Chapter 48 On the Possibility of Promoting Bicycles in Xumi

Chapter 48 On the Possibility of Promoting Bicycles in Xumi

"That means you're working on a new topic," Elhaisson said.

"It's about a kind of rice that can be grown in the desert, and the House of Representatives is unwilling to allocate funds to me for this project," Harold shook his head helplessly.

He was not surprised that Elhaisen guessed this, because if not, he would not have gone to Dolly to discuss business after having already received enough research funds.

If he doesn't want to pay for it himself, he can postpone the project until five or six years later, until there is a major reshuffle in the Council of Ecclesiastical Officials and King Little Grass comes to power. At that time, the Grass God will definitely allocate funds for his project.

But this time he didn't want to wait. He wanted to find wild salt- and alkali-tolerant rice while promoting the improvement of sugar production, select suitable varieties from them, and then start breeding research on salt- and alkali-tolerant rice, and first cultivate rice varieties that can be grown in the desert.

Then when Xumi changes, he can immediately take his rice to the desert. Desert rice planting is not a simple project to complete. At the beginning, Yuan Lao found the trick after several failures in Arabo.

And he may not be able to completely replicate Yuan Lao's method, because he may not be able to cultivate rice with the same characteristics as "sea rice" in Teyvat, but considering that Teyvat has the bonus of earth veins, the difficulty of his project will definitely be much lower than growing rice in Arabo.

Now that the funding problem has been solved and he has also received the secret support of the vitalist sage Nafis, he is still very optimistic about the prospects of his project.

Elhaisen looked at Harold in silence, as if he was re-evaluating the character and behavior of this junior fellow student.

"It's not that strange, is it? Anyway, I have money and time, so I just do it if I want to," Harold shrugged.

Elhaisen: "That's right. I don't think you will go bankrupt because of the project."

"Bankruptcy? Impossible. I have no money and even rent a house. How can I go bankrupt?" Harold said openly despite being penniless.

If he were to count his assets, not counting the research expenses allocated to him by Hazard, he would only have a total of more than 3 million Mora. And as he said, the houses were all rented, and the rent would be due in less than four months.

But he did not plan to renew the lease, as renting a house in the prime location of Xumi would cost 800,000 Mora a month.

It’s too expensive. It’s not cost-effective even if I find two or three roommates to share the rent.

He really wanted to find the landlord immediately to return the house and recover three months' rent.

But they signed a breach of contract contract, and if they broke the contract, he would not be able to get back a single mora.

Thinking of this, Harold sighed. He still felt heartache when he thought about the rent of 4 million Mora.

He planned to move to the laboratory in Evolution City with his suitcase after the rent expired. If he was not afraid of being classified as Nafis's faction by Azar's accomplices due to frequent visits to Nafis's house, he would shamelessly ask Nafis to take him in.

Of course, if Kavi sympathized with the homeless man and was willing to take him in, he would immediately pack his suitcase and move in. After all, he was thick-skinned and would do anything to save money.

Elhaisen: "Your view on money is very unique, but from your perspective, thinking about problems in this way can indeed avoid a lot of troubles."

"I think so," Harold said with a smile, and then he added, "This view of money is not special."

It's normal not to feel bad about spending other people's money.

"Maybe, you have your reasons. Maybe you think your actions have their own unique meaning," Elhaisen said, picking up the book. "If you also need to read a book to kill time, you can look for it on my bookshelf. There may be books that interest you."

Harold couldn't help but glance in the direction of the kitchen: "Can Senior Kavi carve patterns on cookies?"

"Carving patterns on biscuits, carving patterns on vegetables, carving patterns on animal spines... After all, turning food into decorations is one of his specialties, and he won't pass up the opportunity to show off, so I say you'd better find a book to read unless you want to sit here for an hour," said Elhaisen.

hiss.

Harold glanced towards the kitchen again and thought, you are worthy of being called Senior Kavi.

Then he went to Elhaisen's bookshelf and found a book about crop cultivation and started reading.

