After finishing decorating the wedding room for Xie Tianming and his family, they returned to find several carriages parked in the outer courtyard of the manor.
Xie Yushu saw a man in his thirties with sharp eyes walk straight to Xuan Yuanche's side and say something to him. Then Xuan Yuanche waved his hand, and the man left.
Xuanyuan Che, with his hands behind his back, came over arrogantly and said...
“You mentioned wanting black iron before, so I had the Divine Eagle Guard search for some in various places. The items in these carriages were all found according to your description. Anything that looks somewhat similar is here. Take a look.”
Xie Yushu had no idea if it was right or wrong. She had never seen real black iron before. But she could take it over and let Zheng Dacheng and the others refine it one by one, then make it into fine wires, and then try it in the light bulbs one by one. Whichever one worked was fine!
"Thanks! Once the light bulbs are finished, I'll install them in your room first!"
Xuanyuan Che listened and nodded in satisfaction.
"At least you still have some conscience!"
"I'm going to Master Zheng's place, do you want to come with me?"
"I'm not going there! It's so noisy, all that clanging and banging!"
After Xuanyuan Che finished speaking, he returned to his own courtyard. Xie Yushu then directed people to take the contents of the carriages to Zheng Dacheng's place, and also to check on the progress of the windmill.
When we arrived at Zheng Dacheng's place, we saw more than a dozen large windmills with three blades, each over ten feet tall, placed outside the workshop.
Grandpa Sun had already blown out the shapes of light bulbs, a total of fifty or sixty. There were also two bundles of copper wires in the room. They were not covered with rubber. Grandpa Sun had wrapped the copper wires with a light yellow, somewhat transparent resin, which felt similar to rubber.
It seems everything is ready except for the final push.
When the group saw Xie Yushu arrive, they all came forward to pay their respects. Xie Yushu waived the formalities and directly showed them the contents of the carriages.
“Classify and refine them, break them down into finer pieces, put them one by one into a light bulb to test, and see which one lasts the longest and is the most durable, then use that one.”
Since Zheng Dacheng, Zhou Shuo, and the Sun family grandfather and grandson arrived here, Xie Yushu has been throwing all sorts of strange and unusual things at them, along with a very rough instruction sheet, urging them to make things.
In some places, Xie Yushu only had a superficial understanding and could only describe the general idea. This required them to use their imagination, constantly innovate, and continuously try and fail.
In this situation, one truly has to admire the power of talent.
Xie Yushu was lucky, as Zheng Dacheng, Zhou Shuo, and the Sun family grandfather and grandson all possessed extraordinary talents in their respective fields.
Zheng Dacheng, in particular, stared at the half-finished dish made according to Xie Yushu's description for an hour or two, and could roughly imagine what was missing. Then he would try to make it by trial and error, adjusting it little by little.
The few pieces of paper that Xie Yushu threw to them would either be met with a barrage of insults from an ordinary blacksmith, who would call her crazy, or they would simply think that such a thing was impossible and that what Xie Yushu was talking about was pure fantasy and could not possibly be made.
But for Zheng Dacheng and his team, it seemed to open a new world for them, inspiring their creative inspiration and leading them to break through their own limitations and create miracles time and time again.
This time, the group was also studying the electric light that Xie Yushu had mentioned with great enthusiasm. Before these black irons arrived, they even tried using iron wire, copper wire, and silver wire themselves, but all of them failed.
Upon seeing so many kinds of black iron, he became so excited that he immediately threw himself into the creation, directing people to group the black iron that looked similar into a pile, and then began to refine and make silk.
Xie Yushu didn't ask them when they could finish it. She just told them not to rush, to take their time to study it, and to get some rest before leaving.
With just over twenty days until the Lunar New Year, Xie Yushu hadn't really expected them to be able to come up with a solution before the New Year. She had already started reconciling accounts with the managers in various departments and getting ready for the holiday.
Before she could even finish sorting out the accounts, those genius little rascals had already turned on the lights!
Xie Yushu was overjoyed. With electric lights, who would still use this pungent oil lamp!
Xie Yushu couldn't wait any longer and immediately ordered them to install all the lights.
Of course, the first place to install the cabinet was Xuan Yuanche's courtyard. After all, he had put in a lot of effort in finding Wu Tie, and Xie Yushu had promised to install it for him first.
Xuanyuan Che looked at the light bulbs, which were as bright as little suns and were very satisfied. He installed one in his bedroom, living room, and yard.
He originally wanted to install them in every house and then install a row in the yard, but Xie Yushu rejected the idea. The first batch only had about fifty houses, so giving him three was already quite generous!
There were three people in his courtyard: Han Zhongyu, Xie Yushu, and Qu Xiaodie. Only two rooms were set up for each of them—one bedroom and one study. They couldn't bear to set up rooms anywhere else.
Then each of the managers was given one, each of the masters was given one, and Xiao Haitang and Chu Jinyu each had one in their bedroom.
Two were installed in the hospital operating room.
Ten light bulbs and two sets of windmills were set aside and sent to the palace.
Xuan Yuanche has been away for half a year. He is under Xie Yushu's close watch. She doesn't let him go out to fight cocks or walk birds, nor does she allow him to act crazy or mischievous. No one makes him angry, and he is not allowed to eat whatever he wants. He is always on a diet according to a recipe.
Speaking of which, he hadn't had an attack for half a year, and his originally pale face had regained some color. Xie Yushu thought that the Empress Dowager must miss him. It was almost the New Year, so she asked him to take the electric lamp and windmill back with him to spend the New Year with the Empress Dowager.
Two of Master Zheng's apprentices also went with him; they would stay there to install and repair lights, since these things would be sent to the palace in the future.
The remaining lights were installed in the courtyard along the main road of the villa.
The large windmills in the resort are all located in windy spots in the mountains. The north is never short of wind, especially in winter when the northwest wind blows so strong that the windmills spin loudly and generate plenty of electricity.
Nobody knew exactly how many degrees the light bulb was, but it was incredibly bright. One bulb illuminated the entire courtyard, making the mountain resort a brightly lit place at night.
After Xuanyuan Che returned to the capital with the windmill, the year was drawing to a close. With only two days left until the Little New Year, Xie Yushu planned to settle the accounts, distribute the wages and bonuses to everyone, and then give everyone a holiday.
Regarding the glass business, Sun Chongren had already meticulously prepared the accounts and handed them over to Xie Yushu. After deducting all expenses, the net profit for the year was 683,700 taels of silver.
Liu Zhuoyuan has transferred the Liu family's housekeeper and accountant from the hospital, and he has also finished calculating the accounts there.
After deducting expenses for doctors, nurses, cleaners, and all other staff, the net income for the year was less than 30,000 taels of silver.
Xie Yushu wasn't surprised. Hospitals are places for treating and saving lives, and she didn't intend to rely on them for profits. She would split the 30,000 taels of silver 50/50 with the Liu family, since they were the ones who put in the effort.
The remaining factories all hired accountants from outside later. To avoid any mishaps, Xie Yushu arranged for Sun Chongren and Qu Xiaodie to go and check the accounts together.
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