The operation of the steam locomotive greatly solves the throughput and transportation efficiency of goods inside and outside the valley, and whenever the materials hoarded in the Abu Hotel accumulate to a certain extent, the dragon-like steam locomotive will roar out, unloading a large number of goods that are widely sought after by merchants from all over the world, and then pulling away the massive raw materials that have been accumulated.

Whenever the steam locomotive came to the Abu Hotel with thick smoke, it was also the happiest moment for business travelers from all over the country, because they would soon be able to get a sufficient amount of various goods, and then spread them to all parts of the country, even including Persia, Dashi and other countries, which used to wait at least ten days and half a month to get the goods, but now it is at most three or five days.

Wherever the goods of the Abu Hotel are delivered, they will be enthusiastically rushed by people, and no matter how much you transport, it will not be enough, so the steam locomotive will simply become the mascot of the merchants everywhere.

The carrying capacity of the steam locomotive is really terrifying, no matter how many materials are hoarded, it can be pulled away in one go, and many interested merchants look at the steam locomotive, and think of the railroad tracks that wind into the distance, it is easy to conclude that at the end of the disappearance of the railroad tracks, is the base camp of the Abu Inn, where it is simply a big stomach monster that will never be filled, swallowing all kinds of raw materials and materials to regenerate all kinds of exquisite products.

What is the place at the end of the railroad tracks, and who is the person who developed such a powerful big guy as a steam locomotive, this is undoubtedly the target of curiosity and attention of many business travelers.

But when they arrived at the Abu Hotel, the first thing they were told by the polite waiter was not to try to find out about the production process and whereabouts of the goods, because this place belonged to the private domain of the patron.

Our Hou Ye's temper is not very good, if you walk around at will, accidentally touch flowers and plants or something that shouldn't be seen, it is appropriate to be convicted of trespassing on private houses.

By the way, our marquis is a serious marquis, and he was rewarded by the emperor himself; In addition, our Hou Ye is the guest of the prince of Qiuzi, and he is the brother of Wen Sima in Gumo Prefecture, and even our Abu Hotel has a share of Wen Sima's money in it.

Having said all this, it is to remind everyone, don't walk around, we sell goods, you take the goods and leave, everyone is good to talk about and discuss, but if any one goes the wrong way, the consequences will be really serious.

After a little show-off and threatening instructions, the general business traveler will obediently stay in the hotel, will not cause trouble, after all, everyone travels thousands of miles, the picture is only the word money, and the harmony makes money.

Sometimes, though, there are exceptions, and a lot of wealthy or pretentious people often go in the direction of the tracks, wanting to see what happens when the tracks disappear.

Normally, they would be persuaded to return by patrols on horseback and with sharp blades, but there were also some merchants who were more fortunate enough to make their way to the foot of the mountain, where the railroad tracks plunged into a narrow valley passage.

They realized that inside this entrance might be the base camp of Abu's Inn, and it was also the source of so many magical goods, and just as they were full of joy and ready to break inside, a few people would flash out of the valley to stop them, and at the same time muttered that it must be the guys outside who were lazy, and why did they leak another wave of strangeness.

The merchants who came to the mouth of the valley were then persuaded to leave, told that this was private territory, and outsiders were not allowed to enter, and many of them had to retreat, but after all, they were lucky enough to see the gate of the valley, and they could also use it as a capital to brag about.

However, some guys who intend to play tricks and want to break in by brute force often end up miserable, not to mention being beaten, and even more seriously will be disqualified from buying Abu goods, which undoubtedly closes the door for them to make a fortune from relying on the goods here.

Therefore, despite the interest in the end of the steam locomotive, they have always been able to refrain from touching the taboo here, and the image of Abu as a violent tyrant is firmly imprinted in the minds of the merchants, thanks to the industrious young waiters at the Abu Hotel.

Abu, who was declared to be grumpy, is now standing in front of the kiln with Li Baotian, which was modeled after the No. 2 operation area when soda ash was made.

For the people of the valley who have already had quite mature experience, building such a small furnace is simply familiar.

It was fired a mixture of limestone, clay, and some iron powder, supposedly to make cement; The so-called cement is mud that can solidify together in water, which is what Mr. Abu said, and the specific process of making cement this time is in charge of Li Baotian.

Abu and Fang Zhengyi were tackling the problem of speeding up the steam locomotive, so he just explained the general workflow and precautions, and then left it alone.

However, in the view of Li Baotian, who is already a big expert in calcination, this is basically no big difference from the previous calcining of quicklime, the only difference is that the raw materials need to be crushed into pieces before entering the kiln.

In the past, it was indeed more difficult to break large stones into pieces the size of bowls by manpower alone. But since the advent of the steam engine, it hasn't been that hard.

