"How did you come up with this thing?" Sun Chengzong has become immune to Li Xiao's whimsical ideas. No matter what he does, he will not be surprised. Even if one day Li Xiao tells him that eggs are on trees

If it is knotted, Sun Chengzong will ask if there are leaves on it.

It is a triangular steel beam with two rubber-covered wheels on both sides, and a pedal in the middle. You only need to connect the pedals and wheels with a chain, and you can pedal on it as fast as a galloping horse.

"You can call this a bicycle. If you put two wheels on the back, it can carry a load of one or two hundred kilograms. Look, the basket on the front of the bicycle and the shelves on the back can all hold things. The roads in Shandong, Hebei, and Liaodong are now

It is very well repaired. It is much better than the muddy dirt roads in other provinces, and this thing can already be put to use.

Ordinary people can ride this thing with a little training. It only takes about two days to ride from the capital to Shanhaiguan. It only takes two or three days to ride to Jinan, and it takes just one day to ride to Tianjin.

This thing is not like a war horse. It also needs to be fed with concentrated feed. It needs to be maintained for three to five months and lubricating oil is poured into the wheel axle. The drawings have been drawn and the fisherman said that the mold is being dug. It is expected to be mass-produced in half a year.

Our couriers will all use this thing when the time comes, and we no longer need to raise so many expensive horses." Li Xiao assembled the bicycle and rode around in the yard to express his satisfaction.

I didn't take them out before because bicycles were not suitable for muddy roads. Now roads in Shandong, Hebei, and Liaodong have been successfully built, and there are cement roads everywhere. Even in the rainy season, there is no muddy water on the roads. Bicycles can drive on such roads.

, no problem at all.

Even if a tricycle is an improved product of a bicycle, it can carry 200 kilograms of cargo without any problem. The manpower required to travel at a high speed is much better than that of a handcart. Especially in a city like Beijing, it is necessary to transport rice, noodles, and briquettes.

, transporting Chinese cabbage, radish, etc. is the first choice.

With these two artifacts, transportation near the capital will become more convenient. Even ordinary people can ride to Tianjin for a walk and look at the sea. They can ride back the next day, and the round trip only takes two days.

"That's right! Every year, the horses used in the post office lose a lot of money, and good horses have to be fed with concentrates, which also consumes a lot of grain. Add in the consumption of post people and so on, and this is a big sum. With you,

Bicycles are indeed very convenient. What's more, this bicycle can carry a lot of things." Sun Chengzong happily patted the bicycle rack shelf. This is his favorite thing. Not only can it carry goods, but it can also carry individuals within short distances.

"Yesterday, Guanzhong came to Yidu again and suffered another disaster. This time it was a locust plague. It was overwhelming and affected as many as 11 prefectures and counties. It also has a tendency to spread to Henan. If it is not stopped, another locust plague will happen.

It was a big disaster. I heard that in some places, all the wheat stalks were eaten up." Sun Chengzong sat on the horse, took a sip of tea, and looked helplessly at the sky.

"I don't know what happened in the past two years. Guanzhong is always hit by disasters, droughts, military disasters, and plagues. Natural disasters and man-made disasters. Can Guanzhong still be good?" Li Xiao complained to God while holding a wrench to tighten the screws of the bicycle.

.

"The population is declining. The population of several counties is not even ten. We sent people to Guanzhong to release grain, and the entire Lantian County only received more than 3,000 shi of grain. It's not that we are holding back, but people are dying and can only collect

It will take three thousand stones to walk. If the locusts gnaw at Guanzhong, they will spread to Henan and Shanxi. Don’t worry about Sichuan, there are mountains blocking it. If you come up with a charter, I will be at my wits end.” Sun Chengzong leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

Rest your mind. These days, whenever I close my eyes, I am reminded of the plague of locusts, and I don’t get a sound sleep at all.

"What other regulations are there? Just buy it!" Li Xiao tightened the turnbuckle and tested the handlebar again. He felt that it was still a little loose, so he had no choice but to lean down and continue debugging.

