America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 414 The Genius from Serbia

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

In addition to the common oysters, clams and sirloin steak, Chen Jianqiu also saw a 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 lobsters, shipped from the northern port in the morning." Little Astor had already started to disassemble the lobster claws.

"Well, I heard from my grandfather that when he first came to the United States, no one ate it at all, until after the railway was built, everyone liked to go to Boston in the north, eh, to escape the summer, so, eh. "

Little Astor said while devouring the lobster.

Not at all the gentleness of the upstarts.

Chen Jianqiu glanced at Thomas and Westinghouse.

They also had a great time eating.

Chen Jianqiu was very curious.

If Westinghouse eats like this now, how will he clean his shiny beard later.

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

"Burgundy wine, try it." Little Astor did not forget to greet Chen Jianqiu while he was feasting on himself.

If it is normal to say that one lobster per person is normal, then the servant put a whole duck in front of each of them soon after, which made Chen Jianqiu completely lose his appetite.

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

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

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

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

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

Like the banquet in the hall he had been to before, the final fate of these ingredients was to be dumped into the trash can.

If only it could be packed.

Chen Jianqiu thought so.

"Mr. Chen, I heard that you said nothing in New Mexico?" Edison had almost eaten, stopped the knife and fork in his hand, and wiped his mouth with a tablecloth. "There is as much industry there as in the east! a western state,"

Chen Jianqiu had a headache.

This must be little Astor bragging for himself outside.

I chose New Mexico to base myself because of the treasures there, and because of the discovery of oil in Roswell.

The most important thing is that it belongs to the frontier area and has not even officially joined the Federation.

The mountains are 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 there can the Chinese continue to enter Wyoming, California, and Kansas
But little Astor always brags like this, it is inevitable that he will attract the wind and attract unnecessary troubles.

"Not to mention, it's just a quasi-state right now, and there aren't many people there." Chen Jianqiu replied.

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

"Well, in order to sell our kerosene better." 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. The people there are so poor that kerosene lamps are a luxury, and most places are dark at night. You 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 began to think of San Francisco.

Just as Chen Jianqiu was about to answer, Westinghouse, who had just finished eating over there, finally couldn't help but speak:

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

He stroked his beard with the tablecloth.

The beard is brighter, and it is also combined into one piece, which is quite sculpted.

Chen Jianqiu wondered if he intentionally maintained his beard with cooking oil.

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

Edison didn't speak, nor was he eager to fight back.

However, Chen Jianqiu obviously found a trace of anger flashing across his face.

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

"So, do you have a better way?"

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

"Of course I have." 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 became mocking, "Even Werner von Siemens said it was just a toy, he It can't solve the maintenance and safety problems caused by the commutator at all!"

"Besides, all of New York now uses my electricity and lights." He pointed to the bright light bulb on his finger.

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

Edison pointed at Chen Jianqiu, with a stronger sense of ridicule.

Westinghouse was a fiery man.

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

If the lobster and duck just now didn't know whether Mr. House's stomach was filled, then he would be full now.

"Mr. Astor, I still have something to do, so I'm leaving first." He stood up, greeted little Astor who was still having soup with the green turtle, and left the mansion.

"It's really beyond self-control." Edison murmured in a low voice, but Chen Jianqiu heard it in his ears.

"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's because of the wine or what, but his face is flushed now.

"Mr. Chen, why don't I take it to see my power plant after eating!"

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

Led by Edison, Chen Jianqiu and Little Astor came to a power plant not far away.

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

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

"The direct current is transmitted to the houses and street lights in Manhattan through underground cables, lighting up the night there." He proudly introduced.

Chen Jianqiu nodded repeatedly.

But that wasn't what was on his mind.

Although he had paid back most of his physics in middle school to his teacher, he could still judge that what Westinghouse said should be true.

It is too extravagant to build a power plant per kilometer.

The three walked into the power plant.

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

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

With the help of the light, Chen Jianqiu saw the appearance of this person clearly:
He has a very thin face, deep eye sockets, a strong nose bridge, and a black mustache. He has an obvious Slavic appearance.

"Mr. Edison, the 32 sets of DC motors have been improved according to your requirements." The man said, "According to my inspection just now, everything is operating normally, and the performance has improved a lot."

Edison pointed to the man, and introduced Chen Jianqiu and Little Astor:
"This is a very talented young man in our laboratory. Some people say he is a genius, well, I admit it."

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

The young man smiled shyly.

After hesitating for a while, he walked up to Edison who was about to take Chen Jianqiu and the others away, and asked cautiously:

"And, Mr. Edison, what about the $[-] bonus you promised me if the improvements were successful?"

Edison froze for a moment and stood where he was.

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

Edison watched the Serbian engineer for a long time, and suddenly burst out laughing.

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 there dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)