Go back to the past and be a schoolboy

Chapter 183 The Father of Modern Chinese Chemistry

Early the next morning, when there were not many people on the street, Cheng Nuo came to Fan Xudong's house with a gift.

Coincidentally, before Cheng Nuo could knock on the door, there was only a creak.

The door opened automatically.

Poking out his head, the housekeeper looked Cheng Nuo carefully up and down, with hesitation mixed with politeness:

"You are Professor Cheng Nuocheng from Beijing, right?"

Cheng Nuo cupped his hands: "Exactly, may I ask if Mr. Fan Xudong is at home? I have made an appointment in advance to visit him today."

The housekeeper opened the door and bowed his hands in return: "I'm really sorry, my husband is not at home now, he went out a long time ago."

Li Laosan, who was following behind, suddenly became angry, rolled up his sleeves and took a big step forward, saying unceremoniously: "This is your husband's fault, it's fine to make an appointment in advance, we handed over the greeting card a long time ago .

After finally agreeing on the date of the visit, how can you say that if you are not at home, you will not be at home, isn't it intentional to be funny? "

Although Cheng Nuo was a little angry, but out of politeness, he still pulled Li Laosan back.

In case someone is really in a hurry, it is not impossible.

It's really useless to form a bridge over such a trivial matter.

Sure enough, the housekeeper's next explanation instantly dispelled the unhappiness in Cheng Nuo's heart.

"Actually, my husband has prepared to entertain you a long time ago. The dishes, wine and cook have been packed and are waiting for you to come. But no one thought that something happened to my factory, and no one else could handle it. Only my husband came forward It can only be dealt with, the incident happened suddenly, and my husband is also very helpless.

But my husband also said that as long as you are willing to come, this door is open for you at any time, good wine and good food are served for you, you can stay as long as you want, you don’t have to wait outside for him to come back, this is your place in Tianjin new home. "

After saying this, the butler directly waved back, and then a bunch of servants rushed out, huddled and invited Cheng Nuo in.

Rao has traveled far and wide for so long, and has seen many customs and customs, and this is the first time that he is so enthusiastic.

However, Process Nuo always remembered that he came here this time not simply to drop by, but to develop the acid-alkali industry, chemical industry and even heavy industry.

For Cheng Nuo, it was not a bad thing for Fan Xudong to go to the factory.

I just took this opportunity to take a good look at what a chemical factory in this era looked like.

After thinking about it, Cheng Nuo squeezed out of the crowd, knocked around from the housekeeper, asked for the address, and rushed straight to the factory.

As the father of modern Chinese chemistry, Fan Xudong gave China soda ash, caustic soda, sulfuric acid and nitric acid.

He established China's first chemical research institution and laid the foundation for China's chemical industry.

After his death, the great man even wrote an elegiac couplet in his own handwriting: "Industrial pioneer, meritorious service in China".

Most of his first 30 years were spent in hardship.

He lost his father when he was young, and his family life was very poor. Not only did he have no money to study, but he even had difficulty making ends meet. He once relied on the support of Baojietang, a charity organization in Changsha City, to survive.

Fortunately, his elder brother Fan Yuanlian was very powerful. He once worshiped under Liang Qichao's family with Cai E, and later worked part-time in school to support this precarious family.

Fan Xudong was able to study in Japan because of his brother's help, and gradually became interested in the chemical industry.

Under his insight, he successfully discovered Hou Debang, a great talent, and changed the domestic chemical industry pattern since then.

At the same time, Fan Xudong is also very good at dealing with the Beiyang and Nanjing governments.

When he established Yongli Soda Manufacturing Company, he was directly granted a 30-year tax exemption for industrial salt by the public. The government started this support policy, which is known as "a precedent in the history of the salt industry since 2000."

At the same time, the government also gave Yongli another privilege—no one else could set up any soda plant within a hundred miles around Tanggu, and he even had his own soda making company in the whole north.

During the period of the Nanjing government, the Ministry of Finance even exempted export and re-export tax for five products of Xu Yongli Chemical Industry Company, including curium sulfate, for 30 years, for 30 years for domestic sulfur raw materials, and for 30 years for raw materials, important application materials and manufactured products. Taxes, shareholding of 200 million yuan, state-owned transportation agencies reduce freight charges, etc.

Such a favorable policy, even if Cheng Nuo had to deal with those "official lords" himself, he might not be able to get it.

It would be considered polite not to kill him with a knife.

