Chapter 147 – How It Works

Zhou Yimin nodded. “Yes, they’re quite popular abroad. Honestly, our country could start researching this too—manufacture rice cookers for export and earn some foreign exchange.”

At present, rice cookers weren’t easy to popularize domestically.

First of all, they required electricity. Many households still didn’t have access to electricity, so a rice cooker would just be a useless ornament.

Second, even if most households were electrified, given the frugal habits of our people right now, it wasn’t certain that rice cookers would catch on.

Therefore, if they were to produce rice cookers, it would be best to focus on exports.

In fact, in another three years, the first simple rice cooker in China would be produced by the Guangzhou Light Industry Group.

However, those rice cookers would be far behind their future counterparts. Even the ones made in Japan at the time, when compared to future models, were vastly different—offering only the most basic functionality.

“That’s amazing,” said Lu Guofu.

Zhou Yimin replied, “It’s actually nothing too magical. It’s just converting electrical energy into heat energy to cook the rice. Once it’s cooked to a certain point, the power automatically shuts off.”

Zhang Jianshe laughed in disbelief. “You make it sound so easy.”

Converting electrical energy into heat isn’t the hard part. The real challenge is making it automatically switch off once the rice is done.

“That shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

Seeing that Zhou Yimin wasn’t backing down, Zhang Jianshe decided to test him and said, “Then explain it to me.”

Zhou Yimin thought to himself—revealing a bit should be harmless. The working principle of a rice cooker, along with the key knowledge, was roughly at a high school science level.

So, he began, “Basically, you just need a heating element at the bottom of the pot—there are many types of heating elements. To ensure even heating, it can be made into a disc shape that fits snugly under the pot.

Inside, you include a permanent magnet and a soft magnet to create an automatic circuit closure mechanism.

When you want to cook rice, you press an insulated switch, and the permanent magnet below the soft magnet is raised until it touches the soft magnet.

Since the pot hasn’t heated up yet, the soft magnet remains ferromagnetic and can be magnetized by the permanent magnet, keeping it held at a high point. That’s the powered-on state, and heating continues.

Once the bottom of the pot reaches a certain temperature, the soft magnet senses it and loses its magnetism. Under the combined effect of gravity and an internal spring, it drops from its high position, activating a lever mechanism that separates the upper and lower contacts in the circuit, breaking the circuit and stopping the heating element.”

Even after the power cuts, the heating plate remains very hot due to its high heat capacity, allowing it to continue cooking the rice for a while longer until it’s fully done.

Zhang Jianshe’s jaw dropped in astonishment.

He had no trouble understanding the explanation—once he heard it, it all clicked. In fact, the entire design of a rice cooker immediately formed in his mind.

Terms like “permanent magnet” and “soft magnet” were only understood by him and his daughter Zhang Yan.

He had expected that Zhou Yimin might have a few ideas in his head, but he hadn’t expected him to already have such a fully-formed design.

“Mm! This plan is viable. You might as well go ahead and design it—maybe your steel factory will gain another export product,” Zhang Jianshe said to Zhou Yimin.

Suddenly, he understood why Zhou Yimin had been able to come up with inventions like the pressure water pump and solar stove.

This brain—definitely the seed of old Zhou.

It really was a pity he hadn’t gone on to further his education. But then again, old Zhou had already contributed silently to the nation—how could anyone expect his son to do the same?

Besides, wasn’t Yimin now benefiting society and the people as well?

Zhou Yimin thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, it’s worth a try.”

Lu Guofu’s men were dumbfounded.

Turns out, his son’s ideas weren’t wild fantasies—he could actually make things.

He suddenly wondered if he should let his two boys at home mess around a bit—maybe they’d manage to create something too. And if they did…

It would bring honor to the family name!

Of course, the best course of action would be to let them spend more time around Zhou Yimin. If they could learn even a little of what he knew, they’d surely achieve something.

With that thought, Lu Guofu became even more invested in the idea of showing films at Zhoujiazhuang.

If he didn’t contribute something himself, how could he possibly ask Zhou Yimin for help?

Zhou Dazhong, Luo Dapeng, and the others went around the village carrying peanuts and other snacks. Whenever they passed a house, they’d go up and have the residents take a handful of peanuts and sunflower seeds.

A little while later, the dishes began to be served. Zhou Yimin called everyone to take their seats.

The seating arrangement was similar to lunchtime. Lu Guofu sat with Luo Dapeng and Li Youde. Zhou Yimin had instructed Luo Dapeng and the others to treat Lu Guofu well.

This meal was quite lavish.

For many people, it was the best meal they had ever had.

Braised pork, stir-fried beef, oil-braised prawns, mixed vegetable medley, braised fish, and a large platter of peach-shaped birthday buns. The liquor was Fenjiu.

Zhou Yimin greeted everyone, urging them to eat and drink to their heart’s content.

The old lady was overjoyed—no one had ever celebrated her birthday like this before.

Even the old man felt a little jealous.

Better keep on living! When it’s time for his 70th birthday, his eldest grandson would probably throw him something just as grand.

While everyone was still eating, Zhou Daqiu rushed back.

“Why are you back?” Zhou Yimin asked, gesturing for him to sit down.

Zhou Daqiu was holding a box and went over to the old lady. “Grand-aunt, my teacher found out it’s your 60th birthday, so he specifically asked me to bring a gift of ginseng.”

“Your teacher is too kind, and very thoughtful. But ginseng is too valuable. Take it back tomorrow and tell him that I appreciate the gesture,” the old lady said.

Zhou Daqiu set down the ginseng box and quickly stepped back. “Grand-aunt, please don’t make it hard for me. If I take this back, my teacher will chew me out.”

Zhou Yimin accepted the gift. “Alright, go find a seat and have something to eat.”

Zhou Daqiu let out a sigh of relief and quickly went over to sit at his maternal grandparents’ table.

Seeing how capable and promising he was now, his grandparents were overjoyed.

They already knew that Doctor Chen had helped arrange a temporary job for Daqiu at the steel factory. As long as he kept at it steadily, he could be made permanent in two or three years.

“Daqiu, try this—it’s really good,” said his grandmother, putting food on his plate.

“Grandma, you eat too. I’ll get it myself.”

The other elders at the table all praised Daqiu for being sensible and promising, which made his grandparents even happier and more grateful to Zhou Yimin.

In the end, every dish was wiped clean—nothing was left. Zhou Yimin had originally thought that if there were leftovers, he’d have everyone take some home.

But he had underestimated everyone’s appetite. Even the elderly could really eat.

The women began cleaning up. Some washed dishes, others wiped tables.

Laifu held little Qianqian and rocked her gently. As long as school was out, he would help take care of his sister—especially when their mother was busy. He was a very competent older brother.

With everyone fed and satisfied, and the sun already set, people began gathering at the school playground.

(End of chapter)