novelSusiti Chapter 64 Preliminary Progress in Cyanide Processing and New Gold Mines
Chapter 64 Preliminary Progress in Cyanide Processing and New Gold Mines
Chapter 64 Preliminary Progress in Cyanide Processing and New Gold Mines
Chinatown.
After finishing their shifts, Chen Chunsheng and Chen Youtian dragged their leaden legs toward the canteen.
Since the two of them joined the support team and helped Xinghan Hall last time, they were invited by Instructor Zhang Wu to join Xinghan Hall along with the other members of the support team.
Although the requirements were strict, including daily training, patrols, helping Han compatriots in need, and reading and writing at night, leaving us exhausted, the pay was high.
The weekly salary is $15, plus room and board.
Even white people in San Francisco don't get this kind of treatment!
The cafeteria served the same dishes as usual today: one meat dish and two vegetable dishes.
The two of them, holding large bowls, devoured their food in a flash, wiped their mouths, and hurried toward the teaching building.
The teaching building is located in the very center of Chinatown. It has only two floors and was converted from a former opium den.
The reason for choosing this location is to make it convenient for Chinese people living around Chinatown to come and attend literacy classes.
As soon as the two entered the teaching building, they saw a group of people gathered together, exclaiming in surprise every now and then.
They were all colleagues from the Xinghan Hall support team.
"What the heck?" Chen Youtian asked curiously as he approached. "Who's so daring to gamble like that?"
"Hey, who's gambling? Don't get us beaten by the drill instructor!"
Many people in the crowd shuddered upon hearing this.
The instructors couldn't stand them gambling or soliciting prostitutes.
In the instructor's words, it was his fault; he hadn't squeezed every last drop of energy out of these brats, leaving them with the time to think about other things.
If someone smoked opium, it would be even worse; they would be kicked out of the team and sent to a labor camp in the mines, where they could only return once they had quit.
Chen Youtian scratched his shiny bald head after cutting off his braid and asked, puzzled, "If it's not gambling, then why are you making such a fuss?"
"Come on, come over and try it."
The crowd parted to make way, and a pear-shaped glass container with black charcoal sticks stuck inside appeared before the two of them.
The pear-shaped glass is set in a brass base, on which is a small cylindrical button.
"What is that? Why is it so mysterious?"
Chen Youtian and Chen Chunsheng pushed their way through the crowd and approached the object. They circled it twice but couldn't figure it out.
"Turn that round button."
Upon hearing this, Chen Chunsheng reached out and turned the round button to the left.
Click!
The pear-shaped glass in front of the two of them suddenly lit up!
"leave!"
The two were startled by the dazzling light and instantly withdrew their hands. "What's that? A new gas lamp?"
"Wait a minute, I didn't light it!"
Someone in the crowd chuckled: "It's not a gas lamp. According to the master installer, this thing is called an electric light."
"Electric lights? Powered by lightning?"
Upon hearing this, both of them widened their eyes in disbelief.
The man chuckled again, "What else did you think we were yelling about?"
Chen Youtian swallowed hard, cautiously stretched out his hand, waved it near the light, and then withdrew it, afraid of getting shocked.
Seeing that nothing was wrong, he leaned closer to examine it more closely, clicking his tongue in amazement: "My goodness, lightning can be put into glass to emit light? This foreigner's gadget is really strange—"
"What foreign devils?" someone corrected, "It was made by our own craftsmen at Xinghan Hall."
"Our people?" Chen Chunsheng was even more surprised. "We Chinese can make this thing too?"
"Look at what you're saying. We beat those white guys to a pulp last time, so isn't it normal for us to build some powerful stuff?"
Before long, Chen Youtian and Chen Chunsheng also mingled into the crowd, looking on with amusement at the newcomers.
Every time someone came in, they would join in the commotion, making the person turn on the switch, and laughing uproariously at their startled reaction.
Just as things were getting lively, a loud cough suddenly rang out behind them, followed by an annoyed voice: "Why aren't you in class? What are you doing gathered around here?!"
A group of people turned around in unison and saw a tall man with a dark face standing at the end of the corridor, arms crossed, his eyes unfriendly.
The crowd immediately straightened up, saluted, and shouted in unison, "Greetings, Instructor!" as if they had encountered their nemesis.
