"Master, turn on the air conditioning." Xu An originally wanted to endure it for a while, but then he thought that Xu's Fast Food Restaurant was not close to the Expo. If he stayed in this portable microwave for more than half an hour, he would probably be half-cooked by the time he got off the bus.
"Hey, all done!" The driver's tone was filled with joy as he quickly closed all the doors on the bed, turned on the air conditioning, and gusts of cold air blew from the center of the driver's seat to the back, causing the temperature inside the car to slowly drop.
Xu An wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he seemed to hear the driver let out a comfortable sigh.
The air conditioning was comfortable, but the driver was unsteady, constantly braking and changing lanes, making it impossible to fall asleep. Since they couldn't sleep, they decided to chat, and Xu An pulled Liu Daxi aside to talk about everything under the sun.
As the two chatted idly, the topic shifted from why the expo was built so far away to how many dogs were in Xu Family Village. Don't ask Xu An; he didn't know why Liu Daxi was asking such a question.
"Speaking of which, there's an old man who goes to the Disabled Persons' Federation almost every day lately. Every time he goes, he brings big bags and small packages, saying he's doing it out of love. Are retirees' pensions really that high these days?" Liu Daxi suddenly remarked, as the topic had taken a completely different turn.
“Maybe they’re bored after retirement and want to contribute their remaining energy to society. Isn’t that a good thing?” Xu An replied casually.
"That's true, it can't be that this old man has some ulterior motive towards them, can it?" Liu Daxi smiled upon hearing this and did not continue the topic.
Just before Xu An was about to get carsick, the taxi finally stopped at the main entrance of the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Center. When Xu An paid the fare, the driver asked when they would be coming out, saying he could wait for them, but Xu An decisively refused.
You only need to learn how to drive this driver once.
Although it's currently the stage for major manufacturers to set up their exhibitions, entry and exit aren't free; everyone needs to show their exhibition credentials. Xu An and his companion were unsurprisingly stopped at the gate. They had to call Uncle Han, who then issued them a certificate, allowing them to enter.
"I was planning to come down at 50, but I didn't expect you to arrive 10 minutes early." Uncle Han reached out to take the lunch boxes from Xu An and the other man, but they dodged him.
"It's alright, these boxed meals aren't heavy." Xu An said, then turned to Liu Daxi and introduced him to Uncle Han: "This is our restaurant's chef, Chef Liu, his cooking skills are excellent. Chef Liu, this is Manager Han from Xinyang Shangchu Technology Co., Ltd."
During the pleasantries, Uncle Han led the two to the booth. Before, the booth was empty, so it hadn't been apparent, but now that all the equipment was installed, Xu An realized just how large the company's booth was. A quick glance revealed three or four pieces of equipment exceeding five meters in length.
Xu An's gaze fell on the six-meter-long machine at the very front of the booth. Two workers were dumping a basket of potatoes covered in mud onto the conveyor belt. They pulled the start switch, and a roaring sound rang out. The shriveled rubber hose on the ground instantly filled up, and the sound of water gushing out came from inside the machine.
The potatoes on the conveyor belt slowly entered the machine. Xu An quickly stood at the exit and waited for about five minutes before the first potato left the machine and appeared in everyone's sight.
With Uncle Han's permission, Xu An grabbed the potato and examined it closely. The potato felt smooth to the touch, without any dirt or sand; even the small dent was spotless. Somewhat skeptical, Xu An randomly selected a few potatoes from the pile behind him, and each one was exceptionally clean.
At this moment, a worker stepped forward and carried the washed potatoes to another machine. Xu An had seen this machine in the brochure; it was a vegetable cutter. Xu An and Liu Daxi immediately crowded around, squeezing next to the worker to watch him operate it.
The operation is very simple. Just pour all the potatoes from the basket into the machine's inlet, close the lid, press the start switch, and then place the basket at the outlet.
With the machine vibrating and humming, Xu An watched as strands of potato shreds fell from the outlet into the basket. The operator then adjusted the machine, and the potato shreds were transformed into potato strips.
The machine's operation left Xu An speechless; it was exactly as described in the brochure!
Then Uncle Han showed Xu An and his companion how the automatic wok cooks food; how bags of flour are transformed into steamed buns and mantou; and how the automatic dishwasher, dish recycling machine, food preparation conveyor, and automatic constant temperature spray defrosting machine work.
All sorts of things can be found here, and even things you can't think of!
Looking at these machines, the equipment in the factory in Xu An's mind became clearer. Unfortunately, the size of the equipment here was directly proportional to its price; the larger the machine, the more expensive it was. The vegetable washing machine at the entrance, a full six meters long, cost 68,000 yuan!
Although it's great that you can wash over 100 kilograms of fruits and vegetables in five minutes, Xu An's wallet is telling him no.
Even if Xu An gritted his teeth and bought it, there was nowhere to put it; even if he found a place to put it, Xu's Fast Food Restaurant didn't need such a large quantity at the moment. It would be too extravagant for a machine worth tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of yuan to work for only half an hour or an hour a day.
However, those three small devices I had my eye on can be arranged; there's enough space in the second store to install them. What used to take seven or eight people an hour of hard work can now be done by the machine in less than twenty minutes. Technology truly changes lives!
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