Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 57, My God

"But isn't sending it to the steel mill a bit excessive?"

Lin Zhou was somewhat apprehensive, but his apprehension didn't last long. Li Han quickly found the information: "The smelting technology of the Song Dynasty was very advanced. At that time, they possessed 28 times the world's metallurgical output. They were able to distinguish and produce pig iron, wrought iron, and steel, and used three types of furnaces: blast furnace, open-hearth furnace, and small furnace. Their annual coal and steel production was roughly equivalent to the level of the early to mid-18th-century British Industrial Revolution. They just lacked alloy smelting technology."

"That's awesome..."

Li Han shrugged: "To be able to persist for 150 years after the southward relocation, you need considerable capability. Therefore, what you send out must be suitable for the overall environment at the time and have the ability to sustain production. I think a steel mill would be suitable. Does anyone else have any ideas?"

"Hmm... Sure. We'll provide you with a complete technical solution. It's not a particularly difficult problem; basically, any one of these people could handle it by hand."

Li Han pointed to the science student next to her, who was still huddled together analyzing the small satellite data on his laptop. Lin Zhou, however, was indignant: "So you can make anything by hand?"

At this moment, a round-faced woman with a buzz cut, resembling Ruby Lin from Chunxi Road, looked up and said, "This is really good. I'll write out the technical plan for you by hand later. You can follow it step by step. It will cost a little money, but not much."

Lin Zhou clicked his tongue: "Okay... but I've already made it, how am I going to send it out? People at that level are beyond my reach."

Li Han spoke almost without pausing: "When you get back, just tell Cao Wenda that you want an official title, otherwise it won't look good for a commoner to be the son-in-law of a prince. He will help you with that."

"Should I not mention giving gifts?"

"Giving gifts is done after the matter is settled, because you are the son-in-law of the King of Jin, not a scholar asking him for a favor. Because of this status, giving him a gift first is called bribery, and giving him a gift later is called doing him a favor."

Damn, there are so many intricacies to this stuff! Lin Zhou scratched his head as he listened. In the past, he could have easily made tens of thousands of dollars a month by giving away freebies, selling noodles and junk.

But things are different now. First, Xiao'e needs shelter, and second, Hongliu needs help. He doesn't have that much nationalistic sentiment. His home is in the China Railway First Bureau family compound on Taiyi Road in Xi'an, and his country is the new China. For him, that era was like his father's time supporting construction in Africa—he didn't feel much belonging, and the only things he couldn't let go of were those two girls.

He was very frank about it: mediocre in ability, greedy for money and lustful.

"Okay, I'll do it that way. Will there be any problems?"

"What problems could possibly arise?" Li Han shook his head and said, "But you still need to be careful and not underestimate those people."

"How could that be? They're too smart..." Lin Zhou sighed. "I don't dare to say much. If I say even a few words, they can guess what I'm saying."

"Alright, now it's time to prepare for the next steps." Director Zhao interrupted Lin Zhou and Li Han's conversation: "By the way, scientists, what other projects do you have to work on?"

"It's nothing, let him continue launching satellites first, the rest isn't urgent."

"Alright, let's start preparing the supplies for this mission."

Once they take action, they are incredibly fast, and the returns are clearly visible, with substantial, almost cost-free profits. The economic, cultural, and scientific value has been directly proven, and their own year-end bonuses are significantly higher, naturally providing them with ample motivation.

Soon, a large quantity of medicines and other goods were prepared. As they were being loaded onto the truck for Lin Zhou to take back, Director Zhao called him aside and quietly handed him a wooden box.

"What's this?"

"191." Director Zhao patted Lin Zhou on the shoulder: "The higher-ups are still worried about your safety. They felt that a pistol wouldn't be enough to keep you safe, so they issued you a fully automatic one, with 500 rounds of ammunition, all loaded in the magazine. I don't need to teach you how to shoot, right?"

"Of course not, I'm a professional, I've practically worn out my skills playing at simulated shooting ranges."

Director Zhao smiled and said, "That's good. Keep up the good work. Your commendation has already been issued, and when you come back next time, you'll basically have a formal position."

"Huh? I've got... a permanent position?"

