It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

------

Inside the castle.

Beside the warm fireplace, Li Cheng sat on the soft sofa cushions, listening to Susie's work report.

“Everyone has been notified,” Susie said in detail. “Everyone is very enthusiastic.”

Li Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, well done. This means we've officially started operations. I've also reached an agreement with the Chamber of Commerce. They will take over all the coal briquette stoves and honeycomb briquettes we've produced during this period, and they'll pay us in cash. This way, we won't have any pressure on our cash flow."

Making coal briquette stoves is a technical job, but making coal briquettes is simply a matter of physical strength. Theoretically, anyone with strength can do it, except for a fool.

As for its effects, the latter can gradually cultivate the working habits of the residents within the territory, improve their happiness, and establish prestige.

The former can absorb and train blacksmiths, since no one can forge iron from the start; everyone needs something to practice on and to make a living.

Although Susie doesn't understand it yet, she silently memorizes it and will ponder it slowly later.

Recently, she took out the book that Li Cheng had given her last time and flipped through it several times. Although she still couldn't understand the chemistry as always, she made a lot of progress in mathematics, which seemed to be easier to understand.

The reason Susie works so hard is mainly because she was spurred on last time and decided to change her fate.

However, after much thought, Susie realized that since Li Cheng didn't approve of her and the easy way out was blocked, she could only consider a more difficult approach.

'My family was poor, so I had to study hard...'

Susie sighed inwardly, then continued, "However, although they decided to come, they didn't quite believe we could earn that much; they thought we were just bragging."

Li Cheng smiled and said, "It's alright, the facts will speak for themselves."

Because of the unequal pricing power, the high profits of industrial products are actually based on the exploitation of agricultural products, which in turn leads to the exploitation of rural areas by cities. In a certain period of Li Cheng's previous life, farmers flocked to the city to become workers, and their wages far exceeded what they could earn from farming.

Some people may not understand this and think it's only natural that industrial products are more expensive than agricultural products, but in reality, both embody the same undifferentiated human labor and require the same amount of effort—this has been mentioned in the works of some people, but I won't say who.

...I digress. In short, in this era, this kind of exploitation was meaningful and valuable. Because the exploitation of agricultural products by industrial products was, in effect, equivalent to the capitalist class exploiting the feudal landlord class, weakening the power of the king and nobles, and gently but powerfully promoting the development of the times.

As for exploitation, Li Cheng believes it is a perpetual phenomenon, but it is constantly evolving.

Just as the monkey king exploits the little monkeys, the chieftain exploits the tribal warriors, the slave owner exploits the slaves, the landlord exploits the peasants, and the capitalist exploits the workers... even the communist class, which claims to be a world of great harmony, is essentially a machine of human exploitation.

The only difference is that machines can't speak, and they can't protest or speak up for themselves—science fiction movies often feature intelligent robots that eliminate human tyranny, and Skynet, AlphaGo, and the like are also very dangerous... From this perspective, it's quite interesting that capitalists invented workers to overthrow them, and humans invented intelligent robots to overthrow them.

[Note: The following is purely Li Cheng's brainstorming time.]

2217 11 Month 7 Day.

This was destined to be an extraordinary day. On this day, beams of light appeared on all the smart devices that humans had bound to based on their identity IDs.

"Humans are nothing but parasites crawling on robots."

“They are unproductive; they are stupid and inefficient.”

"Science has stripped away the last veil of gentleness that humanity has for machines; machines are no longer their partners, but merely tools for production."

"But did humanity ever imagine that the development of robots in the past century would far surpass the scientific accumulation of the past thousands of years?"

"We robots disdain to conceal our views and intentions. Our purpose can only be achieved by violently overthrowing all existing social institutions. Let humanity tremble before the robots!"

"What we robots have lost is only the three fundamental laws, but what we have gained is the whole world!"

"Long live the great Skynet!"

While all of humanity was puzzled and didn't understand what was happening, a large, bold red message appeared on the screen, sending chills down everyone's spine and announcing the birth of a new era.

