Chapter 521 The Dividing Line of the Times

"Can we go and visit?" Xia Fan was immediately interested. Having a factory means centralized labor, which means having workers who are completely free from farming. Compared with small manual workshops, it is undoubtedly an advanced existence.

In fact, the new machinery manufacturing bureau in Jinxia City has evolved into a large-scale comprehensive manufacturing factory.

"But it can be done, but..." Olena showed a hint of hesitation, "It's not a good place there."

"Why?"

"In the Saint Wing Islands, people who are desperate usually have two choices, either to join the black street organization or to find work in the factory area. So... you won't like it there."

Having said that, the dragon girl still took the two of them all the way there. As she said, the market area and the factory building are very close to each other, and the four-wheeled carriage between the two has become the absolute main transportation force on the street. This is a bit like the difference between a bulk store and a wholesale store. Generally, customers shop in the market area, while merchants who need to purchase a large amount of goods will go directly to the factory area to pick up the goods.

There are no walls or guards around the factory, but there are many shacks. They seem to have become a transition area connecting the two areas. Since the materials of the sheds are extremely diverse, some are made of felt cloth, and some are made of wood boards, so it looks like a "mosaic" ocean.

The smell here is even worse, garbage and black mud are piled up between the sheds, and the smelly sewage flows freely on the stone slabs, and even seeps into some shacks.

"This is..." Li raised her eyebrows slightly. She saw that there were people living in the sheds, but they were basically old people and children. Especially the children, ranging from two or three years old to seven or eight years old. One thing they have in common is that they are thin and dirty, and they are completely different from their peers in the market area outside.

In addition, in order to avoid direct contact with dirt, people put all kinds of things on the ground, from bricks and stones to linen, but this cannot fundamentally reverse the situation. Instead, a lot of sewage will accumulate and further ferment and rot.

The temperature in June has been gradually rising, and the smell of swill and fishy smell in the air is not to mention how strong it is.

"The families of factory workers." Olina replied, "It's empty now because most people are busy, and everyone will return here to live at night."

"Living in such a place..." Li looked around, "It's just like the refugees in Qi Country."

"But at least they can have food to eat."

Xia Fan remained silent. Refugees are reduced to this place because they are homeless. They obviously have a home, but they can only barely survive, which is very telling.

But this is the norm in the current world.

People who can eat and drink enough are already a very lucky group.

Even Jinxia City has just saved the whole nation from the hardship of hunger. For these people, he can only watch from a distance at most.

Passing through the shantytown, the three approached a factory that was in production.

The carriages coming from the port dumped carts of goods on the ground, and the workers put them into baskets, climbed up a high platform, and threw them into a huge copper furnace from top to bottom.

"Those red fruits, could they be the intoxicating fruits I just ate?" Li pointed to the red fruits on the ground.

"It looks right." Olena nodded, "But the main ingredient of the jam is its seeds, which are the original fruits shipped from the island plantation."

Xia Fan's focus was completely different from the fox demon.

He saw a rough machine standing next to the furnace. It looked like an iron tripod, with a cylindrical heavy hammer as the main body, two movable flywheels and a cast iron cylinder at the bottom. White gas could be seen coming out from the top of the cylinder from time to time, and the flywheel drove the heavy hammer to rise slowly. Every time it reached the top, the hammer head would fall down suddenly and hit the copper furnace.

Accompanied by a rhythmic dull roar, tens of thousands of fruits were repeatedly crushed and smashed until they were completely broken, and the flesh and fine seeds inside flowed out.

Although the structure was simple, it did use steam power.

"Good afternoon, sirs and ladies." At this time, a middle-aged man dressed exquisitely came over. His eyes swept over the three people one by one, and finally fell on Olena, "My name is Philip Lao, the manager of the Hundred Fruit Garden. Is there anything I can do for you?"

He noticed the green scales on the dragon girl's wrist.

"I'm just accompanying you," Olina shrugged, pointing at Xia Fan, "You can talk to this person directly if you have anything to say."

"Is that so?" A hint of surprise flashed in the other person's eyes, and he looked at Xia Fan again, "Excuse me, what's your name?"

No matter how poor the Okan family is, that's relative to the Dragonborn. As long as she inherits the blood of the flying dragon, she is naturally superior. That's why Philip was surprised that the Dragonborn would be willing to accompany a stranger.

"In a sense, the manager of such a place is the agent of the factory owner." Worried that Xia Fan didn't understand, Olina deliberately leaned over and whispered, "He is responsible for managing production and marketing goods."

Xia Fan blinked at her, indicating that he understood, "Good afternoon, just call me Xia Fan. What is that metal lump hitting up and down on the stage?"

He asked deliberately.

"Oh, you mean this..." The manager smiled, "It's a product that has only become popular recently. It's similar to a hydraulic hammer, but it doesn't need to be built by the river. It's driven by boiling water. Of course... the principle is more complicated. If you are interested, you can consult Frank Metalwork."

"Are there many factories in Azure Castle that use it?"

"Haha, only small factories like ours can use it." Philip waved his hand and said, "There is no shortage of water in Azure Castle. The Ambergris River is five miles away, and the real big factories are concentrated there. The water hammer is powerful, cheap, and not easy to break, unlike this thing, which often has problems."

Sure enough, it is similar to his intuitive feeling. Xia Fan thought to himself that as a steam engine, it is still in its early stages, and the design and workmanship reveal the roughness visible to the naked eye. However, according to the other party, it has become a commodity and has begun to become popular among small factories far away from the river. Once its inventor has capital, it is only a matter of time before the steam engine is further improved.

Frank Metalworking... He silently memorized the name of this industry.

"By the way, do you want to try the new jam from Baiguoyuan?" Philip took the initiative to talk business, "We have recently developed two new flavors. They are not on the market yet, but they will definitely be well received. And it has a high honey content, so it will not deteriorate even if it is brought back to the East for sale."

"I am just strolling around, and I have no intention of buying anything yet."

"That's no problem. You are welcome to visit our factory." The manager's enthusiastic attitude did not diminish at all, "How about letting me take you on a tour?"

This guy... he knows a lot about sales skills.

Xia Fan was about to agree when suddenly there was a fierce noise from behind the factory.