Ou Yaoting's mansion is located in the rich villa area between the southern foot of Yuexiu Mountain and Liuhua Lake, An Yi and Ou Chuer were picked up in a car to return to Ou Mansion as soon as they got off the boat, and as soon as the car drove into the beautiful Western-style courtyard gate, An Yi saw Ou Yaoting and his wife standing in front of the tall Western-style arched porch waiting.

The car had not completely stopped through the wide garden, and An Yi, who was uneasy, hurriedly got out of the car and bowed: "I'm sorry!" Mr. and Mrs. Ou, I have kept you waiting for a long time. ”

Ou Yaoting laughed, stepped forward to hold An Yi's two arms and looked up and down: "I thought you were going to salute, not bad!" It's mighty! I can't believe that you will be so heroic when you wear a military uniform, and you really look dignified and talented! ”

Mrs. Ou looked at An Yi's face and nodded frequently: "It's so handsome, the temperament of the whole person has changed, and he has become more confident and tough than at the beginning." Come, come in, sit down, and wait for you to eat together." ”

"It's almost two o'clock, Mr. and Mrs. are still waiting, An Yi is ashamed." An Yi embarrassedly followed Ou Yaoting up the steps.

Ou Yaoting saw his daughter walking ahead in a huff, and asked An Yi with a smile: "Chu'er was spoiled by me, didn't let you get off the stage, right?" ”

"No, it's my fault, I saw Miss Ou in the reception room of the military academy, and before I had time to say hello to Vice Principal Li, I handed me a letter, I thought that the school asked me to withdraw from school, and there was a misunderstanding, so I yelled and scared Miss, and I wanted to apologize to Miss by boat and car all the way, but unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity." An Yi was embarrassed to explain.

Ou Yaoting laughed: "So that's the case, I'm afraid it's not that there is no chance, but that the brutal Chu Er doesn't give you this opportunity, right?" Haha, it doesn't matter. Come, feel free to sit down...... Xiao Yi, I know everything about how you left the firm, and I appreciate your brave behavior in helping the Whampoa Army, but there is one thing I haven't understood yet, Shopkeeper Chen has been making things difficult for you for a long time, giving you problems everywhere, so that you can't get off the stage before the public, why don't you tell me? ”

An Yi was silent for a moment, and decided to tell the truth: "It's not as serious as before, I think it will be good to know each other better, but then Mr. is not there, and I have nowhere to go, think about it carefully, the authority of the shopkeeper Chen needs to be maintained, although I almost went crazy on the spot several times, and I had the intention of beating him, but in the end I still held back." Because I think that as long as I contradict Chen's shopkeeper, there will be many employees who are usually resentful and take the opportunity to make trouble or tear down behind their backs, and it will be even worse if the matter spreads to other firms. At that time, the situation was chaotic, everyone was in danger, and it was not clear whether their lives could be saved. The Eight Great Firms are not Chen's shopkeepers, but Mr. Yours, Mr. cares for me and trusts me, and I can't do anything that is detrimental to Mr. 's interests. ”

Ou Yaoting was moved, and the lady beside him sighed excitedly: "Thank you, Xiao Yi!" Without you to stand up for today's business house, it is difficult to keep today's business house, my indisputable brother has always been sorry for you, but you treat him so leniently, in order to keep the business house and everyone from harm, you took the risk to go with the Dian army, and he didn't know how to thank you when he came back after nine deaths, but for a mere truck to drive you away, but you didn't have a word of complaint, on the contrary, you often went to the business house in the dead of night to look before and after, and saw that the business house was not in danger before you were relieved to go back, in contrast...... I'm so sad! ”

"Don't be surprised, Xiao Yi, although you don't say it, we all know that the uncle who guards the watch is old and dizzy, but he has good ears and remembers everyone's footsteps, he told me that every time you walk around the backyard late at night, he hides in the small room and doesn't want to come out, worried that you are thin-skinned, and he himself is not comfortable, until he can't hear your footsteps for a few nights in a row, my uncle can't help but ask Ah Biao, only to know that you have been admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy."

Ou Yaoting explained sadly, and the anger on Ou Chuer's face on the side gradually disappeared after hearing this, and a pair of beautiful eyes drifted to An Yi's face from time to time.

An Yi lowered his head and did not speak, Ou Yaoting no longer talked about these unpleasant things, the two couples enthusiastically persuaded An Yi to eat more food, saying that although the national political axe controlled the whole of Guangzhou, it will soon control the whole of Guangdong, and the tax revenue has increased more than ten times compared with the original, but due to the great cost of the Eastern Crusade and the expansion of the army, there is no shortage of rice and food in the military academy, but there will not be much oil and water.

