Early on the third day, a carriage drove into Kaoshan Village. Although the carriage was simple in layout, it was rare in the countryside. It attracted many villagers to watch along the way.
After a while, the carriage stopped in front of Chu's house, and a young man got out of the carriage, wearing a plain coat and dressing up as a servant. The middle-aged man looked around for a moment, and just as he was about to knock on the door, he bumped into Chu Li who was going to school, and Chu Yi who was escorting Chu Li out.
When the young man saw Chu Yi, he came forward with a smile on his face: "Boss Chu!"
"Brother Lin?" The person who came was none other than Lin Ji's funeral clerk!
"Our boss would like to invite you to the Lin family's workshop to discuss in detail what you mentioned before. I wonder if Boss Chu is free today?" Brother Lin said and pointed to the carriage behind him.
"Wait a minute, I'll go and inform my family."
Chu Yi told Chu Li to go to school peacefully, and then ignored the curious eyes of the villagers and turned back to the courtyard.
When the villagers who had been watching along the way saw this, they came over in twos and threes and inquired about the person who got off the carriage: "This Lin, Brother Lin? What are you doing here? Why are you still called Chu?" Where’s Boss Chu at home?”
"Yeah, you just said that your boss wants to talk to Chu Yi, what are you talking about?"
Lin Ji's clerk also came from the village below. He was very familiar with this situation. He had been greeting and delivering people in the shop all day long, so he was naturally able to handle this kind of situation with ease.
I saw him responding to everyone's questions with a smile, as if he had said everything, but at the same time he seemed to have said nothing: "Didn't his family open a shop to sell paper money? Of course those who do business must call themselves boss!"
"What are you talking about yet? But what's the big deal?"
"Brother, you are making things difficult for me. We are working as a waiter for others. How can we tell me in advance what my boss wants to discuss?"
The few people who came to join in the fun, look at me, I look at you, I think what this guy said is reasonable, but I am more curious in my heart, didn't the Chu family just sell some paper money, it is going to be prosperous ?
In the Chu family yard, Chu Yi went to the kitchen to find Shen Luzhu who was washing dishes: "Lin Ji's guy is here."
Shen Luzhu put the dishes and chopsticks in place and looked at Chu Yi with some surprise: "So early?"
"Boss Lin wants us to go to the workshop to talk today." Chu Yi said, taking the handkerchief on the side and wiping the water stains on his wife's hands.
"Let's talk about it? That means it's almost possible!"
"Well, let's go directly to the workshop. I guess I also want to see if the method we are talking about is true or false."
Shen Luzhu nodded, feeling that Chu Yi was right: "Do you want me to accompany you? I want to see my husband turn the tide and fight with the Confucian scholars!"
"Naughty again."
The couple tidied up for a while, spoke to the grandpa and grandma, then went out and got into Lin Ji's carriage. Under the curious eyes of the villagers, they drove away from the mountain village.
Within half an hour, the news that Chu Yi and his wife were picked up by the carriage sent by the big boss spread throughout the village. Everyone was watching and guessing that the Chu family's paper money business was so successful. Is it big? Before, I only knew that there were many people in front of his shop, but I didn’t expect that the big boss would send a carriage to pick him up!
The discussion in the village was lively, but Uncle Chu and the Wang family were completely unaware. At the moment, they had no time to care about the affairs of the old house. For no other reason, the old couple received the eldest son’s entrustment to bring him from the town last evening. The message came that the son's family and Li Xiucai and his wife were going back to the village. The couple were worried in the house at the moment.
This matter started when Li Xiucai broke his waist in the first month of the year. After nearly four months of recovery, Li Xiucai's waist finally stopped hurting, but in the end the injury was still too severe and he couldn't move from his chest down. For the rest of his life, he could only lie in bed and rely on others to take care of him.
Li Xiucai was paralyzed and could no longer teach in a private school. Not only did the Li family have no source of income, in the past four months, the family's savings had been almost exhausted in order to treat Li Xiucai. All that's left is the house they've been living in, and some jewelry belonging to the mother and daughter. If this continues, the Li family may not even be able to afford food!
