Infrastructure masters in the red building

Produced in the north, "Snowflake Sugar" made of beetroot as raw material caused a shock after it went on the market, and a group of small sugar factories first collapsed in the south.

The closure of a small sugar factory will not affect the sugar factory workers the most, but the sugarcane farmers.Seeing that the sugar cane was about to be harvested this season, I was temporarily told that the sugar factory would not accept it. The hard work of the whole season was immediately in vain.Sugar cane can't be eaten at home, but the family's living expenses are still so much.

Most of the sugarcane farmers can only ask around to see where there are sugar mills that are willing to harvest sugarcane - the Hongxiang Sugar Mill in Taoyuan Village is one of the few.The sugarcane farmers rushed from dawn to dusk, and finally sent the sugarcane to the sugar mill before the sugarcane rotted.

Tian's father agreed to accept all the sugar cane, but Tian Youming was unwilling. After all, the sugar workshop has only so little ability and can't save everyone.

Just when Jia Fang came over, Tian Youming asked him about it.

Jia Fang smiled and didn't directly reply to Tian Youming's words, and asked, "Last time you said that you would try to make that snowflake candy, did Teacher Xungui try it?"

The Tian family father and son nodded immediately: "I tried it, and it really worked out."

The sugarcane farmers looked at them with admiration: This Hongxiang Sugar Factory can also make snowflake sugar, so can this company be able to compete with other foreign sugar and earth sugar in the future, and sell all its sugarcane to Hongxiang in the future? Where's the sugar mill?

Jia Fang asked them with a smile: "Can you keep the cost down to the same market price as the snowflake sugar outside?"

Father Tian and Tian Youming looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.Tian Youming replied: "I did the math with Teacher Gui. There is too much equipment to be built. I really don't have that much money to buy materials..."

This is the reason - what is lacking in small handmade sugar workshops, what is lacking is capital, and what is lacking is scale.It's not that they don't have the spirit and don't want to update, but they can't compete with industrial sugar without enough investment.

Hearing what Tian's father and son said, the sugarcane farmers panicked: "Then next year, next year..."

Will anyone still harvest their sugar cane next year?

Jia Fang ignored the sugarcane farmers' questions, and deliberately asked Tian's father and son: "You two, is your sugar selling well recently?"

Tian Youming nodded and said: "It's easy to sell. The brown sugar from our sugar shop is loved by adults and children, and it's especially nourishing for women. The order has never been broken. The rock sugar is also..."

Speaking of this, Tian Youming sincerely thanked Jia Fang: "Master Jia, it was you who reminded us last time that we must firmly hold on to our strengths, so we..."

"So you should know how much sugarcane you harvest each season, so why not take this opportunity to sign a few long-term and stable suppliers!"

Tian's father and son suddenly realized that Jia Fang wanted them to choose those sugarcane farmers with good production, good character, honesty and trustworthiness to sign a contract as long-term suppliers, thus ensuring the quality of their sugar factory products.

But what about the remaining sugarcane farmers?

Before Tian's father and son could make up their minds, Jia Fang had already walked among the sugarcane farmers and asked them: "You have been planting sugarcane for so many years. If you can't get any money from planting sugarcane for a day, would you like to plant something else?"

The sugarcane farmers really didn't expect Jia Fang to ask such a question. You looked at me and I looked at you for a while, but couldn't answer.After a long time, someone on the other side said in anticipation: "No one will harvest the sugar cane that is planted now. Even if you don't want to, you have to plant something, right? But... we don't have any money, so we can't buy seeds."

Jia Fang asked: "If I provide you with seedlings, it will be considered as my lease to you. After you have production, within three years, half of it will be mine, and the other half will be collected at the market price; etc. After three years, I will pay the market price. Are you willing?"

Several sugarcane farmers opened their mouths in surprise, they really did not expect such a good thing to happen to them.

Over there, Zhang's father and son are discussing nervously which companies to choose as long-term suppliers.The other sugarcane farmers were listening to Jia Dafang talking about the planting and effects of rubber.Hearing Jia Fang say that this rubber has a wide range of uses, from the utensils in the hands of the doctor to the Cuju that has become popular in the south recently, rubber is indispensable everywhere, and the sugarcane farmers couldn't help but feel excited.

