Chapter 374 Coal stove without keeping fire
After confirming the burning time, combustion heat and cost of briquettes, Fu Chenan was full of expectations.
"The process control and production of this briquettes will be left to your Ministry of Industry to take charge from now on."
The Ministry of Works is responsible for recruiting workers to excavate coal, soil, and stone.
At the same time, the craftsmen are allowed to control the proportion and quality of lime burning, coal, and mud.
It is equivalent to separate production and sales.
The engineering department is responsible for production and quality; the household department is responsible for sales and channels.
In order to increase the enthusiasm of the Ministry of Industry, Fu Chenan also specially proposed a reward policy.
At the end of the year, in addition to salaries and wages, relevant personnel from the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs also receive bonuses.
Bonuses are paid based on sales volume and quality, and 10% of the net profit is used to pay bonuses to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Accounts.
And bonuses?
What an unexpected surprise!
The Minister of Industry was overjoyed: "Here!"
Fu Chenan looked at the Minister of Industry with deep eyes: "I need to tell you some things in advance."
"This bonus is not something you should naturally expect."
"It is your responsibility to do your part well."
"It's just that now the country needs to develop vigorously. If you do a good job, the country can develop faster."
"Bonuses are just a stopgap measure."
"After a few years, when the country's development becomes stable, this bonus will be cancelled."
"You must not think that this is what the court should give you, and then you will be passive and slow down in your work if it is not given to you..."
After some beating, the minister of the Ministry of Industry naturally responded with "yes".
But in his heart, the Minister of Industry and Commerce has his own interpretation: "You must make money as early as possible."
Now that the court is giving bonuses, everyone is working hard to get more money.
He is the head of the Ministry of Works. If everyone gets money, as the leader, he will naturally get the largest share.
Who is willing to risk beheading to embezzle money when they can earn money through formal channels?
Once you have enough money, if you can no longer work, you can just take the money and go home to retire.
When he thought of this, the minister of the Ministry of Industry only felt that the future of money was bright, and he almost shed his tears.
On the way out of the palace, Cui Chaoyong, the Minister of Household Affairs, was full of envy: "Old Qiu, you are lucky."
"How many projects have we done for the imperial court? How much money have we earned? There is never any talk of rewards!"
"But look at you, you made briquettes with the formula and model given by the prince, and the prince actually gave you a reward..."
Qiu Zhishan looked at Cui Chaoyong doubtfully: "Really?"
Cui Chaoyong spread his hands: "Can I lie about this? Just ask..."
Qiu Zhishan believed it without much doubt.
The capital city is a circle, and many aristocratic families are related to each other by marriage, so the news cannot be hidden.
If the Ministry of Accounts has a commission, there is no way there will be no news at all.
Is it really because of the Ministry of Industry that the prince initiated the award? !
The driver was about to drive him home for dinner, but Qiu Zhishan energetically ordered: "Turn around and go to the Ministry of Works."
"Finish your arrangements first and then go home for dinner."
What to eat?
Work first! Cows and horses!
If you had done your work earlier, I would have earned more reward money!
The Minister of Industry convened a meeting with the leaders of various departments who were about to call it a day and go home, and told everyone the prince's thoughts.
The people below had no idea and were confused: "How much silver is that?"
The minister of the Ministry of Industry glared: "This is all extra. Do you care how much it is? Just think of it as money falling from the sky!"
"The money falling from the sky is still too little for you?"
"Just asking if you want it?"
Everyone below: "I want it, I want it!"
Seeing the initial unification of ideas, the Minister of Industry and Commerce began to give sweet dates again.
"The Ministry of Revenue has said that the briquettes shop will start selling them for three days, and we will probably know how much reward we can share."
"We can also set a reward level based on the figures given by the Ministry of Accounts."
"At that time, you will receive rewards according to your efforts."
"His Royal Highness the Prince has given this money with a golden mouth. Take it with peace of mind."
