Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 437: Seeking Death is the Ladder of Progress
In April, all the flowers have fallen.

It has been more than ten days since I moved into the house with the You family sign hanging at the south gate of the city.

On normal days, the two sisters stay at home, and when they occasionally go out they have to wear veils. After all, they are not common people, so they have to be more particular.

Old Lady You doesn't have to worry about it. She can go out for a walk every day in the prosperous capital. Even if she doesn't leave the south of the city, there are many places to see.

The You family gets along well with their neighbors, especially Old Lady You. She can feel that when talking to neighbors, others are polite in their tone, and it is not fake but genuine politeness.

The people of the capital city have high standards, so they naturally look down upon ordinary outsiders. But this family cannot be ignored. Master Ni has instructed that one must not neglect them when they meet them.

Old Lady You lived a very comfortable life every day. She got up early and arranged for the old servant to go out to buy groceries. There were maids waiting on her. After lunch, she cleaned up and went out to a teahouse not far away. She ordered a pot of tea and a few snacks. It didn't cost much money. She could sit there for an afternoon, listen to books and music, and leave before dinner. Every few days, she rented a carriage and took her daughters to go shopping in East City to choose watercolor clothes.

This life was pretty good, and Old Lady You was very satisfied. However, there is always a mountain higher than another. When she thought about the days she lived in the Jia Mansion, where people called You "Grandma" wherever she went, Old Lady You felt a little regretful.

In any case, Yu's mother and her two daughters always wanted to express their gratitude to Jia Lian. After much deliberation, they decided to invite Jia Lian to a dinner on the day of their second sister's birthday.

You Erjie naturally had nothing to say, but the third sister said that she was afraid that Mr. Lian would not be able to eat the food she cooked, so it would be better to go to the restaurant and book a table.

Old Lady You touched the money in her pocket, gritted her teeth, and decided to spend five taels of silver to book a table.

For this reason, three days in advance, Old Lady You asked Ni Er to tell Jia Lian that he was very busy during this period, with classes at the military academy and R&D work. When he got home at night, he had to prepare for classes and think of some projects that were easier to achieve. He really treated the R&D department as a large state-owned enterprise and naturally invested a lot of energy in it.

Men spend their energy on their careers and come home later than usual at night. They don’t have much energy and often fall asleep as soon as they lie down. They are really tired.

Human energy is leisurely. Even a time traveler cannot escape physiological limitations. Fortunately, in this world, no one will say anything. Men only have so much energy.

As for women, if you really want to hang out with women every day, the women at home might even say that you have no future.

When Ni Er arrived, Jia Lian was inspecting the new product of hydrochloric acid soy sauce. With the cooperation of local craftsmen, Arang finally produced a product that satisfied Jia Lian.

It has a good taste and bright color, and it is obviously a high-end product at first glance.

"It is not the raw materials such as soybean meal that limit production, but hydrochloric acid. Your Excellency should think of a way to expand the production of sulfuric acid first." Jean Valjean was very proud that he could finally get the bonus.

Jia Lian approved of his suggestion, but then poured cold water on it: "The process of large-scale production of sulfuric acid is up to you. Safety comes first in the production process."

Jean wanted to retort, I am an eighth-rank official of the Great Zhou Dynasty, not a beast of burden, but then he thought, isn't this what I got from being a beast of burden? He immediately felt balanced and nodded, saying, I will work hard.

In fact, Jia Lian didn’t have high expectations for him. Industrialized production was a long way off, at least not at this stage.

Before entering industrialization, any production capacity requirements are unreasonable.

Jia Lian had seen the workshop of a sulfuric acid factory. There was a cylindrical reactor dozens of meters long. Even if you could rub it out with your hands, what would you use to drive it?

This is the product of the five small industries in the 1960s. The five small industries were a feature of the times. At that time, facing the threat of nuclear war, the Third Front construction was launched while the five small industries were launched. Any larger county would have small steel, small coal, small machinery, small cement, and small fertilizer.

Things like this are still so far away now. Thinking too far ahead will only hurt yourself.

In any case, the level of the R&D department's workshop should and must keep up with the times.

When the ox and horse were being strengthened, there was a loud bang, which frightened Jia Lian so much that he took two steps back. Ni Er, who was walking to the door, squatted down with his head in his hands and said, "It's not me, it's not me!"

After Jia Lian calmed down, he looked at Ni Er and said, "You? You are unworthy. Go and see what happened."

There was no need to ask when I came out. I could see a separate courtyard about ten meters away. There was smoke and dust everywhere, and half of the roof of the west wing was gone.

