Zhang Fengnian confessed to Zhu Han and others, and then took Liu Shitou, who had just been summoned and was still confused as to what was going on, and his two partners to a corner of the restaurant.
Liu Shitou asked in a panic: "My boss... what's going on?"
"Don't be nervous, Shitou. It's a good thing this time." With that, Zhang Fengnian simply told Liu Shitou what happened in the restaurant.
And considering Liu Shitou's understanding ability, he tried to speak as simply and directly as possible. Even though Zhang Fengnian tried his best to speak as straightforwardly as possible, Liu Shitou still didn't understand.
He smiled honestly and said: "You can arrange this kind of thing, boss. I will listen to you in everything." Zhang Fengnian shook his head and said: "This is not possible. We were able to come up with this cement formula all thanks to you. , so you must have a share in this." Liu Jiyang and Shen Xiong nodded in agreement: "Brother Ruixue is right, you don't have to be humble, Shitou."
"Without you, we definitely wouldn't be able to make this cement." Ruixue is Zhang Fengnian's alias. After a few people became familiar with it, they started to use the font size to match each other.
Zhang Fengnian told them these words in advance. Zhang Fengnian has proven his strength in every decision he made before.
Now, Liu Jiyang and Shen Xiong almost obey Zhang Fengnian's words. When Liu Shitou saw that his bosses were so interested in him, he felt very excited and secretly made up his mind to give these bosses a good beating.
Since the boss asked for advice, Liu Shitou thought for a while and then asked: "Boss, our formula is so valuable, don't we have to register this patent? As long as we protect the formula, won't future generations be able to have enough food and clothing? ?" He is the most typical small farmer mentality of this era. I hope that you and your descendants can live a stable life with a unique secret recipe.
Zhang Fengnian was not angry, but explained patiently: "Shitou, the reason why our formula is so valuable now is simply because no one else knows the most appropriate ratio except ourselves."
"No matter how we hide it, others will be able to figure out the real formula sooner or later."
"If they apply for a patent on our formula by then, we will be the unlucky ones."
"Is this okay? They are stealing!" Liu Shitou's eyes widened in disbelief. A simple worker like him could never imagine that there could be such a shameful person in the world.
Yang Fengnian explained with a smile: "The prince has patented this thing, which is certainly a good thing. But this thing only recognizes the patent and not the person. Although we came up with it first, we didn't apply for the patent, so the government will naturally not care about it. us."
"My boss, it's better to apply for a patent quickly. Although it only lasts for fifty years, it is protected by the government after all!" Liu Shitou said hurriedly.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has just been established a few years ago, the credibility of the government is still quite reliable. Zhang Fengnian nodded. He even signed the contract and it is impossible to go back on it now: "Now let's talk about the second question."
"After the patent application is completed, should we sell it directly to Shen Wansan, or keep it and collect the patent?"
"One is a steady stream, and the other one, we can get half a million taels of silver at a time." Shen Xiong laughed, "Brother Ruixue, I know you are inclined to sell."
"It's just that I don't understand. Although five hundred thousand taels of silver is a sky-high price, as long as the patent is in our hands, the annual patent collection must be quite objective."
"Even if we only charge a penny for a pound of cement, I believe that in ten years at most, we can collect so much. From now on, we will just lie down and count the money. Why not?" Liu Jiyang also nodded and said: "It will definitely not be used. In ten years, the construction of Yanjing City alone will require countless cements. I think it will only take five or six years at most." After listening patiently to their words, Zhang Fengnian smiled and said: "Both of you are right. , It’s just that there are some issues that you haven’t considered.”
"First, because before us, no one has tried to add other things to cement to make the cement stronger. Or maybe someone has thought of it, but they haven't achieved results yet."
"That's why our results are particularly eye-catching. However, there are countless smart people in the world, and sooner or later there will be formulas that are similar to ours, or even better than ours."
"At that time, the number of people using our formula will gradually decrease." Liu Jiyang and Shen Xiong were both silent. As businessmen, they know best how fast certain things can be updated.
Zhang Fengnian paused for a while, giving them some time to digest.
