The weak scholar in the end of ancient times

Chapter 86 Can't Be Built

"The covered walkway soars through the sky, yet no rainbow appears after the rain."

Young Master Zhao gazed quietly at the flying bridge suspended in the air, and couldn't help but take another deep breath, exclaiming in admiration, "Truly a masterpiece!"

Wen Gu said in a low voice, "It's not that bad, it's just a little trick."

It's true that distance makes the heart grow fonder; those "rare" things can't be examined up close.

While current technology is far from reaching the level of exquisite works of art, distance can blur imperfections, elevating the beauty to its peak at this moment.

Wen Gu raised his hand, indicating to his cousin that he could go up the bridge to take a look.

The long bridge in the design drawings has only been partially built so far, with stairs on both sides.

The stairs appear to be temporary, with many obvious bumps and wear from moving things back and forth in recent days.

But none of that matters; the real focus is the elevated flybridge.

Young Master Zhao walked towards the stairs, took two steps, and then stopped.

He looked at the tall pillars supporting the bridge.

The supporting pillars were painted and decorated with carvings, making them look like giant trees, but actually...

Young Master Zhao tapped his fingers together.

It has a brick-like feel.

"Did you use the formula developed by Qingyun Temple in this?" he asked Wen Gu in a low voice.

"Yes, it's that improved recipe, with some added 'muscles and bones' for support."

The improved formula based on mortar and lime is certainly not as good as the industrial-grade cement of later generations, and it requires a longer solidification and curing time, but it is still acceptable for today.

The construction of the flybridge is a practical example.

Without lingering for long, I climbed the stairs next to me.

Those following behind them couldn't hear their conversation, but they saw Young Master Zhao tap the support pillar, and as they passed by, they followed suit, their faces showing surprise.

I wanted to stop and take a closer look, but the road ahead was already getting further and further away. After a moment's hesitation, I decided to catch up.

Ahead, Young Master Zhao has already stepped onto the flying bridge.

Standing at one end of the bridge, looking into the long bridge.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, creating overlapping shadows that were both real and illusory. As I walked forward, the light and shadow I saw seemed to change as well.

Truly, every step reveals a new scene. It's not the view outside the window, but the lively and interesting effect brought about by the light effects inside.

When we reached the middle of the bridge, Wen Gu reminded us, "You can open the window and look out."

The guards nearby wanted to go over, but Young Master Zhao stopped them.

He walked to the window.

The floor-to-ceiling window is fixed at the bottom; only the upper half can be opened. Reach out and push open the lantern-patterned window lattice.

Sunlight hits the glass, and the reflected and passing light overlaps, along with the light reflected back from the pendant under the eaves, as if the flowing light of heaven and earth is brushing against your face.

To put it bluntly, Young Master Zhao, standing at the window at this moment, seemed to be bathed in a holy light filter.

He looked out the window, at the city guards in the alley below and the city residents standing outside.

As the light and shadow swept past their eyes, people below suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, and more and more people spontaneously did the same.

Young Master Zhao took another deep breath, feeling the fleeting light and shadows, and felt a sense of pride in being surrounded by destiny!

Maintaining his facial expression, but with a slightly tense voice, he asked the people below to stand up before closing the window and turning back to walk into the middle of the bridge.

Facing the long path inside the flying bridge once again, what I see is not the flowing light and shadow, but a magnificent and ever-changing, vast and boundless world!

Wen Gu noticed the change in the other person's mindset and sighed inwardly again: Why choose an auspicious time? This is it!
How could the lighting produce such an effect if it wasn't at the perfect time?!
And, he really didn't arrange any shills!

From Jingxingfang, stepping onto the flying bridge, and then walking out from Qingyunfang across the flying bridge, in such a short distance, few people could notice the intense emotional changes of Young Master Zhao in that brief period of time.

Master Qingyi, accompanied by his young apprentice, greeted the distinguished guest at the other end of the road.

The Taoist priest had rendered great service by offering the prescription, so Young Master Zhao made a point of staying and exchanging a few more words with him, treating him with great courtesy.

The people following behind were filled with mixed emotions.

Didn't they say the Zhao family disliked monks and Taoist priests? And they even killed quite a few?
It doesn't look like it.

Those who were unaware of the situation were even more surprised to learn from others that a Taoist temple was being built in Qingyunfang.

Regardless of whether they believe in Taoism or not, they plan to come and offer incense and contribute some "merit" once the Taoist temple is built.

Young Master Zhao had other matters to attend to, so he stayed briefly at Jingxingfang and Qingyunfang before leaving in a hurry.

Although the flying bridge was no longer covered by a cloth tent, it was still not open to the public.

However, the onlookers were already quite satisfied. If Xinzhou were a trending topic, it would definitely be on the front page today!

The bridge is magnificent and beautiful, truly a treasure, and it's no surprise that it's not open to the public.

Some people are also curious whether the Zhao residence will use glass tiles that are clearer than glazed tiles.
However, the Zhao family had no intention of changing their home like that.

Excessive luxury is not conducive to winning people's hearts.

Some people even speculated that the bridge would be stolen if it were left there.

Even a piece of crystal pried off from above would be very valuable, right?

But they soon understood.

Putting aside the fact that the nearby watchtowers are being guarded by city defense troops, where would they sell the stolen treasures?
In this world ravaged by plague, how far can we run?

If you take it out within Xinzhou territory, you'll be caught and thrown into dangerous hard labor, which is even worse.

