My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 817 Double Happiness

"what is this?"

Zhang Zhong took the glass bottle from Zhu Zhanhe and looked at it for a while before asking Zhu Zhanhe.

The bottle should contain some kind of fruit, but he couldn't figure out why the fruit was put in the bottle and why it was sealed with a cork?

"This is called canned fruit, you have a taste first!"

Zhu Zhanhe said, reaching for the can and unscrewing the cork with force. Someone next to him immediately handed over two forks.

Zhang Zhong didn't know why, but he still took the fork, forked a piece of fruit and took a look. He saw that the flesh was light yellow and exuded the sweet smell of fruit. It looked delicious.

So Zhang Zhong threw the fruit into his mouth and chewed it. A sweet taste filled his mouth, which made him nod his head and said: "It tastes good. It seems to be much sweeter than ordinary fruits."

"That's because a lot of sugar is added when making this fruit."

Zhu Zhanhe explained with a smile.

"I see."

Zhang Zhong nodded, and as he spoke, he forked a few more pieces and threw them into his mouth. The more he ate, the better he felt.

"Then do you know when this bottle of canned fruit was made?"

Zhu Zhanhe suddenly asked with a mysterious smile.

"Such fresh fruit must have been made in the past two days, right?"

Zhang Zhong said and threw another piece of fruit into his mouth.

"Hey, congratulations, you guessed wrong. This bottle of canned fruit was actually made two months ago!"

Zhu Zhanhe replied with a proud smile.

Zhang Zhong, who was enjoying his meal, immediately froze when he heard Zhu Zhanhe's answer. The fruit that was so sweet just now could not be eaten anymore. After all, this was fruit from two months ago. The hot weather here in Dahan should have turned it into mud long ago.

Looking at Zhang Zhong's stiff expression, Zhu Zhanhe laughed, immediately picked up a piece of fruit for himself and threw it into his mouth. Then he said with a smile: "Brother Zhang, don't worry, just eat it with confidence. This The biggest advantage of canned fruit is that it can be stored for a long time, let alone two months, you can still eat it after half a year!"

"Really...can you eat it?"

Zhang Zhong finally reacted and looked at Zhu Zhanhe and asked with some difficulty.

"Didn't you just eat a few pieces? Didn't you find them sweet and delicious, without any deterioration?"

Zhu Zhanhe said that in order to dispel the other party's doubts, he ate a few more pieces one after another, and the can was almost bottomed out.

"Is this really fruit from two months ago?"

Zhang Zhong asked still in disbelief.

There are many ways to preserve fruits for a long time, such as making them into dried fruits or pickling them with sugar, but they are not as delicious and juicy as the fruits in cans.

Zhu Zhanhe drank all the juice in the can, then turned the bottom of the can upside down and showed it to Zhang Zhong: "See for yourself!"

Only then did Zhang Zhong discover that there was an old piece of paper stuck to the bottom of the can, with a date written on it, which was exactly two months ago.

"This is the date when the cans were made. I affixed them with my own hands at the time. After these cans were made, they have been kept in my Zhan Shifu. It was not until today that I brought them to you for a taste."

As Zhu Zhanhe spoke, he bent down and picked up another can. This bottle was no longer a can of fruit, but a can of braised pork. When he unscrewed the cork, a unique aroma of braised pork immediately came out.

Zhang Zhong was a little hesitant when he looked at the braised pork in the bottle. After all, this was meat that had been stored for two months, which was more unacceptable than fruit.

However, Zhu Zhanhe tasted a piece without hesitation, and then praised: "It tastes good, and it is indeed worthy of the skills of the royal chef in the palace!"

Seeing that Zhu Zhanhe had eaten all the food, Zhang Zhong had no choice but to taste a piece. After entering the mouth, it tasted almost the same as the one he had just made. It would definitely taste better if it was heated.

"I understand. If this can can keep food fresh, can it be mass-produced? Then we won't have to eat dry food every day at sea!"

Zhang Zhong suddenly reacted and immediately slapped his forehead and said excitedly.

"Yes, this can is just for you!"

Zhu Zhanhe laughed again.

"Good stuff! Good stuff!"

Zhang Zhong excitedly grabbed the can from Zhu Zhanhe's hand and kept looking at it with gleaming eyes. A mere braised pork may not be anything on land, but if you have been wandering at sea for many days, there will be a delicious dish at that time. Braised pork or juicy canned fruits are simply the greatest enjoyment in life.

"Zhan He, how are you making this can? Is this troublesome? When can it be mass-produced?"

Zhang Zhong excitedly asked Zhu Zhanhe a series of questions again. Compared with the chili sauce that was just for rice, these cans were obviously more practical.

"The method of canning is not complicated. I came to Beizhenggang this time to have someone build a canning workshop to produce various cans for the military."

Zhu Zhanhe replied with a smile. "Great, do you have enough manpower to build the workshop? If not, I can transfer a group of people from the navy to help you build the workshop!"

Zhang Zhong said very eagerly.

