Training the Heavens

Chapter 322 Salt Industry
These papers still need time and experimental verification. It is enough for Zhang Xingjiu to achieve the goal of being the first. The rest is just to wait for these papers to slowly ferment and see how the Nobel Prize Committee reacts.

Before he knew it, it was Chinese New Year again. As usual, Zhang Xingjiu took his wife and children back to Shaoxing to celebrate the New Year. As soon as he arrived in Shanghai after the New Year, he held a meeting with Ma Xiangbo, Zhang Jian and other school directors to discuss the work priorities of Aurora University this year.

Yan Fu brought up the abolition of the imperial examination system again. "Yuan Xiangcheng, Zhang Xiangshuai, and others are really taking action this time. Some people have already started to test the waters by submitting petitions. In the past, they would have been rejected and the petitioners would have been sent away. But this time, it's not the case. So, in my opinion, the abolition of the imperial examination system will probably happen this year. Therefore, Aurora University must speed up the construction of campus buildings and the recruitment of teachers."

"That's true. The news I heard is similar to what my brothers heard. Many well-informed people have already started looking for other ways out for their children. When the summer enrollment season comes, even if the court does not issue an imperial decree to abolish the imperial examination, the number of people applying to our Aurora University will increase!" Zhang Jian echoed. He was a top scholar in the imperial examination and had a big business. In terms of connections, he was even better than Yan Fu.

After hearing what they said, the other school directors also believed it without a doubt and began to discuss the pros and cons of abolishing the imperial examination system.

Zhang Xingjiu didn't participate in these discussions, only muttering to himself, "Didn't Yuan Xiangcheng know how devastating the abolition of the imperial examination system would be to the Qing court? With his vision, he could certainly see it, yet he still chose to submit petitions again and again. Was he trying to undermine the Qing court?"

Come to think of it, he was now in power, yet the imperial court was doubly wary of him. Those bastards, not even Manchu nobles, couldn't see the situation clearly and still treated him like a slave? How could this be tolerated?
Then they talked about another thing, which was the call for constitutionalism. Two months ago, the Japanese and the Russians fought fiercely in the Northeast, and the Japanese unexpectedly won consecutive victories, which shocked the Qing court greatly. People in and out of the government generally linked the outcome of this war with the country's political system, believing that Japan won because of constitutionalism and Russia lost because of autocracy. "It is not that a small country can defeat a big country, but that a constitution can defeat autocracy."

Does this sound familiar? It's just like those people online who keep saying that everything is a systemic problem.

Zhang Jian was also very enthusiastic about constitutionalism. Zhang Xingjiu guessed that he had been abroad for inspection many times and had a good impression of the constitutional system. Moreover, as the top scholar, he could only be a businessman, which made him feel a little unwilling. If constitutionalism was successful, he might be able to make a difference in the political arena.

This matter was not as closely related to Aurora University as the abolition of the imperial examination system, so they just talked about it for a while and then let it go. The school directors continued to discuss how to buy land, how to build school buildings, how to prepare for the summer entrance examination, etc.

After discussing these matters, Zhang Jian brought up a new question. He looked at Zhang Xingjiu and asked, "Zhou Ping, I remember you said last year that if our business encountered technical problems, we could pay the school to conduct research. Is this true?"

"Of course you can. Not only you, but other companies in Shanghai can also cooperate with us and entrust us to conduct special research. Many universities in Europe and the United States have similar cooperation with companies." Zhang Xingjiu was immediately cheered up. If they could use this opportunity to set an example, then Aurora University would have another channel to attract funds.

"That's good. Here's what happened!" Zhang Jian nodded and continued, "You all probably know that I was lucky enough to pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar because my essay on 'Salt and Iron' won the favor of the court."

"I've always been very interested in the salt industry. I've done some research before, and when I went abroad, I often paid attention to the salt industry in other countries. I was shocked when I saw this. The crude salt consumed by ordinary Chinese people contains less than 50% sodium chloride and contains a lot of harmful ingredients. Europe has stipulated that the sodium chloride content of salt for livestock must reach 80%." "In other words, the salt consumed by ordinary Chinese people is not even as good as the salt consumed by livestock in Europe. I was so ashamed when I heard this that I decided to start a salt company to produce better quality and cheaper salt."

"In recent years, the imperial court has relaxed its control over the salt industry, allowing me to finally establish my salt company. Before opening, I traveled to Japan to learn salt production methods at the Matsunaga Salt Works. I also invited three Japanese technicians, Nobuo Horita, Otogoro Tokuda, and Chiyokichi Ishii, to survey the salt pans and provide guidance and supervision."

"Over 120 taels of silver were spent on clearing 30 mu of land north of Beihejie, building an embankment and a port, constructing 91 mu of salt fields and corresponding Japanese-style cooking sheds, and setting up cauldrons for trial production. After a year of hard work, they only harvested barrels of refined salt. While the quality was good, the output was far too low."

"So, I'd like Zhou Ping to select a few teachers and students familiar with the salt industry to go to the salt fields for an investigation and analysis. If they can find a way to increase refined salt production, I'll be very generous in my reward!"

Zhang Xingjiu immediately expressed his opinion, "It's a great thing that the champion wants to promote industry. If we can use this opportunity to promote the development of China's salt industry, reduce the burden on the people, and improve their physical fitness, it will be a great merit. Therefore, I will definitely select the right people for this task."

Having said that, the necessary rules still had to be followed. Zhang Xingjiu introduced him to the model of technical cooperation. Aurora University would first send personnel to evaluate the project. If it was possible, they would give Zhang Jian a quote. If Zhang Jian accepted it, the two parties would sign a contract to confirm it. Zhang Jian would then make payments in stages according to the progress of the project until it was finally completed.

Moreover, Zhang Xingjiu also felt that the salt industry had great prospects. Salt was not only a necessity in people's daily lives, but also an important basic chemical raw material. It was entirely possible to build a comprehensive chemical plant based on the salt industry.

So, on behalf of Aurora University, he proposed to invest in Zhang Jian's Tongrentai Salt Company. In this way, if the salt company makes a profit in the future, Aurora University can also get dividends, which will provide another source of funds.

Zhang Jian did not make a decision at that time. He only asked Zhang Xingjiu to send someone to investigate as soon as possible. As for the issue of shares, he would wait until the results of the investigation came out.

Zhang Xingjiu agreed and quickly selected candidates, asking them to go to the production plant of Tongrentai Salt Company to conduct a preliminary investigation.

When they arrived at the factory, Zhang Jian happened to be there. He came out to greet them immediately after hearing the news. As soon as he saw his face, he began to wonder, "Isn't the leader too young? He looks to be in his early twenties. Does he have this ability?"
Zhang Jian suppressed his annoyance and asked the visitor's name. The visitor introduced himself as "Fan Yuanrang, also known as Mingjun, a junior in the Department of Chemistry at Aurora University."

　There will be more later
　　
　
(End of this chapter)