"Go and check quickly to see if anyone is okay?" Jia Lian gave the order and ran over to the pillar next to him. As for Jia Lian himself, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall!

Not long after, Zhuzi came out of the room, carrying Bi Daoxing with him on a door panel. Jia Lian hurried forward to take a look, and found that Bi Daoxing's eyes were closed tightly, and it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.

"What has he been tinkering with lately?" Jia Lian asked curiously, causing Arang to shake his head: "I don't know the details, but it's something like BOOM. Oh, and he made nitric acid."

Jia Lian was shocked when he heard this. This wild chemist was really fierce. Was he working on nitrocellulose? Or was he working on nitroglycerin?

No matter which one it is, it is an extremely unstable thing and will explode if you are not careful.

The most complicated part here is the purification process. Even with Jia Lian’s superficial knowledge of chemistry, he knows that if the purity is not high enough, he will end up with a BOOM.

It is not easy to cultivate a chemist with an adventurous spirit and a desire to commit suicide, so Jia Lian quickly asked someone to find a doctor.

Before the doctor arrived, Bi Daoxing woke up, shook his head a few times, saw Jia Lian twice, and laughed like an idiot.

Jia Lian thought to himself: Damn it, is he going crazy? Probably not, he is not drooling, his brain is not hurt, there is still hope.

Jia Lian held Bi Daoxing down and told him to lie down and wait for the doctor, and not to move. If he stayed lying down, he could still be saved, but if he got up and moved around, he would die and that would be a big loss.

Bi Daoxing was still mumbling while lying down: "I'm fine. I took precautions beforehand, but I didn't expect that it didn't explode when I was doing it. It exploded just as I turned around and walked out the door after I was done. It seemed like someone pushed me hard from behind. I didn't react at all, and I fainted. When I woke up, my ears were buzzing."

Jia Lian was relieved when he heard her speak soothingly, "Alright, lie down quickly. Where have you come from? There was a man named Nuo who was bombed so many times that his whole family was destroyed."

Bi Daoxing was silent for a moment before he said, "Yes, thanks to the adults for reminding me that it was very unstable. I asked everyone to leave in advance, otherwise several people would have been killed."

Rang Ah Rang asked from the side: "Bi, what on earth are you doing?"

"Ah, what are you doing? By the way, Master Yuan and the others are thinking about the rear-loading paper shell ammunition. I thought that although black powder is stable, the smoke is too big, so I was thinking about making something with less smoke. By chance, I saw a record of nitrocellulose in the notes given by Lord Jia, so I thought, why not try it first."

After Bi Daoxing told the truth, Jia Lian patted his chest in dismay. Fortunately, it was not nitroglycerin, otherwise this wild chemist would have to prepare for a funeral. The doctor came, and Jia Lian asked the doctor to take a look. He went into the laboratory and saw a mark on the bluestone test bench.

The glassware on the test bench was also broken into pieces all over the floor. It could only be said that it was a miracle that Bi Daoxing was not hurt by the fragments. Looking at the fragments embedded in the door, Jia Lian felt that it was this door that saved Bi Daoxing.

This door opens outwards and is a wooden door. If it were an iron door, Bi Daoxing would be injured internally if hit by it.

Who was so stupid that the door was designed to face outwards? Oh, it seems to be me. I was worried about something going wrong, so I opened the door inwards. If it got stuck, it would be difficult to open the door to save people.

That’s okay!

The case was solved. Bi Daoxing was hit by the door from behind and passed out immediately.

Otherwise your body won’t be so clean.

It was a close call. If I had come out a little later, I would have been buried inside.

After coming out, Jia Lian said: "In the future, similar experiments must be conducted in an open environment."

Jia Lian didn't just watch Bi Daoxing continue to commit suicide. After all, the chemical process is a process of constantly committing suicide.

Worried about the lack of successors, Jia Lian added: "Hurry up and train a few useful apprentices."

It’s not that Jia Lian is a bad person. The gunpowder is made by Taoist priests when they make elixirs.

Since we have done this, we can only jump back and forth on the edge of death. If we succeed, we will be Nobel laureates for the disabled, and if we fail, we will be a corpse. There is no chance of luck.

"It's okay. I can continue doing experiments. If I find more experimental samples, I can always find a stabilizer." Bi Dao was really crazy. After the doctor confirmed that everything was fine, he wanted to continue.

What else could Jia Lian say? He could only remind them again and again: "Be safe. You must pay attention to safety. I have told you many times that simple digestive fiber is extremely unstable and will explode at the slightest movement."

