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

Thanks to Li Yu's advance planning and reminder, the flour king Rong brothers also opened a textile factory.

Li Yu followed Rong Desheng to the new factory they opened in Shanghai. The Rong family was not short of money and the textile factory was large enough.

They have received many clothing orders from Europe. This is just the beginning. In the future, they will not be able to produce military uniforms alone, and the sewing machines will not even be worn out by European man-made ones.

Rong Desheng pointed to a large pile of thick clothes and said: "Those were ordered by the British Consulate in Shanghai. They are all winter clothes. They are urgently needed and must be sent out by the end of the month."

Li Yu said: "There will be a ferry sailing at the end of the month. Although it is a passenger ship, the UK will definitely squeeze out all its transport capacity now. It hopes that ships from all over the world will go to him."

"The British are known as the world's strongest at sea, are they going to be short of ships?" Rong Desheng asked.

"There is really a shortage, and it will become more and more scarce. I am even worried that the ships passing by the Far East will be forcibly requisitioned by them." Li Yu said.

"That's impossible!" Rong Desheng said quickly, "We've gone all the way and the ship can't come back, so it's just a deal at the expense of the original!"

Li Yu explained: "I mean if their ships are sunk too many by the Germans, they will force ships in the Far East to deliver supplies to them."

It was impossible for Rong Desheng to predict the future, and he wondered: "Blow up a merchant ship? How could it be possible!"

Li Yu spread his hands: "I hope not."

During World War I, Germany's sea routes were so completely blocked that the British Royal Navy was determined to block the entry and exit of any German ship.

Material shortages in Germany became so serious that even the son of Leonard, the Nobel Prize winner in physics, suffered from severe kidney disease due to lack of food, and died within a few years.

——This incident directly caused Leonard to hate the British and Jews even more.

Germany did not sit still and wait for death. Unable to defeat surface ships and naval vessels, Germany sent submarines to carry out indiscriminate attacks, specifically targeting British supply ships.

This trick worked very well for the UK. After all, the UK is an island country. If the supply of materials is cut off, the island's inventory will last for two or three months at most.

After the United States entered the war, it needed to transport a large number of soldiers to Britain and France for training. The already tight transportation capacity became even more stretched. The British had to reduce the supplies on the ship and transport people first.

This decision also led to material shortages in the UK, which would be extremely difficult for people like Ramanujan who were very picky about food.

Not only did the British place orders, but France also ordered a large amount of textiles from them, including not only military uniforms, but also many special backpacks, towels, bandages, etc.

Rong Desheng did not expect that the factory would have such a big order when it first opened. He flipped through the account book and said: "The British and French people pay easily. They pay in francs and pounds. It is very troublesome to change money. You have to go to the bank and part of it will be taken away." Handling fee.”

Li Yu asked: "Are there any orders from Russia?"

Rong Desheng said: "Not yet."

"If you receive an order from Russia, never accept rubles." Li Yu said.

"Why?" Rong Desheng was puzzled.

"This..." Li Yu thought for a while and said, "Because the value of the pound and the franc are linked to gold, if the ruble is used on credit, you will lose everything."

"That makes sense." Rong Desheng was very keen on doing business. Although he didn't know what Li Yu meant, he still cautiously agreed. "Mr. Yu told me that when doing business with foreigners, you can only accept gold and silver. "

Li Yu smiled and said: "Just recognize gold and silver."

Rong Desheng said: "Sir, you helped me make such a big deal, so I have to treat you to a nice drink."

The Rong family's factory was outside the concession. After dinner, it was already dark, so Rong Desheng stayed with Li Yu for one night.

He lives in a traditional alley, and this area is almost filled with employees and family members of the Rong family factory.

"The conditions are a bit worse, please don't be offended." Rong De said politely.

"It doesn't matter, as long as I can sleep." Li Yu didn't care.

The next morning, just after dawn, Li Yu was woken up by shouts outside:

"Pour the toilet! Here comes the toilet man. Pour the toilet!"

Li Yu rubbed his eyes and leaned out of the window to see a manure collector ringing a bell outside.

According to the management rules of Shanghai during the Republic of China, fecal trucks were the only place where residents could dump feces.

But the Rong family has servants, so Li Yu doesn't need to do this. And those ordinary residents have to put the toilet at the door of their house early.

Looking at the past, Li Yu saw dozens of toilets placed at the door of each house in the alley, winding and twisting from the bottom of the alley to the entrance, which was very "spectacular".

Toilets are a must-have item for every household, and are often given as dowries to women. When given as a dowry, red eggs will be placed inside, which means that a child will be born soon...