Zhang Wu returned the greeting and snorted coldly, "Get to the classroom now and get ready for class. If I see anyone still standing in the hallway a minute from now, your training load will double tomorrow."
The crowd scattered like birds and beasts, their footsteps clattering loudly.
Zhang Wu sighed as he walked into the office not far away.
Several people, both men and women, were already in the office, gathered around the office light, occasionally letting out a gasp of surprise.
"Director Chen, Teacher Ying, Teacher Zhu, what are you doing here?"
Upon hearing the sound, they turned around, their faces showing a hint of embarrassment.
Chen Long laughed and said, "This is indeed a novel item. It's the first time I've seen one, so I couldn't help but be a little flustered. Please forgive me, Mr. Zhang."
Ying Jie and Zhu Zhenyi, standing to the side, nodded shyly, their cheeks slightly flushed.
Zhang Wu asked with a smile, "Would Director Chen like to buy one? Wouldn't it be much better than those smoky kerosene lamps if we installed one in the shop? It would also eliminate the risk of fire."
Chen Long said thoughtfully, "Now that you mention it, I am indeed somewhat tempted."
As the group was chatting, a deep, resonant bell rang out from outside.
That was the sound of a clock striking, ringing out loudly throughout Chinatown.
"Oh, it's seven o'clock, I should go to my literacy class."
"Mr. Zhang, ladies, I'll be taking my leave now."
Chen Long stopped chatting, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and went straight to the classroom.
After watching Chen Long leave, Zhang Wu looked at Ying Jie and Zhu Zhenyi and asked, "Teacher Ying, Teacher Zhu, how is the teaching progress with the Native American women and children?"
The two exchanged a glance, somewhat dejected: "It's very slow. The children are alright, but the adult women are making no progress at all. They forget what they were taught yesterday today."
"Take it slow, it's only been a little over ten days."
Zhang Wu chuckled: "And you guys? You're not having any trouble adjusting to this job, are you?"
Ying Jie said nonchalantly, "Compared to my original fate of becoming a prostitute, I couldn't be more satisfied with my job as a teacher."
Zhu Zhenyi, who was standing to the side, also nodded slightly.
"That's good."
Meanwhile, at the power plant.
The power station is located not far from the teaching building; it is a single-story bungalow.
Inside the room, workers were throwing coal into the boiler of a steam engine, and the high-pressure steam was driving the rotor inside the generator to rotate.
A continuous flow of electricity is generated here and transported via power lines to the nearest factories, school buildings, and residences.
"Direct current is still not quite right."
Zeng Tai, feeling the heat, went outside and complained, "The power supply distance is too short, only 1.5 kilometers. With such high costs, no wonder it will be crushed by AC power in the future."
Su Song, who was standing nearby, said, "Actually, it's not too bad. Judging from the current number of light bulbs purchased, it can still cover the cost of building the power plant."
"Several people who own textile factories in the six major associations were very interested in electric lights. After observing them on site, they placed orders on the spot."
"In addition, wealthy members of various clubs are also willing to install a few electric lights in their villas."
Zeng Tai stroked his chin and said, "It's still too little. How about this, we'll send someone to Montgomery Street to promote it another day."
"There are rich people everywhere there, so they should be happy to pay for these things."
The reason Zeng Tai set his sights on making money is quite simple.
I'm short of money.
More accurately, they are short of cash flow.
The construction and subsequent investment in each factory are money-devouring beasts. Right now, they're just surviving on the savings they robbed before, but they can't just sit around and do nothing.
As for those people killed in the "California Crash Plan," they did have money, but most of it was tied up in real estate, and selling it would result in some losses.
He scratched his head and said, "Guilliman promoted film cameras through various newspapers. Although they sold quite a few, it was a slow and steady business."
"Let Dutch and his men handle it and continue robbing wealthy families."
Su Song reminded him, "My lord, we've almost robbed all the big players in California; there's no more profit to be made from them."
Zeng Tai waved his hand dismissively: "Who said I was going to take over California? Let them go to the East Coast, to New York, Washington, or even to England."
"There are so many big players in the world, they have enough to rob."
Zeng Tai paused, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Su Song, how's the research on the cyanide method going?"
Su Song thought for a moment and said, "There has only been some initial progress."
