bayedsolid Chapter 74 Li Wancai's Visit
Chapter 74 Li Wancai's Visit
"Miss, Young Master Fubao and Master Li arrived yesterday. Master Li is resting in his guest room now," Lu Zhigang told Wen Yuxia as soon as he saw her.
Fu Bao originally lived at Wen Yuxia's house. A few days ago, it was Li Wancai's birthday, and Fu Bao took a few days off to go back to Nanzhou Prefecture to celebrate his maternal grandfather's birthday. Wen Yuxia also asked Fu Bao to bring a birthday gift to the old man.
It was normal for Fu Bao to return, but Wen Yuxia couldn't guess why Li Wancai had come. She said softly, "Old Lu, please invite Master Li to the living room."
Li Wancai strode into the living room and called out in a strong voice, "Wen girl!"
"Grandpa Li, did you come all this way just to see me?" Wen Yuxia asked with a smile.
If Li Wancai were inspecting the properties, he wouldn't be staying at Wen Yuxia's house. Therefore, Wen Yuxia was certain that Li Wancai had come to Xinchuan County to see her.
Li Wancai said with a smile, "Wen girl, are you interested in mass-producing charcoal pencils, charcoal pencil sharpeners, and erasers?"
Li Wancai found the charcoal pencils, pencil sharpeners, and erasers that Fu Bao brought home very useful, so he followed Fu Bao to Xinchuan County to discuss them with Wen Yuxia.
Upon hearing this, Wen Yuxia smiled. Some time ago, she began teaching Wen Yunhong and others arithmetic. Calligraphy is a one-time thing; once you start writing, you can't correct it.
So Wen Yuxia made her own charcoal pencils. She made the pencil leads herself, the pencil sharpener and pencil case were made by a carpenter, and the blade on the sharpener was forged by a blacksmith.
After searching the entire Xinchuan County, Wen Yuxia only found ten rubber trees. To make tapping easier, she had them transplanted to her farm.
Mass production of charcoal pencils and pencil sharpeners wasn't a big problem; it was the erasers that were the issue. Remembering Li Wancai's extensive knowledge, Wen Yuxia asked, "Grandpa Li, do you know where there's a tree that weeps?"
In the Great Xia Dynasty, the rubber tree had another name, "the weeping tree." Li Wancai pondered for a moment and said, "I've seen it in the southwest."
"Grandpa Li, the sap that flows from the 'weeping tree' when its bark is cut is the raw material for erasers. To mass-produce them, we need to build workshops in the southwest."
Li Wancai laughed and said, "I'll take care of the workshop." He had two farms in the southwest; if he transplanted the rubber trees there, he wouldn't have to worry about a lack of rubber.
Wen Yuxia smiled and said, "It's perfect that Grandpa Li has a farm in the southwest."
"Wen girl, I'll take full responsibility for the workshop. What are your plans for profit sharing from the erasers?" Li Wancai got down to business and started discussing the cooperation.
Wen Yuxia hadn't originally intended to get involved in the eraser business, but upon hearing this, an idea struck her, and she said, "Grandpa Li, you can arrange the venue, labor, and sales; I'll just take a 10% stake."
Li Wancai shook his head. "Wen girl, the eraser was your idea. A 10% stake is too small. How about a 50/50 split?"
With his keen business sense, Li Wancai believed that the eraser would sell like hotcakes after its market launch. Although he had paid for the initial investment, the eraser was Wen Yuxia's creation, and he didn't want her to suffer any losses.
Wen Yuxia quickly waved her hand, "How can that be? I can only take 20% at most." The two smiled at each other, admiring each other's generosity.
Charcoal pencils, pencil sharpeners, and erasers can be sold as a set. After discussing the revenue sharing for erasers, Li Wancai couldn't wait to ask, "Wen girl, where should the workshop for charcoal pencils and pencil sharpeners be located?"
