Chapter 111 Soap and Matches

"Going to Qiongzhou Fucheng? Are you alone?" Tao Donglai asked in astonishment. Although it would be a matter of time before someone was sent to Qiongzhou Fucheng in the north of Hainan Island to inquire about the situation, it was not urgent for the Crossing Group, so the Executive Committee

I had never been in a hurry to arrange this matter, but unexpectedly He Xi took the initiative to bring it up.

"Mr. Tao, don't be nervous. I don't plan to stay there permanently. I just followed Shopkeeper Zhang to check out the situation. I also paid a visit to the boss of 'Anfuxing' to see how strong this business is.

." He Xi thought for a while and then added: "Isn't the executive committee planning to buy a boat? I think you should have discussed this matter with the two shopkeepers this afternoon. I will go out and take a look at the boat first.

The quality is good, let’s discuss the price.”

Tao Donglai thought for a while, nodded slowly and said: "We have to send people there sooner or later. You might as well go and set up a front station first. By the way, we can also hire some boatmen and sailors there. The salary can be relaxed appropriately. Once the boat is bought,

, the plan to open a separate mine will be launched as soon as possible."

Now it was He Xi's turn to be surprised: "So fast? No one has ever taken this route before. Isn't it too risky?"

"We have arranged for North America to help those two ships go to Hongji Port for on-site survey. When they come back, we will start to formally prepare materials and manpower." Tao Donglai sighed and said: "The material consumption in the early stage of development is estimated

It will be a big event, and the preparation work in all aspects is also very complicated. It can be said to be a miniature version of the Victory Port landing! You can also help to check the market conditions outside. If you think there are any business opportunities, give feedback to the base camp in time. "

He Xi nodded and said: "Speaking of this, I really have some suggestions. The products we are selling now, except for salt, are luxury goods, and the development of the daily necessities market is completely blank. Should we consider using the existing conditions to develop

Are some daily necessities with small profits but quick turnover coming out?"

Tao Donglai said: "Your suggestion coincides with the plan of the executive committee. We just talked about this matter when we held a meeting yesterday. However, we do not have the conditions to produce many daily necessities on a large scale. We can only

It’s done step by step, and often requires the coordination and cooperation of multiple departments. It’s not something that can be done right away if you understand the production process.”

He Xi was intrigued by Tao Donglai's words and quickly asked: "Tell me first, what products are you going to develop and put on the market next?"

Tao Donglai raised two fingers and said: "One is soap, and the other is matches."

Soap is nothing new historically. The Romans had already begun primitive soap production as early as the 2nd century AD, using animal fat and plant ash to make soap. The Chinese also have a long history of making soap.

, by the Southern Song Dynasty, the term "soap" had clearly appeared in the books at that time.

Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" clearly records the soap making method, and "Renzhai Zhizhi" written by Yang Shiying of the Song Dynasty also has very detailed soap making recipes. "Jasmine soap" was mentioned in "Jin Ping Mei",

From the perspective of future generations, it should be regarded as a relatively primitive soap. Li Yu, a native of the Qing Dynasty, recorded in the book "Xianqing Oupi Ji": "The best soap, after one bath, the fragrance will not dissipate for a long time."

In the classic "A Dream of Red Mansions", there is also a description of Jia Baoyu's use of soap.

However, the soap used by the Chinese is still very different from the soap soap that is seen daily in later generations. The production efficiency and decontamination ability are far inferior to the latter. It is very common among the people. There is no doubt that soap even in this comparison

In the primitive era, it was still a daily necessity with huge market potential.

However, the department that first proposed the production of soap at the Executive Committee was not the Ministry of Chemical Industry or the Ministry of Commerce, but the Ministry of Military and Police. The Ministry of Military and Police proposed this plan not out of economic considerations. Their purpose was quite clear, that is, through

Soap is produced to obtain the by-product glycerin, which is commonly known as glycerin. In addition to being widely used in medicine, printing and dyeing, food, paper and other industries, glycerin also plays a very important role in the production of nitroglycerin, namely

The main ingredient of safety explosives invented by Swedish scientist Nobel in the 19th century.

Of course, to make nitroglycerin explosives, glycerin alone is not enough. Sulfuric acid and nitric acid are also indispensable. And even if there are detailed formulas and production processes in the public's large database, mass production of explosives is still extremely dangerous.

Things cannot be accomplished overnight. The development process required is many times more complicated than the boring text descriptions in the database. It may take several years before glycerin can be truly used in the military field.

When the Military and Police Ministry proposed this plan, they did not expect to be able to produce yellow explosives in a short time. They just wanted to use it as a pre-research project for future military technology. But in any case, the manufacture of soap or toilet soap is indeed

A project with good market prospects is not too difficult to put into production.

