Daming: I, Yang Xian, really govern Yang!

Chapter 144 A little shock to the richest man in Ming Dynasty
"It's not bricks and stones, and it's not soil. What on earth is this road made of?" Shen Xia had a look of confusion on her face.

"It's asphalt."

"Grandpa." Hearing the voice behind her, Shen Xia turned around and saw that Shen Wansan had arrived beside her at some point and squatted down as well.

Shen Wansan reached out and touched the black road in front of him, brought it close to his eyes, and took a sniff.

Despite being well-informed, he still recognized the true face of the black road in front of him.

At this time, the servant Ah Qi who went to inquire about the news finally came back.

"Master, please find out more."

"The road in front of us is called an asphalt highway. It was built under the leadership of Mr. Yang, the magistrate of Yangzhou. Nowadays, all counties in Yangzhou have roads like this, all over Yangzhou Prefecture."

After hearing what servant Ah Qi said, Shen Wansan was completely shocked.

He originally thought that having one or two roads like this would be great.

Unexpectedly, it was spread throughout Yangzhou Prefecture.

In other words, there are so many such roads that you can’t even count them?

Although Shen Wansan could see that there was asphalt in the materials used for the road in front of him, he still didn't know how Yang Xian did it.

If the entire Ming Dynasty had such roads, how much transportation costs and time would be reduced for cargo transportation. Not only would the profits of merchants be higher, but the common people would also be able to buy cheaper goods.

Shen Wan thought so in his heart.

Fortunately, I chose to come to Yangzhou this time, otherwise I would have missed it.

Rugao County, on the street.

People were coming and going, but Shen Wansan and his group were squatting on the ground looking at the asphalt road, which seemed very awkward.

Nearly two years have passed since the first asphalt road was built in Yangzhou City.

The asphalt roads in Rugao County have been built for more than a year and have long been integrated into people's daily lives.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the entire Shen family became extremely low-key.

Not to mention the capital city, the Shen family's business almost bypasses the entire Nanjing Prefecture and has been moving southward in recent years.

In addition, Shen Wansan himself has been in a state of semi-retirement these years and barely cares about anything. He spends his days in Zhuangzi in the south to take care of himself and spend time with his grandchildren.

That’s why I was only a hindsight to the asphalt road.

"Grandpa, it would be great if there were roads like this all over the world. This would save a lot of time in transporting goods." The little girl Shen Xia said.

After hearing his granddaughter's remarks, Shen Wansan showed a happy smile on his face, nodded with satisfaction, and said: "Xia'er, if you can think of this, it means that you have not stayed with grandpa in vain all these years."

At this moment, a passing citizen listened to the conversation between the Shen family and his grandson and said with a smile: "Asphalt roads are indeed good, but rail trains are needed to transport goods. That thing can transport several goods at a time." Tens of thousands of catties of goods travel eight hundred miles a day."

"Foreigners are just ignorant."

Shen Wansan: "."

What is this rail train?
Why has he never heard of it? He just took a few years off, but he feels disconnected from the whole world.

Although Shen Wansan didn't know what a rail train was, he still grasped the key points from the passerby's words. It transported tens of thousands of kilograms of cargo at a time and traveled eight hundred miles a day.

What is this concept?
Simply unimaginable.

Shen Wansan thought that he had traveled all over the country in the past few decades and had seen enough, but he still couldn't imagine what this rail train was.

"The cowhide is so impressive that only BMWs can travel eight hundred miles a day. At the same time, they have to transport tens of thousands of kilograms of cargo. Is it possible that the rail train you are talking about can't transport hundreds of BMWs at the same time? "When the little girl Shen Xia saw that her most respected grandfather was being laughed at, she immediately stood up and retorted.

The passerby was also amused by Shen Xia's behavior.He said: "Little sister, I really didn't lie to you. If you don't believe it, you can go and see it for yourself. When you go out of the north gate, there is the Yangzhou rail train station."

"At this time, we should still be able to wait for the bus and rush to Yangzhou City."

Shen Wansan noticed that the other passers-by who heard their conversation had no unnecessary reactions.

He already knew it in his mind.

What the young man in front of me said is most likely true.

"Thanks for letting me know, we'll go take a look right now." Shen Wansan said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ah Qi on the side took out a small piece of broken silver from his arms and handed it to the young man's hand.

The young man froze on the spot when he saw this.

His brain was a little disconnected.

Why did the other party suddenly give him money?

Is it just because of the explanation just now?
Then this money is too good to make.

I originally thought I was meeting a bumpkin from a foreign country, but I didn't expect to meet a rich man.

When he came back to his senses, Shen Wansan and his party had already gone a long way.

The young man looked at the backs of Shen Wansan and the others as they left. It still felt a little unreal until this moment. He subconsciously picked up the silver in his hand and took a bite.

Hey, it's true!
Shen Wansan and the others were originally planning to stay in Rugao County today.

But when I heard the young man say that it was still too late to take the rail train to Yangzhou at this time, I changed my mind.

Following the young man's words, they rushed to the North City Gate and saw the train platform the other party had mentioned.

"Guest, do you want to take a train?" At the entrance of the platform, a staff member in uniform looked at Shen Wansan and his group and said with a smile. "The last train to Yangzhou City is about to leave."

Shen Wansan and the others finally saw the full view of the rail train through the platform.

"It's so exciting, but in the end it's not just a carriage, it's just a few more horses." Shen Xia said.

"Have you forgotten what grandpa told you before?" Shen Wansan looked back at Shen Xia and said with a calm face. "Don't rush to judge anything you haven't seen before."

"But."

"Grandpa, look at the ground." Shen Cheng on the side suddenly said, interrupting Shen Xia's words.

Shen Wansan actually discovered the train tracks on the ground early in the morning.

That's why Fangcai taught Shen Xia what he said.

The staff at the platform, listening to the conversation between the grandfather and grandson, knew that it was the first time for the other party to ride a rail train, so they began to introduce him.

"Guests, you are talking about the train tracks."

"The reason why rail trains can run so fast and so easily is all thanks to the tracks."

All platform staff are now affiliated with the Railway Bureau, and they are also serious people who eat royal food.

Pre-job training is naturally indispensable.

The reception staff at the station were also very experienced, and it was obviously not the first time they had received foreigners like Shen Wansan and the others.

The platform staff then began to introduce the history of their rail trains to Shen Wansan and others.

(End of this chapter)