Chapter 14

Time flew by, and another half a month had passed.

The Hunter family's life remained as stagnant as ever. Old Hunter was busy managing his company every day, while young Mr. Hunter, after starting his "great" experiment, locked himself in the "laboratory" and busied himself with finding a replacement for the filament.

Of course, this was all for show.

No one else in the family, including Old Hunter, could enter this laboratory at will, so no one knew how he was doing. Therefore, no one knew that just two weeks after buying the materials, John had already made the light bulb!

For a person from the 21st century, as long as they had participated in similar interest groups, it wasn't very difficult.

The only difficulty was that this era didn't have as many ready-made materials as the 21st century. Many things needed to be made by John himself, so it wasn't until ten days later that he used the first sulfuric acid battery for testing. The cost of success was a few cuts on his hands and a black spot on his leg from the accidentally splashed sulfuric acid.

However, the "research" time was too short, and taking it out could easily cause trouble, so John didn't immediately tell his grandfather. In his view, it would take one or two months to experiment with twenty to thirty materials before it would be barely presentable. For this, he could only let the cost be higher, possibly reaching the $1,000 that Hans mentioned...

After the light bulb was lit, John felt much more at ease and refocused his attention on his books.

In this era, there were no computers, no internet, and it was below zero outside. John had no interest in being taken around, so it seemed that reading books was the only way. Therefore, after breakfast every day, he would run back to his laboratory, lock the door, and read newspapers or Old Hunter's collection of books, occasionally making some noise to make others think he was still working on his experiments.

One morning, after breakfast, John picked up the newspaper that Old Hunter had finished reading and was about to go back to his room when his grandfather called him: "John, it's Sunday today, so don't do any more experiments. Mr. Stone invited me to Central Park for a leisurely day... I just checked, and it's a great day to go to the park!"

"Central Park?"

John's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

John had long heard of Central Park. He first learned about it from the name of a café in the American TV show "Friends" from his previous life. Unfortunately, he didn't have the chance to visit it on his first day in New York.

However...

"Are you talking about Mr. Stone, the husband of Mrs. Stone?"

John, recalling the cute but once infuriating girl Emma, blinked and asked. He had a deep impression of that girl and immediately remembered her.

"Yes, that Mr. Stone."

Old Hunter said calmly, "Although Central Park in winter is far less beautiful than in summer, there are fewer people, so it's still worth spending some time there."

As a businessman, maintaining a close personal relationship with business partners, in addition to sharing interests, was also a form of investment. Therefore, when Mr. Stone wrote to Old Hunter, he agreed without hesitation.

However, John pouted and said, "I remember Mrs. Stone likes balls. Why did she suddenly think of going to the park?"

Although he was very interested in Central Park, John was somewhat reluctant. The weather was indeed good, and the sun was bright, but he knew that the temperature in New York was still below zero. In an era without down jackets, even a slight breeze could be deadly! Moreover, he knew Old Hunter's stiffness; he would definitely require him to wear formal clothes, which would be even more miserable!

Hearing this, Old Hunter was displeased and said sternly, "Mr. Stone is not one of those superficial big businessmen. His attitude towards balls is the same as mine."

As a traditional businessman, Old Hunter undoubtedly had many old-fashioned ideas. For example, he still had a strong aversion to factory owners, considering himself superior to them. He also disapproved of the luxurious banquets that the upper class pursued, and would only attend them if absolutely necessary.

"Why not go to the opera? Isn't that the favorite pastime of gentlemen?"

John asked, still not giving up.

"Remember, never mention the opera to Mr. Stone!"

Hearing John's question, Old Hunter's face changed, and he said urgently, "Mr. Stone's brother died in the Astor Theatre riot twenty years ago. He is very sensitive about this, understand?"

"Understood."

John was startled and quickly said, "Alright, I'll go change my clothes."

He couldn't refuse. After a month of living together, he had already figured out his grandfather's personality. Although Old Hunter indeed valued him and was willing to invest heavily to meet his needs, and his originally icy attitude had gradually softened, his traditional patriarchal style was still deeply rooted. If he refused, it would cause trouble!

Soon, the two of them set out in a carriage.

As Mr. Slack had said, the Hunter family wasn't far from Central Park. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the park entrance. The coachman, Henry, immediately jumped off the carriage and ran to the ticket window to buy tickets.

"What are you doing?"

Seeing John reach for the carriage door, Old Hunter frowned and asked sternly with his cane.

"Aren't we getting out?"

John blinked, puzzled.

Old Hunter was slightly stunned and asked, "Who told you to get out? Central Park is very large, and we are still far from the meeting point with Mr. Stone!"

"Ah?!"

John was thoroughly surprised, "Does Central Park allow carriages to enter?"

"Why not?"

To John's surprise, Old Hunter was even more surprised and asked with wide eyes.

Seeing his grandfather's expression, John's face darkened, realizing he had made a big mistake. However, he was still amazed. In his memory, parks were not supposed to allow vehicles to enter. Could American parks be so large that carriages could run around inside?

"Hmph!"

Seeing his grandson's expression, Old Hunter couldn't help but tap his cane again and snort.

Once again, Old Hunter felt more inclined to hire a tutor. Compared to scientific knowledge, he believed John urgently needed education in music, art, philosophy, and some Western life common sense, which a tutor could provide more efficiently.

As they were talking, Henry had already returned from the ticket window.

"Henry, how much is the park entrance fee?"

Seeing that Old Hunter seemed about to scold him again, John's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked loudly.

"Three cents for walking, six cents per person for a carriage, sir!"

Henry responded loudly and then drove the carriage into Central Park.

...

Seeing the arguments in the book review section, I think it's unnecessary. Let's all be calm.

Let me clarify: I have no intention of writing something too advanced for the era. The reason I wrote about physics, chemistry, and biology earlier is because medicine in that era required it. Without breakthroughs in physics and chemistry, modern medicine would not have developed. Moreover, things like quantum mechanics sound very advanced, and I genuinely don't understand them, haha. I can only write about what I know, and the rest is out of my reach.

Furthermore, in that era, this was already enough, wasn't it?