Chapter 134

Moreover, the speed was several times faster than an ox cart!

With two people riding in turns, they could maintain high speed. When they encountered a steep slope, everyone helped each other, making the efficiency much higher than an ox cart.

"I originally thought Yizhou Prefecture was in a remote location and relatively backward. I didn't expect it to open my eyes," said Liu Yun.

"Haha, little brother," Jia Zhanliang said, "This is nothing yet. When we arrive at Baichuan County tomorrow, you will know what it means to be in awe."

Liu Yun chuckled to himself.

He was a prince. What things had he not seen before?

But when they arrived at Baichuan Market the next day, he was truly a little dumbfounded.

Let's not talk about the streets and houses, which were very old and backward. But the prosperity on the streets far exceeded his imagination.

"Selling stewed food ah, 15 wen a bowl!"

The first thing that made Liu Yun feel was this magical aroma, which seemed several times more fragrant than the imperial kitchen's cooking.

Then there were shops all over the street.

It seemed to have all the goods he had ever seen.

But this was just a remote mountain county town!

What surprised him the most was the full street of bicycles and tricycles.

Some people rode fast on two-wheeled bicycles, some people rode leisurely on tricycles to buy groceries, and some carried all kinds of goods on the street to sell.

There were even people riding beautifully decorated tricycles, who came up to them: "Young master, where are you going? Do you want to rent a car? Absolutely fast, and the price is absolutely fair!"

This...this is also possible?

Liu Yun was a little dumbfounded.

He had thought he was worldly wise, while a remote small city like Baichuan County had nothing worth looking at.

It turned out now that he was the real country bumpkin.

Seeing his never-seen-the-world look, Jia Zhanliang gleefully took him upstairs at He's Restaurant.

"Boss Jia is here, please go upstairs and sit!"

He was a regular customer of He's Restaurant. Every time he came to Baichuan County for business, he would choose to eat here. After all, only here could he eat the most authentic roasted goose by Ms. Li from He River bay.

Those imitation roasted geese, no matter how well they were made, were still not as good as Ms. Li’s.

It was Liu Yun's first time eating roasted goose. Although he was very restrained, he still ate ravenously.

"I haven't eaten such delicious goose even in the capital," he said.

"The capital?" Jia Zhanliang laughed. "I am also from the capital, but I have to say, when it comes to food, no family can really compare to this Baichuan Market."

"Brother Liu, isn't this an exaggeration?"

"Not at all," Jia Zhanliang said. "Let me give a simple example. Have you eaten hot pot before?"

Liu Yun was stunned: "What is hot pot?"

"Haha... You see, you don't even know the name," Jia Zhanliang laughed. "Hot pot was invented by Ms. Li. I also only had the fortune to eat it once, but I will never forget that taste in my life. Not only hot pot, any dish Ms. Li makes can beat those chefs in the capital by miles."

Hearing him say that, Liu Yun was eager to meet this Ms. Li.

After the meal, Liu Yun called a tricycle to give it a try. He had to experience it.

"To He Wan village."

"Alright!" The driver released the handbrake. "Young master, please buckle your seatbelt!"

Seatbelt...what's that?

With the help of the driver, Liu Yun tied a wide cotton belt diagonally across his body, making him feel like a country bumpkin again.

Ding ling ling--

"The passenger is seated, let's go!"

The driver pushed hard, and the tricycle immediately raced on the flat road.

When they got out of the city gate, Liu Yun was already prepared for bumps, but found that the road outside the city was paved with gravel, and very flat.

The tricycle drove on it without any bumpy feeling at all!

This road...was even more flat and better than the road outside the capital!

And very wide, at least allowing four carriages to travel side by side.

This was just a road to a remote mountain village!

"Brother Jia," Liu Yun asked, "Why can this road be built so wide?"

"You don't even know this," Jia Zhanliang said. "This is the road that Ms. Li and the county magistrate Song built last year for disaster relief and to provide work for refugees. It's like this for every village."

"Every village?"

"There's nothing unusual about this. Ms. Li said this is just the roadbed," Jia Zhanliang said. "In the future, when the cement output is up, they will all be repaired with cement roads, smoother than marble floors, and lasting hundreds of years without decay." Liu Yun: ......

A hundred-year indestructible road...Is this Ms. Li an immortal?

He suddenly had a feeling that this Baichuan County and He Wan Village seemed not to be in the same world as him.

Here was more like...a paradise beyond the world?

Nonsense--

What was he thinking?

How could there really be immortals in this world?

...

Today was a big day in He Wan village.

All the villagers gathered at the entrance of the village to listen to Wang Jiafu from the Li family speak.

"I'm sure you've all heard," Wang Jiafu said in a prolonged voice, "Ms. Li said she wants to build a big hotel on this vacant lot at the village entrance."

"Master Li, what is a big hotel?"

"You don't even know this?" A villager said, "A hotel is naturally a store that sells wine, so a big hotel is a very large store that sells wine!"

"Master Li, is Ms. Li going to brew wine?"

Wang Jiafu wiped his forehead.

"I told you to study hard, but you just want to be lazy. Listen up, a big hotel is not for selling wine, but a kind of high-end inn."

"Inn? There aren't many visitors to our village, so what's the use of building an inn?"

"There may not be many now, but can there be none in the future?"

Wang Jiafu was deeply convinced of this.

Ms. Li had already planned to build various large workshops in addition to turning He Wan Village into a tourist area. As for what tourism was, his understanding was to have those rich people come and have fun.

"Let's not talk about this. The main point is that the nature of this hotel is collective!"

"What is collective?"

"It means this hotel does not belong to Ms. Li's family, nor my family, nor any one family," Wang Jiafu said. "It belongs to all the villagers of He Wan Village! Experts will be hired to manage it later, and specialized accountants. The profits earned each month will be distributed per capita!"

"Do we need to pay?"

"What do you want money for?" Wang Jiafu said confidently with a smile. "Our village still has some money. It's enough to build a few rows of large houses."

"I don't feel assured without paying." A villager laughed. "Why don't we all pay a little, so that when dividends are distributed in the future, we will have the confidence to take it, right?"

This proposal immediately gained everyone's approval, and they clamored to pay.

Even though Wang Jiafu said repeatedly that the village had enough money, everyone was still very dissatisfied.

In the end, Wang Jiafu had no choice but to look at Ms. Li next to him.