Chapter Thirteen: Zhang's Technology (Seeking Collection)

  "What's the use of this?" Zhang Chen asked in puzzlement.

  Zhang Lei smiled with an otherworldly air: "The Buddha said, it can't be said, it can't be said. Alright, I still have something urgent to attend to, go get some paper and a pen. Oh, and also a large cup."

  "Uh... okay, I'll go get it." Although he didn't know what Zhang Lei was going to use these for, Zhang Chen still did as he was told. After the incident with the roasted tobacco, his brother had become even more mysterious in his eyes, and he also became more obedient to his words.

  Zhang Lei took a stool and sat down at the only table in the yard, patting the table with one hand while shouting loudly: "Fellow villagers, quiet down and listen to me!"

  The murmuring crowd gradually fell silent, and Zhang Lei cleared his throat and said: "Everyone has seen that the tobacco roasted in the drying house is far superior to the sun-dried tobacco in terms of quality and production cycle. Even the fragrance is much stronger. Our family's tobacco has been roasted today, and from tomorrow on, everyone can bring their tobacco over for roasting."

  He glanced around at the crowd, smiling and said: "I know what you're thinking in your hearts, isn't it just a house with several shelves? Right or wrong, can't you do it yourself? Why go through my hands? Alright, let's put it this way, do you know how high the temperature needs to be? Do you know the relationship between temperature and time? When the time comes, if you blindly try to do it, you'll end up with nothing. It's not that I'm intimidating you, those who don't believe me can go ahead and try, anyway, I won't lose anything."

  Qin Luofeng was shocked in his heart, as if his inner thoughts had been seen through. He took a deep breath and stepped forward, saying loudly: "These past few days, we've all witnessed what you've done. Although everyone's name is on the list of helpers, you've treated us to good food and drink, which has cost more than our wages. Now that your experiment has succeeded, we're all very happy. Most importantly, I want to thank you for saving my life."

  Zhang Lei smiled and said, "You're joking, this isn't just helping you, it's also helping myself. Alright, let's not say any more nonsense, I suppose saying too much is pointless anyway. Whoever wants to bring their tobacco over for me to process can sign up on the list, those who can't write can have my brother do it for them."

  Just then Zhang Chen walked over, and Zhang Lei made way for everyone to register.

  After about a quarter of an hour, everyone had registered. Although the smokehouse didn't look big, it contained quite a few things inside. Moreover, after so many days of continuous burning and roasting, it was also troublesome to calculate carefully. Furthermore, with Zhang Lei's previous words, everyone also dispelled their own thoughts of taking action. Anyway, handing it over to Zhang Lei for roasting didn't require spending money, and they could enjoy leisure time, why not?

  At this time, Zhang Lei had already prepared some things. In the cup in his hand, there were many paper balls with numbers on them. After Zhang Chen finished, he said: "Everyone, the scale of this smokehouse is not very large, so we must roast in batches. I plan to have each household provide tobacco for each batch. As for who goes first and who goes last, let's draw lots to decide, so no one will be at a disadvantage."

  "This approach is fair, it's up to one's luck, and no one can complain." Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Zhang Lei indicated to Zhang Chen that he would match the drawn serial number with the name, and in a short while, the order had been arranged.

  Holding the list and reading out the serial number, Zhang Lei said: "Alright, that's it. Does anyone have any objections? If everyone agrees, then the first one is Chen Lao Chui..."

  The roasted tobacco was handed over to the master's family without much ado, and those who received the tobacco couldn't wait to sell it off in Songjiang Prefecture. As for Zhang Lei, they would at most bring back a few kilograms of good wine and meat when they returned, as a token of gratitude.

  Zhang Chen also complained: "These people really don't understand etiquette, we worked hard to process them, and since they are sold for money, they should give us a share."

  And every time this happens, Zhang Lei always comforts him by saying: "Don't complain so much, even if they give you something, it's just a little money, I don't lack that, and neither do you. As a big man, your vision should be far-reaching. The height of your thoughts determines the height of your achievements. If you're thinking about these few pieces of silver now, you won't make big money in the future. Let go, let go, only by letting go can you gain."

  October 16th, the last batch of roasted tobacco was finally completed. Although it exceeded the deadline set by Xie Yuanwai, he didn't show up in the village, apparently due to Qin Lofeng's efforts. From this point on, Qin Lofeng still has some ability.

  During this period, Zhang Lei and his father Zhang Baosheng were both conscientiously waiting in the tobacco house, hoping that no major mistakes would occur. As a result, they were also very pleased. On this day, after delivering the last batch of tobacco, Zhang Lei personally arranged for a table of good wine and dishes, and the three of them had a delicious meal together.

