Chapter 5

In the afternoon, the warm sunshine bathed the earth. On the bustling Dong Street in Baotou, people were bustling about. Even in early spring, fur traders who had come out early were already busy, with furs transported from Kuren and even Kiakhta flooding the market. On both sides of the street, one could occasionally see handicraft workshops. Baotou's leather tanning and wool textile industries were relatively developed, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of animal droppings and tanning, which was hard to describe.

Liu Zhongwang lay in a reclining chair, using a fan to shield himself from the sun, his eyes half-closed. He was getting old and took a nap in the afternoon. His son was coming back that afternoon, and he heard that he would bring a friend who had studied abroad. Studying abroad was a rare thing in Baotou, and it seemed that no one in Baotou had such great ability. Perhaps the friend was from the south?

The world was becoming increasingly difficult. There seemed to be more homeless people on Dong Street, and more people from the south were coming to Baotou. On the vast grassland, countless bones lay buried. Now that he was old, he remembered that over 20 years ago, when he was young, he had also packed his bags and ventured out, eventually establishing his current business. Now, he had lost his former fighting spirit.

In the distance, a commotion grew louder, and many people seemed to be running over. Liu Zhongwang muttered, "Can't even get a good nap!" but opened his eyes. Chinese people loved to gather around, and for a mundane life, this was a kind of entertainment.

The cause of the commotion was Yang Yuanzhao. To avoid causing a disturbance, he had taken off his one-piece racing suit. Compared to the closed-off late Qing Dynasty, the colorful racing suit was too shocking. He had no other clothes, so he put on a pair of jeans and a down jacket. Fortunately, the down jacket was gray, which was less conspicuous.

However, when he entered Baotou, he realized that even the gray down jacket caused quite a stir. In early spring, Baotou was very cold, and most people wore old felt hats and cotton coats. Occasionally, one might see someone in a mandarin jacket or a fur coat. His outfit stood out, even in gray, which was different from the dyes of that era. The gray had a slightly metallic sheen, which was particularly eye-catching. Moreover, he was tall, about 1.78 meters, which was average in 2014 but taller than most people here, giving him a sense of standing out. Most importantly, he had taken off his hat, and his short, neat haircut was particularly noticeable in a time when most men had braids.

The crowd watched with curiosity but did not approach. Yang Yuanzhao was slightly relieved. If this were the early Qing Dynasty, his haircut might have caused serious trouble. People might have reported him to the authorities, and he could have been executed for not having a braid.

Liu Zhongwang used his fan to shield the sun and lay back in his reclining chair. Unlike the locals, he had traveled extensively and even went to Tianjin last year to buy goods. As a major port in the north, Tianjin's prosperity had broadened his horizons. There, many people had short hair, or were students who had studied abroad, or worked in foreign companies. These people were rare, and it was no wonder. This was the border area, with people coming and going from the south and north, and even foreigners were not uncommon. A student dressed so uniquely was indeed rare.

Yang Yuanzhao slowly moved forward. The crowd did not approach but watched from a few meters away, not hindering his progress. He recognized the traditional Chinese characters on the signs, which he was not very familiar with, so he had to guess. Fortunately, the shops were not complicated, and he could tell what they sold by looking inside.

After arriving in Baotou, it did not take long. His body was much better after the穿越 (time travel), and he had walked 20 kilometers in just 4 hours without feeling tired. He had even eaten some chocolate and drunk some water. However, once he entered Baotou, he felt lost. He did not know what to do, even with Dangdang. His pockets were empty, and he had no money.

Without money, everything was difficult. In many time-travel stories, people relied on watches, but he did not have one. Since the advent of mobile phones, watches had become less essential in modern life, more of a decorative item. He inventoried his possessions, including engine materials, but they would not fetch a good price here, and he could not just sell them. The only thing he could use was his wallet, but in the late Qing Dynasty, there were no paper bills, and people used leather pouches. Wallets were not useful here, especially in a leather town like Baotou, where even tanned leather was not valuable. A hero could be brought down by a lack of money. Perhaps he should find a job to survive first.

There seemed to be a small wharf at the Yellow River crossing. After the穿越 (time travel), his strength had increased, and he might consider doing some manual labor.

Manual labor was a means of survival. Yang Yuanzhao was not someone who considered himself above such work. In the late Qing Dynasty, his first priority was to survive and understand the situation. Just as he was about to go, Dangdang's cold voice said, "Decomposition complete!"

Unconsciously, it had been 5 hours, from morning to afternoon. He had decomposed 30 times, and although he had not paid attention to the type of stone, any stone would contain some copper or iron. For now, he needed to survive.

With a ding, Yang Yuanzhao's consciousness entered the intelligent elemental machine. On the way, he had chatted with Dangdang, learning that his consciousness was in the machine while his body remained outside, motionless. He was not worried about the shocking nature of entering and exiting. The decomposition area looked unchanged, as it took 700 decompositions to see significant changes. After 30 decompositions, there was no noticeable difference. In front of the decomposition machine, a semi-transparent control panel appeared with the message: "Decomposition complete, no decomposition products selected, retaining by value!"

