Chapter 21: Negotiations for Cooperation

  "What is he doing here?" Seeing Old Yu, Zhang Lei's mind quickly started racing.

  "What's wrong with the cigarette?"

  "Snatched his business?"

  “……”

  A multitude of thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, but he still couldn't think of a way out, so he decided to remain unchanged amidst all the changes.

  "Mr. Zhang, nice to meet you." Mr. Yu, accompanied by Zhang Chen, had just walked into the courtyard when he hastened his pace and arrived in front of Zhang Lei, saying with a smile all over his face.

  Looking at this appearance, it doesn't seem like he's here to find trouble. Zhang Lei was even more bewildered and could only respond: "Mr. Yu has arrived in person, my humble abode is honored, I didn't come out to greet you from afar, please forgive me."

  "Mr. Zhang said where words, Yu certain uninvited, is I disturb, should apologize."

  "After you, boss, please go inside."

  "Please..."

  When he saw the guest arrive, Old Chen seemed a bit embarrassed and said: "Well, nephew, since you have guests now, we'll just head back first."

  "Hey, hey, hey, you two must stay for dinner at my place today. What's the time now? Are you still going back to work? Come on in."

  He pulled Zhang Chen's sleeve and whispered in his ear: "What's going on? How did he come back with you? Where's Dad?"

  "My dad is buying vegetables, I don't know what's wrong with Old Master Yu, he came to my door just as I was about to go home and insisted on following me back, I couldn't stop him." Zhang Chen said with a gloomy face.

  "Alright, alright. Whether it's good fortune or bad luck, I'll go and meet him."

  Luckily since I went to the town, our home has always had Pu'er tea stocked up. If not, today would have been embarrassing. Although the place isn't great, but the hospitality is quite impressive.

  "Come on, come on, twenty-year-old Pu'er tea, let Boss Yu taste it and see if it meets your standards." Zhang Lei said as he poured the tea.

  He gave Zhang Chen a wink and said, "Brother, go boil some water for Hammer Uncle and Big Courage to take a bath. They both helped me out this afternoon."

  After sending everyone away, Zhang Lei opened the door and said straightforwardly: "Boss Yu, I'm a straight-shooter, can't hide my words, so just say it, what brings you here today?"

  Yu Boss savored the fragrant Pu'er tea while slowly saying, "Zhang Boss's tobacco should be almost used up by now, right?"

  "Hmmph..."

  Zhang Lei, who was drinking tea, suddenly couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of tea on the ground, quickly grabbed some paper to wipe his mouth and said: "I've made Mr. Yu laugh, I'm just surprised why Mr. Yu asked this question?"

  Yu boss smiled and said: "Zhang boss is really a man of temperament, well, I'll just say it straight then. In the past few days, Zhang boss's cigarettes have been selling very well."

  As soon as he mentioned this, Zhang Lei suddenly became vigilant, smiled awkwardly and said: "Small fights are nothing compared to Mr. Yu's daily profits of hundreds of thousands, I'm ashamed."

  "Boss Zhang is being modest, the Yunwu cigarettes have been selling extremely well recently, everyone can see that. The more I think about it, the more I feel that Boss Zhang is a real genius. When I was your age, I was still an apprentice in the store."

  "If I can catch up with half of what Old Master Yu has achieved in his lifetime, I will be very satisfied."

  "Mr. Zhang is a young talent with unlimited prospects, I came here today just to discuss cooperation with Mr. Zhang." After beating around the bush for half a day, Mr. Yu finally got to the point.

  Zhang Lei's eyes widened in astonishment as he said, "Cooperate with me? Cooperate on what? How could Old Master Yu have such an idea?"

  Mr. Yu said, "To be honest, I, Yu, have been running a shop for decades and can only barely make a living. However, in your hands, tobacco can be transformed into something extraordinary. I am deeply impressed. I've heard that Mr. Zhang's tobacco varieties are different from mine, which is why he can produce such rich and fragrant tobacco threads. That's why I came to visit this time - I want to cooperate with Mr. Zhang to promote this roasted tobacco widely. What do you think, Mr. Zhang?"

  The cigarette case was quite a big deal, and it wasn't surprising that Old Yu knew about it in such a nearby town. However, the issue of cooperation was something Zhang Lei had never thought of before.

  "I see that you've been paying attention, so I won't need to say anything else. Yes, our tobacco is made through roasting and curing, which is fundamentally different from sun-dried tobacco, and the flavor is also more mellow. However, personally, I never had the intention of planting roasted tobacco all along, so Mr. Yu's proposal, although I like it very much, will unfortunately have to disappoint him." Zhang Lei said tactfully. His purpose in making roasted tobacco was only to help the villagers get through a difficult time, and he had never thought that he would focus on this matter wholeheartedly, so there was no way he could agree to Mr. Yu's proposal for cooperation.

  When Zhang Lei said this, Old Master Yu was somewhat disappointed. His people had already investigated clearly that the entire process of curing tobacco was only known by Zhang Lei, and the most critical control of fire temperature was only known by Zhang Lei and his father Zhang Baosheng. If they couldn't cooperate with Zhang Lei, even if they got the seeds for curing tobacco, it would be useless.

