Chapter 51 Rogue and Swindler

  Thug plus swindler

  The young man listened to Yao Fan say that one person had one vehicle, and everyone wanted to rely on riding a bike, so he was somewhat disappointed. But the old youth beside him said: "That's easy to handle, we are also going to Jinan Prefecture, you can sell it to us when you arrive in Jinan, it's not too late."

  Yao Fan saw that these two young men were speaking differently from ordinary people and knew how to ride bicycles, so he judged that they must have been born into a wealthy family.

  Thinking of this, Yao Fan's mind suddenly turned quickly: if he could make friends with some high-ranking officials before rebelling, it would be beneficial to disguise himself, after all, he was going to Jinan just to find a protective umbrella.

  Having thought this through, Yao Fan said: "If everyone has the same fate and travels together to Jinan, I'll give you two cars. How about that? My family opened a factory in Taixi, and these cars were made by my own factory. Now they're being sold back to the Qing Dynasty, but nobody recognizes them."

  Yao Wenyi sighed and said, "In the Western world, bicycles that run all over the streets are not as good as this one made by my family. To say nothing of other things, these inflatable tires are uniquely considerate, and the design of front and rear gears transmitted through chains is also a stroke of genius. But who would have thought that in our Great Qing dynasty, no one pays attention to it."

  "My heart has also turned cold, I just plan to give the car that was transported in the future to someone who is destined for it, and from now on, I won't do this car business anymore."

  It wasn't until after the 1873 World's Fair that bicycles with metal frames appeared, and before that, all bicycles were made of wood. Pneumatic tires weren't invented by John Boyd Dunlop until 1888 for use in bicycles, making cycling much easier. Following this, in 1889, chain-driven gears replaced the previous design of pedals attached to the front wheel axle, allowing riders to pedal with their feet in a more natural position. Only then did the bicycle shed its image as a toy for the wealthy and gain practical value, becoming an instant bestseller around the world after the World's Fair.

  The invention of pneumatic tires and chain transmission cannot be reversed. Without pneumatic tires, the metal chains of that era could not withstand the bumps and strong pedaling.

  As for the semi-false, it is because Yao Fan did not vigorously promote bicycles, but instead hid them after discovering their military value in this era, planning to build his own cavalry troops when he rebels in the future. This cavalry... of course does not ride horses...

  That young man, no matter how mature he becomes, is still a young man. Upon hearing this, he couldn't hide his delight and laughed: "No wonder I saw that you didn't have a queue, it turns out that you're not a monk after all, but a merchant from the Western world. Since that's the case, let's travel together to Jinan then. Having someone on the road is nice for conversation and passing the time. I think this fellow sings interesting songs, is generous, and has been to the Far West; traveling with him will surely yield many stories."

  He paused for a moment, and the young man said: "You shouldn't think that I'm just following you because of your carriage. Once we arrive in Jinan, you can sell me your carriage at the original price, and I'll give you silver for it. I won't let you suffer any losses."

  The young man added, "Our family's car was originally given by foreigners, who said that in the Shanghai concession, they would sell it for 120 taels of silver per vehicle. Since your car is even better than theirs, I'll give you double the price, which is 240 taels of silver per vehicle. You won't be at a loss, will you?"

  Yao Feng put on the underwear handed over by He Shi, then smiled and said while tying up his sky-blue thin cotton long shirt: "Little brother, you underestimate me Yao Feng too much. Since I said I would send the carriage to Jinan Prefecture, I will definitely give it to you for free! Not a single silver coin is needed! If you try to pay me with silver coins, that's looking down on us Shandong good men. If I take your silver coins, I'll lose face, this deal isn't worth it."

  Although that young man was mature beyond his years, he had never seen anyone like Yao Fang use such flowery language in the jianghu world, and he hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

  The young man, however, thought that Yao Fang was showing off and thought to himself: "This person is just someone from a family that has opened a factory in the West to manufacture these ingenious and cunning toys. At the end of the day, isn't he still just a merchant? What's there to be proud of?"

  He smiled and said: "So you're back from Thailand, but since you went to Thailand, how dare you cut off your ancestors' braids? Is it shameful not to do so?"

  Yao Feng rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "What the hell is wrong with you, who else in the world would be proud of this Tartar pigtail except for a slave?"

  Yao Fan has a characteristic "heart and mouth are not one", he smiled and said, "Brother, you don't understand, I'll tell you, I've been living in the Western countries since I was young, following my family's business on the European continent. Since childhood, I haven't had a braid, naturally, there's no need to cut it off either. Now that I'm back in the Qing Dynasty, I plan to grow one out, but unfortunately, it's during the hot summer days. Wearing a fake braid is already unbearable, and growing hair would make my scalp sweat even more. I'd rather learn from those monks and shave my head clean, it's quite refreshing." He laughed loudly after saying this.

  The young man saw Yao Feng's humor and also burst out laughing.

  Then, Yao Fang began to chat with the young man and youth in the cool window of the corridor under the courtyard. He brought out the same set he had bragged about to Sun Maowen and He Wannian, only this time adding more flavor to boast about the boundless glory and high status of his family overseas.

