The partnership plan thrown by Qi Zhentao made Ye Tao unable to refuse. Qi Zhentao paid 200,000 taels of gold, as the principal of the partnership with Ye Tao to "develop" and produce pendulum clocks and clockwork, he occupied half of the shares, but in the first 10 years, he had to take 6 and a half of the dividends from the manufacture and sale of two kinds of clocks. As the other party of the partnership, Ye Tao has to come up with a plan within a month, finalize the product within three months, and officially put it into production within six months - this is almost the standard time process of the shipyard. In addition to production and research and development, Ye's does not need to take out the principal of one tael of silver, and there is an additional clause, Qi Zhentao will lend Ye's silver 600,000 taels without interest, and repay the loan at an annual amount of 100,000 taels from the second year for 6 years. As for how to use this money, Qi Zhentao and no one in the Qi family asked. The price ratio of gold and silver is now about 1 to 6, which is equivalent to 100,000 taels of gold, which is equivalent to the value of selling Chun Nuanju, which is enough for Ye Tao to open a position in the capital.

What's more interesting is that Qi Zhentao had the foresight to write in this joint stock agreement that after making a profit from the start of the table clock trading, 50% of the annual profits will be used to continue to invest in the research and development of more accurate timing products and for the expansion of outlets, and the remaining 50% is the dividends of both parties, and it is stipulated that if either of the two parties wants to transfer equity, the other party has the right of first refusal.

Qi Zhentao is simply a natural venture capitalist. In this era, watch production is undoubtedly a high-tech industry, when Qi Zhentao is not only thinking about profitability but also future research and development and so on, Ye Tao can only say a word. You must know that compared to him, Qi Zhentao almost did not understand the principle of pendulum clocks and clockwork clocks at all, and he almost instinctively came up with this series of ideas. Moreover, it was Qi Zhentao who came up with the additional clause that could solve almost all his troubles.

There is no binding of contract law, and in this era, such an agreement is at most to let the local government keep a backup, so as not to be unclear if there is a dispute in the future. And when Peng Detian copied the backup of this agreement, and affixed his own governor's seal on the two originals and the copy kept in the governor's palace, he was also embarrassed. This courage and determination are not available to everyone, no wonder although Qi Zhentao is not a rich country now, he can be regarded as a strong party. And after that, he almost immediately copied the agreement again and sent it to the capital in an expedited manner of 400 li. Ye Tao's every move is now being watched by the lord of Dongping, and Peng Detian naturally does not dare to slack off.

In fact, Qi Zhentao even solved Ye Tao's concern about how to transport a large amount of silver to the capital. There is no bank, no ticket number, no problem, those largest merchants have long solved this problem with the cooperation between each other, but now the Ye family led by Ye Tao is not qualified to enter that circle. The 600,000 taels of silver, Ye Tao can rely on Qi Zhentao's handwriting to go to Zuo's house in the capital at any time to withdraw it.

And Ye Tao, under the pressure of the contract, got into the creative studio that is now relocated to Chun Nuanju and began a new round of research.

The main problem is not the design, but the process, and to improve the level of technology, the most basic is the measuring instrument. Ye Tao misses the era when you could go to a store and buy vernier calipers and spiral micrometers, and even the most basic stainless steel ruler that has always been kept in the pencil case is probably so sophisticated and extravagant in this era. And now, these problems are piled up on me, which is really annoying.

In the absence of ordnance repair work, the ordnance workshop opened, and the most skilled students and Ye Tao's senior brothers all gathered, and finally made a complete set of vernier calipers and spiral micrometers in the first month. The measurement accuracy has been improved to the level of 25th of a millimeter.

This is followed by product finalization. Qi Zhentao did not ask to make both kinds of bells at once, so Ye Tao decided to start with the pendulum clock. At this time, a serious pendulum clock instead of Xibei goods used to fool distant maritime merchants also came to Ye Tao's creation room. The escapement used in the pendulum clock that Frank was able to produce was a pintooth type, and in Ye Tao's impression, it seems that the pendulum clock in the original era started from this structure. However, since there are more mature and advanced structures in your head to use, it seems that there is no need to learn this needle-toothed escapement, and in the end you have to bear the reputation of imitation. Among the almost wear-free locust claw escapements and the more widely used anchor escapements, Ye Tao chose the latter, and it was the anchor escapement that made the long-framed pendulum clock all the rage, and in this time and space, it should have the same effect, right? The first pendulum clock stereotyped by Ye Tao is stronger than any Frankish pendulum clock in that it does not only have the function of timekeeping. Ye Tao added the function of fixed-point time signal and hourly time signal to the pendulum clock. You can even choose whether to use a rich traditional bell or choose the melodious music of Ye Tao's special 16-chord 4-timbre music box. Of course, for the time being, no music customization is offered, that's for sure. Subsequent development plans include a moon phase chart and an annual tide table in the clock. These auxiliary functions are wound separately and are connected internally by a lightweight escapement and a chronograph centre. In fact, when the core part of the timing was finalized, Ye Tao's mind for the extension of this clock was far more than that, but it was better to release them one after another. Just for the sake of this high-tech product of this era, which is undoubtedly a high-tech product, Ye Tao, who was already thin, has lost a lot of weight.

