"Mr. Ruan hopes that the sales of printing machines can drive the demand for iron ore, activate the mineral resources in your hands, and obtain maximum benefits. Unfortunately, printing machines that are in demand on the production side are not a very good one. Mass production targets. If you want to realize the value of owning a mine, you have to find products that meet consumer demand."
Ruan Wenyue, who has always maintained a gentlemanly attitude, has been persuaded to the point where he looks a little frustrated and even plans to give up. However, someone's conclusion-like words made him smell something different. Then he asked: "Since you can make such a distinction, does it mean that you have other suitable technologies?"
Showing an enigmatic smile, Lin Cai said: "Let's put it this way. In fact, my idea is very simple. Since printing magic scrolls is now in trouble, we must find a solution. The known problem is the lack of raw materials, but Strictly speaking, it is not a shortage, but that the raw material reserves and production speed in a region cannot keep up with the consumption speed. The reason why the required materials are not dispatched from further places is because the cost of transportation cannot Add it unlimitedly to the finished product price of the scroll. After all, no one will do it if you lose money. In this case, what solution will Mr. Ruan choose?"
Suddenly being tested, not only Ruan Wenyue was thinking, but also the Dharma Saint beside him was thinking. But it was the old gentleman from the Chamber of Commerce who was asked, so he tentatively answered: "Looking for alternative magic raw materials?"
"Yes, this is the method that most people would think of. But in fact, the materials that can be used to print magic scrolls are the result of careful selection. It is not so easy to find other substitutes. After all, now What needs to be done is to 'print' the magic scroll, rather than copy it using the previous method.──"
Although it is just stating the facts, to others it sounds like a curse on ignorance. So Lin quickly explained,
"─Of course, this is not to criticize Mr. Ruan, but people who have not personally been exposed to printing work can easily overlook such blind spots. If you pay attention to the material consumption of the Holy City in making magic scrolls, you should be able to find that, In fact, what is not enough is not the most consumed material in traditional scroll making."
Ignoring the rather rude words just now, Ruan Wenyue carefully recalled the various material consumption information in his hands about the Holy City. Chambers of commerce at the level of their family will have their own channels to learn about this information, even without the help of forums.
This information may not be complete and detailed, but judging from the general situation, it is indeed what the magician said. There is no shortage of Warcraft skins and blood ink, which are mainly used to make magic scrolls, but those who do printing are crying about the lack of materials.
Ruan Wenyue asked: "Since the problem of raw materials is difficult to solve, what method do you choose to use to solve this problem?"
"Transportation. Since the cost of transporting materials further away is too high and the time required is too long, then we must find ways to reduce this cost and shorten the transportation time." Lin said confidently.
Ruan Wenyue's reaction was not unpleasant. Thinking of the past rumors about this magician, he immediately asked: "Are you willing to cooperate with me to build an airship?"
Lin shook his head with a smile and said: "It's not an airship. There are not many parts on it that can be replaced with ordinary metal, and it is just a floating device. The cost of that thing cannot be low. This is not in line with Mr. Ruan's original ideas. Demand, that is, relying on the minerals in your hands. What I want to do is to improve the transportation methods on land."
The originally bright eyes dimmed. The more Ruan Wen thought about the transportation method that met this requirement, he suddenly became less interested. "Do you want to build a mechanical train?"
"Oh, Mr. Ruan also knows about engine trains. I think he knows the advantages and disadvantages of this means of transportation." Although it was different from the wording he was used to, Lin knew what it was when he heard it, so he followed the nouns used by the other party. .
Ruan Wenyue nodded and roughly said: "Although a lot of goods can be transported at one time, the route is fixed, the construction cost is huge, and the construction time is long. The disadvantages are as obvious as the advantages. The most important thing is that not all lords are willing to let a track It passes through our own territory, so when it comes to maintaining the track, in addition to guarding against monsters, bandits, and lords from various places. It can be said that when a track is laid, there are enemies everywhere."
"Mr. Ruan is very clear about machine trains." Lin boasted.
"In the old machine city of the dwarf empire, there are still machine train routes in the city, which are much more reliable than those left by the goblin empire. As long as they go to the machine city for business, everyone will try their best to use trains to move around. But those tracks want to Not only do we encounter great resistance when laying it outside the city, but in fact, many of the key internal technologies have been lost.”
Speaking of this, Ruan Wenyue suddenly thought of a piece of information. There were four silver-bearded dwarves around this magician. In the past, the dwarf empire was built with the silver-bearded dwarves as its core. However, the machine train is really not a good investment.
