A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 338 "Bad Idea"

When Uncle Wang came back from outside, he took a large pack of American-made "Old Peacock" cigarettes, which were the first cigarettes to enter China.

Li Yu called him to stop: "Leave a bag for me."

Uncle Wang took it to Li Yu, and said, "Sir, there are 10 small bags in total, and they cost 5 silver dollars. All these money should be deducted from my regular bank account."

Li Yu originally wanted to say something, but looking at his eyes, after thinking about it, he replied, "I see."

After Uncle Wang walked out, Li Yu added: "Don't forget to go to the kitchen to get two boxes of matches."

Uncle Wang held back his legs and said awkwardly: "Sir, why don't you teach me how to use cigarettes, I don't understand foreigners' stuff."

Li Yu was even more embarrassing: "I have never smoked a cigarette, generally... generally just light it up and then smoke it."

Tang Shaoyi in the room said: "Let me tell you, just inhale at the same time when ordering."

Wang Bocheng panicked: "Thank you for your advice, my lord."

After Uncle Wang left, Tang Shaoyi said to Li Yu, "Don't you want some? I have seen many upper-class foreigners who either smoke cigars or cigarettes."

Speaking of it, the cigarette market has been developing rapidly. During the period of the Republic of China, many women in the aristocratic circles smoked, and even regarded it as a fashion to show beauty. I guess everyone has seen it in some movies with the style of the Republic of China.

But Li Yu waved his hand and said, "There is no blessing to endure."

Then he said: "In the future, we will establish our own cigarette factory with the funding of the imperial court. It is best not to forget to promote that smoking is harmful to health."

Tang Shaoyi said: "Didn't you say that cigarettes are not very harmful, that they will never be addictive and cause smokers to look haggard?"

Li Yu said: "Of course it is not as fierce as drugs, but it is still not very good for the lungs, and it is an important cause of lung cancer."

Tang Shaoyi said in surprise: "Lung cancer? Never heard of it! Brother Shucai, you are not scaring me, are you? I only know about tuberculosis."

Li Yu said: "Lung cancer is far worse than tuberculosis."

When Tang Shaoyi heard this, she took a puff of her cigar to suppress her shock, and said, "Everyone knows it's not good, but why can't you stop it?"

Li Yu smiled and said, "I think Tang Daotai must know."

Tang Shaoyi also laughed and said, "I don't know!"

He took out a box of exquisitely packaged premium Cuban cigars from his arms: "Brother Shucai, if you want it, just say so."

"I don't mean that." Li Yu quickly refused.

Tang Shaoyi had no choice but to put away the cigar, then stood up: "It's getting late, I'll go back first, and I still need to study it carefully with the commander-in-chief."

Li Yu cupped his hands and said, "There is Laotang Daotai."

This kind of thing can only rely on their promotion.

After Tang Shaoyi left, Li Yu fiddled with the pack of American-made cigarettes that Uncle Wang bought back. It was really not cheap. One silver dollar could only buy two packs. If converted to the price of later generations, it would be more than 100 RMB per pack.

In Li Yu's era, there was already a ceiling price for cigarettes, and a pack of cigarettes could not exceed 100 yuan. That is to say, the cigarettes in Li Yu's hands were more expensive than the most expensive cigarettes in later generations (ordinary commercially available ones).

Of course, this is because cigarettes have just entered the market, and the level of logistics in the early [-]th century was quite low, so imported things must be very expensive.

According to the historical context, China will have its own cigarette brand next year.

In the period of the Republic of China, although the price gap between the north and the south was very large, in general, one silver dollar could buy about twenty or thirty packs of cigarettes.However, if it is during the war, it will still be more expensive.

In many anti-Japanese dramas, when the Eighth Route Army seized supplies, canned beef and cigarettes were good things.I remember that in "Bright Sword", after Li Yunlong attacked Ping'an County, the brigade commander gave him a lecture, and finally took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and gave it to him.

For such a great contribution, one pack of cigarettes is enough... It's better to reward a few more Italian cannonballs.

In addition, the current cigarettes definitely do not have filters, there is no way, so let's do it for now.

Let's kill the damn opium.

Puccini actually hired a few Italian explorers to climb the Great Wall. When he came back, he found Li Yu and excitedly said, "It's amazing! It's a miracle that the Chinese can build such a magnificent project thousands of miles away. A miracle!"

It seems that every foreigner who sees the Great Wall for the first time will be so shocked.