  "It's finally over." Zhang Baosheng sighed.

  Zhang Lei smiled and said: "Yes, this period of time was a hard time for Father."

  "Brother, our roasted tobacco is still at home and hasn't been sold yet." Zhang Chen reminded.

  As soon as he mentioned this, Zhang Lei suddenly remembered and said: "Right, I really have something to discuss with you, brother, do you know why I want to keep our family's tobacco for ourselves?"

  "This... I couldn't think of it." Zhang Chen thought for a while, unable to guess Zhang Lei's intention, and could only honestly answer.

  Zhang Lei smiled and said: "I plan to do something new. By the way, what's the price of cotton now?"

  "Cotton? I haven't paid much attention to this, but the other day when I went to buy Jiu Rou meat, I saw a store selling it for five taels of silver per dan. What do you plan to do?" Zhang Lei's question left Zhang Chen and the two monks baffled.

  "I've come to ask you, what is tobacco used for?" Zhang Lei threw out this topic and asked again.

  Zhang Chen was driven somewhat crazy by Zhang Lei's jumping thoughts, saying: "Isn't it as a medicine? Brother, just say it directly, what do you want to do?"

  "What you said is right, some doctors outside think that this thing can cure headaches, and after inhaling it, it also has a certain effect on lung diseases. Of course, its main function is still to restore physical strength and refresh the mind." Zhang Lei said.

  "So?" Zhang Chen still couldn't guess Zhang Lei's intention.

  Zhang Lei said: "Since it can refresh and energize, when you're tired from doing things, don't you always want to have some?"

  Zhang Chen seemed to have realized something and said: "That's right, if you carry it with you, when you're tired, you can just take a few puffs and get some energy back."

  "Yes, but you see, the tobacco leaves are so big, he can't possibly carry them with him. To be able to carry them with him, they must have been processed, and I just happen to know the processing method." Zhang Lei said, waving the tobacco leaf in his hand.

  "Really? Then hurry up and show me, I want to see it. Brother, I really can't understand how your brain works, why didn't I think of these ideas?" In comparison, Zhang Lei felt that he was simply too weak, and couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened.

  "Alright, alright, you're also very clever, it's just that you lack the opportunity to practice. Okay, next I still have something important to do, and then I'll start making what I said." Zhang Lei said, touching the silver ticket in his pocket, suddenly having an idea.

  "Tomorrow afternoon, I have something very important to tell everyone. If you can get the villagers to come over, that would be best. And if you can also invite Director Li, that would be even better." Zhang Chen's cleverness and quick thinking were traits that Zhang Lei liked very much, but they weren't yet apparent due to a lack of experience. As a result, he often subconsciously entrusted tasks to him.

  Zhang Chen didn't ask anything, he knew Zhang Lei must have his own reasons, so he agreed. At night, Zhang Lei refined his plan carefully until he felt it was good enough before going to sleep.

  The next day, at the agreed time, there were only twelve people in the courtyard, which was a far cry from when they first started preparing to roast tobacco. However, Zhang Lei had already mentally prepared himself for this situation. It's clear that people are like this - when there's a benefit, they flock to it, but when the benefit is unclear, they become lazy and scattered. Nevertheless, Zhang Lei could see that Li Chang had arrived, which made him very happy, even though he was an unrefined and low-ranking official, at least he was still within the system, one level higher than ordinary people.

  "I'm very glad you can come here today, thank you especially, Director Li Chang." Zhang Lei's opening remarks were simple and direct.

  The village is usually run by an elderly person with high prestige and reputation in the village, and Xujiaying is no exception, such as this one in front of you.

  "Look what you're saying, thank me for what? You can help the villagers solve their problems, that's helping me a great deal, I should be thanking you instead."

  "Today, I asked you all to come over here without any other business, just to share an idea of mine. As the saying goes, one chopstick is easy to break, but ten chopsticks are hard to bend; one bamboo pole can support a small boat, and many people rowing together can open up a big ship. For example, this time when everyone went out to sell tobacco, there were indeed some difficulties, precisely because everyone was acting alone, lacking unified command. Imagine if we all went out to sell together, set prices together, then no matter the difficulty or the gains, it would be completely different from now."

  Someone below said: "Big nephew, what you said is right, how are you going to do it? I'll be the first to follow you, Hammer Uncle."

  Zhang Lei smiled confidently: "I'm preparing to establish an organization, where our neighbors can sell their goods, including the things I'll make in the future. Everything will be showcased and sold under the name of my organization. I've already made a plan, which I'll read out to you later. The organization I'm going to set up is called Zhangshi Technology."