After finishing the belated lunch, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. Ou Yaoting led An Yi to the second floor, walked through the spacious and elegant living room into the study, the maid immediately served tea and pastries, and the two sat at the large desk and began to discuss the design drawings of military rubber shoes.

Pointing to the three different styles of shoes on the drawings, Au Yaoting said: "The design is quite exquisite, the shape and shading are reasonable and beautiful, which I can't put down." Xiao Yi, you know that I am mainly engaged in the import and export of machinery, and the number of imported shoes operated by my commercial bank is not much, and I am not well-known among Guangzhou shoe merchants, how did you think of giving this picture to me? ”

An Yi replied with a smile: "I know these circumstances, and I also know that in November last year, Mr. helped Jiangsu and Zhejiang businessmen import a British-made shoe mold machinery, and I also heard that Mr. Hong Kong company has been doing rubber and tire re-export business, and has a good relationship with several British and American companies in Nanyang, so I thought, if Mr. can produce the drawings I designed, it will be a huge market in China." At present, the total strength of the warlords in China plus our revolutionary army is about 2.2 million, which I learned from the propaganda materials of the military academy, and this figure does not include the loose armament of the local security forces, and it is only necessary to calculate the consumption of one pair of shoes per person per year, which is a potential market of more than 2 million pairs, not to mention tens of millions of students and young people. Just simplify the design of the sole and upper on the basis of military shoes, and change the color of the upper, which is the best civilian lightweight shoes, which are easy to wear and do. The rubber soled shoes I wore in the United States before entering the military school are good, but I think that the Americans and the British have not yet considered the problem of transforming into military products on a large scale, their military shoes are generally rubber soled leather uppers, the cost is high and the production is complicated, far less practical and economical than the rubber sole canvas surface, especially in the southern region of our country where there are many rivers and lakes, leather military shoes are very impractical, and the price is unbearable, and it is easy to deform and tear after soaking in water. ”

"It makes sense, we have a clear view of the market, not to mention anything else, there are currently more than 100,000 troops stationed in Guangzhou, and these troops are easy to deal with. After I got the drawings, I consulted with two friends who opened shoe factories, and roughly calculated that the production cost was about three-fifths of the cost of imported footwear, which was very competitive. If you follow the simplified design for young people in China as you just mentioned, the cost can be saved even more. ”

Au Yaoting deserves to be a successful businessman, meticulous in everything.

An Yi thought for a while and asked: "I have always had an idea, but I don't know if there is a set of common patent laws in the United Kingdom and the United States?" ”

"There are all countries, but they have not yet been unified, Xiao Yi, what do you mean......" Ou Yaoting seemed to think of something.

An Yi nodded: "I wonder if we can apply for patents for our designs in Europe and the United States, and then we can only open a factory with only final lamination and bonding equipment, and let other manufacturers produce soles, uppers, laces and the like for us, we only need to take them back and go through the last process to assemble them into a complete shoe package and put them on the market, or simply entrust Nanyang's existing shoe factories to produce according to the standards we provide, but in order to highlight their reputation and do business for a long time, It is better to sell it under our own brand in China and Asian countries, so that the investment is much cheaper. ”

Ou Yaoting's eyes widened, it was really hard to imagine that An Yi had such a subtle idea, this kind of shrewd idea can be fully realized at present, without investing a lot of money in building a factory, just grasp the production quality and open the market: "Xiao Yi, you are so smart!" How did you come up with such a clever strategy? ”

What can An Yi say? I could only change the topic with a smile, pointing to another pattern on the map: "This kind of mid-top shoes with an upper just wrapping the ankle joint, which is very suitable for winter combat training, the thickened sole and special shading are not only strong and wear-resistant, but also have an anti-slip effect, and the upper is made of earthy yellow or green canvas, which is more beautiful and durable than our black canvas shoes with rubber soles today, and I estimate that as long as it is produced, it will be very popular." Sir, the successes on the battlefield of the Eastern Expedition are coming to an end soon, and the troops of General Li Zongren and General Huang Shaohong of Guangxi, with the assistance of the national political axe, are gradually advancing to the west and north of Guangxi, and the reunification of Guangxi is just around the corner, and it is estimated that our revolutionary army will soon go on a northern expedition after stabilizing the two Guangzhous, so I think that if we can produce a batch of these two low-cost military rubber shoes in June and July next year, Mr. will soon be known throughout China. ”

Ou Yaoting stood up excitedly, rubbed his hands together and walked alternately: "Very good idea, time is also in time, I just need to confirm it through telegram, go to Malaysia and Luzon to finalize the contract, Europe and the United States and overseas Chinese opened there not 20 but 18, as long as we place an order and pay a deposit, we will be able to produce the first batch within three months, the number will reach at least 50,000 pairs, and we will immediately set up our own factory to produce after opening the market, China's market is too important." , must not be given to foreigners! ”

An Yi pondered for a while and made a suggestion: "Sir, you have a very good relationship with the two American trading houses, and now that the United States is getting stronger and stronger, and speaking loudly in Asia, if you feel that there is no great security, you might as well have a joint venture with the Americans, or Mr. has a stake in an American shoe factory in Nanyang, so that the risk in terms of transportation safety and property security will be much smaller." ”

"Huh? Xiao Yi, what did you think of? Why don't you mention the British? Or the Germans? Ou Yaoting sat down again and stared at An Yi.

