At this time, the United States was a serious colonial economic system, and it was not until the early 19th century that the United States completed the Industrial Revolution and mechanized production in the Northeast, thus continuing to widen the divide between the North and the South. www.biquge.info The difference between the north and the south is not so great at present, because there is no decent industry in the northeast at this time. The Great Lakes industrial region of the United States is still a matter of not a word, having just gained independence from Britain, and the area on the south shore of the Great Lakes has just entered the hands of the United States at most, and colonization has not begun or anything, and it has quickly become a world-famous industrial center. At present, the essence of the United States is still concentrated on the Atlantic coast.

The industry itself is insufficient, many goods cannot be produced by themselves, and now they are unwilling to buy from the British, so they naturally buy from the Tang people. Taking textiles and garments as an example, the current United States is not very able to meet its own needs, they need to import a large amount of cloth, at this time there are few countries with a complete garment industry, basically are tailors. Only the Tang Republic has completed industrialization, and ready-to-wear is also produced by factories.

After Datang textiles and apparel landed in the United States, their popularity was actually higher than that of many other Datang products. Food, clothing, housing and transportation are the basic of people's lives, the textile level of the Tang people is not covered, many people may not think that textile is a high-tech thing, but in fact, the textile level of human beings has been improving. Including the processing of textile materials, the number of warp and weft needles of the thread, the former is more intuitive is the use of some new textile materials such as chemical fiber and polyester, and the latter is also easy to explain, we have seen some textiles with sparse needle eyes. Able to see obvious holes. Some are very, very detailed.

From durability, beauty and coolness. Datang's textiles are not the same thing as the textiles of this era, not to mention the cheap man-made fiber textiles, that is, the cotton cloth spun by the Tang people, which feels smoother to the touch, the fabric is thick, and it is very strong and not easy to break.

In fact, the price of cotton cloth produced in Datang is not much different from that of cotton cloth made in the United Kingdom, and the labor cost in the United Kingdom is low, but the production efficiency is not as good as that of Datang's textile enterprises. Although Datang textiles have not arrived and the freight is enough, it is still not much more expensive than British cotton cloth.

Consumers in the United States can accept a foot of Datang cotton cloth that is a few cents or a few cents more expensive, because the quality is better, so it makes sense that it is expensive.

Jensen was also optimistic about the textile industry, in fact, the core industry of the Industrial Revolution was the textile industry, and the British completed the accumulation of primitive capital by selling cheap textiles made by machines to the world. Jensen was interested in buying some machinery from Datang to develop the textile industry in the United States, but Jensen soon realized that the spinning machines and sewing machines sold by the Tang people were products that were a generation or more inferior than their own use. There is no competitive value for textiles produced using these "backward" machinery.

But Jensen also recognizes. The labor cost of Datang's textile industry is frighteningly high, although the income of female textile workers in Datang is at most average. But it is almost comparable to the income of several British women spinners. Jensen had been in contact with the Tang people for a long time, and vaguely understood that the Tang people were using their technological advantages to raise the wages of workers and give them better economic conditions without reducing the competitiveness of their own products. In fact, if those "backward" machines are used, it is not impossible to compete with the Tang people.

First of all, Jensen produces cotton yarn and cotton cloth locally, and he does not have to pay too high wages for workers without the high freight of Tang goods, so in terms of price, he is confident that it is a level lower than Tang goods, even if it is a dime cheaper, it is very important for many people. It is impossible for him to completely compete with Tang goods, because Tang people's products are indeed of better quality, but they can still have a huge market.

He didn't understand the production of textiles, so in addition to purchasing textile machinery from Datang, he also invited several Datang engineers to come to the United States for guidance and training to help him set up the factory.

By this time, night had fallen, and Jensen was busy preparing to return to his home in New York. However, when he passed by the town hall, he noticed that the tops of the two pillars next to the town hall actually emitted light.

"Streetlights?" Jensen couldn't help but be surprised.

His housekeeper hurriedly told the master, "Not long ago, the power plant invested by the Tang people in New York has begun to operate, and now a few people have used electric lights. However, there are some people in New York who oppose this because the wires and poles passing over their heads are very uncomfortable, and some people think that it affects the cityscape, but this is only a minority opinion. ”

Jensen slapped his face and exclaimed, "Great, I finally don't have to light any kerosene lamps at night." Housekeeper, please go and communicate with the people at the power plant tomorrow, and my house will also be connected to electricity, well, not only will we have electric lights, we must also have electric fans, electric kettles, ......"