Sanya is rich in coconut resources. The metallurgical workshop has produced a set of oil extraction equipment in accordance with the requirements of the Executive Committee. The next step is to build a small oil extraction workshop to specialize in the production of coconut oil. After two or three years, the Ministry of Agriculture will

As the oil palms planted in the area begin to bear fruit, part of the palm oil can be supplemented. There is no need to worry about the supply of oils used in soap making. As for caustic soda, another material required for soap making, you only need to wait until the hydropower station is put into use.

, it can be produced through the simple method of electrolyzing salt water. From a technological perspective, there are no obvious technical obstacles to large-scale soap production.

After the Executive Committee approved the production plan for soap, the Ministry of Chemical Industry immediately proposed a production plan for matches. Their reason was simple, that is, all the materials needed to prepare matches were already available, and there was no reason not to produce such a daily necessity.

——Even if you don’t sell it, you will use it sooner or later.

The raw materials for making matches are not complicated. They are mainly potassium chlorate, manganese dioxide, sulfur and other substances on the match head, as well as the firing surface coated with red phosphorus. As early as the beginning of time travel, when the executive committee organized a work team to visit Li Dong

, the Damao Phosphorus Manganese Mine located in the inland area has been discovered. The phosphate ore reserves here are nearly 10 million tons, and the manganese ore reserves are also over one million tons, which are enough to support the production needs of Chuanchuan Group.

However, due to current traffic conditions, only small-scale mining can be carried out, and then the Li people will carry the ore to the mineral processing plant in Tiandu for deep processing. It is only possible to open a mineral processing plant near the mining site when conditions are mature.

Improve the mining efficiency. However, even with the current production efficiency, it is more than enough to meet the supply of manganese and phosphorus required for the production of matches.

As for sulfur, we still mainly rely on imports, but the supply is quite sufficient, and it is even easier to buy than coal. After all, sulfur is not a necessity of life, and the market will not be as tight as coal.

The most troublesome thing is potassium chlorate. It is necessary to first use plant ash, saltpeter or alum and other potassium-rich raw materials to prepare potassium salt, and then go through a series of chemical reactions to make potassium chlorate. Based on the current production level of the chemical industry sector, for the time being,

It is still unlikely to produce potassium chlorate on a large scale, which may become a technical bottleneck limiting match production.

Of course, there are also some secondary issues that need to be resolved one by one, such as the location of the future explosives workshop. Such a dangerous place cannot be placed in a densely populated area. Even a laboratory for pre-research of explosives must be built in a relatively remote area.

Mountainous area. In the end, the Executive Committee found a mountain col near the Tiandu Iron Mine, and next to the later Songhe Reservoir, and designated a piece of land for the Military and Police Department as a future ordnance research and development institute. This place is far away from residential areas, even if

The explosion will not damage the No. 2 base and some major production workshops. There is a mountain lake next to it. In the event of a fire, you can get water nearby to extinguish the fire.

In addition, the packaging of matches has also led to the demand for papermaking. Although a large amount of paper brought by the public has not been used so far, and many occasions still rely on laptops and tablets for paperless office, but we must prepare for a rainy day. Sooner or later, the future

You still have to rely on pens and paper. Besides, the uses of paper are far more than that. If the toilet paper in the reserve is used up, do everyone really have to use bamboo blades and blades of grass to wipe their butts? So the executive committee only approved

In addition to the match production project, the construction of a papermaking workshop has also been included in the next batch of construction project list of the Ministry of Construction.

Early the next morning, He Xi left Victory Port on the merchant ship "An Fuxing". He was going to Qiongzhou Fucheng in the north of Hainan Island, which was later known as Haikou City. That is where the entire Qiongzhou Island is now governed.

The supplies and information are also richer than in the small place of Yazhou. For the business that He Xi is engaged in, it is undoubtedly a better stage than Yazhou.

The other merchant ship "Fu Ruifeng" departed an hour late. This was because shopkeeper Li got Schneider's instruction and deliberately delayed the time. After the ship "An Fuxing" set off, Schneider took the

Shopkeeper Li went to the warehouse to pick up another batch of goods unknown to his competitors - one thousand kilograms of refined salt.

Schneider does not intend to support a second local dealer besides Luo Shengdong in Hainan Island. This is not only to take care of Luo Shengdong’s interests, but also to avoid competition between the two dealers in the local market.

Luo Shengdong has the ships and troops at hand, so it is just right to start this private salt business locally. Developing one more dealer is actually a disguised waste of resources. The situation of "Fu Ruifeng" is different.

The trading house has its roots in Guangzhou. If we can use this relationship to sell the private salt produced by Chuan Chuan Group to the mainland, then we will truly open the door to the private salt business.
Chapter completed!