Of course, Nguyen Van Viet admits that if this project is completed, apart from the backlog of costs that cannot be recovered quickly, it will also have a hundred benefits and no harm. But this is not what his small body can support, even if it drags the entire family into the water, it will be a bit risky.
Not to mention how could the leaders of other regions consider the suggestions of a person with the lowest status? In the family, my voice is still too small.
Of course, someone didn't know the small theater in Ruan Wenyue's heart, but said: "You don't mind if I use a magic to display the picture."
Without waiting for permission, Lin used whiteboard skills to sketch out a concept drawing of a train, and said: "Although I have never seen the engine train in the Dwarf Machine City with my own eyes, it is nothing more than a powered locomotive, pulling a train that may be carrying people behind it. Or a carriage carrying cargo. The reason why tracks must be laid is nothing more than the weight of the front of the car, which makes the wheels and the road surface unable to bear its weight, so a dedicated road must be built to accommodate the movement of the vehicle. This is right. "
Although the image displayed is not the engine train that Nguyen Van Viet saw, the individual car bodies and tracks are indeed its characteristics. In addition, he had explored the principles of the mechanism train, so he nodded in agreement with what the magician said.
"Then the first thing we have to do is to remove the tracks that restrict the vehicle's freedom." As he spoke, the railroad tracks drawn on the whiteboard moved outwards with a flick of Lin's finger, and then disappeared.
"And because the car body is too heavy, we made it smaller and lighter." As he said that, he put his hands together, and several carriages behind the train disappeared one by one, and even the locomotive shrank a lot.
"In order to carry the dead weight and maintain grip, we need to improve the shape of the wheels instead of using carriage wheels directly." With a snap of his fingers, the original wheel shapes were replaced with thicker tires.
One of the great discoveries after arriving in the Holy City is rubber. However, rubber has very few uses. It is only used to make waterproof cloths, raincoats or high-end outdoor tents, and has not been used on a large scale.
Lin, of course, purchased large quantities without hesitation to improve engine seals and make tires. However, steel rims and tubeless tires have not yet been successfully developed. At present, tires are made using a combination of pneumatic inner tubes and outer tires. However, the shape of the wheel rims is close to the modern cars Lin knows.
For a while, people watching someone's performance couldn't understand what changes would be brought about by miniaturizing the machine train. It even gave up the advantage of transportation volume, which made Ruan Wenyue frown slightly. So Lin did not stop his explanation, but continued:
"Freeing cars to choose routes does not mean that they can go anywhere. But basically, as long as a horse-drawn carriage can pass, miniaturized cars can also pass, without the need for special paving. Tracks. No tracks are required, which also means that the vehicle can change its shape and structure according to needs."
As he spoke, Lin changed the vehicle displayed using the whiteboard technique into the shape of an antique convertible from the early 20th century on Earth. "If we want to carry people, and there are not many people, we only need to add a few more seats behind the front of the car. If we want to carry a lot of people, -"
With a snap of his fingers, the lines of the antique car changed into the shape of a large bus, "──We can enlarge the carriage and increase the number of seats. If we don't carry people, but only cargo,──"
With another snap of the fingers, the big bus returned to its original front, with a trunk added at the back. "We can add a carriage-like carriage at the back of the vehicle if it needs to carry more cargo. Of course, the rear compartment must be enlarged and lengthened."
He clapped his hands again and displayed several vehicle forms he had displayed at the same time. Lin said: "The advantage of miniaturizing and diversifying vehicles is that people who need them can choose the model to buy according to their own needs. Vehicles that carry many people or cargo require relatively large space and relatively strong horsepower. So of course such vehicles will be more expensive. But if the demand is not that big, you can choose smaller vehicles."
Seeing that the person in front of him still looked confused, Lin had no choice but to continue explaining: "In the past, we invested a lot of money in building machine trains and sold transportation services. But after we miniaturized and diversified the trains, the production cost increased. Of course it will drop significantly, and we can switch to focusing on selling vehicles. Customers can choose a certain type of vehicle according to their needs. There may also be R&D costs that need to be amortized, but selling one and making a profit are the best Basic requirements.”
Everyone was still confused and their eyes were lifeless. Lin wondered if it was because he couldn't speak clearly, or if the people in the Lost Land were really so dismissive of mechanical products? I had no choice but to say harder: "Maybe you will think of the same function. I can just use a carriage, so why should I switch to this kind of vehicle? But you can use it at a lower cost than taking care of horses, and in a shorter time, Walk a longer distance. Mr. Ruan, the main commodity handled by your chamber of commerce is grain. Can you imagine that during the transportation process, less than half of the manpower is needed to transport grain to farther places in the same time? Go, what does this mean?"
