Xie Yuxi has almost completed the initial process.
However, as before, it will take at least a month to wait for the approval of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau of the Concession to get the formal contract and land title.
Fortunately, the land Li Yu bought previously had a formal contract. Li Yu paid the remaining 8,775 taels of silver, and the land became his.
Now you can find a construction company to build the laboratory.
Builders were called "builders" in old Shanghai.
The best way to find them is through well-connected people in the media industry. Shi Liangcai, a reporter from Shenbao, recommended a person named Yang Sisheng to Li Yu.
Yang Ruitai Construction Factory, the first Chinese-owned construction factory in Shanghai's modern architectural history, was founded by him.
Yang Sisheng was from Chuansha, later known as Pudong.
He and his apprentices are the famous Chuansha Gang in the history of Shanghai Bund architecture.
More than two-thirds of the Bund building complex, known as the International Architectural Expo, was built by them. In history, there was a saying that "people in Pudong built half of Shanghai."
The designer must have a very clear mind when drawing, otherwise if Party A is not satisfied, the cost of rework will be too high.
This was physical work. After that, Lin Huiyin really wanted to study architecture. The reason why the University of Pennsylvania rejected her was that it did not accept female students. The other reason was that even if it accepted female students, the architecture major would not accept female students because it was more tiring.
Li Yu took out a piece of paper and explained to him the model that explains the tensile resistance of steel bars and the compression resistance of concrete. Then, when the middle part of the floor slab is stressed, a dent will appear. The length of the lower part is in tension; the upper part becomes shorter and is compressed.
Although it has reached the point where it can be copied, it is still too troublesome compared to later generations of laser printing. The most important thing is that it is crazy to change the drawing by hand.
Xiao Dezhang said: "It's all my own business, so I can't work hard."
Beijing's silk and satin industry is known as the Badaxiang, which means eight silk shops with the word "Xiang".
Li Yu said: "Just tell me how much money you need, and I will pay half in advance."
Even now that the location of Xiangyi has been changed to No. 1, Dashilan Silk, it has gained the reputation of "No. 1" in Dashilar Silk.
During this time, it is estimated that Yang Sisheng and others can also handle the leveling of the site, purchase materials, and select construction personnel. The drawings can be seamlessly connected and the project construction can be completed as quickly as possible.
When he learned Li Yu's name, he immediately came happily.
Yang Sisheng took the pen and drew strokes in the air, and then kept looking at the map. After a long time, he said: "I have an idea in my mind. Don't worry, Imperial Master, I can definitely complete it smoothly for you!"
The Italians themselves had no choice but to let Yang Sisheng take over the bid.
Li Yu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you."
Xie Yuxi said: "No, all they sell are western clothes. I want the most traditional ones."
In fact, it is possible to build it higher, but Li Yu knew that they did not have much experience and would not dare to build if it was too high.
"If it is true as the emperor's master said, maybe it will really work." Yang Sisheng said.
Unexpectedly, Yang Sisheng succeeded in this job. The Customs Building became a landmark building in Shanghai. Yang Sisheng immediately gained a reputation. Since then, his business has been booming and he has quickly become a wealthy man and a major construction company in Shanghai.
In the late Qing Dynasty, finances were quite tight, but Lafayette certainly couldn't bear the hardship, and he worked very hard on making clothes.
However, when they arrived at Dashilar, they were attracted by the first one, the Xiangyi.
After working in construction for most of his life, Yang Sisheng has a relatively good understanding of the geology of Shanghai. He said: "The conditions of that land should be reasonable, but I have never built a house of such a high height. I don't know if the bricks and stones can support it."
"Okay!" Yang Sisheng said, "With the words of the emperor, I feel more at ease! No matter how difficult the project is, I will complete it for you with the best quality."
Yang Sisheng knew this was an opportunity, and besides, how could foreigners allow foreigners to create the customs that represented his own sovereignty? This was really shameful, so he decided to “compete with foreigners even at the risk of losing his fortune.”
After staying in Shanghai for so many days, it was time for Li Yu and Xie Yuxi to return to the capital.
From then on, Xiangyi Hao began to sell tribute silks and satins from the palace to the outside world, and introduced royal silk products to the public, attracting a large number of dignitaries at once.
The two still took the ship to Tianjin Port, and then took the train to Zhengyangmen Railway Station.
Gu Lanzhou said: "The construction difficulty is not as great as expected. I think the garden Mr. Hartong wants to build is not far away, and there will be someone to take care of it in the future."
"This can't be done," Li Yu said, "it's not a small project."
But the price of Xiangyihao’s clothes is also quite high.
The one who spoke turned out to be Xiao De Zhang.
After arriving at the west side of Jing'an Temple, Yang Sisheng also called his apprentice, Gu Lanzhou.
