Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 1118: Chapter 1024: The King’s Little Invention, the “All-Purpose Flying Car

Before long, the area in front of the church was filled with villagers.

Those with livestock came by cart, while those without carried a large wooden board to transport coal.

However, the coal merchant did not start distributing the coal as usual.

A chubby young nobleman emerged from behind the coal wagon, with a friendly smile, raising his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: “Hello everyone, I am the general manager of the ‘Worlo Coal Company’. My surname is Rochefort.”

Yes, he rarely visited Meidion Village, and even when he did, he only interacted with a few small nobles in the village.

The reason he was standing here now was for an immensely important business deal—Mr. Walsh was not optimistic about this venture and was unwilling to invest, so he decided to gamble with all his savings.

A few employees of the coal company, under the curious gaze of the villagers, moved a large pile of iron sheeting and iron rods from the first carriage.

Rochefort then loudly announced, “This is the latest popular invention in Paris, a precision machine personally designed by our great His Majesty the King.”

A burly attendant beside him picked up a hammer and a wrench and began assembling those iron pieces skillfully.

“The nobles in Paris call it—the All-Purpose Flying Car!”

After 20 minutes, under the manipulation of Rochefort’s attendant, an iron wheelbarrow appeared before everyone.

It stood about 70 centimeters tall, with a basin that could fit an adult sitting inside with legs bent. It had handles made of wrought iron, a steel axle, and a soft cork-wrapped wheel for shock absorption.

Although named “flying car,” this thing would certainly not fly. However, its design did indeed originate from Louis XVI—more precisely, Joseph drafted it, and the King did the final refinements.

What seemed like just a wheelbarrow to later generations was a genuine high-tech product in the 18th century.

Of course, wooden wheelbarrows had existed in Europe for over a thousand years, but they were very heavy, difficult to push, and not durable—starting to creak after two or three years of use and at risk of falling apart after four or five years.

The iron wheelbarrow, by contrast, had a crushing advantage.

Firstly, it weighed less than half of the wooden wheelbarrow—this indeed defied people’s intuition. But the fact was that a wooden cart had to be made very thick to achieve sufficient strength, leading to a surge in weight.

The iron wheelbarrow, however, only required a frame of a dozen or so iron pipes, with a layer of iron sheeting, to be sturdier than a wooden cart. Although iron pipes are heavier than wood, the smaller quantity used results in a significantly reduced total weight.

Secondly, the iron-sheeted wheelbarrow was easier to push.

This was mainly due to the finely machined steel axle, lightweight wheel spokes, and the more scientific wheel frame structure.

As for qualities like sealing and resistance to woodworm, the advantages are numerous.

Oh, and a significant advantage was its stylish appearance—

Sharp edges, filled with a metallic feel of the industrial era, it was a real head-turner when pushed around.

Such a seemingly simple handcart did not have a truly matured design until the 1820s in history.

However, due to its wide range of applications, it quickly became popular worldwide after being mass-produced, and nearly every farmer household in Europe and America owned one. In the United States, even into the 20th century, wheelbarrow production remained a significant source of profit for the steel industry.

Of course, the late appearance of the iron-sheeted wheelbarrow was not only due to design factors but also because coal and iron production was insufficient to lower its cost before the 19th century.

Now France was heavily investing in the coal and iron industry along the Valron-Rhine line, and temporarily without demands from railways and trains, it was just perfect to use cheap iron to produce wheelbarrows.

Rochefort pushed the wheelbarrow back and forth for everyone to see, then invited a farmer from the front row to try it out, while he himself picked up a wooden dipper with small holes at the bottom to demonstrate to the crowd:

“Using this in tandem with the All-Purpose Flying Car for fertilizing crops can cut the time in half!”

The attendant immediately poured several buckets of water into the wheelbarrow’s basin.

The watching villagers were amazed and stared with wide eyes—the cart did not leak! This was unimaginable for wooden wheelbarrows.

Rochefort scooped the water from the basin with the specially made dipper, lifted it, and the water fell evenly through the small holes.

“Imagine, you are pushing the All-Purpose Flying Car full of phosphate rock liquid. Your child uses this water dipper to fertilize the crops.

“In one day, you could water over a dozen acres, and still have the energy to engage in some ‘activities everyone loves’ with your wife in the evening.”

Immediately, the surrounding villagers excitedly started whispering to each other.

Normally, they would carry large wooden buckets filled with fertilizer liquid, pouring it scoop by scoop into the fields, often having to go back to refill every few minutes.

By the end of the day, they might manage to cover four or five acres at most and would end up with sore backs and aching muscles.

Comparatively, by pushing this beautiful “flying car” around the field a few times, they could easily complete the task.

It was indeed more comfortable!

And it wasn’t just for fertilizing; it could be used for watering, sowing, harvesting, and even collecting horse manure.

As the farmer who tried it earlier nodded in amazement, exclaiming “So light,” more people stepped forward to test push the wheelbarrow, subsequently nodding in approval.

“Not only is it light, but it’s also really easy to move.”

“Even the handle is more comfortable to grip than the one on my wheelbarrow.”

“Just not sure about the price…”

The crowd collectively turned their heads to look at Rochefort.

The little chubby man smiled, “It’s not expensive, 41 francs per cart.”

A collective gasp was heard around them.

Rochefort waved his hand to supplement: “But the government is providing a subsidy of 7 francs per cart.

“Our company also has a promotion: if you place your order within a month, you get a ten percent discount.

“So, you only need to pay 30 francs, 6 sous, to get this all-purpose ‘flying car’!”

People continued shaking their heads.

Given the village’s economic situation, most families barely had a 20 franc surplus per year.

But Rochefort’s next words dispelled their last bit of doubt:

“Agricultural Service Consulting Company will provide a guarantee for you, through a loan from the parish bank. You pay a down payment of 6 francs, and you can take the ‘flying car’ home.

“Our company also guarantees free repairs for any damage to the ‘flying car’ within five years. In fact, as long as you regularly oil it to prevent rust, this cart can last over twenty years without any issues.”

Finally, a broad-shouldered farmer hesitantly raised his hand and asked, “Can I buy one?”

“Of course!” The little chubby man was delighted and gestured to the representative from the Agricultural Service Consulting Company to assist, “Please proceed with the loan registration.”

He pointed to his attendant: “La Sute, please immediately assemble a new cart for this gentleman!”

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