Chapter 15: Wasting Money (Seeking Collections)

  "Brother, you're really something, I didn't think of this, I have to admit defeat." Zhang Chen exclaimed in admiration after listening to Zhang Lei's explanation.

  Zhang Lei smiled and said to Zhang Baosheng, "Dad, I'll leave this matter to you. I still have many important things that haven't been completed yet. I need some time to perfect the various systems of our Zhangshi Technology."

  "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of this one. It's guaranteed to be no problem." Zhang Baosheng happily agreed.

  Zhang Lei locked himself in his room again, for several days, except when he came out to eat, no one saw him.

  Finally, Zhang Baosheng knocked on the door, and both the signboard and the first batch of cigarette boxes were ready. He was prepared to let Zhang Lei inspect the goods.

  Zhang Lei looked at the exquisite cigarette case in his hand, and really couldn't imagine that it was made by Zhang Baosheng's rough-looking big hands. The surprise was too great.

  "Dad, what you've done is truly amazing, I think even if Lu Ban were reborn, he wouldn't be able to surpass you."

  Zhang Baosheng scolded: "Go away, go away! How can a child like you talk like that? How can my little skill compare to the master's craftsmanship?"

  Lu Ban is the supreme master of Chinese carpenters, the ancestor of all carpenters. It's not strange for Zhang Baosheng to say that Zhang Lei is a bit unusual, he stroked the bright red lacquered box with the four golden characters "Zhangshi Technology" and smiled very happily.

  Underneath Zhangshi Technology, there is a line of smaller characters that reads "Xianjing" (Fairy Realm), and below that is the character for "One". This is the numbering system set up by Zhang Lei, who has put in a lot of effort to give buyers a sense of superiority.

  He suddenly pulled out something from behind his back, which was as thick as a chopstick and only as long as an adult's index finger. It was wrapped in white paper, filled with finely cut tobacco, and had a snow-white cotton head on one end. The shape looked very peculiar. As soon as Zhang Lei took it out, the air was immediately filled with a refreshing fragrance that touched people's hearts.

  "What is this?" Zhang Chen asked in surprise: "Tobacco?"

  Zhang Lei was very satisfied with his expression and said, "Right, this is made by rolling tobacco shreds, and I also added my secret stuff inside. Now it has a special name, called Filtered Cigarette!"

  "Filtered cigarettes? Mmm, so fragrant! Just smelling the aroma makes one feel carefree and exhilarated." Zhang Chen took a deep breath and said.

  Zhang Lei waved the cigarette in his hand and said, "You say, will those rich people buy this thing?"

  "Of course, just looking at it and smelling it is not the same level of thing as holding it in your hand!" Zhang Chen said excitedly while rubbing his hands together.

  For Zhang Lei's wonderful ideas, Zhang Baosheng couldn't help but admire him. He couldn't understand how he came up with these things even if he thought about it ten million times. Originally not a talkative person, now he didn't know how to express himself either, and simply said: "If this is the case, then I'll just continue doing it."

  After a night's rest, Zhang Lei still had more important things to do, and early in the morning he went up to the town again, searching for shops for rent or sale everywhere. Since we want to make Zhangshi Technology famous, we must have a place that can carry out customer-facing work, and home is definitely not feasible, one is too simple, and the other has no market.

  He came to the town's dental clinic, where all the information about shops and houses for rent or sale in this town was recorded. It is much more convenient and faster to find it here than to wander around by yourself.

  "Sir, are you looking to rent or buy a house, or do you have a house for rent or sale? Our agency handles everything, saving you time and money, guaranteed satisfaction." A stout middle-aged man who had been sitting there hurriedly got up and approached Zhang Lei.

  The entire dental clinic was very simply decorated. On the left side of the entrance was a counter with writing brushes, ink and paper on it. Directly opposite the door was a large wooden board with many notices posted on it, which to Zhang Lei looked similar to small advertisements on modern utility poles.

  "Sir, are you looking to rent a house? Do you have any requirements that I can help you with? Let me help you screen out some suitable options." The experienced owner immediately walked over and said as he saw Zhang Lei constantly looking at the houses for rent.

  Looking around, Zhang Lei didn't find anything he liked and felt a bit disappointed. "Isn't there any better store here? Look at these, the most prosperous areas have all moved outside the market, how can you open a store?"

  "So the customer wants to open a store? Things are just right, I have a friend here who said he wants to develop in Songjiang Prefecture and entrusted me to rent out the store." After listening to Zhang Lei's words, the boss not only didn't get angry but became even more enthusiastic, warmly introducing him.

  Zhang Lei was also taken aback. This was an unexpected gain. He said, "That's great! If it's convenient, take me over to have a look."

  The old boss readily agreed, called a partner to watch the store, and then took Zhang Lei to their destination. From here, they walked through a small alley and arrived at the tea house with the sign "Fangshan" at the end of the busiest street.

