She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 423 - 422 Consultation Needed

Chapter 423: Chapter 422 Consultation Needed

Ye Xinyan was gratified to find that the two sections of the railway were indeed completed, and several carriages had been made and were ready to be put into use at any time.

After inspecting the construction site, Ye Xinyan, accompanied by Liu Qing, gathered over a dozen of the railway project’s stewards. She took out the list of tasks she had previously arranged and confirmed one by one what stage each task had reached.

Then, Ye Xinyan took out the follow-up plans she had written the day before and assigned the subsequent tasks. Among these was the centralized training for the coachmen assigned to the carriages, to familiarize them with the various regulations and systems during the operation of the carriages.

Since the railway carriages would be serving different passengers, each carriage was staffed by a couple, which made it convenient to accommodate female passengers. This job was quite good, as conscientious work could lead to generous tips from satisfied customers.

Furthermore, she arranged tasks such as determining the locations of the stations, handling the excrement of the horses pulling the carriages, daily inspections and maintenance of the carriages, and dealing with breakdowns en route. By the time she was done, it was noon.

Liu Qing was one of the few stewards Jinrong could count on. With Liu Qing standing by her side, the construction site’s stewards, whether genuinely convinced or not, were much more obedient, and the organization of tasks went very smoothly.

After all the arrangements were made, it was already late. When Ye Xinyan returned to Duke An’s Mansion, she deliberately visited other construction sites on the way and checked on their progress.

After lunch and a rest at midday, Ye Xinyan went back to the construction site and sent Lian Gui to pass a message to Jinrong that she wanted to discuss something with him and asked His Highness Prince Yu to make time to come to the site office.

The guard from Duke An’s Mansion received the errand arranged by Lian Gui and was in a state of anxiety as he made his way to Prince Yu’s Mansion.

While riding his horse there, he mulled over the situation privately. Although people said that their young lady was favored by Prince Yu, for her to send someone to call His Highness to meet her seemed somewhat improper.

The doorman at Prince Yu’s Mansion, upon hearing that Lady Qi had sent a message, did not hesitate to lead him inside to see Wan Yan.

Old Master Wan did not let the guard wonder for long and promptly agreed, saying to him, "Go back and tell the Young Lady that this old man will surely convey the Young Lady’s message to His Lordship as quickly as possible, please rest assured."

The guard was immediately elated and thanked Wan Yan profusely, rushing back to report to Steward Lian.

Although the guards who had been to Yuyuan Prefecture twice said that their young lady and His Highness Prince Yu got along very harmoniously, there were still differences between sovereign and minister. He had not expected their relationship to be so harmonious. It seemed that working for the young lady came with its own prestige.

In the public affairs room during winter, even with two charcoal basins, it was still cold. Ye Xinyan didn’t take off her cape and sat at the table in the public affairs room, writing down one by one the tasks that needed to be done next, while also waiting for Jinrong to arrive.

Wan Yan’s messenger found Jinrong as he was indulging in a game of toss-pot with a bunch of fair-weather friends.

Upon hearing the message delivered by Hongzhi, he set down the long stick in his hand and stood up to address Yang Hao and others, "I have to go, there’s an issue concerning the railway. The official in charge of managing the railway construction has some matters to discuss, and I need to make a trip there."

Xu Deng from Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion was rather disappointed and said, "Sixth Master, you’re just idling around, why are you taking on such troublesome matters? Isn’t it simple for the Sixth Master to earn silver? As long as you have manpower, just notify an official from the Ministry of Works, and take on a couple proper projects, how much better that would be."

Before Jinrong could reply, Yang Hao also said, "I have heard from my grandfather that this year alone, the officials handling the petitions and management of railway transportation have not escaped scolding, even Prime Minister Han had to endure idle gossip. Has the Sixth Master visited the construction sites for the railway? Once busy streets, now ruined and barely walkable for pedestrians. Old Xu is right, the Sixth Master should stop exerting effort in such places and quickly withdraw the people and earn some other silver."

Jinrong let out a bitter laugh and said helplessly, "I initially thought it would make money, silver, after all, who would consider it too much? To earn a bit while you can, right? Who would have thought it would turn out like this. As you can see, the steward in my house is quite capable, the sections of the railway that I’m responsible for were completed ahead of time; it’s just that I’ve been dragged down by those fools. Damn it, can’t even repair a road properly and they dare take on tasks. Enough said, I should go and see what the matter is. Please excuse me, gentlemen."

Hu Jing had come with Jinrong and upon entering he paid his respects to Ye Xinyan, "I offer my apologies to the Young Lady. We made a mess of things, and in the dead of winter, we have even troubled the Young Lady to toil here, I’m truly sorry. Allow me to express my hardship on behalf of the Young Lady."

Ye Xinyan quickly stood up to return the gesture, apologetically saying, "Mr. Hu, you are too kind. When the plan was made, I indeed did not anticipate so many issues, leading to the current predicament. I have truly failed the Sixth Master and Mr. Hu."

"These are all polite words, let’s sit down and talk slowly," Jinrong waved his hand and took a seat first, saying, "In handling affairs, it’s inevitable to have some mishaps. Talking about it now is of no use, we need to think of a quick solution to rectify this and get the railway operating. As long as the railway is used, we can demonstrate to the public that there are many conveniences with railway transport, at least enough to avoid a stop-work order from the court."

Once both were seated, Jinrong asked Ye Xinyan, "Wan Yan conveyed a message to me that you have matters to discuss. What is it?"

Ye Xinyan said, "When I returned to the mansion at noon today, I observed the railway track laying conditions of other sections along the way. There are three sections of work that are adjacent to ours and have been somewhat affected by your two construction sites, but they seem to be doing a good job. If we expedite and mobilise more workers, perhaps we can finish before the end of the year, barely enough to start initial operations. In this case, when you start the trial run, these three sections could be included. With longer routes, the operational effect would be better."

Jinrong looked at Hu Jing, who nodded and said, "I’ve also inspected those places and their work is quite acceptable. However, is it not overstepping for us to urge their workers to rush the job?"

Ye Xinyan interjected, "At this point, urging them is useless. With the end of the year approaching, it’s not easy to recruit workers. What I mean is to have the Sixth Master’s steward approach them and inform them that our railway is about to start trial operations. If they are willing, we could send people over to help them finish the project and even assist them in starting operations."

Seeing the surprised look in Hu Jing’s eyes, Ye Xinyan added, "Of course, the workers and managers we send over should be paid for their labor." Indeed, after Ye Xinyan added this, Hu Jing’s expression immediately settled. Ye Xinyan couldn’t help but reflect inwardly if her constant concentration on money had become so deeply ingrained in people’s hearts that they simply couldn’t accept her image as generous.

"There’s no problem with that," Jinrong said, "but I’ve seen their construction sites, and even with expedited work, I’m afraid they won’t be finished before the new year."

Ye Xinyan displayed an insinuating smile, somewhat unkindly, and said, "That’s not a problem either, pressing times call for pressing measures."