CH 7

Apr 29 2022

Cooperation

Partnership?

The village chief was taken aback and asked, “You want to partner with me? What are we partnering for?” Haven’t all the blueprints been sold to me?

Yu Qingze said with a smile: “I have some other drawings and I want to cooperate with you…”

“Wait!” Before Yu Qingze could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Grandpa Chang.

Chang Le said thank you for choosing hololonovels.

Several people turned their heads and looked at Grandpa Chang curiously.

Who knew that Grandpa Chang said with a smile: “You guys continue to talk. Xiaole, Xiaohao, let’s go to the kitchen.” He took the lead and walked to the kitchen.

Chang Le and Chang Hao didn’t ask his grandfather why. Although they were curious about Yu Qingze’s drawings and business, they still followed their grandfather to the kitchen obediently. Chang Hao took a few steps, then ran back and took his literacy board. He already learned to write the word ‘chang’. Now he’s learning the word ‘hao’.

Looking at Grandpa Chang’s actions, Yu Qingze and the village chief knew that Grandpa Chang was making room for them and avoiding suspicion.

The two looked at each other, and the village chief said, “Little brother, otherwise, let’s go to my house to talk? My old house is empty to discuss things. It just so happened that I can also give you the money to for the blueprint.”

Yu Qingze nodded, “Okay.”

The two went to the kitchen to talk to the grandfather and grandsons. Grandpa Chang said they could continue the conversation here, but the village chief said that he wanted his son to participate together, so Grandpa Chang did not insist any longer, and explained that the village chief would ask Da Jian (eldest son) to send Yu Qingze back.

The village head’s house is not far away, but because Yu Qingze couldn’t walk fast, it took them a quarter of an hour to get there.

The village chief has three sons, the eldest son and the second son are married, the eldest son has two children, and the second son’s child is about half a year old. Ah Mei, the village chief’s wife, is still alive, and the whole family lives together, and there is no separation.

It is precisely because of the large number of people that although the house has four bedrooms and one living room, it is still crowded. Therefore, the two village elders slept in the old house, and the main room of the old house was transformed into a wood workshop.

When Yu Qingze was at the door, he saw a young ger with a baby on his back feeding another two or three-year-old child.

The village chief took out a cloth bag from the house, and then took Yu Qingze through the main house to the old house at the back.

There are two oil lamps lit up in the old house, which are very bright. The three sons of the village chief are busy inside. Some finished products are placed in the back of the house, such as cabinets, tables, chairs, wooden barrels and wooden basins.

“Da Zhuang, you go out first, this brother and I have something to discuss.” The village chief said to his third son as soon as he entered the house.

Da Zhuang is a 12- or 13-year-old boy. Yesterday, it was him herding the cow and almost got it stolen. He was beaten by his father at night.

While the village chief was cleaning up, Yu Qingze went to the finished product area to take a closer look. Although the styles of these items are very simple and traditional, he has to say that the craftsmanship passed down by the village chief’s family is really good.

If it was just because of the village chief’s personality that he wanted to cooperate with him to make some quick money, now, Yu Qingze has changed his mind. Maybe it is feasible to change to long-term cooperation. After all, his craftsmanship is really good.

The village chief closed the door, emptied the table in the middle, asked Yu Qingze to sit down, then called his two sons, and the four of them gathered around the table to start a meeting.

The village chief first introduced Yu Qingze to the eldest son Yu Dajian, and the second son Yu Dayong.

Then, the village chief took out a cloth bag, which contained thirty taels of silver: a large silver ingot, the rest were broken silver, and a lot of copper coins. He handed it to Yu Qingze and asked him to count it.

“I believe in the village chief.” Yu Qingze said with a smile and didn’t count it. He wrapped it up and put it aside.

Thirty taels of silver … he didn’t even blink! The village chief sighed with emotion, and when he saw that Yu Qingze believed in himself so much, he felt pretty good.

In fact, it was because Yu Qingze didn’t know how to count the thirty taels of silver!

