Chapter 31

In the morning, the warm sunlight shone through the car window, making one feel exceptionally comfortable. The previous day had been filled with deep conversations with Feng Yuxiang and others, leaving him slightly tired. The first-class ticket was expensive but very comfortable, far more so than the trains of the future. With a speed of less than 30 kilometers per hour, there was almost no shaking, and the space and comfort level surpassed that of the soft sleeper in the future. The night passed without any dreams.

Opening his eyes, Yang Yue, who was sitting beside him, smiled and said, "It's already past ten, you're just waking up!"

"Where are we now?"

"We haven't even left Henan yet, I think we're almost in Hubei!"

The end point of the Pinghan Railway was in Wuhan, Hubei. Reaching Hubei meant the end of the journey. Yang Yuanzhao stretched and greeted Yang Yue, who was reading a book, before wobbling out.

Sitting in the carriage, he sipped his rich coffee, watching the train move smoothly forward, crossing the plains. After Henan came Hubei, a land of fish and rice, with more greenery and more paddy fields. The rice was growing rapidly, and from time to time, he could see farmers working hard in the fields under the scorching sun. China was built on the backs of these farmers, forming a vast and great empire.

Compared to a carriage, this was much more comfortable, with spacious seats and a pleasant environment. He could walk around freely, which was much better than the cramped space of a carriage. The bar offered drinks from all over China and even the world, from alcoholic to non-alcoholic, almost everything was available. The prices were not high, and Yang Yuanzhao, leaning back in his seat, closed his eyes, but his consciousness entered the all-in-one machine.

The all-in-one machine was still the same as before. The items brought back from the 21st century were piled on one side. Perhaps in the future, they would be displayed as a memorial, but for now, it was better to keep them here to avoid any uncontrollable variables.

"Dingdang, come out!" Yang Yuanzhao said.

As soon as he spoke, Dingdang instantly appeared, floating over like Sadako. Yang Yuanzhao was already used to Dingdang's antics and walked over to the blueprint area.

The trip to Shanghai had two purposes. First, he needed to perfect his blueprints and obtain enough machine tools, steam engines, and large equipment from Hankou, Shanghai, and Tianjin. These were the most industrially advanced areas in China. Even if he could only get some textile machinery, it would still be a significant improvement over the current era. However, it was still too early to introduce such advanced technology.

The second purpose was related to the Baokeng Company. On this trip to Shanghai, Yang Yue would handle the seeds and fertilizers, while Yang Yuanzhao needed to solve the issues of plastic greenhouses, urea, and agricultural machinery.

The Baokeng Company was the most crucial part of Yang Yuanzhao's plan. Collaborating with Yang Yue, they would grow cotton, an economic crop. Using fertilizers would definitely yield good results, but Yang Yuanzhao wanted even better results, which meant he needed to solve the issue of agricultural machinery.

Among agricultural machinery, the most suitable and effective for agricultural improvement was probably the tractor. In the Baokeng Company, deep plowing and even wheat harvesting would have to rely on machines. Even with 4,000 people, it was still a small number for the 20,000 acres of land dedicated to cotton, which required a lot of labor. Deep plowing, for example, would be almost impossible without machines.

Yang Yuanzhao was relatively familiar with tractors, having studied mechanics. He had a preliminary plan in his mind, but when it came to actual replication, problems would arise. Tractors were large, complex machines, about 3.5 meters wide, 5 meters long, and nearly 5 meters high. In the future, a county-level agricultural machinery factory could produce them, but in the early 20th century, without sufficient technological foundation, many components could not be processed by the all-in-one machine. The current all-in-one machine was only at the third level, with a maximum size of 2 meters in length, width, and height.

The all-in-one machine was still at a low level, and he couldn't wait. Upgrading from the third level to the fourth level required 10,000 uses, which would take at least two months. Even after upgrading, the maximum size would only be 4 meters, and the largest components could not be formed in one go.

After much thought, he still had no idea where to start. The tractor he had seen in his mind was difficult to continue. Just as he was about to give up, he had an idea and looked at the blueprint area. The blueprint area was the least visited by Yang Yuanzhao, usually used for storing blueprints. He thought that the powerful all-in-one machine should not be so simple.

The blueprint area was already full, with blueprints from the future and those drawn from Baotou clearly separated into two different cabinets, making it easier to find and use them. The technology of the future could not yet be integrated with the technology of this era.

Looking at the full cabinets, Yang Yuanzhao had an idea and asked, "Dingdang, can I draw my own blueprints?"

"Yes, but they need to be verified," Dingdang nodded and said.

"Verified?"

"Yes, blueprints are not just about the shape; they must include the internal structure as well. Just giving a shape is not enough. Dingdang seemed to know Yang Yuanzhao's intentions and casually mentioned this, which immediately dashed many of his ideas. Yang Yuanzhao knew a lot, but if it were just about the shape, it would be much easier. However, now he needed to understand both the external and internal structures."

Fortunately, as an engine engineer, Yang Yuanzhao had strong knowledge of engines and cars. He could create some basic engine and car design blueprints, but this was not enough to form a complete engine or car, only a model.

Even though it was just a model, Yang Yuanzhao still cared. In the future, after breaking through the fourth stage, he could produce 4-meter-long castings. Although many castings were not square or regular in shape, many were less than 2 meters. For Yang Yuanzhao, the fewer the cuts and connections, the better. He had welding machines, but to complete all the welding on the tractor would take a lot of time.

"How do I verify?"

"You just need to construct the entire structure in your mind, and the blueprints can be automatically verified!"

This was a good method. Automatic verification relaxed Yang Yuanzhao. He had thought he would need to configure each part individually. Although he knew many advanced machines from the future, the blueprints for most of them were only rough, except for a few complete ones in the books he brought. Now, he could complete them with just his imagination, which was very convenient.

"Create the BMW 999 engine!" Yang Yuanzhao casually issued a command, and a shiny silver engine appeared in his hand, the BMW 999CC engine.

As a power enthusiast, Yang Yuanzhao was very familiar with this engine. It was a pinnacle of engine design in the new century, though it did not reach 200 horsepower, the peak of small motorcycle engines. However, BMW was known for its precision and controllability, and this engine had a lot of room for modification. He had considered at least 20 different modification plans, from power to safety, almost everything.

Ironically, at this moment, he had to use this engine to design a tractor.

A tractor with a BMW 999 engine sounded ridiculous. In the future, even the most low-key tycoons only installed a BMW M2 engine in an Alto, modified the exhaust, controller, and tires. He, on the other hand, was directly installing it in a tractor. If this were the future, a tractor with top-notch control, transmission, and engine would be very impressive.

Unfortunately, it was 1908 in China. There were hardly any tractors, let alone cars. A high-performance engine in a tractor would be like playing a violin to a cow in an era where cars were rare.