She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 424 - 423 Rushing the Work

Chapter 424: Chapter 423 Rushing the Work

"Oh? What is this urgent method you speak of?" Jinrong raised an eyebrow.

Ye Xinyan continued, "Have you heard of toiling day and night, Sixth Master? The existing workers and those sent by the Sixth Master are divided into three or four groups. They work in shifts throughout the twelve Shichen of the day, so the work never stops even though the people do."

"This is the twelfth lunar month, with the weather so cold one can barely extend their hands, and it gets dark early too." Jinrong paused, his gaze subconsciously falling on the brazier in the room. Not feeling warm with two braziers inside the room, working outside for twelve Shichen a day..., he felt somewhat uneasy.

Hu Jing, however, seriously considered it and said, "The people who come out to work do so to earn wages, and now it’s the end of the year. For poor families, their men being able to earn a bit more silver to let their families have a good New Year is always good. It all depends on how much they are willing to pay. If the wages are too low, then whether we work is of course up to us."

Ye Xinyan nodded in agreement, "Mr. H’s reason is sound. The workers and managers here are skilled hands, and when they work, they will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort. It’s only right to pay more for working at night. If you let their hands work with those sent by the Sixth Master, by the time the work is completed, they wouldn’t necessarily spend that much more silver."

"As for the cold weather and such. There is no wet mud work left on the construction site, only assembly of materials, so it’s enough for the workers to wear more clothes. The torches at night should be watched by a dedicated person to prevent other items from catching fire. During the cold winter, not working for more than four Shichen should be possible. Let the manager arrange things well, and it should be done in five or six days," Ye Xinyan continued.

Ye Xinyan herself had experienced rush work, not the physical labor on a construction site, but it still drained mental energy, consuming time that could have been spent sleeping.

These two ruthless fellows, Jinrong’s eyebrows were nearly flying off his face.

He chuckled dryly, "Let’s do as you both suggested. We’ll discuss and see if we can reach an agreement. If it doesn’t work out, at most we can operate our two sections of the railway first, and those few sections of theirs can be added whenever they’re completed."

"Moreover," Ye Xinyan recalled the unpleasant scenes on the other parts of the capital, "laying a railway around the city is a project that disturbs the people by nature, easily causing inconvenience to people’s travel and to the shops around. Those construction sites are unmanaged, allowing them to wreak havoc as they please, which is what has caused such chaos now."

Jinrong was a true high-ranking figure, and he hadn’t been in the Capital Prefecture when those two sections under his domain were under construction. He felt the current chaos, but had never considered what the project should actually look like.

As for Hu Jing, he had been overseeing this project from early on. Hearing what Ye Xinyan said, he couldn’t help but be startled, "Isn’t it always like this when breaking ground and starting work? The court also manages it. As long as the construction is normal, without brawls or causing trouble, not disturbing the locale, it should be fine."

Thinking of what she had seen on the roads, Ye Xinyan couldn’t help but laugh, "The roads in the capital are nearly being sealed off, and this doesn’t count as disturbing the locale?" How do you define disturbing the locale? Only when people’s homes are torn down and they have nowhere to go, would it count as disturbance?

Hu Jing truly did not understand what Ye Xinyan meant, and said somewhat innocently as he spread his hands, "Our work here is just normal work; we’re already trying our best not to trouble the local populace."

You haven’t seen those requirements that prohibit disturbing the people. In the era I experienced, starting a project always had to ensure it did not disturb the populace, otherwise, you wouldn’t even be given the chance to begin the work.

Ye Xinyan didn’t explain further, and simply stated, "Now that New Year’s is approaching, this is the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty. While building the railway is important, the wellbeing of the citizens and the prosperity of the capital cannot be overlooked."

"I feel that Sixth Master should contact the officials at your disposal, or you could mention it orally to His Majesty. Let the capital’s yamen seek out the merchants responsible for operating the railways and designate an area around the under-construction railways, allowing them to work only within the designated bounds. Beyond that range, the pathways belong to the capital’s merchants and citizens, and they should not be encroached upon."

Jinrong’s expression grew solemn, as the railway carriages had been criticized and questioned by many. The lengthy construction was certainly a significant reason, but the key issue was that the project had occupied the entire roadway around the city, nearly bringing the capital’s traffic to a standstill. If this issue could be resolved, many things would become easier.

His gaze shifted back and forth between Ye Xinyan and Hu Jing, asking Hu Jing, "I do not understand the matters of engineering, Mr. Hu, what do you think, is what Ye Zi suggesting feasible?"

Ye Xinyan didn’t wait for Hu Jing to speak and rather rudely interjected, "Sixth Master, you must trust the subjects of Great Xia, their potential is boundless, as long as your demands are reasonable, you must believe they are capable of fulfilling them."

After pondering for a moment, Jinrong considered that if Ye Xinyan’s suggestion was feasible, he could propose it during a casual conversation with Imperial Father. It would seem that not only was he not trying to gain fame, but he would also be handling practical matters, further deepening Imperial Father’s good impression of him. Why not give it a try with such a great opportunity?

Moreover, up to this point, the words spoken by Qi Ye had rarely fallen through, especially on important matters, there had never been shots fired without hitting a target.

"Hmm," Jinrong nodded, "Mr. Hu, let’s go and inspect those construction sites so that when I speak to Imperial Father, I have a clear picture in mind."

Jinrong and Hu Jing, accompanied by clerks from Prince Household skilled in construction, surveyed the entire situation of the railway layout encircling the capital. The clerks measured the railways constructed by their own household and provided Jinrong with exact dimensions.

After escorting Jinrong and Hu Jing away from Ye Xinyan’s construction site, Liu Qing led his men to the neighboring railway merchants to negotiate accelerated construction.

The matter was simpler than Jinrong had imagined; as soon as the two merchants heard that a person from Prince Yu’s Household could help them speed up their work, they immediately agreed without any hesitation, then eagerly inquired if they could start work early the next morning, seemingly fearful that Liu Qing might retract the offer.

They were businessmen with keen eyes. They had watched with their own eyes the efficiency with which the staff brought by Prince Household’s Steward worked and had tried to learn from them without blinking, yet still fell far behind. Now that the offer had come to help them finish the work as soon as possible, it was too good an opportunity to miss.

The matter of overtime pay was even simpler. The workers from his house worked so efficiently that one could match two or three of theirs, and they only asked for overtime pay in the evening. Such a good deal, if missed this time, where could they find another like it?

Moreover, Steward Liu had promised that if their construction could be completed before the New Year, they would help them with planning and trial operations, so it was imperative to work day and night to speed up the process.

So, the next morning, the atmosphere of the construction sites adjacent to Ye Xinyan’s segment shifted from its previous slump, bustling and blazing with activity. They truly maintained non-stop work for 24 hours, continuously bustling to hurry the construction.

Many open-air projects typically ceased during the freeze. Meanwhile, as the depths of winter approached, signaling the year’s end, the railway construction suddenly intensified.

This unusual activity immediately drew much attention.