"Ye boy, the old man still underestimated you?" After transporting the first pendulum clock to Zhenhai Villa, the excited Qi Zhentao invited Governor Peng Detian, Admiral Min Yue and Ye Tao's friend Du Fengchi, so that all the people involved in Ye's Workshop, who had been studying the principle and manufacturing process of this bell for more than two months, were invited to participate in this "press conference and celebration meeting" type of luxury banquet. When the pendulum clock was struck with a deep and melodious bell, it attracted a lot of admiration, and after that, Qi Zhentao didn't care that Ye Tao was still young, and toasted him with a glass. At this time, he couldn't care about his little fiancée Dai Qiuyan pulling his sleeves vigorously with concern and persuasion, Ye Tao only drank this cup.

"Old man, are you satisfied with this thing?" Ye Tao's smile looked a little haggard, but his spirit was very high. It's hard to put your heart and soul into one thing and succeed in the end.

"Of course I am satisfied. It's a lot better than the one in my study. Qi Zhentao couldn't find anything wrong for a while. Of course, in this day and age, this is almost something that can be worshipped as a technical achievement, and when such pendulum clocks can be officially produced and "re-sold" to Europe, when the watchmakers discover that the mechanism is very different from the needle-tooth escapement that they have complacently kept secrets, but with higher precision and better reliability, I wonder how they will be shocked. However, in the past two months, the money spent is really ruthless, and 20,000 taels of gold are thrown down like that. The best craftsmen, the best materials, the most meticulous production process, and even the secretary who records the process on the side are the best among the students. Although the production process is absolutely confidential, even Ye Tao himself has learned a lot in it.

"Old man, I've been working hard these days, and I've finally figured it out for you according to the time. Let me rest for a few days, okay? All that's left is to continue to make measuring tools, lathes, and teach a bunch of people who can make it. Otherwise, only me and my brother have figured out this thing now, but there are really a few of them. Ye Tao took this opportunity to forgive.

Qi Zhentao smiled and said, "The agreement is a saying, but am I an unsympathetic person, old man?" Don't say that you really got it out in 3 months, even if you didn't make it, looking at how desperately you are for a while, can I still blame you? You treat the old man as an elder in your mouth, but you don't treat me as your own in your heart, do you? ”

Ye Tao said: "Of course, it should be my own person." The partnership is all together, how can it not be your own person? …… However, it will take at least three months for this clock to really be mass-produced. Even if there is a delay at that time, it is impossible to say. ”

Even with the systematic technical training of Yip's Workshop, the number of students who can be qualified for pendulum clock making is extremely limited. Of course, just the original team involved in R&D is mainly responsible for manufacturing, and it is not impossible to bring apprentices on the other side, but the output can be a problem. According to Ye Tao's estimates, in this way, the output will not exceed 2 units a month, not to mention external sales, and it will be a problem to even meet the relationship between the two families in about half a year.

Qi Zhentao said very understandingly: "It's okay. Since you say so, you can arrange everything. I don't understand that. ”

On that day, everyone didn't treat Ye Tao as a teenager anymore, and after pouring him a few glasses in a row, Ye Tao, who was too drunk, got drunk. When he woke up, he was already in his bedroom in Chun Nuanju. Dai Qiuyan's small body was hidden in her arms, and the little girl did not have the consciousness of avoiding suspicion at all, and on this wide bed, behind him, Sophie was sleeping deeply.

"Childe," Ye Tao's slight movements were enough to wake up the sensitive Sophie, and she called softly.

"Sophie, go back to sleep, it's okay." After two years of getting along, Ye Tao also knew that Sophie was not the kind of woman who showed her existence by constantly doing things, and she didn't need to be smart either, indeed as Sophie herself thought, in fact, Ye Tao was using her as a secretary. And Sophie also knew that this young boy did not want to be busy with trivial things all day.

"Last night, a person from the capital came to look for Gongzi, that is Miss Zhuo's subordinate, you were still with Old Man Qi at that time, so I asked him to live in the back yard first." After a pause, Sophie continued: "That man, with an eagle. ”