"We collect the ammonium sulfate produced during coal tar distillation, and let the ammonia gas it releases pass through charcoal to eventually obtain potassium cyanide."
"But because it is a byproduct, the output is very unstable and can only barely meet the needs of Yuan Guang's two gold mines."
"However, the efficiency improvement is quite good. They replied that when using potassium cyanide solution to treat amalgam tailings, the total gold recovery rate increased to nearly 90%."
Zeng Tai gazed at the starry sky and said, "The lack of a stable ammonia production means the problem lies in the ammonia synthesis process?"
Su Song nodded: "The reaction to synthesize ammonia requires a high pressure of 200 atmospheres and a high temperature of 500-600℃. However, under high temperature and pressure, hydrogen in existing steel will react directly with carbon in the steel to produce methane, causing the steel to decarburize and crack, making it completely unusable."
"The materials team is still trying to find suitable materials, and we don't know how long it will take before they succeed."
Zeng Tai clicked his tongue: "Sure enough, it's still more satisfying to just snatch it directly."
"Su Song, why don't we send people to rob all the gold mines in California and occupy them? Anyway, we have a strong army now, and we can add more than 500 people every day."
Su Song did not answer immediately.
He quickly calculated in his mind: troop strength, equipment, logistics, reactions from all sides, possible intervention from the federal government, international public opinion —
"My lord, I understand your thoughts."
He said slowly, "With our current strength, we can certainly do it. There is no force on the West Coast that can stop us right now. But the question isn't whether we can do it, but what will happen after we do it."
"What will happen?"
Zeng Tai raised an eyebrow and said, "Those white people will jump up and down, curse and send troops to try and take back the gold mine."
But with our current military capabilities, we can drive them back ten or twenty times over, until they dare not come again.
Su Song shook his head.
"My lord, you have forgotten something."
"We are indeed capable of fighting now, but many of our resources are purchased from outside."
Ore, coal, gunpowder, picric acid—if we took over all of California's mines, we would be simultaneously provoking the Americans, the British, and the French.
If they send their navy to blockade the coastline, we'll be in a very passive position. No supplies means no weapons and ammunition; we can't possibly fight with cold weapons in the end, can we?
Zeng Tai remained silent for a while.
"Where did the money come from?"
Su Song said, "Taking is fine, but not occupying."
He pulled a map from his pocket and spread it on a wooden crate outside the power plant. It was a map of the mineral distribution in California, marked with numerous mineral deposits.
"We'll target some of the largest mines in California, such as the Fremont mine in Mariposa and several rich mines east of Sacramento."
These mines have large outputs and high profits; a single raid can earn tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"They robbed and left without a trace. Even if the mine owner behind it was enraged and sent troops, they wouldn't be able to find them and could only rage helplessly."
Su Song paused, then moved his finger eastward from California, across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and stopped in a blank area.
"In addition, we can broaden our horizons."
Zeng Tai's gaze followed the movement of his finger.
Nevada?
Su Song nodded: "That's right, this place is still wasteland. Americans are too lazy to go there, and the Native Americans guard it and won't let anyone in. Apart from a few prospectors, there aren't many people here."
"If we can find a mine here, we can rightfully occupy it. We can set up boundary markers and send people to mine it."
Zeng Tai's eyes lit up.
Of course he knew what was there.
Comstock Vein.
This is the largest silver mine ever discovered in the American West, containing more than 270 million pans of silver and 8.6 million ounces of gold, with a total value of more than 350 million US dollars.
Keep in mind, this was three hundred million dollars in the 19th century. In today's dollar terms, that's roughly equivalent to 130 billion dollars!
130 billion! If he digs it all out, he'd dare build one battleship and sink it!
It wasn't until 1859, just four years later, that this place was accidentally discovered by two Irish prospectors, which triggered a silver mining frenzy in Nevada, with countless people flocking to that wasteland.
And now, it lies quietly underground, waiting to be discovered.
"How could I have forgotten about it?"
Zeng Tai took a deep breath and began to give orders.
"Tell Jianyuan to go and purchase enough mining tools and exploration equipment."
Yuanguang assigned more than a dozen experienced miners, the kind of veterans who could smell the minerals in the cracks of rocks.
Send another team of guards, fully armed, to accompany them in case they encounter Native Americans or other prospectors.
As for the rest of the manpower, we can summon them later.