If it were three silver ingots, it would be easy. He had also watched a lot of costume dramas, and about that size, one was about 12 taels of silver. Copper coins are also easy to calculate, one tael of silver is consistent money, that is, 1,000 copper coins.

The question is, how to count the pieces of silver of different sizes?! Is it half two, one two, two, or 2.5?

Since he didn’t know, he simply didn’t bother with it.

Dajian and Dayong sitting at the same table watched thirty taels of silver were given out just like that, not knowing what happened. The two looked at each other, and Dajian, as the eldest brother, asked aloud, “Dad, this is?”

The village chief took out the plank of the rice bed and handed it to the two of them, “Dajian, Dayong, look at this, this is called a rice bed, it was invented by A Ze, I thought it would make money, so I bought it for 32 taels.”

Thirty-two taels to buy a picture? Dajian and Dayong took it over curiously and looked at it, while the village chief explained to them both.

Dajian was smarter and bolder. He quickly sees the business opportunities and prospects here, and agrees with his father’s decision.

Dayong is more cautious, but his father has already agreed with others, and there is nothing he can do, not to mention both his father and his brother have agreed.

After explaining the situation, the village chief brought up the matter that Yu Qingze wanted to do business with them.

Dajian asked: “I don’t know what business Big brother Yu is talking about?”

Yu Qingze is 28 years old, 6 years older than Dajian. Big Brother Yu is appropriate.

Yu Qingze replied: “A threshing machine that saves more labor and time than a rice bed.”

The three men in the village chief’s family were all stunned. Immediately reacted and got a little angry.

Since there is a threshing machine that is more labor-saving and time-saving than a rice bed, then you still sell the rice bed to my family?! Are you kidding us?!

They need that thirty taels of silver! That’s the money they were going to build the house with!

That’s right, the village chief’s family is a little tight with money as of now because of the large number of people living there, and the three children would get married in the next few years. By then, the grandchildren will also grow up, and they will not be able to live together. They have been saving money for the past few years and are planning to build another house, preferably two. When the time comes, each of the three sons will have a house so not to be biased.

The eyes of the three of them looking at Yu Qingze were a little wrong. Not to mention the two young people Dajian and Dayong, even the village chief who has seen many “big scenes” can’t hold back his face.

Thirty-two is a lot for ordinary people.

Dayong said with a sullen face: “Brother Yu, let’s call you big brother, you can’t cheat us. Since there is a better one, who shall we sell this rice bed to?”

True! Dajian and the village chief nodded, both looking at Yu Qingze, waiting for him to explain.

“Don’t worry, I will definitely not pit you, I still want to live in Niutou Village.” Yu Qingze said indifferently.

Dajian heard some other meanings and asked, “What does Big Brother Yu mean?”

Yu Qingze didn’t want to tease them anymore, and said, “The reason why the threshing machine was not sold to you is because the workmanship is complicated, and the first machine needs to be constantly tested. It is estimated that it will take at least two or three months to fully manufacture the first machine.”

Chang Le said thank you for choosing hololonovels.

The three of the village chief’s family heard that it would take so long, and they were a little curious about what the threshing machine would look like.

Yu Qingze continued: “Secondly, even if it is made, the sales are not expected to be very good.”

Dajian thought about it for a while and asked, “Because the price is going to be too high?” The price would definitely not be low if the workmanship is complicated.

Yu Qingze nodded, “That’s right. Unless a few families put together the money to buy them together, like buying cattle. Let’s put it this way, if the rice beds are sold for one tael of silver, then the threshing machine can be sold for at least thirty-two taels per item. This is still a conservative estimate.”

Thirty-two taels … for one!

The three of the village chief’s family fell silent.

If it’s worth at least 32 taels per item, although it makes a lot of money, few people can really afford it. Unlike the rice bed, if you grit your teeth, ordinary people can still take out the money.

And, most importantly, the rice beds are easy to make, and if you sell more, the profits will be considerable.

At this time, they finally believed that Yu Qingze really didn’t cheat them. If the threshing machine is sold to them, and no one buys it when they make it, then the money is really going to be wasted.

