Dressed as a young lady, she became rich by relying on Pinxixi

Chapter 134 Rubber

The roads in Changjia Mansion were really bumpy. Even though she donated money to repair them every year, the wheels were only replaced with new leather and cattail coverings every year.

She couldn't stand it anymore, so she modified her carriage with tires she bought from Pinduoduo.

The few that were broken during the trial installation were handed over to the workshop for craftsmen to study and produce.

There are also shock absorbers. The traditional Futu shock absorbers have some effect, but it is not enough.

Xu Siyu took out the spring and asked another group of people to study how to install it on traditional carriages and all equipment that required shock absorption.

Xu Siyu's series of actions caught the attention of Cheng Anhou again.

Years ago, Sinong Temple widely replicated Xu Zhuang's planting methods, dug canals and built water wheels, which greatly improved the efficiency of this year's spring plowing.

The Sinong Temple also obtained new grain seeds from Xu Zhuang and tried to plant them in the royal farm fields in the north and south.

One acre produces ten stones, this is amazing!

Without waiting for the result, based solely on his trust in Xu Siyu, Marquis Cheng'an promoted Xu Chengzi, who was able to get grain seeds from Xu Siyu without spending any money, to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Pingchi asked Xu Chengzi to go all out and give him additional rewards after the grain production was completed.

Now, the Xu family is setting up an innovation workshop again, and he has a hunch that Xu Siyu is doing something good again.

Ping Chi asked the Ministry of Works to select more than ten people with clean backgrounds to answer the call for entries, and finally two people were selected.

They acted as insiders in the Xu family workshop, helping him monitor what was happening in the workshop so that when the time was right, he could ask Xu Siyu for some good things to use.

There was no other way. Ping Chi could only use this despicable method to bribe Xu Siyu, as he couldn't do so with high positions and generous salaries.

Xu Siyu thought that someone might come to steal her skills, but after signing the technology confidentiality agreement, she didn't care too much.

She has so much to gain. Rather than having her skills stolen, she now needs someone to replicate everything she bought from Pinduoduo.

Although the current maps are different from those in the 21st century, she is now in the Ming Dynasty. Jiaozhi, Annan, and Zhenla south of the Ming Dynasty's southwestern provinces must be similar to the Southeast Asian countries she has learned about in history.

The caravan did bring back news that these places had the rubber trees she needed. Xu Siyu was even more convinced that these parallel worlds would always intersect and overlap at some unknown point, and then separate again.

Finding the tree is just the first step; how to own it is what she needs to consider.

Xu Siyu thought that it would be best if King Ming could conquer the territory like he did with the pastures in the north.

The next day, she visited Marquis Cheng'an.

When Ping Chi saw Xu Siyu coming to visit him on her own initiative, he initially thought that the insider he had arranged had been discovered. He was afraid that Xu Siyu would come to question him, so for the sake of face, he sent all the servants away.

He pretended to be relaxed in his reception, but he didn't expect Xu Siyu to be a lunatic. She directly asked him if the border of Ming Dynasty could be moved southward, which scared him so much that he dropped the teacup he was holding in a pretentious manner.

Ping Chi took the piece of rubber that Xu Siyu had presented him and asked doubtfully, "Are you asking us to fight Nanbang for this? What kind of treasure is this?"

Pingchi could tell that this thing was not edible.

It's not a gold weapon or a treasure mine, so what's worth sending troops to seize?

"I am still experimenting with the purpose of this object."

"We're still in the process of testing, and we're going to start a war? Can this be used to make weapons?" If they don't want to rob food, then they will rob soldiers. This is the only reason Ping Chi can think of for starting a war.

Xu Siyu: ...

"This can be used as a tire to reduce shock for the carriage."

Ping Chi: ...

He was not a spoiled daughter, and he did not think that shock absorption of the carriage was of much significance.

Seeing that he wasn't interested, Xu Siyu said, "You can make armor and helmets."

"This... is soft?" Ping Chi pinched it again and again, but still felt that it was not as reliable as the iron armor.

Xu Siyu had no choice but to change her approach and try to convince Ping Chi: "During the pre-Tang Dynasty, these places were originally part of one country."

"You are right, but the ruler of Nanbang is now on good terms with our dynasty, and advancing eastward into the Central Plains is our dynasty's priority. We first fought the Xia because of the provocations of the Xia bandits. At this time, declaring war on the south is inappropriate."

Ping Chi saw that Xu Siyu really wanted it, and then thought of the Innovation Workshop. After thinking for a while, he changed his tone and said to her, "I will first submit a petition to my brother the Emperor and send letters to the countries of Nanbang to open trade between the two countries. Your company will represent our country to purchase this item. Do you think it is feasible?"

Buying and selling is also possible, but it is not as stable as owning one. Xu Siyu really wants to own a rubber forest.

However, she still tactfully kowtowed to Ping Chi and thanked him, "Thank you, my Lord. This piece of rubber is what it looks like after being treated with tree sap. I will later present a drawing with detailed instructions so that it can be used in conjunction with the trade documents."

After Xu Siyu left, Ping Chi sent someone to inquire about the use of rubber and confirmed that Xu Siyu was indeed only using it on her carriage. No one in the workshop had ever seen it used to make armor or helmets.

Ping Chi hesitated for a moment, but he was really curious about what kind of amazing thing Xu Siyu could come up with, so he quickly picked up his pen and wrote a letter to his elder brother who stayed in the north.

The Ming Dynasty's Ministry of Rites sent a letter of credence to Nanbang. Following Xu Siyu's hand-drawn map, they quickly found the rubber trees and transported a few barrels of raw rubber back to Changjia Prefecture with the envoy's convoy.

As soon as Xu Siyu got the raw rubber, she quickly organized the workshop and started working.

Heating and stirring equipment have already been prepared in the Innovation Workshop.

Xu Siyu instructed the craftsmen to place the collected raw rubber in an iron furnace, heat it with fire, and stir it constantly to ensure that the raw rubber is heated evenly.

Slowly, the moisture and impurities in the raw rubber gradually evaporate, leaving behind rubber water.

The rubber liquid is poured into the stone roller. After the roller rolls the rubber water, it is poured into the mold prepared in advance.

On the third day, Ping Chi was invited to the workshop to witness the results.

After opening more than ten molds, he saw tire rubber, raincoats, rain boots, armor, helmets...

Similar to the craftsmanship of cast iron, these things look very rough at first glance.

"The elasticity is still a little weak, but there is no problem in making tents and rain gear." Xu Siyu imagined a series of uses for rubber, and Ping Chi also came up with new ideas about the rubber plant under her imagination.

Xu Siyu brought four pairs of rain boots home, using the excuse that they were produced by the workshop, but in fact they were bought on Pinduoduo.

This is how she switched things up, using high-tech products at home and selling replicas without arousing suspicion.

Gradually, all of the Xu family's carriages were equipped with rubber tires, and the servants were given rubber-soled shoes... The Xu family's department store sold rubber leather...

The people of Nanbang did not know the use of rubber. At first, the price that the Xu family caravan paid for raw rubber was not high.

But when they saw that the Ming merchant caravans had been buying large quantities of rubber, they began to think about raising the price.

As soon as the other party mentioned the price increase, Xu Siyu knew that the problem she was worried about had come.

She reported all the problems she encountered to Ping Chi. After all, she was now trading on behalf of the country, and the price negotiation required Ping Chi's opinion.

She first handed in a letter, but it fell into oblivion.