An hour passed quickly, and Elhaisen finished a bag of freeze-dried Dun Dun peaches while reading a book. He finally reached into the bag and fumbled around, but felt nothing. Then he said "Hmm?" lightly, put down the book and opened another bag of freeze-dried peaches.

"Come and look at this, a super luxurious cookie palace!" Kavi held a huge plate in both hands and walked slowly towards the two of them.

Elhaisen and Harold both looked over, their eyes focused on the house made of biscuits on the plate, and then moved to the silver spoon on the plate.

Kavi carefully placed the plate on the table and just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he saw Elhaisen pick up the silver spoon and smash the exquisite house into pieces. Then Harold picked up the fallen biscuit crumbs and put them in his mouth to chew.

"Ah——!" Kavi screamed, unable to believe that his work was destroyed just one second after it was served on the table. "You! You..."

"Sorry, senior, I'm so hungry," Harold said while eating a cookie.

El Haisen also took a piece of biscuit dipped in butter and put it in his mouth: "Well, it tastes okay."

"Can't you eat it later? It took me more than an hour to make this. At least take a little more time to appreciate it! Do you know how difficult it is to make these shapes with cookies?!" Kavi said in agony.

"Before you start cooking, you should think about its final outcome. The value of food lies in its edibility," said Elhaisen without any sense of doing anything wrong.

"I admired it when you brought it to me, senior. It was very beautiful," Harold said as he stuffed the biscuit into his mouth. "It tasted good too."

He was really hungry. Normally, he didn't like to have biscuits for dinner. If he had to, he had to soak them in milk or milk tea.

"Really?" Kavi gave Harold a questioning look.

He no longer wanted to care about Elhaisen. He was born without any sense of romance. But Harold was different. He clearly understood beauty. Now he was actually in cahoots with Elhaisen? !

Was he infected by Elhaisen? No, he had to awaken his junior's aesthetic taste and not let Harold become like Elhaisen!

"...Um, cough," Harold covered his mouth. He was a little choked because he ate too fast. He quickly patted his chest to breathe slowly.

Kavi was a little overwhelmed. He only dared to pat Harold's back gently with his hand. He didn't know if this method was right.

Harold waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, and after a pause, he said, "...It's very beautiful. It's an upgraded version of Senior Elhaisen's house. Senior Kavi built a garden for Senior Elhaisen."

Kawi immediately became happy: "Yes, that's it! How did you figure that out?"

Because there was a bicycle parked at the door, with two training wheels.

Of course, he couldn't say this in front of Kavi. Harold thought for two seconds and began to analyze the possibility that this was Elhaisen's house based on the structure and decoration style of the house, as well as the beauty of this work.

He is very good at this and can easily write a thousand words in half an hour.

Isn’t it just describing the background first (Elhaisen’s birthday), then introducing the author of the work (Kavi), then describing the content of the work, and then analyzing the advantages of the work in detail from several angles, and finally adding the historical significance (giving the junior a memorable birthday party).

Harold's words made perfect sense, Kavi nodded repeatedly with satisfaction, and Elhaisen enjoyed his meal very much. The whole room was filled with a happy atmosphere.

After Haroldt finished speaking, Kavi put aside his dissatisfaction and took a cookie to eat. While eating, he said, "I just thought about it. Maybe we should submit the bicycle manufacturing plan to the Ministry of Education. In this way, it won't be long before the residents of the entire Xumi City can use this means of transportation."

"Have you thought about this proposal before making it?" Elhaisen put down the biscuits and asked with a frown.

“Of course, I have thought about it several times about the traffic problem and road repair problem in Xumi City. If most residents use bicycles, the roads in the city will have to be renovated, which will be a huge expense. However, I believe that the great sage will approve the funds for such a good thing that benefits the people.

Think about it, didn't Harold succeed in getting a grant? And the Faithful Council also commended a study on improving the structure of Xumi houses two years ago.

Even though the House of Representatives is short of funds for some reasons and has to rely on some temporary policies to increase revenue, as long as we get rid of this crisis, the House of Representatives will definitely consider our proposal. Submitting the plan as soon as possible will also allow the sages to prepare early and make future financial plans as soon as possible," Kavi said optimistically.

