Chapter 22: Offering One's Services

  The next morning, Zhang Lei and his two sons went to the town together. As soon as they turned into the street where Zhangshi Technology was located, they saw a person standing at the entrance waiting for them. When that person saw Zhang Lei and his sons approaching, he turned around and left.

  Zhang Lei hadn't come for several days, and upon seeing this strange imagination, he asked: "Does this guy come every day?"

  "Of course not," Zhang Chen replied, "I'm also wondering. I've never seen it before and don't know where it came from."

  Since it's like that, Zhang Lei didn't think much of it and smiled: "Forget it, who cares who he is, as long as he doesn't harm us."

  Just as the door opened, Old Master Yu had already brought a servant to the entrance of Zhangshi Technology.

  "Boss Zhang, you've finally arrived. I, Yu, have been waiting for you with great difficulty." Boss Yu said as he walked over to Zhang Lei.

  Zhang Lei cupped his hands and said: "Boss Yu has waited for a long time. We are from the countryside, and it takes us half an hour to walk into town."

  The person behind Mr. Yu is the one Zhang Lei and others just saw waiting at the entrance of Zhangshi Technology, it turns out that Mr. Yu called him over specifically to wait for Zhang Lei and others.

  "Boss Zhang is now also worth a lot of money, and it seems inappropriate to still live in the original place. Mr. Yu happens to have an empty mansion, so he gave it to Boss Zhang, hoping that Boss Zhang will appreciate his kindness. Boss Yu didn't mention anything about the contract, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he gave a house to Zhang Lei, which was somewhat unexpected."

  "My boss thinks so highly of me, it's really an honor, but this house is too valuable, I'm ashamed to accept it." Zhang Lei said. Just selling cigarettes for that amount of money, wanting to buy a house in town isn't a difficult thing, it's just that there are still many experiments to be done, and it's not suitable to draw attention to himself, so Zhang Lei questioned why he was still living in the old house.

  Old Yu was just casually saying that the house with three entrances and exits is a big house in the town, if Zhang Lei agreed to it, he wouldn't want to give it up. After all, people are motivated by self-interest, before getting any benefits from Zhang Lei, he won't easily give anything up.

  Zhang Chen went to make tea for everyone, and Zhang Lei made a please gesture, saying: "Mr. Yu invited you to take a look at the draft contract I made. If you have any dissatisfaction, feel free to raise it, and we can discuss it further."

  "Alright, alright. I believe Mr. Zhang is a straightforward person and he won't do anything shady. It's just that we need to discuss the details, which is perfectly fine." Finally getting to the point, Mr. Yu seemed very excited.

  Zhang Lei took out the contract and Old Master Yu went through it item by item.

  When Zhang Lei was willing to hand over all the roasted tobacco technology and only take 20% of the shares, Mr. Yu's face showed a happy smile, and he praised Zhang Lei for being generous.

  However, the next one made him frown, which was also one of the few conditions proposed by Zhang Lei in the entire contract, that is, on all cigarette packaging produced, the words "Zhangshi Technology" must be printed prominently.

  "What does Mr. Zhang mean by this?" asked Old Master Yu, pointing at this sentence.

  Zhang Lei said matter-of-factly, "Old Boss Yu, we're cooperating. You're after wealth, while I'm after fame. I've given you all my techniques, and in return, you haven't asked for anything from me. Leaving only 20% of the profits is also unreasonable, isn't it?"

  The boss finally realized that this boss was not a fool who wouldn't take advantage of a good deal, but rather he was very astute. An 80% profit and all the production technology - who would refuse such temptation? Yet, to trade it for something that would make him an accessory to someone else's success, it was really too difficult to measure what was more important.

  Zhang Lei's idea was simple: all the cigarettes would be produced under the Zhangshi Technology brand, and Old Yu would just make a profit from contract manufacturing. In the end, it was still Zhangshi Technology that would gain fame. As the saying goes, "a good reputation can take you far." Once the four characters of "Zhangshi Technology" became well-known to people, then whenever Zhang Lei launched something new, it could quickly enter the market.

  After weighing the pros and cons, Old Boss Yu still couldn't resist the temptation of profit and agreed. He forced a wry smile on his face and said, "Old Boss Zhang is really good at calculations, he's determined that I won't be able to resist the temptation of an 80% profit."

  Zhang Lei also smiled and said, "Old Yu is wrong, think about it, I only have 20% of the shares, if you learn everything, won't I be left with no guarantee? As the saying goes, teaching apprentices will starve the master to death, I still have a father and brother to support, can't help but consider."