Li Yu must have climbed the Great Wall, he asked, "How far have you walked?"

Puccini said: "It's a pity that I didn't prepare enough. I didn't bring enough dry food and tents for the night. It was only a dozen miles away."

The Great Wall at the end of the Qing Dynasty was in a state of disuse, and some people even went to steal bricks. It cannot be compared with the 5A scenic spots of later generations. It is not easy to walk more than ten miles.

Li Yu asked again: "You are leaving, where are those explorers? Are they still continuing?"

Puccini said: "Yes, they said to go the whole way, after all, the world has never seen such a majestic building."

Good guy, the whole process, it's just terrible.

From the mouths of Italians who also have many cultural relics and historic sites, it can be seen that Puccini's heart was really shaken.

Li Yu said, "It's time for dinner, so I'll treat you."

Puccini asked: "May I call that outstanding Beijing opera artist?"

"You mean Yang Xiaolou? Of course." Li Yu said.

Puccini added: "Also, food and beverages must have authentic Beijing flavors."

"Authentic flavor... here it is!" Li Yu said, "Follow me."

Then Li Yu called Zhao Qian: "Drive to Huguosi Street in the north of the city."

Zhao Qian asked, "Sir, are you going to the temple fair?"

Li Yu said, "Take this Italian composer for a snack."

Zhao Qian said, "That's too much to be on the stage."

Li Yu said: "You don't understand this, and it doesn't mean that you really don't appear on the stage."

Puccini was also shocked when he saw Li Yu's car: "I didn't expect to see this thing in Forty-Nine City."

After pulling up Yang Xiaolou, they drove straight to Huguosi Street.

Although there is no famous "Huguo Temple Snacks" in today's Huguo Temple Street, in the tradition of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, there are often temple fairs around temples. Around Huguo Temple, temple fairs are characterized by a lot of snacks.

Li Yu saw what he was looking for at a glance, and pulled Puccini up, "Boss, I want four bowls, oh no, three bowls of soybean juice!"

The peddler brought out Ma Liuliu, and Li Yu gave it to Puccini, Yang Xiaolou and Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian said embarrassedly: "Sir, you are still here."

Li Yu couldn't drink it, and said to him, "I'm full today."

Zhao Qian swallowed, picked up the bowl and drank it.

Yang Xiaolou was born in a serious opera troupe, and he has endured hardships, and he must learn to do as the Romans do when he arrives in the capital. He has no particular resistance, as long as it is edible, he will definitely eat it.

Let alone bean juice, pepper can be eaten directly.

On the other hand, Puccini was about to vomit just after taking a sip.

Li Yu laughed loudly: "Hold it!"

Puccini drank a few more sips, and slowly got used to it.

Li Yu was dumbfounded, "Just, just drink it?!"

Puccini was even full of praise and asked for another bowl.

When Li Yu was studying in the capital, he tried several times, but he never succeeded in drinking even two teaspoons.

After all, when it comes to old Beijing snacks, the first thing that comes to mind must be soybean juice, and even Da Mi Mi strongly recommends it.

But after Li Yu tried it, he realized that what Zhang Wuji's mother said was too true, beautiful women can deceive people!
I really don’t know why those banner people in the Qing Dynasty couldn’t do without soybean juice so much, and they said, “Beijing soybean juice is the lifeblood of bannermen”.

It is said that even Empress Dowager Cixi likes it very much...

Anyway, Li Yu always felt that out of the 100 bowls sold, at least 90 bowls were sold to curious tourists.

Puccini said: "When I was traveling in France, I ate blue cheese. There is a trace of the same and a trace of difference. It's amazing. It's a pity that I can't taste the two things together."

Li Yu's jaw is about to drop, do artists like to find inspiration with exciting things?

Blue cheese with soy sauce?

I really dare to think about it, I am afraid that few people dare to eat and broadcast.

But it seems that there are such people who love to eat bad food, those who don't like it can't swallow it, and those who like it can't live without it for a day.

Puccini was very happy: "When you go to Europe again, I will definitely show you the same authentic blue cheese!"

Li Yu had black lines all over his face, and said helplessly, "Thank you so much!"

Puccini asked: "I also heard that there is something called fondue?"

This is much more normal, Li Yu said: "Of course, let's come together."

Several people sat down in a hot pot restaurant and ordered several catties of mutton, meatballs, and vegetarian dishes.

Foreigners also love to eat this stuff.

Puccini pursed his mouth and ate happily: "Good stuff, good stuff!"

