Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 65 The Steel Tycoon

Chapter 65: Chapter 65 The Steel Tycoon

"Who are you? A passenger on this ship?" Perfikot looked at the grateful man before her and asked curiously.

This was originally just a casual pleasantry, but the man solemnly introduced himself: "My name is Andrew Carnegie, and I am currently running a steel business. I cannot thank you enough, madam, for your rescue; otherwise, my fledgling business might have met its end."

Looking at the man before her, Perfikot suddenly found herself interested in him.

"Steel industry? If I remember correctly, there was an interesting piece of news in Langton City previously. It was said that a steel merchant from the New Continent spent a fortune to buy the patent for a new metallurgy technology developed by a university, which had been neglected for almost a year before that. Could that steel merchant from the New Continent be you?" Although Perfikot used a questioning tone, her gaze at the man showed certainty.

The man named Andrew nodded affirmatively and then smiled with a hint of self-deprecation: "Indeed, it was me. Upon hearing from a friend about the latest metallurgy technology in Langton, I traveled from the New Continent to Langton by ship and spent a fortune on this technology, causing some amusement."

Though he knew the rumors about him were not flattering, even treated as a joke, Andrew seemed not to mind.

This made Perfikot more interested in him, so she asked, "So how did you consider this? Out of curiosity, could you tell me why you bought that technology patent?"

"If possible, could I invite you, madam, to breakfast? I think having a delicious breakfast while listening to my story would be a pleasant experience." However, Andrew didn’t immediately answer Perfikot’s question and instead politely extended an invitation.

Facing Andrew’s invitation, Perfikot smiled and promptly accepted.

"Fu, tell the others I’ll return to the White Gem after breakfast." Perfikot instructed, then headed toward the Morgan’s dining room with Andrew.

The two arrived at the dining room, where many people were already dining.

This time was undoubtedly busier than usual, and Andrew explained on the side: "After this ship got stranded, everyone was actually worried about their safety. Many, including myself, stayed up all night.

After you started the rescue operation, many people were waiting on guard. If it wasn’t too cold outside, they might have gone out to watch."

Regarding Andrew’s explanation, Perfikot merely smiled and said, "Human nature."

Then the two sat down, and Perfikot glanced at Andrew’s hands before saying: "Your background may not be good; you must have done a lot of manual labor when you were young?"

Andrew noticed Perfikot’s gaze, glanced at his calloused hands, chuckled, and said: "My parents immigrated to the New Continent because they couldn’t survive in their hometown. I grew up there.

As a child, due to my parents’ meager income, I also had to work during the day and only had time to attend night school at night."

"To persist in studying under such circumstances, no wonder you can now become a businessman. It seems like your life should be quite remarkable." Perfikot took a sip of milk from the table and expressed her admiration for Andrew.

To grow from a child laborer to a successful steel merchant, Andrew clearly has an extraordinary life story.

Success indeed requires opportunity, but it also requires the vision to seize opportunities and the effort to pursue them afterward.

Even if a pie does fall from the sky, one still needs precise vision and quick reflexes to catch it; not every pie randomly lands on one’s face.

Thus, Perfikot quite admires Andrew, as he is at least someone willing to strive for progress even in adversity.

This is why Perfikot is more curious about why he purchased a steel smelting technology left unnoticed for a year.

Regarding this question, Andrew explained: "When I first saved up my initial funds and learned how to invest, people often said not to put all your eggs in one basket, because that way you won’t lose all your eggs.

But later, I slowly discovered that rather than spreading all your eggs in different baskets to reduce loss, it’s better to put all your eggs in one basket and protect that basket."

Using a very simple example with a proverb, Andrew opened the topic and then expounded on his thoughts.

Listening to the man before her eloquently discussing, Perfikot ate her breakfast while occasionally agreeing, indicating she was listening.

Andrew’s eloquence was commendable. According to him, he had worked at the telegraph office and railroad company, where he learned many valuable lessons and honed his remarkable eloquence and abilities.

Perfikot was noncommittal about this point. Though experience can foster growth, evidently, some things depend on talent.

In Andrew, Perfikot saw his talent for seizing opportunities.

Otherwise, how could a textile factory child worker step by step grow into a telegraph office newsboy, and further into a railroad company secretary, ultimately skyrocketing to become a regional supervisor?

Especially after reaching such an enviable high position, he resigned from his lucrative railroad company regional superintendent position and started his own entrepreneurship.

Someone without ability couldn’t achieve this level.

"Regarding why I bought that patent, my main reason is I want to establish an unprecedented steel company!" Andrew seemed to have caught the urge to converse and began discussing his blueprint with Perfikot: "Do you know? Not only in the New Continent, even within the Empire itself, the steel industry is very fragmented.

From iron ore mining to smelting, and then to steel forming, several processes and different companies are involved, causing the steel production cost to soar!

If there could be a company that could consolidate all the processes, from mining to smelting, and finally rolling and forming, with all production processes managed by one company, it would greatly reduce production costs!

To achieve this, besides connecting all production processes, the most critical condition is to possess the most advanced metallurgy technology myself! Only by doing this can I become the industry leader, not just blend in as yet another competitor!"