Chapter 362: Snowboat (1)

Chapter 362: Snowboat (1)

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What?! They were lacking one more plank of fir?

Leader Mo was filled with regret as he remembered the pieces of wood he had carelessly burned earlier.

When he looked at how Manager Qin hobbled away while clutching his behind, he felt even more anxious. At this rate, wouldn't he take too long to find more fir wood?

Mo Chenggui followed closely behind Manager Qin and said, "Manager Qin, you're injured, so leave this matter to me!"

Manager Qin looked him up and down and snorted in his heart. This Mo Chenggui was making his two-faced act so obvious that he felt irritated just looking at him.

"If you want to go, then go ahead. I'm not holding you back. However, since this is something that Third Young Madam has ordered me to do, I have to do my best to complete my task no matter what!"

After saying so, Manager Qin tossed his sleeves and hurried away. He beared with the pain from his injury the best he could and completely ignored Mo Chenggui.

Mo Chenggui knew that he had gone overboard with his previous actions. However, what was done was done. He couldn't turn back time. Thus, he gritted his teeth and led a party of his men to help search for more fir wood.

After four hours, it was still Manager Qin who found some stock of fir first and sent it back to the He Estate. He had already gone out to buy wood a few times, so he had some connections.

In just a short moment, the object that Chu Lian had entrusted to the old carpenter to build was completed.

Chu Lian ordered her people to move the object to one of the more deserted courtyards. She then ordered them to harness horses to the object and test how it moved over an area covered in knee-deep snow.

When she saw that there were only two shallow tracks where the horses had passed, Chu Lian then passed orders to Manager Qin to have heavy items put on top of the object for another test.

The result? The horses were actually able to maintain a normal speed even as they pulled a load of goods!

Manager Qin couldn't help but cry out in surprise, "Third Young Madam, it was a success!"

Chu Lian heaved a sigh of relief and let out a refreshed smile. With this, they wouldn't have to worry about the problem of transporting goods through heavy snow!

Wenqing and Wenlan had similar expressions of joy. Wenlan asked excitedly, "Third Young Madam, what is this thing called?"

Chu Lian's almond-shaped eyes were all smiles as she affectionately called it, "A snowboat."

"A snowboat? A boat that can travel over snow?" Manager Qin's eyes lit up. "What a fitting name," he praised.

The old carpenter and his helpers were already smiling from ear to ear as they watched from the side.

Chu Lian came closer to examine the 'snowboat'. In actuality, it was a sleigh that was commonly used during winter in northeastern China back in the modern world. It could also be called a sled, but there were some differences between sleds and sleighs.

There were many different types of sleighs, but the one Chu Lian picked for her blueprints was the most suitable for transporting goods. It was slightly larger than most sleighs and should be able to withstand the same load that normal carriages could. They could even create a small warm pen on top by putting up a tent of animal skins and leaving small windows at the side for ventilation. With braziers within for warmth, they would be able to travel long distances without risk of frostbite.

TL Note: Chu Lian made up her own name for the sleigh~ She actually literally named it 'landboat', but 'snowboat' seems to fit better here.

I live on an island in eternal summer, so I don't really know much about snow and winter. I had to do more research into the different types of snow transport and I learned all sorts of things today. XD

So from my research, sleighs are bigger and are usually drawn by horses, reindeer or machines now. Sleds are smaller and usually meant for faster transport and are usually pulled by dogs, especially in those dog sled races. They can also be used by themselves to slide down snowy hills, which looks tremendously fun. :3

[caption id="attachment_97144" align="alignnone" width="403"] Horse-drawn sleigh for goods (Chu Lian's snowboat)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_97145" align="alignnone" width="461"] Dog sled[/caption]

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