New Gods of North America.

Chapter 581 Advancement
A day later, the detective agency saw off the teams of agents who went to their respective offices, and the remaining members went back to their busy lives.

Wayne was mainly keeping an eye on the workshop's progress, and incidentally, he dragged Chef Parker along to try out "mass production" on a small scale using the new tools.

It must be said that when tools change, many seemingly similar things often become very different.
For example, in the makeshift workshop that was quickly set up outside the mill, they tried frying small quantities of meat patties for the remaining agents using a large oil pan (actually a small iron oil tank). The oil heated up very slowly at first, but once it reached the right temperature, the heat was incredibly intense.

Not only is it more difficult to adjust and control the temperature, but you also can't "lift" this thing. If you follow the experience of using a household stove and wait until the "temperature is just right" before taking the meat patties out, the time difference is only a few tens of seconds, and some of them are often already "not good enough".

There are many similar minor issues. For example, some recipes that Chef Parker had previously developed, which work fine when replicated in restaurants, will taste different when put into the "workshop."
Some formulas cannot be simply "scaled up proportionally", and the same process also needs to be improved in detail.

An example of the former is reconstituted cheese. Without adding extra ingredients, the finished product will have a different color and firmness compared to cheese made in a small pot.
For example, sauces are a good example of the latter. After switching to a large pot, simply "stirring continuously" while cooking is a physically demanding task that can exhaust many people. It requires the design of some special tools that don't look like "kitchenware" to help with this.

Furthermore, once production increases, shelf life becomes a very real issue.
It's not just that meat and dairy products need to be processed quickly upon arrival; the production process needs to be carefully designed, and the finished product must be in a stable state. Homemade sauces and semi-finished products can spoil in a few days because they can be eaten quickly, but if a restaurant wants to open in various places, it may not be possible to deliver the goods to the local area even in a few days.

The same applies to luncheon meat and reconstituted cheese. After secondary processing, the cost is certainly reduced, but they are not as durable as ham, bacon, or original cheese. Even if they do not turn sour or smelly, as long as their color and taste change significantly, they can be considered "spoiled" in a sense.
Unfortunately, the United States had virtually no chemical industry at that time, so it had to find its own solution.

Fortunately, even the most basic anti-corrosion process doesn't have a high barrier to entry.
Adding corks to glass bottles, lids to tin containers, and then boiling them in warm water for a while creates a simplified version of "canned food," or a makeshift version of "pasteurization." Even simply adding ingredients rich in vitamin C to the formula can be the simplest and most effective preservative.

Unfortunately, high-temperature cooking destroys vitamin C, so the process needs to be changed. Additional ingredients will also cause changes in taste, and the recipe needs to be readjusted—it's like "add flour if there's too much water, add water if there's too much flour."

Therefore, it's not without reason that the United States doesn't have a food processing industry other than "canned goods," "pickled goods," and "brewing" these days.

Without mastering some key scientific principles and technologies, there's really no way to make it.

The leave request from the college was approved. Wayne's "alleged murder" story had made the newspapers, and the local professors and students who had returned from attending the bishop's funeral and the new bishop's ordination ceremony could indirectly corroborate this. A letter was sent, and within two days, a letter of approval was returned.

The problem was that the letters that kept coming back were quite a "stack." Some professors offered to co-author an academic paper on fingerprint research for Wayne, some inquired about any other research findings, and others urged Wayne to go back to her math classes as soon as possible or not to interfere with the studies of this gifted young woman...

Wayne was actually considering sending Emma back. This little girl hadn't known Liam for very long, but she'd picked up his personality quickly, displaying a kind of "after being mischievous, I'm fearless; I'll just obediently take the beating" kind of resilience.
After arriving in Richmond, she no longer had to do her homework under the pressure of Damon McCready's "fiddler crab," which made her feel much more at ease.

Inessa was also very attentive to the construction of the "workshop," and her supervision mainly focused on the overall layout and architectural arrangement of the area.
They'd make demands like "Build a cabin here" or "That roof can't be higher than a certain height," making it feel like a tower defense game. Outsiders couldn't see inside, and anyone unfamiliar with the area would likely get into trouble. Incidentally, Inessa was quite interested in Wayne and Parker's "food industry," frequently coming over to join in, appearing eager to learn, and even helping to sample the latest products.

Her knowledge of herbs and hunting also came in handy; for example, Wayne could look for vitamin C-rich varieties among the herbs she could think of and try to improve the recipe.

Some animal organs considered poisonous, such as the livers of moose, black bears, wolves, and horses (which are not uncommon in the United States), are rich in vitamin A. The concentration is so high that direct consumption can easily lead to poisoning. However, adding it appropriately to meat products can slow down spoilage and also give them a "meaty" flavor.
Some hunters, when cooking these meats in the wild, will also cut off a small piece of liver and cook it together, which often makes the flavor even better. This is a little secret recipe that is "not recommended for ordinary people to easily imitate, but there is no risk if you understand the principle."

Lina became the busiest-looking partner during this period. With some agents temporarily reassigned to the office, there weren't many people left to begin with, and she was also constantly running around trying to "soften" them.

Following Wayne's idea of ​​"keeping abreast of all developments in Richmond," Lina, after having a general plan, went to find Inessa and withdrew $5000 from the detective agency's account in one go.

When Wayne found out, he was a little impressed: "...Just to 'soften' a few of the peripheral members and have them walk around the city more often, and maybe bribe some newsboys on the street, hoping to get information in a timely manner, is it really necessary to spend so much money?"

"There's no such thing as intelligence gathering without spending money."

Lina, on the contrary, thought Wayne was making a fuss. "It's not like I'm going to spend all of this money right away. I've been visiting some ladies I met at the ball these past few days, and while the workshops and restaurants were being renovated, I managed to 'soften' them and give some of the artisans 'tips.' I've also strengthened my friendships with some of the street kids and regular vendors in town. Anyway, it's always good to have some extra cash on hand; I have a general idea of ​​what I need."

Fine……

As long as the goal can be achieved, we should still trust the judgment of professionals.

Moreover, even disregarding the fact that Lina obtained the $30,000 by "selling mirrors," $5000 is actually the amount that two offices could earn in a few months of stable operation. If it can be effective, the detective agency can afford it.

The key is to establish a firm foothold in Richmond, ensure that things don't change drastically with the church and Mr. Russell, and gradually eliminate the gangs in the dock area.
That would not only allow for the development of subsequent offices, but also provide opportunities for restaurants and workshops to become new profit centers.

They can't keep doing things like before, where the detective agency only found out after reading the newspaper that Bishop Corleone had passed away.

(End of this chapter)