She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 510 - 508 A Unified World?

Chapter 510: Chapter 508 A Unified World?

Ye Xinyan gave Jiang Yifan a sideways glance, growing rather impatient inside.

Before she came, she had made up her mind to tell him about her past life. By satisfying his curiosity, she also wanted him to understand that she was not the outstanding figure of this era like Jiang Yifan. She was just an ordinary person of that era; it wasn’t that she was excellent, but that the era was so advanced that it enabled her to know so much and seemed far superior as a result.

Perhaps, if Jiang Yifan knew this, he wouldn’t have so much inquiry and curiosity about her, and he probably wouldn’t dwell on the matter of the two of them getting back together anymore.

But if he, Jiang Yifan, kept dawdling and didn’t ask, she might just change her mind. The things she wanted to talk about were shocking and taboo in this era, and it would be a big risk, right?

Jiang Yifan cleared his throat and said, "Let’s start with railway transportation then. A letter from the capital says that your planning for the operation of Railway Carriages is very thorough. You’ve thought of everything, and there have hardly been any mistakes. In the era you lived in before, were there Railway Carriages?"

Ye Xinyan looked at Jiang Yifan, a smug smile gradually appearing on her face as she gave him an unexpected answer, "No."

"Ah?" Jiang Yifan was taken aback, "Then, then... how were you able to organize the operational plan for the railway so quickly, and control it so adeptly?"

"Because I’ve read and learned about it in books. I know the operational process of Railway Carriages, what they went through. What are their advantages and what are their drawbacks. Thus, I was able to avoid many pitfalls," Ye Xinyan explained.

"These details are talked about in books? What kind of book is that?"

"History of transportation, a type of historical record," Ye Xinyan cautiously skirted around the word "Western," as she was unsure what the West was like during this era, and she didn’t know what consequences prematurely mentioning the West could trigger, "I attended school, in other words, I’ve read books. In the era I experienced, both men and women had to be educated, to work to earn a living, to support themselves. The curriculum in school was extensive and history of transportation was just a part of it. By my time, the use of railways was very common and fast..."

Ye Xinyan realized that actually she did have a desire to confide, but there wasn’t a suitable confidant, and the content she wanted to share was too astonishing, so she always suppressed it subconsciously.

Jiang Yifan listened quietly, not saying a word.

Not far off, Zhou Biyao had intended to wave over to Ye Xinyan, but was held back by Madam Yin who said, "Don’t call her, Biyao. They probably have important matters to discuss. Let’s not disturb them, let them talk." It was rare for the prospective son-in-law to strike up a conversation with Ah Yan, and for Ah Yan to speak kindly and say a few more words—nothing should interrupt them.

Madam Yin looked at the handsome man and beautiful woman standing under the flowering tree, thinking they were naturally made for each other. She grew even more hopeful about their reconciliation, and regardless of whether Zhou Biyao agreed or not, pointed further ahead and said, "Look at those trees, they seem to be blooming even more profusely, let’s go have a look."

Meanwhile, Ye Xinyan had finished introducing the railway. Although Jiang Yifan’s imagination about Ye Xinyan’s past life was already quite fantastic, it still couldn’t keep up with the actual accounts Xinyan offered.

His eyes slightly glazed over as he hesitated and said, "It’s really that miraculous, huh? Burning oil and coal can move vehicles of immense weight, and they can travel as fast as the wind?" Jiang Yifan said, his eyes eagerly fixed on Ye Xinyan, "Can we make those kinds of vehicles and the power source you mentioned here?"

Ye Xinyan emphatically shook her head, "No, that requires a great deal of sophisticated skills and machinery, a lot, a lot, the accumulation of skills over generations. It’s not something that one generation or a few generations can achieve."

"Indeed, if such miraculous things were so easy to make, they wouldn’t be so miraculous to begin with," Jiang Yifan sighed longingly before asking again, "What kind of tools did you use there? You mentioned the Chain Inversion Device, what else?"

