The purchasing power of one Egis is equivalent to about 18,000-19,000 RMB on Earth. Four Egis could buy a BYD Qin PLUS Glory on Earth.
So, what kind of technical content does a mere carriage have? It only has a carriage body without the horse, not even a vehicle system.
Does it really deserve the same price as a BYD Qin PLUS Glory?
The important thing is that even though Charlotte never owned a carriage, he often took public carriages and occasionally hitched rides on the Brittany family's private carriage. He knew that it shouldn't be this expensive!
The carriage salesman smiled and said, "Such a good carriage is rare and hard to come by, sir. Would you like to reconsider?"
Charlotte immediately raised his voice and said loudly, "Please get me another salesperson!"
This immediately caught the attention of many people. The carriage salesman's face turned red, and he lowered his voice, saying, "I apologize, sir! Please allow me to apologize. This carriage can be sold for three Egis and eight Foles."
Charlotte coldly said, "I don't want to repeat myself!"
The salesperson lowered his voice further, saying, "Actually, it can be sold for just three Egis!"
Charlotte shook his head and said, "This is your last chance to quote."
On Earth, there was once a long period where car buyers had a masochistic tendency, willing to endure the dealership's coldness, disdain, markups, and waiting months just to buy a particular brand of car.
Charlotte found this incomprehensible. To him, they were all industrial products, and none had groundbreaking technology. Why not just change to a different car? Why be treated like a dog?
In this era, carriages had no technical content. A carpenter could handle everything from felling trees to building a carriage. The city was surrounded by forests, making wood practically free, and labor was cheap. The most expensive part of a carriage was its decoration.
Even in Strasbourg, few people could afford to buy a carriage. Additionally, wooden carriages were extremely durable, often lasting decades, even passing through three to five generations. A new carriage might take months to find a buyer.
The second-hand carriage market was even smaller. Many people would rather pay a high price for a new carriage than settle for a used one, especially since they were expected to last decades. Practical buyers like Charlotte were rare. As the one paying, he didn't want to be taken for a fool.
The salesperson gritted his teeth and whispered, "Two Egis and eight Foles, including lamps, cushions, and reins!"
Charlotte nodded and asked, "Could you recommend a draft horse?"
The transaction proceeded much more smoothly from then on.
Charlotte did not choose the pure gold-colored, smooth, and beautiful Al-Qinto horse, which looked like a heavenly steed. Nor did he choose the so-called white marble horse, the entirely white Bronne horse, or the tallest Shire horse. Instead, he chose a two-year-old Brabant draft horse!
In this world, horses were too expensive to raise, and the cost of keeping them was high. Combined with the influence of supernatural forces, knights representing high-end combat power appeared, but large-scale cavalry did not. Almost 90% of horses were trained as heavy draft horses.
The Ingrim Empire had a saying: "More horses pull carts than are ridden."
The Brabant horse was medium-sized among draft horses and had average strength, but it was still over two meters tall, far exceeding most common horses on Earth.
They were hardy, not picky eaters, and could go without food for a while if necessary. Although they were not the strongest, they had high endurance and were relatively fast. The only downside was that most Brabant horses had mixed coats with reddish-brown, brown, chestnut, gray, and black colors, making them typical multi-colored horses with poor appearance, which is why their price was lower among draft horses.
This two-year-old Brabant draft horse cost Charlotte two Egis, and the carriage company threw in a year's supply of hay.
Generally, horses in the Old World could live 30 to 50 years. With proper care, they could last longer than a carriage, potentially serving multiple generations of owners.
Charlotte's purchase of the carriage and draft horse had already attracted attention.
A woman in her thirties, strong in build with a stern face like a man's, wearing slightly worn but clean clothes, stopped him and said, "Sir, do you need a coachman?"
"I can drive the carriage well, my salary is low, and I can also help with some chores and cleaning."
"I really need this job. Could you please hire me?"
Charlotte hesitated slightly, and the woman said softly, "The gentleman beside you can vouch for me."
The carriage salesman hesitated and then said, "This is Mrs. Nancy. Her skills are better than many male coachmen. Her previous employer was very satisfied with her skills and even offered her a lifetime contract. However, after losing all his money investing in gold mines in the New World, he had to sell off his personal property to make ends meet and had to let Mrs. Nancy go."
Charlotte asked, "Mrs. Nancy, how much is your weekly salary?"
Mrs. Nancy bit her lip and said, "Eighty-five Foles!"
This price was a bit high, but Charlotte didn't object and smiled, saying, "Would you be open to a short-term trial?"
Mrs. Nancy quickly replied, "I would be glad to."
Sylvie Martin's weekly salary was also eighty-five Foles, but she was a graduate of the Behemoth State Academy, so it was reasonable for her to earn that much.
For Mrs. Nancy, a coachman, to ask for such a high salary, there was only one possibility: she had been trained as a high-end coachman by a noble family.
Ordinary people wouldn't hire a female coachman, and Mrs. Nancy might have been a "special requirement" for a noble lady.
A coachman with such a high salary would naturally find it difficult to find a new job in the market. It was worth noting that not long ago, Charlotte's weekly salary was only one Ege and seventy Foles. Mrs. Nancy's weekly salary was almost half of what a forty-first-class imperial public servant earned.
Charlotte chose an old carriage and a reasonably priced draft horse because spending more money on these things wouldn't bring much additional value. Apart from appearances, they didn't offer any enhanced comfort.
But the comfort provided by a high-end coachman couldn't be matched by an ordinary one. So, despite Mrs. Nancy's slightly high quote, Charlotte decided to try her out for a week.
After paying all the fees, Charlotte happily sat in his new carriage. Mrs. Nancy put on her coachman's hat, gently flicked her wrist, and drove the Brabant draft horse out of the carriage dealership.
Mrs. Nancy's driving skills were indeed impressive, making the carriage move quickly and steadily.
Charlotte half-lay in the carriage, inspecting the interior decor. This prestigious four-wheeled carriage seemed to be custom-made, slightly longer than a standard carriage, likely exceeding eight meters.
The interior was divided into two compartments, with the front being about six meters long, a typical owner's compartment, and the rear being a two-square-meter area for servants and luggage, using a fully enclosed design without the usual open luggage rack.
The owner's compartment had high-grade alchemically manufactured, extremely expensive crystal glass windows on both sides, making the carriage interior very bright. The carriage salesman was probably telling the truth when he said it was originally priced at five Ege and three Foles.
In addition to the two rows of seats facing each other, the original owner had whimsically designed a small "study" at the rear of the owner's compartment. Though cramped, it had a desk, bookshelf, armchair, and even a fixed oil lamp holder.
Charlotte liked this design very much, although nobles would usually place a soft bed in that spot.
Charlotte initially planned to go home, but after a brief thought, he opened the communication tube and said, "Mrs. Nancy! Go to Gordian University."