Chapter 15 I think people can't always be profit-driven
The development of the Ma Fang Xiang Industrial Park has entered a normal track before winter, with the gradual increase in the variety and quantity of pharmaceuticals and daily chemical products, the demand for various raw materials has increased significantly. From the production of traditional Chinese medicine, the surrounding areas of Ningwu Prefecture have dense original forests, good ecological environment, and many wild plants and animals, especially the Guanquanshan forest area, which has more than 100 kinds of medicinal plants, with rich raw materials for traditional Chinese medicine production. Therefore, relying on this advantage, the pharmaceutical factory's research and development and production of various traditional Chinese medicines based on local raw materials have a good momentum. However, more traditional Chinese medicines as well as antibiotics, Western medicines and other raw materials still need to be provided by areas outside Ningwu Prefecture or even foreign countries, for example, the medicinal plants needed for the production of Traditional Chinese Medicine No. 1 only grow in western provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, making it difficult to procure raw materials. As for the chemical raw materials needed for the production of daily chemical products, most can be manufactured independently, such as sodium hydroxide, the main raw material needed for soap production, a small part still needs to be imported from abroad. Similarly, the metal machinery processing plants producing various metal tools, mechanical devices and various metal and non-metallic materials are also in a similar situation.
Kang Fan found He Shui Kuo and Duono Wan, suggesting that He Shui Kuo be mainly responsible for domestic business, while Duono Wan be mainly responsible for foreign business. The escort tasks of various merchant teams were all undertaken by the Blue Demon Team. Another important progress was that the new-style horse-drawn carriages manufactured by the metal mechanical processing plant began to be used in the merchant teams: this new-style horse-drawn carriage was improved by Kang Fan and several students on the basis of the existing old-style horse-drawn carriage, mainly improving the walking system, equipped with bearings, steel wheel rims, radial tires, leaf spring suspension devices, braking devices, etc. from abroad, adopting a double-axle four-wheel form, divided into two types according to the size of the load: two horses and four horses pulling, the closed carriages were used for carrying people, while the open carriages were used for transporting goods, both in terms of carrying capacity and riding comfort had made a qualitative leap.
Duonowan was still working as a surgeon at the county hospital, thanks to the help of his three partners, who took care of things for him. He didn't need to show up in person unless absolutely necessary. On the other hand, He Shuikuo not only had to take charge of purchasing all kinds of raw materials and selling products but also had to frequently attend to their own business operations all over the country. This made He Shuikuo much busier than Duonowan. As a result, He Shuikuo had more contact with the Blue Demon team members, which meant they no longer needed to pay protection money to local bandits along the way, saving them a significant amount of profit! Therefore, He Shuikuo took good care of the Blue Demon team members, treating them to good food and drink, and occasionally giving them some pocket money. The cooperation between the two parties was very pleasant.
The pharmaceutical factory's mass production of several medicines coincided with the war between Italy and Ethiopia. The war was protracted and bloody, with nearly 20,000 Italian soldiers defeated in a single battle called Adwa, over 10,000 killed or wounded, and more than 4,000 captured. Kang Fan entrusted Duonowan to sell large quantities of medicine, medical gauze, cotton balls, bandages, and other supplies at high prices to the Italian military. After clinical trials by the Italian military, they signed a large order, making a huge profit. Moreover, with the war still ongoing and casualties increasing, the Italian government would undoubtedly place additional orders. This was indeed a big business opportunity! However, when Duonowan returned with a truckload of gold coins, Kang Fan had a change of heart and asked Duonowan to provide some free medicine to the Ethiopian government as support for this country that resolutely resisted strong powers' aggression.
Mr. Kang, this is business, not a game! Donnovan was very puzzled and stared at Kang Fan with his round blue eyes.
Kang Fan explained: In the wave of European powers dividing Africa, Ethiopia is the only country that resisted the invasion of powerful countries with a victorious national war and maintained national independence. It set an example of brave struggle for all African people. Should I do this or not, American?
Dunovan still doesn't understand, what does this have to do with you? You're in China and China is in Asia. That's Africa, where they are all some people even darker than the coal here. They won't thank you at all because they don't even know where you are.
Go ahead, Mr. Duonouwan. Kang Fan didn't want to argue with him anymore; one can't always be self-interested.
Donovan finally left. As he was leaving, he asked Kong Fan: Your understanding of this war has surpassed that Italian ambassador, but during this period, I haven't seen you take a step out of here. Moreover, this war is still being fought fiercely until now, how do you know Ethiopia will definitely win? Tell me, how did you do it?
Kang Fan could only smile and not answer.
Dunowan made a cross with his hand and looked up at the sky: Lord, please help me teach this wicked guy a lesson.
Mei Xiang was amused by Donovans comical expression, and shouted at his receding figure: Mr. Donovan, God is now on our side.
Yes, God is now on their side. No one had ever thought that these unlucky people who came from the 21st century would be able to take big strides in building their own kingdom with their wisdom and courage, starting from a situation where even eating and dressing were problems!
The metal machinery processing plant currently does not create profits as high as other companies, but it is actually the foundation for future business development. After acquiring the most basic smelting, casting, forging, machining and electrical equipment, students can gradually improve their advanced industrial technology through experimentation and improvement, turning it into practical application techniques to build their own industrial system. In fact, it's like building a research center for the students. The four cars brought over are almost a collection of all the advanced industrial technologies in 21st century China, providing extremely valuable physical references for the students' technical development. If this plan's industrial system is successfully built, it will mean that Ningwu Prefecture has entered the modern industrial era!