  The shop is not very big, after entering the door, except for the cabinet with tea leaves, there are only four tables that can be placed. At this time, it's not a bustling moment, and there's no one in the store. An apprentice is lazily lying on a canvas stool, dozing off, enjoying the autumn sun that still emits a little warmth.

  "Little stool, get up, get up, the guest has arrived, where is Old Hu?" The owner of the dental shop walked over and kicked the cushioned stool, asking.

  The shopkeeper reluctantly opened his eyes, looking lazy, but when he saw that the visitor was the owner of the dental clinic, he immediately stood up and respectfully replied: "Ah? Our boss? He's sleeping upstairs."

  "Hurry up and call him down, I have something to talk to him about." The owner of the dental clinic urged.

  The young shop assistant didn't dare to be slow and immediately went to call down that boss.

  The boss of Fangyuan Tea House was a middle-aged man who looked quite spirited and energetic, even wearing loose robes couldn't hide his robust figure. Seeing the owner of Ya Hang coming, he clasped his hands together in greeting: "Ah, ah, ah, Old Zhou, what wind brought you here?"

  "Every time you come here, it's always the same thing. Aren't you annoying people? Didn't you say a few days ago that you were going to Suzhou Prefecture? I've found a good buyer for this shop." The owner of the pawnshop pointed at Zhang Lei and said.

  Zhang Lei nodded slightly and said, "I've met Old Man Hu."

  Old Hu said, "Young man? You want to buy my store?" Facing a teenager, his tone was filled with some doubt and disdain. Looking at Zhang Lei's attire, which was that of a rich young master, he couldn't believe he would do business.

  Zhang Lei understood what he was thinking as soon as he saw his eyes. After all, he used to be a salesman in his previous life and had seen many people like him. "Mr. Hu, don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to buy your store, I'm just renting it."

  "Rent?" Old Hu was somewhat surprised, and immediately he looked at Lao Zhou of the pawnshop and said: "This seems to be a bit different from what I entrusted you with."

  Lao Zhou smiled awkwardly and said: "Well... anyway, after you leave, someone will use it, whether it's rented or sold, don't you still get paid?"

  He said: "What he said is right, anyway, your store has money to collect, why bother with so much."

  "Alright," said Old Hu after some thought. He had been running this tea house for over twenty years, and his feelings about it were very deep. When he decided to sell, he struggled with the decision for a long time, and now that they mentioned it, he was wavering again.

  "So, starting from the second year, I'll give you one percent more rent than the previous year. How about that?" Zhang Lei sensed Hu's change and pressed on with his advantage.

  Mr. Hu and Old Zhou were both shocked, one percent doesn't seem like much, but it's cumulative, if the annual rent is 100 taels of silver, then the second year's rent would be 101 taels, the third year's rent would be based on 101 taels and added again...

  "You really want this store?" asked Old Hu.

  Zhang Lei's face was calm and collected as he said, "No, if I really needed it urgently, I would have just bought the store directly. Why bother talking to you so much? I only need to borrow a place for a short period of time, and you happen to not want the store to be idle, that's all."

  Lao Zhou looked at Zhang Lei and then at Hu Lao Ban, saying: "Young man, I don't know what you're renting this store for?"

  "Lately, I have some goods to sell, so I want to decorate the storefront. This location is not bad, I quite like it. One hundred and two silver coins, rent for a year, if you raise the price, I'll find another place." Zhang Lei suddenly took out a one-hundred-and-two silver coin note and said.

  Seeing the shocked expression on Hu's face, Zhang Lei felt secretly pleased. Having money is great, in his previous life he had to split a dollar into two halves to spend it, now every time he spends money, it's a big deal, that feeling is awesome.

  "I think no one will offer a higher price than me," Zhang Lei said.

  Old Zhou said: "Little brother is really straightforward, the one hundred and two here are indeed not small, besides it's just a rent for a year. Old Hu, you should agree to it. When you go to Songjiang Prefecture, you're going to make a lot of money, so why care about these few taels of silver? Moreover, this location, with an annual rent of one hundred and two taels, is a record that will not be surpassed in the next few years. What are you still hesitating about?"

  "Ah..." Seeing Zhang Lei's silver ticket in his hand, Hu Lao Ban's face was also uncertain. After being persuaded by Old Zhou, he finally made up his mind and said: "Alright then."

  Zhang Lei smiled contentedly. One hundred taels was a considerable amount, but compared to the profits of the next year, it was just a small dish.

  After the three parties signed the rental contract, from tomorrow on, this store will belong to Zhang Lei. By afternoon, Zhang Lei went home and agreed to come back tomorrow to hand over the deed.

  The store's problem has been solved, and the next thing to do is to promote high-end cigarettes. This is also the most important pass in front of Zhang Lei. If things can't be sold out, everything else is empty talk.