She Became A Downfall Noble Lady-Chapter 63 - The Little Friend Wants to Cry
Chapter 63: Chapter 63: The Little Friend Wants to Cry
Chapter 63 -63: The Little Friend Wants to Cry
Ye Xinyan keenly felt the cold gaze Jiang Yifan directed at her. However, as someone who once had the status of being Jiang Yifan’s ex-wife but had no relationship with him whatsoever—not to mention having fled incognito and owing debts—she could only feign calm and choose to ignore that scrutinizing cold gaze.
“Tsk, tsk, so this is how the control axis for steering is made,” commented Jinrong, drawing Jiang Yifan’s attention.
Jiang Yifan indifferently withdrew his gaze and followed Jinrong’s line of sight. Jinrong was turning the handle above the front wheel of the toy car, tsking in admiration.
Indeed, the mechanism was ingeniously thought out. Not only did it allow the car to maintain direction while moving, but it also integrated seamlessly with the rear wheels and the frame—it looked very simple.
Jiang Yifan couldn’t help but glance at Ye Xinyan again. Although this woman had changed a lot, he would never believe she came up with this invention and drew the blueprints herself—no way, not even if someone else claimed it.
True to being best friends, as soon as Jiang Yifan harbored doubts, Jinrong eagerly asked, “May I inquire with the elder, although this is but a child’s toy, its design is extremely ingenious. Who could have conceived such a marvelous thing?”
With Jinrong’s question, everyone in the courtyard who was curious about the object suddenly turned their gaze to Qi Younian.
Qi Younian didn’t dare check if his forehead was sweaty, but his voice sounded strained as he replied, “Sixth Master flatters too much. It is not such a clever thing. It’s just a little plaything that my granddaughter thought up for her young brother to play with.”
He didn’t understand. Although the pedal car was a rare item, for people as worldly as them, it wasn’t something so astonishing. How could it have attracted such important figures?
“Oh…?” Jinrong issued a long, questioning sound, then asked again, “Elder, this is not something a woman could just come up with on a whim. Like this sleeve-type structure and the pedals on the front wheel, even if these have been seen on other devices, someone who has never been around craftsmen’s tools would definitely not think of them. Are you saying all these were thought up by your granddaughter?”
The skepticism in Jinrong’s words was very apparent.
Relieved, Qi Younian replied, “Ah, this… The design was indeed drawn by this old man’s granddaughter, but the pedals, handle, and axles were something the old man and she pondered and agreed upon together.”
This was precisely why Ye Xinyan dared to make this thing in the first place. She had merely sketched the outline of a children’s pedal car. As for the structure of the drive system, she had raised the difficulty and discussed it little by little with Qi Younian.
Usually, she would subtly raise a point when unnoticed, and then this once shrewd craftsman would come to the crux of the problem.
After several days of discussion and refinement, the pedal car took shape. And apart from her imagination being a bit better, Ye Xinyan’s abilities didn’t appear too glaringly outstanding or otherworldly.
As expected, after hearing Qi Younian’s supplemental explanation and based on the few observations he made while eating at street stands, Jinrong believed that Father-in-law Qi did have some knowledge, unlike the common ignorant folk. Thus, he gave the explanation seven or eight points of credibility.
This was more like it, Jinrong thought, in response to Qi Younian’s answer.
Therefore, it definitely wasn’t something Ye Xinyan could have done, in Jiang Yifan’s view.
Jinrong discussed various key parts of the pedal car with Qi Younian, and only after a satisfying conversation, did he reluctantly drop the topic of the pedal car.
Fortunately, the pedal bicycle was personally crafted by Qi Younian, and he had developed its working principle and transmission system after discussing it with Ye Xinyan. Otherwise, faced with His Highness Prince Yu’s relentless questioning, they may have already been completely defeated and in disarray.
After discussing the bicycle, as the head of the county, Jiang Yifan began to inquire more about Qi Younian’s identity.
In Jiang Yifan’s view, Ye Xinyan’s identity was somewhat ambiguous to others, but he was well aware of it. What puzzled him now was Qi Younian, why would he take in Ye Xinyan? How could a simple villager solve the various problems encountered in producing a bicycle?
After a series of inquiries, Qi Younian’s experiences, albeit complex, were all transparent. Apart from the unilateral speculations about forcibly taking over business from the gentry and designing traps, everything else was spoken truthfully. It was nothing more than engineering problems that had led to loss of life, which resulted in his detention by the government office and subsequent exile to the military.
Upon hearing Qi Younian’s experiences, Jiang Yifan felt somewhat resigned and remained silent. It had to be said that it was quite the feat for a commoner to rally a group of people and carry out a large-scale civil construction project. Having seen much, it was plausible that serendipity had given rise to some extraordinary designs.
Jinrong blandly engaged Qi Younian in a few pleasantries before suggesting it was time to take his leave.
As soon as Qi Younian heard that the Sixth Master wanted to leave, he did not hesitate at all; he stood up immediately, ready to respectfully see off His Highness Prince Yu and Lord Jiang.
In his heart, the sooner he could send these two formidable figures on their way, the better. One was the emperor’s son, and the other was the ex-husband of a daughter from a prestigious family that had escaped to live incognito; dealing with them was very stressful for him.
Although Jinrong had clearly expressed his intention to leave, he did not stand up but sat firmly, without a hint of embarrassment, and said, “Since the old man has already made a child’s bicycle, I presume making another would be a walk in the park and not much trouble. For this finished product, I would like to buy it; please name your price. I am willing to pay a bit over the normal rate.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yifan casually turned his face to the side, as if he found the Second Branch family’s animal shed particularly interesting.
Qi Younian was taken aback, then thought of his grandson’s fondness for the pedal bicycle. He wondered if suggesting that he make another, more exquisite bicycle for His Highness would displease him?
Yet Qi Jia, who was held by Ye Xinyan’s hand, seemingly understood Jinrong’s eloquent words and tightened his grip on Ye Xinyan’s hand.
Ye Xinyan, hearing Jinrong’s words, inwardly cursed how stingy the prince could be; he actually had the audacity to talk about accepting only a slightly higher price. Doesn’t the whole world belong to you? Are you really going to haggle over the price with a child for his toy?
Despite her disdain for Jinrong’s attitude, Ye Xinyan did not dare show any of it due to their intimidating presence.
In her heart, Ye Xinyan was unwilling to give away the cherished item that Qi Jiajia had just obtained. After all, the little one had longed for the bicycle for quite a while and had only played with it for a short time today. If Jinrong were to take it away, the child would certainly be heartbroken.
Immediately after, she felt Qi Jia’s hand tighten.
Feeling the little boy’s anxiety, Ye Xinyan looked down and saw Qi Jia staring at his pedal bicycle with eyes brimming with tears, on the verge of falling.
Ye Xinyan naturally did not want her young brother to be upset. Her head heated up, and forgetting her current circumstances, she blurted out before Qi Younian could respond to Jinrong, “Wait.”
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