Chapter 52

No matter whether in his past life or this one, John was a person with a delicate and cautious mind. Last year, he had already made up his mind to be a physician for the rest of his life, but he did not reveal this intention to anyone. He knew that neither his grandfather, Old Hunter, nor his other friends with vested interests would allow him to pursue such a humble, or even lowly, profession. Physicians, especially surgeons, had a poor reputation in this era and earned very little, which was absolutely not a suitable career for a gentleman like John.

At least before returning from Europe, John did not plan to let others know about this intention.

On the other hand, John was also a person who liked to think ahead, or in other words, to have a long-term vision. Therefore, as early as last year, he had already started planning for the future.

Firstly, he needed to demonstrate extraordinary talent.

Talent could explain many things and could play an unexpected role at critical times. Therefore, besides his continuous efforts in painting, John also openly displayed his strong "talent" in the field of science! Mathematics, physics, and chemistry were the most important subjects. Using his knowledge from his past life, John managed to make three private tutors resign one after another in just a short year, and successfully left a deep impression on others.

The second point, which might seem a bit vulgar, was that he must have money!

Cautiousness did not mean being conservative or lacking ambition. In fact, if John was content with becoming an excellent physician, or even leaving a name in medical history, it would be a very simple matter for him, as long as he took steady steps. However, he wanted to do more and do it faster, which was impossible without financial support. In this era, there was no National Institutes of Health (NIH) with an annual budget of $30 billion, nor a pharmaceutical group investing billions of dollars in research and development each year. Americans had not even developed the concept of investing in the medical field: when theological schools across the country received millions of dollars in funding annually, the total funding for all medical schools combined was only a few hundred thousand dollars!

Of course, within a decade, Rockefeller would begin to invest money and energy in the medical field, but John did not dare to pin his hopes on this oil tycoon. Therefore, having enough wealth himself was the right path.

In just over a year since the bicycle went on the market, it had been sold all over the world, creating a sales miracle of nearly 50,000 units and bringing in a profit of several hundred thousand dollars. According to the current market situation, this trend would continue for a long time, so all the profits were reinvested in expanding production. Joshua and Funk had an ambitious plan to open two more factories in Europe...

The huge gains from a few drawings made John eager to try again.

"I plan to invest in two more areas."

John, who was well-prepared, confidently told his friends, "One is still a means of transportation. I have designed a new type of bicycle... well, we can give it another name, mainly for cargo transport. The other is related to children..."

"A new type of bicycle?"

Before John could finish his sentence, Funk jumped up, excitedly asking, "Have you made a prototype? How fast is it? What's the cost?"

As the "factory manager" of the bicycle factory, Funk was undoubtedly the most sensitive to this information, immediately thinking of the three most important questions.

"Uh..."

After a brief moment of hesitation, John shook his head with a bitter smile, "No, I've just drawn the blueprints, nothing else is done yet!"

"Show us the blueprints!"

As soon as John finished speaking, several hands immediately reached out to him.

Seeing that everyone had a determined look on their faces, John couldn't say to wait until he finished speaking, so he nodded and stood up, "Alright, everyone, let's go to my study."

Under the escort of everyone, John went upstairs to his study, closed the door, and took out a stack of blueprints from a cabinet. As he distributed them, he explained with a smile, "The working principle of this bicycle is the same, but the design has been adjusted. The two wheels of equal size have been changed to one in front and two in the back, with a compartment added for cargo or passengers..."

As soon as everyone got the blueprints, they eagerly flipped through them.

If someone from the future saw these blueprints, they would immediately recognize what they were, because it was indeed very simple—just a tricycle!

"Very suitable for use in cities!"

While everyone was carefully examining the blueprints, John continued, "It can easily carry a lot of cargo, with a much lower cost than a horse-drawn carriage, but it's not slow, making it suitable for short-distance freight..."

"Ha ha, amazing!"

To everyone's surprise, the first to understand the tricycle's potential was Tare Brown, the mechanical expert. He exclaimed in surprise, then slapped his forehead in frustration, "Such a simple change, why didn't I think of it?"

With Tare's hint, the others quickly realized the advantages of the tricycle.

None of them were fools; they immediately understood that John's design would soon spark another wave of enthusiasm. If ordinary bicycles provided convenient transportation for people, then tricycles would offer a new method for short-distance cargo transport! It was easy to imagine that in a city like New York, no grocery store, restaurant, or hotel would refuse such a convenient and practical transport tool!

After a moment of rapid thought, Funk also exclaimed in surprise, "The cost would be at most twice that of an ordinary bicycle, but the selling price could be at least twice as high!"

The others nodded in agreement.

Merchants and factory owners were always more generous than ordinary people. As long as it could improve efficiency, they wouldn't hesitate to spend over a hundred dollars on such a useful item.

While everyone was secretly calculating the value of the tricycle and thinking about how to get involved, Emma showed no interest in the machinery and instead asked about the second idea John had mentioned: "John, what was the other thing... um, the one related to children?"

"Hehe, it's just some toys."

John, of course, did not dare to neglect Emma's question and immediately replied with a smile.

"Toys?"

Upon hearing this, not only Emma but also the others were immediately intrigued.

There were already products for children in this era, but they were few in number and mostly traditional toys, which did not form a significant market. No one expected John to suddenly design such things.

None of them realized that, in the future, the best money to be made, besides from women, was from children.

John did not want to, nor dare to, make money from women yet, as the ready-made clothing and cosmetics markets were very small, and the conservative forces were too strong for him to challenge. He would have to wait at least twenty or thirty years before even considering it. But when it came to making money from children...

With a grin, John opened another cabinet.

He took out a thick stack of blueprints and distributed them to everyone, "Everyone, these are the toys I designed over the past year. They are all low-cost and easy to manufacture, like these building blocks and puzzles, which should be things children would enjoy..."

...

Tomorrow is a special day, so the update might be late. I hope you understand, ha ha.

[Page Flip AD Start]

[Page Flip AD End]