Chapter 1354: High-Value-Added Products
In reality, Joseph's minor inventions posed no significant technical challenge.
For instance, the cheese mixer was a direct import from a chemical plant, while the sausage mincer was adapted from a coal mine's pulverizer.
With the world only just entering the Age of Steam, people's minds hadn't fully opened up yet, so any engineering application Joseph proposed could lead to substantial increases in productivity.
Driven by two revolutionary food processing innovations, Parma's fiscal revenue had surged by over 20% for two consecutive years—it was no surprise, as selling starch at the price of meat was incredibly profitable—and this was even before raw material procurement and sales channels were fully established.
As industrially produced agricultural products from Parma gradually entered the Balkan and Levant regions starting late last year, this year's fiscal revenue growth was projected to exceed 30%.
The continuous influx of wealth further elevated the French princess's standing in Parma; even King Ferdinand now consulted her on all major matters.
Below the display, Count Erlach, still savoring the taste, instructed his servant to order 20 pounds of "Parma King's Sausage" to enjoy at his leisure back home.
Originally, Joseph had intended to name the starch sausage "King of Kings," but Thérèse warned that it might evoke memories of Persia's eunuch king, so he settled for a slightly less grand title, removing one "King."
Over the next three days, the novelties displayed in the various national exhibition zones further broadened Count Erlach's horizons—
Florence, employing patented hot-blast firing technology for ceramics, quickly surpassed Britain, the industry leader, in the quality of its porcelain while also lowering fuel consumption.
Combined with Florence's long artistic tradition, its exquisite ceramic products were highly sought after by European nations, capturing a significant portion of the British market share.
Meanwhile, on display, expensive leather bags, gloves, and high heels branded with the "Artist" emblem captivated Dorian's attention. Under Joseph's planning, the "Artist" luxury brand had rapidly gained popularity in less than a year, bringing Florence substantial profits.
Modena's sugar beet processing equipment hummed, transforming basket after basket of sugar beets into glistening white sugar through a series of demonstration steps before countless onlookers...
The tempered glass produced by the Venetians using French patents was incredibly tough; a strong man hammered it several times with an iron mallet before managing to chip a hole, yet the glass still didn't shatter completely...
Genoa went even further, disassembling a steam paddleboat, transporting it to the Grand Ducal Palace in Baden, and reassembling it there. It was the latest model of cargo ship, built by the Genoese shipyard, capable of carrying 300 tons of goods from Genoa to Cairo in just 12 days...
Count Erlach remained immersed in this new world, completely ignoring Switzerland's own exhibition area.
Firstly, he was already preparing to depart from Bern's political scene, so the exhibition's success or failure was irrelevant; secondly, Switzerland's exhibits were all antiquated curiosities, attracting hardly any visitors.
What puzzled Count Erlach most was that it was already the fourth day of the Expo, yet the central area of the French exhibition remained closed to the public. Only a "Comfortable Parisian Life" display was set up on the periphery, showcasing Paris's advanced urban facilities, including transportation, lighting, drainage, running water, medical services, schools, and leisure options.
And in a corner, there was a steam-powered "high-pressure fire extinguishing gun," reportedly capable of being pulled by a horse-drawn carriage to any blaze, continuously spraying water up to the height of a three-story building right from the street, which gave him a profound sense of security.
Count Erlach couldn't resist asking a staff member near the stand about Parisian housing prices. Upon hearing the reply of "a minimum of 50,000 francs," his restless heart instantly calmed.
It wasn't until the fifth day of the Expo, after Count Erlach had toured virtually every other exhibition area, that the fences around the central French zone were finally removed.
All visitors immediately surged towards it, narrowly avoiding a stampede.
Yes, Joseph had deliberately postponed the opening of the French zone to ensure other countries had ample time to display their wares, otherwise, those other sections might have been completely deserted.
Of course, this also maximized the sense of mystery surrounding the French exhibition, facilitating his subsequent "promotional" activities.
Due to the immense number of visitors, a queue stretching several hundred meters formed outside the French zone.
Ultimately, Count Erlach leveraged his status as a diplomat and slipped ten francs to the Baden soldiers maintaining order, allowing him to squeeze into the exhibition area ahead of the crowd.
The first thing to appear before him was a colossal cast-iron block, twice a man's height, inscribed with the words, "Steel and Coal Will Change the World."
To the east of the cast-iron block, a bespectacled French technician pointed at a glass case before him, announcing loudly, "This 'miracle metal' possesses exceptional hardness. As you can see, these drills and milling cutters, crafted from it, can effortlessly bore and cut through steel with virtually no wear."
As he spoke, a nearby technician laboriously secured a thigh-thick iron ingot onto a steam-powered lathe, then gestured to an assistant to stoke the boiler with more coal.
When the drill bit on the lathe began to spin rapidly, the technician slowly pulled a lever, and the drill bit plunged into the iron ingot as if encountering no resistance, sending iron filings spraying everywhere.
In less than half a minute, the technician pulled the lever in reverse, retracting the drill bit.
Count Erlach observed that a perfectly smooth and neat, finger-width circular hole had appeared in the iron ingot.
He immediately thought, 'If that weren't an iron ingot but an iron rod, then what I'd be seeing right now would be a high-quality gun barrel.'
To process a gun barrel in just a few minutes—what terrifying speed of production!
He hadn't guessed wrong. In fact, France had begun manufacturing gun barrels using boring techniques over a year ago.
The French technician pointed to the drill bit under the glass cover. "Thanks to the continuous efforts of our scholars, the price of these 'miracle metal' drill bits has now been driven down to 800 francs apiece! Member states of the common market will receive priority ordering rights."
The actual cost of this Hadfield steel drill bit, mind you, was less than two francs.
While it seemed astronomically expensive for a small piece of metal to sell for 800 francs, considering its long lifespan, one would need to replace dozens of ordinary high-carbon steel drill bits to accomplish the same task.
Furthermore, for materials that high-carbon steel drills couldn't penetrate, such as high-carbon steel components, this was the only viable option.
So, this price was already quite reasonable.
This was the high added value brought by top-tier technological products!
Sure enough, Count Erlach heard someone with a German accent exclaim loudly:
"I'd like to order three drill bits, 5 millimeters in diameter. Sir, is the 'drilling machine' behind you also for sale?"
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