America 1881: Legend of the West

The servants brought the delicacies to the table one by one.

In addition to the usual oysters, clams and sirloin steak, Chen Jianqiu also saw the servant bring in a large plate of lobster.

At first he was still thinking about how to divide the big lobster with a knife and fork.

But the servants who filed in later made him understand that he was worrying too much.

One per person.

"Fresh Boston lobster, shipped from the northern port in the morning." Little Astor had already started to disassemble the lobster claws.

"Well, I heard my grandfather say that when he first came to the United States, well, no one ate this stuff at all. Until later, after the railroad was connected, everyone liked to go to Boston in the north, well, to escape the summer heat, so, well. "

Little Astor said as he devoured the lobster.

There is nothing elegant about the nouveau riche.

Chen Jianqiu glanced at Thomas and Westinghouse.

They also ate happily.

Chen Jianqiu was very curious.

If Westinghouse eats the way he does now, how will he clean up his shiny beard later?

The servant was behind them and poured a glass of red wine for each of them.

"Try the Burgundy wine." While he was feasting, little Astor did not forget to greet Chen Jianqiu.

If one lobster per person was normal, then when the servant placed a whole duck in front of each of them not long after, Chen Jianqiu completely lost his appetite.

"What is this?" He scooped up the soup in the bowl with a spoon.

The soup is emerald green, and it is extremely charming under the light.

"Green turtle soup, sir." A servant behind him introduced.

After Chen Jianqiu took a few bites, he put down the knife and fork in his hand.

The crabs and other things on the table basically didn't move much, they looked like props.

Just like the previous banquets in the hall that he had been to, the final fate of these ingredients was to be dumped into the trash can.

It would be nice if it could be packed.

Chen Jianqiu thought so.

"Mr. Chen, I heard that you said something about New Mexico?" Edison had almost finished eating. He stopped the knife and fork in his hand and wiped his mouth with a cloth. "There is as much industry there as in the east! It's completely advanced. A Western State,"

Chen Jianqiu had a headache.

This must be little Astor bragging for himself again.

I originally chose New Mexico to establish my base, firstly because of the treasure there, and secondly because oil was discovered in Roswell.

The most important thing is that it is a border area and has not even officially joined the federation.

The mountain is high and the Yellow Emperor is far away.

As long as there is no direct conflict with the federal garrison, no one can do anything to the Chinese there.

Only when it is consolidated can the Chinese continue to enter Wyoming, California, and Kansas

But little Astor always brags like this, which will inevitably attract trouble and cause unnecessary trouble.

"It's hard to talk about it. It's still just a quasi-prefecture and there aren't many people there." Chen Jianqiu replied.

"But I heard that you popularized kerosene lamps there?" Edison seemed to know everything.

"Well, in order to better sell our kerosene." Chen Jianqiu nodded.

"Then have you ever thought about using our electric lights in some big cities, such as Santa Fe?" Edison said with a smile.

Chen Jianqiu also laughed.

"Mr. Edison, I'm afraid you haven't been to New Mexico. People there are so poor that even using kerosene lamps is a luxury. Most places are dark at night. They can't even afford kerosene lamps, let alone electric lights?"

"There must be some rich people like you there. Oh, by the way, are you familiar with the situation on the West Coast?" Edison thought for a while, and then started to think about San Francisco.

Chen Jianqiu was just about to answer when Westinghouse, who had just finished his meal over there, finally couldn't help but speak:

"Mr. Edison, it's not that I don't care about you, but with your current DC generator, the maximum transmission distance is one kilometer. Any further than that, it will be lost due to excessive resistance."

He smoothed his beard with the tablecloth.

The beard is brighter and has been combined into one piece, giving it a more stylish look.

Chen Jianqiu doubted whether he deliberately used oil to maintain his beard.

"You can't build a power station every one kilometer," he said.

Edison didn't speak, and he didn't rush to fight back.

However, Chen Jianqiu clearly noticed a trace of anger flashing across his face.

This anger quickly sank to the bottom of the lake like a stone.

"So, you have a better idea?"

After adjusting his emotions, Edison smiled and looked across at Westinghouse, who was also an inventor.

"Of course I do." Westinghouse, who was almost the same age as Edison, narrowed his eyes.

"You're not talking about the AC generator you got from the Germans, are you?" The smile on Edison's face gradually turned sarcastic, "Even Werner von Siemens himself said it was just a toy. He It cannot solve the maintenance and safety problems caused by the commutator at all!”

"Besides, all New York is using my electricity and lights now." He pointed to the bright light bulb above his head.

"You'd better sell your airlock to Mr. Chen more. I think that one is more suitable for you."

Edison pointed at Chen Jianqiu, his sarcasm became even stronger.

Westinghouse was a fiery man.

Edison is indeed an authority in the electrical industry now, and he has no words to refute.

If the lobster and duck just now had not filled Mr. House's stomach, he was about to be filled with anger now.

"Mr. Astor, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." He stood up, said hello to little Astor who was still having green turtle soup, and left the mansion.

"You really overestimate your capabilities." Edison muttered in a low voice, but Chen Jianqiu heard it.

"Mr. Edison, you are such a great inventor, bringing light to people's nights."

Chen Jianqiu gave Edison a thumbs up.

The smile on Edison's face grew brighter.

I don't know if it was because of the wine or something else, but his face was glowing red now.

"Mr. Chen, why don't you take me to see my power plant after you finish eating?"

As a businessman who knows how to package himself, what he is best at is demonstrating results for others.

Under the leadership of Edison, Chen Jianqiu and Little Astor arrived at the power plant not far away.

"There are dozens of DC generator sets here, driven by steam."

At the door of the power plant, Edison pointed inside and then to the ground.

"Direct current is transmitted through underground cables to homes and street lights in Manhattan, lighting up the night there." He said proudly.

Chen Jianqiu nodded repeatedly.

But that was not what was on his mind.

Although he had already returned most of his physics skills in middle school to the teacher, he could still tell that what Westinghouse said was probably true.

It is really a luxury to build a power plant every kilometer.

The three walked into the power plant.

However, when they approached the generator set, they found that someone was already there.

When the man saw Edison and the others coming, he immediately stood up and walked under the lamp in the direction of Chen Jianqiu and the others.

Through the light, Chen Jianqiu could clearly see this person's appearance:

He has a very thin face, deep eye sockets, a strong nose, a black mustache, and a very obvious Slavic appearance.

"Mr. Edison, the thirty-two sets of DC motors have been improved according to your requirements." The man said, "According to my inspection just now, everything is running normally and the performance has been improved a lot."

Edison pointed at the man and introduced Chen Jianqiu and Little Astor:

"This is an extremely talented young man in our laboratory. Some people say he is a genius. Okay, I admit it."

"He's from Serbia and his name is Nikola Tesla."

The young man smiled shyly.

He hesitated for a while, then walked up to Edison, who was about to leave with Chen Jianqiu and the others, and asked cautiously:

"So, Mr. Edison, what about the $50,000 bonus you promised me if the improvement is successful?"

Edison was stunned and stood there.

He did say this, but he had long forgotten it before Tesla mentioned it.

Edison looked at the Serbian engineer for a long time and suddenly burst into laughter.

Tesla was bewildered by the laughter.

After the laughter subsided, Edison walked up to Tesla and shook his head:

"Mr. Tesla, you don't understand American humor. I was just joking before."

Tesla stood stunned.