Chapter 514: Exposing the Scam

In mid-September, the *Jiangcheng City Daily* published a blockbuster article titled "I Exposed the 'Water into Oil' Scam on the Scene," authored by Jiang Chaoyang.

In the article, Jiang Chaoyang wrote that on September 12th, he received an invitation to attend the live performance of the "water into oil" scientific experiment by the "famous inventor" Mr. Wang Hongcheng at the White Rose Hotel. He gladly accepted the invitation, but after watching the performance on the spot, he concluded that this performance was nothing but a farce and a scam.

Mr. Wang Hongcheng's performance process was simple: he used a glass to scoop up half a cup of water, added a small half-cup of gasoline, then took out a bottle supposedly containing the expansion agent he claimed could turn water into oil. He dripped a few drops of liquid into the glass, stirred it with a small wooden stick, and declared that the water had turned into oil. He lit the mixture, and after a while, the liquid burned away without a single drop left.

At this moment, the audience at the scene applauded with excitement and amazement. It looked like a brilliant performance, didn't it? But right then, I stepped forward to question Mr. Wang Hongcheng. I asked him to let me see the bottle containing the expansion agent, as I believed it wasn't any expansion agent, but just some ordinary chemical raw materials.

Mr. Wang Hongcheng refused to let me see the bottle and shouted at me, saying this was his invention and he couldn't give it to anyone for fear of the formula being stolen. There were some people at the scene who wanted to drive me away, but fortunately, others stopped them, saying it was normal for someone to question a new technology, and they asked me to provide evidence.

I told everyone that since Mr. Wang Hongcheng wouldn't let me see his bottle, I had brought some expansion agents myself and could repeat Mr. Wang Hongcheng's performance.

I took several bottles out of my bag; they were all surfactants I had bought at a chemical store, all kinds of them, with labels on them: fatty acid glycerides, sucrose esters, sorbitan fatty acid esters, fatty alcohol esters, etc. One bottle even contained soap water I had mixed at home. In chemistry, these raw materials are mostly used as emulsifiers.

When I took these things out, Mr. Wang Hongcheng's face already looked quite ugly. He and some of his companions wanted to stop me, but there were many neutral onlookers at the scene who wanted to see my performance, so he couldn't stop me.

I repeated Mr. Wang Hongcheng's experiment, and I did it with every single surfactant. Every experiment achieved the same effect as Mr. Wang Hongcheng's performance; that cup of "water into oil" was burned clean, not a drop left.

The scene was immediately in an uproar. Everyone was asking me what the principle was. I told them the principle was very simple: any surfactant can mix gasoline and water. Since there was gasoline inside, of course, it could be lit. After the gasoline burned, it evaporated the water, so of course, it burned clean, leaving not a drop behind.

Subsequently, I repeated some of the experiments Mr. Wang Hongcheng had done before. I took out some calcium carbide powder, sprinkled it into a cup of water, and lit it with a match; the cup of water caught fire. What was the principle here? This is a chemical reaction between calcium carbide and water, generating acetylene, and of course, acetylene ignites at the slightest touch.

I took out some lithium aluminum hydride powder and threw it into a cup of water. The water immediately bubbled. I lit it with a match, and the gas that came out was immediately ignited. What was the principle here? This is because lithium aluminum hydride reacts with water to generate hydrogen, which of course also ignites at the slightest touch.

It's a pity I don't know magic; otherwise, I could have performed a magic trick to turn water into oil. If I could do that, I would have successfully performed all of Mr. Wang Hongcheng's performances. That was a great regret of the day.

Of course, the biggest regret was that I couldn't hear Mr. Wang Hongcheng's opinion on the experiments I performed, because while I was still doing the experiments, Mr. Wang Hongcheng had already left without saying goodbye.

……

Jiang Chaoyang's writing style is quite good; this article was written with sharp sarcasm. Most importantly, the evidence he provided was detailed, solid, and irrefutable, leaving Wang Hongcheng with no way to explain.