Jensen stayed in a local hotel when he was doing business in Datang, he liked the convenience of life in the Tang Dynasty, and he knew exactly how electricity could bring to a person's life.

The housekeeper hesitated: "But the people from the power company will spend a lot of money to renovate at home, and it is estimated that they can burn candles for ten years, and there are not too many electricity on the market, will it be very cost-effective?" ”

Jensen said: "Needless to say, in the long run, electricity is more economical, if it is just a lamp, it seems to be of little significance, but if a rich family like ours holds a banquet, it obviously needs a lot of lamps and candles, so the benefits of electric lighting can be reflected." Moreover, even if I can't buy any electrical appliances in New York, I often go to Datang, and I can buy all kinds of gadgets from them, so I don't have to worry. ”

This matter is regarded as a big deal by Jensen, although he spends a lot of time outside all year round, but as a rich man, decorating his home is obviously a big deal. He is different from those old-fashioned Americans, and there are only a few ordinary light bulbs sold in New York, but Jensen has seen exquisite and magnificent chandeliers in luxury hotels in Datang, and he is obviously very face-saving to decorate his mansion with these things that can be called works of art. No one else can buy it, but he Jensen is not a problem.

He even went directly to the power company the next day, like the power company in Philadelphia, and the power company in New York was also invested by the Tang people, but it was not wholly owned, and some far-sighted American businessmen also invested in the shares, and Datang Power was also happy to have someone to share the risks and provide funds.

The manager of the electric utility in New York was an American, trained for a while, and was actually a shareholder himself, named Maxwell. After meeting Jensen, a famous businessman in New York, Maxwell was also very attentive.

"What an honor, Mr. Jensen, it is such an honor that you would like to be one of the first users of our New York Electric Company."

Jensen exchanged a few words with him and asked, "Aren't there many families in New York who have installed electricity?" ”

Maxwell said: "Not many people are willing to pay a fee to fill their house with electrical wiring. We are now in the process of laying out the power lines in the city, which is a very expensive project, and we are not thinking about a quick return on cost at the beginning. Mr. Jensen has also been to the Tang Republic, and must be aware of the potential of the power industry, and I believe that one day in the future, every household in New York will have electric lights. ”

Jensen casually said, "Electric light is just one of the simplest applications of electricity. ”

"Yes, yes, you're right." Maxwell chimed in.

Immediately, Maxwell even sent Tang engineers from the company to Jensen's mansion to lay the circuit. However, Maxwell was obviously very respectful to the Tang engineer, handed him tea and cigarettes, and explained to him the importance of Jensen.

The Tang engineer's name is Wei Chengcheng, who is not very old, but he is not weak in technology. He was sent to North America this time, in fact, he also needed him to train a certain number of local American electricians for Tangmei Electric Company.

Jensen greeted him in Chinese: "Hello, Mr. Engineer, thank you for your help." ”

Wei Chengcheng knew that Jensen was a businessman who had been running the Tangmei route for a long time, and it was not surprising that he could speak a few words of Chinese, and he said: "Serving customers is our purpose. ”

Wei Chengcheng got into Jensen's carriage, got acquainted with Jensen, and said with a smile: "Mr. Jensen is the most famous rich man in New York, why don't you buy a car, it is said that China's FAW and General Motors are exporting cars to your country." ”

Jensen said: "It's a good idea, but I don't have a driver who can drive yet, and New York is not like Los Angeles, there are gas stations everywhere, I heard that the United States has only established a gas tank now, or mainly for Philadelphia, New York will have to wait for a while." ”

Wei Chengcheng laughed and said, "I heard that there are already people who have explored oil in Pengzhou, and once the oil fields and refineries are built there, then the fuel oil on the east coast will be guaranteed." ”

Jensen consciously grasped what business opportunity and asked, "I wonder if I can invite someone from Datang Petroleum Company to come to us in the United States to explore for oil?" ”

Wei Chengcheng knew that he had said something that he shouldn't say, so he snorted and said, "You have to talk to the people of Datang Petroleum about this kind of thing yourself, our electricity and their oil are not the same system." ”

Jensen thought about it for a while, and felt that it was still a little riskier to engage in oil development now, and he could look at the expansion of local industries such as automobiles before considering it. However, he believes that electricity is also a good industry, and began to ask Wei Chengcheng about the content.

Wei Chengcheng can be regarded as digging his own grave, and has to deal with Jensen, and finally promises to take him to Tangmei Power's commercial representative in the United States. (To be continued.) )