Billy was very fortunate to have gotten on the Scott family's carriage. Otherwise, he would have felt like a blindfolded donkey, endlessly circling around his own little grindstone, thinking he was something special.

The Scott family now was like a spirited horse ready to embark on a journey. Fortunately, Billy managed to catch hold of them before they left the gate. Otherwise, within a year, they would have left the Deli family far behind. And Billy's intention in catching hold of the Scott family was not to obstruct their progress, but to join them!

Although he hadn't seen the actual seven hundred acres of fertile land, seeing the cultivated soil along the way gave him no reason to doubt the authenticity of the news. And all of this was thanks to a thing called a steam engine!

Sitting in the carriage, Billy felt that this contraption was even faster than a double-horse carriage, especially with seven or eight people at the back. The only downside was that it was a bit noisy, but that didn't matter at all. In their eyes, whether it was a cow, a horse, or a steam engine, as long as it could work, it was a good beast of burden! Moreover, this thing didn't even need to be fed grass, burning some wood was enough to match the labor of five cows! Hay was much more valuable than wood! And Rodney said that not only wood, but also straw, dry hay, and even cow dung could be used! As long as the water was boiled, this big fella could be set in motion. It was very easy to take care of!

When Billy got off the carriage, he was already thinking about how to get one for himself. But as soon as he was about to speak, Rodney was surrounded by several tenant farmers who were pulling cows and seemed to be begging for something. This piqued his curiosity and he walked over.

"Sir, these plow oxen have been having diarrhea for the past few days. I thought it was a problem with their food, so I fed them some bean cakes yesterday. But they are still not doing well this morning, even stumbling while walking. Can we use the steam engine to take them to the town to see a veterinarian?"

Billy looked at the plow oxen. They were walking, but suddenly lay down on the ground. It seemed that they were truly sick. This was the most important season for plowing, and it was a big deal if the plow oxen were sick!

Rodney waved his hand decisively. "Quick, take them to the town to see a doctor! Unload my carriage and use it to transport the cows!"

Then he grabbed Billy's shoulder and walked towards the mansion, shaking his head. "Ah, livestock, they are just too difficult to take care of. I fed them a meal of bean cakes, and now we have to take them to the town to see a veterinarian. How much money will that cost? The steam engine is much better. Just burn some wood and it's enough! Look at it, it's made of iron, where can it get sick? As long as there's enough wood to burn, it can do as much work as needed, never refusing to work! Since we have this thing, we have been using fewer plow oxen on our farm, and as you can see, with less work, they still got sick! Who can argue with that?"

While speaking, he clapped his hands, seeming to regret his own loss. Hilton laughed and said, "Hey, I think this thing of yours is really good! It runs fast all the way, even with so much luggage! It makes me want to buy one and take it directly to the capital!"

Niemann also chimed in, "Exactly! Carriages need rest, but this thing doesn't need to stop, I think it can reach the capital in just a month!"

But Rodney waved his hand. "No, no, this thing is currently used for farming. Using it as a carriage is just a sideline. Our family can't do without it now. Plowing, sowing, and even harvesting wheat in the autumn, we rely on this thing! If we had farm work to do today, we would have needed to use horses to bring you back. Haha!"

Harmon rubbed his hands and said, "Ah, honestly, Rodney, how much does this thing cost?"

Rodney waved his hand. "I won't sell it. I don't even have enough for myself, how can I sell it?" As he spoke, he pointed to something covered with canvas in the backyard. "We have more than four thousand acres of land, including mountains, forests, and ponds. These are for spring planting and autumn harvesting. One steam engine may not be enough. Now the steam engine is the main labor force of our Scott family. If I sell it, who will do the work for me? I'll consider it when Norfy makes the next one."

Niemann also turned to Norfy, who had been following behind all this time, and asked, "Did you make this steam engine?"

Norfy nodded. "I had a sudden inspiration, and it turned into reality."

Niemann nodded approvingly, "Not bad, really good! Besides plowing and pulling people, what else can this machine do?"Norfy pondered for a moment.