"No, I have already asked people to build the workshop, and there is no shortage of manpower. Just wait for the cans to be sent to the army!"

Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand and said.

As early as when he asked people to make cans for experiments, he had already started to make preparations to build a workshop. After all, canning has almost no technical content, and many people in later generations can make ketchup and the like at home and preserve it for a long time.

So that afternoon, Zhu Zhanhe took Zhang Zhong to see the location of the canning workshop. It was right next to the dock, and the cans produced in the future would be more convenient to transport to the navy.

Zhu Zhanhe stayed in Beizheng Port for a few more days, during which he took a ride on a propeller steamer several times.

In the past, Zhu Zhanhe would take Helen with him every time he came to Beizheng Port to try out the steamship, but not this time because Helen was pregnant and was about to give birth, so it was naturally inconvenient to go out again.

After dealing with the matter of Beizhenggang, Zhu Zhanhe took the car back to Xijing. On the way, he also thought about Barcelona's return to Venice. Calculating the time, the other party should have met Helen's father, but he didn't know how the other party would decide?

Just after returning to Xijing, before Zhu Zhanhe could sit down, someone suddenly came to report: "Your Highness, Minister Tao wants to see you!"

"Tao Qiong is here? Could it be..."

When Zhu Zhanhe heard that Tao Qiong came to see him, he immediately thought of something and said excitedly: "Let him in quickly!"

After a while, Tao Qiong entered the main hall with small steps, almost a trot, and a smile on his face.

"Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince! The steam car is ready!"

It was just a short sentence, but Tao Qiong became more and more excited as he spoke, and he almost shouted the last few words.

"Really? Did you really do it?"

Zhu Zhanhe also asked excitedly.

When the steam locomotive was not progressing smoothly, Zhu Zhanhe personally gave them some pointers, but he stopped paying attention to it. Unexpectedly, after so long, he finally heard the good news.

"Thank you for your honor. The car has been built and is waiting for your Highness to inspect it in person!"

Tao Qiong replied excitedly again.

"Come on, take me to see it quickly!"

Zhu Zhanhe didn't even bother to drink the water, he immediately stepped forward and pulled Tao Qiong out.

Soon the two left the palace and came to a workshop not far from the imperial city. This place had been named the Ministry of Industry Research Institute by Zhu Zhanhe. It was specially used to study some more complex machinery, such as the original steam engines and bicycles. It’s all researched from here.

Tao Qiong took Zhu Zhanhe to the back of the institute, and saw a circular railway here, with rails and sleepers. It was Zhu Zhanhe who reminded Tao Qiong and they to make it.

I saw a heavy vehicle parked on the rails, with a chimney on its head and a round front in front, which looked very similar to the steam locomotives of later generations.

There were many craftsmen working around the front of the car. When they saw Zhu Zhanhe, they all stepped forward to salute. Zhu Zhanhe also said hello to everyone, and then walked to the front of the car and looked at it carefully.

Because it had just been successfully developed, there was no decoration on the front of the car. All machine parts and pipes were exposed, which looked very ugly. Under the front of the car were three pairs of steel wheels, which were just stuck on the rails.

"Can it be started?"

Zhu Zhanhe looked at the front of the car for a while, and then asked Tao Qiong.

"Okay, we have tried to start it several times before, and there is no problem at all."

Tao Qiong assured confidently. As he spoke, he gave instructions to the craftsman next to him, and someone immediately got on the train and began to prepare for starting the steam locomotive.

In a short time, the boiler in the front of the car burned up, black smoke with sparks emitted from the chimney overhead, and the flywheel of the steam engine also began to rotate, making a "whooshing" sound.

Then I saw the front of the car tremble slightly, and it really started to move forward slowly. At first, the speed was very slow, even slower than a person walking. But as time went by, the front of the car began to accelerate, and finally it started to move faster and faster, and began to move along the road. Travel quickly along the circular rails.

Of course, the so-called fast running is actually about the same as a horse running, or maybe even not as fast as a horse. After all, steam locomotives have just been successfully researched, and there are still some problems in various aspects, and there is still a lot of room for improvement in speed.

However, although the speed of a steam locomotive is not fast, it is better than its stability. As long as the various parts do not malfunction and there is enough fuel and water on the car, it can keep running. Unlike a horse, if it is allowed to run uphill without stopping, One day, I'm afraid the horse will be completely useless the next day.

"Okay! Great! The new steamship at Beizheng Port is completed, and now the steam locomotive here is also completed. It's a double happiness!"

Zhu Zhanhe looked at the steam locomotives rumbling by and couldn't help but clapped his hands in excitement and said, with the cars and ships driven by steam engines, the physical distance will be greatly shortened, which is the biggest benefit for a country. That is, the land that can be controlled will increase exponentially.

Think about the great empires on which the sun never sets in later generations. They were able to control such a huge territory because of the advancement of various transportation and communication methods. In other words, the Han Dynasty already had the foundation to colonize the entire world.

(End of this chapter)