Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 308, flowing gold
"It's still too primitive. It's better to set up a mobile boiler to receive the molten iron, so that the molten iron can be used to specifically cast the required castings."

"Well, there is a lack of large-scale lifting equipment, so we still need to set up a gantry crane."

Liu Jin looked at the simple and rude way at the water outlet. He was in a hurry. He smelted the first furnace of steel in a hurry, and there were still many things that were not ready.

"Old Liu, your method is really good. I guess there must be [-] catties of iron in this furnace."

Zhu Hou looked at the molten iron that was glowing red, and said excitedly.

"One hundred thousand catties, it's impossible, how could there be so much iron?"

When Zhang Mao heard this, he shook his head again and again and said that the productivity of this era is extremely backward, and smelting steel is a technical job, the output is very low, and the quality is extremely poor.

"I guess it's about the same. With so much molten iron, there shouldn't be much difference between [-] catties."

"It's incredible to smelt one hundred thousand catties of iron in one furnace. The investment of two million taels of silver is also worthwhile."

Xu Guangzuo looked at the crimson molten iron in front of him, smiling all over his face, as if seeing countless white silver.

"It still depends on the quality of the iron. Only with good quality can it be sold at a good price."

At this time, Zhang Mao finally opened his mouth and said with a smile.

Iron is definitely as profitable as salt in this era. According to records, in the Ming Dynasty, a shovel was sold for 50 copper plates, and a kitchen knife was sold for 30 copper plates. As for the price of iron, the price fluctuated greatly, divided into Different types and varieties.

The better the quality of iron, the more expensive it is. The most expensive iron can even cost several hundred yuan a catty. Of course, this kind of iron is generally iron that has been repeatedly forged by blacksmiths, and it is already very close to steel.

As for some poor-quality iron, the price is not cheap, and it costs tens of pennies per catty. Of course, this kind of iron generally needs to be repeatedly forged by a blacksmith before it can be used.

Zhang Mao already had an understanding of the market in advance, and he knew very well that the quality of the iron has a great impact on the price. The same output, if the quality is good, the price is high, and it is often sold better.

"I'll get some and come over to see~"

As soon as Huang Jinquan heard this, he immediately gave instructions to a steward next to him, and the other party quickly took a long iron spoon and scooped out a spoonful of molten iron, and then someone brought a basin of water and poured it directly, accompanied by a burst of white smoke. Then, the red molten iron quickly cooled down, turning into a slightly silvery-white piece of iron.

Spoon after spoonful of cold water is poured on it, and the iron block cools quickly, and you can hold it in your hand after a few minutes.

"Your Highness~"

Huang Jinquan handed the iron ingots into Zhu Houzhao's hands, and the stewards under his command were still pouring out molten iron, cooling it with cold water to form small iron ingots.

Zhu Houzhao took the iron block and weighed it slightly in his hand. It was heavy and felt very heavy. Then he looked carefully, and then took an iron bar from the side and tapped it lightly.

"Ding~"

A crisp sound rang in everyone's ears, which made the eyes of the knowledgeable people light up slightly.

"Good iron~"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help admiring, although he seems to know nothing at a young age, but Zhu Houzhao is smart, as long as he is willing to learn, he can learn quickly. During this period of time, he has been building blast furnaces and making iron together. But I concentrated on studying a lot of related books and content, and also consulted many experienced old blacksmiths.

So he knows how to distinguish the quality of a piece of iron. The first thing is to look at the eyes. The brighter and silverier the color, the better the quality, and vice versa.

The second is to listen to the sound. By hitting, the better the quality of the iron, the clearer the sound, and vice versa.

"Ding~"

"It is indeed the best iron~"

Here, Zhang Mao couldn't wait a long time ago. He took a piece of newly cooled iron and observed it carefully. He was also very expert in tapping iron ore and listening to the sound.

After inspecting the goods, Zhang Mao immediately smiled brighter. The better the quality of the iron, the higher the price, which means the greater the return on investment.

"Well, it's okay~"

Qin Yi is also checking the quality of the iron. The iron ore in Miyun is one of the few good-quality iron ores in China. It has many advantages such as high iron content, low alumina content, less harmful impurities, and good sintering performance. It is not unreasonable for future generations of Shougang to choose this place.

The iron ore here is of good quality, the temperature of the blast furnace designed by myself is high enough, the smelting method is correct, and more importantly, I know how to use chemical methods to eliminate the impurities inside. There is no comparison. There are all kinds of professional steel products in later generations. The hardness is hard, and the stainless steel can be stainless. Add other metals to the steel, and you can get a variety of alloy steel.

It cannot be compared with later generations, but in this era, it is naturally the best.

"Haha, brat, you still have the ability."

Zhang Wei gave Liu Jin a thumbs up. He had to accept that although Liu Jin was very good at spending money, he often looked like a prodigal son to him, but his ability to make money was even greater, and he was good at spending money. will make money.

The flowing molten iron in front of him, in Zhang Mao's eyes, is not molten iron at this time, it is flowing gold, all white silver.

This top-quality iron can be bought for a few hundred yuan a catty, and a catty of iron is only a few points. The molten iron flowing in front of me is probably worth [-] catties, so the pot of molten iron can be worth tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Just do a simple calculation, there will be almost tens of millions of taels in this year, even if the expenses in various aspects are huge, the profits will still be very considerable and amazing, and you can easily earn millions of taels There must be no problem.

"If I knew it earlier, I would have voted more~"

Zhang Mao felt a little regretful in his heart. He only invested [-] taels of silver, which was only [-]% of the shares, which was really too little.

"Mr. Zhang has won the award. The iron factory is still very simple. When all kinds of processing equipment are ready, the iron factory will really make money."

Of course, Liu Jin could see Zhang Mao's thoughts at a glance, and what he was most concerned about was naturally making money.

Liu Jin doesn't want to sell only iron, but plans to sell all kinds of iron products, such as iron pots, kitchen knives, hoes, farm tools, etc. These are in high demand, and when the time comes, a steam forging machine will be produced. It is easy to manufacture and maximize the value of your own products.

You can even go to the field of more profitable military products, such as swords, armor, muskets, artillery, etc. The business of arms has been the most profitable business since ancient times.

However, it is not an easy task to take this piece of fat from the hands of civil servants, but these civil servants are insatiable, and the quality of the ammunition and weapons they produce is extremely poor, and it is not impossible to seize it in the future.

What's more, the major shareholders of this iron factory are the father and son Emperor Hongzhi and Zhu Houzhao. They have no reason not to take care of their own business, right?
"It's a bit crude. Build all kinds of things that need to be built quickly. This time is money."

When Zhang Mao heard this, he nodded again and again. He said that Liu Jin spent money lavishly, and the money was spent like running water. Now that the quality of the smelted steel is good and the output is high, he can't wait for Liu Jin to hurry up. Build the entire iron factory as soon as possible, so that you can make money and pay back faster.

"Haha~"

Zhu Houzhao and Xu Guangzuo on the side couldn't help laughing immediately.

While everyone was chatting and laughing, the molten iron began to cool down slowly. There were long strips of steel bars, pieces of steel ingots of the same specification, and various iron pieces of other shapes.

While pouring water, the workers of the iron factory began to weigh the cooled iron blocks, preparing to weigh how much iron was smelted in this furnace.

　Do you know the price of iron?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)