Chapter 149: Optical Products

“Look, a 50mm magnifying glass, f/4,” Lin Hanlong said, taking out the magnifying glass and handing it to Wu Nanhai. Wu Nanhai casually picked up a piece of paper from the table and looked at it through the magnifying glass.

“Hmm, it’s very well made. Very clear,” Wu Nanhai said with a click of his tongue, then stroked the handle of the magnifying glass. “If it weren’t for this wooden handle, I would have thought we brought it with us.”

“High-end magnifying glasses are still mostly made of natural materials. Wood is just one of them.”

Wu Nanhai put down the magnifying glass and nodded. “Alright, no problem at all. Our agriculture department can always use more of these.” He turned to a naturalized citizen staff member and said, “Go, get the delivery order and have them handle the handover procedures.”

“Very good. That settles it then.”

“By the way, that saccharimeter I mentioned last time, you said you finished it?” Wu Nanhai’s voice became serious. This was the real purpose of his visit.

“Oh, that.” Lin Hanlong took out a box from his drawer with a nonchalant air. “I made one. Take a look.”

A saccharimeter is a rapid detection instrument that uses optical principles to quickly determine the concentration or refractive index of sugar solutions and other non-sugar solutions. It plays an important role in sugar manufacturing, food, beverage, and other industrial and agricultural production fields. Besides measuring sugar content, it can also be used to measure the concentration of various sauces such as soy sauce and ketchup. In agricultural production, it is suitable for determining the accurate harvest time of fruits and sugar crops, and for grading them by sweetness.

Its principle is that light refracts when it enters another medium from one medium, and the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence is a constant value. This ratio is called the refractive index. The content of soluble solids in fruit and vegetable juices is directly proportional to the refractive index at the same temperature and pressure. By measuring the refractive index of fruit and vegetable juices, the concentration of the juice can be determined.

The saccharimeter Wu Nanhai took out basically looked like a sugarcane stalk with one end cut at an angle. The pointed end was inlaid with glass, and the cylindrical end had several knobs. Wu Nanhai brought the saccharimeter to his eye, pointed the tip towards the light, and adjusted the knobs with his fingers. He turned to Lin Hanlong. “Old Lin, sorry, I need to take a look.”

Lin Hanlong nodded. “Of course.”

Wu Nanhai turned his head. “Chuqing! Bring those bottles over.”

The bottles contained plain water and sugar water mixed in different proportions. Wu Nanhai first dripped a few drops of plain water onto the glass and adjusted a knob. Lin Hanlong handed him a piece of flannel from the side. Wu Nanhai took it, wiped off the water droplets, and then dripped on the sugar water. He squinted at the light for a while, wiped off the sugar water, and then dripped on a few more drops from another bottle. After repeating this several times, he put down the saccharimeter and let out a breath.

“Old Lin, you’re amazing! This thing is very well made, and the sugar content measurement is very accurate.” Wu Nanhai was now all smiles. “Very good, very good. I’ll take as many of these as you have. I’ll have someone write a report later.”

Lin Hanlong nodded. “Just sign the form, and then get the Agriculture Committee’s seal on it later. You can take this sample now.” He took out a wooden box from his drawer, opened it, and handed it to Wu Nanhai. “A matching box.”

“The lens inside is a mass-produced product, no problem. But the prism is hand-ground. Mass production will have to wait for the plane grinding machine.”

“Oh, oh, how long will that take? I plan to send a batch over before the next crushing season, and I need to teach them how to use it in advance.”

“You’ll have to ask the navy about that. They’re in a hurry for the binoculars. They say they plan to install two on each ship.”

“How many would that be! Sugarcane is an important source of our wealth, we can’t let it go,” Wu Nanhai said anxiously. He was also being pushed by Wen Tong—Wen Tong was promoting a sugarcane production combination in Leizhou, cultivating improved varieties, and pricing based on quality was a key part of Leizhou’s sugar industry policy. Without a saccharimeter, the rules and regulations formulated by Wen Tong could not be implemented.

“Tell me about it,” Lin Hanlong said casually, without any specific commitment.

