Chapter 139: Orange Soda

"Chen Huajiang actually wants to produce beverages? Right here? Isn't that complete fantasy?"

"It’s bound to lose money. If he can turn a profit, I’ll write my surname backwards."

"Exactly. A beverage factory isn't something that's easy to set up. We don't even have such a factory in our entire city. What makes Chen Huajiang think he can manufacture soda using just two courtyards?"

Inside the martial arts gym, everyone chimed in, collectively dismissing Chen Huajiang’s plans. Similar discussions were buzzing at the end of the alley, the entrance, and even at the night food street. It reached the point where Zhang Bao and others even ran over to advise Chen Huajiang to abandon such whimsical notions and cut his losses while he still could.

However, Chen Huajiang ignored them. Wearing an argon arc welding mask, he was busy welding machinery in the courtyard. As a welder with a Level 3 certificate, whether it was argon arc welding, electric welding, or even technologies that wouldn't appear until later—like plasma arc welding or high-energy beam welding—Chen Huajiang knew how to handle them all. After all, welding was a skill where once you mastered one technique, the rest followed easily; he picked things up incredibly fast.

Soon, a mixer with a motor was finished, and Chen Huajiang proceeded to weld two drip-feed devices. Once both were complete, he began testing the machine.

"Not bad. Put the peeled oranges on the conveyor belt," Chen Huajiang instructed his workers.

The oranges moved along the belt into the juicer, were blended into a juice mixture, entered the drip-feed device, and then flowed into the bottles. Once a bottle was full, a worker waiting on the side would swap it for an empty one. The previous bottle was then transported to the second courtyard, where two high-pressure tanks were stationed—one filled with a mixture of chlorine and nitrogen, and the other with polysaccharides. These were injected into the bottle through a small hole in the cap, which was then sealed with tape.

The entire process was rudimentary, but Chen Huajiang was already very satisfied. Many things are limited by their era, but what Chen Huajiang possessed—which others in this time lacked—was the experience of the future. In later times, any hotel or catering department could process and produce these kinds of drinks: orange juice, tangerine juice, bitter melon juice, cucumber juice, apple juice, you name it. Even street vendors pushed carts to produce fresh juice on the spot; the difficulty was extremely low. Because the technology was highly mature in the future, all one needed was a blender and a filling machine, provided the ingredients were on hand.

The biggest challenge here was that people in this era lacked knowledge about preservation techniques. Modern fruit juices typically used sodium benzoate, nitrates, nitrites, and sulfur dioxide as preservatives, allowing for a shelf life of two or three years. But those substances wouldn't appear until after the 1990s, when the development of the chemical industry could support their widespread use. Besides, Chen Huajiang didn't need his orange juice to last for two or three years; he only needed it to stay fresh for a month or two.

Chlorine was an additive in tap water in the future, ensuring it could be stored for long periods without spoiling. Nitrogen displaced oxygen to prevent oxidation and delay food decay. Polysaccharides were natural food preservatives, known in the future by the nickname "Mold-Killer King." While this formula was common knowledge for street juice stalls and hotel kitchens in the future, it was extremely rare for anyone to know it in the present era.

"Try the taste." Chen Huajiang handed a glass bottle to Zhang Bao.

Having witnessed the entire process, Zhang Bao didn't see any issues, so he opened it and took a large gulp.

"Tastes good, sweet and sour."

"Kids should love this. A lot of parents have been bringing their children to eat barbecue at the food street lately, and the kids can't drink beer. This should have a great market." Zhang Bao’s eyes lit up as he realized the market potential.

Chen Huajiang nodded with a smile. Fruit juice wasn't just for children; adults could drink it too. In the future, the fruit juice market was as significant as the carbonated soft drink market, ranking as a major beverage category right behind bottled water.

"But this should spoil easily, right?" Zhang Bao frowned, guessing.

"At least a two-month shelf life. It should be fine within two months," Chen Huajiang said with a wave of his hand.

Zhang Bao’s eyes brightened, but he quickly looked skeptical. It wasn't that the shelf life was too short—it was that it was too long! However, Chen Huajiang didn't elaborate; the formula was a secret, and he wouldn't tell anyone.

That same night, the stalls on the food street began offering orange soda for thirty cents a bottle, with a twenty-cent refund upon returning the bottle—effectively ten cents a drink. For the first few days, the new orange juice didn't sell much; that’s how it always was when something new appeared. But gradually, children began to love it, then women, and soon it became a favorite among the diners. Even some men would buy a bottle after a full meal and drinks; after all, the more they drank, the thirstier they got.

Gao Yun also developed a new love alongside her grilled gluten skewers: a bottle of orange soda whenever she had the chance. But what distressed her was that the money in her wallet seemed to be running out faster and faster. Just like now, she only had sixty cents left. Should she buy two skewers, or one skewer and one bottle of orange juice? Gao Yun couldn't decide, having stood by Zhang Bao's stall for a full fifteen minutes.

"It’s them! Confiscate everything! Don't let them sell anything!"

Just then, a truck drove up to the food street, and a crowd of people swarmed out. The man in the lead was Yang Shan from the Gushan Winery, his face twisted in anger as he led his men to smash the stalls. This naturally incited opposition from the stall owners, leading to a scene of pushing, shoving, and shouting.

Seeing that things were going poorly, Gao Yun rushed off to notify Chen Huajiang.

Soon, Chen Huajiang received the news and arrived at the scene with Er Mao and the others.

"What’s going on? If you have something to say, say it properly. Don't act like a bandit and start smashing things," Chen Huajiang said, spotting Yang Shan immediately. He understood the man's confidence, but he was even more confident himself.

"It’s him! Grab him!" Yang Shan shouted to his men, pointing at Chen Huajiang with a face full of spite. He had been fuming for some time; not only had Chen Huajiang refused to back down, but he had also seized the market near the glass factory. His own profits had plummeted, and upon hearing the news, he naturally came to deal with Chen Huajiang.

"What? You think you're a big shot, Manager Yang? You're not the police, so who gave you the right to just grab people?"

"Do you think I, Chen Huajiang, am a pushover? Er Mao, grab him. Can't I play this game too?"

Chen Huajiang didn't flinch at all; instead, he signaled for Er Mao and his brothers to restrain Yang Shan.

"This is rebellion! You are all rebelling!"

"You're selling Laoshi beer here, and you dare to attack me? Chen Huajiang, you're finished!" Yang Shan pointed at Chen Huajiang, shouting with venomous eyes full of hatred.

"What a joke. Is this Laoshi beer? I wasn't aware of that."

"Don't you try to pin labels on me. All the drinks here are sourced from Wuxing Village. What's the matter? Does Wuxing Village not belong to Nanming City?"

"Are you so big-headed, Yang Shan, that you're going to revoke their city residency?" Chen Huajiang pointed at his nose, speaking with utter disdain, his attitude even more arrogant than Yang Shan's.