The three parties negotiated for a while.The Zhang family selected five sugarcane farmers who were close to each other and produced good sugarcane farmers as long-term suppliers, and signed a contract.

The rest of the sugarcane farmers who did not sign agreed with Jia Fang to take the rubber tree seedlings back to plant.They said to Jia Fang: "It is said that the trees are moved to the dead and the dead are moved to the living. Since the sugar factories outside are closed, we can't always live on a few acres of sugarcane, can we?"

Jia Fang laughed loudly when he heard the words: "Who said that when a tree is moved, a dead person can be moved to live? Here, people move to live, and trees move to live."

Everyone was stunned when they heard it, and then they realized it, and they all smiled and said that they were right.

As soon as I said this, someone came rushing to deliver a letter: "Don't...don't, don't rush to sell all the sugar cane at a low price! I heard that the sugar factories in Guangzhou and Wuzhou have started to receive goods again."

Jia Fang: ...?Are there any repetitions?

The sugarcane farmers shook their heads very sincerely: "No, if our sugarcane is not sold to Lao Tian's family, it will be destroyed if it is transported to Wuzhou, Guangzhou."

The person who came to report thought it was the same, so he just said: "Then you have to plant next year! Otherwise, the sugar factory above will not have sugarcane harvest." After saying that, he ran away.Jia Fang and the few sugarcane farmers who had just negotiated were left behind, looking at each other in blank dismay.

The sugarcane farmers were very embarrassed and said to Jia Fang: "Master Jia, this..."

Jia Fang smiled and said, "It's nothing. There is still a year to go, and the market for sugarcane may go back and forth. I won't force you to make a decision."

Several sugarcane farmers breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Thank you, Mr. San!"

But a sugarcane farmer appeared: "Master Jia, from what you said just now, the rubber tree seems to be quite good. To be honest, after planting sugarcane for so many years, this profit will come to an end. The villain just wants to fight for one." It is fresh, and no one else has planted it before."

Suddenly someone asked: "Aren't you afraid of losing everything?"

The sugarcane farmer said: "The capital is all from Mr. Jia, what am I afraid of? At most, I am afraid that I am stupid, and I will not be able to grow the seedlings given by Mr. Jia."

Jia Fang waved his hand with great certainty: "Absolutely impossible! All the seedlings that come out of my place will be taught by the students of the Agricultural College, including the teaching and the meeting."

The Agricultural College of Xiaoxiang Academy in Taoyuan Village, because of the golden signboard of Lao Shao, has long been famous in the village, not only in Wuyuan County of Taoyuan Village, but now many people in Yong'an Prefecture know the word "Agricultural College".

Having said that, the sugarcane farmers who had already wavered were suddenly moved again.Jia Fang waved his hand: "It's okay, you can think about it for yourself and ask more questions. When you make up your mind, come directly to the Agricultural College, sign a contract, and then you can take the seedlings back to plant."——That is So simple.

The sugarcane farmers went there immediately with gratitude, secretly rejoicing that no matter what the business of the sugar mill will be in the future, they have already found a way out.

The sugarcane farmers' problem was temporarily resolved, but Jia Fang's problem came again: By the way, why did the sugar workshops in Guangzhou and Wuzhou start harvesting sugarcane again?Could it be that it was predicted that there would be problems with the sugar coming from the north to the south?

Thinking of this, he quickly picked up a pen, wrote down his questions, and sent the letter to Shui Xian through a fixed channel.Four or five days later, Jia Fang received a reply from Shui Xian, saying that there would be no problem with the sugar going south, and Jia Fang could rest assured.

In Beijing, Jia Amnesty has always been paying attention to the market price of "Snowflake Candy".

There are two kinds of "Snowflake Candy" on the market today, one is called "Snowflake Foreign Candy" and the other is called "Snowflake Candy".The one named "Yangtang" has the word "Snowflake" in its name, but the color of the sugar is not white enough, it contains a little impurities, and even some fine sand can be eaten inside.

Another kind of "snowflake sugar" is pure white granulated sugar, each sugar crystal is very uniform in size and free of impurities.The price is even cheaper than "foreign sugar".

As a result, the people in the capital all had doubts on their faces: "Why do foreigners treat us as idiots?"