Two years later, Yang Sisheng would spend almost all his family wealth to build Pudong Middle School. This school has been passed down and has produced many celebrities, such as Jiang Jingguo and Jiang Weiguo, the two sons of Principal Chiang.
Thanks to this trump card, the Cheung Yee is also able to compete with Ruifuxiang's competitors.
Considering that there were mountains of silk and satin tributes in the palace, Cixi agreed to convert the silk and satin tributes in the palace into silver taels as the cost of processing palace clothes to Xiangyihao at the suggestion of Xiao Dezhang.
Li Yu quickly supported him: "Old sir, you don't have to be polite, just treat me as an ordinary person."
China’s infrastructure-mad gene seems to have been planted very early.
The one that has been passed down to this day is Ruifuxiang.
Li Yu said with a smile: "It's not enough to rely on myself alone, so I came up with the idea of building a school and a research laboratory."
Reinforced concrete has been used in the United States, but it is not available in China yet.
In addition, Gu Lanzhou also contributed a lot to the Shikumen architecture with a strong Shanghai flavor. Almost 2,000 buildings were built in Shanghai. Today we see the word "lan" in the head, such as Lan Huili, Lan Xingli, Lan Yi
Li, Lantingli, Lanzhali, etc. are all written by Gu Lanzhou.
Li Yu and Xie Yuxi entered the silk and satin shop and heard a sharp voice coming from inside:
"Shopkeeper Feng, these silks were specially ordered by Lafayette. Combined with the costumes you made for the Nanfu Shengping Office several times ago, they should be more than enough."
It seems that the first reinforced concrete building in Chinese history will be born in their hands.
"So that's what happened," Xiao Dezhang said to Feng Baoyi, "Shopkeeper Feng, this is the emperor's master. He showed off his best housekeeping skills and made good clothes for the emperor."
Yang Sisheng said: "I dropped out of school when I was young. I have never read a book. I deeply feel that only studying can have a future. I also intend to build a school in Chuansha. Now I hear that the Imperial Master wants to build a school that can rival foreigners. I am really excited!"
Li Yu said: "To the west of Jing'an Temple."
Li Yu spread out a floor plan: "This land is not big, only about twenty acres. My idea is to build three buildings, arranged in a concave shape. In order to increase the building area, build them as high as possible.
At least four floors.”
Li Yu thought for a moment and said, "It just so happens that I should have one made as well. Let's go to Dashilan to have a look tomorrow."
The specialty of this store is that it specializes in high-end custom-made garments. Although the scale is not as large as Ruifuxiang, the silks and satins are all tributes from the palace, which are rarer and more expensive, giving it a bit of a luxury feel.
It can also accumulate experience for the future construction of larger primary and secondary schools and university halls.
Of course, Lin Huiyin himself was obsessed with this, so it was another matter to pass the art major.
Li Yu smiled and said: "Of course it works."
Although there is no bridge on the Yangtze River and requires two transfers, it is still much faster than a ship.
Li Yu drew a rough sketch to express his ideas.
At that time, the Qing government chose an Italian builder, but the Italians were unable to construct the building due to groundwater problems.
Yang Sisheng has become famous. When he has money, he also wants to engage in education. He especially wants to help the development of his hometown, which is now Pudong.
The shopkeeper Feng Baoyi said: "Mr. De, I have a favor for you."
After that, he built more than 30 major projects such as the Jardine Matheson Building, the British Consulate on the Bund, the British Consulate in Nanjing, the British Legation in Beijing, and the Shanghai Taikoo Matheson Building.
The construction company responsible for the construction of Hartung Garden was also a Shanghai contractor named Wang Songyun. Not only did he build Hartung Garden, but he also built the Huizhong Hotel (the predecessor of the Peace Hotel).
After the two visited the site, they felt that it was a good place. Yang Sisheng said: "The emperor is really good at choosing. This place radiates from the concession and the suburbs. It is really a good place to run a school."
Yang Sisheng asked: "I don't quite understand, what force?"
On the train from Tianjin to Beijing, Xie Yuxi suddenly said to Li Yu: "Where is the better place to make clothes in Beijing?"
The reason why Xiao Dezhang suggested this was actually because he and Feng Baoyi co-founded this Xiangyi restaurant.
Historically, Yang Sisheng would figure this out on his own two years later, so Li Yu told him in advance.
By the way, many comprehensive universities recognize that the ones with the highest overall quality of beauties are from the Department of Architecture~~~~
In short, the current drawings are quite precious and of course their value is very high. They won't be able to produce them for a while.
Nowadays, without CAD, drawing design drawings is a very laborious task. It is done manually on large A0-level drawings with rulers and pencils. After the drawing is completed, the sulfuric acid paper is covered on the white paper to trace, and the sulfuric acid paper is
As a base map, it is spread on diazo salt photosensitive paper, clamped with glass, exposed to the sun, and then smoked with ammonia, and it becomes the so-called blueprint.
