Addison 227

  The contestant performing in the pavilion on Lake Mochou wore a small wooden box on his chest, holding a glass light bulb with one hand and turning a handle with the other. As he turned it, the light bulb emitted soft light, which was relatively gentle compared to the two dazzling electric arc lamps on the lake.

  This man actually invented a vacuum light bulb! Liu Ziguang was very interested and ordered the boatman to move closer so that he could see it more clearly.

  That young man was wearing a blue satin changshan, holding a shiny light bulb and stammering to introduce himself: "X... Xiao Ke surname Ai name Cong, word Di Sheng, lives in Jibao Gate, this is Xiao Ke's invention of the self-grinding electric glass lamp, I'd like to ask if any of the ladies and gentlemen present are interested?"

  The women on the boat retreated to the cabin with disappointment and started chatting while cracking melon seeds. "A stutterer actually came to sell broken glass lamps, I don't know how the event was arranged." "Exactly, if you want to sell things, go to Fuzi Temple, why come here to spoil the fun?" The women complained, throwing fruit peels and melon seed shells into the water at will.

  Addison wanted to continue, but the audience below had already started booing, with idlers squatting on the ground around them, drinking and whistling, driving him off the stage. "Get out, fool! Go home and ask your mother to sell your glass lanterns!" Someone shouted, causing a burst of laughter. It was also a small interlude in the competition to relieve the mood.

  The judges still scored seriously and the five judges held up a huge "X" indicating KO out of the game with no score.

  Addison's face was bitter, and he wanted to say something else, but the host had already started shouting the name of the next contestant. "Next, Wang Liuge, Ministry of Internal Affairs Singing Troupe!" One of the judges kindly advised Addison: "Little brother has some exquisite toys, it's better to send them to the Ministry of Works, this is a competition of talent, not craftsmanship."

  Addison dejectedly stepped down, and then a handsome young man with white powder on his face and lipstick on his lips came up. He was wearing a dark flowered round-necked brocade white robe, with red satin shoes on his feet. As soon as he came up, he waved his hand in greeting: "Hello everyone, I am Liu Ge from the Imperial Household Department. Today, I will bring you a song called 'Thinking of the Mundane World'. I hope you like it, thank you~~~" His bright voice echoed across Lake Mochou, and even those leaning on the last boat could hear it clearly.

  The women all crawled out of the cabin, and the whole lake surface became lively. "Liu Ge! Liu Ge!" The sharp cries of the women excited the idle men as well. "This little eunuch is really handsome, even more so than those few catamites who came to the new dynasty!"

  "Yes, it's not just that people look handsome, but also that their singing is called handsome. What was it again? Ah, Zhang Lao San?"

  "It's not just a lingering sound, it's called a haunting melody that lingers for three days."

  Liu Ziguang was more interested in Addison, who had disappeared into the crowd after stepping down. He saw that the boat was not far from the shore and gave a sentence to Peng Jingru before setting foot on someone else's boat and going ashore.

  Addison stumbled forward, his thin figure silhouetted by the high-hung arc lamps, looking especially lonely. The crowd was all around Wang Liuge listening to the music, no one noticed where this ugly duckling went.

  He walked to a deserted place, sat down quietly, stroking the crystal lamp in his hand, without saying a word. Liu Ziguang, who was following ten meters away, also stopped and observed what this genius inventor wanted to do.

  After a long while, Addison finally lifted his head, his chest already soaked through. He was silently weeping, "Mother, I'm unfilial, I've ruined the family business that Father left behind, and even the money to buy your medicine is gone. Mother, I'll go first." His voice was dull and low, filled with deep despair and sorrow.

  He stood up, untied his belt, swung his hand and hooked it onto a nearby crooked neck tree, tied a dead knot, tested the weight-bearing capacity, then placed the small wooden box under his feet, preparing to hang himself.

  At this time, Wang Liuyi's high-pitched and loud singing voice came from the lake pavilion, and when he sang halfway, Wang Liuyi also interacted with fans, shouting loudly: "Everyone come together!" Then the whole lake surface was boiling, men and women followed suit and sang "Si Fan" together, it can be said that the good boy contest reached its climax.

  This colorful world can no longer be seen, Edison reluctantly took a last look at the brightly lit lakeside of Mochou Lake and resolutely put his neck into the noose. Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from behind him: "Are you ready to leave like this? Let your old mother send off her black-haired child?"

  Addison's hand grasping the noose stiffened, "I'm too ashamed to live on, the silver is spent, the house and land have been pawned, and I've borrowed 300 taels of high-interest loans. The clothes on my body and the registration fee for the competition are all borrowed, nobody wants to buy my invention, my wife has run away, my old mother is critically ill, what's the point of me still being alive?" After finishing speaking, he continued to put his head into the noose.

  "What if I'm willing to buy your invention?" Liu Ziguo said slowly.

  "Really?" Addison's eyes seemed to light up for a moment, then dimmed again. "For this thing, I've spent nearly 30 taels of silver in total, and the hole can't be filled no matter what. If you think this thing is still worth something, give me 10 taels of silver, so I can buy a thin coffin to send off my old mother before I go seek death."

  Nothing is more sorrowful than the death of one's heart. It seems that this genius has been devastated, and he only dares to price his invented light bulb at ten taels of silver.

  "Look at this crystal bottle, it's a Western wine bottle converted, the lamp filament is made of bamboo carbon, and just extracting the air from the bulb took me countless hours. The materials used for the generator are also very particular, look at this handle, it's copper, this wooden box is made of sandalwood, and these wires, they're pure silver, just the silversmith's labor costs for engraving the patterns cost 500 wen. Edison finally got down from the box, sat on the ground, and slowly explained while hugging the generator."

  As he spoke, he couldn't help but think of the ups and downs of his invention process and burst into tears again. "This is my... ah, if it were easy, I wouldn't have taken this path to death's door. The crystal lamp I made earlier was thrown out and smashed by that official at the Ministry of Works' manufacturing department, saying it was trash. I argued with him a few times, but got beaten up and chased away. He even said that as long as he was in office, I would never be allowed to set foot in the Ministry again. Alas, my crystal lamp, which took me two years to make, was dismissed by his one sentence. When I tried to sell it at the Husband's Temple market, those bosses only offered a few silver coins and laughed at me, saying this thing could only be used to fool children. In desperation, I borrowed some decent clothes and a bit of loose change, and participated in this Good Man Contest, hoping that the officials present would recognize its value... who knew..."

  Addison is not stuttering, on the stage just because too nervous, his thin face, dull eyes, thin body all prove that this person has been overworked for a long time, malnutrition.

  His eyes were still filled with tears, but he was no longer sobbing. "Sir, would you like to have the ten taels of silver?"

  Liu Ziguang took the crystal lamp and examined it carefully. This is actually the world's first real electric light, yet these morons treat it as if it were nothing.

  "Ten taels of silver is certainly not enough." Liu Ziguo paused for a moment, "I'll offer one million taels of silver."

  The recommended list is over, starting tomorrow, one chapter will be updated every day at noon, and the number of words will increase accordingly.