"Yes, things are obviously not as good as our own, and they are sold so expensively. Do you think we are stupid and have a lot of money?"

The common people in Beijing didn't buy the "Snowflake Candy".Fresh things like white sugar were not a necessity in the first place, but now they are just a few taels if you have spare money. Cooking is to adjust the taste. If you don’t like white porridge, you can add some to it to make sweet porridge. ... The price is naturally the cheaper the better.

Snowflakes from the North are perfect in every way.

In Beijing, there are more than one family of dignitaries involved in the sugar competition.Many wealthy families bought a lot of "foreign sugar" because of the "face" of the third prince. Once they got it, it rotted in their hands and had nowhere to sell. They were embarrassed to give it back to the third prince. They could only eat sweets every day. From time to time, my teeth were bitten and I complained.

Jia Amnesty made it clear early in the morning that he would not interfere, and secretly revealed the news to his Yue family, the Zhang family, and his grandfather's historian.

Unexpectedly, the historian still suffered a lot - because the young lady from the Wang family, who married the historian, tricked her husband, embezzled part of the money in the public account, and bought a lot of "foreign sugar".

But the Wang family suffered even more. After all, the Wang family of Du Taiwei's Mansion was the key target of the third prince's wooing, so they also ate a large amount of "foreign sugar".Because "snowflake sugar" is very abundant in the market, this "foreign sugar" cannot be sold even if the price is reduced.

When the Wang family was in a hurry, they never thought that the historian would pass over the message again, saying that it was Mrs. Shi from Rongguo Duke's mansion who said that the daughter of the Wang family was indeed a troublemaker.If the historian hadn't married the daughter of the Wang family, he wouldn't have lost so much money in his public account.

The Wang family was angered, coupled with being ashamed of seeing their in-laws, they immediately cut off contact with the historians, and at the same time secretly reflected whether they really made a mistake in raising their daughter.

But the historians think that Mrs. Shi is a good-looking lady who got cheap. After all, this Miss Wang family first told Jia Zheng, and it was because Jia Zheng did not marry that the historians married her. The Jia family, not the historian.

So the historian also cut off contact with the Ningrong Second Mansion.The Jia family was originally connected with the Wang and Shi families, but now they are gradually showing the appearance of a lonely minister.

But soon, news came out from Beijing that the supply of better-quality "Snowflake Candy" would soon be cut off.The wealthy households in Beijing who had stockpiled foreign sugar by mistake waited eagerly, hoping that after the supply of "Snowflake Candy" was cut off, the foreign sugar would turn around.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the news came out, the price of "Snowflake Candy" skyrocketed first, even if it was a small family with some spare money, as long as they could afford candy, they would hoard a little in their hands.

"Foreign sugar" is unfortunate, and no one cares about it.The big families hoarding goods, together with the big merchants behind the third prince, couldn't help being a little disappointed: Is this "foreign sugar" really that bad?

Soon, several peddlers who supplied the orthodox "Snowflake Candy" came forward to refute the rumors, saying that the supply and transportation channels were smooth and tight, and there was no problem. The price of "Snowflake Candy" immediately stabilized.

This news is desperate for a big family like the Wang family historian who hoards "foreign sugar" - after all, everyone doesn't want to eat tooth-crunching sweets every day.Finally someone remembered to ask the peddler who sold "foreign sugar" to them:

——What is going on?

——What did the Third Highness say?

The sugar merchant said that he also wanted to know, but his chances of meeting the third prince were limited, so he waited for a long time before he got in line, met him in person, and went to ask.

It was only after the sugar merchant saw the third prince that the prince Jian Guo remembered this incident.He immediately called his staff to ask: "Isn't it always said that there are pirates haunting Jimo Port? Why do they come and go? I have never seen them attack ships that transport sugar?"

When the third prince was asking, the sugar merchant was on the sidelines, thinking: How can someone ask such a question?Why didn't you see pirates attacking ships? ... Shouldn't all of these be luck?

Who would have thought that the staff member looked embarrassed, looked at the sugar merchant and then at his master, and said for a long time: "Because they said...the money is not enough..."

These words fell into the ears of the sugar merchant, and the sugar merchant was so embarrassed that he almost wanted to find a crack in the ground to sneak in—not only did he not maintain the peace of the sea and the place, but he even bribed pirates to attack dissidents... ...and not generous enough?This, isn't this a big joke in the world?

