Chapter 860: Zhu Cunji's Kulinan
In the eastern suburbs of Xi'an city, beside the railway tracks, lay a wide, flat expanse of land that Gao Family Village had leased.
The land here was relatively barren, unsuitable for cultivation, and Zhu Cunji had always been too lazy to bother with it, letting it lie fallow. When Gao Family Village built the railway through this area, the tracks deviated slightly from the main road, encroaching on a small portion of the Qin Prince's Mansion's land. The Qin Prince's Mansion hadn't even bothered to send anyone to manage the matter.
So, when Wang Tang went to negotiate leasing the land at a low price to build an automobile factory, Zhu Cunji agreed almost without a second thought.
After all, it was unused land, and any rent money was better than none.
He was in dire need of funds right now!
The construction of the West Yan Railway required a tremendous amount of money; even a landlord as powerful and wealthy as the Qin Prince's Mansion was finding it a struggle.
Furthermore, he was simultaneously building the Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord grottoes and developing several tourist attractions with accompanying commercial streets.
Money was flowing like water!
Fortunately, the food street in Sanhuan County and Li Jing's former residence had all started generating income for him, providing a small but welcome return of capital...
Large groups of Blue Hats and Yellow Hats were busily working.
The factory buildings were already completed, and they were now moving equipment inside.
Naturally, this equipment was transported by train.
The automobile factory's location right next to the railway made transporting goods by train very convenient. Gao Family Village had even gone so far as to establish a temporary train station here to facilitate the boarding and alighting of the Blue Hats and Yellow Hats.
Zhu Cunji saw a group of workers moving a massive stone vat into the workshop and couldn't help but ask, "What's that for? Such a huge stone vat?"
Wang Tang replied, "I don't understand either! I'm just a weak, helpless, and pitiable manager."
Gao Yiyi popped out from the side, chuckling, "That's a vat for molten iron. Only stone vats can contain red-hot molten iron; other materials won't do. See, that next to it is a mold. The workers will pour the molten iron from the vat into the molds, and once it cools, individual car parts will be formed."
Zhu Cunji suddenly understood, "I see! Is that how railway tracks are cast too?"
Gao Yiyi nodded.
Zhu Cunji pouted in mock grievance, "It looks so simple, yet you sold me each section for two taels of silver."
Gao Yiyi smiled, "It may seem simple, but producing high-quality molten iron is the result of countless hours of research and experimentation."
"Alright then!" Zhu Cunji stopped complaining. He continued to bounce around the factory; for some reason, he had a particular fascination with 'transportation.' He absolutely loved the large trains, and this automobile factory also held his keen interest.
Perhaps it was because he might never leave Xi'an in his lifetime that he yearned with all his heart for vehicles that could 'quickly transport him to another place.'
Zhu Cunji asked, "This factory hasn't been named yet, has it?"
Gao Yiyi nodded, "We haven't decided on a name."
Zhu Cunji chuckled slyly, "I, the heir, shall name it."
"No!" Gao Yiyi and Wang Tang exclaimed almost simultaneously. "Don't you realize how terrible you are at naming things? Naming the big train 'Cunji' has already become a laughing stock in Xi'an."
Zhu Cunji began to look aggrieved again, "Is my name really that unpleasant?"
Wang Tang said, "It's fine as a person's name, but absolutely not for a train."
Zhu Cunji huffed, "Hmph, are your naming skills so superior? Look at 'Bamei No. 1 Factory' and 'Xigang No. 2 Factory'—these awful names, where's the appeal in those?"
Both of them fell silent.
Zhu Cunji declared, "This place is in Xi'an, and Xi'an has been known as Chang'an since ancient times. Therefore, I, the heir, have decided to name this factory 'Chang'an Automobile Factory.'"
Wang Tang mused, "Oh? This name isn't bad at all."
Gao Yiyi added, "I think it's quite good too."
Just as they were speaking, the Heavenly Lord embroidery on Wang Tang's chest suddenly opened its mouth and chuckled, "The name Chang'an Automobile Factory is excellent. It is adopted."
"Wow, the Heavenly Lord is here!" Zhu Cunji exclaimed with delight. "The Heavenly Lord even said my name is excellent! Hahahaha, my naming skills are perfectly fine, hahahaha."
Everyone else exchanged glances, speechless.
He really shone with a little encouragement!
While everyone was awkwardly chatting, a truck drove up from a distance and stopped beside them. The driver jumped down from the vehicle, saying, "Chief Engineer Gao, I've delivered the rubber you requested."
Zhu Cunji turned his head to look and saw the truck.
His eyes immediately lit up. "Is this the kind of automobile the Chang'an Automobile Factory will be producing? A small train that can run anywhere without tracks?"
Gao Yiyi nodded, "Yes!"
Zhu Cunji was overjoyed. "Sell it to me, sell it to me!"
Gao Yiyi shook his head. "We can't sell it. This is the only one we have right now. It's constantly busy—it just returned from Shangnan County, and now it's rushing off to transport rubber, then it has to deliver books to the Huangpu Military Academy. It has too much work; we can't possibly sell it to you."
Zhu Cunji said, "I saw 'Experimental Car No. 3' written on the side of this vehicle. That means there's more than one, right? There must be two others, Experimental Car No. 1 and No. 2? I, the heir, would be fine with the first two as well."
Gao Yiyi replied, "Experimental Car No. 1 was made of wood and has already fallen apart. As for Experimental Car No. 2... it's still in the village."
Zhu Cunji was ecstatic. "Give me Experimental Car No. 2, and the rent for this factory land will be waived for five years."
That rent waiver was quite a generous offer.
Wang Tang, who regularly handled the accounts, calculated the deal in his head and immediately said without hesitation, "Chief Engineer Gao, this is a profitable deal."
Gao Yiyi asked, "Is that so? If you say it's profitable, then it must be. All right! I'll immediately send someone to Gao Family Village proper to deliver Experimental Car No. 2 to you."
Zhu Cunji was thrilled. "Hahahaha! Excellent! Excellent, excellent, excellent!"
The next day, Experimental Car No. 2 was delivered to Zhu Cunji.
Experimental Car No. 2 was actually in a rather sorry state. During the battle to defend the steel mill, it had run over and killed three bandit chiefs, its front was badly dented, the front bumper was missing entirely, and the windows were shattered.
It screeched to a halt in front of Zhu Cunji, looking dilapidated.
Zhu Cunji, however, didn't mind in the slightest. He brought a large retinue of the Prince's Mansion's own artisans, who circled the vehicle endlessly. He pointed a finger at the dented area and instructed the artisans, "Repair this! Then, paint the entire body golden."
The artisans quickly jotted down his words.
Zhu Cunji then pointed to the windows. "Install the finest glazed tiles for the windows... The car doors are too crude; cover them with the finest leather. All the seats inside should be upholstered with white tiger fur."
"How can the door handles be made of mere iron? Adorn them with precious gems and jade for me, the heir!"
Zhu Cunji's extravagant demands continued...
Days later, a resplendent, dazzling automobile drove onto the cobblestone streets of Xi'an.
On the car's hood stood a five-clawed golden dragon as an emblem.
The most luxurious automobile in the entire world had been born.
So much money was spent on 'decorating' this car that Zhu Cunji's private treasury nearly went bankrupt, not a single copper coin remained in his pockets. Thus, he named it: Kulinan!
There was nothing for it; the heir's naming skills truly were that awful.
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