New Project
After Victor's carriage arrived in Riverside Town, Bob was notified and quickly rode his horse to see Victor.
Victor arrived at the Steelworks at this time. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw Bob riding over with several men.
"Viscount, what brings you here in this heavy snow?"
Victor looked at Bob, who was rushing over. Bob was wearing a white shirt under his fur coat, probably because he was in such a hurry that he hadn't even put his clothes on properly.
"You're already the Town Mayor, how can you be so careless? You just throw on a fur coat and go out, aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"
Bob, belatedly realizing he was missing a sweater, said somewhat embarrassedly.
"My lord, please forgive my rudeness."
Victor shook his head, went straight back to the carriage, took out a fur cloak, and draped it over Bob's shoulders.
Bob was moved to tears when the Viscount personally draped a cloak over his shoulders. "My lord, I am truly..."
Victor interrupted him, "Alright, stop acting like a little girl. This cloak is yours for the taking, consider it a congratulatory gift for your promotion!"
The civil officials behind Bob looked at their leader with envy, after all, not everyone had the opportunity to receive a gift personally from the Viscount.
"Don't just stand there, let's go inside and take a look."
Victor beckoned the group to walk into the Steelworks, just as the Steelworks manager Rafam, arrived with his men.
"Lord Viscount!"
"Let's go inside and talk. Rafam, you lead the way. It's been a while since I've been here. Show me around the Steelworks."
Rafam and Bob exchanged a glance. Although they didn't know why the Viscount had suddenly come, they would certainly comply with his request.
"Sir, please follow me."
Rafam led the way, and Victor and the two girls followed.
"Town Mayor, should we follow them?"
Bob's assistant asked curiously.
"Of course I'll go! Even the Viscount is going, how can I not go!"
After saying that, Bob was about to chase after him, but after taking a few steps, he turned to his assistant and said, "Don't go. It's already so late. The Viscount probably won't be able to get back."
Go and arrange for Lord Jue's accommodations tonight, using the vacant expert rooms in the Arms Factory. Also, remember to have our chef prepare dinner to the highest standards.
"Yes, Town Mayor."
Seeing Bob's serious expression, the assistant knew he couldn't be negligent and quickly rode away on his own.
Bob, along with the remaining two, caught up with Victor. He ran a few more steps and moved to Victor's side.
"Your Excellency, the weather is bad today, so it won't be convenient to return to Wood Fort Town tonight. Why don't you stay at the Arms Factory instead?"
We also have unused expert rooms, all unused, with all the furniture already in place.
After listening, Victor looked at Veronica, and seeing that Veronica nodded, he told Bob.
"You can arrange it."
"Yes, sir."
Bob was delighted to see that the Viscount had agreed to his request.
Rafam, who was at the front, immediately regretted not thinking of this when he heard it.
You should know that the Steelworks also has expert housing, and the living conditions are even better than those in the Arms Factory. I wish I had let the lord stay here.
Riverside Town was newly established, so the town hall had not yet been built, and Bob and Rafam had not yet stepped down from their respective factories, so their offices were still located in the factories.
Rafam introduced Victor along the way, since it had been two months since Victor last visited the Steelworks when he was testing a freight train.
"Now that winter is here, has steel mill production been affected?"
"There will be some impact, but not a significant one. As long as the ore supply continues, the steel mill's production will not stop."
We had previously stockpiled a large amount of coke and Black Oil Pine for steelmaking and iron smelting, enough for us to use throughout the winter.
"Oh, can the mining keep up? It must be very inconvenient to mine rocks in winter."
"Lord James is very concerned about the mine's production in order to ensure the efficiency of the miners' work."
Green Valley Territory has prepared plenty of winter supplies, saying the entire mining area is brightly lit, with campfires burning high enough to reach several stories high for burning ore and for warmth!
Rafam's words were exaggerated, which amused Veronica and Octavia, but Victor frowned after listening.
No matter how good the insulation measures are, winter is not suitable for mining, especially since the entire iron mine is an open-pit mine.
It's estimated that James has been relentlessly exploiting these miners to ensure the iron ore supply. It's uncertain how many of them will survive the winter—half? Or perhaps only a third.
Victor shook his head. After all, these mining slaves belonged to James, and how James used them was his own business. Victor really couldn't interfere.
Victor stopped thinking about the question and continued asking questions.
"How are the freight trains doing? They must be affected in winter!"
Upon hearing Victor's question, Rafam hesitated before glancing at Veronica and Octavia.
As Rafam hesitated to answer, Octavia suddenly said, "Sir, there are some problems with the freight trains. We are trying to make changes, and the daily running time has been reduced by half, resulting in freight volume being only 60% of what it used to be."
What's the reason?
Victor wasn't angry. After all, the Internal Combustion Engine was definitely not perfect yet, and they could just keep modifying it if there were any problems.
However, he was a little curious. The last time he saw the freight train running, it seemed to be doing quite well, and the train maintenance system had even been revamped. Why did a problem suddenly occur?
"Actually, there's nothing wrong with the machine itself, but we have a problem with the fuel."
"Fuel?" Victor felt like he had grasped something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
At this point, Veronica continued, "Sunflower Oil will solidify at low temperatures. It was fine at the beginning of winter, but now the temperature occasionally drops to minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius, and the oil has solidified."
Before each train journey, we have to heat the Sunflower Oil until it melts before we can start the fire.
"Yes, cryogenic solidification, I almost forgot about that!"
Victor then remembered this. Back in the East, the lowest winter temperatures were only a few degrees below zero, and Sunflower Oil rarely solidified, so he had completely forgotten about it.
Unexpectedly, after arriving in the Northlands, where the winter temperatures are even colder, this incident finally occurred.
This makes it even less likely that Victor will blame Octavia and Rafam.
Have you considered how to deal with this situation?
Octavia quickly replied, "We've found a solution; there are two ways to do it."
Which two?
"One approach is to add additives to the fuel to prevent it from solidifying at low temperatures without affecting its calorific value. This is currently being tested and may take some time."
Another option is to not use Internal Combustion Engine and Sunflower Oil. Our Steam Traction Engine has entered a new stage with greatly increased horsepower, and can completely turn the fuel into Black Oil Pine.
Although this machine isn't as powerful as the new generation of Internal Combustion Engine, it's powerful enough to power freight trains and haul goods!
"Good idea, Octavia. Since that's the case, don't neglect either of the two lines. Do them well, and I believe you'll see results soon."
Upon hearing Victor's words, Octavia suddenly hesitated, which puzzled Victor.
At this point, Veronica explained, "These two projects are currently being conducted by another research group under my command, Octavia dares not take all the credit."
"I see. That's a good thing, after all, everyone's energy is limited. I hope I have as many talented people under my command as possible."
Octavia, you can tell your companions that I will not hesitate to reward them if these two projects are successful.