industrial lord

Chapter 773: Flowering and Fruiting

The midday sun shone through the curtains onto the desk, where a gramophone was playing soothing music.

"I have good news, do you want to hear it?"

While Frederick was worrying about what would happen next, Plzey appeared in the office with news more beautiful than any music.

“You are truly my savior!” Frederick exclaimed, “It’s like…”

He couldn't think of a word to describe it for a while.

"Like what?" Psyche looked at him with great interest.

Frederick pondered for a long time, and finally said, "It's like a magic fertilizer!"

He felt that this old man was the most important catalyst in his life, able to unleash all the power around him, just like wheat can absorb nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from two meters below.

The meme was already outdated when Psyche was born. After a moment of confusion, he said, "I just don't think what you're saying is anything good."

"Drell brought the containers over there at the port."

Frederick's eyes lit up, and he immediately jumped up from behind his desk.

The next task involves transportation, and if transportation efficiency can be improved, many problems can be solved effectively.

The Grand Duke's office immediately prepared a car, and they soon arrived at the dock and warehouse area outside the city.

The stench of the river water mingled with the smells of wood, hemp rope, and various goods. Large amounts of garbage swirled between the boats. Frederick turned to Vanessa and asked her to take notes, preparing to launch a river cleanup operation.

The dock was bustling with activity, but operations were running smoothly. The group arrived at the warehouse area.

Dreier had already received the news and rushed over as soon as a convoy transporting oriental spices passed by. After bowing, he said, "Boss, the container from Lukang has been unloaded, and we are now checking for any damage."

The chief engineer of Lukang Shipyard had messy hair and clothes, but looked very energetic, even extremely excited.

Frederick nodded and said, "Let's go and see how it goes."

His years of anticipation, his trust in Dreyer and others, and the vast resources he had invested had finally come to be tested.

The group soon arrived in front of a row of unprecedentedly large square boxes.

"Boss! Dean Psyche!" Drell's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "I have successfully completed the mission. The first batch of container samples made according to the requirements are all here!"

Frederick nodded slightly, his gaze already drawn to the boxes.

They vary in size, but have strong lines and regular structure.

The large structures resemble small rooms constructed of metal and wood, each 2.5 meters wide and high, with distinct lengths ranging from 2.5 meters to 10 meters.

The smaller ones are quite exquisite, measuring only 1.3 meters in length and width, and 0.9 meters in height.

“The structure is a steel frame,” Drell explained in detail, “mainly composed of a top frame, sloping base, bottom frame, columns, and diagonal braces to ensure sturdiness.”

He patted the side of the box, making a dull sound, and continued, "The outer layer is made of composite bamboo."

Frederick reached out and stroked the smooth and tough surface of the bamboo plank. The cool and solid touch made him smile with satisfaction. He said, "It seems that my decision to import those bamboos from the East a few years ago was indeed the right one."

Many people initially thought that those "hollow trees" were only used for cooking, but now they have become widely used building materials.

“Dreyer,” Frederick’s tone became serious, “the practicality of these boxes is key.”

"How are their waterproof, fireproof, and corrosion-resistant properties?" "I don't want to hear 'probably' or 'should'."

Dreier replied confidently, "Please rest assured, boss! We have conducted rigorous testing."

"The test results have all met the standards after being subjected to torrential rain, scorching flames, and soaking in salt water."

"The composite bamboo board undergoes special treatment, and its fire resistance, corrosion resistance and strength far exceed those of ordinary wood boards. The steel frame has also been treated with rust prevention."

His answer was full of confidence based on experimental data.

Frederick nodded upon hearing this, his eyes showing even greater approval.

"What about the transportation situation?" he continued to ask.

Drell pointed to the makeshift crane next to him and said, "Boss, please take a look."

Following his instructions, the workers operated the crane. The huge iron hooks precisely gripped the special structure at the four corners of the container, easily lifting a 5-meter-long container and placing it smoothly onto a waiting flatbed trailer, which could then be towed away by a truck.

"As you can see, the hoisting and transfer is very fast, saving a lot of time whether at the dock, on the train, or between vehicles." But then he changed the subject, revealing a hint of regret: "However, the efficiency is still limited by the current reliance on existing horse-drawn carriages and temporarily modified flatbed wagons."

“We also need more professional and convenient transportation tools to match these boxes.”

Frederick astutely grasped the key point: "You just said that the box is a good fit for the size of existing vehicles?"

“Exactly!” Drell nodded vigorously, his face showing a hint of disbelief. “Whether it’s the space on the cargo ship or the dimensions of the load-bearing platforms on the trains and trailers, they all seem to be perfectly matched with these containers, as if they were designed in advance.”

Upon hearing this, Frederick's heart stirred.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Psyche, who had remained silent beside him.

Psyche just smiled.

In an instant, Frederick understood.

This seemingly coincidental perfect match must be the result of Psyche's remarkable wisdom and influence over the years, which has quietly promoted the unification of standards in all aspects of infrastructure construction in the principality.

Frederick was certain that before she even thought about tinkering with the containers, she had already made preparations to minimize the workload required for modifications such as coordination and connection.

Without saying much, Frederick turned to Vanessa and said a few words: "There was a restaurant that was having roasted whole camel the other day, hurry up and make a reservation."

Frederick looked at Dreeer again and got back to the point: "Dreyer, you did a great job!"

"We need to seize the time to conduct larger-scale experiments and collect all the data."

"I will order all departments of commerce, transportation, and military industry in the principality to fully cooperate and promote the use of these containers as soon as possible."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the bustling dock, his thoughts seemingly drifting to a more distant future.

“But these boxes alone are not enough,” Frederick said. “I often say that efficiency comes from management, and this is especially true for containers.”

“An efficient logistics management system,” he said, as if talking to himself, “includes unified scheduling, tracking, pricing standards, and supporting laws and regulations.”

"This matter is equally urgent and requires capable people to implement it."

Frederick thought to himself that the containers were just the beginning; many of the previous plans were now beginning to bear fruit.

(End of this chapter)