"Wait, I have another question," Haines asked, still looking puzzled. "When I took a carriage yesterday, I paid three silver coins for a single ride. If the urban public transit system is a municipal welfare measure, as you said, isn't that price a little too high? Didn't you discuss a fare limit with Count Samo?"
"Of course we set a limit. This is the fare we settled on after working out the numbers with President Pombelli. Welfare measure or not, the Feilson Carriage Company still has to make money, doesn't it? Otherwise, why would they agree to sign the contract?" Xu Yi replied matter-of-factly.
"But I don't think... the residents of Bunta City can necessarily afford that," Haines said with a frown. "Three silver coins per trip means six a day, even if they only make one round trip. It's a little cheaper than ordinary long-distance carriages, but that still comes to nearly two gold coins a month. That's far too much. I don't think workers and ordinary people can afford it."
Xu Yi chuckled. "Haines, you're still stuck in your old way of thinking. What do you think the average monthly income of an ordinary Bunta City resident is now?"
"How much?"
"I'll tell you, but don't let it shock you. According to last month's figures from the City Lord's Manor, ordinary residents within Bunta City's urban area now earn an average of more than ten gold coins a month!"
"That's impossible!" Haines was so startled that he sprang straight out of his chair. "Even Anvilmar City's average monthly income hasn't reached ten gold coins. How could Bunta City's be over ten?"
"Why couldn't it?" Xu Yi looked at Haines with a smile. "Are you unwilling to accept it because you're from Anvilmar City?"
"It's not that I won't