"Secondly, the reason why they are now crazy about our formula is because the existing coal slag is very cheap. It is very cost-effective to replace part of the cement with completely worthless coal slag, and everyone is naturally willing to use it."
"But as soon as our formula appears, the price of cinder will definitely increase. At that time, this formula will not be so cost-effective." Liu Jiyang couldn't help but raise his doubts: "In this case, why did Shen Wansan spend so much? Silver, buy this formula." At the mention of this name, Zhang Fengnian's face showed no trace of longing: "Because, Shen Wansan and the others are completely different in size from us."
"After he bought this formula, he could use it not only in Yanjing, but everywhere in the Ming Dynasty. It would only take him almost a year or two to earn back the money he paid for the formula."
"And we don't have Shen Wansan's ability. We can keep busy with just one-third of an acre in Yanjing, and we don't have the energy to push it to other places." Shen Xiong and Liu Jiyang suddenly realized.
"Best regards, brother Ruixue."
"No wonder you want to sell this formula." Zhang Fengnian shook his head: "The most fundamental reason why I chose to sell the formula is to accumulate capital for us."
"Don't forget that the previous bidding was only the first round, and there will be a second and third round later."
"We had no money at that time, so we could only bid for ordinary residential buildings. Now that we have 500,000 taels, we can definitely try some relatively large-scale projects."
"As long as we can afford a few of these projects, five hundred thousand taels of silver... it will only take two or three years."
"Which is more important, do you two understand?" After hearing Zhan Fengnian's true thoughts, Liu Jiyang and Shen Xiong felt a rush of cold air rushing up to them, and they couldn't help but gasp.
"Brother Ruixue... I, Shen Xiong, am really convinced this time." Liu Jiyang let out a long breath: "We all focused on this patent, but in terms of the benefits we can get, we didn't think of anything else. Brother Liu has a long-term perspective. , I really admire you.”
"No matter what happens in the future, the two of us will definitely wake up to Brother Ruixue's foresight." As for Liu Shitou, he was so shocked that he was so shocked by the five hundred thousand taels.
He probably never thought in his life that one day he would be able to have access to so much money. Zhang Fengnian waved his hand and refused Liu Shen's general performance: "You two brothers don't have to be like this. We are in a cooperative relationship. We still have to discuss anything."
"Although Zhang is somewhat clever, he is not right all the time, and there are areas where he needs your guidance." Others may have thought that Zhang Fengnian was giving charity to the two of them.
In fact, he knew very well what these two people were capable of. Liu Jiyang's ability to settle accounts is one of the best in the entire Yanjing.
When Zhu Han first invited bids, the reason why Zhang Fengnian went to Liu Jiyang in person was because he spotted his skill in settling accounts.
As for Shen Xiong, even though they met by chance, Zhang Fengnian did not recruit him into his group for nothing. Although Shen Xiong's business is not particularly big, he has a lot of connections and can talk to everyone.
With the two of them, this business can be even more powerful. As for Liu Shitou, although his personality is a bit dull, he has skills.
Such people are absolutely indispensable. After unifying their opinions, several people quickly returned to Zhu Han with Zhang Fengnian as the representative: "Reporting to the prince, we are willing to sell the cement formula patent to Boss Shen for 500,000 taels." Although Zhu Han had known the result for a long time, Zhu Han still felt quite surprised.
If Zhu Han knew the reason Zhang Fengnian used to convince those people. You will definitely be more suspicious of whether this guy is a time traveler like him.
"Before you sell it, I would like to remind you that patents can continuously bring you wealth in the next fifty years."
"Moreover, these wealth will be protected by the imperial court." Shen Wansan, who was standing aside, scratched his head anxiously after hearing this.
Everyone has agreed to sell it, so why are you asking so many questions, my lord? If it wasn't Zhu Han who said these words, Shen Wansan would have rushed up to fight with his opponent.
Do you understand that destroying a person's wealth is like killing his parents? Zhang Fengnian replied respectfully: "I understand the prince's good intentions, but I still decided to sell this patent and ask the prince to fulfill it!"
