Chapter 6

On November 1, 1902, the twelfth day after his time travel, Yang Rui got up early and waited in his room until half past seven before going out. He first went to the post office to collect the three dollars. There were few people at the post office in the morning, so he just signed the receipt and got the money, which was quite convenient. However, he didn't know where Beihai Road was, so he had to find a rickshaw driver. After arriving at the Agricultural Journal office, he inquired about the money collection procedure and quickly received the money after showing the slip. As he left the Agricultural Journal office, Yang Rui's pockets felt heavy with nine silver dollars, which jingled pleasantly, making him feel exceptionally good. After savoring the moment, he felt somewhat ashamed of himself, thinking that nine dollars wasn't much to be so elated about.

Yang Rui's self-reflection didn't really help much. Men's minds often work this way: the bigger the wallet, the bolder the heart. His steps home were particularly light, and the road seemed especially short. Just a few intersections away from Ruyili, Yang Rui saw a man climbing a wooden pole, wearing the kind of half-circle climbing shoes used by electricians. Two people were looking up, and a circle of wires lay on the ground. Yang Rui initially wanted to walk past, but he turned back after a moment. He just watched the man on the pole without speaking. The two men below, seeing a "second-class foreigner," glanced at Yang Rui but didn't say anything, treating him as just another onlooker.

Actually, Yang Rui wasn't unwilling to speak; he was just thinking about the fact that there was electricity here. "There's actually electricity! Thank heaven!" His mind raced, trying to figure out what to ask. He had been in this place for over ten days, and because of safety concerns, he had always stayed home at night, so he hadn't seen any electric lights. He had only seen the bright lights in the distance on the Bund and the main streets, assuming they were gas lamps. The rickshaw driver, Wang Laosan, had mentioned a gas factory, hadn't he? In fact, in the 1902 concession, electric lights had already existed, but because the electricity was too expensive, they were only installed in Western-style houses. Houses like Yang Rui's shikumen still used kerosene lamps.

Yang Rui finally recalled the physics textbook knowledge related to electricity and decided what to ask. He took the initiative to greet them, "Master, are you from the power company? Are you installing wires?"

The older man standing under the pole casually replied, "No, we're from the concession's electric light company. We're pulling wires to the inside now."

Seeing that they were willing to talk to him, Yang Rui hurriedly took out the pack of Lao Dao cigarettes he had bought and offered them to the men. He also took one for himself and used a Zippo-like lighter to light their cigarettes. The three men immediately became more friendly. The older man was surnamed Shi, and the two younger men were his apprentices, all from the electric light company. Seeing that Yang Rui might want to install electric lights, Old Shi introduced, "The electric light company has been around for a long time, about ten years. Now, the concession has electricity day and night, but the electricity is very expensive. The monthly fee for one electric light is one dollar and twenty-five cents, and for each volt, it costs thirteen cents, which is about fifteen cents in silver. It's very expensive, and now it's mostly installed in Western-style houses."

Yang Rui was a bit stunned. He had never heard of volts being used to measure electricity; it was usually measured in kilowatts or watts. "Grandma, it can't be per watt, can it? The power of a notebook computer is generally fifty to sixty watts, so that would be over five dollars per hour. Damn, that's really expensive, what a bunch of swindlers!" But thinking about it, even if it was expensive, there was no other choice. He said, "It's quite expensive, but I don't know what kind of electricity this is, AC or DC, and what the voltage is. If it's AC, what is the frequency?"

"This is AC. It used to be DC, but now it's all AC. I don't know the frequency, but the voltage is two hundred volts. A few years ago, it was one hundred and ten volts," Old Shi explained. He had been with the electric light company for almost ten years and knew a lot, but the frequency was rarely mentioned, so he didn't know it.

Yang Rui realized that he was just one step away from using his notebook. He asked Old Shi to find out the frequency when he returned to the company and gave him the rest of the pack of cigarettes. Old Shi hesitated for a moment but accepted, saying he would ask the company in the afternoon and that Yang Rui could find him easily.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Yang Rui found Old Shi at another street corner. After greeting him, Old Shi said, "Yang Xisheng, we asked the foreign master at the company about what you wanted to know. You mentioned 'Hertz,' right? He said the original frequency was one hundred Hertz, but it was later changed to fifty Hertz. Is that okay for you?"

Yang Rui was delighted. This meant he could use his notebook. He exclaimed, "It's perfect! It's perfect! Thank you, Master Shi." He was about to leave but turned back after a few steps and asked, "Master Shi, how do I install the electricity?"

Old Shi, who was surprised that the man had asked and then left, waved his hand and said, "We also asked about that. You need to apply at the company. Our company is in the American concession, at 3 Feilun Road. You can go there to apply, and it will be installed."

Yang Rui thanked Old Shi again and directly called a rickshaw to the electric light company. The rickshaw driver headed straight for the Bund. The biggest difference between the 1902 Bund and the future was that the riverbank was lined with wharves and piers of foreign trading companies, with ships of various sizes docked. Dock workers were busy, shouting incomprehensible chants. On the other side of the greenery were the Western-style buildings, lined up on the inner side of the road, mostly four to five stories high. Many familiar buildings were missing, such as the Peace Hotel, the Waibaidu Bridge, and the big clock. The bridge over the Suzhou River was a long wooden bridge, which seemed to be the future Waibaidu Bridge. The rickshaw driver called it the "Baidubridge" because it was free to cross, unlike the previous toll bridges.