Some rich people's toilets are very beautifully decorated with dragons and phoenixes, and a few are even wrapped in gold-plated rings. However, it seems that such toilets will be noticed by thieves before long.

The manure collector in the alley was very skillful. He lifted the toilet with his right hand, quickly opened the lid with his left hand and used it to hold the bottom of the toilet. Then he lifted the toilet with his right hand and put it close to the square entrance on the top of the manure truck. At the same time, he pushed the lid with his left hand. , and dumped all the feces into the car.

According to this method, the hands of the waste collector only come into contact with the toilet handle and wooden cover, minimizing the chance of getting their hands dirty.

This was not over yet. Then he took out a long-handled ladle from the bucket hanging on the car, poured a ladle of water into the toilet, stirred it briefly, and then poured it into the dung truck. The purpose is definitely not to clean the toilet, but to avoid missing the remaining feces stuck to the edge of the toilet.

In just a quarter of an hour, the manure collectors had completed the entire lane.

Before leaving, I didn't forget to shout: "I'm leaving! I won't come back!"

After a while, a sleepy housewife in pajamas stuck her head out from behind the door and shouted: "Wait a minute!"

Then she hurriedly carried the toilet to the dung truck.

The manure collector raised the toilet and said, "If I hadn't said this, you would have been waiting to smell the stink all day! Scream, this one is too thick, it's as big as a tea cup!"

The housewife blushed and hurriedly took the toilet and left.

At this time, Rong Desheng came over and asked Li Yu to go out for breakfast. When he came to the entrance of the lane, he saw the dung truck from a distance.

Arriving at the restaurant, Rong Desheng smiled and said: "This place is not as good as the core area of ​​the foreign concession. There is no flush toilet. It is indeed not civilized enough. Sir, don't blame me."

"Civilization? Foreigners can't talk about it," Li Yu shook his head and said, "Do you know about the Black Death?"

"I know," Rong Desheng said, "many people died."

"Actually, it's the plague." Li Yu said.

"Like the plague you participated in fighting in the Northeast?" Rong Desheng asked.

"That's right." Li Yu said.

"That's strange," Rong Desheng said, "We have always had the plague, and it doesn't kill so many people."

"It's just because of uncivilization," Li Yu said. "Go forward a hundred or two hundred years. Even in London and Paris, the streets were full of feces, and their residents fell directly on the streets every day. If you walk on the streets , maybe it will be poured on your head."

Rong Desheng was stunned: "It can still be like this!"

"The ground is covered with feces, making it difficult to walk," Li Yu said. "On the other hand, our feces collectors can be called the banner of civilization."

In fact, until the 1980s, millions of Shikumen households still used this traditional method of collecting feces.

"It makes sense," Rong Desheng said, "but let's be practical, even if we don't talk about civilization, these dung can still be sold for money, and it's not just dung." "Organic fertilizer?" Li Yu asked.

"Yes, this is a typical 'low-class business, first-class interest'," Rong Desheng said. "Every household has to pay two cents every month. Now that there are more foreigners, there are more tippers. Rules. So Dungtou can make a lot of money every month. The dung is collected in dung trucks and then transported to the dung dock. After being mixed with water, it is sold to surrounding farmers at a price of one yuan per truck. "

Li Yu said: "If you really know how to do business, the wealth will not flow to outsiders."

"It's not just farmers nearby," Rong Desheng said, "Shanghai's feces are particularly popular because they are of high quality and very fertile. Some of them are shipped to surrounding villages. This is thanks to the rich diet of Shanghainese people."

Li Yu smiled and said: "Before the birth of chemical fertilizers, it was indeed a good thing."

"Fertilizer?" Rong Desheng had never heard of this word.

A person next to him suddenly said: "Is it Mr. Li Yu?"

Li Yu turned his head and found that it was Huang Jinrong.

"Inspector Huang." Li Yu said.

Huang Jinrong said respectfully: "It has been more than three years since we last said goodbye. Congratulations on winning another grand prize."

Li Yu asked casually: "Inspector Huang lives nearby?"

"No," Huang Huangrong said, "but I am in charge of the dung in this area, and today is the day to collect money."

Li Yu caught a glimpse of his follower holding a big bag, and it seemed that he had gained a lot.

Li Yu said: "Hard work, hard work."

"If it's not hard, how can making money be hard?" Huang Huangrong waved his hand and said, "I just heard you talk about fertilizers and I was a little interested. What is that?"

No wonder he struck up a conversation.

