Chapter 92: Song of Electricity (Part 3)

In the bridge, only the weather radar screen was on. To conserve the radar’s operating time, all other radars, including the nautical radar that had served the Yuanlao Yuan well on multiple occasions, had been turned off. The Yuanlao Yuan had already established a tight network of human sentinels around Bopu, replacing the previous radar surveillance.

His life secretary, a tall, slender young woman, was at the chart table, fiddling with parallel rulers and dividers, practicing chart navigation.

“It’s really boring here,” Meng De said with a bored smile. “Being on the ship year-round, I’m finally experiencing the sailor’s life my predecessors talked about. Come, sit, sit.”

He called for his life secretary to brew some oolong tea and brought out special-grade cigars to entertain his guest. The two of them smoked, drank tea, and chatted. When the conversation turned to the current state of the Holy Ship, Meng De’s attitude was quite pessimistic.

“This ship, I think it will be salvaged for materials sooner or later… Last time, the chemical department wanted to dismantle the pressure-resistant pipes and valves on the ship. I rejected them. It’s easy to dismantle, but hard to put back. These pipes and valves aren’t like air conditioners or chandeliers, which can be removed without consequence. Once these are gone, the ship is done for. In the end, they still took away several water pumps!” he said resentfully, puffing out smoke rings. “Without regular sailing or dry-docking, and without proper maintenance materials, I estimate the ship’s bottom is already covered in barnacles, and many pieces of equipment will gradually rot away.”

“It would be a shame for such a large ship to rot away and be salvaged like that.”

“Yes, the Planning Department talked to me about it last time. They’re preparing to have me lead a class of sailors, to train on this ship, to prepare a seed group of modern sailors for future modern ships. I’m quite willing. Knowledge has to be passed on, right? The problem is, it’s useless for me to teach them. This ship can’t go out to sea. What’s the use of learning without practical application? It’s like learning dragon-slaying techniques.”

“Won’t you be able to sail once you have oil from Southeast Asia?” Liu Tom, like others, was very interested in the oil from Southeast Asia.

“That still depends on the mechanical industry… Just the main and auxiliary engines on the ship, that whole set of equipment, I’m very doubtful if they can provide spare parts…” Meng De, who rarely had anyone to talk to at length, was in high spirits.

“Is the ship’s cold storage still running?”

“The refrigerated cargo holds have been shut down—we can’t afford the electricity. The small cold storage for the crew is still in use.”

“That’s a bit of a pity.” Liu Tom knew that because the generator set also had to supply power to the shore, the ship’s own electricity consumption had to be minimized. The power-hungry cold storage was no longer in use. Anyway, there were gas-powered refrigerators on shore that didn’t use electricity.

“It’s better not to use it. At least the ship won’t always stink of seafood,” Meng De said.

The two of them chatted about everything under the sun until Liu Tom felt he shouldn’t stay any longer and took his leave. He quickly went to the auxiliary engine room for a look, checking the operating conditions. In fact, his knowledge of gas bags and generators was no different from that of the naturalized citizen workers, so he couldn’t see much. It was just a routine “check” to see if all regulations were being followed and to show the Elder’s concern, to prevent the gasifier and generator workers on the ship from slacking off.

Liu Tom’s main focus was the ship’s transformer station. This 10kV transformer station had been installed separately before the transmigration. The purpose at the time was to allow the ship to act as a power station during the initial start-up phase after D-Day, supplying power from the ship to the shore base. Now, this substation had become a treasure of Lin’gao Power. Not only was the electricity generated by the ship’s generator set transformed by this station, but the 213kW portable steam engine generator set at the Bopu Port power station also supplied power to the grid through this substation.

Lin’gao Power also had a team of workers stationed on the ship, working in three shifts to maintain the gas bags, generators, and substation. Liu Tom checked their implementation of safety regulations and their logs to ensure that not a single violation was missed. Lin’gao Power was quite ruthless when it came to violating safety regulations. Potential consequences were divided into five levels, and anything above level three would result in being sent directly to labor re-education for a period of time. No matter how well the rules and regulations were formulated, they had to be strictly enforced. Of course, the other party’s ability to understand was also a problem. Some people just couldn’t be reasoned with or listened to. Only the prospect of being sent to work for Fu Youdi could make them understand a little.

After finishing his inspection, Liu Tom disembarked from the Fengcheng and inspected the Bopu power station. At this point, his patrol for the day was basically over. He was about to head back to Bairen for dinner when a text message appeared on his Little Lingtong: “Power work meeting at 13:00 in the Planning Department conference room. Please be on time!”

Liu Tom was shocked, not because the 13:00 meeting might make him miss lunch, but because he hadn’t written anything for the power transmission and distribution development outline that Chang Kaishen had assigned him a month ago, except for a few lines of an outline. He didn’t expect to have to go to the Planning Department for a meeting so soon!

