Carpenter Zhang's face froze with a smile, he looked at Changsun Hong, the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched a few times, and the whole person maintained a straight posture, and the expression on his face couldn't tell whether he was happy or unhappy.

The dog pushed him and shouted, "Uncle Zhang? Uncle Zhang? ”

This gentle push almost pushed Carpenter Zhang to stumble, the dog was startled, and quickly grabbed him, only to see Carpenter Zhang's mouth trembling, his eyebrows and nose were shaking, his eyes were round in disbelief, he broke free from the dog, grabbed Changsun Hong's hand, and said excitedly in a trembling voice: "Little, little brother, what did you say?" You—are you really willing to sell me this drawing? ”

"yes." Changsun Hong's hands were painful when he pinched them, struggled hard, and said, "But there is one condition, are you willing?" ”

"Yes, yes, of course." Carpenter Zhang had a lot of strength, he was ecstatic, and he shook Changsun Hong's hand vigorously, which made the little brother's tears hurt: "As long as the little brother agrees to give me the drawings, any conditions are negotiable." ”

"Let go, you let go first." The eldest grandson Hong pulled out his hand with great difficulty, rubbed the red palm and said: "Uncle Zhang, I heard people say that this Shizhao County is a county, to talk about carpentry technology, you think that no one dares to fight for the first, and you are kind and honest, so I have the heart to sell the drawings to you, and these days, you have also kept your promise and did not disclose the news of the rice milling machine to outsiders, I believe you, the only condition is to hope that every time you sell a machine, I will take 30% of the profit." ”

"Rake? That...... This drawing money ......" Carpenter Zhang blinked his eyes, obviously not expecting the conditions that Changsun Hong said, he was a little surprised, and muttered thoughtfully: "How much does the drawing cost?" ”

"The drawings are given to you in vain, no money." Changsun Hong waved his hand and said briskly: "But you have to keep it, others want to learn the manufacturing skills of this machine, and it will take some time to buy it back and disassemble it, even if you are a master craftsman, there is no one who can't learn it in a year and a half, but it's different if you have drawings, you can make exactly the same thing in a month, which is not good for our trading." ”

"What the little brother said is that I must hide this drawing." Carpenter Zhang hurriedly said, although he is kind, he is not a stupid person, on the contrary, to be a carpenter, you must have a clear mind and an active brain, otherwise you can't reach a high level. Therefore, as soon as I heard what Changsun Hong said, I understood that this kung fu had turned several times in my heart: "The little brother sold the drawings to me, and the money was made, just to find the right person, Zhang Ji Wood Workshop has a lot of reputation in the county, and people from ten miles and eight townships will come to me to make things, and then I will put the rice milling machine in the bright place, and then say the benefits, the farmers and grain stores will like it, this market, don't worry." ”

"No, Uncle Zhang, it's too slow just to do this, you have to advertise." The eldest grandson Hongdao.

"Advertise?" Carpenter Zhang and Gouzi couldn't understand it, and said in surprise: "Who is the advertisement?" Why hit him? ”

"...... I'm wrong, I mean, you should bring some people, take advantage of the autumn harvest season, take the rice mill to the various threshing floors to walk around, grind for people a few times, and even grind for free without money, so that you have made a new gadget, in order to spread it as quickly as possible, the benefits of the rice mill can also be seen by others, and the money can roll in." The eldest grandson Hong pondered the words and explained the meaning of the advertisement in a language that Carpenter Zhang could understand: "You'd better engrave the logo of Zhang's Woodworking Workshop on the rice mill used to sell, do you have a logo?" No? It doesn't matter, just get one at random, mainly used to let others know that it is produced by your family at a glance, this is called a trademark. ”

Carpenter Zhang blinked his eyes, tried hard to digest Changsun Hong's words, nodded his head incessantly, and said, "Brother Changsun, that ...... Is the trademark the kind of emblem engraved on the wood in the Fucheng wood shop? ”

"Exactly!" Changsun Hong snapped his fingers and asked in surprise, "Have you been to Fucheng?" ”

The common people of this era, fifty miles away from home, called far away, many people have been busy all their lives, even the county border has never been out, the hair is long and the knowledge is short, Zhang Carpenter is just a handicraft, there is not much money, the relationship is not wide, so the eldest grandson Hong has this question.

"A few years ago, I was recruited by the government and went to the city to repair the official warehouse, and when I was young, I also went to Jiangnan with my master, and built a palace for the official family there, but that was a long time ago." Carpenter Zhang said, and proudly straightened his chest.

The official family, that is, the meaning of the emperor, the eldest grandson Hong unexpectedly deviated his head, no wonder this carpenter has outstanding skills, it turned out to be a skilled craftsman who has contributed to the royal family.

"Since Uncle Zhang is so good, why did he come back to Shizhao County? You must know that in the land of big cities, there are many people and many jobs, and whether it is to make money and live, it is much better than a small county and a remote area. The eldest grandson Hongqi said.