Just imagine that with Fan Xudong fighting for the government's monopoly support, coupled with Cheng Nuo's high-tech, the acid and alkali industry has great potential, and the domestic heavy industry has a promising future.

Thinking of this, Cheng Nuo's steps became a little lighter.

However, the road to the Tanggu factory is not easy, and the eyes are full of desolation.

Originally, Cheng Nuo used a tricycle to go there, but the road conditions were really bad, and riding in a car was even more treacherous than going out in a boat.

For safety reasons, I had to get out of the car and walk on foot.

What caught the eye was the white-spreading saline-alkali land, where not a single blade of grass grew, dilapidated fishing villages, sparsely populated, and everywhere there were salt-drying fields connected one by one.When I came here for the first time, I could immediately smell the saltiness in the sea breeze.

The sea breeze can be used as an energy source here. The sea breeze turns the sailboat and draws the seawater from the barge ditch to the brine storage tank to dry the salt. The kitchen households who survived on salt used to boil seawater as salt in the early years. Cooking for the sun can be regarded as a little progress.

It was really uncomfortable to walk on the deserted beach, Cheng Nuo simply changed the direction and walked along the Haihe River, at least he could see some different scenery.

Sure enough, when it came to the river, the breath of life suddenly became much stronger.

There are fishing boats and cargo boats driving in the river, and there are fresh fish, live shrimp and fat crabs on board at any time. Standing on the shore, you can negotiate with the owner of the boat and buy them to cook at home.

From time to time, there are warships from Japan, Britain, France, the United States and other countries, showing off their might and occupying this place as if they are masters.

Coming and going is very casual. If you think about it carefully, where is China's land, China's water, and China's Tanggu.

Just at this time, a small boat came slowly from the shore, and sitting on the prow was a fat woman with bewitching eyebrows and lips, and she could smell the pungent rouge on her body even from a long distance away.

According to Cheng Nuo's temperament, he wouldn't even take a second look, just turned around and left while covering his nose.

However, the dispute that followed attracted his attention.

"Hey... Mister, upload it quickly, here are some tender girls to play with you, let me relieve your worries~"

It happened that a young man wearing glasses passed by. He was fascinated and asked stupidly: "Can you girls help me make alkali?"

"It's definitely possible, isn't it just making... what?" Halfway through the sentence, the fat woman realized that her face turned red and white, and she was so annoyed: "Damn X, it's nothing to play on my mother's boat Wandering around? You wait, I have to peel off your skin when I go ashore!"

The young man woke up instantly, and was so frightened by the other party's appearance that he turned around and ran away, leaving swear words all over the floor.

Seeing the scene in front of him, combined with what the young man said, Cheng Nuo instantly realized that this person was exactly the Fan Xudong he was looking for.

It's just that right now, shouldn't he be in the Jiuda Refined Salt Factory that he founded alone? How did he come here?

Following the direction Fan Xudong left, Cheng Nuo hurried to catch up.

Without much effort, he came to the other party.

Stretching out his hand, Cheng Nuo took the initiative to introduce himself: "Mr. Fan, hello, my name is Cheng Nuo, nice to meet you."

Fan Xudong was obviously taken aback when he heard this, and immediately reached out his hands to hold Cheng Nuo's hand: "You... hello, Professor Cheng, I'm also very happy to meet you, I didn't expect that the first time we met was at On the edge of the Haihe River, it's all because of the sudden accident in my factory, otherwise I have to treat you well at home."

Feeling the sincerity in his hand, Cheng Nuo said enthusiastically, "Wherever you are, as long as you are like-minded friends, it doesn't matter where you are, but what happened to the factory, do you need my help?"

Fan Xudong shook his head: "Hey, it's a long story, let's talk about it when we have a chance in the future."

After a pause, Fan Xudong suddenly hesitated: "The matter just now..."

Cheng Nuo had a mysterious smile on his face: "I just got here, did anything happen before?"

Fan Xudong felt relieved, and the smile on his face became more natural: "It's all right, by the way, it's not a place for us to chat right now, let's go to my place first, you have traveled such a long way, you should take a rest. "

Originally, Cheng Nuo thought that he had tried his best to evaluate Fan Xudong as high as possible, but he didn't expect to find that it was quite different when he arrived at Fan Xudong's residence.

It's not about how luxurious it is, but it's too simple, even the word shabby is not enough to describe it.

He didn't live directly in the factory, but directly in a small mud hut in the nearby fishing village.

