Chapter 530 - 49: Bicycle Craze (Part 2)
Bicycle.
Among the fitness equipment sent to the island, there were two machines similar to spin bikes. Chen Zhou had long since dismantled from them the key components needed to build a bicycle. However, he had been busy with work and always planning the third expedition to the island, monitoring the progress within the shipyard, without having had the time to assemble the bicycle.
Now, the third mission to capture the natives has been successfully completed, and the island has gained a new population. The progress in manufacturing the steel giant ship is all going well, and he can finally bring this transportation tool that clashes with the era ahead onto the grand stage of history.
...
The addition of new islanders is already commonplace for the old islanders. Everyone has gone through that phase before, and there used to be people who liked to observe the new islanders like animals, but nobody does that anymore.
The better life gets, the more people desire.
Now, they would rather spend precious time honing professional skills with hopes of living in a single-family house soon.
Or play a game of chess, draw a painting, go fishing, or play the flute for a while, and they wouldn’t waste time watching something everyone else has seen.
There are many noteworthy new things on the island, and there’s no need to stare at outdated matters—it’s a sign of being behind the times.
Of course, there are differences between "novel things" and "novel things."
The residents near Execution Square usually don’t get the latest intel from the factory side.
Trends on the island flow like a pyramid, originally starting from the factory, then moving to the cafeteria closest to the factory and the standalone residential area below the factory, and only finally reaching the residents near Execution Square.
Past trends like raisins, soy paste, and flute playing were like this, and recently, a new trend has emerged—
Bicycle.
No one knows who saw it first. It is said the Leader was riding a tool of peculiar shape (some say it was an animal) to the beach at incredible speed, causing quite a stir shortly afterward.
Islanders at work couldn’t drop their tasks to search for the Leader’s whereabouts.
Those coincidentally without work turned into "gossip reporters," eager to stick close to the Leader, wanting to get a good look at the thing that could carry a person running.
Chen Zhou didn’t intend to hide, so those people quickly got their wish and saw the bicycle clearly.
Several individuals with a talent for drawing sketched the structure diagram of the bicycle.
Soon after, the bicycle’s structure diagrams were laid out on all the top craftsmen’s desks on the island.
However, this time, the craftsmen, known for their exceptional imitation abilities, didn’t react with joy, eager to create the "new machine" quickly to flaunt in front of other islanders—
No wonder, the structure of the bicycle is incredibly complicated.
The bicycle Chen Zhou assembled only had minor changes, with its overall construction virtually identical to that of a modern bicycle.
Frame, pedals, tires, brakes, chain — all components were present, along with basic steering, driving, and braking systems.
Just one tire alone consisted of an inner and outer tire, an enigma islanders couldn’t solve in their lifetime.
Let alone the more intricate pedal components—
Cranks, chainrings, axles, chain freewheels — any one of these was something the islanders could not manufacture, even if given the blueprints, they could only look on in despair.
In fact, not even Chen Zhou himself could manufacture a bicycle chain—
It’s something that, while smaller in function than a steam engine, is much harder to make than a steam engine.
If not for the existing chains and over 95% of the key parts on the fitness equipment, he would never entertain the thought of creating a bicycle.
...
In the past, whenever the Leader used a novelty, the craftsmen on the island would recreate it at lightning speed.
This time, they finally encountered difficulty.
Watching the Leader travel daily between the shipyard and factory on the bicycle, without being able to own the same mode of transport, every one of them was beside themselves with frustration.
When Chen Zhou parked the bicycle outside the shipyard, this crowd would gather around the bicycle, like bees to honey, surrounding it completely. Some islanders even fought with others for the spot closest to the bicycle.
If not for seeing the guards patrolling nearby, they would’ve spent several days behind bars.
...
Observing only made people understand the bicycle’s construction more profoundly but didn’t improve their ability to make it.
The more they understood the bicycle, the more disheartened the islanders became—
The precision of this thing compared to the wooden furniture, rattan handicrafts, or pottery they usually make was an entirely different concept.
Setting other parts aside, just those two perfectly circular wheels stumped them, with the interlacing spokes inside the wheels being an insurmountable technical challenge.
Unable to solve even these two problems, manufacturing other components was an impossible dream.
The islanders were utterly perplexed; they couldn’t imagine what kind of extraordinary skills their great Leader had to create this masterfully crafted machine.
Faced with the lack of reasonable explanations, they could only attribute it all to divine intervention.
If the omnipotent "god" completed this task, then it would make sense.
...
Chen Zhou hadn’t expected his mode of transport would cause such a commotion, leaving the shipyard every day to see a crowd of islanders gathered around the bicycle.
Feeling helpless, Chen Zhou could only come up with a way to ease the islanders’ frustration from striving but not achieving.