Bi Daoxing and Rang Arrang did not complain even after being reprimanded, because Jia Lian was right. They were also very curious about where Lord Jia got all this knowledge.

Jia Lian is also very sad. I am a liberal arts student. If I hadn't failed the exam, I would have forgotten all the chemistry knowledge I learned before the class division in the second year of high school.

I now regret not studying science.

If you think about it carefully, if you study science, you might be able to do technology, but you won't be able to engage in struggle. If you travel through time, you might be killed by the insects in the Jia family before you can become successful.

Instead of spending time worrying about gains and losses, it would be better to call everyone together and emphasize the importance of safety.

You really don't know what to say. Bi Daoxing BOOM, and many people came out, a group of technical bureaucrats, surrounded the west wing with half of the roof smashed, and said that the force was good. Lao Bi made something good, and asked him how he made it, so that we can try it too.

Jia Lian was stunned after hearing this. The train of thought of these people was really peculiar. Not only were they not afraid, but they were eager to try.

Jia Lian called a group of technical bureaucrats to his side and said, "As you can see, conducting experiments is very dangerous. You must pay attention and be careful in the future."

A director of the Ministry of Works named Dong said to Jia Lian nonchalantly, "We wouldn't be interested if it didn't make such a big noise. Don't worry, Master Jia. Life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are determined by God. It's better to know what this thing is before you die than to live in peace for the rest of your life."

"Yes, if I hear the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening!"

"In fact, it is only because Lord Jia is kind that he allows us to do these dangerous things. In the past, we could only do it at home, and the whole family was worried."

Each of these people spoke up, leaving Jia Lian speechless.

"Listen to me, everyone has read the basic chemistry book. As long as it is a dangerous experiment, you must take protective measures. You should figure out how to do it yourself and have a safety plan. From now on, no experiments will be allowed without a safety plan. This is my territory and I have the final say." Jia Lian could only play tough to intimidate these people.

Otherwise, the curiosity of these technocrats could flatten this entire area, do you believe it?

After being suppressed by Jia Lian, the passion of these people subsided a little. They did not quarrel with Jia Lian. Instead, they sighed and started to discuss together how to conduct the experiment safely.

It’s more comfortable to be with these technical geeks. If what you say makes sense, they will accept it. Unlike those officials, if you want to reason with them, you have to go through a lot of circles.

The scene was finally dealt with, and Bi Daoxing was forced to go back and rest for three days. We can talk about other things when there is no problem.

He asked Arang to make a good plan and start large-scale soy sauce production, which cost a lot of money, and finally he saw a return on his investment.

As for the impact on the traditional soy sauce industry, Jia Lian really couldn't care less. Any new thing would have an impact on traditional craftsmanship.

Human society progresses little by little.

In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, British handicraftsmen were the most staunch opponents of the Industrial Revolution. They destroyed machines and burned factories much earlier than the Boxer Rebellion.

(PS: Off topic, some people always talk about the Boxer Rebellion, saying things like ignorance and stupidity. That’s right, these people remember ignorance and stupidity, as if that is the biggest original sin. These fair-minded people never mention the unscrupulous things done by the colonizers. They will not even mention that the essence of the Boxer Rebellion is anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism, and that it is the most simple spirit of resistance of the Chinese people that is at work. They will not even mention that this resistance is national and just. Those people were kneeling on the ground, and when they saw someone dare to stand, they wished to kill all the people standing there as soon as possible.)
Finally, Jia Lian paid attention to Ni Er and asked him why he came. After Ni Er explained, Jia Lian remembered that he had been so busy during this period that he had forgotten about the three members of the You family, mother and daughter.

"Well, go back and tell him that I've been busy lately and haven't had time to visit you. I'll come to visit you in three days." Jia Lian agreed. Wasn't he waiting for this day when he had put in so much effort to help?
The progress of the Great Zhou is indeed important, but we cannot sacrifice our personal enjoyment for the sake of national progress.

Jia Lian has always admitted that he is just an ordinary man, but as an ordinary man, he does not lack simple patriotic feelings and the desire to promote social progress.

After all, scientists are great, but without the efforts of ordinary people, can scientists have an environment where they can conduct experiments with peace of mind?

Living in this country, many things are readily available, so you may think they are not worth mentioning. Once you change your environment, you will find that those things that are readily available in this country and that you take for granted are actually non-existent. You will find that the things you take for granted as yours may cost you your life in a different environment.

(End of this chapter)