After the success of the test steam locomotive in the valley, two or three steam engines were produced one after another, one of which was used to grind flour for everyone, and the valley completely ended the history of the little donkey grinding; The other two are all used in the cement production process, and it cannot be said that Abu has put a lot of effort and determination into it.

One of them is used to crush stones, using the principle of pulleys to pull up a large iron ingot weighing several tons directly, like people hammering stones, falling from a high altitude, using gravity to crush the big stone into pieces, simple and rude.

Although it is not yet possible to automatically refill and separate as in later generations, this is much more efficient than manual crushing. The other was used to make a mill.

After the kiln is opened, the limestone, clay and iron powder piled up inside have been melted into black lumps under the action of high temperature, and the so-called clinker is taken out and then put into the mill for grinding.

The only thing that Li Baotian couldn't be sure of was how to judge the quality of the cement produced, so at the moment of opening the kiln, he still invited the busy and anxious Abu over.

The black clinker, along with the slag and gypsum generated by ironmaking, were smashed into fine pieces and then put into a mill for grinding.

Abu reminded Li Baotian that in this process, the finer the fine powder is ground, the better the quality of the cement.

After several rounds of grinding, Li Baotian grabbed a handful of dusty fine powder, presented it to Abu and said, "Sir, this ash powder is the cement you said?" ”

Abuhaha laughed: "I can only say that it looks a little similar, but the specific effect will have to be tried." ”

"This is cement?" Wang Zhanguo, who came to the side, asked, "This is not like mud?" ”

"In that case, Uncle Li will keep an eye on it here first, and I'll take it to Uncle Bai to see how the effect is."

"Okay, then sir, you go over first, and I'll rush over when I'm done here."

Before leaving, Abu told Li Baotian: "The big guy should save these fine powders first, and don't get damp." ”

Then he asked Wang Zhanguo and Yang Qiyong to load a small half bag of freshly ground cement and walked to Liu Yuanlu's laboratory together.

Originally, an experiment similar to cement could be found in a random place, reconciled with water, and slowly waited for it to dry, but he was too anxious now, so he was ready to increase the solidification rate of cement by heating it at Li Baotian's place.

Abu took Yang Qiyong and Wang Zhanguo to Bai Boda, said hello to him, asked for some water and materials, and let Yang Qiyong and the two start to work according to their instructions.

Bai Boda heard that Abu had developed a new product, so he put down the work in his hand and rushed over to watch, Bai Boda's current small life is very moisturized, after years of recuperation in the valley, plus now there is no need to work hard to strike iron, he was originally a lean person has also become rich, people are fat, and their complexion has become whiter.

He smiled at Abu next to him: "Mr. Abu, I heard that you have been very busy lately, why do you still have the leisure to watch others play with mud now?" ”

Abu smiled back and said: "Haha, let Uncle Bai open his eyes today, this is not ordinary mud, if the quality is done well, it will really be of great use." ”

Bai Boda said: "I really don't believe in this evil, how useful can mud be, in terms of strength, can it be compared to steel and stone." ”

"Uncle Bai, don't worry, you'll know later."

At this time, Yang Qiyong and Wang Zhanguo were also busy with the work in their hands, and the two came over to ask Abu what to do next.

They just mixed water and sand, mixed it with water, and made cement materials, and the two of them made two pillars respectively, but Yang Qiyong simply used cement materials, and the pillars made by Wang Zhan Guo were still wrapped in a few steel bars, and then the two borrowed the bellows and stoves of Bai Boda here, and began to light the fire and bake.

Abu and Bai Boda were talking on the side, and at this moment, Li Baotian also rushed over, and when he saw Yang Qiyong and they had made a fire, he asked very strangely: "Do you still need to use fire to roast the quality under the experiment?" ”

Abu smiled: "That's not it, isn't it a tight time and a heavy task, I'm in a hurry, I can't wait that long." ”

Oh, Li Baotian realized, and then asked: "What, there is no clue about the steam engine?" ”

"There is a plan, and the solution is basically formed, but because the steam locomotive has just started to run, if the speed is too high, it is very likely that there will be problems, my idea is to run for a period of time, and everyone will accumulate more experience."

Li Baotian answered: "What Abu said makes sense, be careful and not make a big difference, next time I see Mr. Fang, I have to remind him, you can't blindly pursue speed, in case the car overturns, it will be worth the loss." ”

"Yes, Mr. Fang regards the steam locomotive as his baby bump, since it has been running, he has basically driven the car himself every time, but now he is a little impatient, and he feels that running at a high speed is too enjoyable."

Bai Boda said: "Alas, this is still an old man, how fast is it to run?" You can't let him go on like this, you have to let him sober up, and you have to eat the meal one bite at a time. “

While the three of them were talking, Yang Qiyong beckoned to Abu over there: "Sir, take a look, it seems to be dry." ”

Abu and the three of them stopped talking and walked over together.