I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1354 High Value-Added Products

In fact, Joseph's inventions were not technically difficult.

For example, the cheese mixer was brought directly from a chemical plant. The sausage mincer was modified from a coal mine's shredder.

We've only just entered the steam age, and people's minds haven't been opened up yet, so Joseph can easily come up with some engineering applications that can greatly improve productivity.

Parma's fiscal revenue has surged by more than 20% for two consecutive years, driven by two revolutionary food processing facilities—selling starch at meat prices, how could it not be profitable—and this is even before raw material procurement and sales channels are fully mature.

With Parma's industrially produced agricultural products gradually entering the Balkans and Levant since the end of last year, fiscal revenue is expected to grow by more than 30% this year.

The continuous influx of wealth further enhanced the French princess's prestige in Parma, to the point that even King Ferdinand would consult her on important matters.

At the booth, Count Elah, still savoring the meal, instructed his servant to order 20 pounds of "King of Parma Sausages" to enjoy at his leisure.

Well, Joseph originally intended to name the starch sausage "King of Kings," but Thales said it would remind people of the eunuch king of Persia, so he compromised and removed the "King" from the name.

Over the next three days, the novelties in the various national exhibition areas broadened Count Elach's horizons even further—

Milan's new soda ash bleaching equipment. Relying on France's inexpensive soda ash production capacity, it replaces expensive potassium hydroxide as a bleaching agent, reducing costs by 65%.

Florence utilized its patented hot-blown porcelain firing technology to quickly surpass the quality of its ceramics in the industry, which was already on par with the British industry leader, while also reducing fuel consumption.

Coupled with Florence's long artistic tradition, its exquisite ceramic products were sought after throughout Europe, taking away a large share of the British market.

On the exhibition stand, the expensive handbags, gloves, and high heels bearing the "Artist" logo immediately caught Dorian's eye. Under Joseph's guidance, the "Artist" brand luxury goods quickly became a hit in less than a year, bringing huge profits to Florence.

In Modena, the beet sugar-making equipment roared as, in front of countless visitors, a series of demonstration steps transformed baskets of beets into glistening white sugar…

The Venetian uses tempered glass produced using a French patent that is incredibly hard. It took a strong man several hard blows with a hammer to make a hole in it, and the glass didn't shatter completely...

Genoa went even further, dismantling a steam paddle steamer, transporting it to the Royal Palace in Baden, and reassembling it. It was a state-of-the-art cargo ship assembled by the Genoese shipyard, capable of transporting 300 tons of cargo from Genoa to Cairo in just 12 days…

Count Erlach was completely absorbed in this new world and paid no attention to the Swiss exhibition area.

Firstly, he was already preparing to leave Bernese politics, so the success of the exhibition didn't matter to him; secondly, the exhibits in Switzerland were all old and outdated, and there were hardly any visitors.

What puzzled Count Elach the most was that, even though it was the fourth day of the World's Fair, the core area of ​​the French pavilion was still not open to the public. Instead, there was only a "Comfortable Parisian Life" display on the periphery, showcasing Paris's advanced transportation, lighting, drainage, water supply, medical facilities, schools, leisure facilities, and a range of other urban amenities.

There was also a steam-powered "high-pressure fire extinguisher" in the corner, which was said to be able to be towed by a horse-drawn carriage and rushed to the fire at any time. It could spray water continuously up to the height of a three-story building from the street, giving him a great sense of security.

Count Elach couldn't resist asking the staff at the booth about Paris house prices. When he received the answer that the minimum price was 5 francs, his restless heart instantly calmed down.

On the fifth day of the World's Fair, after Count Elach had seen most of the other exhibition areas, the fence around the center of the French pavilion was finally removed. All the visitors immediately rushed there, nearly causing a stampede.

Yes, Joseph deliberately postponed the opening date of the French section to give other countries enough time to showcase their products; otherwise, there might not have been a single person there.

Of course, this also adds to the mystique of the French exhibition area, making it easier for him to "sell" the products later.

Due to the large number of visitors, a queue stretching hundreds of meters formed outside the French Quarter.

Ultimately, Count Elach used his diplomatic status to bribe the Baden soldiers maintaining order with ten francs, which allowed him to squeeze into the exhibition area ahead of schedule.

What first appeared before him was a giant cast iron block, about the height of two people, engraved with the words "Steel and Coal Will Change the World".

To the east of the cast iron block, a French technician wearing glasses pointed to the glass case in front of him and loudly introduced, "This 'miracle metal' is extremely hard. Look, these are drill bits and milling cutters made from it, which can easily drill and cut into steel with almost no wear and tear."

As he spoke, the technician beside him laboriously fixed the thigh-thick iron ingot onto the steam lathe, and then signaled to his assistant to add coal to the boiler.

As the drill bit on the lathe began to spin at high speed, the technician slowly pulled the handle, and the drill bit pierced into the iron ingot as if without any resistance, and iron filings flew everywhere.

In less than half a minute, the technician pulled the handle in the opposite direction and pulled out the drill bit.

Count Elach saw that a smooth and neat round hole, about the thickness of a finger, had appeared on the iron ingot.

He immediately realized that if it hadn't been an iron ingot but an iron bar, what appeared before him would be a high-quality gun barrel.

A gun barrel can be manufactured in just a few minutes—that's an astonishing production speed!

He wasn't wrong. In fact, France had already begun producing gun barrels using the boring method more than a year ago.

The French technician pointed to the drill bit under the glass cover: "Thanks to the continuous efforts of our scholars, the price of this 'miracle metal' drill bit has now been reduced to 800 francs per bit! Common Market member countries can obtain priority ordering rights."

Well, this high-manganese steel drill bit costs less than two francs.

It seems ridiculously expensive that a small iron rod costs 800 francs, but considering that it can be used for a long time, you might need to replace dozens of ordinary high-carbon steel drill bits to do the same thing.

Moreover, it can be used to drill things that high-carbon steel drill bits cannot drill, such as high-carbon steel parts.

So this price is already very reasonable.

This is the high added value brought about by top-notch technology products!
Sure enough, Count Elach heard a man with a German accent speak loudly:
"I'd like to order three 5mm diameter drill bits. Sir, is that 'drilling machine' behind you for sale?"

(End of this chapter)