Four months is neither long nor short. It is enough for the Li family to go from crying in disbelief to recognizing the reality and reconsidering their future livelihood issues.
In the end, the old couple decided to sell the house and jewelry in the town and move back to the countryside. Li Xiucai's wife and brother also lived in Kaoshan Village, and helped his sister and brother-in-law buy a house near their home. They planned to live there in the future, and their daughter The son-in-law took the child and moved back to Chu's house, so that he could be closer to his daughter and make it easier to take care of her. The remaining money would be kept for future living.
It is easy for the Li family to move back to the village, but Uncle Chu and Wang are worried about Chu Ren. He still has to study in a private school and has to go to Fucheng to take the exam in August. He must not follow them back to the village. The Li family's house After selling, Chu Ren had no place to live, so he could only rent a house in the town and send his wife and children back to his parents in the mountain village.
Originally, the son's family lived at his father-in-law's house in the town. Uncle Chu's family only had to prepare for the expenses for his son's private schooling and exams. But now that they have no place to live, they have to provide for food themselves. Suddenly, they have a lot of extra expenses. With their The current situation is that if Chu Ren fails the imperial examination again in August, he may not be able to afford it in the future!
At the moment, Uncle Chu and his wife can only pray to Bodhisattva to bless Chu Ren for winning the election this time, and at the same time think about how to earn more money back. Naturally, they have no time to pay attention to what happens in the old house!
Chu Yi and the two went straight to Lin Ji's papermaking workshop in a carriage. They got out of the car. Manager Li, whom they met last time, led them to a house. Lin Ji's employer, Lin Ting, was inside. After the two parties exchanged greetings, they entered Got to the point.
"I, Lin Ting, have agreed to purchase goods directly from the workshop. I invite you two to come over today. The main reason is to discuss the method that Boss Chu mentioned to reduce the cost of papermaking.
I have a deed here, which contains two plans. If the method given by Boss Chu can be achieved, I will implement the previous one. From now on, Boss Chu will purchase goods from Linji. No matter what it is, I will give you the lowest price in the town. If it fails, we will do the following. Linji Workshop will still supply the goods to you two, but we can only do it at the normal wholesale price. I wonder what Boss Chu and his wife think? "
Chu Yi turned to look at Shen Luzhu, confirmed each other's thoughts, and then nodded in agreement: "Okay."
Both options, regardless of whether they work or not, can at least achieve the original goal of purchasing goods directly from Linji Workshop! Even if it fails, although the purchase price of the burned paper has not changed, the other papers to be used have become wholesale prices, which can be regarded as reducing the cost of making paper at home. It is not a loss at all!
"Okay, let's sign and pledge it right now."
The deed is made in duplicate. The couple reads the terms in the deed in detail, then signs their names and fingerprints on it. The deed is deemed to have been successfully signed and will take effect.
Wiping his fingers, Lin Ting pointed to an old man who had been standing behind him and said: "This is the old master of our workshop, Uncle Zeng. Please tell Boss Chu the method."
Seeing Chu Yi looking at him, Shen Luzhu said to Uncle Zeng: "The method is very simple. It is to replace the raw materials currently used for papermaking with straw. Any variety of corn or wheat will do."
Uncle Zeng, who had been silent just now, now asked with confusion: "I have never heard of making paper from straw. Madam, do you take it seriously?"
Shen Luzhu thought for a while and continued: "To make paper, you need to chop the trees and herbs first, then cook them until they rot to form pulp, then finely grind, bleach, and wash them, and then use fine tools to pick them up to form a film and dehydrate them. After drying, they become paper pulp." We have to use paper, am I right, Master Zeng?"
"What Madam said is generally correct."
Lin Ting was shocked and sighed towards Chu Yi: "Boss Chu's wife is so smart and knowledgeable that she even knows the art of papermaking?"
Chu Yi smiled, looked at his wife who was chatting, and admitted without humility: "She is indeed smart."
Lin Ting didn't expect Chu Yi to answer like this, he was really not humble!