After crossing the bridge, they entered Hongkou, the American concession. Yang Rui had never been there before, and it was not as prosperous as the British concession. Most of the buildings were factories, making the area seem desolate. The electric light company was combined with the power plant, but there were several rooms dedicated to office work, including a special room for handling applications for electric light installation. After understanding that Yang Rui was applying for electric lights, the staff gave him a simple application form and a fountain pen. Like modern monopoly companies, the document included the fees and a lot of fine print to avoid responsibility. The fees were different from what Old Shi had said. He had mentioned fifteen cents per volt, but it was actually per kilowatt-hour. The monthly fee for the electric light was correct, but it had to be paid in advance. After submitting the application and the fee, the staff gave him a receipt and said that the installation would definitely be done the following week, and the fee would start from December. They asked Mr. Yang to ensure someone was at home during the day.

Yang Rui left the electric light company but couldn't find a rickshaw, so he had to walk home. 3 Feilun Road was near Yangshupu Road, quite far from Ruyili. By the time he returned to the attic, it was already dark. As he entered the gate, he saw Mrs. Huang washing dishes. She greeted him warmly, "You're back, Mr. Yang. Have you eaten?"

Yang Rui felt that Mrs. Huang was a good person. Not only was the rent cheap, but she was also very friendly. According to the neighborhood gossip, Mrs. Xu, who lived in the kitchen below him, the attic used to rent for four dollars, but it had been vacant after the previous tenant returned home. A few people had inquired, but Mrs. Huang hadn't given them a discount. When Yang Rui came, the rent was reduced to three dollars and fifty cents. Mrs. Xu was not only a gossip but also liked to be close. She didn't talk much to Yang Rui at first, but after he bought some candy for her eldest daughter, she found him to be more approachable and started talking more.

"Yes, Mrs. Huang, I ate outside. Have you eaten too?" Yang Rui smiled and responded. As he was about to go up the corridor to his room, he suddenly thought about the electric light installation and felt it was better to inform the landlord. He said, "Mrs. Huang, is Mr. Huang at home?"

Mrs. Huang looked at Yang Rui and said, "He's inside. Do you need something?" She then called out a few times, but there was no response. She said, "What do you need? Just tell me."

Yang Rui thought it might be better not to disturb him if he was busy, so he explained that he found writing by oil lamp at night was tiring for his eyes and had applied for electric lights after seeing the electric light company installing street lights.

Mrs. Huang smiled, "Shanghai is different from abroad. You're used to electric lights there. I have a nephew who came from Wuxi to study in Shanghai. He was the same age as you and also found it hard to adjust. Installing electric lights is fine. If you use them, we can use them too."

Yang Rui thought to himself that he was twenty-five, and her nephew must be much older to still be in school. In Mrs. Huang's eyes, Yang Rui was around twenty. Modern people ate well and had good nutrition, and since Yang Rui wasn't a manual laborer and didn't have a beard, he looked younger.

Yang Rui went upstairs, and Mrs. Huang finished washing the dishes and went inside. Mr. Huang was sitting by the oil lamp reading a newspaper. When he saw Mrs. Huang come in, he asked, "What did Mr. Yang say? I heard you talking."

"You didn't even come out when I called you. Mr. Yang said he went to the electric light company to apply for electric lights. What did you think I was talking about?" Mrs. Huang said, a bit annoyed.

"Oh, electric lights. That's a foreign thing, very expensive. Can Mr. Yang afford it?" Mr. Huang questioned, putting down the newspaper.

"Of course he can. Old Deng delivered two letters for him, both from the newspaper office. One was for three dollars, and the other was in the letter, so we couldn't see it. He's capable, unlike you," Mrs. Huang said, suddenly thinking of her own troubles.

Mr. Huang didn't want to back down and raised his voice, "Then why did you give him the attic for three dollars and fifty cents? This house isn't ours; we're just sub-landlords. We paid two hundred dollars for the lease..."

Mrs. Huang interrupted him, "All you think about is money. You talk about money all day, but you're not getting rich. If you love money so much, go live with it. I'll go back to the countryside and live with the kids." She wiped away tears.

Mr. Huang couldn't do anything about his wife. The children were his weak spot. To save money, he had left them in Anhui and hadn't brought them to Shanghai. Every time they argued, it always ended up being about the children, a recurring topic. He stood up and paced, calculating. He earned eight dollars a month, and if the boss's business was good, he might get an extra two dollars. Last year, he had paid two hundred dollars for the lease, which had drained his savings and left him in debt. The house was fully rented out, so he earned eight dollars a month, but now the second-floor bedroom had been vacant for two months, and the attic was rented for fifty cents less than before. This meant he was losing fifty cents a month. Mr. Huang had been a bookkeeper for decades and was very good at calculations.

While the Huangs were having a cold war downstairs, Yang Rui sat by the lamp, planning his strategy to make money. Now that his basic living was secure, finding his first pot of gold was crucial. He was alone, with no connections, so he could only rely on technological innovation, which required less capital, connections, and background. But what new technology could he offer? It was the early 20th century, and many things had already been invented, but what could a fruit seller like him innovate?

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Note 1: For the sake of the plot, the 50 Hz frequency is introduced two years earlier.

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