"Gao Gong, the train is about to enter the station. You can check in tickets now." Stationmaster Zhou Chuan came over and said to Gao Qiqian. "You lead the team and follow me through the VIP channel. You don't have to queue up with the passengers here to check in tickets."
Gao Qiqian was very satisfied. He was the Royal Horse Supervisor and had the highest status here. Moreover, they were the emperor's favorites and the people around Long live the Lord who could speak with him. The other civil servants were at most a third-rank official.
Naturally, he couldn't stand in line with those businessmen.
The delegation arrived on the platform first, just as the train was entering the station. Stationmaster Zhou Tong quickly asked them to wait inside the security line.
Although this is a small train, a 762mm narrow gauge train, the steam locomotive is still very powerful. With a loud roar, the train slowly stopped on the platform.
Currently, there are only two platforms at the station. Today, this train will stop at one platform, so there is no need to walk over the overpass.
Ma Haogu, the director of the Ministry of War, felt that as the train entered the station, the whole earth was shaking. For a time, many people who saw the train for the first time were shocked. Some even had trembling legs.
As the train stopped and the gangplank was lowered, the imperial envoys boarded the train according to their official positions and the tickets they bought.
Gao Qiqian and other senior officials went to the sleeper car. Ma Haogu, Wang Dachuan, Chen Liu and others chose the hard-seat car. They, the young bosses, usually don't have much money. This time, although they were given more than a hundred taels
Before leaving, Uncle Dingyuan gave Yicheng fifty taels, but he still couldn't bear to spend the more than two hundred taels of silver.
They only bought the cheapest hard-seat ticket. The length of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is 200 kilometers, and the average train speed is 25 kilometers per hour. It is an eight-hour journey. It will take a while. The hard-seat ticket is only one penny. If you take a sleeper, it will be fine.
I need a tael of silver.
After the imperial envoy group had finished boarding, the station began to check tickets for ordinary passengers. Moreover, the carriages for the imperial envoy group were the first to eighth carriages. Behind them were the fifteen carriages for ordinary passengers.
The ninth section is the dining car. The connection between the carriages in front of the dining car is guarded by security personnel with guns. Ordinary people cannot get through. This is also to ensure the safety of the imperial delegation.
Because the small train is narrow, only two meters wide, and the interior width is only about two meters. Therefore, it can only be arranged with two seats facing each other on one side, with a small table in the middle, and an aisle on the other side.
There are standing handrails in the aisle. Passengers who have not bought a seat can stand and hold the handrail with their hands to avoid falling due to the shaking of the train. The one-meter-wide aisle here is also a small cart channel for selling goods.
Wang Daxing, Chen Liu, and Ma Haogu were sitting in the eighth carriage. Although they bought the cheapest tickets, they still had seats. Standing tickets were not sold in the carriage of the delegation. Standing tickets were cheaper.
The whole journey only costs fifty copper coins.
The three of them sat together with Xiao Tianping, the master of Taipu Temple. Taipu Temple was in charge of animal husbandry and royal carriages. The three of them were in charge of the sixth rank. This Xiao master, Bo, was only from the seventh rank, which was lower than theirs.
It's still two levels lower. So sitting here is quite restrained.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, the four of them were all talking and laughing. This time, they were able to leave the dangerous place of Jiuyuan City before the war. Everyone in the imperial envoy group was celebrating.
"My lords, I want some of the best braised pork, five-spice fennel beans, Jingcheng rice wine, and various fruit plates." A salesman pushing a cart came. He shouted as he walked forward.
"Brother, please have some of all kinds of food." Xiao Zhubo, sitting outside, quickly stopped the salesman and said, handing over a banknote.
The salesperson took a look and saw that it was a one-yuan soft sister coin practice coupon. This kind of banknote was only issued by Xinghe Bank and is currently circulating in the market very well. The one-yuan banknote can be exchanged for a one- or two-weight silver dollar.
Now banknotes have begun to circulate in the business world. After all, the soft girl coin practice coupons have one hundred yuan. A piece of paper is one hundred taels of silver. It is very concealed and convenient to carry. Now almost all the big cities along the coast and along the Ming Dynasty have them.
Xinghe Bank.
Xinghe Bank's general deposit and exchange service is mainly to collect silver taels and exchange them for silver dollars. Then with the silver dollars, you can buy the products of Xinghe Supermarket in various cities. Supermarkets and Yang Fan's various business stores do not accept cashiers. Of course, if you want
The easiest way to remit money is to exchange for silver dollar banknotes. You can bring the banknotes to any Xinghe Bank and exchange them back for silver coins.
Of course, you can also remit silver coins, but in that case there will be a fee. There is no fee for exchanging it into banknotes. Businessmen are a group of ghosts and ghosts, and they immediately discovered the benefits of exchanging banknotes. Moreover, the banknotes of Xinghe Bank,
No one can copy it. It is very safe.
Gradually, many people simply hold banknotes for consumption, which is very convenient to carry.
The salesperson picked up every item of food and put it on the small table. He said, "Put the things on the table for you. You can put them away. You will get eighty-two cents in change."
The salesperson immediately counted out one fifty-cent banknote and three one-cent banknotes. Then he counted out twenty copper coins cast by Xinghe himself from the bag.
Only then did Wang Daxing and others realize that Xiao Zhubo wanted to treat a guest. They quickly declined and said: "How can I let Xiao Zhubo spend your money?"
The items on the small table were worth one penny and eight cents, which was not cheap. After all, the ticket was only one penny.
"Comrades, we are destined to meet each other. We follow the Jingying all the way to the west, which can be regarded as a friendship. Everyone, please don't be polite to me. Please, please."
The three of them stopped refusing now. Since Master Xiao wanted to make friends with everyone, it would be disrespectful to refuse if he refused.
The four of them were eating and chatting.
"Master Xiao, you seem to be very familiar with this bus. Isn't it your first time taking it?" Wang Dachuan asked.
Seeing how he was using banknotes and looking so calm, I guess he had been on a train before.
"You don't know, actually it has been more than half a month since the small train opened, and I have taken it twice." Xiao Zhubo said, "Taipu Temple is in charge of horse administration, and I have been running back and forth a lot in the past year. Mainly because
Please send the purchased horses back to the capital. Your Majesty is rebuilding the imperial army and the capital camp. There are many war horses needed."
Chen Liu stroked his beard and said: "Uncle Dingyuan has really made a great contribution. In the past year, we have produced a lot of cattle, horses, alpacas and other large livestock. Life in Taipu Temple is easy. Normally, you don't go out to hunt for food."
After changing the horse, I will be full this time."
Master Xiao looked around, but no one noticed them, and whispered: "To be honest, Uncle Dingyuan has indeed got a lot of good horses. But the opinions of Uncle Dingyuan within our Taipu Temple are not small.
"
The three of them looked at each other. Revealing some internal secrets was the only way to close the relationship. It seemed that Master Xiao deliberately wanted to make friends with the three of them. Moreover, they had no dissatisfaction with Taipu Temple towards Uncle Dingyuan.