  "Boss Zhang has high aspirations, indeed worthy of being a young talent. I must have fallen behind, wanting to hold on to this foundation, probably don't have the energy to do more." Unable to get Boss Zhang's cooperation, Old Master Yu couldn't help but feel regretful.

  However, as a seasoned businessman who has been through the ups and downs of the business world for many years, he is not used to returning empty-handed. Since the first plan was rejected by Zhang Lei, he immediately thought of a second plan. He said: "Since Mr. Zhang doesn't want to get involved deeply, I won't persuade him anymore. However, I think it's a pity that such an excellent craftsmanship can't be promoted and people can't enjoy the intoxicating paradise and misty clouds. It's really a shame for us. If we could continue these two treasures, it would be great. How about this: I'll take charge of planting tobacco leaves, and Mr. Zhang will process them? What do you think of this cooperation?"

  "This..." Zhang Lei pondered.

  If Mr. Yu can plant tobacco on a large scale in Xujia Village, he will inevitably need a lot of labor, so he must hire villagers. In this way, if an agreement is signed with him to require the employment of Xujia Village people, won't the villagers benefit from it? At that time, although nominally helping Mr. Yu work, they are actually planting themselves, and can only receive wages every month.

  After the tobacco leaves are harvested, they need to be cured and cut into strips before cigarettes can be made. Now many villagers in Xujia Village have already acquired the skills to make cigarettes, so as soon as the tobacco is ready, they can start working.

  As for grasping the temperature of roasted tobacco, it's not a difficult task, just try several times and you'll get it. If you don't agree with Old Master Yu, when he comes to do it himself, then these many job opportunities will probably be lost. It's better to sign an agreement with him now and tie him to your own boat, also good for making some money.

  Having thought of this, Zhang Lei already had a plan in mind. He said: "This is feasible. In order to let more people enjoy the results of my invention and create more job opportunities, I agree with your opinion. However, cooperation is possible, but I must sign a contract with you, in black and white, so that our relationship can be clarified later."

  Zhang Lei agreed to cooperate with himself, and Old Master Yu was also very happy. Now Yunwu Smoke is so popular, the daily sales are tens of thousands of silver coins. As for Xianjing Smoke, it's simply a huge profit! If we plant on a large scale, with so many people and connections, wouldn't wealth come pouring in?

  It seems that it can be foreseen, and in the future, making a fortune will not be a problem. When Zhang Lei said he wanted to sign in July, he hastily agreed: "Good, good, just do as you say, sign the contract, and cooperate with each other."

  Since he nodded in agreement, Zhang Lei continued: "In that case, I'll revise the contract. Tomorrow, I'll send it to your store. If you don't have any opinions after reading it, then we can sign it. It's best if we also file a copy with the government office so that if there are any disputes in the future, there will be evidence to refer to."

  "That's that, as the saying goes, even close brothers settle accounts clearly. These procedures are necessary. Since Boss Zhang has said so, Yu will wait for your arrival at the small shop. Farewell." Boss Yu stood up and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

  Yu Lao Ban had just left when Zhang Chen and Chen Lao Chui Chen Da Yong entered the house.

  "Brother, what is he here for?" Zhang Chen asked.

  Zhang Lei laughed and said, "Haha, what else can he do? He just wants to get a share of my cigarette sales because they're selling so well. I've already decided to cooperate with him, and tonight I'll draft a contract. By the way, how much have we sold in cigarette sales these past few days?"

  After Zhang Lei said that, Zhang Chen suddenly realized and smiled: "It's okay, it's okay, he's also selling tobacco, I suppose he came to find his brother just for this matter, how could I not think of it? That sales volume, I wrote it in the account book, you take a look."

  He took out a blue-covered account book from the room, with the words "Zhangshi Technology Income and Expenditure Details" written neatly on the front. Zhang Lei flipped through it casually, and found that everything written inside was about various income and expenses since Zhangshi Technology opened.

  The largest expenditure is the labor cost paid to villagers for rolling cigarettes, which is only about three or four taels of silver. In contrast, the profit is a long string, with every type of cigarette sold clearly recorded each day, and daily income exceeding ten taels of silver. No wonder Mr. Yu was eager to cooperate so quickly. With just this small storefront, annual income exceeds 3,000 taels of silver; wouldn't his old store be able to earn even more?

  After dinner, Zhang Lei went into the house to draft a contract. In order to protect his own interests, he first wrote that as a technical investor, he would take two percent of the shares, one percent as a return for providing roasted tobacco technology, and one percent as a payment for the production formula of Yunwu Smoke and Xianjing Smoke. Zhang Lei's main consideration was to use the Xianjing Smoke formula to dispel Old Master Yu's doubts. Otherwise, as a businessman, he would not be able to see the huge profit of two silver coins per branch of smoke, and at that time, he would have to agree to other terms using this as a bargaining chip.

  The second is that Mr. Yu contracted a large area of land to plant tobacco, and the hired workers must be villagers from Xujiaying Village, with a monthly wage of no less than one or two silver coins per person.

  The main points are these two, but in case of any unexpected situation, Zhang Lei also wrote some other things into it. After browsing through them himself, he felt that there were no errors and only then did he feel at ease.