Yang Sisheng said: "If it is to build a school, I will do it even if I don't accept your money!"
They are all the most basic things in structural mechanics. Even if Yang Sisheng didn't understand mechanics, Li Yu quickly understood what he meant by drawing the picture like this.
Li Yu was not afraid of spending money on this, so he asked them to design it in the best possible direction.
Since what Li Yu wanted to build was a laboratory, he could only find foreign designers, who were more or less familiar with the construction models of Western colleges and research institutes.
Xiao Dezhang saw Li Yu and said, "Hey, it's the Imperial Master here."
Yang Sisheng said: "I will take the guys to clean up the ground first and prepare the foundation. When the drawings come, we can start construction immediately."
Later generations can use machinery to make dense pile foundations that extend into the ground or to improve soil quality, but these methods are either very expensive or require the use of modern construction machinery. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were not many construction machinery.
There are no excavators, so we encounter many more problems.
"Master Imperial Master, I'm so polite!" Yang Sisheng was about to salute Li Yu after entering the door.
The design fee is not a small number.
Hartung's garden is a big project, and the two places are not far apart. From now on, things about building materials will be much easier.
Well, it seems that not only does she like traditional courtyard houses, but now she also wants to try traditional clothes.
After the design is completed, how to build it becomes a big problem. As we all know, the geological conditions in Shanghai are not good, the soil is soft, and there is a lot of underground water. Therefore, building houses in Shanghai has always been expensive and difficult.
Gu Lanzhou is also from Pudong, and now he has also established a construction factory.
More than ten years ago, the Qing government was planning to build a customs building in Shanghai, and the designer was British. There is nothing to say about this. In fact, until later generations, architectural design, especially conceptual design, was still the strongest in Europe, and it involved more than just architecture.
, and aesthetics, art and the like are indeed the traditional strengths of Europeans. Although many of them are just their cultural aesthetics, in the art world for so many years, the right to speak has almost always been in the hands of Europeans, even the old Americans.
Can't take it away.
Li Yu said: "I just want to make some daily casual clothes, not western clothes."
Li Yu was surprised: "There are so many clothing stores in Shanghai, why not buy them directly?"
His idea is to build a laboratory with as large a space as possible, and the clear height of each floor should be as high as three meters or more. Of course, the bottom floor will be higher.
But Yang Sisheng said: "You are not an ordinary person. You are not only the emperor's teacher, but you also understand so much foreign knowledge. It is not simple, not simple!"
With his promise, Li Yu immediately found a well-known design company in the Shanghai Concession, British Aird & Co., and asked them to produce design drawings.
Li Yu said: "Although I don't dare to say whether I can compete with foreigners, I can't be worse than them."
"Good morning, Mr. De," Li Yu said, "I am ordering some clothes for this lady from the United States of America and for myself today."
Elder & Co. designed many Shanghai Bund buildings, including a villa for Li Hongzhang, in which Zhang Ailing was born.
However, Elder & Co. has not designed many school-type buildings before, and it still needs to find information from many sources.
It was still a bit troublesome, so Li Yu planned to find a way to get the Qing government to promote the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway as soon as possible. Strictly speaking, it should be from Beijing to Nanjing Pukou. From Pukou, you need to take a ferry across the Yangtze River, and then continue to take the train to Shanghai.
Xiao Dezhang looked at Xie Yuxi: "We don't make foreign clothes here."
Yang Sisheng said: "Please sir, take me to the land to have a look."
Xiaode Zhang's real name is Zhang Xiangzhai, and the word "Xiangyi" is taken from the character "Xiang" of Zhang Xiangzhai and the character "Yi" of Feng Baoyi.
So Li Yu said: "You can use cement with sand and gravel and steel bars, and place the steel bars at the bottom of the floor to withstand tensile stress; the concrete can resist compression and be placed on the top of the floor."
This was a very common condition in later generations, but Yang Sisheng was a little confused after hearing this. He thought for a while and asked: "Where is the land of the emperor's master?"
It can be said that the city of Shanghai is built up bit by bit with real money and silver. There are too many soft soil layers that are not suitable for foundations, so they can only be dealt with in various ways that burn money.
When Feng Baoyi heard that he was the Imperial Master, he quickly said: "Since I am the Imperial Master, of course I must use good fabrics. You two are invited."
Xiao Dezhang will not care about the specific operation of the silk and satin shop, but Feng Baoyi was born in a silk family in Hangzhou and has been making clothes for most of his life, so his professional level is quite high.
He chose robes, mandarins, coats, and skirts for each of them.
It's really not cheap after all. The two custom-made clothes cost more than sixty taels in total. These are just regular clothes, and they are indeed luxury goods.
If it is more complicated court uniforms for officials, they are really expensive, and the court does not distribute them. No wonder many officials cannot afford them. Some decorations such as gems can only be disguised with colored glaze.