The great hero of the Silk Road, starting from a farm farmer

In Taoyang City, the sign of the Yungu Military and Civilian Autonomous Government replaced the sign of the original city lord's palace, and people in the city flocked to watch.

For the people in the city, this is a reassurance, at least it means that Taoyang City, as the center of the Yungu military government, will not be able to escape in recent years.As long as the center is here, Taoyang City can continue to prosper, and the living options of the people in the city will naturally be wider. Of course, everyone's life will be better as time goes by.

Several officials on bicycles squeezed into the military government yamen from the crowd of onlookers and began their day's work.

After nearly a year of promotion and technological improvements, bicycles are finally no longer a daunting novelty. At least on the streets of Taoyang, they are relatively common.In terms of practicality, there has also been some progress. It no longer breaks down frequently on the road like it did at the beginning. When riding on paved streets, the comfort has also been qualitatively improved.

Of course, on ordinary gravel roads, this thing is still very bumpy, and the people's name for it has not changed. They still call it a bumpy car.

"The new car ordered by the hall will be received today. I heard that the car I ordered is made by Master Cai. It should be very useful. Brother Wang, I think I can give you one this time. If you get the new car, you can treat everyone to a drink in the evening! "In the large office of the Administration Department, several young staff were chatting and gossiping while doing the work at hand.

"That kind of wine I bought? Even if you share it with me, it's still a bus, and it doesn't really belong to me. If you have an errand, it won't be used by everyone? You guys should wait for a while. When will I actually buy my own? I will treat you all to a drink when the time comes." When the official named Wang saw everyone urging them to treat themselves, he quickly tried to find a way to avoid it.

"You still want to buy a car by yourself? A new car costs five or sixty silver dollars, which is equivalent to our salary for a year. You are really willing to spend this money! Let me see, you are asking everyone to have a drink. It's the year of the monkey and the month of the horse." When the colleagues next to him saw the official surnamed Wang being evasive, they couldn't help but tease him, thinking that if he used this stick, it would be difficult for the big guy to find a chance to drink him.

"If I can buy a car made by Master Cai, I really want to save up money to buy one for my family. Don't look at this thing. It was expensive when I bought it, but after careful calculation, it is much cheaper than a mule. A better one. Mules cost about 20 silver dollars, right? If you buy them, you have to carry fodder every day. We don’t rely on mules and horses for farming. They are just for walking, which makes people more relaxed. I think it is more cost-effective to buy a bicycle. ! It’s a pity that our salary is so low that it takes several years to save enough to buy a car! With my own car, not only can I use it, but my family can also use it, which brings a lot of convenience.”

Seeing that everyone disagreed with his idea of ​​buying his own car, the official named Wang quickly spoke out.He felt that these colleagues were too short-sighted and had no vision at all.In terms of not eating forage and not being managed by people, it is better than buying mules and horses.Over the course of a year, you can save a lot of money.

"What Brother Wang said makes sense. I rode a bus to Huichuan a few days ago. The round trip took less than a day. I calculated that it would be no problem to ride a bicycle for a hundred miles in a day. , we can catch up with good mules and horses with only our two legs. It is really great to have a car to travel. Unfortunately, the price is too expensive. With our salary of [-] or [-] yuan a month, it is too much to buy a car. It’s not easy anymore!”

With the improvement of practicality, as the first group of people to use bicycles, young officials in the administrative office are aware of the convenience of bicycles.The only thing is that the current price of bicycles is too high, which deters many interested people.Starting from the promotion of bicycles, military supplier companies put them in stores for retail sale.However, in the past year or so, very few bicycles have been retailed, and people do not have high recognition of this thing.The biggest reason is that the price is too expensive. There are not many people in Yungu who can afford five or sixty silver dollars at once.And it is difficult for people who can spend so much money to be bicycle users.

For now, the largest user group of bicycles is office workers. For the truly wealthy, it is more trouble-free and convenient to use mules and horses.I don't care about the little fodder money I save, and there are people at home who take care of the mules and horses, so I don't have to worry about it myself.

……

"The bicycles produced by various workshops recently have been qualitatively improved compared to the beginning. In my opinion, this thing has begun to become practical, and we should further increase its promotion efforts. In addition to the current bus market, We must also pay attention to the civilian market, and we cannot just rely on procurement from various government agencies to maintain production. Only by opening up the civilian market can the output of cars increase, the car-making workshops can make more money, and the technology of car-making can progress rapidly!" After formulating the strategy, Song Yingkui shifted his focus to industrial construction. The bicycle industry was an industry that he believed needed focus and support in recent years. After inspecting several workshops, he approached Guo Kaifeng to discuss support methods.

"General, although the cars made by various workshops are much easier to use now, the cost of making cars is not cheap, and the selling price can be worth the price of a good military horse. Not to mention ordinary people, even those with an income like me People feel distressed when buying a car. It is really difficult to open up sales among the people!" Guo Kaifeng expressed difficulty with Song Yingkui's idea. The production cost of bicycles is placed there, and unlike looms, which can directly participate in production and generate value, how can Only then can ordinary people have the desire to buy?
"In order to open up the civilian market, one aspect is to reduce prices appropriately, and the other aspect is to find a way to make this thing affordable for civilians! Let's do this. The military supplier will adjust the price of the bicycle to between forty and fifty silver dollars. During the period, the profits you make will be spread thinly. In addition, your Government Property Department will follow the model of building a bank in Wazhou and set up a bank in Taoyang City. Anyone who works in our military government, or in Taoyang, Those who own real estate in Wuying can buy a bicycle on credit with just a down payment of ten silver dollars.

From now on, you have to pay a certain amount of money to the bank every month and pay off the car price within five years. During this period, the bank can charge some appropriate interest!At the car-making workshop, the bank will advance the money in advance.As a result, the car factory has a market, and the people who use the car do not have to save money deliberately, but can buy a car in advance. It is the best of both worlds. What do you think? "Since ordinary people are under pressure to buy cars, they should use installment purchases to stimulate consumption. The Yungu military government is indeed not short of money now and has the ability to open a bank.

"This is feasible, but I'm afraid that the Government Property Department will advance too much money, which will affect the financial expenditure! Also, do the cars sold by the car factory to ordinary people need to be repaired and replaced within six months?"

"After the bank started running, the money advanced was not as much as you thought. You don't have to worry about repaying the money you borrowed, so what do you have to worry about? It's not a good thing to have too much money in the big treasury. Half-year warranty Warranties and exchanges are naturally unavoidable, and people pay a lot of money to the car manufacturers when buying cars, so why can’t they enjoy the same treatment!”

(End of this chapter)