In addition to the piles of labeled bottles and jars containing various chemical reagents, there is only a table and a dilapidated long bench left.

One of the legs was broken, and an extra one was connected, which seemed very funny.

"Sorry, this is the situation at home. I didn't expect Professor Cheng to come here in person. The hospitality is not good. I will treat you well when we return to the city." Bringing two bowls and pouring water into them, Fan Xudong Said politely.

Because this earthen house is too small, it cannot accommodate two or three adults at the same time.

Li Laosan simply stood outside the door to let the wind out, muttering cautiously in his mouth:
"It's too small, it's not as big as the broken grass house I lived in before, and the humidity is still high. Isn't it uncomfortable to sleep here all the time..."

Of course, the voice was too low, so the two people in the room couldn't hear these words.

Cheng Nuo looked at it for a while, but was also puzzled: "Mr. Fan, do you usually live here?"

Fan Xudong put down the kettle, and said embarrassedly: "If the salt factory is busy, I will live here, and usually go back to the city."

"How can you live in such a small room without even a bed?" Cheng Nuo was puzzled.

"This table is dual-purpose. I can use it for experiments during the day, and fold it up at night to use it as a bed."

Pat the table, and Fan Xudong will demonstrate on the spot how to turn the table into a bed.

Cheng Nuo just asked casually in distress. He didn't want to really bother the other party. Besides, the roof of this house is also low, and it's uncomfortable to stay inside all the time. It's better to go out and enjoy the sea breeze.

"Don't, don't, the world is vast outside, you don't have to stay in the house."

"Also, unless I have something to do, I certainly wouldn't be in this place."

There are almost no beaches in Tianjin's sea, and most of them are mud.

But even so, the two people strolling by the beach were more excited than ever.

Topics ranged from school experience, to overseas life, to career development, and they talked about everything.

With the determination to serve the country together, the relationship between the two has drawn closer invisibly.

In particular, Fan Xudong's elder brother, Fan Yuanlian, as the former head of education, was Cheng Nuo's introduction to Peking University.

Fan Xudong's teacher, Liang Qichao, plans to join the Academy of Sciences after his political career fails, and the relationship between them has taken a further step.

Picking up a stone, Cheng Nuo took it and threw it into the depths of the sea: "Xudong, why did you choose the salt industry instead of other industries? Like steel or coal, both of which are important to the country." device."

Pinching his waist, Fan Xudong looked at the splash of water hit by the stone and said: "Because salt is a necessity of people's life, they can't leave it from breastfeeding until they die of old age, and our country's domestic salt production technology is extremely backward. Those who rely on the sea eat sea salt. Those who rely on wells eat well salt, those who rely on mines eat nitrate salt, and those who rely on nothing eat earth salt.

Originally, this was nothing. It has been thousands of years, and we have all come here like this. "

Feeling a little depressed, Fan Xudong also picked up a stone and flew away in the water: "But I learned later that even the salt used to feed livestock contains less than 85% sodium chloride, which is considered harmful and banned.

However, in some places in China, salt containing less than 50% sodium chloride is also used for food. Doesn't this make us feel sad? "

Cheng Nuo sighed and asked again, "So you came up with the idea of ​​opening a salt factory?"

Fan Xudong nodded: "Originally, it was impossible for me to do this alone. Fortunately, many comrades tried their best to help out, 2000 yuan more and [-] yuan less, and expressed their expectations for me.

Mr. Liang Rengong lived in Tianjin, and every time he met, he would ask, "How many shares have you recruited?" Sometimes he used a pen and paper to make a list and calculate it himself. This kind of enthusiasm is vivid in his memory. With these people, the salt factory can only have what it is today. "

Of course, it was also because of Liang Qichao's help that Fan Xudong's salt was able to expand its sales area to the four shores of Huainan during his tenure as chief financial officer.

Just in time for the salt shortage in the Lianghu area, the salt has completely taken root in the south.

Cheng Nuo nodded: "The country is in turmoil and the salt administration is in chaos, which gives the "imported salt" an opportunity to take advantage of. The salt profit is taken by outsiders. The price of salt is one price a day, and the people's life is still high. Now there is such a thing that can strengthen the nation. The fine salt of bones and muscles is of high quality and low price, and Mr. Fan has made great contributions."

Fan Xudong did not indulge in past achievements, and shook his head with a wry smile: "Now the problem of salt is temporarily solved, but the common people are still suffering from alkali, so I am also worried."

Cheng Nuo raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "I have a trick for this!"

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