"That's the way it is, but there's a lot of trouble in it." Carpenter Zhang listened, but shook his head, stood tall and lowered his chest again, and said softly with a little shortness of breath: "Little brother doesn't know, although I and other craftsmen, although they rely on their ability to eat, do not ask for people and do not rely on people, but in the eyes of the people in the big city, they are the most lowly characters, no one to rely on outside, even the idlers in the market can bully you, and they come to bully you at two ends in three days, and the government doesn't care, so they can't do it, so they come back to operate." Although Shizhao County is small, it is a native of the township, the villagers are kind, live freely, sell some woodwork and do some small work can be respected, and now people are old, and they are reluctant to leave their hometown. ”

"I see." The eldest grandson Hong then understood, and thought about it again, which dynasty and that generation, craftsmen are low-level people with humble status, even if you are skillful, you are still an ant who can't be on the table, the Song Dynasty is still good, in the Ming Dynasty, craftsmen are craftsmen, passed down from generation to generation, and they are not allowed to change their occupations, even if they starve to death, they have to guard the household set by the government to die, which is even more desolate.

"Uncle Zhang, since you and I have negotiated, then this matter is decided, you can start manufacturing rice mills according to the drawings tomorrow, how much is the price, you are an expert, just look at it, and then inform me, with the income, we will settle it every month, how about it?" Changsun Hong took out a contract that had already been written and showed it to Carpenter Zhang.

Carpenter Zhang was illiterate, and after listening to the eldest grandson Hong's recitation, he didn't doubt it, so he heartily stretched out his finger and pressed the monogram, and a business was so simple to achieve.

The matter was said to be good, it was almost noon, Zhang Carpenter wanted to leave the two of them for dinner, and the eldest grandson Hong was worried about the Zhang family at home, so he politely shirked and left.

The two of them went out of Zhangjia Village, walking on the dirt road, the dog slumped like a gourd and fell far behind, the eldest grandson Hong skimmed the dog and asked him: "Just now at Carpenter Zhang, you want to say something and stop, and you are embarrassed to say, what?" What's not to understand? ”

When the dog was communicating with Carpenter Zhang, he wanted to speak all the time, but he couldn't interject, his mouth couldn't open and close, and Changsun Hong guessed what he was thinking, and deliberately asked him at this time.

Sure enough, the dog had a big loss on his face, listless, followed behind Changsun Hong, and said dejectedly: "Erlang, I want to say, the rice mill is so magical, we put it on the threshing floor, a bucket of rice to charge him a few pennies, a stone of rice is how much, there are so many fields in Lijia Village, so many grains, just collecting money is enough for you to buy a rice mill, I remember that you planned to do so last time, why did you come here today, you changed your words, you want to go to the commission, Zhang Carpenter sold something, what if you don't give you money when the time comes?" Also, how do you know how much he's sold? How much should I give you? You're not here. ”

Changsun Hong laughed, turned around and grabbed his shoulder, and leaned closer and said, "Last time I came, I did think so, but this time I changed my mind." Why, listen to me. ”

With his fingers on his head, Changsun Hong said one by one: "First, dog, our money is enough to buy a machine, you calculate, how much grain do we have to beat, and how long will it take to return to the capital?" It's too slow, it's the slowest way to make money. ”

"Second, we are both children, do we carry the rice mill around every day? We can do it, will you? Will my dad be willing? ”

"Third, Zhang Carpenter, this person, integrity can be expected, judging from the fact that he kept his promise during this time, he is not a villain who is eager for quick success, he also understands the truth of the long stream, plus I asked him to sign the contract, he doesn't know how to read, and he didn't even look for someone to check it, so trust us, what are we worried about?"

"Finally, dog, you have to know that money cannot be earned by one person, and you must cooperate in order to maximize the benefits." Changsun Hong pulled down the last vertical finger and said, "These things don't need us to come out, we can sit on the ground and make money, why not?" On the surface, Carpenter Zhang took my drawings to make money, but in fact, it was I who used him to make money for me. ”

The dog looked at him as if he didn't understand, looking at his deep expression and cunning face, he couldn't speak, he didn't know what to say, he could only nod ignorantly.

Changsun Hong patted him on the shoulder and said freely: "Let's go, go back to eat." Walking away, the dog stood in place, reminisced for a long time, touched his chin and touched it, vaguely seemed to understand a little, and when he looked up, he didn't seem to understand anything.

The eldest grandson Hong has already walked away, and the gray linen boy under the sun walks leisurely in the shade of the trees on the side of the road, chic and free, from time to time he reaches out to pick a section of branches and weeds from the side of the road, puts it in his mouth and plays, his steps are light, and he hums a little song, looking from a distance from behind, as if he is as elegant as a master in the world.

The dog patted his face and scolded secretly: "Li Gui, Li Gui, what Erlang is thinking about, what are you thinking about it?" Are you as smart as he is? Just follow Erlang! ”

He ran up and shouted, "Erlang, wait for me!" "Chased after him.