It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Roy shrugged helplessly: "Mr. Stoller helped me a lot."

“That doesn’t mean you have to work for him. Besides, there’s no conflict of interest between me and Mr. Stoller, and he’s helped me a lot.”

Li Cheng stomped his foot on the ground, indicating, "And this is the stage where you can show your skills. You know, I want to enter the textile industry."

Roy said tactfully, "But you know nothing about the textile industry."

Li Cheng smiled and said, "If you didn't have any confidence in me, you wouldn't have analyzed the current state of the textile industry so seriously in the letter and given your opinions, would you?"

"...Yes, sir."

Finally, Roy gave his first smile of the meeting: "I'm looking forward to seeing something new and interesting."

Chapter 71 Isn't it good to be alive?

office.

Upon hearing Roy's reply, Li Cheng stood up from his seat, quickly stepped forward, and shook hands firmly with Roy.

"Welcome, my friend."

Li Cheng smiled confidently and said, "Trust me, this is a choice you won't regret."

Roy said half-jokingly, "Is it too late to regret it now?"

"It's too late, you're already on the wrong side of the law."

Li Cheng quickly ended the topic: "Alright, now I'll show you what I've prepared."

He then took out the prepared blueprints from his pocket, made a space on the white birchwood desk, and slowly unfolded them to reveal their contents.

It was a small black thing with pointed ends and two compartments inside.

Roy was also very curious about what gave Li Cheng the confidence to enter the textile industry, and he came over to observe as soon as the blueprints were unfolded.

"That's all?"

He was greatly disappointed, because it was just a weaving shuttle, something that could be found anywhere.

Li Cheng said confidently, "Take another look."

Seeing his confident expression, Roy was somewhat skeptical, but after careful observation, he finally discovered the difference.

Compared to a regular shuttle, this shuttle is more like a combination of two shuttles joined together, and it also has a strange spiral-shaped thing inside.

"What's this?"

Roy pointed to the strange, concentric rings and asked.

Li Cheng explained, "This is a 'coil spring,' which is different from a regular leaf spring. It is more durable and does not require separate lubrication."

Roy asked, puzzled, "Then what's the point of storing this?"

"Well, this might be a bit difficult to explain, and it's not very vivid."

Li Cheng pondered for a moment: "Let me ask you first, do you know the principle behind spinning yarn on a spinning wheel?"

"know."

Roy nodded and said, "Weaving consists of warp and weft threads. The warp threads are divided into odd and even groups. Then, by stepping on pedals, the two groups move up and down alternately, while holding the shuttle, the weft threads shuttle between the odd and even warp threads..."

To prove that he actually knew and wasn't just pretending, Roy launched into a long speech.

"That's enough, that's enough."

Li Cheng, unable to bear it any longer, interrupted Roy's extremely long chant: "I believe you have done your homework, no need to say more."

"In my past life, I hated encountering storytellers like you when playing cards. You only care about your own enjoyment..." he added inwardly.

Incidentally, Li Cheng only learned about the specific operation of spinning yarn after he had thoroughly examined looms after his transmigration—as a keyboard warrior and a lover of online literature, he had only been somewhat interested in shuttles in his previous life and had looked up relevant information.

He was slightly relieved about his thirst for knowledge, but then immediately regretted not having looked up more information back then, even just a glance would have helped him remember it now!

"Ahem, since you know the principle."

Li Cheng snapped out of his fear of being dominated by storytelling and said, "Don't you think this kind of operation is too cumbersome?"

"Troublesome? But it's been woven like this for hundreds of years..."

Roy was puzzled by this.

“What about a few hundred years ago?” Li Cheng said calmly, “Before the invention of the loom, people also considered spinning yarn by hand to be a matter of course.”

"I can't argue with you."

Roy obediently shut his mouth.

Seeing that he had successfully silenced the storyteller, Li Cheng said with satisfaction, "Well, I won't beat around the bush anymore. I call this shuttle 'Flying Shuttle,' meaning a shuttle that is as fast as flying when used."

"Flying shuttle?"

Roy repeated it.

The shuttle is a very important component on the loom, and the flying shuttle is an improved version of the original shuttle.

In reality, a shuttle is a shuttle with small wheels installed in a groove. Springs are installed at both ends of the groove, allowing the shuttle to move back and forth very quickly.

"Flying shuttle".

Li Cheng affirmed, then explained, "I won't go into too much detail, but you can imagine that the thread that originally required alternating between the left and right hands to weave can now be woven by simply pulling it left and right with one hand."

