Chapter 2597: The Beginnings of Engineering, Power Conversion

"What is the cost of the official model?" Xia Duo asked.

"If we only count materials, it's about the same as a magic stove, but the labor cost is a bit higher. The total cost is around 220 Gold Coins. If mass-produced, it can be lowered to under 200."

The cost of a magic stove is also around 200 Gold Coins; the current heater is similar to it, which shows how much effort Jieyin has put in. At the very least, from Xia Duo's perspective, the iron casing on the outside alone is enough to set it apart from a magic stove.

Not to mention that it is more complex to manufacture. Although the labor costs in the Tower of Time are not as high as in other places, they are not completely without cost; as long as they exist, they are hard to ignore.

That Jieyin can control the mass production cost so well is enough to prove his dedication and passion for the career of a Magic Affairs Officer, and of course, his extraordinary talent is also indispensable.

"Very good! You must keep up the good work and design more magic appliances for the public! Additionally, from now on, general household magic appliances should be limited to 200 Gold Coins; do not consider those with costs that are too high for the time being!"

Xia Duo gave his praise and encouragement without reservation, but he also put forward new requirements here. A limit of 200 Gold Coins is a suitable choice for the current Territory.

Although the residents will receive a considerable sum of funds due to the land grant, in Daxia Territory, as long as one does not want to continue living the life of simple meals as before, the cost is higher than in other places.

Of course, as long as one is willing to work, the income is also higher than in other places.

The reason for doing this is mainly to balance the prices of Magic Items and general commodities. After all, those Magic Items need to be sold within the Territory, and the prices need to be unified.

Since there is no cotton in Netheril or even the entire Northland, I have never thought about a textile machine—actually, there are some textile implements locally, but they are far from being called machines.

If one were to say that Jieyin improved the textile machine, Xia Duo would not quite believe it, but if it were said that it was improved by the Magic Affairs Officer of the Steam Engine Group, then there would be no doubt.

For example, it is hard to imagine using steam power to open a Portal.

"How did you think of that?" Xia Duo asked curiously.

Next, Xia Duo visited some prototypes of civilian magic appliances in the Jieyin Laboratory, some of which he had hinted at before, but some he had not.

Although this system is still very fragile and relies heavily on official subsidies and Guidance, as long as it can be sustained, it will gradually mature.

That place has gathered many excellent craftsmen of the Territory; it was high time they came up with something new!

……

But if the price level and income level remain the same as before, how could the residents afford expensive Magic Items? One cannot let outsiders take advantage of one's own residents.

Xiluo, the original inventor of the Steam Engine, is still constantly trying to improve the Steam Engine, but having him alone is enough; there is no need for others to get involved.

For farmers, it is even more so, and yet agricultural output value is extremely low compared to the rapidly expanding Magic Industry. If there are no other channels, then farmers will never be able to afford the constantly updating Magic Items, even the cheaper civilian models.

"That actually came from the inspiration I got from the Steam Engine Group, but I think a textile machine can use more than just a Steam Engine for power; it can also use Magic as power."

This surprised him greatly and also made him very curious.

By then, with the dual internal and external circulation, the development of Daxia Territory will reach another level.

In addition, raising price levels and income levels is also conducive to Xia Duo transferring wealth to the private sector more efficiently. Although some people will save their money, as long as a portion of people take it out to use, it can also create an economic circulation system with a scale comparable to several prosperous territories in the Inner Land combined.

If a way can be found to stably convert Magic power into mechanical power, the Steam Engine could actually be phased out directly. Of course, in that situation, engineering would still exist.

Currently, Magic power sources like the Mythallar cannot be directly converted into mechanical energy of tangible matter; it is necessary to design different energy conversion mechanisms according to different usage scenarios.

The textile machine here at Jieyin's is completely different from the simple textile tools he had seen in the Territory before; it seems to have been specially designed under the guidance of a completely new line of thinking.

Perhaps it could be strengthened with Magic, but why bother? Why abandon the ready-made broad road to walk on a rugged, narrow path?

Fortunately, the Magic Affairs Officers of the Steam Engine Group are all considered steadfast Magic Scholars; they put more of their energy into research in the field of engineering rather than the Steam Engine itself.

The Steam Engine Group is also a group of Magic Affairs Officers in Daxia Territory, but it is composed of many people and has also recruited a group of skilled craftsmen specifically to build various civilian appliances that work with the Steam Engine.

His greatest expectation for the Steam Engine is not that the Magic Affairs Officers open up a new field of engineering, but that they stop obsessing over the Steam Engine itself. After all, no matter how efficient a Steam Engine is, its output is always limited; it cannot compare to any Mythallar.

However, the magic textile machine that Jieyin made is not meaningless; on the contrary, Jieyin has also opened up a brand-new field!

In the past, let alone 200 Gold Coins, even if it were only 20 Gold Coins, most ordinary people would have to grit their teeth to come up with it. After all, 20 Gold Coins is more than half a month's wages for an ordinary craftsman.

Or to be more precise, it is an improved textile machine powered by Magic—a prototype!

The most critical point is that the output of the Steam Engine is the interaction force between tangible substances, which is difficult to adapt to the broader field of Magic.

Take the War Spell 【Annihilation Light】 for another example; it is also the energy output of a Mythallar converted into a Spell, causing the entropy of matter to constantly increase, to the point where even the initial elemental state cannot be maintained, turning into a void. It has nothing to do with mechanical energy.

It can become an important Branch under the broad category of Magic, but it can never become the mainstream, similar to the difference between mechanical engineering and physics on Earth~

The magic textile machine of Jieyin embodies his exploration and attempts in this area. Xia Duo does not think highly of this kind of magic textile machine, but he particularly appreciates the idea of power conversion within it. Like Flight, which is the energy output of a Mythallar converted into a levitation Spell, reconstructing the force and inertia of matter, it has nothing to do with mechanical energy.

The process of steam power generation and its transmission hardly involves any Magic elements in the narrow sense, which also determines that it can never become mainstream in a land of Magic.

For example, the magic textile machine!

Regarding this, Jieyin's explanation is—

Hearing Jieyin say this, Xia Duo suddenly realized. It was just that in the past, his view of the Steam Engine was more like a toy; although it had some value, it could hardly be used to travel the skies or explore Planes, right?

As long as it involves the interaction force between tangible substances, it belongs to the category of mechanical energy, and the Steam Engine is the most typical example.

But humans live in this world, and what they master first is mechanical energy, what they come into contact with most is mechanical energy, and what they apply most is mechanical energy—of course, except for Mages.