Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 204: Competition
Under the gaze of the public, the second Industrial Expo officially began. There were no passionate speeches, nor any expressions of gratitude at the conference, and Li Xian didn’t even make an appearance—well, the public story is that Li Xian is gravely injured and unable to attend. Only Yan Ze’an and Fang Shijing appeared to read out the exhibition rules before the event commenced.
Amidst the crowd, an inconspicuous couple slowly walked in. Such immortal couples in the realm of cultivation were not uncommon, so despite their elegant demeanor, they didn’t attract much attention.
The two of them walked through the crowd, observing the entire exhibition, not missing a single corner.
The man spoke first: “I heard that last year’s expo in the Imperial Capital was only about a hundred square meters, and yet it was packed. This year’s expo is really huge, spanning three miles in all directions, almost like a small town.”
The woman smiled faintly, “This year’s expo is still free, but I heard that starting next year, there will be charges. Both exhibitors and spectators will have to pay. Li Xian really is greedy.”
“That kid has gotten so deep into the money trap that he can’t get out,” the man said, sounding a bit irritated. “By the way, didn’t we send Chunxiang and Qiuyue to Li Xian’s side? Why haven’t we received any news from them yet?”
The woman sighed again, “Isn’t it your granddaughter’s doing? Those two girls were left in the Li residence in the Imperial Capital to wash clothes, and Li Xian has long gone back to Anyang. I heard he’s been seriously injured and hasn’t seen anyone.”
“Seriously injured? Hmph, after the expo, I’ll personally go and see him! I’ll see what kind of serious injury he has! I didn’t expect that Qingqing, that little girl, also has such methods, dealing with Li Xian so he won’t dare to find a concubine. Haha…”
It turns out that the two of them were none other than the ‘Northwest Governor of the Great Xia Kingdom, Xiao Liming’ and his wife, ‘Ji Yunya,’ who had personally arrived. Of course, when they appeared, disguises were inevitable.
The two of them strolled through the entrance of the expo. At this moment, Xiao Liming took the opportunity to grab a handful of cement from one of the pillars at the entrance. He pulled a chunk of cement right off.
As they passed through the entrance, Xiao Liming opened his palm, looking at the cement powder, “So this is cement, huh? Good stuff. If we had this, the border walls could be reinforced at least tenfold, and the construction time could be reduced by ten times!”
After walking a few more steps, they arrived at the outdoor expo. In their haste, there weren’t any proper buildings, everything was open-air. But since this was the Immortal Realm, with a few spells, temporary shelters appeared. Though not very luxurious, they were sufficient to shield from the wind and rain.
Xiao Liming and his wife walked side by side, constantly observing. Xiao Liming murmured, “I wonder if this expo will present a substitute for Sea Soul Silk? If there isn’t a replacement, all industrial development will be controlled by Li Xian, and we’ll find it hard to make any progress.”
“By the way, how are the negotiations with the Sea Tribe going?”
Ji Yunya frowned slightly, “I’ve secretly sent people to make contact with the Sea Tribe and others from the sea, but the situation isn’t very ideal. If it’s only a small amount of Sea Soul Silk, under a kilogram, it might work. But if it’s more, the Sea Tribe won’t agree.
Sea Soul Silk is a spiritual material, it can only be exchanged for other spiritual materials or spiritual medicines.”
“Spiritual materials?” Xiao Liming sighed, “Where can we find so many spiritual materials! I always feel that this so-called industrialization and the concept of using business to strengthen the nation is just Li Xian’s scheme from the start.”
Ji Yunya spoke with a bit of a drawn-out tone: “But the theory of using business to strengthen the nation has indeed received widespread response. Qi Kingdom is already using it to govern the nation, and it’s said to be very effective.”
As they spoke, they turned a corner and arrived at a dazzling exhibition area, which was already packed with people. There was only one exhibitor here—the Brilliant Stars Group. Less than two hours into the expo, but the Brilliant Stars Group booth was already crowded.
The well-dressed male and female attendants of the Brilliant Stars Group were busily explaining things to the spectators.
Xiao Liming flew up into the air, looking down, and at first glance, he saw the internal combustion engine in operation. “What’s that? No spiritual energy fluctuations, but it smells burnt. Is this… an internal combustion engine?”