An Yi smiled: "I hate the British political axe, obviously it has fallen into the West Mountain, and it still points fingers at us. Germany has a very good industrial base, as far as I know, Germany was sanctioned because of the defeat of the last world war, and the past two years have reached the most difficult time, at this time, cooperation with them may be cheaper and more effective, and now a steady stream of German-made weapons are shipped to our country is a proof, but this nation is very tough, discipline is very terrible, Britain and France and other countries do not want to see Germany rise again, and must be suppressed with all their might, so it is easy to backfire, and the dog is in a hurry and there is a time to jump over the wall, What's more, a country like Germany with a strong national surname? It's hard to know that the Germans can't stand it and will rebel, and the Americans are now less influential in the world than a few old empires such as Britain and France, especially in Asia, where they are pushed aside by Britain and France from time to time, so they may be very willing to see Europe fight, but it may not be known, haha...... This is my cranky thinking, Mr. Ou don't blame me. ”

"Nope! It's definitely not a whimsy. ”

Ou Yaoting, who has studied in Europe for many years and has been rolling in the field of international trade for more than ten years, is by no means that simple: "Xiao Yi, you surprised me so much!" Every time you will surprise me, you are definitely not as simple as it seems, your words, not only have a unique understanding of the current world political situation, but also very far-sighted and a sense of crisis, even if the future is completely different from what you say, it cannot negate your unique insight and political sense, you shocked me very much, even today's national political axe leaders can not say. ”

"Mr. praised, I just love to think nonsense, I usually like to flip through the map when I have nothing to do, and after entering the military school, I love to listen to the instructor talk about the last world war, so I just think about it according to the mentality of fighting and making peace with my friends when I was a child, haha, don't laugh ......at it, sir."

The cunning An Yi turned to the small table, lifted the exquisite teacup, and saw Chu Er's beautiful figure disappearing outside the study door in a panic, obviously eavesdropping for a long time, it is estimated that she didn't expect An Yi to suddenly turn around and walk, and she couldn't avoid it in shyness.

The former proprietor and the former buddies sat down again and discussed the design diagrams, sometimes laughing, sometimes arguing, and then falling silent for a while.

In the living room downstairs, Mrs. Ou, who knitted a sweater, looked at her daughter lovingly, and Ou Chuer, who helped her mother wrap the wool, had a blush on her face, a smile on the corner of her mouth, and a quiet expression, and her two white and round ears were always listening to every sound coming from upstairs.

"Chu'er, what do you think of this color and pattern woven by your mother?"

"Huh? Oh...... It's pretty good, is it knitted for Dad? Ou Chuer came back to her senses and carefully stroked the supple half of her sweater.

"No, your dad's sweater isn't that wide."

"Who did that for?"

"I helped Xiao Yi weave, I started weaving a few days ago, I always feel sorry for Xiao Yi, he kept the safety of so many people, kept our family's hundreds of thousands of goods, worth hundreds of thousands of merchants, but your selfish and ignorant uncle drove Xiao Yi away, causing Xiao Yi to go to the army, and now I can't ask him to come back, alas...... Xiao Yi has no father or mother, he is quite pitiful alone, and now that it is cold, his mother knits him a sweater, which can be regarded as a kind of gratitude. ”

"Don't weave for him, this guy is so bad, I've written him sixteen letters this year, and he didn't reply a word, it's so hateful! Hmph......"

"Maybe Xiao Yi is busy, there are a lot of things in the business bank in the first half of the year, and he was caught by the Dian army for so long, he survived in the rain of bullets, and he was admitted to the military academy not long after, Huangpu I have been to, those students run and train before dawn, and they have to go to class until late at night, where is there so much time? Chu'er, you are not young, and you have to learn to be considerate of others. ”

"But...... Okay, let's not talk about that, can you teach me how to weave a scarf? It's easier to knit a scarf than a sweater, and I'll learn a little faster. ”

"Yo! My daughter is older and knows that she wants to learn to be a female celebrity, haha...... Tell your mother, do you plan to knit for yourself or for someone else? ”

"I ...... Don't tell you ......"

"Haha, okay, mom will teach you."