The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 755: Cars Will Change the World
"You should drive a convertible in Los Angeles!" Chen Zhengwei drove around the port, the sea breeze blowing on his face, and he was in a very good mood.

If the roads outside Los Angeles weren't so bad, he would have wanted to drive along the coastline.

The development of the automobile went through three-wheeled vehicles, then hand-made vehicles with a similar shape to horse-drawn carriages, and gradually developed into the structure of modern vehicles.

But now we have directly skipped those detours.

This car, the first in the world to appear before the world, was already very mature.

The burgundy body exudes a metallic luster and is matched with ivory seats. No matter where it goes, it attracts a crowd of onlookers and people are amazed.

After taking a tour around Los Angeles, Chen Zhengwei drove the car back to the manor.

Although there were some minor setbacks along the way, such as being frightened by oncoming carriages or pedestrians, fortunately, he had put forward requirements for road planning when Los Angeles was established.

All streets in Los Angeles are four-lane bidirectional roads, with a half lane on the side reserved for bicycles and rickshaws in the future.

The return trip was relatively smooth. At least there was no car accident on the first day of the car's introduction, which would have gone down in history.

Lin Changning and Wanyun were also a little excited.

After all, Lin Changning is only 20 years old.

When I got off the bus, I was still sighing: "It's too fast!"

“Is this expensive?”

"This is the first one in the world! Its collection value is greater than its actual value. As for the cost, it's about $10,000..." Chen Zhengwei patted the hood. His car was built purely by hand in the laboratory. The metal and paint of the car body were made using the best technology available today, and the cost was much higher.

"If it's mass-produced, it'll cost about one or two thousand dollars... and it can be reduced a lot later."

"Brother Wei, how do you feel?" Aaron came over and looked at Chen Zhengwei's car with envy.

The laboratory agreed to help him make one, but it would take at least 10 days.

“Invite some reporters and hold a press conference in a few days to build momentum first, then have someone apply for a patent.”

"Ask Xiucai to find out if there are any science and technology exhibitions recently. Then ask the laboratory to make a few more cars and send one to Garfield. Let Garfield drive it around Washington twice. Not only Americans, but everyone in the world will know about it." Chen Zhengwei instructed.

"Finally, urge the laboratory to develop an electronic ignition. The crank handle is too troublesome."

What Chen Zhengwei was most dissatisfied with was actually the crank ignition.

Not to mention that the power system and electric starter have not been designed yet, the low battery power and insufficient output of the electric motor alone limit the vehicle's use of electronic ignition starting. Chen Zhengwei can only ask someone to urge the laboratory.

This thing is just like mathematics. If it doesn't work, it won't work. It's useless even if you hang everyone in the laboratory.

That night, rumors were flying all over Los Angeles. Many people swore that Chen Zhengwei's car was pulled by a ghost, while others said it was pulled by gods. In short, there were all kinds of rumors.

It was even published in the newspapers.

In fact, there have always been a lot of gossip about Chen Zhengwei, including that he often appeared in theaters in San Francisco accompanied by ballet dancers. Even Lin Changning had seen such newspapers.

Chen Zhengwei doesn't care about this kind of gossip, and the public also likes to read it.

But this time it’s different. The appearance of this car has also attracted the interest of many reporters.

Soon, major newspapers in Los Angeles and San Francisco received invitation letters sent by Chen Zhengwei.

Even the San Francisco office of a national newspaper like the New York Times received an invitation.

The death of George Jones, owner of the New York Times, is closely related to Chen Zhengwei. Although no one has said it explicitly, many people have speculated.

It was one of the crimes that the army used to arrest Chen Zhengwei.

However, since the signing of the Washington Agreement, such remarks have disappeared, and the Jones family has kept a very low profile.

The New York Times has never published news related to Chen Zhengwei.

I was very surprised to receive the invitation this time.

In addition to reporters from San Francisco and Los Angeles, even reporters from Sacramento have rushed to Los Angeles.

Some reporters who had just arrived in Los Angeles heard clanging sounds coming from afar shortly after they came out of the train station. Then they saw a tram approaching from a distance. Many reporters looked on in amazement.

There are also wide and smooth roads in Los Angeles and densely packed buildings in the distance. This city, which was built just a year ago, already exudes a fascinating charm.

Of course, the biggest feature here is... there are Chinese people everywhere.

On the contrary, there are very few white people, and they even have the illusion that they have left the United States.

Three days later, the entire street of Sunnybrook in downtown Los Angeles was packed with Chinese people who had heard the news and came to join in the fun.

The reporters who received the invitation to Los Angeles were standing at one end of the street, where something was covered with tarpaulin. Many people speculated that this should be the horseless "carriage" that was rumored to be so popular. Considering Chen Zhengwei's move to invite so many reporters, it should be some new technology.

