2 francs vs. life

After returning from Silesia, Perna learned that Camellia had become the Crown Prince's maid, and for some reason, she felt a strange sense of crisis.

So she began to unconsciously stay as close to the Crown Prince as possible, as if she were guarding against something.

Once inside the Distillation Workshop, the technical expert Murdoch explained to Joseph, "Your Highness, you see, this cylindrical object is the dry distillation still I invented. The surrounding annular thick iron pipes are actually the furnace, used to heat the coal inside the dry distillation still..."

"Oh, before entering the distillation still, the coal has to be crushed into the specified size. The crushing workshop is right across the street..."

"After being subjected to high-temperature dry distillation, coal will coke and produce a large amount of Coal Gas. This process takes about 10 hours..."

"After that, the fire must be extinguished, the coke removed from the distillation still, replaced with fresh coal, and then the fire reignited..."

He then pointed to a thick Brass pipe overhead:

The produced Coal Gas is sent from here to the Cooling Room. However, this Coal Gas is not yet usable; it needs to pass through several layers of cloth for slag removal to filter out Coal Gas, coal slag, and other impurities...

"Then the Coal Gas is passed through multiple layers of paper to filter out oily particles..."

"After that, the Coal Gas has to go through Gas Washing Tower. Oh, it's that tallest 'stone pillar' on the east side."

"Inside there are actually many Wood compartments filled with lime water, which removes sulfur from the Coal Gas. You know, sulfur burns and makes your eyes water..."

"And in the limewater used for gas washing, a lot of Ammonia Gas dissolves in it. It was Mr. Lavoisier who reminded me to collect this expensive Ammonia Gas..."

Joseph was completely bewildered; no wonder the technology for distilling Coal Gas could be Patent.

In theory, it's simply about burning coal in the absence of air, which seems quite simple. However, the actual production process is extremely complex, and you can't produce usable Coal Gas without missing a single step.

Take, for example, the desulfurization Murdoch mentioned. If it wasn't considered from the beginning, and by the time the Distillery is built, the Coal Gas sent to the Gas Lamp can make people cry all day, then the millions spent on building the plant will probably be wasted.

Without talents like Murdoch and Lavoisier, even if one could bring advanced technological theories to future generations, they would likely remain only on paper, and wouldn't be able to generate any profits.

He suddenly remembered the "Talent Introduction Plan" he had planned before, but he hadn't been able to push it forward much because he had been busy. It seemed that he would have to put this matter on the agenda in the future.

As he ventured deeper into the Distillation Workshop, Joseph frowned. The smoke and dust around him grew thicker, obscuring his vision beyond three meters. The acrid, foul odor of coal ash constantly assaulted his nostrils, making it nearly impossible for him to breathe.

He quickly turned to Eman and said, "Please give me a Mask."

"A gag?" Eman looked confused.

Joseph frowned. He didn't know the word "Mask," so he used "mouth covering" instead.

"Ah, it's the kind doctors wear on their mouths..."

Upon hearing this, Eman quickly looked at Perna behind him, who also shook her head with clear eyes.

Joseph then realized he'd never seen Perna or Dr. Lamark wearing Mask. Could it be that they hadn't been invented yet?

He pulled Perna over and gestured. "It's just a piece of cotton cloth, square-shaped, with strings on both sides so it can be hung on your ears."

Seeing that Perna was still shaking her head, he completely gave up. It really was an era without even Mask...

Manager Delas, standing nearby, pulled a rag-like object from his pocket and handed it to him. "Your Highness, are you trying to cover your mouth and nose?"

"Ah, yes."

Delas immediately gestured. "Like this, cover your face."

Joseph put the "rag" on his face, and his nose and trachea finally felt a little better. Only then did he notice that some workers were also wearing this kind of triangular rag to cover their faces, like notorious bandits about to start work.

He couldn't help but frown. In such a working environment, without Mask, one would definitely get Pneumoconiosis very quickly!

Some of these workers were even younger than him...

Although factory conditions were generally harsh in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, once we saw it, we couldn't ignore it.

He first left the sweltering Distillation Workshop, ripped off his mask, and took deep breaths of the outside air. Then he said to Delas, "There's something called Mask that can effectively improve the situation of workers inhaling smoke and dust."

"Please have a tailor order a batch as soon as possible. From now on, all workers must wear Mask while working."

He gestured for Eman to fetch paper and pen, and drew a diagram of what would later become Medical Mask: "Four layers of Cotton Gauze are folded together, sewn along the edges, with ropes nailed to the sides, and a Iron Wire attached to the top. When wearing it, the ropes are tied around the ears, and the Iron Wire presses against the bridge of the nose..."

Delas's face turned almost green as he listened, and he stammered, "Your Highness, the kind of thing you're talking about, ah, Mask, costs at least 2 Franc each. The Distillery has more than 200 people, this expense... or should we let the workers buy them themselves?"

So expensive? Joseph was a little puzzled, but he immediately understood— Cotton was no cheap commodity these days.

An average person can only afford one or two cotton-padded coats in their lifetime; they usually wear linen clothes. And then there's the Iron Wire —custom-made Mask require specific sizes and stiffness, and since large-scale Industrialization production isn't possible, the price won't be cheap.

He sighed helplessly, "I'll pay for it. Please get the Mask ready and distribute them to the workers as soon as possible."

"Ah! Thank you for your generosity and kindness," Delas said hastily. "However, I can't let you pay for this; let's deduct it from the company account."

"You don't need to refuse," Joseph said, then, remembering the workers' harsh working conditions, instructed Delas, "From now on, have the workers undergo medical checkups every six months, and treat any health problems as soon as possible. Oh, I'll take care of the checkup fees; you just need to organize the workers to cooperate."

He thought for a moment, then added, "But workers shouldn't be dismissed arbitrarily based on health issues."

The Industrial Development Fund is the largest shareholder of the Coal Gas Distillery, and since it has the Development Fund say, it can completely influence the rules and regulations here.

Delas was incredibly surprised to hear this; he had never seen a superior so concerned about the workers. He quickly offered a barrage of praise and thanks.

Joseph knew that providing workers with basic living and health guarantees was essential for stable and sustainable industrial development and to reduce the likelihood of worker riots.

However, no capitalist would voluntarily provide such a guarantee, as that would reduce their profits, so legislation is needed to solve this problem.

Protecting workers' rights may seem to increase industrial costs, lead to higher product prices, and reduce competitiveness. However, in reality, only workers who are human beings can produce qualified products. Workers who are treated like livestock cannot drive industrial development.