Chapter 13

"Crack!"

The carriage came to a steady stop at the front door of the house. Henry quickly jumped down and, while opening the door, respectfully said, "Mr. Huntelaar, we're home."

"Oh?"

Opening his eyes, Huntelaar took a deep breath, slightly reviving his weary spirit. He then carefully got off the carriage and waved, saying, "Henry, tomorrow is Saturday, but I plan to rest. You don't need to get up early to prepare."

"Alright, sir!"

Henry's young face instantly lit up with joy, and he immediately responded loudly.

In this era, New York was mostly on a six-day workweek, with only a few middle-class families having a five-and-a-half-day workweek. However, Mr. Huntelaar was a very diligent person and rarely took Saturdays off. Therefore, for Henry, having an extra day off this week was a rare and welcome benefit.

"Sir, you're back."

As soon as Mr. Huntelaar entered the door, the butler Hans came forward to greet him.

"Hmm."

Handing his cane and hat to Hans, Mr. Huntelaar looked toward the living room and asked with a frown, "Where's John? Still messing around upstairs with those things?"

"Yes, sir."

Hans carefully took the cane and hat without saying much more.

It had been a full week since they returned from New Jersey. As Mr. Huntelaar had said, he had given John a generous budget and had Hans prepare a room as a laboratory, allowing John to experiment with "inventing new filament materials." Because of this, John had spent the entire New Year in the house.

However, to be honest, Mr. Huntelaar had little confidence in his grandson!

Although he knew his grandson was likely a genius—after all, at just eleven years old, he could already speak four languages and had a good grasp of mathematics, physics, and chemistry—Mr. Huntelaar still had little confidence. After all, Edison was a famous inventor nationwide, while John was just a child with exceptional intelligence.

It was a moment of enthusiasm and a desire to encourage his grandson's ambition that led Mr. Huntelaar to spend a large sum of money on this endeavor.

However...

"How much has been spent so far?"

Thinking of the number Hans reported to him the day before yesterday, Mr. Huntelaar's heart tightened, and he turned to ask in a low voice.

"Already four hundred dollars, sir!" Hans said with a bitter smile. "And this morning, young Mr. Huntelaar gave me a list that will cost about another hundred dollars. At this rate, we might spend a thousand dollars by the end of the month! Sir..."

Hans hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Do you think we should remind young Mr. Huntelaar? Many of the items on the list are quite puzzling. For example, if he wants to make a light bulb, he should only need the items on the first list, right? Why is he asking me to buy so much sulfuric acid today?"

"Sulfuric acid?"

Hearing this word, Mr. Huntelaar was instantly alarmed!

Even though he knew nothing about science, Mr. Huntelaar had heard of sulfuric acid and knew it was extremely dangerous! He couldn't help but feel a bit worried and frowned, saying, "Alright, I'll go up and take a look. Have Miss Cook prepare dinner. We'll be down in ten minutes."

"Yes, sir."

Under Hans's worried gaze, Mr. Huntelaar took off his coat and went upstairs to the door of John's "laboratory."

"Knock, knock."

The gentle knocking sound startled John out of his deep thoughts. He quickly opened the door and saw his grandfather standing there with a small box in hand.

"John, here's what you asked for."

Mr. Huntelaar handed the box to John and said calmly.

"Oh, it's here?"

John immediately took the box with surprise, opened it, and started counting the items inside while casually saying, "Thanks, with these things, I have all the materials I need to make a light bulb!"

"All of them?"

Mr. Huntelaar frowned and said sternly, "John, since you have all the materials you need, why did you ask Hans to buy sulfuric acid today? Do you know how dangerous that is? One mistake could hurt you!"

"Ah?"

Hearing his grandfather's somewhat displeased questioning, John was initially taken aback but then smiled.

Since returning from New Jersey, the relationship between grandfather and grandson had improved significantly. Mr. Huntelaar hadn't spoken to him in this tone for several days. However, today, John felt a sense of warmth rather than discomfort.

Before his grandfather could get angry, John quickly explained, "Sir, I'm not buying sulfuric acid to make a light bulb, but to make a battery!"

"A battery? What's that?"

Mr. Huntelaar was taken aback and quickly asked.

"Uh..."

John scratched his head, a bit frustrated, and after a moment's thought, said, "Let me explain it this way: you know that kerosene lamps need kerosene to light up, right?"

"Of course!"

Mr. Huntelaar glared, not in the best mood.

Shrugging, John smiled, "Exactly. For an electric light to work, it needs electricity. We don't have a generator at home, and they are too expensive. So, I thought I could make a battery using sulfuric acid and lead to power the light bulb... it's like providing kerosene for a kerosene lamp!"

After John's explanation, Mr. Huntelaar immediately understood.

However...

Mr. Huntelaar's expression didn't relax. He frowned and asked, "John, how did you learn to make this... battery?"

" Battery!"

John quickly corrected him.

"Right, a battery!"

Mr. Huntelaar's gaze was fixed on his grandson's face as he asked, "Where did you learn about this? I can believe you understand some physics and mechanics and can guess the structure of a light bulb after seeing it, but a battery?"

Under his grandfather's intense gaze, John remained calm and smiled, "I read about it in a book. I understood the basic principle and thought it was quite simple, so I decided to try making one myself."

"From a book? Which one?"

Mr. Huntelaar pressed on.

John's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he smiled, "I forgot the name, but it's one of the books in your study. If you're interested, I can find it for you later."

"One of the books in my study?!"

Mr. Huntelaar's mouth dropped open in disbelief. The house did have a large study with hundreds of books, but most were business newspapers and books, with only a few on art and philosophy. How could there be something like this?

However, before Mr. Huntelaar could speak, John continued, "It was probably a business intelligence book written by an Englishman. It had a description of this sulfuric acid battery. Yes, I remember it was criticized for having a short lifespan and being somewhat dangerous, which affected its value... the principle is quite simple. It was discovered in Europe decades ago, and someone taught me about it in the East, so I recognized it immediately."

"Phew..."

Hearing this, Mr. Huntelaar let out a long breath, finally relaxing from his earlier state. But in an instant, his gaze became intense again!

Just from a business report, he could deduce the principle of making a battery and want to try making it?

Is this boy really a genius?!

Watching his grandson, Mr. Huntelaar pondered for a while. When John started to feel uncomfortable, Mr. Huntelaar finally relaxed his gaze and nodded, "Alright, but I'll only buy the sulfuric acid after you've finished making the light bulb, and only in the amount you need for a short time!"

Without waiting for John to respond, Mr. Huntelaar turned and opened the door, saying as he left, "Dinner starts in five minutes, don't be late!"

"Click!"

The door closed.

Inside, John smiled silently.

Looking at the newly acquired materials and the bamboo fan with an Eastern flair on the table, John touched his smooth chin, his eyes filled with amusement, "Mr. Thomas Edison, since I've decided to take one of your most influential discoveries, what should I do about the invention that took you the most time and effort? This is truly a troubling question..."

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