"The weather is getting hot now, and the sales of briquettes are not that big yet. When the weather gets cold, hey hey hey..." "You just need to get out of your arms and do things, and the court will definitely not treat us badly!"
Everyone in the Ministry of Works looked excited when they heard this, and they all agreed.
"Here!"
Within three days, the briquette shop quietly opened on the state-owned street.
The shop this time was very strange: there was no fancy decoration. Inside, there were dark briquettes on one side and rows of coal stoves on the other.
The strangest thing is that there is a stove built at the door, with glowing red briquettes inside.
There was a pot on top, and the desserts inside were sizzling.
The sweet smell wafts all the way down the street, making people come here looking for it.
Everyone was stunned when they saw that the bottom of the big iron pot was not charcoal or firewood, but briquettes.
The shopkeeper asked the boy with a loud voice to stand at the door and shout: "The briquettes will burn for a long time; the fire is stable, no need to guard..."
The various benefits of briquettes were shouted out over and over again like a lotus falling, and many people came to watch the fun.
But after all, summer is coming, and everyone dislikes the hot stalls. How many people will care about this?
This time, the newly opened state-owned store attracted more people to watch and less people to buy.
Those who do good things start pointing fingers.
"Summer is coming, who still wants to buy this thing?"
"That's right!"
"This is either a Western product or something we dug out of our own fields."
"The Household Department did a stupid business this time..."
"Are you going to lose money this time?"
"I want to see who took advantage of me and bought this briquette."
While everyone was laughing and watching, the shopkeeper was actually the old god.
He had been vaccinated long ago and continued to let the clerk shout through the loudspeaker.
Soon, the first victim appeared.
An old man with gray clothes and white hair had been standing by the coal stove at the door, observing the sugar water pot on the stove.
The bubbles in the middle of the sugar water pot kept bubbling, maintaining a slightly boiling state.
The fire is not big, but it is not extinguished. It is indeed very stable.
After watching for a while, the old man in gray walked in.
"How long can one piece of briquettes burn?"
When the shopkeeper saw that there was business, he hurried forward to say hello.
"My father-in-law, in a fire situation, each of these briquettes can burn for an hour."
"In the low fire state, one briquette can burn for two hours."
"But this stove requires three briquettes stacked on top of each other to burn, and the fire burns from the bottom up..."
"In about an hour, use this iron tong to pick out the bottom piece of coal ash and throw it away, and then put a new one on top..."
"If you want a big fire, just open the lid below and put it in a ventilated place."
"If you want a small fire, just put the lid on, leaving only a small hole..."
"You don't need to send someone to watch the fire. Just take a look in half an hour or so..."
The shopkeeper said while demonstrating with pokers.
The onlookers were eye-opening, but the old man in gray nodded his head frequently.
After watching the shopkeeper's demonstration, the father-in-law asked again: "I am making medicine for my old wife at home. Will this briquette affect the efficacy of the medicine?"
As soon as this question was asked, many people suddenly realized it.
It turns out that the old man wanted to buy it and make medicine.
Indeed, boiling medicine is most important to heat and time.
If the time is not enough, the medicine will not be effective enough. If the heat is too high or too low, the medicine will not be effective.
Normally, medicine needs to be boiled for half an hour or even an hour. People should keep an eye on it, otherwise it will easily burn or flame out.
That not only wastes medicinal materials, but also delays treatment.
In terms of stable firepower and no need for anyone to guard the fire, this briquette is truly unique.
But they have never used this briquette, are they sure it won't affect the efficacy of the medicine?
The shopkeeper smiled on the ground: "You can rest assured about this, we specially asked the palace doctor to try it."
"After the imperial doctors used it, they all said there was no problem."
Everyone's minds suddenly settled: The imperial doctors said there was no problem, so there must be no problem!
The old man in gray clothes immediately agreed: "I want a stove and two hundred briquettes!"
(End of chapter)