"Buy?" Sun Chengzong opened his eyes. Since ancient times, there have been some methods to prevent locust disasters. Most of them are raising chickens and ducks, or spraying poison. But these are small areas, or methods for locusts in their early stages. Li Xiao

The word "buy" is unheard of.

"Yes! Just buy it. Two big bucks per pound, and let the people catch it with nets. Just catch it, weigh it, and sell it to the officials!" Li Xiao continued to adjust the bicycle.

"What's the point? The treasury's money is also limited, you can't waste it like this." Sun Chengzong stood up from his chair and came behind Li Xiao waving a cattail leaf fan. If it weren't for Li Xiao's age, maybe he would

Give me a cattail leaf fan.

He was in charge of six ministries, and he knew that Ming Dynasty's current financial situation was very thin, and there were many places to spend money outside. If Ai Husheng hadn't been good at management, the national treasury might have been stretched thin.

"Locusts are a good source of protein. People catch them, dry them and sell them to the government. The government can mix these things into chicken feed, so that the eggs laid by chickens are red and yellow and have high nutritional value. Duck eggs are also a

It's true, the salted duck eggs pickled with this kind of duck eggs are even more oily when you poke them with chopsticks. It tastes like an unparalleled delicacy!

Two big boys, it's just more expensive than chicken feed. Doesn't the imperial court want to build a large chicken farm in the suburbs of Beijing? All these things are available, and after setting up a chicken farm.

Chicken manure can be sold to farmers to make fertilizer, and chickens and eggs can be sold to the people in the capital for drinking. This is a good business. If this operation is carried out, it is estimated that the court will still make some profit. It is unlikely to lose money, even if it is a loss.

It is more cost-effective than simply distributing food to the victims.

We want people to know that everything they get should be created with their own hands, rather than asking for charity. Since the crops in the field have been eaten clean by locusts, let them catch the locusts. The output of the field is not always the same!

You can get money by drying it and selling it to the officials. Using money to buy grain at a fair price in the official's granary is much more dignified than receiving relief grain from the official. People who are willing to work hard may still have a surplus.

The government didn't spend much money on it, and everyone is happy. Isn't it great?" Li Xiao finally adjusted the screws, and Li Xiu had long been salivating over the bicycle. This guy is in love recently, if he falls

Miss Zheng family, the result is not very good.

"How come you have such a brain? They say Ai Hu is good at business. I think you are better at business than him. Yes, everything is created for human use. Although locusts are pests, they are also food for chickens and ducks. Chickens and ducks that eat bugs

, the eggs are indeed delicious. I have been worrying about it for so many days in vain!" After listening to Li Xiao's words, Sun Chengzong took the cattail leaf fan and went back to lie down on the wicker chair.

He decided to retire next year and leave this troublesome job to Li Xiao. Now that all the heavy responsibilities in the world have been put into one body, it is now possible to understand how difficult it was for Zhang Taiyue back then.

"Okay! Don't look at it, ride away. Let Chitose Tokugawa prepare a few side dishes, and Mr. Sun and I will have two cups at noon. This thing needs to be practiced before leading people, don't throw Mrs. Zheng down

." Li Xiao pushed the bicycle to Li Xiu next to him. The two brothers always didn't want anything. This time, Miss Zheng also liked it, so she licked her face and asked Li Xiao for it.

"Hey! Thank you, brother." Li Xiu got on his bicycle excitedly and rode out of the Moon Gate crookedly. As for whether he would hit the eldest daughter of the Zheng family, it was not within the scope of Li Xiao's consideration.

It is estimated that this guy has completely forgotten what Li Xiao told him. Li Xiao could only wave his hand to Shunzi and motioned him to go to the backyard and let Tokugawa Chiki prepare the food and drinks.

"Is the marriage settled?" Sun Chengzong looked at Li Xiu who was inexplicably excited, smiled and shook his head.

"The two of us are getting along very well now, and Zheng Zhilong and I don't have any objections. Let's wait until autumn, and let them get married in autumn."

"This is a good marriage."

While the two were talking, Shunzi hurried back. "Minister Zheng of the Ministry of Water and Electricity wants to see you!"
Chapter completed!