Lord of the Desert

Chapter 402 Weighing
The next day, July 16th.

When Hong Fan first returned to Xijing, he had many things to do. Apart from the family members he met yesterday, the first person he wanted to meet was naturally Zhuang Liren.

Early in the morning, he dressed neatly and rode to the Equipment Bureau in the southwest of Xijing.

After returning home yesterday, I sent the visiting card as soon as possible, so the guards met me today and let me pass without any obstacles.

The sun was not high yet. The little boy Anian was waiting on the road outside the courtyard, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. When he saw Hong Fan coming from afar, he waved.

After not seeing him for a year, he has grown more than an inch taller.

"You are back."

A Nian led Hong Fan inside, muttering to himself.

"Since you left for Huaiyang, I have been sighing a lot and have barely eaten watermelon this summer."

Zhuang Liren's cough was immediately heard through the window.

A Nian shrank his head, stuck out his tongue, and waited at the door.

Hong Fan went in alone and saw Zhuang Liren sitting behind the desk in a vigorous manner.

The two met and each smiled.

Having not seen each other for over a year, Hong Fan originally wanted to exchange pleasantries, but he soon found that there was no need.

After just a few words, they regained the previous atmosphere and seamlessly connected the twenty-nine years of Zhenghe.

"Mr. Zhuang, this is what I have saved up during this period of time, take a look."

Hong Fan sat down, took out a stack of papers he had brought with him, and handed it over.

Zhuang Liren took it carefully, spread it out on the wide square table, and browsed through it at high speed.

The first is a review paper that fully states the system of geometric optics.

After reading this article, Zhuang Liren remained silent for a long while.

"Everything I have been studying for half my life is included in it."

He couldn't help but sigh.

The second was a design drawing of an improved steam engine with a double-acting piston, a steam operating temperature of 200 degrees Celsius, and a thermal efficiency of just under 10 percent.

Judging from the data, this thing is very old, but it is much superior to Dahua's steam engine which does not have a separate condenser and can only be used for pumping water in mines.

The last and thickest one is about the equipment drawings and general process flow of converter steelmaking. The appendix also contains the properties and preparation plans of several simple alloys.

This time, Zhuang Liren looked for an especially long time.

"You're going to do something big this time."

He held the drawing, looked up at Hong Fan's face, and said.

“The real big deal.”

"Yes, I plan to set up a new business and enter the mining and steel industry."

Hong Fan replied, slightly excited.

The future path rumbled before his eyes. The new steam engine could greatly improve the efficiency of mining, and the efficiency of steel furnaces in producing standard steel was thousands of times higher than that of old-fashioned forging. The combination of the two could produce rails and locomotives, and even radiate to giant industries such as spinning, weaving, and construction...

If the arms manufacturing of Kai Ming Xing is compared to branches, then everything mentioned above is the thick roots.

"If I succeed in this, the price of steel in Liangzhou will drop significantly, every household will be able to use steel products, and productivity will soar."

Hong Fan said steadily.

"But this is different from the previous ones."

Zhuang Liren shook his head slightly, looking a little worried.

"When Tianhe Bank first started making marrow cleansing pills, it faced a market where supply was far less than demand, and the help from new buyers far outweighed the resistance from its peers."

"Then Kaiminghang started making muskets. The production volume is still small, the impact is not widespread, and it will not cause any substantial confrontation."

“But steel is different.”

He took out a piece of white paper and wrote the word "Wish".

"Do you know about Tongyun Villa in Hongyi City?"

Zhuang Liren asked.

Hong Fan nodded.

He had heard that the Hargreaves family, who invented the spinning jenny in their previous life, had their factory machines smashed, their house burned down, and they were even driven out of their hometown several times by angry unemployed spinners.

Considering the existence of martial arts in this world, things will become even more direct and naked.

Zhuang Liren knew Hong Fan's character, so he stopped trying to dissuade him.

"From the perspective of accomplishing this task, the best option is to cooperate with the Zhu family. I heard Qian Hong complain earlier about the lack of manpower hired from Jincimen, but the large number of skilled craftsmen from Tongyun Villa can make up for it."

“You might make a lot of money this way, but you’ll probably lose the initiative.”

he analyzed.

"Tongyun Villa has been in this business for a long time and has a sound and complex system, but their business is a monopoly. There is no competition in the state, and they have already made all the money they can."

"What you want to do, expanding production and lowering prices, will naturally benefit others, but the Zhu family will not gain anything."

Hong Fan nodded.

