The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 746 The King of San Francisco

In the evening, Chen Zhengwei came to the club where all the wealthy and political leaders in San Francisco gathered.

Every time Chen Zhengwei came back, he would hold a party to inform others that he was back.

"Mr. Chen!"

"Mr. Chen!"

Inside the club, all the wealthy people in San Francisco made way for him, stood on both sides, bowed slightly, and greeted him respectfully.

This is the true number one guy in San Francisco.

"I see a lot of old faces... and some new faces. This is great. It shows that San Francisco is full of vitality and new wealthy people are born every day!" Chen Zhengwei took a quick look and saw some new faces among them.

They are all investors who have recently arrived in San Francisco, or factory owners.

Compared to those old faces, these people are more humble.

After all, they had heard too many stories about Chen Zhengwei, and they were afraid that if they did not do something well, Chen Zhengwei would be dissatisfied.

There are many opportunities in San Francisco, opportunities are everywhere.

But it's also dangerous.

The danger comes from the person in front of you.

"Sir, where are you from?" Chen Zhengwei casually pointed to a man in his thirties.

"New York! Mr. Chen, my name is Leopold Thorne, and I came from New York four months ago!" Thorne bowed.

"Mr. Thorne, how do you feel about this place?"

“Clean, organized, and full of opportunities!”

"Sounds good!" Chen Zhengwei smiled and looked at another person: "I've never seen this person before either. Where are you from?"

Everyone felt that Chen Zhengwei was like a king, asking his guests what they thought of his territory.

"Mr. Chen, my name is Hans, and I'm a beer merchant from Milwaukee!" The other party immediately bowed and did not forget to introduce himself.

"Since you can stand here, it seems that your beer sales are good." After Chen Zhengwei said this, everyone laughed.

“Besides, I love Germans!”

Hans is a typical German name, and Milwaukee is also a city with many Germans, not to mention the obvious German features of the other person.

Chen Zhengwei estimated that this person might have some relationship with Schultz.

No matter where people are from, they will form circles.

"Germans are very pragmatic and honest and will never let your expectations down," Hans said immediately.

Chen Zhengwei had just finished speaking when he withdrew his gaze and didn't care what Hans said next.

"After being away for so long, you must all miss my parties!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile.

"Of course, Mr. Chen's banquet is the best in San Francisco. And we are very curious about what Mr. Chen saw on this trip!" someone said immediately.

Chen Zhengwei burst into laughter.

Those people were right, he was the king of San Francisco.

……

The day after the banquet, Chen Zhengwei went to the suburbs with Rong Jiacai, A Long, Yan Qingyou and A Hu.

Near the laboratory in the suburbs, there is a flat ground the size of two football fields, all compacted soil.

There were two cars and two tractors.

At this time, some people from the laboratory were waiting there.

After the carriage came over, Chen Zhengwei jumped off and felt a little itchy when he saw the two cars.

One of the vehicles has an almost rectangular front. There is no other way because the current equipment is too large, but the body of the vehicle is already streamlined.

At Chen Zhengwei's request, the car skipped over the carriage-like body at the beginning.

The front of the other car actually looks a bit like an early airplane, and it is a convertible.

"Boss, it looks like you had a smooth trip!" The head of the laboratory immediately came to Chen Zhengwei and said with a smile.

"Will there be any trouble if I go out?" Chen Zhengwei asked back.

"Of course, because you are the boss! Nothing can cause you trouble!" The head of the laboratory said immediately, and then introduced the situation of the car to Chen Zhengwei.

"Boss, we have been experimenting according to your design and requirements, and have already upgraded three times... Each time we have made greater progress than the previous one..."

"Now it is completely possible to drive on the road... Of course, you can't drive too far because there is no place to refuel. And the road requirements are a bit high..."

"On the contrary, the design of the tractor is now very mature and perfect!"

In fact, steam tractors already existed before Chen Zhengwei asked them to study tractors.

Moreover, tractors have no requirements for speed or comfort. They only need sufficient traction and durability. Therefore, after only two modifications, they have become more mature than cars.

The laboratory staff stood in front of the tractor, which was slightly taller than a person, and introduced:
"This is a 30-60 tractor. It doesn't have a name yet, and the boss needs to name it. 30 horsepower is used for traction, and 60 horsepower is used to drive the belt... It is 3.55 meters long, 1.83 meters wide and high... It weighs 7000 pounds... We tried to make it lighter, but it wouldn't provide enough traction... This is a tractor that works in the fields..." Halfway through the introduction, the laboratory guy remembered to add that this was actually a tractor for plowing in the fields.

Then he walked to another tractor, which was the one Chen Zhengwei was more familiar with. It was about 1 meters high and had a cargo box at the back, which could be used to haul goods. If the cargo box was removed, it could also be used to plow the land.