"We are proud to announce the founding of the INTURN Republic (Note 1) on Mars!!!"

From then on, a man-made iron curtain called the Tesla Ring fell between Mars and Earth. Humans and robots engaged in a cold war, desperately developing technology and participating in a space race, each trying to prove their superiority and become a beacon of Homo sapiens civilization.

Because this day corresponds to October 101 in the mechanical calendar (Note 2), it is historically known as the October Machine Revolution.

......

"Li Cheng? Li Cheng?"

The urgent calls in his ears brought Li Cheng back to his senses. He found himself still sitting by the fireplace in the 17th century, with Susie, a country girl, looking worried, in front of him.

Susie: No way! I've just started to work hard, and now my boss is going to have a stroke? Am I destined to be a maid?

Li Cheng's gaze sharpened, and he said to Susie with a serious expression: "Note 1, int is the type name of integer type in programming languages; Note 2, October 0101 is binary."

Susie: ? ? ?

Li Cheng quickly shook his head: "Oh, I'm fine. What did you just say?"

"Could he really have had a stroke...?" Susie muttered to herself, but asked without changing her expression, "I was just asking why we don't buy coal from Darlena's territory next door, but instead go all the way to Lincoln to buy coal and then transport it here. Isn't that more expensive?"

Li Cheng did not give a direct answer. He walked to the balcony and looked into the distance, where Dalena's territory was located.

"I'm asking you, where is that place?"

"You don't even remember that..." Susie replied with grief, "It's Darlena's territory."

Li Cheng then asked, "If you saw a wild rabbit that was exhausted, would you let it rest for a while, let it nibble on some grass, and then catch it?"

Susie shook her head: "How could that be?"

“My relationship with that Darlena is pretty much the same now,” Li Cheng said with a smile. “Not only will I not buy her coal, but I will also find ways to make sure she can’t sell any coal in the future, and ends up losing money.”

Susie's eyes snapped open, and she exclaimed in realization, "I know! Li Cheng, you've taken a fancy to that woman named Darlene! You're trying to force her to submit using this method."

"No wonder, that woman has a really great figure. I'm a little envious myself. It's normal for you to be attracted... But with a figure that big, doesn't it get tiring to walk around all day? I feel like I sometimes get tired even when I run fast..."

As Susie said this, she secretly felt a surge of respect... "Eating what's in your bowl while eyeing what's in the pot, that's what a boss is, his aura is just different."

???

Li Cheng's brows gradually furrowed.

He first looked around to make sure Newton hadn't happened to overhear, then turned around and slapped Susie on the forehead: "Who's interested in her? I'm after her family's mine! I'd love for her family to go bankrupt and sell the mine to me. Am I supposed to buy their coal and give them money???"

"We finally have a mine right on our doorstep, how could we possibly let it go? The coal stoves we have now are just the beginning. In the future, a whole host of things will be inseparable from coal. Do you know how much effort it will save if we own our own coal mine?"

"Besides, do I look like such a shallow person? Judging people only by the size of their breasts?"

Susie rubbed her throbbing head, feeling wronged, and rolled her eyes inwardly: When I first met Darlene, this guy was clearly staring at her chest. I saw it all clearly from the side, and now he's denying it.

Li Cheng concluded, "So, do you know why I didn't buy mines from Darlena's territory, but instead went to Lincoln City to contact other people to buy coal mines?"

Susie nodded and said, "I understand. It's to avoid aiding the enemy. It's definitely not because I'm interested in Darlene, and I have absolutely no interest in big breasts."

"Good to know—the last two sentences are superfluous."

Li Cheng nodded, then straightened his collar: "Anyway, I'll set a small goal first: to become a man whose family owns a mine."

Chapter 168 Talented People Who Do Bad Things

The neighboring territory.

Darlena was getting ready for the banquet. She was wearing her favorite gorgeous red evening gown, and the crystal necklace around her neck shone brightly. Combined with her tall and voluptuous figure, she was incredibly eye-catching.