"Dangdang, what did you retain?" Yang Yuanzhao asked casually. The machine would consume 95%, and each decomposition was about 0.125 cubic meters. Thirty decompositions were less than 4 cubic meters. After consuming 95%, the remaining material was less than 0.2 cubic meters, a block about one meter square and 20 centimeters thick. If it were iron, it would be worth a little money, and copper would be more valuable, but not much. Could he make knives or swords to sell? But he had no blueprints.

"Decomposition material: pegmatite, density: 2.57, 0.125 cubic meters per decomposition, 30 times total 3.75 cubic meters, total weight 9.6375 tons, final remaining material: gold 15.5 grams, silver 220.8 grams, copper 39.5 kilograms, iron 356.8 kilograms, tin 28.5 kilograms, aluminum 35.3 kilograms!"

Gold and silver stunned Yang Yuanzhao. He had expected to get a few hundred kilograms of iron and copper, but he had not expected to find gold and silver. 9.6375 tons, 15.5 grams of gold, averaging about 1 gram per ton. It was not a rich industrial ore, but it was rare. Most importantly, there was silver, with a concentration of about 23 grams per ton, close to the threshold for calculating reserves. Could the stone he picked up be part of a gold vein?

Suppressing his excitement, he realized that he had picked up a random stone without scanning it. Baotou was known to have gold mines with high concentrations, and several gold units were stationed there in the future. Could he have landed on a gold vein after the穿越 (time travel)?

Such ore, though difficult to mine industrially, was like a gold and silver mountain to Yang Yuanzhao. Thinking about the remaining large pile of ore, if it maintained the same ratio, it would yield nearly 400 grams of gold and over 5 kilograms of silver. Decomposing it all would solve his subsistence problem in 1908.

"Scan the ore and make a selection!" Yang Yuanzhao said excitedly.

"Yes, scanning the ore, please wait!"

A red light appeared on the ore, and a few seconds later, a series of element names appeared on the semi-transparent control panel. Oxygen was the most abundant, likely consumed by Dangdang. Next were silicon, aluminum, iron, and copper, the most abundant elements in the Earth's crust. A series of percentages followed, and Yang Yuanzhao even saw lithium, sodium, magnesium, niobium, and nickel.

"Dangdang, why are lithium and sodium not listed?"

"Relatively low value!" Dangdang's voice was emotionless, but it frustrated Yang Yuanzhao. These elements were present but in low concentrations. Compared to a few kilograms, a gram would be negligible. If not for the high value of gold and silver, they might have been consumed. It seemed that in the future, he would need to scan before decomposing.

Yang Yuanzhao thought to himself as he selected the rare and difficult-to-extract metals from the remaining material. Copper and iron were not as important, but these precious metals were crucial for alloys, which were essential in many alloy blueprints.

In the final scan, the gold and silver content was slightly higher than he expected: 1.75 grams per ton for gold and 28.8 grams per ton for silver. This meant that the large block of ore, about 98.5 cubic meters, contained about 443 grams of gold, nearly a pound, and about 7 kilograms of silver. This was not a small amount, especially in the late Qing Dynasty, where gold and silver were used as currency. Gold could be directly exchanged for dollars and pounds in banks, unlike in the future, where it was difficult to sell large amounts of gold and silver.

Excited, Yang Yuanzhao selected over ten items, supplementing the rest with common metals like copper and iron. After setting the ratio, he chose to decompose everything. As he clicked, a series of beeps sounded, and Dangdang said, "Upgrade restriction, cannot select, please continue!"

The upgrade restriction, Yang Yuanzhao remembered, Dangdang had said that about 100 decompositions would provide enough energy to unlock the restriction. If he could not cross it, he would choose 70 in the manual option and exit the decomposition area. Dangdang was still there, and as he was about to leave, he remembered something and asked, "Dangdang, how do I get the decomposed materials?"

"Just think about taking them out. Do you have any shape requirements?"

"Can I choose the shape?"

"Yes, basic shapes like cubes, rectangular prisms, cylinders, and spheres are possible. More complex shapes require blueprints."

"Then, a rectangular prism, a bit flat."

In the next moment, Yang Yuanzhao returned to the street with a small, thin block in his hand. It was gold, about 15 grams, but it was only that small. He quickly put it in the inner pocket of his down jacket, looked around, and searched for a gold shop. Gold was not a circulating currency in Baotou, and most shops would not accept it. He needed to find a gold shop to exchange it. Unfortunately, there were no banks here, which would have made it easier. In the early 20th century, gold could be directly exchanged for dollars, and dollars could be exchanged for gold.

Page AD starts

Page AD ends