Chapter 24: The Invention of Explosives (Revised)

  The application for a patent on the weapon will take a long time, even with someone's help, it can't be done in three to five months. Chen Xiaoqi is not in a hurry, but he can't wait until the patent comes out before doing other things, he doesn't have the time (Chapter 24 of Summer). Now the entire laboratory doesn't even have one factory building, let alone talk about production! The cash on hand is running low, and the profits from two companies were all taken out by him to invest in other things, such as a complete set of second-hand gun manufacturing and maintenance equipment he just ordered from Germany.

  After World War I, Germany was defeated and under the agreement, almost all of Germany's military production, shipbuilding, vehicle manufacturing and other industries were destroyed. A large number of high-quality assets were sold at extremely low prices. For example, the equipment ordered by Chen Xiaoqi had a total of 6,000 pieces inside and out, and it took three months to assemble them. The Beiyang government had previously spent $200,000 to purchase similar military production lines, but Chen Xiaoqi only spent $80,000, and even got a discount when paying in US dollars!

  This set of machinery can repair 75mm cannons, produce and repair Mauser pistols and rifles, and produce related parts and ammunition! (Historical data, see "Archives of China's Modern Firearms Industry")

  This was too good an opportunity for Chen Xiaoqi to miss, so he immediately asked Stern to send a telegram to his friends in Germany, recruiting various researchers and technical workers locally in Germany for a long time, regardless of whether it was automobiles, chemicals, aircraft, ships or guns. Electronic equipment, etc., as long as they were talents involved in key technologies of heavy industry, were recruited on a large scale! Among the equipment that had been dismantled and sold cheaply, only products with prices that were not too high were targeted, ready to be purchased at any time!

  Stern was taken aback by the large sum, calculating left and right that he didn't have that much money! Chen Xiaoqi confidently told him it was okay, they would soon have a lot of money! A huge amount of money!

  With the remaining funds, Chen Xiaoqi built two rows of simple steel frame workshops in the courtyard of the farm that had been cleared of fences. The kind of large shed that could only block the wind and rain was similar to the simple factories that can be seen everywhere in later generations, but Chen Xiaoqi's was even simpler, without even a concrete or stone wall, purely made of wooden boards, asbestos tiles, and steel frames tied together. If an 8-level strong wind blows from outside, this house would collapse!

  Chen Xiaoqi's "MeiHua Laboratory" was established just a month ago, with only him as the researcher and a few black veterans as security guards, and several Chinese Americans in charge of logistics. However, two explosive inventions were born. The two inventions are both explosives, namely "Hei Suo Jin" and "Ammonia Oil Explosive".

  "Black powder", was actually something that had been invented just as early, and was first used for medicinal purposes before being used as an explosive. Black powder wasn't discovered to be a more powerful explosive than all others of its time until 25 years later! Of course, Chen Xiaoqi knew the improved method! Under low temperature conditions using concentrated nitric acid and rotundine, the yield can reach 68%. During World War II and afterwards, it was used as the main raw material for manufacturing artillery shells in military factories around the world.

  "Ammonium oil explosive" is indeed a epoch-making product. Its production cost is extremely low, dissolving 94.5% solid ammonium nitrate in 5.5% diesel can become an ideal explosive, because it is a mixture of ammonium nitrate and diesel, so it is called "ammonium oil explosive".

  Although ammonium nitrate explosives have many advantages, they are not perfect and have the disadvantages of being easily dampened and dissolved in water, thus reducing their effectiveness. Additionally, they are sensitive to heat, prone to generating static electricity, and have a low packing density.

  But all of this is irrelevant, the most important thing is that this stuff is too easy to produce and costs very low! People who often watch Hollywood blockbusters can see those cool guys making explosives from a bunch of things in supermarkets or kitchens, it's a bit absurd, but many people have bought ammonium nitrate without dispute, which is the best explosive for opening mountains, paving roads and mining, its sales are astronomical.

  He relied on the school's instruments and equipment to complete all experiments through hands-on practice. In order to make money, he risked blowing up the entire laboratory and risking his own life being blown to pieces. He can be said to have truly reached the realm of making money without regard for his life. I really don't know what kind of expression his supervisor and professors would have when they found out that he was using the guise of researching organic compounds to manufacture dangerous high-explosives.

  After completing the experiment and producing the experimental product in school, Chen Xiaoqi immediately supplemented the experimental instruments related to the two inventions that were lacking in his simple laboratory, although they were all simplified and second-hand. However, you can't prove that his experimental environment is not sufficient. Anyway, no one would dare to stand here and watch him repeat the entire experiment, or else it would be fatal!

  Now, Chen Xiaoqi owns these two invention patents! When Stern saw this, he understood why Chen Xiaoqi was so confident that he would get rich! He thought it would be hard not to get rich with just these two inventions, and the patent usage fees alone would be astronomical! With the emergence of "Black Gold", major powers around the world will inevitably need to update their ammunition depots. Even if a large war has just ended and there is no need to store large quantities of military explosives, the reserve explosives alone will be in the tens of thousands of tons.