Li Yu said with a smile: "Even the emperor in the Forbidden City loves hot pot."

Puccini was surprised: "The emperor eats so casually?"

Li Yu explained: "It's not a meal all at once. When Emperor Qianlong was in power, he held a banquet for thousands of old people. All the people in attendance were old people in their 80s and [-]s. They were worried that the food would be cold and the old people's stomachs would not be able to bear it, so they chose hot pot."

After feasting, Puccini and Yang Xiaolou chatted about stage art again.

Puccini said: "I watched your performance, it was very exciting, with an indescribable stage tension. In the future, I plan to create an opera with a Chinese background, and I will ask you a lot about the stage set and costumes."

Li Yu acted as an interpreter for them. Fortunately, Puccini knew English, otherwise Li Yu really didn't know anything about Italian.

Yang Xiaolou said: "If you don't dare to act, you must know everything."

The two chattered for a long time, and when it came to their joy, Puccini even invited Yang Xiaolou to go on a European tour in the future.

Peking opera is indeed very popular. Decades later, Mei Lanfang visited the United States during the Great Depression and set off a hurricane of Peking opera on Broadway in New York. It was super popular.

When returning home, Li Yu did not forget to pack a few barrels of soybean juice, good things to share.

Not long after entering the door, the Yuan family brothers came over after smelling it.

"What is so fragrant?" Yuan Keding asked.

Li Yu smiled and said, "Your nose is really good. Have you ever drank soybean juice?"

"I've only heard of its name, but never drank it," Yuan Keding said, "Now I've smelled it."

Li Yu gave him a small bucket, "Taste it."

As soon as Yuan Keding opened the lid, he felt a little flustered, like an alcoholic seeing fine wine, "Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Since he ate canned herring last time, he seems to have opened up the two channels of Ren and Du in this regard.

Yuan Keding went to enjoy the bean juice with his arms in his arms.

The younger brother Yuan Kewen saw Yang Xiaolou behind Li Yu and asked, "Are you a famous actor in Peking Opera?"

Li Yu asked in surprise, "Do you know Yang Xiaolou?"

"It's really you?" Yuan Kewen said happily, "I just saw at a glance that your walking posture and every action have the appearance of a famous Peking Opera actor."

Yang Xiaolou was also puzzled and said, "I heard from brother Shucai that your Excellency should be the son of the governor of Zhili. You also love Beijing opera?"

Yuan Kewen said: "Not only do I like it, but I can also sing!"

Then he sang Kunqu opera with a bright voice.

Although it is not quite the same as Beijing opera, but it has the same effect. Yang Xiaolou immediately heard that Yuan Kewen is a good opera seedling, but he is a son of a family after all, so how could he be an opera actor.

Yang Xiaolou had no choice but to praise and said: "Young master is really a master of Liyuan!"

Yuan Kewen said: "It turns out that you and Master Li Yu are friends, and I happen to learn opera from you too!"

Yuan Keding came out suddenly and coughed twice: "Kewen, don't forget what your father said."

Yuan Kewen pouted, dissatisfied: "I know!"

Yang Xiaolou breathed a sigh of relief temporarily.

-

When having dinner, Li Yu put out the soy sauce bought today and served it to everyone.

But it didn't seem very popular, so Lu Bicheng directly pinched his nose and said, "Take it away!"

Konoe Zhaoxue frowned and took a sip, resisted swallowing and asked, "Is this really normal porridge?"

Li Yu said: "Normal...it should be normal. Anyway, they are made from fermented mung beans. There are quite a few people in Beijing who love to drink."

Konoe Zhaoxue thought for a while, then summoned up his courage and drank the whole thing in one go.

His stomach was overwhelmed, and after a while, he began to feel a little better, and his frowning brows relaxed.

Li Yu secretly sighed in his heart, as expected of a trained spy, his endurance is really good.

-

The next day, while Li Yu was practicing calligraphy, Feng Ling sent him the latest telegram, this time again from Earl Zeppelin.

Li Yu previously asked Zeppelin to send some public technical information related to the airship, and Zeppelin called back to agree and will send it as soon as possible.

There is also an invitation letter from Tokyo Imperial University, hoping that he can give another lecture if he finds time.

Li Yu didn't refuse either.

During this period of time, he can even improve the data files of the airship, and then add some "good things", really "good things": a few slightly complicated aerodynamic formulas.

For aircraft, this thing is critical and fatal, because the formulas in aerodynamics have various partial differential equations.