Xiao Liming finally saw the large “manual” behind the internal combustion engine. The manual was about three meters tall and clearly explained the basic information about the engine. It was a machine that utilized combustion to do work, and the internal combustion engine could completely replace the formation engine!
Moreover, the internal combustion engine was very cheap, only one-tenth the price of a formation engine.
A 3-horsepower formation engine sold for twenty to thirty taels of gold; while a 5-horsepower internal combustion engine was priced at just three taels of gold.
“So cheap?” Xiao Liming clearly didn’t believe it. “When did that kid become so generous? There must be a trap here!”
However, the conversation nearby cleared up Xiao Liming’s doubts: The engine for the formation originally relied on a spirit gathering array to operate, and once the engine was completed, no further consumption was needed. But the internal combustion engine was different; it required continuous burning to function—it needed fuel.
Anyang also sold fuel, sold by the barrel. A barrel of oil was 0.2 cubic meters, priced at two taels of silver. That meant one cubic meter of fuel was worth as much as one tael of gold! This price… really outrageous!
“I knew that little bastard Li Xian wouldn’t be this generous.” Xiao Liming muttered unwillingly, but his gaze was fixed on the internal combustion engine. As a governor of the northwest, and having embraced industrial ideas for over a year, Xiao Liming could see the potential for future development in this internal combustion engine.
In some way, Xiao Liming seemed to envision countless locomotives racing across the land, where the power of steel and machines made all ordinary soldiers vulnerable. Only those at the foundation stage or higher would be able to resist the power of machines.
But while machines could be produced endlessly, foundation stage experts needed continuous cultivation.
“The future will be ruled by machines!” Xiao Liming’s eyes sparkled with intensity. “When we return, we must vigorously develop industry. If necessary, we can lower our heads to Li Xian and exchange some support! The times have changed!”
Just as he was reflecting, a shout from the staff of the Brilliant Stars Group ahead drew everyone’s attention, clearly asking them to clear the way.
Soon, a rumbling sound echoed from the ground as something heavy seemed to be rapidly approaching.
“What is it?” Xiao Liming gazed into the distance, and soon saw a massive steel dragon speeding toward them. Finally, a super-sized locomotive, around seventy or eighty meters long, slowly came to a halt at the Brilliant Stars exhibition.
Then, many civilians rushed out of the front compartments of the locomotive, and from the rear compartments, a large number of peculiar two-wheeled vehicles were unloaded.
A figure flew into the air, “Hello, everyone. I am Fang Shijing from the Brilliant Stars Group. I think many of you regular visitors to Anyang might know me.”
Without error, one sentence, one action, one inner move, one container, one presence, 6, 9, book, bar, look!
“Today, we are announcing two new products here in Anyang.”
“The first one is the internal combustion engine, which you’ve already seen. The appearance of the internal combustion engine allows us to break free from the need for sea silk and enables us to develop our industry freely. The massive vehicle you see right now is powered by this engine.”
“The second one, just arriving now, is what we call the ‘bicycle.’ It is a non-motorized, personal transport vehicle, priced at one tael of silver. Our goal is to let everyone enjoy a cheap and free industrial age.”
“For this exhibition, we’ve prepared five thousand bicycles. If you can learn how to ride one, you can take one with you.”
“Next, please enjoy the bicycle race organized by Anyang, and pay attention to the competition.”
“Young men, get ready! The first-place winner will receive a reward of ten taels of gold!”
After Fang Shijing finished speaking, the bicycle race began. The participants were volunteers, most of them teenage boys, each one riding the bicycles enthusiastically.
At first, Xiao Liming didn’t pay much attention, but when he saw a few boys in the third or fourth stage of Qi refining swiftly disappearing on their bicycles, his eyes immediately narrowed. “Faster than an ordinary warhorse! If the bicycle only costs one tael of silver, it can definitely replace a warhorse!”
For cultivators, the greatest use of a warhorse was for transport. Charging into battle was unrealistic, due to spells.
So, if it was just for transport, the bicycle was clearly much better than the warhorse. At least, it saved on fodder! And while a bicycle only cost one tael of silver, a barely acceptable warhorse could cost over ten taels of silver.
Watching the young men joyfully race out of sight, many people narrowed their eyes, recognizing the military potential in the bicycles.