Thousands of sparks

Chapter 6 Trading
The demonstration of the gas machine was a great success.

With the oxygen decomposed by the heated hydrogen peroxide and the strong blowing of the steam fan, the gas machine miraculously started to work.

Instead of relying on coal, an engine was born that was extremely quiet and naturally smaller in size than a steam engine.

The nobles looked at it with great interest for a long time, and then they clicked their tongues in amazement.

And then... no more.

No business cards were handed over, no job invitations were handed over in a fierce and crazy competition, and no one was even more interested in this invention.

The gas machine ran for about a quarter of a quarter of the time, and then began to make a strange sound of "puff puff puff".Before Polina made an emergency shutdown, the gas machine had already stopped running on its own with a "clang" sound like a metal collision.

Considering that the fuel used by the internal combustion engine is highly flammable, and there is still a source of fire and oxygen at the air intake, Dusande immediately rushed to the side of the fuel tank and screwed the valve with all his strength.

Take away the kettle to prevent further generation of oxygen, and turn off the gas lamp to prevent the danger caused by oxygen-assisted combustion.From the stage of compulsory education, Du Sande's awareness of safe operation rules repeatedly cultivated by teachers finally came in handy.There was no fire or other more serious accidents at the prom.

The nobles applauded Polina politely, and then watched the female inventor take away her great creation.No one cared what the point of her invention was - a machine that only works for a few minutes has no practical value.

The ball began, and as the waltz was played by the band, Polina's dream of being a great inventor was also shattered.She was alone in the lounge, curled up on the sofa with bare feet, and buried her head deeply in her arms.

Just now she had disassembled the gas machine and conducted a preliminary inspection of the inside of the combustion chamber.The cylinders and pistons showed traces of metal melting and recooling—the connecting rods connecting the pistons to the crankshaft were also badly bent.

With such a large damage, the piston and cylinder must be completely scrapped.And once these two parts are scrapped, the whole machine will be regarded as a pile of waste.

Although nobles have always been synonymous with stupidity, no matter how stupid aristocrats are, it is impossible for them to invest in a pile of rubbish with a golden list.

But to find the reason for the damage of the parts, improve the design and verify whether the improved design is reasonable... This requires throwing piles of gold pounds on materials, mechanical design, and calculations before it is possible to throw a result. .

And Polina has no money.

All that remained of her possessions now were two suits of dress, and eight shilling notes in her purse, and about twelvepence in change.All these sums were not even enough to pay for her risky return to Olin.

Polina was lost in confusion.She didn't even know what she was supposed to do next.

The mechanical vertical clock in the corner is beeping at a fixed rhythm.When the minute hand points to 0, a metal bird covered with enamel will jump out from the top of the vertical clock, then open its sharp beak, and spray a burst of water vapor towards the ceiling. A short blast of a siren.

The second siren sounded, and Polina, who was curled up on the sofa, suddenly heard the sound of the door opening.Mixed with the sound of music in the ballroom, Dusand and Lorraine walked into the lounge together.

"I've been looking for you in the ballroom for a long time." Seeing Paulina in the lounge, Dusand felt a little relieved.Just after the demo, he was forced to stay in the ballroom because he was going to dance the first dance with Lorraine.When the dance was over, he realized that Polina had disappeared.

Dusand was worried.Not that he felt that his gentle and kind mother would feel ashamed and throw Polina and her invention out of the manor in a rage.What he was even more worried about was that Polina would completely lose confidence in the internal combustion engine due to the shock of being ignored this time.

The first bucket of gold in his future life will depend on this beautiful female inventor.

Polina curled up on the sofa, very depressed.She just raised her head, and then showed Dusand a smile that was uglier than crying.

Dusand was about to say something when Lorraine suddenly spoke.

"Lord Dusand, please go out first." Lorraine ordered with the resolute tone and non-negotiable momentum of the future mistress.At the same time, she began to untie the lace scarf around her neck, "Wait at the door for a while and you can come in."

This thoughtless request made Du Sande somewhat incomprehensible, but after seeing Lorraine's eyes, he decided to do it first, and then he would ask in private later to see what happened.

After watching Dusande leave the room, Lorraine first walked to the door to make sure the door was closed, and then quickly walked to Polina's side.Then she covered her feet with the lace scarf already in her hand.

"Although great technicians generally don't care much about their image, as a woman, you still have to pay more attention to yourself." Lorraine frowned, and unceremoniously reprimanded this woman who was at least ten years older than herself for inventing Home, "Come to a nobleman's ball, how can you wear silk stockings with holes in your toes?"

Polina raised her head, trying to cover her feet with her skirt awkwardly, and then returned the expensive-looking lace scarf to the pretty girl in front of her.

"Okay, just leave it like this." Lorraine frowned deeper and deeper, and criticized again, "The skirt you are wearing today is mid-length, it is not suitable for occasions like prom at all. And you put the skirt Do you want to expose your chest to the outside? Put my silk scarf on your feet and don’t move around, Lord Dusand is about to come in."

Polina opened her mouth and said with a small movement, "Thank you."

"I am Lord Dusand's fiancée, and my name is Lorraine." Lorraine turned sideways and sat on the sofa next to Paulina in a very graceful posture, "When Lord Dusand wants to have sex with another lady When talking in private, it is my responsibility as a fiancée to create suitable conditions for both parties to talk."

Polina opened her mouth slightly in surprise and asked, "Are you engaged to Lord Dusand?"

"At today's ball, we danced together for the first time." Lorraine said very naturally, "This is a Newsail tradition—two years before announcing the engagement, the ladies will hold a ball at their future husband's house Come on, first dance with fiancé."