A moment later, Chen Zhengwei got off the carriage accompanied by his men.

"Mr. Chen!" The street was suddenly filled with cheers like a tsunami, which shows Chen Zhengwei's influence in Los Angeles.

"You're speaking so loudly, are you trying to scare me? Is it you who is saying it or us?" Chen Zhengwei picked his ears, but the others couldn't hear what he said at all. When they saw his movements, they thought he thought their voices were too soft, so they became even louder.

Chen Zhengwei was almost laughing out of anger. He stretched out his hand and pressed down, and the shouting in the distance gradually subsided.

Taking a loudspeaker from his henchman, Chen Zhengwei shouted to the street: "Alright, lower your voices. Today I am the one who speaks, not you!"

Chen Zhengwei's voice is full of energy, and even if he doesn't speak loudly, his voice is as loud as a bell.

Everyone burst into laughter, but soon quieted down.

Chen Zhengwei nodded and continued, "With the advent of the steam engine more than a hundred years ago, the world began to develop along a completely different trajectory and speed than before. Everything is changing rapidly. New technologies overthrow old technologies every day, and changes are happening every day."

As soon as Chen Zhengwei opened his mouth, the reporters perked up, picked up their pens and began to take notes quickly.

"The emergence of steamships has greatly shortened the distance of the ocean, accelerating the expansion of global trade and the increase in immigration!"

"The advent of trains has changed the situation of using ox carts to transport goods, and the circulation of goods and people has become faster!"

"The advent of the telegraph shortened the transmission of information from weeks to hours or even minutes."

"The world is gradually getting rid of its previous lazy pace. Everything is speeding up. Efficiency and speed have become our first goals, and this is also driving the world to develop at a faster pace!"

"Everything mentioned above has revolutionized the old world and given it a new look!"

"And what I'm going to show you today has the same meaning! It will completely revolutionize the world, change the way people travel, and make people travel more efficient and faster!" Chen Zhengwei's face was filled with smiles, and he signaled his men to lift the cloth on the car to reveal the burgundy body underneath.

Everyone looked at the burgundy car and immediately gathered around it.

"Mr. Chen, is this what you said? What is it called?" a reporter immediately asked.

"A car! Its speed is five or even six times that of a horse-drawn carriage. A horse-drawn carriage needs to rest, but a car doesn't! As long as it has enough fuel, a car can never stop and drive all the way from Los Angeles to New York!"

"As long as we build a road that can accommodate cars, we can drive from Los Angeles to New York in just five days!" Chen Zhengwei stretched out his hand and spread out his five fingers, and everyone was immediately shocked.

"In the city, cars are more convenient. It takes three hours to travel from the east to the west of the city by horse-drawn carriage, but it only takes half an hour by car! This is what I mean, making people's travel more efficient and faster!"

"Horse-drawn carriages leave feces on the streets, which is also a problem for urban management, but cars do not cause these problems at all."

"In the future, people no longer have to keep a horse at home and be bothered by the stench of horse manure. All they need is a car to take them anywhere!"

As Chen Zhengwei spoke, the reporters took notes, all with excited looks on their faces.

Just what Chen Zhengwei said is enough to shock people.

Chen Zhengwei signaled his men to separate the crowd, then A-Long jumped into the car, and the man next to him started the car with the crank.

Then Aaron stepped on the accelerator and the car rushed out.

The crowd exclaimed again, and then cheered.

"Mr. Chen, does this car burn coal? How much fuel can it hold and how long can it be used?" a reporter suddenly asked.

"Of course it's not coal! It's gasoline! After filling the tank, it can run 225 kilometers at a time!"

"The cities are 225 kilometers apart. Do you know how long it would take a carriage to travel? Five days!"

"But for a car, it only takes 5 hours! The emergence of cars will bring new changes to the world!" Chen Zhengwei opened his palms again.

Upon hearing this number, the reporters present were shocked, and then became even more excited.

"Mr. Chen, is this true? It only takes 5 hours?"

"Mr. Chen, how much does a car like this cost?"

"Mr. Chen, where can I buy gasoline for my car? If there is no place to buy gasoline, will the car be unable to run?"

Faced with the excitement of the reporters, Chen Zhengwei stretched out his hand to signal everyone to shut up, and then answered them one by one.

"According to our calculations, after mass production, the price of a car will be about $4000, but this price will continue to drop and eventually drop to less than $1000. My goal is to make it possible for everyone to drive a car!"

"As for gasoline, Standard Oil will sell gasoline in the cities, and you can buy it wherever you go..."

(End of this chapter)