Modifying the Carriage
Shen Jingchuan returned to the Shen Residence. Two bodyguards sent by the Lin Household bowed to him at the gate. He returned the bow and first led Big Black to the stable to settle it. He went straight into the garden and casually cast Cleaning Technique on himself. As soon as he turned the corner of the artificial hill, he saw the scene in the garden.
Three people sat around the stone table: Xiao Mingshu, Lin Qingyao, and Bai Ruoli, sipping tea. Huan'er stood beside Xiao Mingshu with her hands at her sides.
Lin Qingyao looked up and saw him enter. She quickly stood up to greet him, her brows furrowed with unconcealed worry.
"My husband is finally back. There has been great chaos outside the city these past few days. I heard that the Pan Household's two estates and several Huang Household estates have been breached by bandits. I hope you didn't encounter any danger on your way back?"
Shen Jingchuan swaggered over to the table and sat down, casually making up a story:
"What a coincidence! Your husband has nothing of value; why would bandits want to rob me?"
Xiao Mingshu took a sip of tea without even lifting her eyelids, thinking to herself: This was done by your husband, and he's still pretending. Only a silly girl like you would believe him.
She put down her teacup and spoke softly:
"Alright, is everything taken care of?"
Shen Jingchuan nodded.
"That's good."
Xiao Mingshu stood up and glanced at Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli:
"You should spend some quality time with your two ladies; we'll set off tomorrow."
After talking with Lin Qingyao Bai Ruoli for a while, Shen Jingchuan kissed them both on the forehead. "I'm going to prepare some things. We're leaving tomorrow. Let's have dinner together tonight."
The two women nodded obediently. "Husband, please go and do your work with peace of mind."
Shen Jingchuan turned and went to the west courtyard. He had already traveled through time twice right under Xiao Mingshu's nose, and each time he had not been discovered. His boldness was growing.
After sitting down inside, he was still thinking to himself: Miss Xiao must be of noble status, surely she wouldn't be keeping Divine Sense eye on a Qi Refining junior like me every day.
He didn't rush to leave. He first sat cross-legged on the couch, seemingly meditating, but actually pondering in his mind.
When Xiao Mingshu returned last time, a cultivator at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining followed her, but he didn't make a move.
There's no guarantee they won't send a high-level cultivator back. Xiao Mingshu said the Maxim Heavy Machine Gun is only effective against Middle Stage of Qi Refining; against higher-level opponents, its effectiveness is greatly reduced if the enemy is on guard.
Although he can travel back to the modern world at any time, he should keep this trump card hidden if possible; in war, one must fight with certainty.
After much deliberation, he made up his mind—to modify the 23mm machine gun and mount it on the carriage, using it as a mobile firing point.
Once he made up his mind, he acted immediately. In an instant, he was transported back to the modern world. He got into his car and drove out of the city while calling Factory Director Zhou. Sure enough, Director Zhou was at the factory and told him to go directly there.
As soon as the car pulled into the carriage factory, Factory Director Zhou was already waiting at the entrance, his face beaming with joy.
Now, Shen Jingchuan is like a god of wealth to him. He pays money readily and makes high profits. He has turned down all other small orders and the entire factory is focused on Shen Jingchuan's orders.
"Boss Shen! You've arrived! Please feel free to ask what I need." Factory Director Zhou greeted him warmly.
Shen Jingchuan waved his hand, didn't go to the office, and went straight to the workshop:
"Factory Director Zhou, let me be frank, I'm here today to modify a vehicle."
The two stopped in front of a completed titanium alloy carriage. Factory Director Zhou asked, "Another new design?"
"It's not a new design, just modifying this one vehicle and reinforcing it."
Shen Jingchuan patted the side of the carriage:
"Use I-beams to build the internal frame of the carriage on all four sides. Don't use a cross-shaped structure; weld them all into a triangular truss structure. Triangles are the most stable. Weld all joints completely shut, not a single one can be missing. Attach a full-length I-beam to the inside of each chassis beam, and add three more horizontal braces at the front and rear to form a grid pattern. Add diagonal braces at the wheel axles to distribute all the force to the axles. Do the same for the roof; have four uprights extending up, and weld the top ring with I-beam ring beams, making the entire frame a single unit."
Factory Director Zhou was astonished. "Mr. Shen, are you going to hunt tigers? Even if you were, there's no need to make the car so sturdy."
Shen Jingchuan smiled and said, "Alright, don't ask me what I'm doing. Just do as I say."
"No problem, doing it according to your requirements will definitely be fine." Factory Director Zhou nodded, then added, "However, Mr. Shen, with so much steel added to the body, the weight will increase. Won't the original axles also need to be replaced?"
"Replace it, of course we have to replace it," Shen Jingchuan said. "Replace it with a thicker solid steel axle, make it with a higher load-bearing capacity, so it doesn't break halfway through the journey."
"Then let me be frank with you," Factory Director Zhou calculated for a moment, "That with these modifications, the truck will gain at least a ton in weight. Adding that to the original weight, the whole truck will weigh a ton and a half. Didn't you say before that the lighter the better? This is a huge difference."
"Don't worry." Shen Jingchuan waved his hand. "What I need this time is a sturdy horse. We can always get two more horses."
"Alright, then there's no problem," Factory Director Zhou replied.
"Come on, let's go to your office. I'll get a pen and draw you a diagram."
Shen Jingchuan turned and walked towards the office building:
"There's one more thing we need to add. We'll weld a tripod bracket to the center of the roof, attach a universal joint to the top of the bracket, and then add a corresponding clamp. It should be able to rotate freely up, down, left, and right. I'll be fixing some equipment to it, and it needs to be able to adjust the angle at any time."
After explaining all the car modification requirements, Shen Jingchuan added, "Work as fast as possible, and deliver it directly to my warehouse in the suburbs when it's done."
Factory Director Zhou readily agreed, "Don't worry, Mr. Shen, I'll arrange for people to work overtime, and it will be finished in three days at most. This little modification is nothing, so you don't need to pay for it; consider it an extra payment from me."
Shen Jingchuan didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the favor. After saying goodbye, he left the carriage factory.
He went straight back to the West Mountain Separate Garden. He took out his phone and saw two messages from Meng Ke, both asking if he had returned.
He paused for a moment, then typed a text message and sent it:
"I'm safe and sound. I haven't returned yet. There's often no signal here, so please don't worry. It'll be another ten days or so. I'll go back as soon as possible."
He deliberately placed his phone in his Spatial Ring, steadied himself, and with a thought, his figure vanished from the room in an instant, returning to the west courtyard of the Shen Residence in another world.