Chapter Twenty-One: The Abundance

The coal-ball stove is quite complex; He Zhongan could not design a machine to manufacture the stoves themselves, so manual craftsmanship remained the better option.

However, the coal balls themselves are very simple. Coal dust mixed with clay and water in a specific ratio can be produced by the tens or even hundreds of pounds at a time. He Zhongan’s idea was to design a machine to replace manual labor as much as possible. Limited by the power sources of this era, he was restricted to human or animal labor. He had to design a functional mechanism based on those constraints.

In terms of mechanical structure, it was very simple—far simpler than a music box or a pocket watch. The process simply involved manually placing the prepared coal slurry into a mold, letting the mold drop from above to compress the slurry into a coal ball, and then opening it to manually remove the finished product.

He Zhongan’s primary concerns were efficiency and cost. The force required for music boxes and pocket watches is minimal; how much power does it actually take to turn the minute and second hands? Therefore, the loss of power through gear transmission is negligible. But this machine required significant force. Every gear and every point of transmission incurs energy loss. If the loss were too great, the machine would not function at all, or it would not be cost-effective.

To maximize human labor, the machine could not be too heavy—an average man had to be able to operate it. Yet, it could not be too light either; if it were, the efficiency gains would be so minimal that one might as well just do it by hand. Thus, He Zhongan had to find the most skilled craftsmen to build it, utilizing gears, conveyor belts, pulleys, and other mechanisms to reduce the burden on human labor and maximize efficiency.

This was not a task He Zhongan could accomplish alone. He needed a master artisan who understood the various techniques of the era. Lei Qianjun studied the plans for half a day, deliberated with He Zhongan for another half, and finally nodded, saying, "No problem." Lei Qianjun never made promises lightly. Once he agreed, he would see it through.

He first went to the palace and brought back several elderly men. They were top-tier craftsmen in their respective fields. After some research, they successfully forged the necessary parts. The coal-ball machine was built.

It could be operated by three people: one to fill the molds with coal slurry, and the middle person to pull a rope that, through a system of pulleys, raised the other molds. Then, with the flip of a switch, the molds would drop from a height of one meter. The two sides of the molds would crash together, compressing the coal slurry within into coal balls. This single action produced twelve balls at once.

This was a calculated compromise. After all, human strength is finite; the more molds added, the more force required.

This machine, simple to the extreme, brought a leap in efficiency. If each person pressed the molds by hand, they could produce at most three coal balls in the same amount of time; now, they could produce twelve. Not to mention that the division of labor further boosted efficiency. With three people each performing only one task, the efficiency was more than tenfold what it had been before.

He Zhongan immediately presented Lei Qianjun with one hundred taels of silver, saying, "Many thanks, old man." Lei Qianjun, unable to refuse, accepted it and said, "We truly deserve no credit; it is all due to your ingenious ideas, young master. Without your vision, what could we do with our mere petty skills?"

Lei Qianjun’s words were not merely polite formalities. As one of the top craftsmen in the imperial household, he had spent his life creating intricate, masterful works—some of which, if placed in the modern world, would fetch high prices at auction. Compared to his previous masterpieces, this coal-ball machine was crude, clumsy, and lacked all aesthetic beauty.

Yet, Lei Qianjun felt a sense of purpose that seemed out of place. It was the first time he felt that masterful mechanical design should not just be for imperial ornaments or instruments for the Imperial Observatory; perhaps, like this coal-ball machine, it could also be used to help people with their labor. However, Lei Qianjun immediately sighed and banished the thought from his mind. He was but a common craftsman; what business did he have worrying about the affairs of the state?

After the coal-ball machine was successfully developed, He Zhongan immediately built a dozen more, increasing production capacity day by day. However, some were very unhappy with He Zhongan’s actions.

Coal in Beijing came from two sources: one from the west, specifically Mentougou, and one from the north. There were coal mines to the north of Beijing, but they were not as close to the city as Mentougou. Consequently, seven or eight out of every ten pieces of coal used in Beijing originated from Mentougou. The majority of this was controlled by the Fengyu Firm.

The Fengyu Firm did not just deal in coal; they also operated pawnshops, restaurants, and grain stores. This was the norm for the era. In the age of manual industry, scale did not necessarily bring cost-effectiveness. Most merchants relied on power, doing whatever was profitable within the sphere of influence of their backers. Vertical integration of the supply chain was impossible; they could only expand horizontally.

Hu Tu, the proprietor of the Fengyu Firm, reclined in his chair, eyes closed in rest, holding a purple clay teapot. He took a gentle sip of tea, listening to the dozens of accountants below clacking their abacuses. To Hu Tu, it was the most melodious music. Hu Tu was not the true owner of the Fengyu Firm, but he imitated the owner's mannerisms to perfection. After a good while, the sound of the abacuses ceased. Someone brought the summarized ledger and presented it to Manager Hu with both hands.

Hu Tu glanced at the ledger only once, then flew into a rage, smashing his purple clay teapot onto the floor. He shouted, "Is this how you handle business? What is the situation with the coal? Last month, we brought in twenty thousand taels. This month, it is even colder, so how are there only a few thousand taels in revenue?"

"Daring to embezzle the firm's money—I think you are all courting death!"

The manager in charge of the coal business fell to his knees with a thud, saying, "Please spare me, Great Manager! I have absolutely not embezzled anything. It is just that a new item has appeared in Beijing recently, and the lump coal is no longer selling."

"What item?"

"Coal balls and coal-ball stoves."

"What are those?"

The manager whispered, "We actually have them in the manor, sir."

Coal balls had become a trend in Beijing, and the rumors had already reached him. Proprietor Hu was stunned. A servant with a keen eye immediately brought over a burning coal-ball stove and a few coal balls as samples, explaining the benefits to Hu Tu in detail.

Hu Tu frowned immediately. He had not expected these coal balls to be so ingenious and so difficult to deal with. Hu Tu asked, "What is the price of these coal balls?"

"Five for one copper coin."

Hu Tu frowned, sensing danger. He asked, "How long do five of them burn?"

"They can burn for a full day and night."

"What?" Hu Tu was shocked. "How is that possible?"

Hu Tu knew exactly how much coal a fire brazier burned in a day. It was impossible for it to be as little as five coal balls.

"My subordinates were also shocked; we do not know how they are made."

Hu Tu pondered for a moment and said, "Find out whose business this is."

"We have already investigated. The other party made no effort to hide it. It is the He family, the Marquis of Wuning. It is being managed by He Zhongan, a concubine-born son of the Marquis."

"A son of the Marquis of Wuning is managing it himself?" Hu Tu laughed. "How undignified."

Generally speaking, nobles sent their household servants to manage their businesses, just as Hu Tu did. It was all about exploitation and extortion, requiring no technical skill—only loyal dogs.