Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 525 Yesterday's Backwater, Today's Paradise

"So you're Su Erdi." Liu Ye was somewhat surprised. Liang Xiaoming actually entrusted such a big matter to a teenager? But thinking about it carefully, in this time and space, a seventeen-year-old boy could get married and have children, not to mention that he was an outstanding student at Baicao Academy. No one else could do it.

The carriage traveled smoothly along the tracks on the cement road without any bumps. Soon, they entered the city center. Dong Xiaowan looked out the window and saw a city completely different from any other city in the Ming Dynasty. All the houses were brick-and-mortar structures, and apart from the roof tiles, there were few traces of traditional architecture. Moreover, regardless of size, the houses were arranged very neatly according to the grid pattern of the streets, creating a unique aesthetic.

Although Nanjing is one of the largest cities in the world, apart from the main streets, the phenomenon of haphazard construction of buildings is very common, and outsiders often get lost when they enter a small alley.

Chiyo Shimazu praised, "When I first arrived in Nanjing, I found the city walls to be magnificent and the buildings to be exquisite, but the streets and alleys to be very chaotic. In terms of details, the layout here is much simpler and more orderly."

At this moment, Dong Xiaowan and Suwen pointed to a one-story gray building on the side of the street and asked, "What is this place?"

The three looked in that direction and saw that the building didn't resemble a residence. It had two large doors, but only arched openings without actual doors. Windows were located on both sides, and the building was situated at a high elevation. People were constantly going in and out, but it didn't look like a government office or anything like that.

Liu Ye suppressed a laugh: "This is a public restroom, a place to use the toilet."

Dong Xiaowan and Suwen blushed: "How can an outhouse be built on the street? It's so unsightly!"

"If there were no public toilets on the street, people would mostly choose to relieve themselves in secluded corners after leaving their homes, which would be even more unsightly, with excrement and urine flowing together and a foul stench."

The three women understood after hearing this; it made a lot of sense. In ancient times, both men and women had experienced the awkward situation of needing to relieve themselves but not being able to find a toilet. Men could do so in secluded places, but women could not.

The carriage continued its journey, and both Dong Xiaowan and Suwen noticed that the flow of people on the street was increasing, but there wasn't a single beggar. She was quite surprised, as one would expect beggars to appear in more prosperous and populous cities. Although the pedestrians here rarely wore fancy clothes, they were all dressed appropriately, and everyone looked busy and fulfilled.

Dong Xiaowan couldn't help but ask, "Master, why can't we see a single beggar here? Were they all arrested to keep the streets clean? And the pedestrians on the street don't seem to be distinguished by wealth; everyone looks about the same..."

Liu Ye explained with a smile, "There's a reason why there are no beggars in Lingao. Generally speaking, there are only two reasons why a place has beggars: one is that they've suffered a natural disaster, resulting in a complete crop failure, and they have no choice but to beg to survive; the other is that they have no land to cultivate and no other skills to make a living, so they have no other option. In Lingao, the climate is mild, and the rainfall is abundant. There are neither severe droughts nor floods, and rice can be harvested three times a year. In addition, we pay taxes on their behalf and exempt them from all exorbitant taxes and levies imposed by the government. As long as someone isn't stupid, they can be fed no matter what." For those without land to farm or with surplus labor, work in factories under the Qionghai Army. We provide on-the-job training, and the monthly wages plus year-end bonuses are more than enough to support a family. In Lingao, as long as you have hands and feet, making ends meet is easy. With a little effort, you can achieve a comfortable life. If someone still ends up as a beggar, it only means they're lazy. We'll take all those lazy people to the deep mountains to mine. Therefore, you won't see a single beggar on the streets.”

“As for the fact that there is no distinction between rich and poor, that’s not surprising.” Liu Ye pointed to the bamboo-reinforced concrete buildings on the street and said, “Lingao was originally just a remote county town that was only a palm’s width wide. There were not many wealthy families. Now, this new city, which takes half an hour to get to by horse-drawn carriage, was built by me from scratch. Whether they are native residents or immigrants, everyone started from a similar point, so there is naturally not much of a distinction between rich and poor.”

Dong Xiaowan clicked her tongue in amazement. To eliminate beggars from an entire city—something even ancient sages couldn't achieve—had been accomplished under Liu Ye's rule. She had initially thought Qiongzhou was a barren land filled with miasma, but it turned out to be a pleasant, peaceful paradise where everyone lived in harmony. She couldn't help but steal glances at Liu Ye's sharply defined profile, thinking: What kind of experiences could forge such a versatile talent, skilled in both literature and martial arts? Compared to him, those bookish playboys in Nanjing were utterly insignificant.

The carriage stopped every mile or two, with people getting on and off frequently. Liu Ye noticed that everyone who got on put a small string of copper coins into a wooden box—presumably the ten-wen fare the driver mentioned, an idea likely inspired by later coin-operated buses—and because of the considerable passenger flow, the box quickly became full.

He asked Su Erdi, "Isn't it inconvenient to collect the carriage fee in copper coins? Can ten copper coins per person cover the daily expenses of the carriage?"

Seeing that his questions were very professional and his tone was unlike that of an ordinary passenger, Su Erdi finally put down his pen and paper and looked up to explain, "I've calculated it: the carriage can carry ten people. With the current passenger flow, a fare of ten copper coins per person can basically cover the wear and tear on the carriage, the horses' feed, and the driver's wages. The only investment the government needs is the initial cost of purchasing the carriages and horses. Although we don't make money from daily operations, Teacher Liang said that this is a public facility and should be borne by the government. If we don't have the money, we should ask the general for it..."

Liu Ye couldn't help but grumble inwardly. This Mingzi, he thought, "He doesn't know the cost of living when he's not in charge. It's ridiculous that he's instilling such ideas in his students." However, despite his grumbling, he also agreed with Liang Xiao's idea of ​​improving people's quality of life through similar public facilities. The Qionghai family was wealthy and didn't need the money.

"As for using copper coins, I also find it inconvenient," Su Erdi said, pointing to the wooden box. "After making two trips back and forth, we need to empty the box, otherwise it won't fit. But there's no other way. We can't just use loose silver, can we? Although people are better off now and silver is no longer a rare commodity, cutting and weighing silver is still inconvenient. Who carries a scale around when they go out?"

Liu Ye thought to himself that the seemingly insignificant problem of inconvenient measurement actually restricted the circulation of silver as currency in the market, which was detrimental to the development of commerce and the economy. Although copper coins were more convenient for calculation than silver, they were too heavy and not ideal currency. Could he consider changing the material of the currency, such as replacing copper coins with paper? However, this would involve the issue of currency issuance, which required careful consideration, given the precedent of the Ming Dynasty's paper money.