  The amount of "ammonium nitrate" cannot be estimated, in the 1920s, it was an era when major countries around the world were booming, and the amount of explosives used for mining alone is unknown. For example, DuPont was just a wealthy merchant with total assets of $75 million before World War I, but after World War I, it grew into a financial group with assets of $6-7 billion, and their main product was explosives! During World War II, DuPont received more than $200 billion in orders from the US government, mostly for explosives and chemical products, and they monopolized 75% of the ammonium nitrate market.

  This cake is too big, Chen Xiaoqi doesn't worry about not having anyone coming to his door. Now he has a reputation outside, with the hot sales of Zippo lighters, he has become a somebody that upper-class people are familiar with, especially since he is a Chinese person, it has become a topic that many people enjoy talking about. With Dennis bringing new precision-made series Zippo lighters from France to Europe and promoting them in the already famous "CK" specialty store, his name quickly spread to Europe. Although not yet widely known, he has gained some recognition, if not for his repeated opposition, Dennis even wanted to release the news that the founder of the "CK" brand, which has already established itself in high society, is him. The reason for opposing is simple, all for the market. The pride of Europeans makes them unlikely to accept clothing designed by a Chinese person.

  The patent for the explosive didn't come down immediately, and the review would take several months, but Chen Xiaoqi was not in a hurry. He followed his plan step by step to produce one product after another. His "MeiHua Laboratory" under the "Chemistry Laboratory" developed a series of daily chemical products, including toothpaste, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, shower gel, dishwashing liquid, and toilet cleaner, among others. Unlike other existing products, his products were all fragrant, had strong cleaning power, and were not too expensive, with beautiful packaging. To solve the problem of high material costs for packaging bottles, he also solved a few minor problems in plastic production, but gained recognition from manufacturers.

  At that time, both Procter & Gamble and Unilever were already large companies, but they still had a long way to go before reaching the kind of dominance and scale that would come later. The variety of daily chemical products was also far less than it is today, after all, these things were still considered high-end consumer goods, and in China, very few people could afford their products. Chen Xiaoqi's product was ahead of its time, with a claimed purely natural plant-based high molecular weight component that was not only healthy but also had strong decontamination capabilities and a unique fragrance.

  Westerners generally have a heavier taste, so the toiletries and perfumes they use are all very pungent to Easterners. Many products bought directly from abroad not only had no good effect on Chinese people but also made them keep their distance. However, when Chen Xiaoqi arrived in America, he had to adapt to local customs and do the opposite, using various additives lavishly, and after advertising through newspapers and radio stations, he captured the hearts of many housewives at once.

  Chen Xiaoqi sometimes lamented that people in this era were still very cautious about investing in advertising, and cleaning companies only considered advertising on the radio after three years. Newspaper publicity was scarce, and there was no so-called planning or research, which made him feel unchallenged.

  The daily production input is not very large, and Chen Xiaoqi did not plan to produce the raw materials himself. Except for a part of the cleaning agent and fragrance that were formulated in his own laboratory, all other raw materials can be purchased directly. The factory is just those two shabby sheds, and he doesn't have the money to set up a regular production workshop for the time being. Everything is simple and crude, and besides, the market has not been opened up yet, and the millions of people in Chicago and Springfield are enough to keep him busy. If large-scale production were to start, how could his laboratory's additive output be used?!

  The establishment of the Daily Chemical Company solved the employment problem for hundreds of local people, which is a big deal! During World War I, the massive production capacity that was dug up suddenly lost its market, and except for automobiles, petroleum, steel, and mining, many civilian industries shrank. Chen's construction of these new factories solved the food bowl problem for hundreds of workers, and even the mayor of Shangpein City personally visited to thank this young boss for bringing help to his work.

  In October 1920, the entire shipment of firearms manufacturing equipment arrived from Germany, accompanied by a dozen or so German engineers who would be responsible for installing and debugging the entire factory. Actual production may not begin until early 1921. However, this was not within Chen Xiaoqi's area of concern; what he was really interested in were the more than one hundred German engineers and technicians from various industries who had arrived at the same time.

  To make these people come to the United States for re-employment with a happy and pleasant experience, Chen Xiaoqi has given sufficient resettlement fees, and also promised not to be lower than their original salary treatment, and there is a certain degree of increase. In fact, compared to Germany, the salary income in the United States is already slightly higher.

  Among them, there are technical personnel from BMW, technical personnel from BASF chemical plants, research personnel from Siemens Electric, and even technical personnel from Rheinmetall and Krupp companies. However, without exception, none of them are core engineers. Think about it, even if Germany lost the war, they wouldn't easily let their core engineers make money for others! They would have to be supported even in bankruptcy!

  But Chen Xiaoqi wants exactly these people, if a few top-notch people came, he couldn't afford to raise them either, and they wouldn't have any reason to rush to work in his still relatively unknown lab! With these people, many of Chen Xiaoqi's topics can be opened up, after achieving some results, he doesn't believe that high-quality and high-level research personnel won't be attracted, once he has the money!

  Soon, his chance came.