Cement, steel, glass, and the traverser are indispensable among several magic weapons. But Zhou Qingfeng's team can only rely on burning some shells to make cement. Steel is barely industrialized, but the output is only a few thousand tons a year. Even if the converter that Stone has in mind officially starts, it will support 20,000 or 30,000 tons a year, because ore mining will become a new bottleneck.

And glass, this is the least important magic weapon to cross. The basic optical equipment, the traversers all use crystals to make it, anyway, the amount is not large, and it can be used to deal with it. The manufacturing requirements of glass are actually very high, if it weren't for the high-horsepower blower and high-temperature refractory bricks, Zhou Qingfeng and others would not have considered this thing at all.

In ancient times, there was glass but no glass. Chinese and foreign craftsmen can achieve a variety of colors and colorful glazed products, but they can't be pure and transparent. The reason is that this thing really can't be done by the local law.

The raw material of glass is quartz sand, which requires a purity of more than 99%. That alone is a big problem. The melting point of quartz sand is 1,750 degrees, which is much higher than that of steel, and you should not expect to fire glass without a high-temperature furnace.

And Zhou Qingfeng and others have clear information in their hands, so they know that the first thing to do is to screen quartz sand, which is not pure. Secondly, soda ash should be used as a co-solvent to reduce the melting temperature. But soda ash can't be given too much, and the ratio limit of 18% alone is a big secret. However, the presence of soda ash will reduce the stability of the glass at high temperatures, and limestone must be added as a stabilizer.

The above few simple lines are enough for countless chemists to rack their brains and do countless research. This is just the basic principle, the production process is more complex and refined. So at the beginning, Zhou Qingfeng and others never thought about engaging in glass. It wasn't until the fire phoenix came that I thought that since I could burn ceramics, why not try glass?

When colorless and transparent glass is produced, the casting method and silver mirror reaction to produce glass mirrors are a matter of course. But the current production of this thing is too small, and after it is produced, it can only be used to sell for money. When Zhou Qingfeng came to Goa, a glass mirror was pressed into the box containing the samples, and the goods were taken out as the finale.

The sight of silk, the sight of porcelain, and the sight of flannel were not enough to amaze him, but when he saw the wide glass mirror, he could no longer cry out. When he recognized himself in the mirror at a glance, and saw the wrinkled skin and clothing details in the mirror, his first reaction was 'I am so ugly', and the second reaction was that this mirror was a priceless treasure.

The ancients used mirrors for a long time, but for a long time, only copper mirrors were used in the East and the West. Because of its ability to reflect the shadow of people, mirrors have even been given various mythological and magical concepts. Today, Venetian mirror makers have mastered the production of glass mirrors and have maintained their craftsmanship closely, so they have a great fortune.

Countless merchants tried to obtain the secret of making glass mirrors from Venice, but they returned one after another. Born in the barren land of the Arabian Peninsula, the Arabs have always been in business and have a very accurate assessment of the value of their goods. They also want to get beautiful glass mirrors to sell.

Although the silk and porcelain from the East are precious, they still come in a steady stream, but the large glass mirror can only see the faces of the craftsmen in Venice. Just the mirror that Zhou Qingfeng took out was more valuable than the silk porcelain just now, just because of its rarity.

Metal mirrors tend to be dull with color halos, while glass mirrors have a clear image and a very high finish. Compared with the two, the value is a world of difference. Lord Muhammad grabbed the mirror in his hand and refused to pass it on to the other Arab merchants, who rushed to the other merchants in amazement when they found it. Then, ......, they began to quarrel.

The babbling of Arabic came and went, and the sound of quarrels was irritating. Zhou Qingfeng slowly closed the wooden box in which he contained the samples, picked up the wine glass in front of him and took a sip slowly, and at the same time Juyin said to Guo Jiao: "There are too many dozen mirrors we brought, and we only sell three when we turn around, and the others are either hidden and bought slowly, or completely smashed and discarded." ”

"Why?" Guo Jiao is baffled by the quarrel of Arab businessmen. Just now, these people were singing and dancing with pleasant faces, smiling and smiling, blinking but arguing with each other. The child, Santos, was whispering an interpreter that the Arabs were making a private offer to compete for the precious glass mirror.

This mirror is really large, occupying the entire underside of the sample wooden case, and its finish and flatness are higher than those of the more expensive Venetian mirrors.

For the quarrel of the businessmen, Zhou Qingfeng did not stop it. He only said to Guo Jiao: "Rare things are expensive, I really didn't expect this mirror to be so popular." The dozen or so pieces we brought brought lowered the value of the mirrors, and selling them all at once caused a price collapse. ”

Guo Jiao understood, "Since the business here is so good, we should come often in the future." There was even a stronghold set up here specifically for business. ”

Zhou Qingfeng was stunned when he heard this, and pondered slightly. His original plan was to come a few times at most, and it would be better to concentrate on his own territory after transporting the slave girls and horses. But Guo Jiao's unintentional words opened his mind, since it came out, why did he retract it?

A dozen Arab merchants quarreled for half an hour, and in the end, it was Lord Muhammad who relied on his prestige to suppress the internal contradictions. He asked Santos to pass the word and asked, "Distinguished Oriental guest, how many more of these mirrors do you have?" ”

"This is the best large glass mirror I have in my hand, and it is very rare in our Orient. I've only brought this side with me this time, and its value is extremely precious. ”

After speaking, Zhou Qingfeng paused for a while, thought for a moment while drinking milk wine to moisten his throat, and continued: "This kind of mirror is very difficult to make, the yield is very low, and I can't bring much in the future." ”

Raise the price, raise the price quickly.

