Chapter 1009 Inventor's Return (Second update, please subscribe)

Every day in Qingzhou begins with the same scenery.

While most people were still sleeping soundly, a rising sun jumped out from the distant horizon, gilding the thick clouds covering the city, creating the illusion of clear weather, and then disappeared without a trace.

Like the seven states and two provinces in the southern part of the Ming Dynasty, the provincial capitals are either close to the sea or built by the river. Qingzhou City, located on the right side of the Parana River, is located in the center of the Pampas, one of the three richest granaries in the world. It was formerly known as "Rosario". It was an important port city as early as the Argentine period and was the place where the first national flag of the Argentine Republic was raised.

Of course, history has no practical significance, as this is now the imperial city of Qingzhou.

It is the most important grain producing area in the empire, and millions of tons of wheat and soybeans are shipped from here to Europe every year - this is also the reason why two provinces in the seven southern states have ports, in order to facilitate foreign trade in each province, so that no coastal province will dominate by relying on the convenience of the port.

Although Qingzhou is a major agricultural province, it does not mean that its industry is underdeveloped. In fact, thanks to the prosperity of agriculture, there are several companies in Qingzhou that mainly produce agricultural machinery and equipment, as well as hundreds of supporting factories.

The Benniu Tractor Company, world-famous for producing gasoline tractors, is located in Qingzhou.

As usual, Tang Shaozeng follows the routine every day like clockwork, driving to the company at 7 o'clock every morning, arriving on time 20 minutes later, and arriving at the office within ten minutes after parking the car in the parking lot. He works six days a week, and on the seventh day, he drives his Italian wife and daughter to church, and then drinks tea with friends in a nearby teahouse - most of them are men like him, who send their wives and children to church.

In the Ming Dynasty, many people were like him, marrying a European or Latin American wife. They had their own beliefs, and men... were often more willing to spend their time in teahouses. So what was the biggest feature of the Ming Dynasty? There must be a teahouse near the church for men to drink tea and chat.

Why a teahouse and not a pub?

Because Chinese men... tend not to be fond of drinking.

His work and life are always so routine, and there will never be any mistakes. This is a habit he has developed over the years. As an engineer, Tang Shaozeng has long been accustomed to such a life.

After entering the office, he would first drink a cup of coffee prepared by his secretary - this was a habit he developed when he was studying in the United States, and it was also the reason why he married his wife. Michelle, the landlord's daughter, would bring him a cup of coffee every day. For a teenager, it would always be easy to fall into such enthusiasm.

Once formed, many habits are difficult to change.

Holding a coffee cup in his hand, Tang Shaozeng once again looked through the drawings on the table. As the chief engineer of Benniu Company, he was currently working on a new project - a large tractor.

The advantages of large tractors are obvious: more power and higher efficiency.

Of course the price is also higher.

However, the development of large tractors has not been very smooth. The reason is that large tractors are heavy and put a lot of pressure on the ground, which will cause a series of usage problems when plowing the land.

“The wheels still need to be further enlarged.”

After taking a sip of coffee, Tang Shaozeng frowned slightly. Just as he was about to pick up a pen to calculate how much the wheel should be widened, the news in the newspaper next to him caught his attention.

Even third-rate tabloids sometimes contain valuable news, and newspapers always reprint each other's news. An inconspicuous piece of news in the Qingzhou Morning Post caught his attention.

"Steel feet for the tractor? What feet?"

Tang Shaozeng, holding a coffee cup, stared at the news in the newspaper, but it was just a brief glance. After reading the introduction, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly picked up the clothes hanging on the hanger and instructed his secretary before going out.

"If Manager Sun wants to see me, I'll go out for a while."

As the chief engineer, Tang Shaozeng basically had free time. He didn't even go to the train station, but drove directly to Xinyi, 300 kilometers away. Fortunately, the empire's road construction was quite good - in the past ten years, huge sums of money had been invested to rebuild hundreds of thousands of kilometers of asphalt roads. Although a lot of money was invested, the benefits were also obvious: the government could reach all parts of the country quickly, whether it was collecting taxes or suppressing rebellions or wars, it was much better than before.

Of course, the government did not lose money - those roads were toll roads. Building roads can also make money in a sense, because toll roads are effective. A large number of wealthy businessmen understood the huge potential of roads and rushed to invest, rapidly developing the transportation system of the Ming Dynasty.

After passing the toll booth and getting on the highway, Tang Shaozeng drove to his destination at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. Although the highway is tolled, like in Europe, people do not dislike toll roads. After all, everyone is lamenting the reduction in travel time. From one big city to another, a comfortable car can run freely and arrive quickly.

Because there were not many cars on the road, Tang Shaozeng's Qianlima car quickly exceeded 60 kilometers with constant acceleration. In fact, it can reach a maximum speed of 67 kilometers, but few people can drive at such a high speed. But even so, it is much faster than a train.

When Tang Shaozeng arrived at the farm, the sun was about to set. In order to save time, he didn't even eat at the service area. He just ate a piece of bread when he stopped to refuel, and then drove directly to Xinyi. After driving on the dirt road in the countryside for two hours, he finally arrived at Wu Huasun's farm.

"Mr. Wu, this is a letter of authorization. If you sign it, we will pay you 5,000 yuan. Every year thereafter, the company will pay you 1,500 yuan in patent licensing fees, and the amount will increase by 5% every year."

As soon as he met Wu Huasun, Tang Shaozeng made his attitude clear. As the company's chief engineer, he had the right to acquire some technologies based on his personal judgment. In his opinion, this crawler was definitely the most suitable technology for tractors.

"What?"

Wu Huasun looked at the contract in front of him in surprise, he even suspected that he had heard it wrong.

"You guys want to buy it?"

And they are even willing to pay 5,000 yuan! That is definitely a huge sum of money! Moreover, there will be a sum of money every year in the future! Is this a good thing really true?

"Yes, I think it has a certain application prospect in tractors, Mr. Wu. With this income, you and your family will live a more prosperous life."

Tang Shaozeng's words made Wu Huasun feel a little moved. Who wouldn't be moved?

Looking out the window at his wife and children, he thought for a while and said.

"This, this...Mr. Tang, this is not my invention."

What?

Just when Tang Shaozeng was puzzled, he heard the sound of brakes coming from outside. Almost subconsciously, a thought popped up in his mind - the competitor was coming.

The next moment there was a knock on the door, and when I opened the door, the military police appeared in my sight.

"Is it Wu Huasun?"

the gendarme asked.

"Yes, yes, I am..."

When Wu Huasun answered, a sense of foreboding emerged in his heart.

"You are under arrest for violating the National Defense Security Act."

(End of this chapter)