NOVEL NEXT Chapter 201: All Central Plains Broadcasting
Chapter 201
"For those who have watched the livestream before, that concludes my self-introduction."
"Today, I'll be livestreaming about the libraries of the future. As the name suggests, libraries are places to store, shelve, and read books. In the future, besides searching online, people can also go to libraries to look up information they need."
"Libraries are quiet places. You'll also see many students reading silently. In our future, everyone can read books for free."
As soon as Gu Sang finished speaking, the ancient viewers watching the livestream immediately erupted into a flurry of comments.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible. Paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones are so expensive. How could everyone possibly read for free?"
"That's right, farm work is so demanding. If all the children go to read books, who will do the work in the fields?"
"I really want to see the library. Isn't a library actually just the royal book repository? What status does Miss Gu have that she can even enter the royal book repository?"
"Hahaha, I can finally watch a livestream too. I've long heard that livestreams have appeared in other towns, but I never thought I'd live to see one myself."
"The clothes of the future are so unrestrained and wild. Why do they look so strange?"
In the border town.
In this town that had once been ravaged by the Xiongnu, vigorous development was now underway.
After the imperial court issued generous conditions such as free settlement in the town, no high commerce fees for merchants, and two years of tax exemption for farmers, large numbers of civilians and merchants were attracted to settle in the border region.
Merchants flocked to do business at the border. Once the economy began to circulate, the population naturally increased, and the border town started to bustle with activity once again.
At this moment, at the border defense post, General Guan Jinjun lay on the ground, looking up at the livestream on the sky screen with a blade of grass between his teeth.
"So this is what a livestream is. It's so shocking!"
"Are those iron boxes running on the road the means of transportation in the future? They run even faster than horses. If we could make these things here, hehe, iron horses impervious to swords and spears - the Xiongnu would be scared out of their wits if they saw them."
"Oh, the roads in the future are so smooth..."
General Guan opened his eyes wide with curiosity, observing the various aspects of the future.
He watched as Gu Sang crossed the street and then took a bus to the library.
Regarding the clothing of the pedestrians on the street, General Guan didn't feel it was particularly indecent; in fact, he thought it looked quite cool and comfortable.
It's already so hot, yet people have to wear layer upon layer of clothes. Just looking at it makes one feel hot.
The people of the future really know how to enjoy life!
There are so many people in the future!
It's so crowded!
General Guan exclaimed once again.
The ancient viewers saw Gu Sang get off the bus, then walk down some stairs and turn a few corners.
She tapped a few times on a machine and took out something green that was slightly larger than a copper coin.
They saw Gu Sang wave this thing over an iron frame, and the door in front of her opened.
"What an amazing device!"
"Did you see that? Other people also used this thing, waved it on top, and the door opened."
"What are they doing? Why are there so many people?"
As they spoke, they saw Gu Sang walk onto some steps.
But these steps were different from the previous ones. These steps actually moved!
Steps that move?!!!
Heavens!
And they're going up!
There are even some going down next to them!
They saw many people standing still, and the steps carried them down.
Everyone was so surprised their jaws nearly hit the floor.
Seeing this situation, Gu Sang explained to everyone.
"This is the subway, another form of transportation in the future."
"Just now, I was buying a ticket at the machine. You just select your destination and buy the ticket."
"After getting this green thing, you swipe it on the machine, and the door opens automatically. When you reach your destination, you put this green thing into the machine again, and it automatically recognizes it."
The ancient people discussed excitedly: "I want to ask, what if I don't buy a ticket, or if I only buy a short-distance ticket but want to go far? After all, there's no one watching there."
Hearing this, Gu Sang smiled and explained:
"Your ticket records your journey. You can ride back and forth inside the subway station, but if you want to exit and your exit point isn't where you bought the ticket for, you won't be able to leave. You must pay the difference."
"Although there's no one guarding nearby, there are cameras everywhere. If you try to evade the fare, it will be recorded. Big data will record your face, and all surveillance cameras are connected. Whatever you've done wrong can be seen clearly online!"
"Besides, the subway is a convenient, fast, and very cheap mode of transportation. The ticket costs just a few yuan, equivalent to a few steamed buns in your time. It's not worth evading the fare."
Everyone saw Gu Sang come down, first looking at the route map on the left to confirm the correct direction, before queuing to wait for the train.
After a while, the train quickly approached from the distance.
When the train stopped, all doors opened simultaneously. The people in line waited for those inside to get off before boarding, with no pushing or crowding at all.
"So this is the subway. It's so long, like a giant python. One subway train can carry so many people!"
"Yes! And it's so cheap too. That's wonderful."
"Wow, look, this subway is in mid-air! I can see the houses below. Wow, there's even a lake."
About twenty minutes later, Gu Sang exited the subway station and walked to the library.
The clean streets made the ancient people envious.
The green belts on both sides, the smooth road surface, the tall plane trees - all of these amazed the ancient viewers.
To think that even the roads in the future could be maintained so beautifully, just like the imperial back garden.
When everyone saw the library, they were shocked once again.
So many, many books!
And so many people reading in the rest areas. The sunlight shining through the windows created a scene of peaceful tranquility.
In front of each bookshelf, there were signs indicating the type of books.
Gu Sang quickly found the sections for history and strategy books.
"Heavens, so many books, so many people. If I could live here for a lifetime, I'd be willing."
"Oh, are those colorful things in the back books too? The little figures on them are drawn so well, with heads full of pearls and jewelry."
"It seems there are even people sitting on the ground reading books. Wow, the floor is so smooth."
The officials in the great hall were also amazed.
This was even bigger than the imperial library.
Pei Caiying, in his high position, couldn't sit still. Seeing Gu Sang take out a book on the Thirty-Six Stratagems, he immediately said, "Sang Sang, these books must be state secrets, right? Your country actually allows you to read them?"
Gu Sang paused in her book-flipping.
She raised her eyes and glanced at the ancient imperial palace hall, saying:
"These books can be bought and read by anyone in our country. They're not considered state secrets. After all, anyone who has been to school or has a bit of knowledge about history would know a little about this."