Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 134: Hand-cranked Phonograph Improvement Plan
The more Roger thought about it, the more he felt that this method was feasible!
Because the ability description of "Fate Leap" only mentions "a place or individual who has played or is playing the music composed by the 'composer' for a long time", but does not stipulate how big the place needs to be or what material it should be made of!
In other words, the record is likely to be usable!

Records are not only a substitute for oneself, but their greater value lies in their ability to serve as an auxiliary means of widely disseminating the music and related rules that one has created.

Although Roger has not yet composed his own music, he can put the improvement of phonographs and records first.

"By the way, doesn't Klein know an inventor? How about I ask him when he comes back?"

Just as Roger was thinking about this, he heard the sound of the door lock turning.

With the sound of the door opening, Klein, with Bandit standing on his shoulder, walked into 15 Minsk Street.

At the same time, a slender figure in a black court dress and a small soft hat quickly disappeared into the glass of the bay window.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Sharon."

Roger nodded slightly at the shadow, then looked at Klein:
"Good afternoon, you did take Bandit out."

Klein nodded. "Yes, I thought this guy was too bored staying at home all day, so I took him out for a walk."

In reality, Klein went to the jewelry store to purchase the water-shaped gemstone he needed to advance to the level of "Magician." Later, he would personally grind the gemstone into powder before using it in potion preparation.

Bandit meowed, jumped off Klein's shoulder, stretched, and ran to his cat bowl to drink water.

"By the way, Klein, I have an idea."

Roger paused and continued:

"Didn't you say before that you invested in an inventor's project? The one with the bicycle?"

Klein had mentioned this matter to Roger during dinner and had asked for his opinion.

At that time, Roger expressed his support for this, but did not comment much.

After all, Roger and Klein shared the same view on the issue of bicycles: this convenient means of transportation had unfathomable market potential in Loen.

Not only that, considering that its expected selling price is not expensive and most working-class families can afford it with a little effort, the success of this project is almost inevitable.

When he mentioned that matter again today, Klein was stunned at first, then began to explain:

"I originally wanted you to take a stake in it, but considering the uncertain timeline for production and the potential risks, I finally thought about it and decided to give you a share of the profits directly..."

"No, no, no, you misunderstood."

Roger shook his head. "I have another project and I want to ask that Lei..."

"Mr. Leppard," Klein added promptly after seeing Roger lost in thought.

"...Yes, Mr. Leppard, could you undertake the improvement of the hand-cranked phonograph?"

"A hand-cranked phonograph? This project is not easy to do."

Klein immediately recalled a lot of information he had read on the internet in his previous life.

When the phonograph was first invented, not only was the price of the phonograph itself very high, but purchasing records also required repeated purchases. In addition, as electricity was not yet widely available, it required a specialist to crank the machine to play it. Therefore, ordinary people, unless they particularly loved music, could not afford it.

Therefore, on Earth, this is something that can only be enjoyed by the middle class and the petty bourgeoisie. The situation in Loen today is similar. The main way for ordinary people to listen to music is to go to the public theater or cheap theater with their families during holidays and buy tickets to enjoy it.

"Ok, I know."

Roger nodded:

"So the focus of improvements is mainly on improving materials and simplifying the structure of parts. Ultimately, after the costs are spread out at the OEM factory... the initial price of the main body only needs to be within 20 gold pounds to be acceptable.

“As for records, the most common single-sided record currently sells for around 1 gold pound… I think we can initially keep the price within 15 soli, and then gradually reduce it as production increases.

"Given that a phonograph could be part of a quality home decor, it was affordable for families like Mrs. Summers's and even less fortunate.

"With this group of people developing the market, a gradual decline in costs and prices is foreseeable.

Roger thought as he spoke, and quickly organized a rough expectation.

After hearing this, Klein added:
“Not only that, I think the way the phonograph plays can be changed from a hand-cranked type to a clockwork type… This way, the threshold for use will be further lowered.

"Of course, this may require an iteration of research and development. Once the market is well-developed, I believe similar patents will be registered soon."

Roger's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Yes, that's right.

"Since Mr. Leppard may not understand the market prospects of this product, the initial R&D costs and labor costs can be borne by me. This is not a problem."

Roger patted his chest, very confident.

Klein was slightly stunned by these words:
"This will cost a lot of money. From research and development to production, it will probably cost at least two or three thousand gold pounds."