As I said several times before, partial differential equations are extremely difficult to solve, and we can only solve them violently, or seek empirical formulas.

The process of finding empirical formulas is quite troublesome and very expensive.

The problem of differential equations alone can firmly trap a large number of elite intellectuals in Little Japan.

It happened that Li Yu knew a lot of empirical formulas, because when the Soviet Union was engaged in aviation in later generations, they came up with a lot of them.In the early days, we were greatly influenced by the Soviet Union, so we copied a lot (the coefficients of some key empirical formulas can only be done by ourselves).

I also have to thank Li Yu for his undergraduate major. Although he was not good at applied physics, he learned a little about everything.Now just a few empirical formulas are enough for Little Japan to drink a pot.

There is another important reason why Li Yu dared to use this method:
Need to emphasize again the characteristics of partial differential equations. To solve partial differential equations, you need to assume the initial conditions first; then it is super difficult to solve, and because it contains chaos, even if the initial conditions are changed slightly, the results will be very different. Donkey head Not right.

Specific initial conditions can only correspond to specific solutions.

To put it in plain English: Even if Little Japan came up with an empirical formula for airships, it would have no meaning for aircraft in the future.

Because the initial conditions change too much.

Not to mention such a big change from an airship to an airplane, even if it’s just a slight change in the shape of the airplane’s wings, such as being longer, shorter, flatter, or taller, the empirical formula will be invalidated.

Partial differential equations are so hopeless.

In fact, this is also a major reason why it is still very difficult to develop large aircraft even though we have developed an advanced fifth-generation aircraft, because the parameters really have nothing to do with it.

-

Not long after, Lu Bicheng brought the polished "Star Wars Story: Rogue One" to Li Yu, and her speed was really not slow.

Li Yu looked at her beautiful calligraphy and felt that he lost the interest in practicing calligraphy. He put down the brush and said dejectedly, "I feel like I will never be able to practice calligraphy well in my whole life!"

Coincidentally, because of the telegram today, Konoe Zhaoxue came to Li Yu's study with a cup of coffee as expected, but after hearing Li Yu's complaint, she said: "I think, with your reputation, it doesn't matter whether you write well or not. Just fine."

Jinwei Zhaoxue obviously followed the words that made Li Yu comfortable.

Li Yu smiled: "Let's put the coffee here, besides, it really doesn't have to be so hard."

"Today I added milk to foam it, and the taste should be much better," Konoe Zhaoxue paused, and then said, "I'm leaving first."

Lu Bicheng felt that the sour smell of soybean juice from last night seemed to be in the air, so he said, "I'm going back too, let's enjoy your coffee."

Lu Bicheng turned to leave, Li Yu stopped her: "Actually, I prefer to drink tea. Also, I..."

Lu Bicheng walked around him, and said with a slight smile, "Okay, great scientist! I still have a lot of things to do. And you, you still have to find that beautiful De Ling girl to translate, don't you?"

After Lu Bicheng finished speaking, he moved and left lightly.

Li Yu smiled wryly for a few times, and after thinking about it, he should explain to her, but just as he opened his mouth to stop her, he was interrupted by Zhao Qian's loud voice: "Sir, Liu E is here to find you!"

Liu E came to pick up the three-piece set of magnifying glass, microscope and telescope that he asked Li Yu to buy.It is not easy to get all these things in Beijing, and only Li Yu can handle them.

Anyway, Liu E was just playing for fun, so Li Yu had already bought it for him at a foreign company.

By the way, I also taught Liu E how to use it.

Liu E was very excited, and took out a stack of manuscripts and a box from his bag, "These are the manuscripts of "Lao Can's Travels" that you want. In addition, this mouse whisker pen is given to you, it is not a respect."

Li Yu opened it and took a look. The barrel of the pen was made of jade, and it looked like a valuable item: "Isn't it a waste to give such a good thing to me?"

Liu E said: "Sir, don't refuse, otherwise I don't want these mirrors either."

Li Yu had no choice but to accept it, "It seems that I really need to practice calligraphy in the future."

Liu E said: "It turns out that Mr. Di Shi is still practicing calligraphy? It just so happens that this mouse whisker brush can come in handy. I heard that the calligrapher Wang Xizhi wrote the "Lanting Collection Preface" with the mouse whisker brush."

Li Yu said with a smile: "It turns out that the mouse whisker pen has such a legendary story, I'd better keep it as a collectible!"

(End of this chapter)