The third prince almost fell backwards in anger: "Not enough money..."

He immediately came to his senses: "Did the other party spend a lot of money in bribes, let those pirates collect the money, wash their hands in the golden basin, and become a bodyguard for someone?"

The staff member continued to be embarrassed, nodded and said: "Maybe... maybe!"

The third prince immediately said angrily: "Go and pass on the words of the king. They are pirates with a lot of bad records. Even if they want to change their ways, there are national laws and regulations waiting to be liquidated... This trivial matter can't be done, why are they pirates? Let the navy destroy it."

The staff and sugar merchants were too embarrassed to even raise their heads, thinking that the Third Highness really insisted that the pirates must continue this promising career and seriously rob at sea.

"Why don't you go soon?" The third prince scolded the staff.

The sugar merchant noticed something from the side: The third prince's behavior is for him to see, to let him and the businessmen and people in the big clan behind him know that since the whole world is not the king's land, the business affairs in the world are all the same. It is his third prince who has the final say.Those who follow me prosper and those who oppose me perish. Now they are pirates, and in the future they may be dispatched by navy.There is no reason for the existence of maritime trade routes that do not suit his wishes.

Unexpectedly, the aide didn't move, and still looked at his master with a troubled face, and said embarrassingly after a long time: "Those pirates also said that no matter how much money you give them, they can't catch up."

— Can’t catch up?

The third prince looked at his staff in surprise, as if asking for an explanation.

"The opponent's ship...is weird!"

The staff member couldn't explain more details, so he could only gesticulate with his hands, hoping that the third prince could understand—that was really weird.

Jia Fang received a more detailed reply from Shui Xian, and finally understood what happened in the north, and why the sugar mills in the south were in a hurry to resume work when they heard the news.

It turned out that some pirates were instructed by the southern sugar merchants to harass and provoke, trying to prevent Shuixian's caravan from transporting goods to Jimo, and even prevent these merchant ships from further transporting goods to the south.

Jia Fang couldn't help but feel amused by those pirates: Why did they take such a good job? ——They didn't even look at Shui Xian's fleet, what kind of ships they used.

Earlier, Shui Xian and Jia Fang had discussed shipbuilding. They agreed that it was still too early to build large steam-powered ships with steel structures. Brig.At the same time, a "paddle wheel" is installed at the stern, which is a device that uses the paddle wheel to rotate and drive the blades on the wheel to repel water to propel the ship.

The paddle wheel on Shui Xian’s brig is driven by a twin-cylinder steam engine—this may be the first “hybrid” ship in this time and space. It usually uses the wind to propel the ship forward, and when necessary, it starts the steam engine to drive paddle wheel device.

When Shuixian's fleet met the pirates at sea, the pirates' ships were brisk, gliding towards Shuixian's fleet in the direction of the wind, approaching little by little, and they were close to it Ships were plundered wantonly, and then dumped cargo and scuttled ships as ordered.

Unexpectedly, only the strange sound of "chug chug" sounded, and circles of black smoke continued to rise on the cargo ship.The huge paddle wheels at the stern of these cargo ships began to rotate, creating waves, pushing these cargo ships against the wind direction, and approaching the shore, and immediately became farther and farther away from the pirates.

The pirates had never seen a cargo ship that could advance completely against the wind, and when they heard the strange sound of "chug chug", they were frightened for a while, and watched the whole fleet go away safely to Jimo Port——

Jia Fang immediately covered the letter, thinking of the picture scroll of "wisdom fighting" pirates at sea.

In fact, although it is a hybrid sailing ship, the first power of these cargo ships is actually wind energy.Steam power is not a particularly economical/environmentally friendly energy source for long-distance heavy freight.Therefore, Shui Xian's fleet is equipped with veteran sailors with many years of experience, who are proficient in manipulating the sails, and use the sea wind as power as much as possible.

As for the paddle wheel and steam engine, these two are almost exclusively used to scare pirates.

When the pirates attacked, they saw the huge paddle wheels turning fast, which could push these cargo ships against the wind. Naturally, they thought they had encountered a monster, and they didn't even dare to try to track the cargo ships with their single-masted boats.

It seems that new things, even if they are not fully developed, can at least be used to scare people.