So, this metal mechanical processing plant is the most important thing for Kangan. Donovon also understands what Kangan means, and the industrial equipment they bought back are the most advanced in the Western world at that time. However, it is still far from the level of students' mind. Therefore, what students need to do now is to make the best use of these existing equipment and available raw materials to design and develop industrial equipment that meets their requirements as much as possible, and then have them manufactured in Western countries for their own use. Due to technical confidentiality considerations, students will entrust Donovon with the engineering drawings of various devices designed by themselves to different manufacturers in different Western countries for production, each manufacturer receives only part of the drawings of different equipment, making it impossible for them to understand what these parts are used for. After mass production, they will be assembled at the metal mechanical processing plant by students themselves. To achieve standardization, the drawings use the British units widely used in various industrialized countries at that time, rather than the metric system that students are accustomed to using.
Yu's uncle was very supportive of Kang Fan's grand plan to develop the local industry and agriculture. When Yu asked for his opinion, he replied: "If it is beneficial to the prefecture, county and people, you should actively promote it, there is no need to report everything, just do it."
With the support of the government, Kang Fan can now actually operate. Because the next step in industrial development plans involves the entire Ningwu Prefecture and even the entire Shanxi Province, it must be supported by the government's concerted efforts, otherwise everything is impossible to discuss. The area under the jurisdiction of Ningwu Prefecture is extremely vast, with a total area of over 6,000 square kilometers for the four counties of Ningwu, Shenchi, Wuzhai and Pian County, and a permanent population of over 3 million, which can be described as vast land and sparse population. However, this region has rich mineral resources and excellent natural conditions for industrial development. What is lacking here are funds, technology, and courage, and these three conditions, Kang Fan and his team now have.
In Kangfan's memory, the Ningwu Prefecture was an area rich in mineral resources, with coal, iron, aluminum, manganese, molybdenum, quartz, crystal, sulfur, mica, granite, limestone, clay and other minerals. The coal resources were particularly abundant, with a wide variety of species, good quality, easy to mine, and reserves reaching hundreds of billions of tons. Coal is an important energy source: in addition to being used as fuel, it can also be converted into coke, coal gas, coal tar, and other chemical raw materials through processes such as coking, gasification, low-temperature drying, and hydrogenation, which are used in the metallurgical industry or for producing fertilizers, pesticides, matches, synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber, paints, dyes, medicines, explosives, gasoline, diesel oil, etc. Therefore, starting with the development and utilization of coal resources can greatly promote the development of thermal power generation, metallurgy, and chemical industries, which in turn will drive the development of other industries.
After thorough discussion, everyone determined the development goal of building an independent and complete modern industrial system by fully utilizing various rich natural resources within the jurisdiction, and jointly formulated an implementation plan. It is unacceptable to wait until enough industrial equipment is manufactured before construction begins. Using existing Western technology and equipment for construction, and then replacing them with domestically manufactured advanced industrial equipment when development reaches a certain scale, is currently the most intelligent and fastest approach. With Kang Fan's tens of millions, things will be easier to handle. But how easy is it to achieve this goal? This is an incredibly large-scale development plan, and only Kang Fan dares to think about it. Although there are still many gold and silver treasures, and the profits from hospitals and industrial parks are increasing day by day, compared with the huge funds required for this development plan, they are just a drop in the bucket. Without sufficient funding, everything is just empty talk. Kang Fan understands that his long-planned adventurous action must be implemented.
The dormitories, canteens, bathhouses, boiler houses and sports fields built in the Ma Fang Xiang Industrial Park have been completed, forming a comfortable and safe working and living environment. Zhong Hanqiang and the students all moved here to work and live, bringing Adolf with them, not one missing. Everyone being together makes it convenient for mutual care. In fact, the students are very satisfied with their new living environment, especially that they can finally take hot showers and use electricity. As for the Fenhe campsite, whenever Zhong Hanqiang has some free time, he will take the students to visit, which has become a great leisure activity. Therefore, Kang Fan no longer needs to worry about everyone's life and can focus on his own affairs.
The He brothers' business has been booming since they got a steady supply of products from Kangfan. However, the market demand in Ningwu Prefecture and Shanxi Province is limited, and to achieve better and greater development, they must expand outward. Due to Ningwu Prefecture's location in inland China, surrounded by continuous mountain ranges, land transportation is extremely difficult. Kangfan had thought of this problem several months ago. Therefore, before the implementation of the industrial development plan, he instructed He Shuikuan to expand the He family's warehouse and shops in Beijing and build a new general supply base in Tianjin. In this way, goods transported by land can be transshipped from Beijing to the Tianjin base and then shipped to various places across the country via waterways, making it much more convenient and safer. Thus, this base in Tianjin has become crucial, which is also what Kangfan had hoped for.
The situation of the newly established Tianjin base is as follows: Tianjin is located on the coast of Bohai Sea, which is the closest seaport to North China and Northwest China. After being opened up as a commercial port in 1860, Western powers set up concessions in Tianjin one after another. Tianjin gradually became the forefront of opening-up in northern China and the base of modern Chinese foreign affairs movement. Unlike other countries' concessions, the United States had just defined its concession in Tianjin when the American Civil War broke out at home, leaving no time to develop the concession. The US government declared abandonment of its concession in Tianjin in 1880, but the Qing government did not take it over. Now it is 1895, and this piece of land along the Haihe River has been abandoned for more than 15 years. Kang Fan advised Duonowan to apply to the US government to manage the concession on behalf of American citizens. Duonowan soon reached an agreement with the US government and obtained the right to manage the American concession. Later, He Shuikuan led relevant personnel to the concession and rebuilt the wharf, warehouse and other auxiliary facilities on the basis of the original infrastructure. The family's steamship was moored here, ready to set sail at any time. He Shuikuan also stayed here frequently.