Polina nodded slightly, and then showed a self-blaming expression, "I showed it at such an important ball, but it turned out to be a complete failure...I'm really sorry."

"At such an important ball, my fiancé left all the guests behind and came to talk to you in detail. For this conversation, I kicked him out and made some arrangements." Lorraine straightened up a little Back, with a smile on his face, he stared at the door of the lounge and said, "If you are still going to talk to Lord Dusand with such an inappropriate expression and tone, that would be a real disrespect."

The oak door was slowly pushed open, and Dusande showed half of his face through the crack of the door. He asked cautiously, "Can I... can I come in?"

"Come in." Lorraine said, "Ms. Polina was a little tired just now, but she is much better now."

Dusande pushed open the door completely, and found an empty seat to sit down.He said to Polina very earnestly, "Your invention works very well."

"The piston is melted, and the cylinder wall is covered with traces of molten metal." Polina sighed. "This machine is completely scrapped—it's not even worth repairing."

"But that doesn't mean your invention is worthless." Dussand started his own encouragement work, "The internal combustion engine has many advantages that the steam engine can't compare to. Your invention is consistent with your declaration. It is indeed true. It is the greatest invention of our time."

Polina showed a somewhat bitter smile, although Dusande was the first to point out the serious flaws in her design, which made Polina somewhat unhappy.But now, Dusand is actually the only person in Newsale who has praised her invention.

This feeling is complicated.

"Aristocrats tend to be more inclined to fund inventions that already have a full prospect of use." Du Sande explained, "Your invention has epoch-making significance, but it is still a newborn-it is just born, fragile and easy. Sick. What's more, newborns are certainly not as strong as foals of the same age."

Seeing that Polina's expression softened, Dusand continued to persuade, "You will choose to come to Newsail, so you should know the characteristics of this place, right? The coal reserves in Newsail are not large, but mining is very difficult. High. And the quality of the coal itself is not very good. So in our place, the price of coal is very high. Internal combustion engines that do not use coal as a fuel source of power will have the best development prospects here.”

Polina really didn't know this.She'd come to Newsail simply because of that threat...and the ticket as a "personal gift."

"I'm very interested in this invention." Seeing that Polina's expression became more and more relaxed, Dusand felt that it might be time to make a suggestion.After he paused for a few seconds, he leaned forward and said, "I am willing to pay five hundred gold pounds to buy all the patented technology of your invention. I will establish a company for the research and development and production of internal combustion engines, and then obtain the income from the sale of internal combustion engines." I can give you half of all the proceeds."

Dusande went on to add, "Before the company is established and production and sales start, you can live in the manor as my personal tutor. The weekly salary is at least one gold pound, and you will be provided with free board and lodging." Dusande Staring into Polina's eyes, he said, "As long as you agree, I can give you the check now."

Polina didn't say a word for a long time, and Lorraine's eyes widened.She blinked at Dusand several times, but she never got a response.

So, Lorraine coughed lightly and reminded, "Mr. Lord, the five hundred gold pounds is the funds Mrs. Androni gave you to buy good horses. At this time next year, those well-trained horses will come to Newsa Well—if you use this money and cause the transaction to go wrong, Madame Androni will have to pay the horse dealer another two hundred gold pounds."

Lorraine was reminding Dusand that some money should not be messed with.What's more, the expenditure of five hundred gold pounds is not a small amount even for Mrs. Androni.

"I'm sure I wouldn't do this for other projects. But if this kind of gas machine is to be produced on a large scale... I think the investment of five hundred gold pounds should be fully recovered within half a year." Du Sande responded He was so confident that he even wanted to drag Lorraine to join in, "Do you want to come together? I can set aside fifty gold pounds of shares for you."

Lorraine glanced at Dusand, and was about to directly reject such a stupid idea of ​​her fiancé.But when the words came to her lips, she suddenly frowned.

"I've never seen you so serious about making money." Lorraine asked Dusand again, "Are you sure, this thing will work?"

"It takes at least two shillings worth of coal to run a steam horse for four quarters of an hour." Dusand nodded and said, "And a tank of gas that can run a gas machine for four quarters of an hour only needs one shilling at most. Cut the running costs in half, and also reduced the load a lot - just replacing those steam horses is a big deal!"

There is another reason for the rapid replacement of the steam engine by the internal combustion engine, which Dussand did not directly state.

Coal prices in Newsale have been slowly rising.Last year, the steward of the manor said that the price of coal in winter had risen to 28p a pound.

Such a rapid increase will inevitably make it difficult for more and more families to afford coal prices.If a large number of steam engines can be replaced by internal combustion engines, the demand for coal fuel will decrease, and the relative price will naturally decrease.Those businessmen who originally hoarded a large amount of coal for profit will inevitably throw out all the coal in their hands as soon as possible in order to reduce losses.

Once the drop in coal prices becomes a reality, the burden on ordinary people to buy coal will definitely be reduced a lot.

In this way, more people may be able to afford coal in winter.

But he really couldn't tell Lorraine directly for this reason.

Lorraine's parents were the largest coal importers and distributors in all of Newsale.It can even be said that...

The couple who spread rumors of their impending engagement are one of the main reasons for the increase in coal prices in Newsale.

Unexpectedly, Lorraine frowned and pondered for a while, then stretched her brows and said, "Let's see..."

"I don't invest directly. But if the product turns into a profit, I want 10% of the profit."

"If you don't succeed in making a profit, or if you can't pay the five hundred gold pounds on time...then, I will pay the compensation Madam Androni has to pay to the horse dealer."

(End of this chapter)