"Ok, I know."

Roger nodded. "After today's performance, I received a reward of 20000 gold pounds from the king."

Klein: "..."

"Ahaha, haha."

Roger naturally noticed the poor god's speechless expression. He patted him on the shoulder.

"Of course, this is special funding that needs to be used for the development of the music industry, and in principle it cannot be used for other purposes." Researching, developing, and improving phonographs and records is indeed something that promotes the development of the music industry, and there is nothing wrong with that!
As for the composition of the music and the early experimental recordings, he could use the facilities of the Royal Art Troupe to complete them, and he could also take this opportunity to deepen his contact with Prince Edessak very conveniently.

When he was at the Royal Theatre, he had already inquired and learned that Prince Edessak really enjoyed watching the performances of the Royal Art Troupe, so this was like killing two birds with one stone.

"That too."

Klein nodded upon hearing this and sighed silently in his heart.

He really didn't understand why it seemed so easy for Roger to make money, but it was so difficult for him to make money?

It was precisely because of this that Roger didn't even dare tell Klein that he had obtained over 3000 pounds worth of cash during Bakerland's assassination attempt. Otherwise, he really didn't know what Mr. Fool would think...

"Right, Roger."

Klein spoke again after a while:
"Next Tuesday to Friday, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, there will be an exhibition dedicated to Emperor Roselle at the Kingdom Museum, hosted by the Church of Steam. There will be many of his manuscripts and relics on display. Would you like to go and see it with me?"

"Emperor Roselle's exhibition? Sure."

Roger agreed without much hesitation, as he also wanted to take a closer look at his fellow villager's "relics".

The two hit it off immediately, and Klein went to the underground storage room to grind the water-shaped gemstone into powder. After everything was ready, he successfully advanced to Sequence 7 "Magician".

As a result, if we don't count Sharon, who was hired temporarily, No. 15 Minsk Street already has one Sequence 6, one Sequence 7, and one Sequence 8 Beyonder (cat).

Such strength should not be underestimated even in the entire Joewood District!

……

Early the next morning, Roger and Crane went out and took a carriage to Mr. Leppard's residence in St. George's district.

"...Why are you here again? Didn't we just finish discussing the bicycle production a few days ago? Are you going to change your mind?"

Hearing the knock on the door, Mr. Leppard, sweating profusely and with his hands stained by machinery, opened the door. After seeing that it was Klein, he blurted out a rapid-fire flurry of words.

Since Klein had already told Roger about Mr. Leppard's character, the latter did not find it strange.

"Mr. Leppard, I'm here today with my friend to discuss a new cooperation with you."

"friend?"

Mr. Leppard then looked up and saw Roger, who was almost as tall as Highklein.

"What cooperation?" he asked.

"Can you please let us in and talk? I am your partner after all."

Klein was already feeling somewhat awkward at this point. He smiled and reminded the other party of his investor identity.

"Oh, oh, sorry. Come on in."

Mr. Leppard finally reacted and made way.

"It's a little messy here... Please don't mind. By the way, Mr. Moriarty, what's the name of your friend?"

Klein glanced at Roger and said his pseudonym:

"This is Mr. Balelou Jones, a musician."

"Benelu Jones? Musician?"

Leppard was slightly stunned. He wiped his hands and began to flip through the Backlund Daily on the table.

"Is this you?"

He asked, pointing to a report on the front page that took up half of the page and had several photos.

That was a picture of Roger being received by George III.

"It's me." Roger nodded.

After hearing the definite answer, Mr. Leppard was stunned for a moment. He repeatedly examined Roger's face several times before saying:

"What would you like to drink, Mr. Jones?"

Klein's eyes suddenly twitched. He had always thought that Mr. Leppard was a conservative, mechanically obsessed tech geek, but he never expected that he had such a side to him.

"Ahem." He coughed twice, trying not to look at Leppard.

Roger was also a little embarrassed by the other party's reaction. He shook his head and said, "No need, Mr. Leppard. I was wondering if you could improve the phonograph?"

"Improving the phonograph? Why would I improve that thing?"

Leppard was a little confused by Roger's words. In his opinion, the phonograph, which only the nobles could afford, was not worth improving at all.

“Of course I made money.”

Roger gave a warm smile and began to explain his idea to Leppard.

　End of today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)