Chapter 8: Bad Friends

This engine is a typical example of the yin-yang philosophy, employing both water and fire formations. It utilizes the conflict between these two formations to generate explosions, which in turn create continuous rotation.

The engine is primarily made of jade. The first engine is quite unattractive and massive, standing three feet tall and measuring ten feet in length—truly a colossal object. The engine's structure is relatively simple: it has four chambers from front to back, each with a fire formation carved into its shell, occupying half of the space. The four fire formations are arranged in a spiral pattern, forming two complete rings of fire formations.

The four fire formations are connected to the engine through grounding lines, creating controllable switches.

On the rotor, however, it is completely surrounded by four water wave formations. This structure ensures that at every moment, two fire formations and two water wave formations are in operation, thus generating tremendous rotational power.

To ensure that the rotor has enough energy, the engine's shaft extends one foot and is engraved with eight small spirit gathering formations. The engine's outer shell also features four large spirit gathering formations.

When the engine operates at full capacity, it rotates 500 times per minute, producing power equivalent to that of a healthy horse, which is referred to as one horsepower. The terms "minute" and "horsepower" are standards proposed by Li Xian. A quarter is divided into 15 parts, each part representing one minute.

One horsepower is based on comparisons with horses in the celestial domain, which is considerably larger than standard horses on Earth. However, there is no need for detailed specification at the moment, and Li Xian calculates only based on one horsepower.

In summary, the appearance of the engine signifies the true beginning of Li Xian's dream of technological and industrial advancement. Although there are still many challenges, the initial power for industry has been resolved, and the heart of technology and industry is established.

When the engine truly starts to rotate and drives the loom with its roar, there is no cheer, only a profound silence.

For a long time... for a long time...

"Howl..." He Lin unexpectedly shouted without any regard for decorum, "Young Master, I’ve changed our goal. From now on, we need to produce one hundred thousand bolts of fabric every day, so that the entire Great Xia Kingdom will use the fabric we weave."

"Forge weapons for an entire regiment in a day!" Song Gang's ambition was grand.

Even Tang Rong was stunned, and it took him a long time to say, "This is the power of celestial magic!"

The silence was finally broken, and a delayed cheer erupted. In this small research room with fewer than twenty people, the cheer was as overwhelming as a thousand troops.

In this research, Sun Ming was responsible for carving the formations and jade, Tang Rong was in charge of adjusting and improving the formations. Song Gang handled the central main shaft, bearings, and protective casing of the engine. Liu Bin was responsible for the mechanical structure design of the engine. He Lin took charge of the engine’s transmission belt.

Don’t underestimate the belt; it’s crucial for the engine. It is the simplest and most effective transmission method.

After cheering for half an hour, everyone finally calmed down. Li Xian seized the opportunity to pour cold water on their enthusiasm. "Everyone, are you satisfied with this engine? I must say, this engine falls far short of my expectations.

I’m setting the first industrial plan for everyone.

Within three months, you need to achieve the following:

First, shrink the engine to under one foot in size.

Second, standardize and mass-produce bearings and mechanical shafts.

Third, create the first mechanical power, multi-functional machine tool.

Fourth, build a large-scale textile machine.

Fifth, assemble the most reliable and outstanding personnel from the magical artifact workshop, jade workshop, woodworking workshop, and forging workshop to establish an engine workshop.

Sixth, refine the departments. Rename the woodworking workshop to the mechanical workshop, which should focus on the design and production of bearings, shafts, and mechanics.

Seventh, continue to strengthen the construction of the research room.

Eighth, I think, should we change our original thirty-year contract to a one-hundred-year contract?"

No surprise, there was no opposition to Li Xian’s eight-point plan. In fact, everyone was thrilled about extending the contract to one hundred years instead of thirty.

There was only one problem—there weren’t enough people! To prevent leaks and to find more reliable personnel, Li Xian decided to return home and discuss this with his father.

By this point, Li Xian had already spent exactly 108 days here.

