Chapter 86: Cannot Afford to Build

"The covered walkway travels through the void; if it is not clearing, why is there a rainbow?"

Zhao Shaozhu looked quietly at the flying bridge suspended in the air, unable to help but take another deep breath, praising: "Truly a work of exquisite craftsmanship!"

Wen Gu said in a low voice: "It is not that extreme, it is not that extreme; it is just that I took a few shortcuts."

In truth, distance still creates beauty; those "rarities" cannot be looked at closely.

With current technology, it is far from reaching the level of an exquisite art piece, but distance can blur flaws, and the aesthetic beauty displayed is elevated to the extreme at this moment.

Wen Gu raised his hand, signaling that his cousin could ascend the bridge for a look.

Of the long bridge in the design blueprints, only this section has been built so far, with stairs configured on both sides.

The stairs look like they are only for temporary use; having moved things back and forth these past few days, there are many obvious knocks and abrasions.

However, none of this matters; the true main body is the suspended flying bridge.

Zhao Shaozhu walked toward the stairs, took two steps, and then stopped.

He looked at the tall pillars supporting the bridge body.

The support pillars were painted, and there were carvings on them; they looked like giant wood, but in fact...

Zhao Shaozhu curled his finger and knocked on them.

The feel was like brick and stone.

"Did you use that formula developed by Qingyun Temple inside this?" he asked Wen Gu in a low voice.

"Yes, it is that improved formula, and I also added some 'sinew and bone' to assist with the support."

A formula improved based on Three-in-one Soil is, of course, incomparable to the industrial-grade cement of later generations, and the time required for solidification and curing is also longer, but for the present, it will suffice.

The construction of the flying bridge is a practice.

Without lingering too long, they ascended the stairs along the side.

The people following behind them could not hear the conversation between the two, but seeing Zhao Shaozhu knock on the support pillar, they also knocked on it as they passed, their faces showing surprise.

They wanted to stop and look closely, but those in front had already gradually walked far away; after a moment of hesitation, they followed along first.

Up ahead, Zhao Shaozhu had already ascended the flying bridge.

Standing at one end of the bridge, he looked into the interior of the long bridge.

Sunlight shone in from outside the windows, light and shadow piled up, virtual and real, and as he walked forward, the light and dark seen by the eyes seemed to change accordingly.

Truly, a scene with every step. It was not the scenery outside the window, but the lively interest brought to people by the light effects inside the window.

When they reached the middle of the bridge, Wen Gu reminded him: "You can open the window to take a look outside."

The guards nearby wanted to go over, but Zhao Shaozhu stopped them.

He walked to the window.

The lower part of the floor-to-ceiling window was fixed, and only the upper part could be opened and closed. He reached out and pushed open that lantern-patterned brocade window lattice.

Sunlight hit the Glass, the reflected and transmitted light overlapped, accompanied by the light refracted by the pendants under the eaves, as if the flowing light of heaven and earth were brushing against his face.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Shaozhu standing at the window at this moment looked like he had a holy light filter applied.

He looked outside the window, at the City Defense Army in the alley below and the townspeople standing outside.

As he felt the light and shadow sweep past his eyes, the people below suddenly knelt and kowtowed, and more and more people spontaneously followed suit.

Zhao Shaozhu took another deep breath, feeling the flowing light and fleeting shadows, and felt a sense of pride as if he were amidst the flow of destiny!

Maintaining his facial expression, though his voice remained somewhat tense, he told the people below to rise before closing the window and turning back to the middle of the bridge.

Facing this long path inside the flying bridge again, what he saw in his eyes was not the flowing light and shadow, but a beautiful, ever-changing, and vast world!

Wen Gu noticed the change in the other's mindset and sighed again in his heart: Why choose an auspicious time? This is it!

If it were not at the most perfect moment, how could the sunlight cast such an effect?!

And, he really did not arrange for any shills!