In fact, Jiang Chaoyang's approach was very correct. No matter how much one questioned Wang Hongcheng's experiments for violating scientific principles, or how much one dismissed his experiments as too childish or crude, it was useless. Not many people had that kind of scientific knowledge, or rather, many onlookers hoped to see such miracles or divine signs, and they would rather believe that Wang Hongcheng's experiments were real.

Don't you see? Twenty years later, aren't there still many people who believe Wang Hongcheng's invention is real? They believe that based on this invention alone, China could become the world's number one power.

Jiang Chaoyang repeated Wang Hongcheng's experiment in public; this was the most powerful evidence, letting people see for themselves.

At the end of the article, Jiang Chaoyang also detailed the steps for those experiments. If readers were interested, they could completely repeat these experiments themselves. That way, everyone could perform "water into oil," which thoroughly knocked "water into oil" off its pedestal.

Of course, he still reminded readers that these experiments have certain dangers, so please pay attention to safety.

Along with the article by Jiang Zhaoyang, other newspapers also published reports; they described the situation at the scene, which was much the same as what Jiang Zhaoyang's article had depicted, and for a time, this matter was stirred up into a frenzy once again.

These days, many media outlets across the country are discussing this topic. Some support Wang Hongcheng, while others oppose him. Of course, now those who oppose him are clearly more numerous than those who support him. With Jiang Chaoyang's live experiment, if anyone still believes Wang Hongcheng's invention is real now, it's not a problem of their brain, but a problem of their stance.

On the day Jiang Chaoyang's article was published, Su Xinghui called him. He called in the evening, dialing Jiang Chaoyang's home phone.

As soon as Jiang Chaoyang answered, Su Xinghui said, "Brother Jiang, I have read your masterpiece. You truly deserve to be a famous reporter in Jiangcheng; your pen is like a knife, hitting the nail on the head! I admire you, I admire you!"

Jiang Chaoyang said, "Xinghui, the matter you entrusted to me, I have not failed the mission!"

Su Xinghui said, "The article you wrote is too brilliant. Tell me in more detail about the situation that day. Were Tian Xiaopeng and the others present? What were their expressions?"

Jiang Chaoyang laughed and scolded, "Do you think I haven't offended them enough?"

After laughing, Jiang Chaoyang told Su Xinghui about the scene at that time. When Jiang Chaoyang went out, some of Wang Hongcheng's followers and Tian Xiaopeng's gang all wanted to drive him away, saying he was making trouble. However, there were quite a few "enthusiastic masses" at the scene who stood up to block them, saying that truth is not clear without debate. It was their appearance that allowed Jiang Chaoyang to successfully complete his experiments.

When Jiang Chaoyang was doing the experiments, Tian Xiaopeng's gang was also very attentive. When they saw the effect of Jiang Chaoyang's experiments, their faces looked quite ugly. Jiang Chaoyang saw their exasperated expressions clearly, and he felt very satisfied.

Jiang Chaoyang laughed on the phone, "Xinghui, it's a pity you weren't at the scene. Tian Xiaopeng's appearance was really funny. Later, he turned to look for Wang Hongcheng, but couldn't find him. He slapped one of his subordinates and shouted, asking why he didn't keep an eye on Wang Hongcheng! Hahahaha!"

Su Xinghui said, "Brother Jiang, you really did a beautiful job! Thank you!"

Jiang Chaoyang said, "What are you thanking me for? Come to think of it, I should thank you. If it weren't for you, I reckon I would only be reporting on trivial matters. How could I possibly publish such an influential report?"

Su Xinghui said, "Brother Jiang, you still need to be a little careful."

Jiang Chaoyang said nonchalantly, "It's nothing, at worst I'll just be a poor reporter for the rest of my life."

Su Xinghui chatted with Jiang Chaoyang for a few more sentences before hanging up the phone.

On the night Jiang Chaoyang exposed Wang Hongcheng's scam, Tian Xiaopeng was like a trapped beast in a cage, pacing back and forth in his room, breathing heavily.

This incident was indeed a huge blow to him.

When others introduced Wang Hongcheng to Tian Xiaopeng, Tian Xiaopeng once thought he would become a billionaire, because the prospects described to him by the middleman were simply too wonderful.