In his previous life, he studied art since he was a child, and the most common things he came into contact with were paper and pens. For a while, Shen Luzhu was particularly interested in things like papermaking. He checked a lot of information on the Internet, and he could naturally talk about it.
"What eventually becomes paper is actually the fibers of trees and herbs that have not been ground. Just like the cotton threads and silk used for weaving, there are also such fibers in straw. As long as the process is adjusted properly, paper can naturally be made."
Uncle Zeng lowered his head and thought for a long time, and had to admit that what the girl in front of him said made sense: "If it is as the madam said, there are a lot of local straws. You don't need to pack mountains or plant them yourself. You just need to go Farmers can just harvest it, which can indeed save a lot of costs."
Lin Ting became very excited after hearing what Uncle Zeng said: "So, Uncle Zeng, do you think it's feasible?"
"Boss, I have to give it a try whether it succeeds or not. It will probably take about a month."
Lin Ting turned to Chu Yi and asked: "Boss Chu, let's just limit it to one month and see the results after one month. How about that?"
"no problem."
The contract was concluded, the host and the guests enjoyed themselves, and the young couple returned in the carriage they came in. The carriage did not stop until it arrived in front of the courtyard gate of the Chu family's old house. Shen Luzhu did not know at this time that after they had left this time, they would come back again. At the forefront of public opinion in the village, as soon as Chu Yi helped him out of the car, he saw many people following him to the door of his house, stretching their necks and looking this way.
"Hey, Chu Yi and his wife are back. What are you doing? They are all picked up and dropped off by horse-drawn carriages now. Business is so good!"
"Yes, yes, the big boss in this town specially sent a carriage to pick you up. What has been going on for so long?"
"They must be talking about some big deal. Tell us how much money you can make. You two should stop looking after your own family and take care of us!"
"That's right, that's right! You two are going to be prosperous. Don't forget about us folks in the future!"
The young couple was surrounded by people and could not enter the house. No matter how Chu Yi explained, they did not listen. They insisted on talking about themselves and only wanted to hear what they wanted to hear.
Shen Luzhu thought that if he allowed these people to continue talking, he didn't know how long the trouble would last, and he didn't know what would happen next! Busy interrupting the chattering villagers: "What are you talking about? How can there be any big business? We sell paper money at the entrance of this courtyard all the time. It's not like the villagers haven't seen it. If there is really any big business, what can we do?" Can you hide it from everyone?"
"Then why did it take so long for a carriage to pick you up?"
"Every rich person in this town has a carriage. Didn't you see that when the carriage came, it was riding a man dressed as a servant? This is the carriage that the servants made when they went out. Come and join us. Really? How can we talk about big business like this?"
"That's right, we're on the way. We haven't eaten yet after all the hard work we have done." After hearing what his wife said, Chu Yi also joined in.
Shen Luzhu quietly hooked Chu Yi's fingers from below: "That's right, how can you not even eat when you negotiate a big deal?"
After hearing what Shen Luzhu said, everyone recalled the scene in the morning. It seemed that a servant had indeed arrived in a carriage: "If we don't talk about business, why are we here to pick you up?"
Shen Luzhu knew that denying too much would easily arouse suspicion, so it would be better to convince others with half-truths and half-falsehoods: "We are talking about business, but it is not a big deal. It is still about selling paper money. We always buy goods from other people's shops." , I just wanted to make a contract, which is convenient for both families, but the boss is so busy that he has no time to wait for us to take the ox cart to slowly go there. It happened that his clerk was passing by on some errands, so he stopped us all the way!"
"Well, we thought we had some big deal to discuss!"
Finally, everyone's enthusiasm was dispelled, and the young couple successfully entered the house.
At first glance, they were a little disappointed that there was no earth-shattering event as they imagined. But then they thought about it, they had nothing to lose for Chu Yi and his wife!
After all, they are doing business with the town, and the business is still booming. Not to mention the people queuing up in front of the shop during the Fourth Festival. Just say that today, it is just to buy some goods. If it is not popular, they will Can a shop in town establish a contract with you?