He paused, then asked, "Do you understand what this means?"

What does this mean?

Roy quickly came up with an answer in his mind.

This means higher efficiency, which means lower prices, which means that even textiles from India and Persia would lose far more in a price war.

Price is what ordinary people care about most. Given the same or even slightly worse quality, they will choose the lower-priced textiles.

With this absolute price advantage, they could even establish a textile factory that would unify Britain, Europe, and even the world.

Seeing the glint of gold coins in Roy's eyes, Li Cheng understood that the other party's focus was simply on making money.

In fact, for Britain, where the textile industry is a pillar industry, this level of change is not just about making money, but is enough to affect all aspects of society.

From the lowest level of peasants to the highest level of old-fashioned nobles and even kings, the power of capital will sweep across and change everything.

Although the Industrial Revolution began with the spinning jenny, the seeds of everything were sown with the flying shuttle loom.

"Ugh."

Thinking of what happened next, Li Cheng sighed deeply.

Because no one can say for sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for the poor—the farmers who lost their land because sheep ate people and were forced to wander to the city, the child laborers who crawled in dark mines at the age of seven, the textile workers who worked 16 hours a day in factories, the consumables who died in less than five years after inhaling large amounts of dust...

Li Cheng closed his eyes, seemingly unable to bear the sight.

However, history always moves forward, and the next era belongs to capitalism, just like the feudal era thousands of years before that, and the slave era before that.

History always moves forward in a spiral; it may go backward, but it will always move forward.

At least... modern society allows people to drink sugary drinks, right?

Roy finally snapped out of his excitement. He looked at Li Cheng, who was sighing, and asked with some doubt, "Boss, isn't this a good thing? Why are you sighing?"

"Because there are some things I can never change."

Li Cheng opened his eyes and said with a hint of helplessness, "Sometimes I think I can do a lot and have a big impact, but in reality it's all insignificant. I'm just a nobody."

Men have their "those days" every month, and Li Cheng would occasionally indulge in a bit of his "literary youth syndrome."

"Boss, what are you saying?"

After hearing this, Roy couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "No one can control everything. I'm afraid only a king can do that, and even then, he can only control one country."

"......king?"

Li Cheng suddenly lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

???

Upon seeing this, Roy exclaimed in shock, "Hey, boss, I was just saying that casually. What are you thinking? You can't joke about something like this!"

"How could I possibly consider that? I've thought of other things."

Li Cheng looked up, rolled his eyes, and said, "This kind of thing is punishable by hanging. Isn't it better to be alive?"

Chapter 72 We All Have a Bright Future

Li Cheng was certainly not thinking about something that would get him hanged.

He suddenly wondered if if he continued to support Veronica and she actually became Queen of England, would the Glorious Revolution never even happen?

A queen who supports Protestants and encourages the development of capitalism... With such favorable conditions, the nascent and weak capitalist class would surely lose all motivation for revolution.

'No, no, no, that's ridiculous. Charles II is still alive and well, isn't he? Besides, he has a son. There's no way Veronica could rule...'

Li Cheng tried hard to control himself from imagining things in a certain direction, but he couldn't help it.

If that were to actually happen... wait, that sounds kind of interesting, doesn't it?

Compared to a bunch of money-obsessed old men, a beautiful and ambitious queen seems like an irresistible choice—as for Britain, what does Britain care?

Li Cheng suddenly had a sudden realization and was no longer in a hurry.

As long as he doesn't personally get involved and cause trouble, he won't lose out no matter what.

"elder brother!"

Suddenly a familiar voice rang out. Li Cheng looked up and saw that Louise had appeared at the door at some point, peeking her little head out at him.

'Were you bored waiting in the next room?'

Li Cheng thought to himself.

Just then, Roy saw Louise and looked utterly shocked: "Could this be... Miss Louise Anderson?"

Li Cheng asked in surprise, "Huh? You know him?"

“I once visited Earl Anderson with Mr. Stoller, and I happened to meet Miss Louise there.”

After explaining, Roy looked at Li Cheng with admiration: "I didn't expect you to be so efficient, boss. You've already reached a cooperation agreement with Earl Anderson."

Li Cheng's lips twitched: "Uh..."

Ignoring Li Cheng's explanation, Roy continued, his eyes shining, "I've heard that Earl Anderson cherishes his daughter very much, and he rarely lets her go out. You must be highly regarded by Earl Anderson to have been allowed to bring Miss Louise to visit the factory, right?"