The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 465 I Can Do It Too

Of course, the State Grid is currently just the national power grid. In another ten years or so, it will become an international power grid. At that time, Liu Hua will probably be worth less than a penny.

The State Grid is going a bit crazy right now. There are power plants under construction all over the country. Wherever there is electricity, the State Grid will run the power lines there.

There was no other way; they were under too much pressure.

Economic development and factory operation are impossible without electricity. In many places, factories are operating when they suddenly receive a call about power outages.

People say that the railway is number one and the electricity is number two. Now, the electricity company is being warmly blessed by the people of the whole country. Not a penny less in electricity bills, and they even cut off the power to me at the drop of a hat.

Many factory owners are going crazy. Sometimes, due to untimely notifications, the power goes out suddenly, and the factory equipment is about to be scrapped.

The State Grid acted quickly, purchasing a large number of lithium batteries from Liu Hua, and setting up a power grid outside the thorium-based molten salt reactor experimental base.

The person in charge called Liu Hua: "Boss, the power grid people say they want to connect our generated electricity to the grid, but we're not operating smoothly yet."

“If it’s not necessary, then don’t stop it.” Liu Hua could only sigh and say, “As long as our reactor can generate electricity, then keep running it. I think your first-generation technology has been almost completely updated, and you can start building the second experimental reactor.”

"I've been waiting for you to say that, boss." The person in charge said happily, "Building an experimental reactor is too expensive. I really couldn't bring myself to ask you to."

“Now we’re making a return on our investment.” Liu Hua smiled. “The State Grid buys all our electricity, so we’re not worried about running out of money for research. All the revenue from the first experimental reactor will be used to support the construction of the second experimental reactor.”

Liu Hua and his team's first experimental reactor was a two-megawatt reactor. If it ran 24 hours a day, it could generate about 48,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

In the 1990s, industry was just starting out, and factories didn't use much electricity. A small to medium-sized industrial park would only use about 10,000 to 20,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day.

Liu Hua's experimental reactor generates enough electricity to power at least four or five communities, plus two or three industrial parks.

Liu Hua's experimental base is located in a small city with a population of only two or three hundred thousand. Originally, due to poor infrastructure, it experienced power outages every few days.

Since Liu Hua's reactor was connected to the grid, local residents have been surprised to find that the power has never stopped, not even from morning till night.

Even the few factories in that small city have stabilized. The power company no longer calls them every few days to tell them when the power will go out. Production and operations are now extremely stable, unless there is a shortage of raw materials or orders.

The electricity generated by Liu Hua's reactor was even surplus, which was then used to extend to two more cities, benefiting approximately one million people. The effect was absolutely immediate.

The head of the State Grid Northwest Region was overjoyed. The power supply pressure on his side was immense. The little electricity the country could generate had to be sent to the east because that region was at the forefront of economic development, leaving them with only scraps.

The electricity generated by the thorium-based molten salt reactor is now supplied to them. Although the amount of electricity generated by an experimental reactor is not much, it has solved a large part of their power shortage.

So every few days he would send supplies to the experimental base, including the finest beef and mutton, seafood from the coastal areas, and vegetables and fruits from the south.

The good news was almost unbelievable to the person in charge of the experimental base, but after some discussion, they finally understood why. This person in charge wanted to eliminate all potential problems for them, so that they could focus on building the reactor, completing it as soon as possible, and connecting it to the grid for operation.

With so many people in charge at the State Grid across the country, while everyone else is hoping for the Three Gorges Dam to be completed and generate electricity as soon as possible, this person only judged one thing: hoping that Liu Hua and his team would build more reactors at their experimental base.

He knew very well that no matter how much electricity the Three Gorges Dam generated, they would only get scraps in the end, but the reactor built by Taiyi New Energy would be different.

They can handle all the electricity generated by this reactor; it's something that can truly solve their urgent problem.

The State Grid's feeding program was a huge success. In two years, the average weight of the researchers at the base increased by 20 kilograms. No one could withstand being fed a sheep every two days and a cow every five days.

Anyway, cattle and sheep aren't expensive there; what's expensive are aquatic products and organic vegetables. In order to solve the logistical supply problem for the researchers, Liu Hua had to spend a lot of money to transport vegetables and fruits from the south.

On the day it was connected to the grid, the 7 o'clock news broadcast a 30-second segment announcing that the world's safest nuclear fission reactor had been officially connected to the grid in Longxi, my country. This experimental reactor can solve the electricity problem for hundreds of thousands of people. It is the world's first thorium-based molten salt reactor to be officially put into commercial operation.

This caused a huge uproar in China. Back then, China was not advanced, so anything advanced would inspire the Chinese people.

The central bank didn't expect such a significant follow-up impact, and Liu Hua was even less prepared.

Perhaps the Indian ambassador in our country also saw the news. India has very large thorium reserves. After seeing the news, his first reaction was, "If China can do it, so can India."

So the news was sent back to China, and in less than ten days, India also released a press release internationally, claiming that they were also going to build a thorium-based molten salt reactor.

Our news didn't cause much of a stir internationally, since it was just domestic news. But India issued a statement to the international community, so people all over the world who were interested knew about it.

India doesn't have the technology, so they want to put it out to tender globally.

Speaking of which, we have to give credit to the Indians. They are not conservative. If they don't have something, they adopt the "borrowing" approach and ask for it from abroad, which can also be described as spending money to buy it.

A number of internationally renowned nuclear power companies are eager to participate in this project, even though they don't have the qualified technology. But that doesn't matter, their PowerPoint presentations are excellent.

Someone from our family came to Liu Hua and asked, "Are you aware that India wants to put out a tender to build a thorium-based molten salt reactor?"

Liu Hua nodded: "I've heard about it. Hasn't it caused quite a stir recently? They even released a press release to the whole world."

"Are you interested? If you are, we will fully support you."

Liu Hua waved his hand: "I have absolutely no interest in doing business with them, and I advise you not to even consider it."

"Isn't this a great opportunity? The amount is substantial. We can use their money to develop our technology—it's a win-win situation."

(End of this chapter)