The cost of matches was quickly calculated. A pound of cork and wooden sticks of 500 is only a penny, and the workshop workers work on the assembly line piecework, which also greatly reduces the cost. Raw materials are purchased in the case of official introduction, and the cost is not very high. In the end, a total of one result was obtained, and the cost of thirty matches in five cartons was less than a penny.

As for how much it will sell. Wu Tianxiao asked, looking at the village chief who was so happy that he burst into flames when he wiped it. The village chief said with a smile: "This match is really easy to use, and it will catch fire when you wipe it." I'm going to see. Two boxes of three pennies, we are also happy to buy them. ”

Later, Wu Tianxiao took matches to Chen Qianhe and Tang Zhixian to discuss together. That Chen Qianhe was also like the village chief, and he wiped the match and shouted: "Shine." This match is really a good thing, and it will catch fire when you wipe it. This box of three pennies is worth it. ”

That Tang Zhixian also fiddled with the match and nodded: "It's really a good thing, it's very convenient." If this package is more beautiful, I estimate that this box of five cents will still be needed. "Three people, three grades, three answers. According to the current purchasing power, on average, a box is about the price of a catty of rice.

Wu Tianxiao smiled: "I have an idea. ”

Chen Qianhe said with a smile: "Brother Wu's idea must be useful. Let's hear it. ”

Wu Tianxiao said: "This match is divided into three grades. Just like this, thirty sticks, two boxes of three pennies and sold at the same time. In addition, there is another forty-stick pack, the materials are uniform and good-looking, and a box of three pennies. Finally, there is a box of forty pieces for five cents, but the materials are not only evenly picked, but the packaging carton is more expensive. What do you think? Tang Xianyao and Chen Qianhe both nodded in agreement.

Wu Tianxiao continued: "This fertilizer water does not flow into the fields of outsiders, how can it be sold naturally not cheaper Those profiteers, I don't know what the two of you think?" If I can take care of some foot peddlers who go through the streets and alleys to sell, then I can reduce the profit by another two. ”

Chen Qianhe and Tang Xianyao are both understanding people, this is giving dividends, Tang Xianyao first smelled the smell of money. Happy: "This Zhoushan County is the land under my jurisdiction, and the things that cause fire are dangerous, so they should be sold by officials." The county government should take care of some foot peddlers, and the official will first order 10,000 boxes to try. ”

That Chen Qianhe is also very enterprising. After thinking for a while, he said, "Brother." If this thing is sold for a large amount, then the commander and the capital eunuch must also prepare a copy. I won't have anything to do with Tangzhi County here in Zhoushan, but I will control Ningbo Prefecture. I'll order 30,000 boxes to try first, and I'll also give those bitter military families a way to get money. If you do it well, you don't need to spend any more money on the affairs of the 100 households, and I will take it with you. ”

So the three of them agreed on a deal, and the county government took care of a few foot peddlers to go through the streets and alleys to sell matches, while Chen Qianhe handed over the matter of selling to the families of those military households under his command, and the payment for the goods was half silver and half money. Wu Tianxiao is not a fool, he knows that the treasure money of the Ming Dynasty is not worth much. If Chen Qianhe and the others paid too much treasure money, they would give them all the treasure money when they didn't pay dividends that month, anyway, the treasure money was taken from them. And Wu Tianxiao's ruthlessness Tang Xianyao also knew about it, so everyone discussed, and finally paid for the goods with half silver and half banknotes.

Due to the convenience of using matches and the low price, they were soon popular among the people, especially hotels, green buildings, and some rich and powerful families, which became their necessities. In less than a month, it brought great benefits to Wu Tianxiao.

Of course. As matches are sold more and more widely, the benefits are getting bigger and bigger. The eunuchs, commanders, and prefects from all over the place, who smelled the smell of copper coins, also followed one by one to join in the fun. It's just that this is an afterword. As for the 100 household positions that Chen Qianhe promised Wu Tianxiao, he did not disappoint Wu Tianxiao. Soon after. Chen Qianhe said that he moved the commander and promoted Wu Tianxiao to 100 households in Zhoushan's left central guard.

The military households in the Zuo Zhongwei Station basically knew Wu Tianxiao when they were strangling the Japanese invaders, so they were still in awe of this new hundred households. And after Wu Tianxiao became a hundred households, he also put forward new requirements for the military households under his rule, that is, to train with Jia Youshi and Jiang Zhuang. However, the military households in these guards have long been used to being scattered, and most of them cried on the first day of training, shouting that they couldn't stand it.

Wu Tianxiao didn't force it, so he let those slow military households withdraw from training, what was the case before, how is it now, just leave those who are willing to endure hardships. Among them, Chen Minxin, Wu Dayou, Chen Minzhi, and Yang Hongju were four military households who endured hardships and were quite appreciated by Wu Tianxiao. And Zhang San and Li Liu were also unable to persevere, so they were transferred back to the sea ship by Wu Tianxiao to work as cooks, and the two were responsible for buying everyone's grain and cooking food, and by the way, monitoring the cow knife cypress who has now become a sea ship hygienist. At present, the urinal and dung buckets on the sea ship are all cleaned by the cow knife juniper, and the sanitation of the entire sea ship is responsible for the cow knife juniper.