“Bicycles, as well as several types of vehicles that I haven’t yet made in reality, if they can really be popularized, the lives of us Xumi residents will definitely undergo earth-shaking changes!

I have also thought about the issue of traffic safety. Before allowing residents of Xumi City to buy bicycles, the House of the Lords will definitely enact new traffic laws to reduce traffic accidents.

I will also propose to the sages to limit the age of bicycle use and arrange a bicycle driving license test. I believe the sages will not reject this proposal. How about it, have I considered it comprehensively enough? ", said Kavi.

"What about you, Senior Kavi?" Harold interrupted.

"What's wrong with me?" Kavi felt a little confused.

"Once you submit this proposal, you will be dragged into the high-level struggle in the Council of Ordinances," Harold said with certainty.

And he believed that if Kavi really made his vision a reality, he would take the responsibility for every traffic accident that occurred in Xumi City in the future.

"This..." Kavi looked away guiltily.

He had considered this possibility, and he knew that it was very likely.

The Myeongwan school had been in decline for five hundred years, and finally he, the "light of the Myeongwan school", emerged. The sages of the Myeongwan school had always wanted to promote him to be the second Kapilavastu in order to revitalize the Myeongwan school.

He could naturally see that the sage was trying to win him over, but he was very disgusted with this behavior and the practice of the Institute of Ordinances to classify scholars, so he avoided invitations from the sages of the Miaolun School whenever possible.

But once this plan, which could almost revolutionize the transportation in Xumi, was submitted to the great sage, no matter how low-key he was or how many times he tried to evade it, he would not be able to avoid the massive power struggle.

However, he felt that compared with allowing the residents of Xumi City to live a better life, his personal interests were insignificant.

Isn't it just being used as a tool to attack other colleges? It's not like his life is in danger. But it was still a bit embarrassing for him to let his junior point it out directly.

"You have too much faith in the coordination ability of the Council of the Faith. If those people were really capable of what you said, they would not have let the Council of the Faith fall into a financial crisis," said Elhaisen. "Your ideals are beautiful, but the Council of the Faith will make everything a mess."

“I don’t believe that the current House of Magisterium can manage all of this. It’s highly likely, and I say highly likely, that they will hold an emergency sage meeting to discuss countermeasures only after dozens of traffic accidents occur.

Moreover, promoting bicycles will not necessarily make the lives of Xumi City residents better. Think about the beasts of burden, Senior Kavi, I think that old...well, the Great Sage will definitely impose high bicycle taxes and increase other taxes to recover the cost of road construction. In the end, most civilians will not be able to afford bicycles, and they have to pay more money," said Harold.

Among those affected is poor me.

Kavi doesn't care if his own interests are harmed. The best way to make him come back is to tell him that your behavior will cause trouble to others.

Kavi hissed. He had not considered this. It was his negligence.

"If you're still not convinced, you can submit anonymous documents to the Sage, provided that you do a good job of keeping it confidential. So how do you do it?" said Elhaisen.

Of course, he took out the newly assembled bicycle from home with great fanfare and rode it all the way to Elhaisen's house, earning many envious looks from passers-by...

Kavi covered his face in shame.

In other words, he cut off his own way of sending anonymous letters.

"Let's take a long-term view on this matter, Senior Kawi," Harold patted Kawi on the shoulder, "It's fine to manufacture a small number of bicycles and tricycles for transportation or transporting things. As long as we don't promote them too much, there won't be these problems."

Anyway, Azar certainly doesn't have the money to build roads and carry out major transportation reforms now. Even if he is very interested in these new things, he will not put them under the control of the Fatwa for the time being.

"Oh, okay, I'll think about how to solve these problems," Kavi said dejectedly.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly shouted, "'Tricycle'? What kind of name is that?! How can it be so ugly? It has no artistic sense at all!"

"I think it's a good name," Elhaeson said.

Yes, at least it sounds better than "three-wheeled vehicle" or "disabled vehicle", Harold thought.