  "Boss Zhang's consideration is not unreasonable, and Yu can understand it. So let's just say that now your Yunwu and Xianjing packaging are very good, since you want the naming rights, these don't need to be changed. I know that the Xianjing cigarette packaging was personally taken care of by your respected father, so tomorrow I will send a few people over to assist him." Since he couldn't resist the temptation and agreed, Boss Yu didn't dwell on this matter anymore, said a few more words and continued to look at the contract.

  "Must all workers be hired from Xujiaying? Mr. Zhang, what's the logic behind this?" Old Master Yu asked after a moment of consideration.

  "Because not long ago, when I was burning incense, I promised the villagers that Xujiayuan is my birthplace and hometown. If one day I, Zhang Lei, have the opportunity to become rich, I will never forget my fellow countrymen." Zhang Lei said sincerely, his mind recalling Chen Lao's kind face and rustic language, which always moved him deeply. Such feelings of gratitude and sincerity are priceless.

  Yu Boss laughed loudly after hearing Zhang Lei's words: "Boss Zhang is indeed a man of great affection and righteousness, I, Yu, have not misjudged him. Just for this point alone, I, Yu, have no objections to this contract whatsoever, we can sign it now."

  Zhang Lei was not surprised at all by this result. If Old Yu refused to sign, that would be the strange thing.

  He then signed his name under the contract, and Old Yu stamped his seal beside it and also signed his name on top of the seal.

  Each of them kept a copy of the contract, and then Master Yu went to invite some people from the government office to make a record, and this matter was settled.

  "So, I wonder when Boss Zhang will have time to teach me this technique?" Yu Boss was already eager after just putting away the contract.

  Zhang Lei smiled and said, "This can be done at any time, it just depends on when Mr. Yu calls someone over, but now that winter has arrived, tobacco can't be planted anymore, even if you learn how to do it, it's useless."

  Yu boss wasn't worried about this at all and said: "Don't worry about Zhang boss, leave it to me, the tobacco is absolutely available."

  Since that's the case, Zhang Lei felt there was nothing more to say. Anyway, now as long as he teaches all of Boss Yu's people his skills, then it's just a matter of waiting for the dividends to be distributed, and not worrying about anything else.

  In the following days, Zhang Lei became a master and taught several apprentices everything about roasting tobacco. These people were carefully selected by Old Master Yu, whether it was their leadership ability or hands-on operation ability, they were all top-notch, so Zhang Lei's teaching was very easy.

  It had been six days since he taught all of them, and then Zhang Lei told the villagers that Yu Boss would contract a large area of land to plant tobacco, with an income of one or two silver coins per month, which was not low. If a family had five or six people participating, they could earn more than 60 silver coins per year, which was a considerable income.

  After finishing this matter, Zhang Lei thoroughly put down the tobacco business and started researching matches again. The production of matchsticks had been solved, and he began to experiment with the amount of combustible material in the match head. Although all the raw materials had been found, the matchstick was only so thick, if the medicine was mixed too much, it would easily burn the matchstick, and if the dosage was small, it would be difficult to ignite the match, so this formula was crucial.

  Potassium chlorate mixed with sulfur is really easy to burn, just wipe it with white phosphorus and the flame can jump up, so Zhang Lei was very careful during the experiment, the dosage of one experiment would not exceed one or two, and in the most empty place in the yard, to ensure that no fire or explosion occurs.

  After each experiment, Zhang Lei would record the ratio and result of each experimental drug on paper. After a long period of fine-tuning, Zhang Lei finally grasped the method.

  When the first match was made through experimentation and safe matches were generally available, Zhang Lei himself appeared to be very excited.

  A matchbox was made with a piece of wood. Of course, this matchbox is much larger than the one used in the past, because Zhang Lei couldn't find such thin pieces of wood to make it, so this is also an unavoidable thing. After applying red phosphorus to both sides of the box, Zhang Lei gently struck the match on the red phosphorus, and with a "whoosh" sound, orange flames were already dancing on the matchstick.

  This thing is many times more useful than a flint!

  Zhang Lei made a dozen or so boxes of matches and came to the town with full confidence. He planned to take the initiative to find a reliable partner for the matches, that is, Bai Yang.

  Bai Yang, as the richest man in Xujia Camp, is unmatched by others in terms of wealth and influence. Strictly speaking, Zhang Lei's private study of firearms has been intolerable to the authorities, and if he cannot find a strong backing, once this matter is exposed, Zhang Lei will inevitably face imprisonment.

  But once this matter is related to Bai Yang, the nature of it will be different. Although the old saying says that ordinary people should not fight with officials, there is also a common saying that officials and businessmen collude, as long as Bai Yang can get huge profits from it, his only choice is to protect Zhang Lei from any trouble, Zhang Lei is counting on this point, in simple terms, Zhang Lei wants to use the match to find a protective umbrella for himself.

  With this in mind, Zhang Lei arrived at the White Mansion.