“Dad, I’m back! I succeeded!” As soon as Li Xian entered the gate and saw Li Yulong, he excitedly shouted.

"Impressive!" Li Yulong gave a serious evaluation. Ever since he saw stainless steel, Li Yulong no longer referred to these things as lowly crafts or strange, frivolous skills. He had begun to take them seriously.

“Dad, I have a few things I want to consult you about.”

“Go ahead.”

“Three points. First, we don’t have enough people. Where can I find reliable, skilled individuals, especially those proficient in formations and spells?

Second, the large joint weaving machine is about to succeed, and by then we’ll be able to produce tens of thousands of bolts of fabric a day. How do we source more raw materials, and how should we handle sales?

Third, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the workshops.”

“Not bad, really not bad. But…” Suddenly, Li Yulong shouted, “Who are you, really?”

Ha… The thing Li Xian feared most had still happened, but he remained calm. “Dad, let me tell you the story of Zhuang Zhou dreaming of being a butterfly... It’s like that. Maybe, while my soul was wandering, I went to a place called Earth. A tiny Earth, with an area smaller than one state in the celestial domain. I guess it must have been a dream.”

“I see.” After hearing Li Xian's explanation, Li Yulong was finally completely reassured and then burst out laughing. “Not bad, not bad. Since that world is so remarkable, just bring its wonders here. I support you.

As for the issues you raised:

First, regarding manpower, you can recruit from the civilian population. As long as they swear an oath to the heavens, who would dare betray you? As for how to select talent, that’s something you’ll have to learn to judge for yourself."

“Second, why are you worried about raw materials and sales? What about those good friends of yours? These people are quite powerful; each one is either the son of a great general or the grandson of the grand tutor. If you unite them, who would dare block your path?

You may not know this, but currently, 70% of the sales for the colored lanterns have already been handed over to them.

As for the third point, my opinion is to boldly expand. Your current achievements won’t attract much attention. However, don’t let those engines and machine tools leak out. What you sell publicly should only be things like fabric and colored lanterns—just daily necessities. As for stainless steel and weapons, don’t sell them either. If you ever need to sell, I’ll let you know.

Finally, I must emphasize one thing—focus on your cultivation. Cultivation is the foundation of everything.”

“Hehe, Dad, your teachings are always right.”

Li Xian stayed at home for less than an hour when the loud-mouthed Shangguan Yong came running over.

“Brother Xian! Brother Xian! You’ve returned, and you didn’t even stop by to see your big brother. I’ve been preparing a gift for you for over three months. You’d better thank me. Also, guess who else is here!”

The moment he heard the word "gift," Li Xian felt a headache coming on and immediately recalled their unfortunate first meeting—it was this guy, who wanted to check whether he was alive before giving a gift. Truly bizarre.

But what came next was even more peculiar.

“Brother Xian, I heard you’re alive, so I specially prepared a big supplement for you—antlers from a tier-one demonic beast (Foundation Establishment stage)!”

In Li Xian's mind, memories surfaced—this was Zhang Quan, the son of the Minister of Revenue, Zhang Yuan. The Minister of Revenue held the prestigious position of Second Rank, making him an extremely high-ranking official.

“Brother Xian, I’ve brought you some top-tier blood from a tier-one flood dragon. They say it can really get your blood boiling!” 

This was from Yuan Zhao, the son of the Grand Commander Yuan Yong, who was a First Rank official.

Shangguan Yong, towering and brawny, was the highest cultivator among them and also the oldest at 18 years old, already at the eighth level of the Qi Refining stage.

Zhang Quan, chubby and pale, was the “strategist” among the four of them, with a cunning mind. He was 17 and at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Yuan Zhao was the youngest, a bit like a youthful boy at 16, younger than Li Xian by half a year, but already at the sixth level of Qi Refining, slightly surpassing the former Li Xian.

The three, with Shangguan Yong leading the charge, smashed through doors and walls like bandits until they burst in front of Li Xian.

Li Xian could only stare at these three "good friends," dumbfounded.

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