Wen Yuxia said with a faint smile, "The raw material for charcoal pencils is charcoal... A whole thin charcoal stick is used as the core, and the outer shell is made of wood. The wood is split in two, the wood shavings inside are removed, the core is embedded into the wood, and then the wood is glued together."
This method is also suitable for making pencils. Wen Yuxia simply told Li Wancai that pencils are more convenient to use than charcoal pencils, and advised him to keep an eye out for graphite mines, as pencils could be produced once graphite was found.
"Wen girl, I've remembered everything you said," Li Wancai said, nodding after listening attentively.
Charcoal pencil leads break easily, while pencil leads don't. Li Wancai decided that upon returning to Nanzhou Prefecture, he would send people to search for graphite mines.
Wen Yuxia continued explaining how to make charcoal pencil sharpeners, and Li Wancai chuckled as he listened: "The raw materials for charcoal pencils, charcoal pencil sharpeners, and erasers are not expensive. I can already foresee the booming market for these three items after they are launched."
"Grandpa Li, charcoal pencils, pencil sharpeners, and erasers are consumables. We make money through volume, so we can set the price a little lower..."
Drawing on her knowledge from her previous life, Wen Yuxia explained in detail the ex-factory price, retail price, and necessary marketing methods of the goods.
“Wen is right. If the raw materials are cheap, we should also set our prices low. We can make money through volume; the more we sell, the more we earn,” Li Wancai listened attentively and nodded in agreement.
Wen Yuxia is so young, yet she already knows the ways of business—that's amazing! It seems we should have more dealings with the Wen family in the future. Li Wancai made the right decision in his heart.
Wen Yuxia said with a faint smile, "Grandpa Li, I will write down the instructions for making charcoal pencils, pencil sharpeners, and erasers for you later. As for where to build the workshop, you can decide for yourself."
With the production method and blueprints provided, the workers in the workshop knew how to operate the equipment without Wen Yuxia's on-site guidance. Where Li Wancai built the workshop had no impact on Wen Yuxia.
Li Wancai chuckled and said, "I'll take care of the workshop. Wen girl, let's talk about the profit sharing of charcoal pencils and pencil sharpeners."
Wen Yuxia calmly said, "Just like with the eraser, I'll only provide the manufacturing method; everything else is your responsibility. I'll keep 20% of the profits, and you'll keep 80%."
If Li Wancai had connections, he could sell charcoal pencils, pencil sharpeners, and erasers throughout the entire Great Xia Dynasty, and Wen Yuxia could earn a considerable amount of silver each year.
The ceramics factory she previously partnered with, which provided a fixed monthly profit, was now being approached by Li Wancai for another collaboration. The thought of money falling from the sky while she sat at home made Wen Yuxia's lips curl into a wide smile.
"I've already drafted the contract, let's sign it now!" Li Wancai said frankly, taking out the contract.
I had long suspected that Wen Yuxia would partner with him, so I had a contract drafted before I came. The contract stated that Wen Yuxia would contribute her skills as equity, while Li Wancai would contribute both money and effort.
Wen Yuxia carefully read the contract, then filled in "20% and 80%" in the profit-sharing section, and signed her name. The contract was in triplicate. Li Wancai signed one copy and handed it to Wen Yuxia.
"As usual, we'll each keep one copy, and I'll hand over the remaining one to the county government later," Li Wancai said, signing the contract before preparing to leave.
Wen Yuxia quickly took out a brand new charcoal pencil, pencil sharpener, eraser, and the instructions she had just written down, and handed them to Li Wancai. "Grandpa Li, if there's anything you don't understand, feel free to come to me anytime."
After seeing Li Wancai off, Wen Yuxia closed the door and slipped into her spatial dimension. She carefully examined the house deed, land deed, indenture, and the ceramics cooperation agreement, then counted the silver notes in the space twice.
Finally, she practiced martial arts in the backyard of the villa with a sense of satisfaction. Only she and Wen Yunhong knew that since Wen Yunhai, Wen Yunshen, and Fu Bao moved into her house, the space had become the training ground for the siblings.