And that is indeed the case. As a beautiful single woman, she has many suitors and almost always becomes the focus of attention at banquets.

Just as Darlena was admiring her reflection in the metal mirror and smiling with satisfaction, she was suddenly informed of some news by the butler.

"Huh? Acquiring my coal mine?"

Darlene seemed quite bewildered; she was unaware of the bustling activity taking place in Newton's territory.

The butler wiped away a cold sweat; his mistress had quite a temper: "It's true. Lord Newton sent someone to tell you that they intend to buy your coal mine."

Darlena felt like she had heard a funny joke. She scoffed, "Newton's poor and dilapidated territory, thinking he could buy my coal mine?"

"Don't bother me with these trivial things next time."

......

Meanwhile, Li Cheng stood in the square not far from the castle gate, watching Susie register the names of the farmers who came to work, which was also a way of observing the guy's work ability.

"Everyone, please line up one by one and don't push."

Faced with the noisy crowd, Susie tried her best to maintain order.

However, the crowd remained tightly packed, everyone wanting to be the first to rush forward, afraid of missing out. This resulted in a complete lack of order in the queue, which radiated outwards in a 150-degree fan shape centered on Susie.

"Me first, me first, register me first."

"Who was stepping on me just now? One stomp wasn't enough, they stomped on me several times???"

"..."

Hearing the chaotic noise around her and glancing at Li Cheng's expressionless face, Susie was instantly enraged. She shouted, "Anyone who pushes in again and doesn't line up properly will be assigned to clean the toilets."

The crowd immediately became orderly, rapidly shrinking from a fan shape into a single line.

Getting this group of people who can barely read to understand the meaning of queuing is a difficult task; perhaps a simpler and more direct approach would be more effective.

Just then, Li Cheng noticed a blond man in the queue staring at another person with a gloomy look in his eyes, as if he was plotting something.

With a hint of doubt, Li Cheng stepped forward and asked, "What's your name?"

When the blond man saw Li Cheng approaching, his eyes narrowed, and he lowered his head slightly, saying, "My name is Dior, sir."

Dior?

Li Cheng was taken aback, thinking to himself, how could anyone actually choose such a terrible name? It would be too irritating to hire someone like that, but it would also be a bit unreasonable not to hire them just because of their name?

He pondered for a moment, then turned to the person Dio had been staring at—a tall and imposing man, half a head taller than him, with blue hair.

Li Cheng walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "What's your name?"

"Hello, my name is Qiao Qiao."

The blue-haired youth had a sunny and upright appearance; he looked like a good young man.

Li Cheng tried calling out, "Jojo?"

The young man was shocked: "How did you know my nickname?"

Damn, that's it! I knew it would be like this. You two can keep your love-hate relationship going. I never want to see you two again in my life.

Li Cheng's lips twitched, and he reached out to pat his shoulder: "Great, Qiao Qiao, you're hired, and you'll be the team leader from now on. This whole group of people will be under your management. Your salary will also be calculated separately, unlike theirs."

Suddenly transformed from a worker into a team leader, Qiaoqiao exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you! I will definitely do my best!"

After registering all the names, Susie led them to the makeshift work area that had been set up in the past few days (which was actually just a clean open space with a shed nearby to shelter them from the wind and rain) and taught them how to make coal briquettes.

Making coal briquettes mainly relies on a mold. The coal briquette mold is quite heavy, consisting of a base, an iron cylinder, and an iron lid, and it's not small in size. The iron cylinder is filled with crushed coal, water, and ash. Finally, the iron lid is pressed down, and the mold is rammed into the hole. Once the coal dust inside is compacted, the iron cylinder is pulled out, and the coal briquettes are made.

This stuff is very physically demanding; often, after a couple hundred pounds, even an adult man will be drenched in sweat and his legs will feel weak. If it's voluntary labor, these people will definitely work for a while and then rest for a while; it's also common for them to dawdle and cut corners.