Custom Carriage
As the sky began to darken, Shen Jingchuan figured there was nothing pressing on the modern side, and staying by himself was boring anyway. He still had two chances to cross over today, so he decided to head back to the other world.
He returned to the inner room and changed into the clothes he wore there. With a thought, light and shadow flashed before his eyes, and he was standing in the bedroom in the other world.
After steadying himself, he pushed the door open and headed toward the main hall. Just as he stepped over the threshold, he saw two identical little girls huddled together in the courtyard, talking and laughing in low voices.
Hearing the door, both looked up sharply. When they saw him, they immediately came bouncing over and linked their arms through his, one on either side.
"Young master, you finally came out! You've been shut up in your room so long. Thanks for all your hard work."
The two helped him to a seat by the stone table. The one on his left deftly felt the teapot and found the water just the right temperature. She took a cup, rinsed it, and poured him some warm tea. After putting it in his hand, she moved behind him and began massaging his shoulders, her fingertips applying just the right amount of pressure.
The one on his right dashed off toward the kitchen, calling as she ran, "I'll go hurry dinner along! Young master must be hungry!"
Shen Jingchuan took a sip of tea and leaned back comfortably in his chair, devoting himself to enjoying the treatment afforded by the utterly wicked old society.
Before long, Xiaoyue came pattering back. Seeing someone—he didn't know whether it was the older sister or the younger—massaging his shoulders, she came around in front of him, crouched down, and began pounding his legs.
The two kept busy, one above and one below, chattering about the day's trivial happenings in the courtyard. Shen Jingchuan responded now and then, his muscles and bones relaxing considerably.
Dinner was served in the front hall, four dishes and a soup, all steaming hot. After the meal, the three girls cleared the table and gathered around to chat with him for a while longer.
Shen Jingchuan checked the time and saw it was about time, so he stood up:
"You should get some rest too. I'm going back to my room to practice."
"Young master, you're far too diligent,"
Xiaoyue said, looking up at him, her voice full of concern. "You don't even rest a little longer. Don't wear yourself out."
"It's fine. I'm just sitting and regulating my breathing. It's not tiring."
Shen Jingchuan smiled and waved a hand. He turned back to the bedroom, shut the door, and with a thought, crossed back to his rented apartment in the modern world.
Early the next morning, he grabbed a quick breakfast of soy milk and fried dough sticks downstairs. As he ate, he ordered a ride and set off for Zhuozhou, following the address on WeChat.
Less than half an hour after the car set off, his phone suddenly vibrated with a bank deposit notification.
He opened it and saw another unread message: two million had arrived a little after eleven the previous night, and the latest three million had arrived ten minutes ago. Five million in total was already in his pocket.
The corners of Shen Jingchuan's mouth rose only slightly. He didn't feel particularly excited.
It was plainly the first time in his life he had held so much money, yet he kept instinctively feeling as though he had several hundred million. A few million couldn't stir up much of a ripple.
After more than an hour's drive, he finally arrived. The factory stood by the roadside on the outskirts of Zhuozhou. One half of its iron-barred gate was open, and from a distance he could see squared timbers of old elm piled in the yard, along with several half-finished carriages.
He called the number from the day before, and within two minutes a dark-skinned man in his forties came out of the workshop. He had a little sawdust on him and broad, rough hands. One look was enough to tell he was a craftsman who had spent years immersed in factory work.
"Mr. Shen, right? I'm the factory director here. My surname is Zhou."
Factory Director Zhou smiled and shook his hand, then led him inside. "It's not a big place, just a working shop. Hope you don't mind."
The yard was fairly large. Neatly stacked lumber occupied one half, while the other held an open-sided workshop. Saws and planers hummed, and the smell of fresh wood and clear varnish hung in the air.
Three or four finished carriages stood in a corner. Some were wedding models with carvings and gilding; others were plain, solid-wood models in an antique style. The workmanship looked decent.
They passed through the workshop to a small office at the far end. Inside were a desk and several old sofas, and the walls were covered with structural drawings of all kinds of carriages.
They sat down in the office, and Factory Director Zhou poured a cup of hot water and pushed it over. He was just about to ask for the details of what Shen Jingchuan wanted when Shen Jingchuan took out the drawings he had made at home and got straight to the point.
"I'll get right to it. I want a four-wheeled carriage. Use TC4 titanium alloy for the frame and the main body of the cabin, solid, wear-resistant rubber tires for the wheels, and the toughest leaf springs you have for the suspension, with cushioning pads added. Make the whole thing a detachable tow-style assembly: the front shafts should have steering and a driver's seat, and the rear cabin should have its own axle. A latch should lock the sections together, so they can be joined and separated. Fit the entire cabin and the driver's seat with thickened bulletproof glass."
When he finished, Factory Director Zhou's pen came down on his notebook with a smack. He stared at him in a daze for quite a while, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Mr. Shen, you're not pulling my leg, are you? I've been in this business nearly twenty years, and never mind making one, I've never even heard of anyone modifying a carriage like this. Titanium alloy and bulletproof glass? How is that a carriage? It's practically an armored vehicle."
Without explaining, Shen Jingchuan opened his mobile banking balance and pushed the phone in front of him.
"Do I look like I'm joking? Can't you do it?"
Factory Director Zhou glanced at the conspicuous balance of more than five million and instantly sat up straight. He hastily tightened his grip on his pen, all trace of amusement vanishing from his face, leaving only seriousness.
"Now, hold on, it's not that we can't do it! There aren't that many hard-and-fast rules for carriages. They don't need registration or annual inspections. As long as it's not illegal and doesn't cross any red lines—frankly, as long as you don't mount machine guns or cannons on it, there's no problem with however you modify it. We'll do it exactly the way you say!"
Shen Jingchuan took back his phone and added a couple more instructions: the cabin should have padded booth seats facing each other that could be folded down and joined into a bed, with some storage space left along the sides. All the materials should be chosen for sturdiness.
"Understood!" Factory Director Zhou wrote rapidly. "Facing booth sofas with fold-down hinges, forming one full bed when joined. Built-in storage cabinets along the sides, so they hold things without taking up space."
"I'll also design a kitchenette and a bathroom for you based on an RV interior. The bathroom will have a portable RV toilet."
Shen Jingchuan gave him an approving look and nodded.
"That's all I need. Draw up a detailed plan and an itemized quote later. If there's no problem, I'll pay the deposit."
Shen Jingchuan tapped his fingertips lightly on the table and added one final sentence at a leisurely pace:
"This is just a sample. If you do it right, I'll have large orders coming afterward. Give me an honest price; don't play games."
Factory Director Zhou's pen paused again. He looked up sharply, his face full of astonishment. He had thought this was some family's young master making a thing like this on a whim—a one-off deal.
He had never expected there to be bulk orders, and from the sound of it, they didn't seem fake. He hurriedly pulled the notebook closer, sat up straight, and immediately replied:
"Rest assured, Boss Shen. I've been in this business nearly twenty years, and I've always given honest quotes, earning only the labor fees I should. If you really do have big orders later, I can give you a discount. I guarantee you the fairest price, and I'll absolutely do a beautiful job!"