You treat Lao Tzu as a fat sheep, and now you don't know who is a fat sheep?!

Zhou Qingfeng's expression was calm, and Lord Mohammed also tried to calm down. The latter made a quotation for the silk and porcelain brought by Zhou Qingfeng after some consideration, and according to Zhou Qingfeng's understanding in Macau, as well as the conversation with Marcelo and Santos, the quotation was still very fair.

As for this rare large glass mirror, Lord Muhammad hesitated for a while. He didn't want Zhou Qingfeng to carry this mirror away, but he didn't want to pay a high price to spend money in vain, and he didn't know how much to pay for a long time?

"I need good horses, many, many of them." Zhou Qingfeng opened his mouth at the right time.

Lord Muhammad was immediately excited, and immediately expressed his desire to exchange horses and slave girls for the mirror. He directly doubled the number of horses that Zhou Qingfeng had previously selected, and said that if the 'guests of the East' were still in need, they would continue to supply the best horses.

Zhou Qingfeng smiled heartily when he heard this, and nodded slightly in agreement.

The development of industry will have a huge scissors gap between agriculture and animal husbandry. Excluding R&D costs, the raw material of a mirror is nothing more than sand, and even if the processing cost is included, it is at most five or six silver dollars.

A good Arabian horse is extremely expensive, both ancient and modern. Under normal circumstances, the price of a good Arabian stallion in Goa would not be less than five hundred silver dollars. Considering the cost of shipping to East Asia by sea, ...... if you can buy an Arabian horse for two or three thousand silver dollars in Macao, it will be considered a lot of money.

And now, according to Zhou Qingfeng's discussion with Lord Muhammad, a glass mirror can be exchanged for three of the best Arabian horses.

After the business was completed, Zhou Qingfeng handed over all the samples he had brought to Lord Muhammad, and invited the other party to attend a party at Marcelo's monastery at night. He said he had more goods for sale and wanted to buy more Arabic goods.

Lord Muhammad patted his chest and said that he would come in the evening, and he ordered someone to send the slave girls and horses selected by Zhou Qingfeng to the Marcello Monastery, and even gave several horsemen to Zhou Qingfeng to help him take care of the horses.

Zhou Qingfeng went out early in the morning, and when he walked into the Arab Hall, he was even empty-handed. But when he left, he hugged a large number of people, swaggering through the market. Even Santos, the kid who was following him, straightened his chest and stood on his toes. Guo Jiao was also very excited about this harvest, she took Zhou Qingfeng's hand and asked, "The samples in the wooden box have changed so many people?" ”

"It's not enough, we owe something to those Arabs. Now it's just a matter of going back and getting the cargo out of the biplane. Zhou Qingfeng smiled bitterly: "Although silk and porcelain are very valuable, the female slaves and horses of other families are also very valuable. More than half of our goods are to be paid for to the Lord Muhammad. ”

"Then you might as well sell the rest of the goods to the Arabs. Why are you still holding auctions? Guo Jiao asked.

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head with a smile, "The situation in Goa has broken my expectation of 'grab a handful and leave', and I have to reconsider." ”

Back at the Marcelo Monastery, Zhou Qingfeng promoted Santos to be a little butler, and the magpie's nest dove placed the slave girls and horses he bought in the monastery. He pulled Guo Jiao into the room, spread out the world map and said, "We need to establish a presence in Goa as well, and the commerce and trade here will play a huge role in our future development."

The idea of just having an auction is too superficial. I'm either going to try to make friends with the forces in the city, or I'm going to lay a niche and go it alone. You immediately drove the biplane back to Tianjin with flat hair, and asked Zhao Ze to get me a fleet of steam ships to Goa anyway. ”

"The steam fleet?" Guo Jiao looked at the map and then at Zhou Qingfeng, "You want to stay alone?" ”

"I got my calculations wrong. The load of the biplane is still too small, and an adult Arabian horse can fill it. It seemed to be fast, but it took ten days to make a round trip, and it took a long time just to transport the horses and slave girls I bought.

Instead of letting me fly back and forth, it is better to let Zhao Ze drive a steamboat, which can be reached in only one and a half months at a speed of eight knots. A ship can carry hundreds of tons at a time, which is much better than my broken plane.

The only trouble is that we didn't go through this route, and there were no ports along the way to replenish water and coal, and the whole route would be quite painful. Zhou Qingfeng circled Macau, the Strait of Malacca, and Goa on the map, "let Zhao Ze think of a way for himself, and reminded him to be careful of the risks on the sea route." Anyway, let him hurry up. ”

This was the moment when Zhou Qingfeng exercised his leadership, and after seeing the huge commercial and economic benefits of Goa, he did not hesitate to invest heavily.

It's just that Uncle Zhou exerted too much force in order to show his courage, and Guo Jiao said weakly after listening to his meaning: "Zhou boy, I think you are stupid?" ”

"What?"

"If you knew this, you shouldn't have stripped Sister Xu of the Cave Heaven Blessed Land, otherwise you wouldn't have to go to such great lengths. Wouldn't it be better to transport goods directly in the blessed land? Just don't let the time inside speed up. ”

Ah......, that's right!

Zhou Qingfeng suddenly looked entangled, this is really hard to buy, I knew it earlier!