Chapter 366 - Chapter 366: Custom Made
Chapter 366: Custom Made
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Sure,” Jian Qingqing said with a smile. “I’ll go back and design a very high-end one for you. I won’t charge you much.”
The Emperor was overjoyed and laughed. “Dingan is really my hero!”
The bicycles designed for the ministers naturally had to be unique and different from ordinary bicycles. They also had to look high-class so that the officials would be willing to buy them. Otherwise, with the price, even if the Emperor requested to buy them, they would feel that they were a big injustice and might even hold a grudge against her. So this job was not easy.
After Jian Qingqing went back, she stayed in the study, holding a pen and thinking.
In order to reduce the cost of ordinary bicycles, she made simpler ones. The wheels were smaller, the body was less fancy, and the wood was not expensive, but the lifespan of this kind of bicycle might not be that long.
To make it look more worthwhile, the wheels were one size bigger than ordinary ones.
There were very few things that could be innovative on bicycles. They were basically the same, and even if there were any differences, they would not be too obvious.
Jian Qingqing thought for a while and suddenly thought of the old-fashioned 28 -bar, which was a particularly eye-catching horizontal bar in front of the car. It could be distinguished from an ordinary car at a glance. She added this point to the design.
In fact, it would look better if the body was made of iron, but the cost would not be 100 taels, so Jian Qingqing ruled out this plan.
If she wanted to make the bicycle more obvious, she could also paint the body of the bike. She knew that there was a red paint that was popular in the Capital recently. Nowadays, many chairs and tables were painted with that paint. This seemed very feasible, so she added this point.
Since the wood was so expensive, of course, it had to be of good quality. She was not familiar with this, but carpenters and craftsmen would definitely know a lot.
After some editing. the first official version of the bicycle was finally completed. Jian Qingqing looked at it with satisfaction.
After the drawing was done, she had to take it to the Emperor to have a look.
Looking at the extremely luxurious bicycle in the picture, the Emperor laughed out loud. “Qingqing, I really didn’t misjudge you! He’s someone who can do great things!’
Jian Qingqing smiled. “When do you want it? If it’s urgent, I’ll get someone to do this first.”
“As soon as possible,” the Emperor said after some thought.
The southwest border was in short supply. Although the various regions had already begun to harvest the crops, it would still take several months for the people to dry the grain and send it to pay taxes. Then, they would wait for the local taxes to be sent to the Capital. The border simply could not wait.
“Alright,” Jian Qingqing said. “I’ll go back and ask the craftsmen to speed it up.
We should be able to make 200 bicycles in five days.”
Xiao Ye had hired 30 to 40 craftsmen, and they were working together in a separate division of labor. The parts they made were all different, and they would finally assemble them together, so the speed was still considered fast. They could build 50 to 60 ordinary bicycles a day. However, this bike was more complex, so perhaps they could only build 40 of these a day.
After returning, Jian Qingqing gave the blueprint to Xiao Ye and said, “Ask the workers to stop their work and make this first. It’s very urgent. Ask them to do it quickly.”
Xiao Ye took it and looked at it carefully, then asked in confusion, “Sister, why is this different from the previous one? What is it used for?”
“It’s the Emperor who wants to sell it to the court officials,” Jian Qingqing said simply..