Wu Nanhai came to his senses. “I’ll talk to the Executive Committee for you. This optical instrument sector is too important. We need to increase investment.”

“With you on the case, one man is worth three.”

“Hahahahahahahaha…” Wu Nanhai laughed dryly a few times, raised a finger, and Chuqing quickly opened a straw bag she was carrying and took out a wooden box.

“These are new cigars from the farm. Give them a try.”

“No, no, I haven’t even finished the limited edition you gave me last time…” Lin Hanlong said politely.

“Try something new. This is the Li Quan limited edition,” Wu Nanhai said with a smile. “Give it a try. The tobacco leaves were obtained for me by the Jesuits from Macau, made with real Caribbean wrappers.”

It took Lin Hanlong a while to remember who Li Quan was. He smiled and took the box. The box was made of a precious wood and gave off a faint woody scent. According to Wu Nanhai, the wood was also imported from Southeast Asia. The polished lid of the plain wood box was branded with black characters—even some foreign script he didn’t recognize. The box also had a green “tax-free” label from the General Finance Directorate’s Monopoly Bureau. It looked very impressive.

In comparison, the last limited edition was just packaged in cardboard. It was clear which one was more high-end. Lin Hanlong noticed that the packaging for the Li Quan limited edition said “three sticks,” and he couldn’t help but curse Wu Nanhai for being an even bigger profiteer.

“Not bad, not bad,” he also said with a laugh. Wu Nanhai then took out two glass bottles from his pocket.

“This is blueberry fruit wine brewed by Xue Ziliang himself with blueberries he grew at my place. The alcohol content is not high. You can drink it as a beverage—it’s quite hot here.”

“How can I accept this? You’re always bringing me things…” Lin Hanlong felt a little embarrassed. Wu Nanhai had been bringing him things off and on for the past few months.

“It’s nothing. You’re busy with work here and work late every day. You need to supplement your nutrition,” Wu Nanhai said nonchalantly. “Isn’t the farm for serving the Yuanen?”

Wu Nanhai said, waddling out, still holding the saccharimeter box. His naturalized citizen staff followed him out in a line. As he was about to leave the workshop, something caught his eye. He turned his head, let out an “ah,” and then darted towards a corner of the workshop.

“Old Lin!!!”

Lin Hanlong rushed out and was met by Wu Nanhai’s glowing green eyes. He couldn’t help but think, “Oh no!”

Fatty Wu pointed a trembling finger at a row of curved cast iron parts and stammered, “Mi-mi-microscope… You, why didn’t you tell me?” He was pointing at a row of microscope bases, identical to those used in later generations.

Lin Hanlong smiled wryly. “You didn’t ask me if I could make them. These were ordered by the Ministry of Health, and they’re in a hurry too.”

Fatty Wu jumped up. “I didn’t ask because I thought this thing was hard to make! Didn’t they say it couldn’t be mass-produced until the 19th century?”

“I used Leeuwenhoek’s method, using surface tension to make aspherical lenses. It’s quite easy to do,” Lin Hanlong said with feigned nonchalance. “Of course, with a slight improvement, we can produce products of multiple specifications with a precision of within one percent.”

Wu Nanhai stared at Lin Hanlong for a while, then chuckled. “Old Lin! When it comes to optics, you’re the man among us 500! You can do what others can’t!”

“Not really, there are still—”

Wu Nanhai’s hand landed heavily on Lin Hanlong’s shoulder.

“Old Lin! You’ve made a great contribution to our Agriculture Department! I, Wu Nanhai, understand that very well!” Fatty Wu patted his chest. “No more nonsense. From now on, the Agriculture Department will fully support the work of the optics factory. Such an important matter should be given priority for development. The Executive Committee, I’ll handle them!”

The two laughed heartily again.

Wu Nanhai suddenly remembered something. “Old Lin, according to your habit, you must have made a few prototypes before mass production, right?” As he said this, the green light emanating from his eyes was enough to illuminate the entire workshop.