From Jingxing Fang, stepping into the flying bridge, and then walking out of the flying bridge in Qingyun Fang, in such a short distance, few people could notice the intense emotional changes of Zhao Shaozhu in this short time.

Qingyi Daozhang brought the young Daoist acolytes to welcome the noble guest at that end.

The Daoist Priest had contributed much by offering the formula, so Zhao Shaozhu stopped specifically to speak a few more words with Qingyi Daozhang, treating him with great courtesy.

The people following behind had fluctuating thoughts.

Wasn't it said that the people of the Zhao Family did not like monks and Daoists? And that they had killed quite a few?

It didn't look like it at all.

Those who were confused learned from others that this Qingyun Fang was building a Danguan, which made them even more surprised.

Regardless of whether they believed in Taoism or not, they planned in their hearts that once the Danguan was built, they must come to offer a few sticks of incense and add some "Merit."

Zhao Shaozhu had other matters to attend to, so after staying in Jingxing Fang and Qingyun Fang for a moment, he left in a hurry.

Although the flying bridge was no longer covered by cloth curtains, it was still not open to the public.

However, the onlookers today were already satisfied; if Xinzhou had trending topics, today would definitely be the front-page headline!

The flying bridge was beautiful and luxurious, truly a Treasure Bridge, and it was within everyone's expectations that it was not open to the public.

Some were also curious whether the Zhao Zhai would use those Glass tiles that were clearer than Glazed Ware?

However, the Zhao Family had no intention of changing their own home into such a state.

Being too luxurious is not conducive to winning over people's hearts.

Some also speculated, would that Treasure Bridge just be left there, and not be stolen?

If one were to pry a crystal off it, wouldn't that be very valuable too?

But they soon understood.

Not to mention that the nearby arrow towers were watched by the City Defense Army, where would one sell the goods after stealing the treasure?

In this world where the Evil Plague is rampant, can one run far?

As long as one is within the borders of Xinzhou, one would be caught the moment they took it out and thrown into dangerous hard labor, which would be even more miserable.

Risk leaving Xinzhou?

For the vast majority of ordinary citizens, it remains a dead end.

Therefore, at most, they only dare to think about stealing the treasure in their hearts; they would never dare to actually take action.

Even the ordinary citizens passing by the alley entrance are cautious, keeping their distance and never getting close, for fear of accidentally damaging the Treasure Bridge!

As for the wealthy households and nobles, they have even higher expectations for Wanfu Garden.

Those who did not participate in the investment before have gathered around once again.

The Shen Family brothers decisively refused them.

They were indifferent back then, but now they are no longer worthy of climbing the social ladder!

The two brothers were immensely smug, running to the Public Office in Jingxing Fang to share their joy with Wen Gu, while simultaneously mocking the branch members of the Zhao Family in Zhaohui Fang.

"Zhaohui Fang wants to build a garden too. Bah! Copycats!"

"Exactly, do they even have the money? Can they afford to build it?!"

"I heard that when they saw the Treasure Bridge back then, they were completely stunned, hahaha!"

The two from the Shen Family criticized and despised them for a while.

"Wen Gu, why are you pulling such a long face? Come over and curse with us!" Shen Qing knocked on the tabletop in front of Wen Gu.

Wen Gu sighed deeply and took out an Account Book: "We can't afford to build it either!"

Shen Liu, who was rocking back and forth on his chair, nearly tipped over along with the chair.

"Impossible!!" How could we be short of money of all things?

"You said at the time that it would be enough to just build the first phase of the project!"

Wen Gu wore a worried expression: "It was enough at the time, but things are different now; we are truly short of money!"

He handed the Account Book to them.

The two Shen Family brothers flipped through it nervously.

They might not be able to read other books, but they could still understand a bit of an Account Book.

According to the calculations above, the financial situation seemed... truly a bit tight.

The site supervisors and the accountants were all their own people, and there was more than one; everything recorded above had been verified and signed off on as correct.

