Chapter 14

After confirming the company's articles of association, Yang Yuanzhao was busy for the next few days, his feet barely touching the ground. Besides the myriad tasks following the company's establishment, he toured the area around Baotou, looking for suitable brick kilns and, at the same time, searching for places to produce cement.

The plan for the cement factory had been put on hold, but in a large industrial zone, cement and bricks were indispensable. These were the most basic building materials, and time was of the essence. It was already 1908, and the turmoil in China was about to begin. Even the First World War was only six years away. If things continued at the previous slow pace, everything would be too late.

With the help of the integrated machine, he found several locations. The best place was beside a small mountain, ten miles from Baotou, where there were abundant limestone, gypsum, and clay, the main ingredients for cement. Other additives were not particularly important, as they were generally found in the soil. This was a characteristic of cement. In the late 20th century, every Chinese city had a cement factory, and although many were later shut down, cement factories remained common in every city.

He marked this location on the map. There were many similar resource points on the map. Northwest China was indeed a region rich in mineral resources. Throughout its long history, it had been the frontier of China, even a land of barbarians, and these mineral deposits had been well preserved.

Heavy industry was very important. Iron, copper, nickel, chromium, aluminum, and other important minerals were distributed in the Baotou area, though not many formed significant deposits. However, in a certain sense, they enriched the storage of his integrated machine. Iron and other metals with large reserves in the Earth's crust were no longer the focus of the integrated machine. The focus was on various rare elements and additives.

Over three days, Yang Yuanzhao toured the entire area around Baotou. According to the map, he drew up many plans. In his mind, the northwest of Baotou, an area of about 20 square kilometers, would be the wings for future takeoff. Currently, only two intentions had been realized, but in the future, a series of high-rise buildings and factories would be built here, these being the wings for China's takeoff.

While exploring these mineral deposits,

After the last upgrade, it had been almost seven days. During these seven days, Yang Yuanzhao had been decomposing materials non-stop, obtaining a considerable amount of precious metals. Finally, he completed the 1000 decomposition tasks again.

As before, everything inside split and recombined, ultimately forming 8 cubic decomposition pools and synthesizers. The space was enormous, over 8000 cubic meters, truly vast. A 20-meter cube appeared particularly spacious.

Looking back at Dangdang, it seemed slightly different from the first time he saw it. Its body seemed more solid, no longer shimmering and glowing, and it had a faint sense of flesh and blood, making Yang Yuanzhao feel even more like he was looking in a mirror.

The vast storage space represented more income. Now, his daily income was stable at around 2500 yuan. After the upgrade, it increased by 8 times, to 20,000 yuan per day. This was in silver dollars, not paper money, equivalent to about 2 million yuan in modern terms, a substantial income.

Tomorrow, he would set off for Shanghai, probably returning in a month, the earliest by early April. The storage space was 1000 times larger than the decomposition space. At the time, Yang Yuanzhao felt it was large, but when he was about to travel far, he realized this space was too small. A 1000 times larger space could only support him for less than 7 days of decomposition. For the remaining month, he would need to find more things to decompose, and at that time, he wouldn't find such high-value items.

Taking advantage of the last few days, he decided to decompose for one more day. An additional 20,000 yuan was still 20,000 yuan. Yang Yuanzhao spent almost the entire day at the gold mine. This was a large vein, conservatively estimated to contain over 70,000 kilograms of gold, or 700 metric tons. While it didn't compare to the super-large gold mines with over a thousand tons, it was still a staggering wealth, especially in the early 20th century, in a relatively poor and backward China. With the integrated machine, all the calculated reserves could be transformed into real wealth. This was the most powerful feature of the integrated machine, as it could extract any trace elements completely.

As the sun set, he had to return, feeling a bit reluctant. However, staying outside at night in the frontier was akin to suicide. Looking at the vast space inside the integrated machine, Yang Yuanzhao reached down. 8000 cubic meters seemed large, but when digging, it was just a 20-meter cube. After using it a dozen times, he had enough. After the third-level unlock, he needed 10,000 decompositions to upgrade, and the decomposition area was relatively small, unable to store all the materials needed for a single upgrade.

Yang Yuanzhao, slightly tired, returned to the inn. Even his body, which had become stronger after the穿越 (time travel), couldn't withstand the constant back-and-forth. In the past week, he had almost toured every corner of Baotou, even crossing the Yellow River by boat. He had a thorough understanding of Baotou's resources and had a clear plan in mind.

There was light in the room. Pushing the door open, he saw Yang Yue waiting for him. They had agreed to set off the next day, following the Yang family's caravan to Taiyuan. In recent days, Yang Yue had been close to Yang Yuanzhao. Although Yang Yuanzhao was not an agricultural expert, his divergent thinking in agriculture greatly promoted Yang Yue's understanding, especially in the cultivation of cotton and wheat. His insights were sharp, and Yang Yue felt as if he were facing a senior professor of agriculture at Yale University. Almost every night, Yang Yue would come to the inn to discuss the details of cotton and wheat rotation.

Yang Yuanzhao's knowledge of agriculture was limited, but much of it came from helping his uncle in the countryside in the 21st century. Many long-forgotten memories were gradually revived through their discussions. What seemed like trivial actions at the time became solutions under Yang Yue's professional scrutiny. The vague idea of building greenhouses became clearer as they discussed it. Yang Yue didn't know what plastic film was, and Yang Yuanzhao couldn't produce it now, as it would be too shocking. However, the concept of greenhouses was enough to spark Yang Yue's imagination. As for seedling trays, they were small ceramic or porcelain containers, which could be easily produced by the numerous small workshops in the northwest and China. The only concern was the quantity, but with over a month left, it was manageable.

It was late at night when Yang Yue left, satisfied. The plan for cotton cultivation was initially established, and he began inquiring about wheat. Yang Yuanzhao knew little about wheat, so he excused himself, citing the late hour, and politely sent Yang Yue off, who was still eager to continue.

After seeing Yang Yue off, Yang Yuanzhao didn't go to sleep immediately. Lying in bed, he looked out the window at the moon. The moon was bright in his hometown. He wondered if his family in the other world was well. He didn't dare to think about how his parents and relatives would react upon hearing of his disappearance. He could only pray for their health. As for himself, he had been fortunate to come to this world and must achieve something. Now, he had just laid a small foundation.

China's future would be established here. He had already taken the first step. With the experience from the future, the magic of the integrated machine, and Yang Yue, the American-educated student, the timing, location, and people were all in place. It was time for him to take this step in Baotou and steer the suffering China away from its original path.

---

End of Page AD

Start of Page AD