Unexpected Harvest

  "Mr. Long, I believe your car is equipped with a diesel engine? May I invite you and your vehicle to visit my home? I have excellent juniper berry wine and fragrant cheese, as well as wheat-brewed beer stored in oak barrels. And of course, there's also top-quality veal - I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time at my place." Robert's invitation was so warm that it was impossible to refuse, mainly because H2 found him irresistibly attractive.

  A gentleman with a sincere and excited face got a satisfactory answer, making Robert seem to see the banknotes waving at him. What's 20 gallons of diesel money? If he could master the manufacturing technology of this yellow big truck...

  The excited gentleman was flabbergasted when he saw a Chinese man driving a yellow car, turning on incredibly bright lights, and speeding to his own front door at about 50 miles per hour!

  In 1902, in the United States, cars were still a high-priced plaything with very limited practical value. However, many people saw the development potential and business value of cars, and were enthusiastic about researching and producing them. Henry Ford was one of the most famous ones. He founded the Ford Motor Company in 1900, using the company's funds, equipment, and technology to manufacture racing cars, which led the company into a financial crisis in 1902, on the verge of bankruptcy. However, the racing cars manufactured by Ford were very successful on the track, winning many victories! Henry Ford was hailed as the "Wizard of Speed" by the famous business magazine "The Horseless Age". The article described: On a one-mile street in downtown Detroit, Henry Ford's racing car reached a speed of 7 miles per hour (11.27 kilometers per hour).

  Robert made up his mind: he must get this incredible car, or at least the manufacturing technology behind it. This is wealth!

  Robert's hospitality was beyond question, and the best wines and dishes were soon set before them on the oak table. "Friends, pray, no ceremony, eat heartily! No guest ever left Whitney's house with an empty stomach."

  "You're too kind, Robert." Long Jianming had already sensed his host's intention, but was still a bit embarrassed by the gentleman's enthusiasm and the full table of food. "I've had enough to eat, I don't want to burst my small belly, how about we chat while we eat?"

  Long Jianming needs to understand the situation in San Francisco, for this stranger, a little more information is always beneficial, of course, if he can have one more friend who is familiar with all aspects of the local area, that would be even better.

  "Good, good." Robert was overjoyed and eager to communicate. He sat down quickly. "Mr. Long, your car is amazing! It's much faster than Henry Ford's, and of course, it looks much better too! Is that paint on the shiny surface? Wow, so bright and smooth! The lights are especially bright, even brighter than Edison's electric light! I see two beams of light illuminating everything clearly. Great, great!" Robert was excited to the point of being incoherent, but his praise for the Hummer was sincere and apt. It was difficult not to shock people with something from 2005 in 1902!

  Long Jianming ate and drank with a big mouth, occasionally making throat sounds to respond to Robert's somewhat excessive enthusiasm.

  "Mr. Long, if your car can be mass-produced, it will definitely sell well and make a lot of money. You can also become a wealthy tycoon! Of course, you can also consider selling the car to me, and I'll give you a satisfactory return." The merchant's nature quickly revealed itself in the face of great temptation.

  Long Jianming swallowed the beef in his mouth, afraid that he would accidentally "spit it out". The gentleman in front of him had a good business sense, but he didn't know that even with the current industrial technology of the whole world, it was impossible to build an H2 like this. The gentleman's idea was just a fantasy. However, following this topic could test the bottom line of this gentleman and the level of industry in San Francisco and the United States as a whole, to see if it was consistent with historical records. Besides, using this American to promote himself and the H2 was also a good thing.

  "My friend, your eyes are extremely sharp. I was just planning to mass-produce this car! However, I haven't found a suitable machine yet, so for now, we can't establish a factory for large-scale production." Long Jianming made a helpless expression.

  "Oh! Mr. Long, what kind of machine do you need? My Whitney Mechanical Manufacturing Company is the most famous on the West Coast. As long as you have a blueprint, I can produce the machine you need right away. Of course, you can also make requests and ideas, and we'll design and manufacture it for you! There's no machine that Whitney can't make!" Robert wouldn't give up his plan to get rich by making cars just because of a little difficulty, especially when there was a business opportunity to be had for his company - this was the most realistic deal.

  Long Jianming was clapping his hands and laughing in his heart! What a coincidence! He didn't expect to find a ready-made machinery factory while looking for diesel, and judging from the tone of the American guy on the other side, this machinery factory's strength is not small. With the ability to manufacture machinery, various advanced machine tools can be manufactured, and engines that are somewhat decent can be built, ending the steam engine era ahead of time, allowing diesel engines and gasoline engines to occupy the market at the fastest speed. In this way, manufacturing cars with strong usability doesn't have to wait until 1908, maybe even as early as 1903, the Model T car can roam around on American streets!

  "My friend, wait a minute, I'll go get two drawings for you to take a look at. Maybe we can cooperate in many ways!" Long Jianming took a sip of milk and walked out.

  A few minutes later, Long Jianming placed two drawings in front of Robert. These were the electric motor bed drawings found on the laptop in the car and freshly printed out by the printer, showing the structure of the machine tool. "Robert, can you make such a machine?"

  Robert couldn't believe how quickly things had developed. In just a few words, the Chinese man in front of him already showed signs of cooperation - this was an opportunity that came once in a lifetime! As a mechanical engineer, Robert was indeed an expert in mechanical manufacturing and soon became engrossed in the drawings in his hand. He could confirm that if such a machine tool were to be manufactured, it would replace those old-fashioned, even wooden machine tools, and the world's industrial level would also rise to new heights with the appearance of this machine tool. The delighted gentleman took a deep breath to prevent his voice from trembling - for the boss of a machinery company, these drawings represented a large number of orders and profits, of course, provided that the drawings were not just simple sketches.

