Novel Full Chapter 943 - 58: Working with Rubber
Chapter 943: Chapter 58: Working with Rubber
After submitting the report on the smallpox vaccination, Zhao Yao no longer paid attention to the reaction from the capital. Every time he accomplished something big, upon submitting it to the court, he never concerned himself with the court’s reaction.
These days, the children from the Swamp Prefecture who had been vaccinated had successfully received their vaccinations and returned home safely. During the vaccination process, their bodies were somewhat weak, but it was nothing serious. Renhe Hall took great care of them, and when they returned home, they were not only chubbier than before but also much fairer.
Seeing these children, who were still lively and healthy after the vaccination, growing rounder, the other citizens fully believed. They mainly heard that during the vaccination period at Renhe Hall, they ate, drank, and slept well. Such a good opportunity could not be missed. However, not every child could be vaccinated. Before receiving the vaccination, their bodies needed to be well-nourished.
The citizens also understood the necessity of good health for the vaccination. If one’s health was not good, the vaccination could be fatal, so they were in no rush. They obediently followed the doctor’s advice, planning to undergo vaccination only when they were healthier.
With the vaccination matter proceeding well, Zhao Yao no longer concerned himself with it. During this period, he was preoccupied with an extremely important matter, which was experimenting with rubber sap.
A few years ago, Zhao Yao had people transplant rubber trees from countries like Annan and Johor. Although Lingnan’s climate was similar to those countries, there were still some differences. Initially, when transplanted to Lingnan, many rubber trees died due to "adjustment issues." Later, under the meticulous care of an old farmer, the rubber trees gradually survived.
Over the years, the rubber trees grew quite well. At that time, because Zhao Yao was far away in the capital, he didn’t manage these rubber trees. Upon arriving in the Swamp Prefecture last year, due to the many affairs, he had no energy to handle them. However, last year, Zhao Yao had people collect rubber sap.
From last year until now, they had collected a lot of rubber sap, but how to transform this sap into the rubber of Zhao Yao’s dreams was a challenge.
Zhao Yao was currently kicking a football made of rubber sap. The football made of rubber sap could bounce very high and was very fun to kick.
Song Jicai and others fell in love with this bouncing, mischievous "football" after kicking it for a while.
"Boss, how did you think of using rubber sap to make a football?"
"This football made of rubber sap bounces so high, it’s so fun to play with."
"This football made of rubber sap is even more fun to kick."
"Boss, this football can be sold for money, quite a bit of money at that."
Zhao Yao received the football kicked over by Chu Huan and performed some fancy tricks, eliciting uncontrollable shouts from his four followers.
"I didn’t have people collect rubber sap just to make footballs; it has much larger uses." Zhao Yao patted the football and briefly explained other uses of rubber to his four followers. "If you apply this sap on clothes, they won’t get wet when it rains; the same applies to shoes. It can be used to make ropes, and it also..."
After listening to Zhao Yao, Shen Sen and the others were dumbfounded.
"Boss, is rubber sap really that amazing?"
"Yes, what I just mentioned were just some minor uses; there are even greater uses." Zhao Yao looked at the football in his hand, deep in thought about how to dissolve rubber.
Zhao Yao desperately searched his mind for the relevant knowledge and indeed found it.
"Oh right, petroleum can dissolve it, and so can turpentine."
"Boss, what is petroleum, and what is turpentine?"
"Petroleum is black oil." Zhao Yao handed the football made of rubber sap to Chu Huan and the others, instructing, "There will be a football performance at the trade fair, start practicing with this football now."
"Yes, boss."
"I have something to attend to at North Mountain." The laboratory in the North Mountain Cave had black oil.
Seeing Zhao Yao arrive, Zheng Cheng thought he was there to check on the progress of the canon and hurried to report the progress during the period.
Zhao Yao interrupted him and started discussing the rubber sap matter.
Upon hearing Zhao Yao’s description, Zheng Cheng’s face lit up with excitement, "Your Highness, we must quickly produce rubber. This rubber is beneficial for the nation and its people."
"First, we need to dissolve the rubber. Black oil should be able to dissolve it. Let’s try it now..."
Next, Zhao Yao stayed at the North Mountain Laboratory, busy experimenting with rubber along with Zheng Cheng.
While Zhao Yao was busy tinkering with rubber, Prince Zheng, who was previously far away in Jiaozhou, returned to the capital.
Upon returning to the capital, Prince Zheng outwardly showed no change, but beneath the surface, there were turbulent undercurrents, and the situation in the court quietly changed.