And what Chen Qianhe and others don't know is. When the match workshop expanded into a match yard in the true sense of the word as the number of matches produced increased. While the match yard produces matches, it also secretly produces something. That's the bamboo grenade. This bamboo grenade is easy to make, using a bamboo tube the thickness of a child's arm, each section is about seven inches long, a small strip of explosives is placed in the middle of the bamboo tube, and after leaving a lead, it is filled with gravel the size of the little knuckle, and then sealed with oiled paper. This simple bamboo grenade was made by Wu Tianxiao using a formula of high explosives. After the experiment, the power was amazing, no less than the grenades of later generations.

Now in the hands of more than a dozen people in Luomen Village who followed Wu Tianxiao, they were only equipped with the swords and ribs seized from the Japanese Kou. Although Wu Tianxiao would be early every day, he would take them to train and learn the 72-style grappling hands and special forces nirvana, as well as running away with weight-bearing obstacles. But after all, there are too few people, and if you want to strengthen the armed forces, you still need to be equipped with highly effective killing weapons.

this day. As soon as the sky was bright, Wu Tianxiao still took Jia Youshi, Jiang Zhuang, Chen Minxin, Wu Dayou, Chen Minzhi, Yang Hongju, and more than a dozen personal entourage, and more than 30 original military subordinates. As usual, he carried a 20-pound sandbag on his back and ran a cross-country long-distance run. First run from Luomen Village to the county military camp, rest for a while, and then run back to Luomen Village, followed by sit-ups and tiger push-ups. When everyone is almost tired and lying down, they have to practice the 72-style grappling, and then the two of them fight.

And because Professor Wu Tianxiao's special skill is to use daggers, the soldiers have captured a lot of ribs from the Japanese and can be used. But today's military households generally use swords and bows and arrows, but fortunately, Wu Dayou and Yang Hongju are both from military backgrounds and have ancestral martial arts, so they can learn from each other.

The group trained for about an hour a day before returning to the ship for dinner. After eating, Wu Dayou, Yang Hongju and others took the original military households back to the guard house in the county seat. And Jia Youshi, Jiang Zhuang and more than a dozen others, who can be said to be Wu Tianxiao's personal entourage at this time, still have to continue training, because there are still three firearms and three bows and arrows captured from the Japanese Kou.

Jiang Zhuang was very interested in firecrackers, so Wu Tianxiao asked Jiang Zhuang to pick people who liked firecrackers to practice firecrackle shooting, while Jia Youshi took others to practice bows and arrows. According to the training course, after practicing firearms and bows and arrows, they also practice throwing bamboo grenades, and each person must throw more than 100 bamboo grenades every day. Of course. The bamboo grenade used for this practice is only filled with the same weight of sand, but the body shape and weight are the same as those of the real bamboo grenade.

As for Wu Tianxiao's taking some military households out of the barracks for training, and Wu Tianxiao's personal possession of bows, arrows and firearms, Chen Qianhe knew more or less about it. But now Chen Qianhe was busy with matches at this time, and Wu Tianxiao didn't bring many people, so Chen Qianhe pretended not to see it. Therefore, Wu Tianxiao is also relieved to practice Jia Youshi and others.

After Wu Tianxiao explained the training that day, he went to the match workshop. Every day after training, he also stirred a large pot of fish glue gunpowder for making matches, so that the workshop assembly line could make matches. Today's match workshops can only make about 5,000 boxes of matches a day, and there are not many fish gelatin gunpowder stirred.

It's not until noon. A few hired villagers started making matches again. Some people hold wooden skewers and stick gunpowder glue waiting for air drying, some people stick paper matchboxes, and some people count the air-dried matchsticks in boxes and packaging, and each person has a different process.

After Wu Tianxiao stirred the gunpowder glue, he chatted with the old village chief Jia in the courtyard of the village chief's house. The old village chief Jia made a cup of coarse tea for Wu Tianxiao, and said with a smile: "The matches that the county magistrate and the thousand households asked for have been delivered, and the workshop is still making them." Now the villagers are becoming more and more skilled, and there are as many as 5,000 boxes on this day. Wu Ye. It's going to be a lot of silver this month. ”

Wu Tianxiao smiled: "Old Jia is not panicking. Matches are daily consumables and are used every day. There is a lot of consumption of the yamen and guards alone, not to mention that once it spreads, the common people are used to it. I estimate that in Ningbo Mansion alone, tens of thousands of boxes will be consumed in January. Now that there are many points, the scene will be opened in the future, so that there will not be no goods available. ”