He had thought about these things.

"Based on your personality, you should have understood that the Zhu family's unique martial art, the Bronze Cloud Classic, can resist high temperatures and increase strength at the strength level. It can also sense density by shaking iron with fists, thus producing high-quality steel that is uniform and free of impurities."

"Your converter technology is a replacement for their skills, so there will be resistance in this regard."

"In short, if we cooperate, it's easy for you to get money and fame, but you can't get much control."

Zhuang Liren concluded. "I understand, Lord Zhuang."

Hong Fan replied.

The other party's analysis was completely consistent with his.

"Since I have made up my mind to do this, there is no way I will give up control. It just so happens that the Flame Flow function can sense the temperature of molten iron, so I plan to transfer a group of people from the tribe to do this."

"But if you don't make friends with them, you're bound to become enemies."

Zhuang Li is a human being.

"Duke Zhuang, how much can the Weaponry Supervisor help me with this matter?"

Hong Fan asked directly.

Given his relationship with Zhuang Liren, there was no need to be polite.

"I'm afraid I can't help much."

Zhuang Liren replied.

"If your business is successful this time, it will be very large, and the Weaponry Bureau is the money bag of the court after all, and someone may come to pick this peach at that time - I am still a big supervisor with some weight, but if a real big shot wants to transfer me away from Liangzhou, it will probably not take much effort."

"Besides, the Liangzhou Weaponry Bureau's name is not enough to scare the Hongyi Zhu family. If they resort to some shady tactics, you will inevitably suffer."

"I heard that the dean admires you very much. If you have his protection, you will have no taboos. However, doing business is an absolute taboo in the martial arts academy, and the dean himself never violates the rules easily..."

Zhuang Liren took stock carefully.

"I see you have an idea?"

"I plan to look for the Shura Sect."

Hong Fan replied.

"The Shura Sect's fists are certainly strong enough, but they are not good at management, and the resources they can invest may not be many."

Zhuang Liren approved.

"So I also suggest that you bring in the Shen family. They have the widest network of contacts in Liangzhou."

Hong Fan hesitated slightly when he heard this.

"The Shen family looks like the same type as the Zhu family, but they are actually different."

Zhuang Liren explained.

"'Ten Thousand Feet of Condensed Ice' Shen Moye is shameless but not greedy, and is usually easy to talk to."

"'Tongyun Jizhao' Zhu Zhanran is the opposite. He values ​​his promises and dignity, but he is extremely domineering."

"But the rift between me and Shen Tiexin..."

Hong Fan thought about the incident in Wuzheng Garden.

"It's okay. Shen Maya has always been more concerned with substance than appearance."

Zhuang Liren suddenly laughed.

"I also heard rumors that he wants to take you as his son-in-law."

Hong Fan looked subtle when he heard this.

"You also know about this?"

Zhuang Liren was surprised when he saw this.

"I heard about it from Lord Shouyu in Huaiyang State."

Hong Fan had no reservations.

After Duan Tiannan left, Zhuang Liren was one of the people he trusted the most.

"This matter has spread so far, Tang Shaoyou must be doing this for the Thousand Points Star, right?"

Zhuang Liren had some guesses and asked with a smile.

"maybe."

Hong Fan smiled, and Tang Xingqing's tall and thin figure appeared in his mind, and he did not deny it.

Zhuang Liren no longer cared about Hong Fan's private affairs.

In his eyes, although Hong Fan was only twenty years old, he never had the impetuousness and confusion common among his peers when dealing with girls. He always acted like a man who had lived half his life and knew the ups and downs of life. He only admired her from a distance and from a high position.

The atmosphere relaxed a little.

"The Instrument Manufacturing Supervisor can participate in the investment and help a little, but the share must be small. I will report this matter to the higher-ups, and at least it must be endorsed by Bu Sheng."

Zhuang Liren made a summary.

"You provide all the technology and want to maintain control, so naturally you want to take the largest share, and the Shura Sect and the Shen Family will take second place."

"If you want, you can also give the He family some shares. A good man has three helpers, and they can be considered a big family in Xijing."

He took out a new piece of paper and began to outline the equity distribution of the new company.

"I would like to name this business Tiannanxing. I would like to invite Wen Jianzao to be the chief manager, and my cousin Hongfu to represent me as the director."

Hong Fan continued.

"I have no objection to these. Just convince Wen Zhongguan."

Zhuang Liren replied and continued writing.

Soon, the organizational structure of Tiannan Bank had taken shape on paper.

(End of this chapter)