  "Mr. Long, my company can completely manufacture such machine tools. Tomorrow you can come with me to the company and let Kuang take a look again. He is an outstanding mechanical genius among Chinese people. I think that except for the cutting tool, which needs higher hardness alloy steel to be manufactured, other parts are no problem. The machine tool can first use steam to drive it, and with new machine tools, diesel engines and electric motors can be produced, and then upgrade the power equipment of the machine tool. Yes, it can be done this way! I think we can cooperate, Mr. Long." Robert's mind was filled with too many things at this time, all of which were brought about by the arrival of these two Chinese people: new-style cars, machine tools, and better diesel engines (the kind used on cars is probably the best), each one a treasure!

  Long Jianming knew that Robert was indeed a master craftsman, and he knew that the most critical thing on the blueprint of the machine tool was to find an alloy material with high hardness and good heat resistance to make the blade. In his heart, he gave this American gentleman a high score, but real cooperation still had to be seen after going to his company, and then reached through proper negotiation. Now it's obviously not the time to continue discussing this matter.

  "Robert, my friend, you should know that behind this new-style machine tool lies a huge market. I have many more new technologies, just look at the car outside, new electric lights, electrical equipment, diesel engines, rubber tires, aluminum alloys, special glass... and so on. These technologies can fully support a large industrial group, a trust! I also hope to cooperate with you, you are so enthusiastic and generous, I completely trust you. Let's do this, after we visit your company tomorrow, we'll continue the discussion."

  "Robert was still confident in his company's production technology, because he had an ace up his sleeve. "Alright, Mr. Long! Oh, I forgot to serve you the sausage, that's my aunt's specialty!"

  ……

  Long Jianming lay on the bed, excitedly thinking of his grandfather in another time and space. What was he doing now? Was he playing Go with Yang Grandpa or fishing with Wang Grandpa? How happy would they be to know about his progress? And what about Ning Shuang? Was she still well in heaven? Had she become a star like the legend said? Long Jianming wished this legend were true!

  Maybe tomorrow we can close the first deal to come here, and the industrial empire in the Dragon God plan will start from here. Although it is still very far from the ultimate goal, this will be a good starting point after all.

  In his dream, Long Jianming saw Ningfeng waving at him and shouting something, but he couldn't quite make out what she was saying even after waking up.

  ……

  Whitney Mechanical Manufacturing Company is indeed a first-class mechanical manufacturing company on the West Coast, located in the southern part of San Francisco, covering an area of 40 acres, with more than 200 employees, including more than 70 technical personnel. What's rare is that Chinese people account for more than 70% of the employees, and many technical positions are also held by Chinese people. These things feel especially familiar to Long Jianming, and after meeting Kuang Donglin, he basically decided to cooperate with Robert.

  Kuang Donglin was the "rare mechanical genius among Chinese" in Robert's words. After seeing those two machine structure diagrams, he quickly inferred the design performance of the machine based on the drawings and pointed out that "high-hardness and heat-resistant alloy materials are needed to make the cutting tool". This proved that the American gentleman's praise was not watered down at all. This Chinese mechanical manufacturing expert is from Panyu, Guangdong Province. He came to San Francisco in 1898 and started as an apprentice at Whitney Mechanical Manufacturing Company. With his innate talent for mechanics and his eagerness to learn, he worked hard and quickly became the technical backbone of Whitney Mechanical, earning the appreciation of his boss Robert, who promoted him to engineer and put him in charge of the company's technology, making him one of the few Chinese white-collar workers in San Francisco at that time. This was a big news in San Francisco back then!

  The agreement was reached quickly, Long Jianming valued Whitney Mechanical's design and production capabilities and potential for expansion, more importantly, he valued the large number of Chinese technical personnel and skilled workers led by Kuang Donglin. Robert saw the commercial prospects of new technologies brought by Long Jianming and the huge amount of capital that this Chinese man was about to inject. Therefore, after Long Jianming paid $100,000 and a batch of detailed technical drawings, 51% of Whitney Mechanical Manufacturing Company also fell under his name, becoming the company's largest shareholder. Of course, payment would be the first procedure to be completed.

  "Robert, I need your help with something." Long Jianming planned to sell the ton of gold loaded in H2 as soon as possible. The mechanical company needed an injection of funds to expand production capacity and update technical equipment, and related companies would also be the next acquisition target! In this way, the funds carried around seemed insufficient. "I have some gold that I want to get rid of, and I'd like to ask what the current price is? Are there any banks or financial groups willing to buy it? The purity is 99.99%."

  "I have a friend who is the deputy general manager of Citibank's San Francisco branch, and I think he should be able to take care of this matter properly. Why don't I ask him to come over right away, or we can go to my place to talk?" Robert was also a relatively well-known entrepreneur in San Francisco, with extensive social connections, so he naturally wouldn't be unfamiliar with the bank's big shots.

  "It's better to discuss this at your home."

  Long Jianming took Wang Yong and Kuang Donglin to Robert's farmhouse on the outskirts, driving a Hummer H2 filled with diesel. Kuang Donglin was a man of few words, but his eyes were extremely sharp, as if they had X-ray vision. After getting out of the car, he carefully examined the Hummer H2, and in his eyes, every component of this bright yellow beast was worth careful consideration. Material, craftsmanship, basic performance indicators, mechanical coordination between parts, and some incomprehensible mechanical principles... all of these fascinated him.