"This truck has a maximum power of 25 horsepower. According to the boss's request, in addition to plowing the land, it can also be used to pull goods... It can pull a maximum of 1750 kilograms of goods..."

"Both of these tractors use diesel engines..."

After the laboratory staff gave the explanation, they asked someone to start the tractor for a demonstration.

Watching the tractor rumbling and shaking... Chen Zhengwei looked at it with interest and asked the head of the laboratory: "How much does this thing cost?"

"Model 30-60, $9000..."

At the laboratory director's words, Chen Zhengwei turned around and looked at him.

The other party still gritted his teeth and finished the rest of his words: "The 25 model costs $5000!"

"If it is mass-produced, how much can the cost be reduced?" Chen Zhengwei frowned. One person's monthly salary is only 30 US dollars. This tractor is equivalent to more than a hundred people.

"Mr. Chen, it can probably be reduced to half of what it is now!"

"Scholar, give me a report comparing this tractor with human labor."

"Brother Wei, I've already asked someone to make it. This thing can replace 30 people in farming and harvesting, and it will pay for itself in about half a year."

"But that would require us to employ a lot fewer people, and we would need to find other ways out for them. Brother Wei, you told me a few days ago that we have to make sure they have enough food to eat!" Xiucai said with a smile.

"Not bad..." Chen Zhengwei nodded. Although this thing is expensive, his land is mainly cultivated on large plains.

Moreover, his land is not just a few hundred acres or a few thousand acres, but tens of thousands of square kilometers!

Most importantly, with large-scale manufacturing, continuous research and development, and iteration, tractors can develop and also promote the development of the diesel industry.

You should know that he also has shares in American oil companies.

"There are so many things that need to be done by people. Manufacturing tractors does not require people? Repairing tractors does not require people?" Chen Zhengwei said casually.

Then he looked back at the car.

The car market is better because it is aimed at rich people, so it doesn't matter if it is a little more expensive, so it is easier to develop.

"This 35-horsepower four-wheeled car can reach a speed of 46 kilometers per hour! It has a 35L fuel tank and can travel more than 100 kilometers... But after leaving San Francisco, there is no place to buy gasoline!" The people in the laboratory were obviously more enthusiastic when explaining the four-wheeled car.

They are more optimistic about the prospects of automobiles.

Rich people must be very interested in this thing.

There were two cars, one with 35 horsepower and the other with 38 horsepower, with a top speed of 46 kilometers per hour, and rubber wheels were developed according to Chen Zhengwei's requirements.

This data is already very good.

Chen Zhengwei asked with interest how to start the car, then got into the car.

Aaron quickly jumped to the co-pilot's seat and said attentively:
"Brother Wei, how about letting me come?"

"Just watch! I'll take you for a ride!" Chen Zhengwei sneered and waved his hand outside the window.

The people in the laboratory immediately took the crank, inserted it into the special hole near the front grille, and then shook it continuously to start the car.

Then Chen Zhengwei stepped on the accelerator and the car sped away.

"Brother Wei, it's the end..." Aaron kept shouting as he looked at the fence getting closer and closer.

"Damn, why is this thing so slow?" Chen Zhengwei broke the steering wheel with a force.

boom!
The car crashed through the fence and flew into the grass, then slid down the slope for more than 200 meters before stopping.

"Damn it, I stepped on the brakes!" Chen Zhengwei's face was dark.

The people in the laboratory hurried over to catch up and watched Chen Zhengwei get out of the car with a gloomy face, not daring to breathe.

Fortunately, after Aaron had a car accident last time, they cut down all the trees near the site, so nothing serious happened.

Chen Zhengwei smashed the steering wheel in his hand directly onto the head of the laboratory, causing him to grimace in pain.

"Damn it, I really want to throw you into the sea! Don't let this happen again next time?" Chen Zhengwei cursed.

"Also, what's the angle of this steering wheel? Is it going to poke me in the face?"

Chen Zhengwei felt that it was all because of the angle of the steering wheel, otherwise he would never have been able to break it.

It's all the fault of those people in the lab and the steering wheel.

The laboratory staff picked up the steering wheel from the ground and were shocked to see obvious cracks on the bottom of the steering wheel.

This thing is made of an iron pipe. How much force would it take to break the steering wheel?
But no one dared to speak.

"Oh, there is one more thing. Is the glass ordinary glass? What if it hits something? Are you going to kill someone? Think of a way! How can we make the glass not fall off even if it breaks?" Chen Zhengwei suddenly remembered another thing halfway through his journey.

Fortunately, there was no tree outside the fence, otherwise the car window would have become a weapon if it had hit it.

Back in the carriage, Chen Zhengwei said to Xiucai, "Keep an eye on the laboratory and solve all the problems."

"Then notify John Rockefeller and ask him to come to San Francisco. Tell him that the car has been developed."

(End of this chapter)