Chapter 7: Sewing Machines (Part 2)

  Doing business is all about making the most profit with the least investment. Wan Niang didn't understand the intricacies, but hearing that it could make money, she smiled and said: "Husband, you're really capable..."

  Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the man arrived on time to deliver the parts. Looking at the small mountain of iron materials, he was stunned: "Young master, this...this is too much, I made you fifty pounds of parts, plus the consumption in between, but these irons must be over two hundred pounds."

  "I didn't say I'd give it all to you." Wei Hong smiled mysteriously, this blacksmith was indeed honest, and Wei Hong liked such honest people. He took the parts and scanned them with his eyes, finding them mostly suitable, then casually put them aside and pointed at the small mountain of scrap iron, saying: "I weighed it before, these irons total 210 catties, excluding the 50 catties I'll return to you, I'll sell the remaining 160 catties to you at a low price. Don't take more than that, just pay me 200 coins."

  Wei Hong didn't just name a price randomly, as a businessman, he was more meticulous than anyone else. Yesterday, he had already calculated the account. Initially, Hanzi wanted 120 yuan, minus 30 yuan for labor costs, which left 90 yuan for material costs. Fifty kilograms of iron cost 1.8 yuan per kilogram, so the remaining 160 kilograms of iron totaled 288 yuan. Wei Hong only charged him 200 yuan, first to let Hanzi have some profit, after all, doing business is about mutual benefit, if it's just one-sided gain, the business won't last long. Second, Wei Hong thought Hanzi was a good guy, so he gave him a friendly discount.

  The man may be foolish, but he's not stupid. He can still calculate this simple account. Doing business is all about making money. The blacksmith heard that there was a profit to be made and immediately smiled, revealing his big yellow teeth: "Young master, are you telling the truth? This 160 catties of iron really only costs 200 coins?"

  Wei Hong nodded solemnly: "Absolutely true!"

  "Alright, I'll take it! However... I didn't bring any money with me today. How about I come back this afternoon with the money? What do you think, sir?" The man said with a delighted tone, previously people would say that good fortune falls from the sky, but today he was literally hit on the head by good fortune.

  "Wei Hong gave a hearty laugh: 'Then I'll wait for my brother at home. By the way, push the cart when you come. Although you have strength, carrying 160 kilograms of iron and wanting to walk back from my house, I'm afraid your heart will be willing but your strength won't be enough.'"

  The man revealed his big yellow teeth and laughed: "Definitely, definitely!"

  As soon as Hanzi left, Wei Hong began to prepare the sewing machine. With the main parts ready, things became much simpler. Wei Hong didn't plan on making the outer casing of the sewing machine; as long as it could function normally, he didn't care about its appearance. First, he found a piece of wood and cut it into a suitable shape, then assembled the frame of the sewing machine using the wooden board. Next, he installed the important components, and for the remaining small parts, Wei Hong replaced them all with wood. He gathered a pile of discarded wood materials and carved each part one by one with a small knife, making two or three backups of each part in case they weren't durable enough, so that there would be replacements available.

  Wan Niang didn't know what Wei Hong was up to and didn't worry about it. Anyway, the blacksmith had just sent over 200 wen in cash, so this month's rent was taken care of. She followed closely behind Wei Hong, wiping his sweat and pouring water for him, which increased Wei Hong's efficiency by more than one level. By the dead of night, Wei Hong had finished making all the parts. Since it was getting late, he didn't assemble them and planned to continue the next day.

  The next morning, Wei Hong got up early and assembled all the prepared parts. The sewing machine was a treadle type, and when Wei Hong drove the treadle with his foot, the sewing machine started making a "clattering" sound. A smile appeared on Wei Hong's mouth. To verify that the sewing machine could work normally, Wei Hong found a piece of fabric and used the style of the Shang Dynasty's official uniform to make a deep blue garment in a hurry.

  Wei Hong has been wearing this era's long shirt for the past two days, feeling very awkward. Once he put on his own handmade scholar's robe, Wei Hong couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, thinking that it was still more comfortable to wear clothes that fit him well.

  At this time, Yuanniang woke up and walked out of the door. She saw Weihong wearing a strange outfit: "Husband, what are you wearing? It's very strange, but it looks quite comfortable..."

  Due to the fact that the clothing of the Great Ming Dynasty continued the traditional Hanfu, although the concept was very similar, there were still some differences in appearance. Wei Hong thought to himself, "This Shishu Jinfu is equivalent to an improved version of Hanfu, a mature garment that has been polished over time." Of course, these words Wei Hong couldn't say out loud, as they would be too unbelievable. Wei Hong awkwardly coughed twice, covering his mouth with his right fist: "These clothes are based on the original Hanfu, which I have improved upon, and are called Shishu Jinfu."

  Yuan's gaze lingered on the sewing machine beside Wei Hong for a moment, and when she saw its strange appearance, Yuan suddenly felt curious: "Husband, what is this? Is this what you've been busy with these past few days?"

  Wei Hong smiled mysteriously and patted the Shu cloth on his body: "Wan Niang, take a look at how this Shu cloth is made?"

  "Is it sewn with a needle?" As soon as the words came out, Yuanniang realized something and looked at the scholar's clothes again, then looked at the sewing machine, and immediately covered her mouth in disbelief: "Could it be that this thing was made by this?"

  "Brilliant!" Wei Hong stretched out his thumb, gave a thumbs up, patted the sewing machine's base with his hand, and said mysteriously: "There are only six days left now. As long as we have this thing, we can smoothly make those 200 long shirts!"

  Wan Niang was shocked and looked at the strange machine in front of her incredulously: "Is this it?"

  Wei Hong smiled and nodded, his tone firm: "Just because of it!"

  To make Wan Niang believe what he said was true, Wei Hong brought a piece of deep blue fabric and simply cut it with scissors. He then put it on the sewing machine, and with the sound of "zhā chī zhā chī", this ordinary fabric changed shape at an eerie speed in Wei Hong's hands. In almost just a blink of an eye, a man's long shirt was sewn out.

  Looking at Wan Niang's extremely shocked eyes, Wei Hong smiled leisurely and handed the long shirt sewn to Wan Niang: "Take a look, the clothes sewn by your husband with a sewing machine, how is the quality?"

  Yuan Niang took the clothes, looked at them carefully, touched them gently, and finally sighed: "The workmanship is exquisite, flawless. Usually, it takes Yuan Niang almost half a day to sew a long shirt. I didn't expect this... sewing machine... could be made in an instant! Husband, how did you create such an amazing device?"