"If we make some modifications, it can cut wheat and thresh as well. As long as it involves labor, it can do it."

Niemann stared at the slowly starting steam engine, lost in thought for a while, and suddenly asked,

"Can it be used to power a boat?"

This time Hilton also stared at Norfy, apparently waiting for his answer.

Norfy hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit reluctant as he said,

"It can be used to power a boat, but we would have to build a new one because this steam engine is a bit too small in power."

Niemann seemed to have not understood Norfy's meaning, after all, he had never heard of the term "power" before.

"Too small in power?"

Norfy quickly explained,

"Oh, I mean it doesn't have enough strength. The steam engine used on a boat needs to be bigger to make it go fast. If we directly install this one, it won't go fast enough."

Seeing the puzzled faces of the others, Norfy pointed upstairs.

"Or, I can demonstrate it for you. I have a small model upstairs that can be modified and installed on a small boat for you to see."

Hilton and Niemann suddenly became interested and excitedly said,

"Let's go! Let's go upstairs! If this method is really feasible, we'll buy one!"

The two of them actually left Rodney behind and followed Norfy upstairs.

Rodney helplessly made a gesture of invitation, and Billif followed with a smile, then leaned towards Rodney and asked in a low voice,

"Hey, Lord Rodney, honestly, if Norfy makes another one, how much are you going to sell it for?"

Rodney chuckled and replied,

"I haven't really thought about it because it's for our own use, but Norfy did mention it. The one we're using at home is just a prototype, worth the strength of seven bulls. The next one he mentioned seems to be as big as ten bulls! That would be worth the price of ten bulls!"

This shocked Billif, and he couldn't help but exclaim,

"Ten bulls! That's too expensive! What about 5 gold coins! That's half a season's yield!"

Rodney secretly scoffed in his heart. Five gold coins were roughly equivalent to the Scotts' quarterly yield, which in their place was only half a season's yield! He had originally intended to lower the price for them, but now, forget it!

But he still smiled and said,

"That's why I said I can't sell it. We worked day and night for half a month and only managed to plow 700 acres. One steam engine is simply not enough! If we had to switch to using animals, even if they didn't tire to death, we'd still have to feed them seven or eight hundred pounds of cakes. We haven't even burned seven or eight hundred pounds of firewood yet, it's not worth it."

Billif became a little anxious. Five gold coins were too much, but looking at the Scotts' well-cultivated 700 acres, he couldn't bear it. If they delayed any longer, they would miss the spring planting season and could only watch as the Scotts had a bountiful harvest! Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"Sell me your current one! Three gold coins!"

Rodney stumbled, nearly tripping over.

"What did you say?"

"Sell me your current one! Three gold coins!"

Billif repeated again, but Rodney shook his head.

"I still need it! And three gold coins is too cheap, no deal!"

"You've already finished planting your field, and temporarily don't need to do any heavy work. You're just idling anyway, sell it to me! Three gold coins, and I'll add ten silver coins!"

But Rodney still shook his head.

"I still need to transport goods!"

"Don't you have cows and horses? They're just idling and they might even get sick! Hurry up, add 15 silver coins!"

"Add 30, I need to consult with Norfy. My son made this thing, I can't just sell it casually!"

"Alright, stop pretending! Add 17! Hurry up, I'm waiting to do farm work!"

Rodney sighed in distress.

"Alright, add 17. Tomorrow I'll have Raiz deliver it to you!"

"Skip tomorrow! Lend me a horse, I'll go find him in town myself and drive straight to our place! That young man should lend me his help for two days. Later, my steward will come with the money and receipt, and return your horse! Three gold coins and 17 silver coins, deal?"

Finished speaking, he actually walked down the stairs, pushed open the door, and walked out.

"Hey! Wait a minute! William! William! Quickly prepare a good horse for Lord Billif!"Rodney watched as Billy walked away, laughing triumphantly, and then climbed up the stairs.