Seeing Jiang Yifan so downhearted, Ye Xinyan suddenly felt a swell of sympathy. If he were ignorant of such a world truly existing somewhere, he could live contentedly and comfortably in the Great Xia Dynasty. But knowing there’s a magical era somewhere, real and beyond the excellence he could ever achieve, was Jiang Yifan feeling terribly frustrated at that moment?

"The Chain Inversion Device is a tool that I know about, which purely relies on mechanics and manpower to operate. Of course, there are many others, but those things also require a lot of auxiliary industries and technological support. With just the conditions here, and my understanding of the appearances of those things, it can’t be done," said Ye Xinyan.

"There are many more?" Jiang Yifan almost had stars in his eyes, "Can you tell me about the amazing things you have over there?"

"Uh, there are too many, they’re amazing everywhere. Let’s talk about construction, for instance. Can you imagine what a hundred-story building looks like? Or for communication, imagine two people thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of miles apart, holding a small device, and being able to talk to each other while seeing each other’s expressions and movements?..."

Ye Xinyan explained to Jiang Yifan the things she thought he could understand. As for landing on the moon, traveling to space, the solar system, the Milky Way, the universe, considering Galileo’s fate, she decided not to mention things that were too difficult to comprehend. She certainly couldn’t explain to Jiang Yifan that there are theories like gravity and relativity, could she?

Ye Xinyan felt she had chosen relatively intuitive and acceptable topics to talk about, but even those advanced concepts made Jiang Yifan question his life.

He stared at the skyline, lost in confusion for a long time, until he heard Ye Xinyan’s voice, "Hey, how much longer do you want to think about it? Isn’t it time to head back?"

Madam Yin and Zhou Biyao had already made a large round trip and returned. Ye Xinyan waved at them, Madam Yin left Jiu Yue and the folks from Song Ping’s Household behind, and went back to the resting place with Zhou Biyao.

As Zhou Biyao walked, supporting Madam Yin’s arm, she looked back several times. Sister Qi and Lord Jiang both had serious expressions, apparently discussing very important matters. But why wouldn’t they discuss official business at home rather than standing in the Peach Blossom Forest?

When Jiang Yifan came back to his senses, he just saw Zhou Biyao’s puzzled look directed at him. He vigorously rubbed his cheeks, trying to make his face look more normal.

He looked at the sky, having been so engrossed in listening to Ye Xinyan that he’d stood under the tree for a long time without realizing it. The sun which had not been up for long had already moved a lot of the shadows, and it was almost noon.

The maids and the daughters-in-law serving Ye Xinyan stood far away, about a dozen steps back, presumably instructed by the wife of the heir apparent not to interrupt their conversation.

At last, Jiang Yifan asked, "How were the official affairs in that era?"

Ye Xinyan didn’t immediately answer this time. As for the state of governance, as someone who worked in company internal management, she really couldn’t articulate the specifics. But she could discuss it from another angle.

"I worked in a large civil organization and didn’t have much contact with the inner workings of the government, so I can’t tell you exactly about the state governance. However, in our place, at least there was no overtly corrupt lucrative posts. In the era I was from, there were no longer groups of people who couldn’t afford food or clothing. Take natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, floods, ice calamities, there would always be the government office and the army responding immediately for emergency management, resettlement of disaster victims, and clearing roads to ensure affected people had food and shelter. No matter how severe the disaster, there weren’t any situations with famine and widespread death."

Jiang Yifan looked at Ye Xinyan with surprise on his face, "That would be like a utopia."

Ye Xinyan laughed and said, "It’s just a change of times, not a utopia. As long as there are people, there will be dissatisfaction and survival of the fittest, as well as rampant personal desires and materialism depending on the dominant ideology of the times. People have many flaws, but generally, the good ones outweigh the bad."

From where they were, through the trees, they could vaguely see people at the resting place starting to get busy, some even lighting fires - presumably preparing to cook and have lunch outdoors.

Ye Xinyan decided not to say more. The two of them had already been speaking alone for so long, which was quite against the norms, and it was almost time for lunch. If someone were to come looking for them, that would be even more inappropriate.

"Let’s go back, it’s time for lunch." As Ye Xinyan turned around, her hand waved slightly over the surroundings, and she asked, "Does this area fall under the jurisdiction of Qingyuan County?"