days later.
The Mohists finally created a steam carriage.
This time, it was Shinpei's car.
The steam carriage made a sharp and rhythmic "chi chi" sound, and everyone was stunned.
Shinpei drove steadily and went straight from the test site to the construction department.
"It's done, Lord Qu, it really worked this time!" Shen Pingzhi pulled the brake steadily and reported to Qu Fufeng excitedly.
"Okay, I'll go and ask the emperor to come and see it." Qu Fufeng was also very happy and immediately sent someone to tell the emperor the good news.
Before his people arrived, Lu Yanshi had already found out from his daughter.
[Wow, you are indeed a Mo family member, you succeeded this time! ]
[This car can also make noises, which is quite interesting. ]
[When can Father take me to ride in this car?]
Lu Li was very interested in this.
Lu Yanshi heard her thoughts and decided to take his daughter to try it out later.
Soon, people from Qu Fufeng's faction arrived.
The ministers were very curious when they learned that the steam carriage had been repaired.
They had only heard from the Ministry of Industry that there had been a car accident, but had never seen the steam carriage intact.
So Lu Yanshi waved his hand and took all the court officials to see the steam carriage.
"Why is there no horse in this carriage?" The ministers present were a little confused.
Qu Fufeng murmured softly: There is no wife in the wife cake, and what's wrong with the steam carriage without a horse?
But when faced with the ministers' doubts, he still had to answer them politely.
"Because this vehicle is an improvement on the traditional horse-drawn carriage, we use a steam-powered device instead of horses as the power source, so we use the name 'carriage' to describe this new type of transportation."
What is a steam power plant???
The ministers were all dumbfounded.
"Then what's the difference between your steam carriage and a horse-drawn carriage? Can it be as fast as ours?" someone stood up and questioned.
"If you don't believe me, you can try a comparison." Qu Fufeng smiled slightly.
"Let's compare."
Lu Yanshi also wanted to know whether this steam carriage was as powerful as Qu Fufeng said.
Thus, a unique competition began.
Some ministers stayed in the Ministry of Works, and some went to the city gate to wait.
See which car will arrive first.
Fortunately, the roads in the capital were repaired before, and now they are wide and smooth. Not to mention two horse-drawn carriages can run side by side, even four can.
Lu Yanshi ignored the opposition of the ministers and took Lu Li on the steam carriage.
"Your Majesty, is it too dangerous for you to go in person? Why don't you let Lord Qu try first?"
"Yeah yeah."
The ministers made suggestions one after another, hoping that Lu Yanshi would change his mind.
"My dear minister, there is no need to say more. I must try this first steam carriage in Daxia myself." Lu Yanshi replied calmly.
Besides, Xiaojiu is here, so he is not afraid.
The court officials could not convince him and could only let him go up with trepidation.
If this car were to crash again and something happened to the emperor, the eldest prince would have to inherit the throne.
After all, the third prince went to the Divine Doctor Valley to study and would not be able to come back for a while.
Lu Yanshi didn't know yet that his beloved minister had already figured out how to deal with his affairs after his death. He and Lu Li sat side by side, extremely excited.
The steam carriage was allowed to be driven by Shin Heizhi, after all, he had experience.
The carriage was driven by the Grand Coachman Wang Zhengzhi.
When the emperor traveled, he was usually in charge of driving the horses.
He drove fast and steadily, and could be said to be the best rickshaw driver in the capital.
"Wang Taifu, you have to work hard. Don't deliberately slow down just because the emperor is not sitting in your car." A minister reminded.
"I know." Wang Zhengzhi gripped the reins tightly, pursed his lips, and even tightened his chin.
This concerns his future, he absolutely cannot lose.
If he loses, how will he be able to serve the emperor in the future?
To be fair, there were people in both cars.
The prime minister sat in the traditional carriage driven by Wang Zhengzhi.
Qu Fufeng came to be the referee. After the steam carriage started running, he struck the gong and announced the official start of the competition.
Wang Zhengzhi waved the whip, urging the horse to run faster, and he jumped out in an instant.
On the other hand, Shin Heizhi's steam carriage was still moving slowly.
The main reason was that Shen Pingzhi was afraid because the emperor of Daxia was sitting behind him.
So he was extremely careful.
"Is the steam carriage so slow?" Lu Yanshi frowned.