Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

"Go and see?"

Qin Ming immediately became interested.

I want to take Chen Shimao to the market in the city.

In fact, they have more than just local specialties.

There are also things like mushrooms in the southern mountains.

These things are very new.

Especially after being transported to the north, it becomes even more valuable.

I guess only some princes and nobles can afford it.

"Come on, let's go and take a look at what's on sale in the market."

Chen Shimao smiled and nodded.

Then his eyes fell on the plaque of Lingnan Chamber of Commerce in the distance.

Qin Ming understood what he meant, and the two of them immediately entered.

Wan Shu, who was sitting inside, raised her eyebrows when she saw Qin Ming.

"What a rare visitor! How could such a busy man like Your Highness think of visiting me?"

"I have something good to tell you."

Qin Ming spoke with a smile, and upon hearing this, Wan Shu immediately became interested.

"If you're saying something nice, I'll be more cautious."

"Don't worry, I'm definitely not here to borrow money from you this time."

Qin Ming and Chen Shimao quickly told Wan Shu about their recent research on steam locomotives.

Wan Shu seemed a little surprised when he heard the news.

"Is this thing faster than a bicycle? How far can it travel in an hour?"

One hour is equivalent to two hours in modern times.

Qin Ming remembered that after the steam engine appeared during the First Industrial Revolution.

The steam locomotive developed by humans can run about twenty to thirty kilometers per hour.

Converted into one hour, it is about fifty kilometers.

One kilometer is two miles.

That means hundreds of miles in an hour!

"Don't be surprised if I tell you."

"Ah."

Wan Shu pouted and shrugged.

How could the president of the Lingnan Chamber of Commerce, who has seen a lot of ups and downs, be surprised by a number Qin Ming casually said?

"In one hour, we can cover almost a hundred miles."

Even though Wan Shu pretended not to care.

But after actually hearing the number Qin Ming said.

Wan Shu was so shocked that he took two steps back.

Her expression was a little tense.

"A thousand miles a day?"

"That's probably not possible yet, because at every station, the steam train has to stop to refuel, unload cargo, and so on, which will delay it quite a bit. But it's definitely possible to travel a few hundred miles a day."

Qin Ming assured with a smile.

"Then why did you come to see me today? Do you want me to help you get the goods?"

"That's not the case. I want all farmers to be able to enjoy the benefits of the train."

"What!?"

Wan Shu frowned slightly and looked at Qin Ming in surprise.

As a businessman, Wan Shu did not understand Qin Ming's behavior.

Anyone who has new technology.

They are all thinking about how to make more money, or gain more benefits by leveraging technological advantages.

But Qin Ming was surprised that the first person he thought of was the farmers in the village.

"You don't want me to take their crops...to a distant place to sell them, do you?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

Qin Ming smiled, picked up the tea in front of him and took a sip.

It is the hottest time of the year now and the temperature is extremely high.

Besides, the tea was hot, so after taking a sip, Qin Ming put it down.

Looking at the rising heat, Wan Shu slowly shook his head.

"That's impossible. Not to mention the fruits and vegetables that might get lost along the way, even if we could actually deliver them, say to Huxi or Jiangnan, hundreds of miles away, fruits and vegetables that have been sitting out for a day or two definitely wouldn't look good."

"If you want to do it, I can help you, but we won't do it ourselves. Selling inferior products that have been transported over long distances will damage the reputation of our Lingnan Chamber of Commerce."

"Is it fresh?"

Qin Ming quickly grasped the crux of the matter.

After pointing to the teacup in front of him, Qin Ming suddenly said to Wan Shu:

"Why don't you drink tea?"

"Are you kidding me? It's so hot, why should I drink hot water? Can't you just let it cool down a bit?"

"Yeah, it's too hot now, so things can't be stored."

"If we can cool these vegetables with ice or something, maybe we can keep the fruits and vegetables in Lingnan looking their best."

Qin Ming spoke with a smile.

When hearing this, Wan Shu curled her lips.

"Ice is very expensive. Where else can you find it except in the cellars of princes and nobles?"

"Even if you find it, it's very expensive. Do you really need to use ice to ensure the freshness of all kinds of vegetables and fruits?"

Wan Shu thought what Qin Ming said was fantasy, but Qin Ming shook his head.

"You don't understand this. Gunpowder is made from saltpeter. If you have saltpeter, you can make ice."

As Qin Ming finished speaking, he took out a small notebook from his arms.

This is something he has been wearing since he came into this world.

Because he has a lot of thoughts on weekdays.

These ideas will not work in the short term, so he will not implement them.

But in order to prevent himself from forgetting, he wrote down everything in a small notebook.

If it is useful, you can try it out.

After rummaging for a while, Qin Ming placed the things in front of Chen Shimao and Wan Shu.

"Using this method, we can produce ice on a large scale. As for the cost, it can be directly included in the price of the goods. How about that?"

Seeing this scene, Wan Shu was silent for a long time before she raised her head and asked Qin Ming.

"Do you really want to go to this extent for those villagers?"

As a businessman, Wan Shu could not understand Qin Ming's behavior.

Logically speaking, we already have such powerful technology.

They'd better find an opportunity to quickly use this technology in the transportation of all kinds of luxury goods.

If you can get high-priced goods into circulation, you can make a huge amount of money.

Unfortunately, Wan Shu didn't understand Qin Ming's starting point.

"No, it's because of these villagers that I have food. Can you guess what our food production would be like if we let them earn a considerable amount of money from farming?"

The most important thing for Qin Ming now is to consolidate his own power.

As for making money, it is not the most important thing for him.

After possessing these technologies, if they cannot be used to benefit the people, then there is no point.

Chen Shimao saw the difference in their thinking, so he smiled and said:

"High-priced goods naturally have high prices. Mr. Wan Shang, you don't think that these crops alone can fill up all the trains, do you?"

"Oh? That's right..."

Chen Shimao's words reminded Wan Shu.

The amount of material that can be transported by such a fast means of transport is actually astonishing.

There is no need to argue with Qin Ming about whether they are farmers or not. The Lingnan Chamber of Commerce can still get a share of the pie.

Qin Ming also smiled and nodded, and said to the two of them:

"Teacher is right, we don't have to fight for it, and we can even make some space for others."

"For people to use?!"

Chen Shimao suddenly stiffened, as if he thought of something.

"Then once the railway tracks in these three state capitals are successfully constructed, wouldn't it be possible to mobilize tens of thousands of troops to travel back and forth in just a day or two?"

These words made Wan Shu scream in surprise.

"Oh my God! Is this your purpose?"