Li Yu simply explained: "It is artificial fertilizer produced by chemical industry."

Huang Huangrong was confused and said in shock: "Artificial feces?!"

Li Yu almost spit out a mouthful of tea and said with a smile: "It's artificial fertilizer! Fertilizer is a very complex chemical product. It is not even possible to put a fertilizer factory into production in the country in a short time."

Li Yu once thought about chemical fertilizers, but it was a bit difficult.

"That's artificial feces!" Huang Jinrong said, "Did foreigners tinker with it? It's really weird. The body structure of foreigners is no different from ours. Don't they know they can't poop?"

Li Yu said: "Well... chemical fertilizers are inorganic fertilizers, rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are most needed by plants, and are easier to absorb..."

Huang Huangrong had never heard of "nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium" and interrupted: "This is science?"

Li Yu said: "Yes, it's chemistry."

"It turns out that science still needs to study how to make poop!" Huang Jinrong marveled, but he was more concerned about his poop industry. He came over and asked, "Mr. Li Yu, you are a scientific giant, one of the best in the world. You said, If we can make our own artificial feces in the future, will no one want these fresh poops?"

It always felt weird to hear him say that.

Li Yu raised his brows and said, "Inspector Huang's worries are a bit excessive. At least you don't have to worry for a few decades."

Huang Huangrong finally felt relieved after hearing this.

He has always been covering up the shit business, and the biggest shit head in the Shanghai Bund French Concession is his people.

The manure head was still a woman, and she and her son had controlled the business for many years. They own 400 dung trucks and pay 14000 yuan to the French Concession Industry Bureau every year to obtain permission to collect dung. They then hire a large number of workers to collect dung and then resell it, earning tens of thousands of yuan in net income every month.

With such a huge profit, Huang Huangrong would naturally take it to heart.

Huang Jinrong clasped his fists and said in admiration: "As expected of Bachelor Li, he even knows how to make shit."

Li Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I told you, it's called chemical fertilizer, chemical fertilizer."

Li Yu emphasized the word "chemistry" again.

Huang Jinrong didn't care about those "details" and said carelessly: "Even if we can make artificial shit in the future, the biggest artificial shit head in Shanghai will still be mine!"

Li Yu suddenly remembered that when he watched "Shanghai Bund", Ding Li, who had just arrived in Shanghai, seemed to be doing the job of collecting excrement. His dream at that time was: "We will pour all the excrement in Shanghai!"

-

After bidding farewell to the Rong brothers, Li Yu went to Shanghai Middle School that day. There was a newly recruited student who particularly attracted his attention: Zhou Peiyuan.

Zhou Peiyuan later became a first-class physicist and professor at Tsinghua University.

I have to say that many people who study physics were quite handsome when they were young. The typical example is of course Planck, our ancestor of quantum mechanics.

Zhou Peiyuan is also a handsome young man now, and he is also a very talented person.

Li Yu thought that if there is an IQ test in the future, China can definitely choose him, and he will definitely be able to beat the others.

Then Li Yu went to Datong University, where he had to give lectures for many days.

During this period, Datong University organized a friendly football match with St. John's University. Li Yu became interested and signed up to participate.

St. John's University took one look and sacked a teacher as well.

Unexpectedly, this teacher was a tough opponent and caused Datong University to suffer defeat.

After the game, the teacher took the initiative to say hello to Li Yu: "Mr. Academician played well."

Li Yu said: "You played better."

The other party said: "After all, I am a physical education teacher and you are a physics professor. I practice every day."

Li Yu asked: "May I know your name?"

"John Ma." the other party replied.

John Ma is a banner in modern sports history.

Li Yu immediately poached: "Mr. Ma, would you consider going to Tsinghua University?"

"Tsinghua school?" Ma John said.

Li Yu said: "Students from other universities in Beijing and Tianjin say that Tsinghua students are boring. The school has always wanted to make students more lively, and developing some sports hobbies is of course the first choice."

John Ma said: "I have heard that Tsinghua University is a preparatory school for studying in the United States, and it seems that it has implemented forced sports."

"Since you said it was forced, it's definitely not a hobby, but it also shows that the school attaches great importance to it, so Mr. Ma can definitely continue to show off his skills after leaving." Li Yu said.

"I will consider it carefully." Ma John said.

Li Yu smiled and said: "I hope you will turn Tsinghua into a Wudaokou sports school."

John Ma worked as a physical education teacher at Tsinghua University for half a century, and he continued to exercise throughout his life. At the age of eighty, he was still healthy and able to work, and was known as the healthiest person in China.