Apart from looking a bit crude, the self-made microscope Lin Hanlong took out looked no different from the products of later generations at first glance. He pointed to the objective lens. “Three magnifications: 50, 150, 300. But the positioning mechanism is not very well made. Be careful when turning it. You need to adjust it a little to avoid the light path being off.” He then pointed to the eyepiece. “The eyepiece is not painted. Clean it in time after use, otherwise the sweat will corrode it.”

Lin Hanlong found a cloth to wrap the microscope. “I didn’t make a box. You’ll have to make do. This is a prototype, and it still has many small problems. Be careful when you use it and let me know if there are any issues.”

“No problem! No problem!” Wu Nanhai walked out with great satisfaction, holding the saccharimeter in his left hand and clutching the microscope tightly in his right.

After seeing off Wu Nanhai, who looked like a devil leaving the village, Lin Hanlong had his apprentice bring him another towel to wipe his face, and then quickly began his second inspection of the workshop. The workers’ skill level was not high, and even the experienced ones were only semi-proficient. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and accidents happened from time to time, making it impossible to guard against them.

Lin Hanlong had just finished inspecting half of the grinding machine group and was carefully listening to the machine’s sound when someone came to report that a Chief Qian was at the door.

This Chief Qian was sturdily built with prominent muscle lines. He wore the standard Yuanen attire of a T-shirt, shorts, and sunglasses, with a pistol holster strapped to his thigh, revealing the square butt of a gun. Although it was standard attire, a closer look revealed that his outfit was quite different from others. The sunglasses were the kind Tom Cruise wore in Top Gun, the solid-colored collared T-shirt actually looked tailored, the shorts were clearly 5.11 or similar military gear, and even the shoes were not the common running shoes seen on the market.

The visitor took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of bright, piercing eyes. It was the current Speaker and leader of the Otaku Party, Qian Shuiting.

“Old Qian! What wind blew you here?” Lin Hanlong greeted him with a laugh.

“I was just at the machinery factory for a survey today. I came to see you after I finished. How about it, have you eaten?”

Lin Hanlong shook his head. “I haven’t had time. I’ll have the cafeteria send something over later.”

Qian Shuiting took out a large box from the straw bag behind him. “I’ve prepared something. Why don’t we eat together?”

Inside the box were two large lunch boxes preserved with ice. Lin Hanlong glanced inside. “Sushi! Where did you get this?”

Inside the box were pieces of rice balls, rolled with seaweed and other ingredients, and topped with red and white fish meat. It was the Japanese sushi known to everyone in later generations.

Lin Hanlong invited Qian Shuiting into his office. The desk was too cluttered to clear a space, so they had someone set up a small folding table, which served as a dining table after a quick wipe. The two sat opposite each other. Lin Hanlong called his apprentice to bring a few bottles of kvass—it wasn’t appropriate to drink alcohol during work hours.

Qian Shuiting said that he had worked in a Japanese restaurant when he was working in California and that making sushi was no problem for him. Unfortunately, there was no suitable sushi rice locally, so the texture was just so-so. Of course, there was no sushi vinegar either, but Tianchu had brewed white vinegar, which could be used as a substitute for now. The Feiyun often went out fishing, and he had also made arrangements with several fishermen to send him any good catch, so the seafood was fresh.

“Tianchu does have Japanese soy sauce. After all, everyone often eats sashimi,” Qian Shuiting said, opening a lunch box. “This is fresh wasabi I got from Wu Nanhai—I ground it myself, it’s not wasabi paste.”

“Speaking of Wu Nanhai, he just left here.” Lin Hanlong, who always believed in sharing the fun, took out the Li Quan limited edition cigars from the table. “How about one later?”

“No, you can have them yourself,” Qian Shuiting said. “I need to be strict with myself now.”

At first, Lin Hanlong thought Qian Shuiting meant he was taking care of his health, but then he understood. “You mean you can’t accept gifts from others?”

“That’s what I mean.”

“It’s just a box of cigars…” Lin Hanlong said dismissively. This kind of private gift-giving to build relationships was something almost every Yuanen did.

Qian Shuiting shook his head. “I’m not short of a few circulation coupons. It’s better to just buy it directly to avoid it becoming a stain on my record if it comes up. Old Wu is a good person, but I can’t risk someone—” He stopped, probably thinking his words were inappropriate.