Dajian suddenly asked, “Brother Yu, can you show us what that threshing machine looks like?”

Yu Qingze smiled, “When we reach a cooperation, I will naturally show it to you.”

The three looked at each other for a while, and finally the village chief said: “Ah Ze, this, what kind of cooperation are you thinking?” He wants to listen to the cooperation method first, and then talk about the rest.

Yu Qingze said: “It’s very simple, I will provide the drawings, you will provide the craftsmanship and the materials. I only need 30% of the profit.”

The three of the village chief’s family fell into contemplation.

This threshing machine is so expensive, even if it saves time and effort, it would take a while to even sell one with its price, and with rice beds on the market, it is estimated that ordinary farmers would rather work harder than buy the expensive threshing machine. But again, its prospects are indeed enticing; when everyone is prosperous, they will have higher purchasing power.

Chang Le said thank you for choosing hololonovels.

After a while, Dajian asked again: “Brother Yu, you said before, there are other tools?”

“Yes. There is also a tool for separating rice grains.” Yu Qingze did not hide it from them, and said, “This tool is called a windmill. If you sell one or two taels for a rice bed, this thing can be sold for about ten taels of silver each.”

The three village chiefs were dumbfounded, how did Yu Qingze come up with so many tools in his head.

Yu Qingze looked at the three of them and added: “The threshing machine and the windmill are more complicated and difficult to make, but as long as the first one is made, it will not be difficult. You can think about it, but I hope to make it even if no one buys it, it would be excellent to make it for home use.” What Yu Qingze wanted most was to make one and give it to Chang family in return for saving his life.

Dajian looked at his father and second brother and said, “Father, I think it’s feasible.”

This means that Yu Qingze gave them a chance to make money, and in the early stage, they only need to invest in manpower and wood, and do not need to pay for drawings. The principal is not large. . Moreover, Dajian was very interested in the threshing machine and the windmill. Even if he can’t sell them, he was very curious about what they looked like and wanted to tinker with them.

Dayong was much more cautious, “If we do this too, then we will not have time to do the rice bed.”

This is also a problem. They have already paid out the money for the picture of the rice bed, so they must make the money back during the autumn harvest, otherwise after the season, other people must have already copied it.

Seeing the concerns of the three, Yu Qingze was not in a hurry. He asked, “Do you have a pen and paper at home? I will draw the other three styles of the rice bed for you.”

Dajian brought a pen and paper. Yu Qingze drew three more rice beds with different shapes, and the three family members immediately understood what he said.

Look at people’s brains, they are loaded with ideas.

After drawing and handing it over to the village chief, Yu Qingze stood up and said, “Village chief, it’s too late today, so I’ll leave first. You can think about it carefully. If we reach a cooperation, I still have many practical tool drawings for the future – the kind that ordinary people can afford.”

Yu Qingze paused for a while, thinking of the young ger with children he just saw, and said: “For example, it can make it easier for adults to carry children, a stroller for a few months old baby or something.”

“Baby stroller?” Dayong’s eyes lit up. His son is half a year old, and he is very active. His wife takes a lot of energy to carry the child every day. He can only carry him on his back when he does farm work. If it can make his wife relax, then that’d be great.

Yu Qingze nodded, “It can make the parents a lot more relaxed, and travel is also very convenient. It should sell well.”

The three Yu family men were very excited.

Chang Le said thank you for choosing hololonovels.

The village chief nodded and said solemnly: “We will have a good discussion tonight, and we will give you an answer tomorrow.”

Yu Qingze said: “That’s fine.”

After leisurely throwing down the bait, Yu Qingze returned home accompanied by Dajian. He believed that he would receive a satisfactory answer tomorrow.

Touching the thirty taels of silver in his hand, Yu Qingze thought, he has the start-up capital, and when his leg is completely healed, he will go to the town to look for business opportunities. It is time to consider developing his old business.

However, before that, there is still a very important thing to solve: the problem of food and accommodation in the future.