She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 427 - 426 Mixing in

Chapter 427: Chapter 426 Mixing in

Jinyi withdrew his gaze from the outside and said to Liu Yu and Jiang Shuyuan, "Could the operation mode of the carriages be orchestrated by Ye Xinyan? It doesn’t seem to follow the common practice and is quite extraordinary."

The railway carriage operation Jinyi saw was extremely rigorous. Carriages of three or two different specifications departed at short and regular intervals, setting off in order one by one, and even if there were no passengers, they would still depart empty.

Businesses aim for profit, and though Jinrong, the Sixth Prince, is not a merchant, he too engages in this endeavor to earn silver. Shouldn’t the carriages run only when there are passengers and silver to be made?

Jinyi slowly savored his tea while watching people gather around and enter the tavern, and he suddenly realized that if the railway carriages really could get up and running, in such a favorable location as this tavern, business would certainly be much better than before.

After finishing two cups of tea, the first return carriage came back. Jinyi and Jiang Shuyuan hurriedly looked over. The luxurious four-seater was empty, so was the convertible carriage, and needless to say, the dual-purpose passenger and cargo carriage was also empty.

Jinyi sat back down and, looking at Liu Yu, laughed, "This run is empty again. If it continues like this with no passengers, I wonder if they will keep running it empty."

It wasn’t long before the City Circle Railway Company gave Jinyi his answer. This time, the luxurious carriage was the first to depart, still empty. The convertible carriage was also an empty run.

However, on the dual-purpose passenger and cargo carriage, two men who were transporting goods boarded; they first loaded the heavy sacks and then sat down themselves. When placing the sacks, the coachman lent a hand.

Jinyi’s gaze landed on the coachmen and followers of the carriages. Each carriage had a male and a female worker, looking a lot like husband and wife.

What interested Jinyi was the expression and attitude of these couples. After these two runs with the empty carriages, the coachmen and their wives did not show signs of discouragement, and those who helped the passengers with their goods did not seem troubled. They all greeted with smiling faces. Jinyi even suspected that the smile on their faces and the extent to which the corners of their mouths were tugged were measured with a ruler.

Jinyi did not see Ye Xinyan, but Ye Xinyan was present on the scene. She was sitting in a teahouse at a slanting angle from the tavern, watching the operation of the railway carriages closely. More than passenger load, she was concerned about whether the carriages were running safely and smoothly on the tracks, whether the journey was uninterrupted, and whether there were any unforeseen incidents that might occur.

As long as the quality of the carriages and the tracks was up to standard, passengers would always come eventually. Today, on the first day of operation, it was time to test how the carriages ran on the tracks; the number of passengers was not a major concern.

If there were no passengers today, she would have Lian Gui or Liu Qing spend money tomorrow to hire people of various statuses to take a ride. Once a few people took the lead and tried, and with a few flattering words of advertising, there would always be curious and thrifty people coming for a visit.

Moreover, she did not believe that the carriages, which were free and comfortable, would not attract any passengers.

Indeed, on the second run, she saw those two passengers riding in the dual-purpose passenger and cargo carriage. Well, the start wasn’t bad.

With a novel thing that had never existed before, many people were cautious, but there were also those willing to try something new. On the second return trip of the carriages, the four-seater and the eight-seater were still empty, but the dual-purpose carriage now had passengers.

Perhaps it was because the two men working started it off, but by the return trip, the dual-purpose carriage was almost full, with only one empty seat left.

These people were not idle men; once they got off the carriage, they carried their sacks and belongings and left. As they were leaving, the look in their eyes towards the dual-purpose carriage was full of envy and regret. Such a fine carriage, and it was a pity that it was only free for three days.

The people surrounding watched these men carrying sacks and large bundles leaving with an eager twinkle in their eyes, ready to give it a try.

By the time the third train departed, the mixed passenger-freight car was fully occupied, some carrying large bundles and two with carrying baskets on their backs.

The open-topped carriage with eight seats was taken by a middle-aged couple and a mother-son duo, who all appeared to be ordinary folk. The child, around seven or eight years old, sat beside his mother beaming with joy, looking around and incessantly rubbing his hands over the carriage’s railings, seats, walls, and anything else within reach, then grinning at the onlookers with a hearty laugh.

The four-seated, ornately carved carriage made another journey empty.

On the return trip, the luxurious carriage was still vacant.

The eight-seater open-topped carriage, however, was full, with two middle-aged daughters-in-law who were the epitome of Great Xia Dynasty’s ideal passengers. As soon as they alighted from the carriage, they couldn’t stop praising and expressing their amazement, extolling the railway carriage’s various merits from multiple aspects and different angles.

For example, they had never seen a carriage so comfortable and smooth in their life. Additionally, the carriage was both light and fast when moving, feeling like a breeze, as if floating in the clouds, and so on.

Hearing the words that Jiu Yue relayed back, Ye Xinyan laughed for a good while. She knew the inside story, and if not for that knowledge, she might have thought these two women were planted by the city carriage line as part of the act.

Outside, while the two middle-aged women’s praises hadn’t yet ended, they continued to engage in conversation as they walked, reminiscing about the comfortable ride.

Meanwhile, a man carrying a large package on the mixed passenger-freight carriage boasted in a coarse voice to the people around, "Take advantage of today’s free ride, gentlemen who want to try it better hurry. I’ve lived for over thirty years and never thought I’d get to ride such a comfortable and respectable carriage. What those two ladies said was spot on, not only did I enjoy the ride, but my bag of potatoes also got lucky. The carriage was smooth, fast, and didn’t delay on the road, the benefits are endless."

After this, the number of passengers gradually increased.

There was a young couple, their attire revealing that they came from a prosperous household, and they even had a little maid with them. It seemed the husband, doting on his wife, paid the fare under his wife’s hopeful gaze, becoming the first to take the premium four-seater carriage.

Riding was free, and the railway carriage’s comfort and stability were continuously praised. Furthermore, those that came down from the carriage claimed that compared to hiring the usual carriage, riding the railway carriage was not travel, but enjoyment.

Thus, the demand to ride continued to rise. From a restaurant above, Jinyi, who had become quite interested, watched, and Jiang Shuyuan, sitting opposite him, stretched his neck curiously, laughing as he said, "They really thought this through, offering free rides for three days. Wouldn’t all those idle men with nothing better to do come to cause a ruckus? If conflicts arise from jostling for a ride and blood is seen, it would be an inauspicious start."

Outside, there indeed were more people intent on experiencing the railway carriage, and those honest and upstanding regular folks, women and children—the would-be future passengers—were pushed aside by some hefty, intimidating men, unable to even get close to the carriage.

When the steward from Prince Yu’s Mansion, in charge of maintaining operations, went to inquire, these men were good-natured but insisted on their right to ride. Wasn’t this a passenger carriage? They were passengers too, so why couldn’t they take a ride?

After listening, the steward called over a young man dressed in a long robe and asked, "Excuse me, young man, you can read, can’t you?"

"Yes, I can read," the man responded, clearly perplexed.

Two of the idle men at the forefront sneered, "So people who can’t read aren’t allowed to ride your carriage? Are you running a carriage service to make money or a school?" The crowd erupted in laughter.