“You think this is the US…” Lin Hanlong felt that Old Qian had changed a lot since organizing the Otaku Party and becoming the Speaker—he was a bit too paranoid. Politics was really not for ordinary people.

“It’s because it’s not the US that we have to be careful. If it were the US, it would be easier to handle,” Qian Shuiting said, pouring him a glass of kvass. “Come, have a drink first.”

After a few pieces of sushi, Qian Shuiting stared at Lin Hanlong. “Old Lin, it’s not that I’m nagging you, but you’ve lost some weight since last month.”

“Huh? I haven’t noticed.” Lin Hanlong had a good appetite. The weather was hot, and cold food like sushi was just to his liking.

Qian Shuiting picked up his chopsticks and pointed with them. “You’re turning night into day. You work all night, have meetings in the morning, and still have to deal with things at the machinery factory. It’s hottest at noon, how can you sleep well?” He picked up a piece of sushi and put it in Lin Hanlong’s bowl. “This is flying fish roe, it’s very good. You should eat more. You don’t sleep well, you don’t eat well, and you’re tired. How can you not lose weight? Do you even care about your health anymore?”

“It’s the initial stage of our enterprise. It’s inevitable to work a little harder.”

“We’re all in the initial stage, but you’re working much harder than others.”

“When the optics factory gets its own power source in the fall, I won’t have to work the night shift. It will be easier then.”

“Speaking of which, the machinery factory is sending out steam engines one after another. How come your optics factory, being so close, has to wait until autumn?”

This hit a sore spot for Lin Hanlong.

“You know, some people in the Executive Committee say that optics can wait until the second or third five-year plan. What do you think?”

Lin Hanlong shook his head. “What do they know? So many people are asking me for this and that, I can’t keep up.”

“Exactly! They only know their own little corner. Who knows more than whom? It’s only been a few years, and they’re already not listening to what the frontline Yuanen have to say.”

“There’s not a single person in the Executive Committee who has done scientific research, not even as a graduate student assistant. They have no direct experience with research and development.”

“If this goes on, are they going to be the only ones deciding how to climb the tech tree? Isn’t this a case of amateurs leading experts?”

Lin Hanlong waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about it. Let’s eat.” He was really hungry. He quickly finished most of the large box of sushi and drained a bottle of kvass.

Seeing Lin Hanlong put down the kvass bottle, Qian Shuiting said, “I think there needs to be a voice speaking for the frontline technical Yuanen.”

Lin Hanlong looked at Qian Shuiting but said nothing.

“Take your optics factory, for example. Many people think we still have a lot in stock and there’s no hurry. But in my opinion, no matter how much stock we bring, the variety will always be incomplete, and the quantity will always be limited.”

Lin Hanlong nodded in agreement. “I get requests from all sorts of people for things I’ve never even heard of before.”

“Old Lin, you’re so busy you’re running around like a headless chicken, and you’re turning night into day. It’s not easy for you to speak up. As the Speaker, it’s my job to speak. I think I need to speak for the vast number of technical Yuanen.” Qian Shuiting looked at Lin Hanlong with a sincere expression.

“I understand the importance of your optics. But to what extent can we really achieve at this stage? Can you give me the bottom line?”

Lin Hanlong nodded again. “Then I’ll have to trouble you.” He paused for a moment to organize his thoughts.

“Optics, in terms of theory and design, is a very mature field in our time,” he said, pointing to himself. “I have a degree in optics, and my work was in optics. I can handle the design. As for manufacturing, it’s not particularly difficult. Many hobbyists can grind their own lenses. As a professional, I can at least do it no worse. To be frank, optics is mainly a kind of precision machining. The processing amount is relatively small, and there are relatively simple ways to make precise measurements.” He paused and looked at Qian Shuiting. “I dare say, if I’m given enough resources, I can reach the pre-20th-century level in a few years.”

Qian Shuiting looked excited. “Old Lin, you’re so amazing here! That’s great!”

Lin Hanlong nodded. “Seeing is believing. You said you wanted to see my place last time. Are you free today? I’m just about to do my rounds.”