In the eastern outskirts of Xi'an, beside the railway tracks, stretched a broad, flat tract of land leased by Gao Family Village.
The soil here was thin and barren, unsuitable for farming. Zhu Cunji had always been too lazy to bother with it, so it had long been left idle. When Gao Family Village built the railway through this area, the tracks veered slightly away from the main road and encroached upon a small portion of land belonging to the Qin Prince's Mansion. The mansion hadn't even bothered to send anyone to deal with it.
Thus, when Wang Tang came to negotiate leasing the land at a low price to construct an automobile factory, Zhu Cunji agreed almost without hesitation.
After all, it was useless land. Any rent was better than nothing.
And right now, he desperately needed money.
The construction of the West Yan Railway was consuming astronomical sums. Even a landowner as powerful and wealthy as the Qin Prince's Mansion was beginning to feel the strain.
On top of that, he was simultaneously funding the construction of the Dao Xuan Tianzun grottoes and developing multiple tourist attractions with attached commercial streets.
Money was pouring out like floodwater.
Fortunately, the food street in Sanhuan County and Li Jing's former residence had already begun generating revenue, finally providing a small but welcome trickle of return.
At this moment, Zhu Cunji was walking through the automobile factory under construction together with Wang Tang.
Large numbers of Blue Hats and Yellow Hats bustled about, hard at work.
The factory buildings were already complete, and equipment was now being moved inside.
Naturally, all of this equipment had been transported by rail.
The factory's location right next to the railway made transport exceptionally convenient. Gao Family Village had even built a temporary station here so that Blue Hats and Yellow Hats could easily get on and off the trains.
Zhu Cunji noticed a group of workers hauling an enormous stone vat into a workshop and couldn't help asking,
"What's that for? Why is the vat so huge?"
Wang Tang replied honestly,
"I don't know either. I'm just a weak, helpless, pitiful manager."
From the side, Gao Yiyi popped out, laughing as she explained,
"That's a vat for molten iron. Only stone vats can hold red-hot molten iron—nothing else will do. And that thing next to it is a mold. The workers pour the molten iron from the vat into the molds, and once it cools, individual car parts are formed."
Zhu Cunji suddenly realized,
"Oh! So that's how railway tracks are cast as well?"
Gao Yiyi nodded.
Zhu Cunji immediately pouted in exaggerated grievance.
"It looks so simple, yet you sold each section to me for two taels of silver."
Gao Yiyi smiled faintly.
"It looks simple, but producing high-quality molten iron requires countless hours of research and experimentation."
"All right, all right." Zhu Cunji waved his hand, no longer complaining.
He continued hopping around the factory with restless energy. For reasons even he couldn't quite explain, he was deeply fascinated by transportation. He loved massive trains, and this automobile factory fascinated him just as much.
Perhaps it was because he might never leave Xi'an in his entire life that he longed so intensely for vehicles capable of "quickly transporting him somewhere else."
He suddenly asked,
"This factory doesn't have a name yet, does it?"
Gao Yiyi nodded.
"We haven't decided on one."
Zhu Cunji let out a sly chuckle.
"Then I, the heir, shall name it."
"No!" Gao Yiyi and Wang Tang shouted in unison.
"Don't you realize how terrible you are at naming things?" Wang Tang continued. "Naming the big train 'Cunji' has already become a citywide joke in Xi'an."
Zhu Cunji immediately looked wounded.
"Is my name really that unpleasant?"
Wang Tang replied carefully,
"It's fine for a person. Absolutely unsuitable for a train."
Zhu Cunji snorted.
"Hmph! Are your naming skills so superior? 'Bamei No. 1 Factory' and 'Xigang No. 2 Factory'—what kind of appeal do names like that have?"
Both of them fell silent.
Seeing their silence, Zhu Cunji straightened proudly and declared,
"This place is Xi'an, which has been called Chang'an since ancient times. Therefore, I, the heir, hereby name this factory—Chang'an Automobile Factory."
Wang Tang thought for a moment.
"Oh? That name isn't bad at all."
Gao Yiyi nodded as well.
"I think it's quite good."
Just then, the embroidery of the Dao Xuan Tianzun on Wang Tang's chest suddenly opened its mouth and chuckled,
"The name Chang'an Automobile Factory is excellent. It is approved."
"Wow! Dao Xuan Tianzun is here!" Zhu Cunji exclaimed in delight.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun even says my name is excellent! Hahahaha! See? My naming skills are perfectly fine! Hahahahaha!"
The others exchanged glances, utterly speechless.
He truly shone the moment he received even the slightest praise.
As everyone stood there awkwardly chatting, a truck rumbled over from the distance and came to a stop beside them.
The driver jumped down and said,
"Chief Engineer Gao, I've delivered the rubber you requested."
Zhu Cunji immediately turned his head to look at the vehicle.
The moment he saw it, his eyes lit up.
"Is this the automobile the Chang'an Automobile Factory will produce? A small train that can run anywhere without tracks?"
Gao Yiyi nodded.
"Yes."
Zhu Cunji was overjoyed.
"Sell it to me! Sell it to me!"
Gao Yiyi shook her head.
"We can't sell it. This is the only one we have right now. It's constantly busy—just came back from Shangnan County, now it's rushing off to transport rubber, and after that it still has to deliver books to the Huangpu Military Academy. It has far too much work to do."
Zhu Cunji said confidently,
"I saw 'Experimental Car No. 3' written on its side. That means there must be others—Experimental Car No. 1 and No. 2. I, the heir, would be perfectly satisfied with either of those."
Gao Yiyi replied,
"Experimental Car No. 1 was made of wood and has already fallen apart. As for Experimental Car No. 2… it's still in the village."
Zhu Cunji's face immediately lit up.
"Give me Experimental Car No. 2, and I'll waive the rent for this factory land for five years."
That was an extremely generous offer.
Wang Tang, who handled the accounts regularly, ran the numbers in his head and immediately said,
"Chief Engineer Gao, this is a profitable deal."
Gao Yiyi nodded.
"If you say it's profitable, then it must be. Very well. I'll send someone back to Gao Family Village immediately to deliver Experimental Car No. 2."
Zhu Cunji burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Excellent! Excellent, excellent, excellent!"
The following day, Experimental Car No. 2 was delivered to Zhu Cunji.
In truth, Experimental Car No. 2 was in miserable condition. During the battle to defend the steel mill, it had run over and killed three bandit chiefs. Its front was badly dented, the bumper had been completely torn off, and the windows were shattered.
It screeched to a halt in front of Zhu Cunji, looking utterly dilapidated.
Zhu Cunji, however, didn't mind in the slightest.
He brought with him a large retinue of artisans from the Prince's Mansion, who circled the vehicle endlessly. Pointing at the dented front, he commanded,
"Fix this! And then paint the entire body gold."
The artisans hurriedly wrote everything down.
Zhu Cunji then pointed at the windows.
"Install the finest glazed tiles for the windows. The car doors are far too crude—cover them with the finest leather. All seats inside must be upholstered with white tiger fur."
He continued, growing ever more extravagant.
"How can the door handles be made of mere iron? Embed them with precious gems and jade, for me, the heir!"
His demands went on and on.
Several days later, a dazzling, resplendent automobile rolled onto the cobblestone streets of Xi'an.
A five-clawed golden dragon stood proudly upon the hood as its emblem.
The most luxurious automobile in the entire world had been born.
So much money had been spent on "decorating" this vehicle that Zhu Cunji's private treasury was completely drained—not a single copper coin remained.
Thus, he named it:
Kulinan.
There was no helping it.
The heir's naming skills truly were that awful.