Risking leaving Xinzhou? For the vast majority of ordinary people, it's still a dead end.

Therefore, stealing treasures is something they might only think about in their minds, but they wouldn't dare to actually do it.

In fact, to prevent accidentally damaging the bridge, ordinary people passing by the alley entrance are very careful, keeping their distance and never getting close!
The wealthy and noble families, on the other hand, had even higher expectations for Wanfuyuan.

People who hadn't invested before started coming together.

The Shen brothers promptly refused.

They ignored me back then, but now they can't afford to associate with me!
The two brothers were extremely proud of themselves and went to the public office in Jingxingfang to share their joy with Wen Gu, while also mocking the Zhao family's collateral branch in Chaohuifang.

"Chaohuifang also wants to build a garden. Bah! Such a clever copycat!"

"Exactly! Do they have the money? Can they even afford to build it?!"

"I heard that when they saw Baoqiao, they were completely dumbfounded, hahaha!"

The two members of the Shen family launched into a barrage of criticism and contempt.

"Wen Gu, why are you making such a long face? Come over here and curse with us!" Shen Qing tapped the table in front of Wen Gu.

Wen Gu sighed deeply and took out an account book: "We can't afford to build it either!"

Shen Liu, who was sitting on the chair and swaying back and forth, almost tipped over with the chair.

"Impossible!!" What could be missing but money?
"You said back then that building only the first phase of the project would be enough!"

Wen Gu said with a worried expression, "It was enough back then, but it's different now. We're really short of money!"

Hand them the ledger.

The two Shen brothers nervously flipped through the pages.

They might not be able to understand other books, but they could still make some sense of the account books.

Based on the calculations above, things seem to be... a bit tight financially.

The foreman and the accountant were all their people, and there was more than one. The records were all verified and signed.

Moreover, Wengu gave them a discount, making it a very reasonable price.

"Raw material costs have increased!"

They identified the most critical issue.

Recently, glassmaking has been booming because Zhao's workshop makes glass windows, but the transportation of raw materials is limited, leading to a significant price increase.

If it were at the original price, even if they were short of money, they could still scrape together enough to complete the first phase of the Wanfuyuan project.

However, raw material prices have increased significantly, and the shortage is not in small quantities.

Who can blame this?
To shut down the Zhao family's workshop and drive down the price of raw materials?

The raw materials are provided by the Zhao family's army, and most of the money earned by the Zhao family's workshop is used to support the army. They want to cut off this part of the money.
You're asking for trouble!
"Then...what should we do?"

Shen Liu was dumbfounded.

Zhao's workshop needs its own raw materials, and with limited transportation capacity, prices are unlikely to drop in the short term, and may even rise.

"Or, should we wait a little longer?" Wen Gu said.

"How long will we have to wait? Maybe it will rise instead of fall," Shen Qing disagreed.

“Or, we can use ordinary tiles instead of glass tiles and glazed tiles,” Wen Gu added.

"That's not appropriate!" Shen Liu refused decisively.

The interior decoration can be a little less expensive, but the exterior absolutely cannot be cheapened!

Having seen the exquisite colors and dazzling brilliance of Baoqiao, how could one tolerate an ordinary configuration?
I believe other wealthy families think the same way.

Now that the flying bridge has raised everyone's expectations, the Shen family themselves have already positioned Wanfuyuan as the most luxurious place in Xinzhou, so how can they use ordinary things!

They've already made those boasts, how can they go back on their word?!
Wen Gu said in a self-reproachful tone, "I shouldn't have built Baoqiao like that."

Shen Liu immediately said, "How can you blame yourself? What good things haven't those nobles seen? Only the Treasure Bridge can intimidate them!"

Shen Qing affirmed, "The bridge is very well built, just as it should be! As for the missing money, we'll try to raise it."

Shen Qing and Shen Liule came over excitedly, but left with heavy hearts.

First, he had his father review the accounts, then he contacted various investors to increase their investments. However, while the investors were optimistic and did invest more, they were reluctant to invest too much of their own savings; any more would be too much of a financial strain!
Not everyone is willing to take risks.

Even within the Shen family, Uncle Shen protected the money box, preventing it from being completely smashed inside.

With even heavier hearts than before, Shen Qing and Shen Liu returned to the Jingqing Public Office to inform Wen Gu of this unfavorable news.

They had also been warned by their own father that what they lacked was probably not a small amount, but they couldn't bring in too many people. There were already enough people involved in Wanfuyuan; if they brought in more, Boss Zhao would be unhappy.

Wen Gu nodded seriously in agreement: "Therefore, it is best to find only one or two wealthy households with enough rice and grain."

"Yeah, isn't there anyone who's really big-spending?!"

The Shen brothers were so worried that they were no longer in the mood to mock Chaohuifang.

Wen Gu sighed and comforted the Shen brothers, "No rush. Anyway, the weather is cold now and the construction site has stopped. We still have enough time to consider."

Shen Qing and Shen Liu couldn't find any other way for the time being, so they thought they could take advantage of this holiday to socialize with some new big shots and see if they could find a suitable one.

The two brothers went home and pondered how to expand their social circle and network.

Wen Gu pondered that there was probably no suitable candidate in Xinzhou City at present.

Having a high social status doesn't mean you have enough money to invest; you still need to find someone extremely wealthy.

Counting down the days.

Why hasn't the big dog from Sihaifang arrived yet?
(End of this chapter)