"Okay!" Instead of being angry, Zhu Han admired him more and more.
"Do you plan to retain the right to use the patent yourself, or sell all the rights and interests in this patent to Shen Wansan?"
"Back to the prince, all of them!" Zhang Fengnian replied decisively.
"Okay, we'll sign the contract right away." Before Zhu Han said anything, Shen Wansan couldn't wait to express his position, as if he was afraid that Zhang Fengnian would change his mind if he answered too slowly.
However, after making the promise, Shen Wansan said with some hesitation: "In terms of silver, I can only give you three hundred thousand taels now, and it will take some time to raise the rest." Even though he is the richest man in the Ming Dynasty, Shen Wansan now There is no way he could have come up with so much money at the first time.
"Well, I will give Shen Wansan a guarantee. If this guy dares to default on his debt, I will not spare him." Zhu Han stood up directly and guaranteed Shen Wansan.
One of the purposes of his coming here today is to promote the benefits of patent law. What better publicity could there be than selling a patent for half a million taels of silver?
He wants to eliminate all factors that may affect this transaction. With His Royal Highness as the guarantee, Zhang Fengnian, who was already willing to trade, had no reason to hesitate.
The contract was rewritten and signed by both parties. The guarantor was naturally replaced by Zhu Han, His Royal Highness.
After the signing of the contract was completed, all the merchants in Jufeng Tower cheered. The reason why they were so excited was because the money came so fast, it was almost like robbing money.
In this era, the most indispensable thing is exclusive secret recipes. Although businessmen's status is not high, they have money.
As long as you use a little bit of means, you don't have to worry about those craftsmen with unique craftsmanship not obeying.
Even those formulas or technologies, most of them are definitely not worth 500,000 taels. But as long as there are hundreds of thousands of taels, or even tens of thousands of taels, it is enough for those businessmen to take risks.
A huge gold mine is right in front of them. How could they not be excited? How could they not be excited? However, their cheers had just ended.
Zhu Han already said with a smile: There is something I want to say in advance. "
"The imperial court came up with this patent law so that everyone can work hard to create new things, so that real craftsmen can make a good living relying on their own craftsmanship. If you have a way to take advantage of this, the imperial court will not Suppressive, but encouraging.”
"However, in order to prevent someone from taking advantage of others and robbing others of their technology."
"Technology, secret recipes, or exclusive craftsmanship before the imperial court's patent law was promulgated. Even if you don't register a patent, it is still protected by the imperial court."
"I have previously ordered the Jinyi Guards to register some of the unique secret recipes currently in the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
"If anyone doesn't believe in Jin Yiwei's ability, you can give it a try."
"Once these actions are discovered and no one is killed, all family property will be confiscated and sent to the frontier for thirty years of hard labor." Upon hearing this punishment, all the businessmen present could not help but change their expressions.
Businessmen are not afraid of distribution, but Zhu Han completely sees through the weaknesses of the businessmen. Who can bear to have their property confiscated?
However, Zhu Han's threat went beyond that: "If there is a human life in this process...then the whole family will be killed!" Hiss!
The sound of gasping air filled the entire Jufeng Tower. Almost everyone felt that this punishment was too harsh.
Even the students in Huangzhuang, Zhang Wenjie, Shen Longliang and others, also felt that killing everyone was a bit too much.
They believe that this is all the fault of the businessmen themselves and has nothing to do with their children or wives.
Even Liu Shenhong, who had always obeyed Zhu Hanyan, tried to persuade him in a roundabout way.
"My lord, if you do this, I'm afraid it will bring bad reputation to you. They should say this is harsh rule." Even though people around him objected, Zhu Han still stubbornly insisted on adding this item.
People of this era do not yet know the true power of businessmen. And how far they can go for profit.
In the past, businessmen could do less due to limitations of the technology of the times and other reasons. But now that Ming Dynasty wants to develop, he will inevitably come up with more and more things in the future. These things can make Ming Dynasty take off, but they will also be more conducive to the development of these businessmen.
He must impose restrictions in advance, even if others say it is a harsh government.