As a key “backbone” of Lin’gao Power, he would definitely be called upon to speak at the meeting. Liu Tom quickly rushed towards the small launch, and the electricians behind him, not knowing what was happening, also ran after him, managing to keep up.

“Quick! Back to the Bairen power station!” Liu Tom shouted anxiously. “Full speed ahead!”

At 13:00, in the large conference room of the Planning Department, a meeting on “the independent research and development and production of generators by the machinery, metallurgy, chemical, power, and technology departments”—in short, the 1633 Power Development Work Conference—was held, chaired by the Planning Department.

The conference room was arranged with a U-shaped conference table and an audience section. The main participants sat at the U-shaped table for discussion, while several rows of long benches were placed on the other side for the audience. The audience consisted of Elders related to the power industry or those who were interested and had expertise in the field. The audience could follow the proceedings of the meeting and could also raise their hands to speak if they wished. This was one of a series of measures taken by the Elders to improve efficiency after they gradually got on track.

Notices for this kind of academic meeting were posted in advance in all the canteens, residential areas, and on the forum. Anyone interested could attend. Even personnel stationed abroad could receive these notices via radio and could send back a short written opinion to be discussed at the meeting.

Dozens of Elders were now gathered in the conference room. All the Elders related to the power industry were present, as well as many from the machinery, chemical, and materials sectors who were involved in the manufacturing of power equipment. Of course, Minister Chang Kaishen, who was entrusted by the Planning Department to chair the meeting, was also present.

The Elders were divided into several groups, whispering to each other. Electricity was an interesting topic. For industrial enterprises, although steam power was currently being promoted, many Elders from the machinery sector found that machine tools driven by electric motors were more stable in operation, much better than power shaft transmission.

Almost all the various equipment brought from the ship was originally driven by electric motors. Now, due to the limited power supply, only some of the equipment could use electric motors, while many others had been converted to drive shaft transmission. This was very uncomfortable for many Elders with technical backgrounds. The chemical and metallurgical industries also required a large amount of electricity for electrolysis. Without enough electricity, they couldn’t produce enough caustic soda by electrolyzing sodium chloride solution, nor could they refine many urgently needed non-ferrous metals on a large scale—especially electrolytic copper, which the power industry itself needed.

The Elders from the power department were all in high spirits. Since the power department had gone from being a key department of concern to everyone to a marginal department that no one cared about, the few remaining in the power sector had repeatedly expressed their intention to quit to the Executive Committee, the Planning Department, and even the Organization Department. Although the electrical revolution was inevitable, for the gentlemen of the power sector who were dedicated to creating a great cause, this kind of frustrating time, even more so than before the transmigration, was something they didn’t want to endure for another second.

The convening of this meeting was like a shot of adrenaline for them. According to Chang Kaishen, the Executive Committee had made electricity a top priority for development. The Executive Committee had issued several R&D orders to the power sector. At the same time, the Planning Department had approved the original projects for the motor factory, transformer factory, and cable factory, and had also issued documents to the machinery, metallurgy, materials, and technology departments to cooperate and develop the empire’s power industry as soon as possible.

Faraday’s somewhat frustrated ambition was rekindled. He had grown up in a state-owned metallurgical plant where both his parents worked. However, due to his parents’ perception of the state power department as a golden rice bowl and their fear of the massive layoffs in those years, he successfully entered a power school and was assigned to a suburban substation after graduation. After several years of manning the station, he participated in the transmigration and was subsequently assigned to the power sector—doing the same work as Liu Tom. However, he was a professional in the power field, and his knowledge was a bit more comprehensive than Liu Tom’s, who was in transmission and distribution, so his work was more varied.

“During this period, Comrade Faraday worked diligently and without complaint, completing and solving various technical difficulties under the existing conditions. As these difficulties were resolved, the ideal buried in his family’s bloodline burned brighter and brighter. When the time came to 1630 and the power sector fell into a state of stagnation, he had already begun to study the manufacturing of electric motors. The administrative approvals from the Executive Committee and the Planning Department also arrived at the power department’s office at just the right time. At this moment, Faraday bravely took on the heavy responsibility of researching electric motors. It was he who reignited the flame of the power industry that was very likely to be extinguished!

Throughout the entire research process, his deep friendship with the future logistics giant Chang Kaishen brought him many conveniences in terms of raw materials. And the empire’s future East Asian power grid’s ultra-high voltage transmission and transformation system, the Himalayan super power station, and the Yangtze River cascade power station also received great support from Chang Kaishen’s transport group. His benevolence and kindness will forever illuminate the empire.” (History of the Development of the Power Industry, Volume on People, Biography of Faraday)