  Although these young men had read books, they hadn't been to Europe. At that time, they were deceived by Yao Wenyuan and asked enthusiastically about the natural scenery of the West, the folk customs of the West, the architecture, art, and special products of the West.

  Yao Fan just went on, from ancient times to the Middle Ages, from the Middle Ages to the Victorian era, leaving the two of them stunned and speechless. From then on, they didn't dare call Yao Fan "Hanzi" anymore, but instead addressed him as "Brother Yao".

  The young man who was frightened by the naked form of Yao Weng in the house also listened with his ears perked up, and after a moment of admiration, he thought to himself that this rough-looking person wasn't particularly rough after all. Not only had he seen and experienced many things, but he could also explain the origins of various Western objects in a clear and logical manner, actually surpassing the American gentleman, Mr. White, who was invited to our home by many times...

  Seeing Yao Fan's mouth as if hanging from the window, two small children spoke in a respectful tone. He Shicheng thought that he couldn't lose his master's dignity, so he quickly went to find the shopkeeper and asked for a pot of cool tea. He himself carried the teapot and held a cup standing beside Yao Fan to serve him.

  Yao Weng took a sip of the cool tea brought by He Shi Cheng and continued his previous conversation: "As for France, that's a long story. My great-grandfather was in Paris at the time, helping Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Voltaire with funding to set up a printing press to print newspapers. He almost got caught... Later, my family found out that Napoleon, the future emperor of France, had also read the newspapers printed by my great-grandfather... As for Napoleon, he was quite a character. Don't think he was just a short guy who could only hold a broken wheel - no, he graduated from a formal military academy, studied Sun Tzu's Art of War, and researched the war histories of various countries and tribes such as Xexia, Persia, Thracia, Athens, Sparta, Egypt, and Carthage. He was skilled in archery and horsemanship, and was an expert in using cannons - a formidable figure..."

  Yao Fan felt that the more he talked, the more like a storyteller he sounded, but these two silly kids in front of him were still listening with great enthusiasm. So he put all his energy into boasting, mixing up the fabricated experiences of the Yao family abroad with European history, instantly increasing his own value.

  The young man and the youth listened to Yao Fengru's storytelling, exaggerating how Napoleon used 45 cannons to bombard Toulon for four hours, and then 6,000 people rushed up and took down "Little Gibraltar" in one fell swoop. The Yao family had once sent grain to Napoleon during this battle. He also lied that during the Thermidorian Reaction, Napoleon was captured and imprisoned, and his ancestors had visited him three times in prison within 14 days...

  In just half a time, after countless ghostly entanglements, Yao Fang's image in the minds of the two had transformed from a muscular naked man to a high-end overseas righteous businessman.

  Yao Fan shifted the topic: "If we talk about the history of these Western countries, it would take three days and three nights to finish. Let's just talk about Spain. These people started plundering the American continent as early as the Ming dynasty's Hongzhi era. By 1660, which was the 17th year of the Shunzhi emperor, they had accumulated nearly 6 million taels of gold, or almost 100 million taels of silver. As for silver, they directly plundered nearly 500 million taels! Later, the British saw that America was rich in resources and fought a war with Spain. After defeating the Invincible Armada, they seized control of America and began their own plunder. The place later felt constrained by Britain and inconvenient, so it declared independence and became a country called the United States."

  In 1721, or the 60th year of Kangxi, the British set up a water-powered silk-reeling factory on the banks of the River Derwent in Derbyshire, marking the beginning of large-scale self-production of silk fabrics and gradually reducing their dependence on our Great Qing and surrounding Asian countries for silk.

  In 1735, or the 13th year of Yongzheng, a Swiss man named Breguet opened a workshop and began to formally produce pocket watches. From then on, Westerners' grasp of time was accurate to the second.

  In 1746, also the eleventh year of Qianlong, the British Baroque built a sulfuric acid plant in Birmingham, starting large-scale chemical production, and British gunpowder became cheaper and cheaper.

  In 1776, also the 41st year of Qianlong's reign, it was this Baroque who, together with another merchant Bolton, invested in a man named Watt to invent the steam engine that year. From then on, foreigners no longer relied on water power and began using coal-driven steam engines to operate factories. As a result, foreign factories sprouted up everywhere, since not every place had rivers, but coal could be transported to any place with roads.

  In 1824, that is, the fourth year of Daoguang, the British Aspdin created ordinary silicate cement, also known as "Portland cement" in our Qing Dynasty. The number of cement plants has been increasing since then, and foreigners have built various factories, buildings, and wharfs with ease. Factories seem to be opening everywhere in Western countries like they're free, and the numbers are countless.

  ……

  As Yao Fan added fuel to the fire, boasting about the power of foreigners' factories and advocating for quantitative changes leading to qualitative changes, he suddenly stopped talking when it came to 1840 and changed the subject. This left the two young people feeling both disappointed and relieved at the same time.

  The young man in the house, however, was amazed and asked with emotion: "Why does this person understand so many miscellaneous things? It's not an exaggeration to say that he is well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge! But since he has such great talent, why does he act like those rough people, naked and shameless, taking a bath in broad daylight...

  As soon as he thought of Yao Fang's wet and erect black hair, the young man immediately turned red with shame, wishing he could smash his head into the chessboard. He tried to quickly forget, but couldn't do so no matter what.