Moreover, when calculated, the quote Wen Gu gave them was even discounted; it could be called a family price, very sincere.

"The cost of raw materials has increased!"

They found the most critical problem.

Recently, because the Zhao Family Workshop is firing Glass windows and the transport of raw materials is limited, the price has risen sharply.

If it were at the original price, even if they were short of money, they could have scraped together enough to complete the first phase of the Wanfu Garden project.

But now that the price of raw materials has increased significantly, the shortfall is not a small amount.

Who can they blame for this?

Make the Zhao Family Workshop stop work and hammer the price of raw materials down?

The raw materials are provided by the Zhao Family's army, and the money earned by the Zhao Family Workshop is mostly used to support the army; you want to cut off this part of the money?

It looks like you don't want to live anymore!

"Then... then what should we do?"

Shen Liu was dumbfounded.

The Zhao Family Workshop needs the raw materials itself, and now that transport capacity is limited, I'm afraid the price won't drop in the short term, and it might even rise further.

"Or, we wait a bit longer?" Wen Gu said.

"How long would we have to wait? What if it rises instead of falling?" Shen Qing disagreed.

"Or, we don't use Glass tiles and Glazed Ware tiles, and just use ordinary tiles." Wen Gu added.

"That won't do!" Shen Liu refused flatly.

The interior decoration can be slightly frugal, but the exterior appearance absolutely cannot lower the prestige!

Having seen the Treasure Bridge's wondrous color and crystalline magnificence, how could they tolerate ordinary configurations?

They believe other wealthy households think the same way.

Now that the flying bridge has raised everyone's expectations, and the Shen Family themselves have positioned Wanfu Garden as the most luxurious place in Xinzhou, how can they use ordinary things!

The boast has already been made, how can they slap their own faces?!

Wen Gu's tone was self-reproachful: "I shouldn't have built the Treasure Bridge like that."

Shen Liu immediately said: "How can we blame you? What good things haven't those nobles seen? Only the Treasure Bridge can shock them!"

Shen Qing also affirmed: "The Treasure Bridge was built very well, it should be like this! As for the missing money, we will go scrape some more together."

Shen Qing and Shen Liu came over happily, but left with heavy hearts.

They first asked their father to re-examine the Account Book, then contacted various financiers to add more investment. But while the financiers were optimistic, and did add some, they were reluctant to part with too much of their savings; any more would hurt their foundations!

Not everyone is willing to take risks.

Even the Shen Family itself, Uncle Shen, was guarding the money box, refusing to let it all be thrown in.

Shen Qing and Shen Liu, carrying an even heavier heart than last time, came to the Jingqing Public Office again to inform Wen Gu of this unfavorable news.

They had even been warned by their father that the shortfall was likely not a small amount, but they couldn't bring in too many people. There were already enough people involved in Wanfu Garden; if they brought in more, Zhao Laoda would be dissatisfied.

Wen Gu nodded solemnly in agreement: "Therefore, it is best to only find one or two wealthy households with enough grain and rice on hand."

"Right, isn't there anyone with deep pockets?!"

The Shen Family brothers were so worried they didn't even have the mood to mock Zhaohui Fang.

Wen Gu sighed and comforted the two Shen Family brothers: "Don't worry, the weather is cold now anyway, and the construction site has stopped work; we still have enough time to consider."

Shen Qing and Shen Liu couldn't find any other way for the time being, thinking of taking advantage of the upcoming New Year social engagements to contact more new wealthy households to see if they could find someone suitable.

The two brothers returned home to ponder how to expand their social circle and broaden their connections.

Wen Gu, meanwhile, was considering that there was likely no suitable candidate within Xinzhou City at present.

Having a prestigious status did not mean one had enough money and grain to invest; one still had to find a tycoon.

He calculated the days.

Why hadn't the wealthy spenders from Sihai Fang arrived yet?

(End of this chapter)