I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1025 The King’s Little Invention, “The Universal Flying Car”

Soon, the church was crowded with villagers.

Those who had livestock at home drove their carts, while those who didn't had livestock carried a large wooden board to carry coal.

However, the coal traders did not start shipping coal directly as usual.

A chubby young nobleman walked out from behind the coal car with a friendly smile on his face. He raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Hello everyone, I am the general manager of the 'Vau-Roi Coal Company', my last name is Rochefoucauld."

Yes, he seldom came to Meition Village, and even when he did, he only interacted with a few minor nobles in the village.

The reason why he was standing here now was that he had a very important business to do - Mr. Walsh was not optimistic about this business and was unwilling to invest money. So he took out all his savings and prepared to take a gamble.

Under the curious gaze of the villagers, several employees of the coal company carried out a large pile of iron sheets, iron rods and other things from the front carriage.

Rochefoucauld immediately shouted: "This is the most popular new invention in Paris now. It is a precision machine designed by our great King himself."

The burly attendant next to him had picked up a hammer and a wrench and was skillfully assembling the iron products.

"The nobles of Paris call it the Universal Car!"

Twenty minutes later, with the manipulation of Rochefoucauld's entourage, an iron wheelbarrow appeared in front of everyone.

The height is about 70 centimeters, and the truck bed can accommodate an adult with legs curled up. It has wrought iron handles, steel axles, and a layer of cork wrapped around the wheels for shock absorption.

Well, although it is called a "flying car", this thing definitely does not fly. However, its design was indeed drawn by Louis XVI - to be more precise, it was drafted by Joseph and improved by the king later.

To later generations it was just a unicycle with no technical content, but in the 18th century it was a genuine high-tech product.

Of course, wooden wheelbarrows had existed in Europe more than a thousand years ago, but they were very heavy, difficult to push, and extremely fragile - they would start to creak after two or three years of use, and after four or five years, they could fall apart at any time.

In comparison, the iron wheelbarrow has the advantage of crushing.

The first is that it weighs less than half as much as a wooden wheelbarrow - which is counterintuitive. But the fact is that in order to achieve sufficient strength, the wooden wheelbarrow must be made very thick, resulting in a surge in weight.

The iron wheelbarrow only needs more than ten iron pipes as the frame, covered with a layer of iron sheet, which can make it stronger than the wooden wheelbarrow. Although the iron pipe is heavier than wood, the total weight is greatly reduced because less iron pipe is used.

Secondly, the iron wheelbarrow is easier to push.

This is mainly due to the precision-machined steel axles, lightweight spoke wheels, and a more scientific wheel frame structure.

As for advantages such as sealing and not being easily damaged by insects, there are even more.

Oh, another big advantage is that he looks handsome——

It has clear edges and corners, and is full of the metallic texture of the industrial age. It feels so cool when you push it in your hand.

Such a seemingly simple cart was not truly mature in design until the 19s in history.

However, due to its wide range of uses, it became popular all over the world after mass production - almost every farmer in Europe and the United States had one. In the United States, the production of wheelbarrows was still an important source of profit for the steel industry in the 20th century.

Of course, the iron wheelbarrow appeared late. In addition to design factors, the coal and iron production before the 19th century was not enough to lower the cost of this thing.

Now, France is investing heavily in the coal and iron industries in Wallonia and Rhineland, but it does not have the large iron-consuming system of rails and trains for the time being, so it is just right to use cheap iron to produce wheelbarrows.

Rochefoucauld pushed the wheelbarrow back and forth twice, then called a farmer standing in the front row to come forward and try. He then picked up a wooden scoop with small holes on the bottom and demonstrated it to everyone:

"Using this in conjunction with the universal flying cart to fertilize the crops can cut the time in half!" The attendant immediately poured several buckets of water into the wheelbarrow's bed.

The farmers watching immediately widened their eyes in amazement - the cart was watertight! This was totally unimaginable for a wooden wheelbarrow.

Rochefoucauld used a special scoop to scoop water from the truck bed, lifted it up, and the water fell evenly through the small holes.

"Imagine, you are pushing the universal wheelbarrow filled with liquid fertilizer, and the child is holding this scoop, fertilizing the crops.

"You can irrigate more than a dozen acres of land in one day, and you can still have energy left to do some 'everyone's favorite' activities with your wife when you go home at night."

The surrounding farmers immediately began to whisper to each other excitedly.

Normally, they would carry a large wooden bucket filled with fertilizer and sprinkle it into the field one bucket at a time, then return every few minutes to refill the bucket.

At most I can water four or five acres of land in a day, and I will definitely be exhausted and have a sore back.

In comparison, you can easily solve the problem by pushing this beautiful "flying car" back and forth in the field a few times.

It’s really comfortable!
And it can be used not only for fertilizing, but also for watering, sowing, harvesting, and even picking up horse manure.

As the farmer who had just tried it nodded and exclaimed "It's so light", more people came forward to try pushing the wheelbarrow, and then nodded in praise.

“It’s not only light, but also very easy to push.”

"This handle is more comfortable to hold than my unicycle."

“I just don’t know how much it will cost…”

The crowd immediately turned to look at Rochefoucauld.

The fat boy smiled and said, "Not expensive, 41 francs a car."

There was a sound of people gasping for air all around.

Rochefoucauld waved his hand and added: “But the government provides a subsidy of 7 francs per car.

“Our company also offers a discount of 10% if you place an order within a month.

"So you only need to pay 30 francs and 6 sous to get this omnipotent 'flying car'!"

People still shook their heads.

Given the economic situation in the village, most families only have a surplus of more than 20 francs per year.

But Rochefoucauld's next words dispelled everyone's last concerns:
"The Agricultural Services Consulting Company will provide guarantees for everyone, and the parish bank will provide loans. You can take the 'flying car' back with a down payment of 6 francs.

"Our company also guarantees that any damage to the 'Flying Car' will be repaired free of charge within five years. In fact, as long as you apply anti-rust oil frequently, this car will be fine for more than 5 years."

Finally, a broad-shouldered farmer hesitantly raised his hand and said, "Can I buy one?"

"Of course!" The little fat man was delighted and gestured to the representative of the accompanying agricultural service consulting company, "Please register for the loan first."

He pointed to his attendant again: "Lasut, assemble a new car for this gentleman immediately!"

(End of this chapter)