Things like what happened to Ding San have happened many times in the capital during this period.
Under the banner of Li Mingyue, Lu Chen provided many jobs to the people of the capital.
The salary and benefits offered by Lu Chen are very generous, which has led to extremely fierce competition. Those who can stand out must be people with certain special skills.
At the same time, it also ensures that this group of people cherish this hard-earned job very much, and they will be more attentive when working.
I won’t mention anything else. During the training, I could eat three meals a day, and I could drink meat soup at noon and in the evening. If I was lucky, I could even pick up a bone and suck on it. This made many people envious and jealous.
Even in a place as prosperous as the capital, the people's lives were not very affluent, and the lowest class could barely survive starvation.
So when Ding San took the steamed buns he had specially left for his younger brothers and sisters back to them, and saw the admiring eyes of them, as well as the disbelief of his parents, Ding San made up his mind that he would work in the eldest princess's business until his death.
While so many people were receiving relevant training, the construction of the shopping mall was also proceeding in full swing.
Although having money doesn’t allow you to do whatever you want, it can really accomplish many great things.
A large number of craftsmen were hired to renovate or demolish some of the previous buildings, and new buildings were built in their place.
The entire street was surrounded by wooden boards. When people passed by, they could only hear the noise of the workers but could not see what was inside. This aroused the curiosity of many people, and the eldest princess's new industry quickly became the talk of the town throughout the capital.
"Master, according to our calculations, all the projects will be completed in ten days. Thanks to you for inventing cement, it is truly a magic weapon in construction." Zhang Laoba nodded and bowed as he reported to Lu Chen about his work. He was even more respectful than when he was facing his own father.
Lu Chen put down the book in his hand and said, "Alright, you are now a famous craftsman in the capital. You don't need to be so polite when talking to me."
Lu Chen really admired Zhang Laoba. Not only did he have good skills, but he also had certain overall management capabilities. Lu Chen planned to focus on training him.
When some large-scale national projects are to be launched in the future, Lu Chen will still need Zhang Laoba to contribute.
Lu Chen was well aware that his advantage lay in his knowledge of technologies beyond his time, but he only scratched the surface. If he truly wanted to delve deeper, to apply his knowledge to practical applications, or even develop a wide range of related inventions, he couldn't do it on his own. He needed someone like Zhang Laoba to shine.
Before this, Lu Chen thought that if cement could be easily made, then steel bars would definitely be no problem as well.
But only when the people below started to operate did they realize that they still had a lot of research to do if they wanted to use reinforced concrete.
Production is a big problem. Lu Chen knows how to refine better quality steel and how to use earthen blast furnaces to increase steel production, but the problem is that the transportation capacity of this era is limited. It takes a certain amount of time to transport iron ore from the place of production.
A good cook cannot cook without rice. What’s the use of having all his skills without raw materials?
In addition, welding is also a big problem. Lu Chen once considered using thermite reaction to do it, but the actual operation is very difficult to implement and there are huge risks.
Thermite is not difficult to make, it's just aluminum powder and rust, but ignition is a problem.
And once ignited, thermite will instantly release high temperatures of up to 3000 degrees. In this situation, how many brave warriors can stand there and operate?
This thing was used on the battlefield before, and it was used to make incendiary bombs that could burn tanks!
Just when Lu Chen was at a loss, Zhang Laoba gave him an idea.
In fact, reinforced concrete structures have existed in ancient times. People called this thing "纴木" and it was usually made of wood such as cypress.
Once you have a solution, the remaining problems are no longer problems. It is just a process of trial and error.
Try using arborvitae first, and if that doesn’t work, switch to ironwood or clams.
As for whether the construction costs would soar, Lu Chen was not worried. The price of wood in this era was not as outrageously expensive as in later generations.
With Lu Chen's full support, Zhang Laoba and his team actually found alternative wood in a short period of time, which led to the scene of various new buildings rising from the ground in the commercial street today.
Li Mingyue also looked at Zhang Laoba in front of him curiously and said to Lu Chen: "Is this the Dajiang you mentioned before? He is responsible for the construction here? He is quite capable, but he has such a magnanimous demeanor."
Lu Chen chuckled and said, "Meritoriousness is something that can be cultivated slowly. His current state is much better than before. Besides, with your eldest princess here, how many people can be so arrogant?"
Lu Chen waved his hand and said, "Old Eight, is there anything else?"
"Master, the Chinese Academy of Sciences is almost done. You can pick a time to cut the ribbon."
"Got it. Go on down."
After Zhang Laoba left, Li Mingyue gave Lu Chen a charming look and said, "You are the only one who knows how to coax people."
Lu Chen chuckled and said, "Take some time these two days to go to the palace and tell them that the Chinese Academy of Sciences is about to be completed. I hope His Majesty can attend and cut the ribbon."
Li Mingyue frowned slightly and said, "Why don't you just go and talk about this kind of thing yourself?"
"You silly woman, even if you are siblings, you still need to maintain your relationship. Besides, you have more than one brother. Why don't you go talk to your sisters-in-law?"
Li Mingyue knew that Lu Chen was thinking of her. She hadn't felt this kind of care in a long time. If Zhang Guizhi hadn't been watching, she would have wanted to pounce on Lu Chen and kill him right there.
She couldn't help but move closer to Lu Chen, looking at the busy people around him and said, "Perfume, soap, and beautiful clothes are fine, but why did you let people bring fruits and grains here? Do you think those ladies will really come to buy these things?"
"Why not? Collecting fruits is a natural instinct engraved in women's bones. Believe me, even if they don't buy directly, they will definitely be happy to come and browse."
"Since we have expanded our business so much, we can't just focus on making money for ourselves. We should at least allow the people around the capital to benefit from us as well."
"It's such a good thing, why don't you do it yourself? Why do you do it in my name?"
"Don't you know how bad your reputation was in the capital? I don't care what your purpose was in defaming yourself, but you don't need to do that now, because I'm standing by your side!"
"Lu Lang~!" Li Mingyue's eyes were about to turn into hearts. She tried her best to suppress her inner excitement and said, "I'm hosting a banquet at my house tonight. Would you like to come?"
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