"Of course, but if you have time, write an application for me, and I'll be your referrer."

Lin Zhou nodded hurriedly, so excited that he couldn't speak for a moment. In the Song Dynasty, he was neither sad nor happy when he received a thousand pieces of gold, but in his homeland, he was overjoyed to receive a government job. The difference in his state of mind was completely different.

"As I said before, your own safety should be the top priority, and never try to be a hero."

"Don't worry, I'm thriving over there."

In the afternoon, Lin Zhou was taken to the place he had traveled back to before, which was the location of Phoenix Mountain Scenic Area. The location was exactly the same as the place he appeared in the previous video. After the surrounding recorders and surveyors were ready, Director Zhao raised his hand: "Xiao Lin, you're all set."

"Okay!" Lin Zhou made an OK sign, and then disappeared in a flash.

Back in December of 1145, Lin Zhou glanced back at the cartload of goods behind him, and then began to wander around his shop.

Eagle is taking a nap right now, and everything is just as it was when he left, with not much change.

I walked to the door, hung up the "Closed" sign, and then sat down in the lobby and opened a bottle of Coke.

A moment later, a commotion came from the backyard. Xu Cheng turned back to look at the car and exclaimed, "You brought so much stuff?"

"Yeah, right." Lin Zhou tossed him a bottle of cola: "This time I brought enough medicine for 300,000 people, mainly anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, and fever reducers."

Xu Cheng looked down at the cola, then at Lin Zhou's actions, and with a hiss, he twisted it open, mimicking Lin Zhou's gesture. He took a sip, and the icy, refreshing, and sweet taste made Xu Cheng exclaim with delight, "Hey! This is good! Do you sell this here?"

"What are you thinking? I only brought a case for myself; this stuff is too heavy." Lin Zhou sighed, leaning back. "How does it taste?"

"Unique, it tastes medicinal, but much better than medicine." Xu Cheng took another swig, then squinted from the carbon dioxide, followed by a burp: "Refreshing!"

"Stop being so smug. Figure out a way to move the medicine back. You're not expecting me to carry it for you, are you?"

Xu Cheng curled his lip: "This is nothing. After dinner, I'll find a few trusted men to take care of it. Tell me, what delicious or fun things did you bring back this time?"

"Oh my, is this still the aloof young master of the Xu family? I seem to remember someone drawing a sword against him at the slightest disagreement back then?"

"Enough with the nonsense." Xu Cheng waved his hand. "Bring it to me immediately!"

Lin Zhou got up and started rummaging through the car. During this time, he didn't forget to make a few sarcastic remarks about Xu Cheng: "Cheng'er, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're such a spineless coward. You're probably going to become a traitor in the future."

"Nonsense. Besides, who in Lin'an is more of a traitor than you now? Everyone knows you've become the son-in-law of the Jurchens."

Lin Zhou rolled his eyes: "Me, a traitor? Me, a traitor, bringing back medicine for hundreds of thousands of people for you?!"

"They don't know." Xu Cheng leaned forward and watched Lin Zhou rummage through the items. "Hurry up, I haven't even had lunch yet, I'm starving."

Lin Zhou rummaged around for a while and pulled out a few bags of individual self-heating rations: "These are for me to satisfy my cravings, but I'm giving them all to you now."

"What is this? It doesn't look appetizing."

"So, are you going to eat it or not?"

"Let's give it a try."

Lin Zhou tore open the packaging, placed it on the table, and began heating up the food. While waiting, he said to Xu Cheng, "I plan to give Qin Hui a steel mill."

Why give it to him?

"Damn it, I want fame and fortune! I want to be an official!" Lin Zhou slapped his thigh. "You guys can do whatever you want with me, can you? I need to make good use of my status as the Prince Consort of the Jin Kingdom!"

Xu Cheng smacked his lips, unscrewed the can of cola, and took a sip. "I'll go back and tell my father. The Jin Kingdom's prince consort... Hahahaha, you're really planning to be his prince consort?"

"How can I refuse? You know, the whole of Lin'an knows! I can be shameless, but can the Jin royal family be shameless? If I refuse, they'll tear me to pieces and feed me to the dogs."