"Eucommia ulmoides, what is this?"

In the office, Fang Nan's head was full of question marks when he looked at the reports sent by the Steam Engine Institute regularly.

More than two years have passed since the birth of the practical type A steam engine. The type B steam engine that Fang Nan wants more is still under steadily research and development. Perhaps the practical type B steam engine next year and the next year will be born.

The report sent here today says that the Steam Engine Research Institute has discovered a material that will speed up the research and development of Type B steam engines. This material comes from Eucommia ulmoides. It was proposed by a craftsman from Guangxi, who was from the Steam Engine Research Institute. It can effectively solve the sealing problem of the steam engine.

Fang Nan knows a little bit about the steam engine. The sealing of the steam engine is very important. If you don’t solve this problem, don’t think about taking out a practical steam engine.

The best way to solve the sealing problem of steam engines is naturally rubber, but rubber trees grow on the American continent. The People's Army has no ships that can sail from ocean. The journey is long, so I don't know how many years it will take to bring the rubber trees back, and it will take a long time to plant them on a large scale.

Historically, Watt's improved steam engine did not use rubber at first, but instead used metal gaskets that could expand and contract, but rubber was a better choice.

Originally, Fang Nan headed the steam engine to use metal gaskets first, and waited for the Type B steam engine to develop, and then built a steam ship that could be built that could be ocean-going. Then he went to the American continent to bring the rubber tree back.

Now the Steam Engine Research Institute actually told Fang Nan that there are rubber substitutes on China. This is what Fang Nan doesn’t know. In Fang Nan’s memory, there is no word “Eucommia ulmoides”, and he doesn’t know what Eucommia ulmoides is.

In fact, Eucommia ulmoides is a plant, also known as bakery, with a tree height of up to 20 meters and a breast diameter of about 50 cm.

Medicinal Eucommia ulmoides are the dry bark of Eucommia ulmoides, the plant of Eucommia ulmoides, and are a precious and nourishing medicinal herb. It has sweet taste and warm nature. It has the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys, strengthening the muscles and bones, regulating the Chong and Ren, and strengthening the meridians and calming the fetus. It can treat waist and leg pain or soreness caused by kidney yang deficiency, impotence of the fertility caused by liver qi deficiency, dampness and itchyness, etc., and is listed as the top grade in the "Shennong Bencao Jing".

The leaves, bark and peel of Eucommia ulmoides are rich in a white filamentous substance - Eucommia ulmoides gel.

Eucommia ulmoide is an excellent polymer material with rubber and plastic duality. The monomers of natural rubber and Eucommia ulmoide are both isoprene. However, the molecular structures are different. Eucommia ulmoide is trans polyisoprene, while natural rubber is cis polyisoprene.

Natural rubber has large internal energy, and two atoms with the same electronegative properties of cis isomer are on the same side of the molecule, with a large dipole moment, so it has a lower melting point and a greater solubility. It has better flexibility and is therefore more elastic, so it is used as a rubber material.

The atoms of Eucommia ulmoides are arranged in a relatively symmetrical manner, and molecules can be discharged into the crystal structure in a regular manner, so they have a higher melting point, and atomic groups with different electronegativity are arranged on the same side, so they are smaller in dipole distance and have lower solubility. They are relatively stable in properties, easy to crystallize, and have poor flexibility. They are used as hard materials.

Therefore, Eucommia ulmoides can be used instead of natural rubber.

More importantly, Eucommia ulmoides are a unique plant on the land of China. They are widely distributed in Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Zhejiang and other provinces. Moreover, the seedlings of Eucommia ulmoides can be used to extract rubber. The tree age increases to 10 to 15 years, and more than 270 kilograms of rubber can be produced per hectare.

Compared with rubber trees far away on the American continent, Eucommia ulmoides are a very good choice.

In addition, rubber can not only be used in steam engines, but also can make medical hoses, tires, etc. Rubber can be said to be an important raw material in the industry.

Fang Nan asked someone to collect information about Eucommia ulmoides. The main thing he collected was the use of Eucommia ulmoides as a medicinal material. Fang Nan took a few glances and then went straight to the direction. If he really reported to the Steam Engine Research Institute, Eucommia ulmoides can be used instead of rubber trees, then Fang Nan could order people to build a plantation in Eucommia ulmoides.

Rubber trees can only be planted on Qiongzhou Island, but Eucommia ulmoides can be planted in most areas of China. As long as Eucommia ulmoides are valuable, large-scale artificial planting can be started. The specific artificial planting methods will be studied by the Agricultural Department.

...

Half a year has passed since the People's Army occupied Guangxi, Jiangxi, Huguang and Fujian provinces. Half a year has passed. With the efforts of Guangdong merchants, commercial trade in the newly occupied areas has begun normally.

The small number of merchants left behind in the newly occupied area could not help but see the active Guangdong merchants. They suppressed their fear and continued to do business. They did not want their business to be snatched away by Guangdong merchants.

One of the commercial trades that surprised the middle- and upper-income families in the newly occupied areas was the glass business.

In the People's Army ruling area, glass is still the exclusive business of the People's Chamber of Commerce. Other merchants who want to do glass business can only buy it from the People's Chamber of Commerce and then sell it to the Ming Dynasty ruling area.

However, the new trade route has not been opened, and at this time the Ming Dynasty ruling region was "training troops". Spending money like flowing water, I am afraid that I will not make much money by selling glass to the Ming Dynasty ruling region.

The People's Chamber of Commerce quickly established branches, branches in various places in the newly occupied areas, and large batches of glass and glass mirrors were transported to various places. The distance was far and wide, and the glass and glass mirrors were sold at a price higher than that in Guangdong.

A palm-sized glass mirror sold for only one cent equal coins in Guangdong, and the highest price will not exceed two cent equal coins in the newly occupied area. Last year, such a palm-sized glass currency sold for as much as a quantity of silver. At first, it was priced but it was sold out by a batch of glass mirrors and soon it was sold out. Later, the sales of batches of glass were improved.

Now such low-cost glass mirrors and glass are on sale, which makes middle- and upper-income families in the newly occupied areas stunned. In their hearts, even if glass mirrors are no longer precious treasures, they are considered valuable items with a slightly higher value. The glass mirrors sold by the People's Chamber of Commerce are simply cheap items.

Take a look at the palm-sized glass mirrors that I spent several taels of silver to buy, and then look at the cheap glass mirrors sold by the People's Chamber of Commerce. The materials are the same, but the prices are different. You don't have to wait, just buy them. The large-sized glass mirrors that were only affordable by wealthy families in the past can afford them now.

The sales of glass in the newly occupied area have begun to increase. The sales of large-size glass mirrors in Guangdong have decreased, but the sales of small-size glass mirrors have grown rapidly. The people in Guangdong have ushered in several bumper harvests, and their family savings have gradually increased. Large-size glass mirrors cannot be afforded, and medium-sized glass mirrors are reluctant to buy, but small-size glass mirrors can still be bought, especially for families preparing to get married.

In view of the increase in glass sales, the Ministry of Industry has planned to build two more glass factories outside Guangdong.
Chapter completed!