Chapter 17: Smoke Without Fire Is Hard to Achieve (Seeking Collection)

  A small amount of silver is not much, and ordinary people can accept it. The cigarette in Zhang Lei's hand and the cigarettes in later generations are basically consistent in shape. They were made from leftover edge materials after making large cigarettes. The name of the cigarette in his hand was called Yunwu, which means "swallowing clouds and spitting out fog" when smoking.

  "What's the difference between this and what you're holding? Why is there such a big price difference?" someone asked.

  Zhang Lei held a box of Xianjing in his left hand and a pack of Yunwu in his right, smiling as he said: "A difference? Take a look at what's in my hands? Is the difference big or not? I'm sure you all know what the effect of tobacco is, so I won't go into details here. But I can guarantee that the cigarettes in my hand, from seed selection, planting, processing to production, are all done by myself, and they're better than any tobacco on the market."

  Just as Zhang Lei's words fell, a man in his fifties with a gaunt face and sunken eyes walked in with his hands behind his back, wearing a clean and tidy blue long shirt. He came to Zhang Lei's side and said, "Hey, young man, you're not afraid of the wind blowing your tongue away when you speak."

  "Who are you?" Although his words were stolen, Zhang Lei didn't mind and still had a smile on his face.

  "Haha, it seems there's a good show to watch. This is Yu Lao Ban, the so-called 'Tobacco God', and his Yongfu Business Firm is the largest tobacco purchasing firm in town." As soon as he walked in, someone in the store immediately recognized his identity.

  Yu Lao Ban heard someone call himself the God of Smoke, and he was naturally pleased. He looked at Zhang Lei with a proud expression and said: "Young man, you're talking big here, I'm very curious, what skills do you have to boast about?"

  Zhang Lei flicked the cigarette that was still pinched between his index and middle fingers, took a deep drag, and exhaled ring after ring of smoke. The surrounding air was instantly filled with the intense fragrance. He glanced at Old Yu with a provocative look and smiled: "How's this? Enough qualifications, right?"

  "This fragrance is actually coming from the cigar in your hand?" Mr. Yu asked in surprise, looking at Zhang Lei's big cigar. He thought it was incense lit up in the store.

  Zhang Lei said, "That's right, this is my new invention. I wrap the tobacco in paper to make it easy to carry. Of course, the tobacco inside has been carefully blended by me." To increase his persuasive power, he opened a cigarette on the spot.

  "Is this something you came up with yourself?" Boss Yu began to take Zhang Lei seriously, this young man who was so young and yet had such an ingenious idea, really couldn't be underestimated.

  "Of course, Zhangshi Technology is committed to developing and manufacturing all kinds of convenient products for people, in order to liberate them from heavy labor."

  "What is this thing? I don't even understand what it's saying, but it seems to be very powerful. Forget it, let's take a look later, I need to go buy groceries first." Someone in the crowd said this, and immediately brought a burst of laughter from the surrounding people.

  The crowd dispersed bit by bit, but Zhang Lei was not in a hurry at all. Although he didn't sell any cigarettes, he let some people know about the existence and goals of Zhangshi Technology. This is a good start, and in the near future, Zhangshi Technology will inevitably become a topic of conversation among people during their leisure time.

  "Everyone, slow down," Zhang Lei said loudly.

  Not to mention that Zhang Lei is still facing various difficulties from Old Master Yu, but two blocks away from Zhangshi Technology, there is a mansion that is much more luxurious than the surrounding houses. The golden gate is magnificent, with a pair of stone lions majestic and powerful, and above the lintel hangs an exquisite plaque with the words "Bai Fu" written on it. The owner is a famous rich businessman in this area, named Bai Yang.

  "Master, I've inquired clearly that the Fangyuan Tea House was handed over to a young man named Zhang Lei last month. This is the news I got from the pawnshop." In the hall, a middle-aged runner stood with his waist bent respectfully, reporting to a fat man sitting on a large chair, who was Bai Yang.

  In the early years, through Taihu's developed water system, Bai Yang started a porcelain export trade and accumulated enormous wealth in just twenty years, becoming the most prominent figure in the surrounding area. Even when meeting with the county magistrate, he could speak with a strong tone. What puzzled everyone was that at the peak of his business, he suddenly retired and cut off all his businesses, coming here to build this large mansion and focus on enjoying life.

  "Young man? Go on." Bai Yang lay comfortably on the soft couch, his right hand grasping a small snuff bottle, his left hand propping up the back of his head, his eyes narrowed in enjoyment.

  "This Lei rented a fake tea house, and then set up a shop called Zhangshi Technology, which claimed to sell cigarettes - that is, tobacco cut into silk threads, rolled up into sticks the thickness of chopsticks. When sucked into the mouth, the fragrance filled the entire room, just smelling this fragrance could make people's spirits soar."

  Bai Yang suddenly sat up, as a businessman, he was always used to seeking business opportunities in seemingly ordinary or very strange things, and this sudden emergence of Zhang Lei Technology was just such a strange place.

  "What kind of reason is this? Tobacco isn't nonexistent, it's just placed in the pharmacy, yet I've never heard of such a strange fragrance." Bai Yang's eyebrows furrowed, his small eyes staring blankly at one spot, motionless. This was a sign that he had fallen into thought.

  After thinking for a long time, he stood up and said: "Let's go, come with me to take a look."

  Arriving at the entrance of Zhang's Technology, I happened to see Mr. Yu from Yu's Pharmacy hurrying out with a bundle in his hand, so I greeted him: "Mr. Yu, long time no see! What brings you here too?"

  Yu Boss saw that it was Bai Yang, stopped in his tracks and said: "Oh, so it's Old Man Bai. I heard someone opened a strange store with nothing inside, came to take a curious look. And you?"

  "Me too! Haha, you're here too. I've been eager to meet this strange young man." Bai Yang said with a smile.

  The two chatted for a few more sentences before Bai Yang walked into the gates of Zhangshi Technology, while at this very moment, Zhang Lei was transferring silver tickets into a box.

  "Ah, Old White has arrived too! What kind of wind is blowing today?" An old man who still lingered in the fragrance of Pu'er tea in the store immediately stood up and said as he saw Bai Yang enter.

  Bai Yang waved his hand and smiled: "Didn't the former boss of Hongxing Winery also come here to drink tea?"

  Zhang Lei was shocked by these words, and the person sitting in the store actually had such a big background. He raised his head and happened to see Bai Yang's stout figure, so he hurriedly came forward and said: "Boss Bai is visiting our humble store, Zhang Lei is honored."

  "Haha, young people are really good at talking, so clever and spirited, just like I was back in the day! I heard that you have some great stuff here, and I followed the scent to get here. How about it? Bring it out and let me take a look?" White Yang seemed to see his own youthful shadow in Zhang Lei, and his heart couldn't help but feel a bit more affectionate towards him.

  Looking back on those years, when I started my own business, I was also like him, trying to get in good with everyone.

  Zhang Lei didn't dare to be slow and quickly took out the No. 2 Xianjingpai cigarette, saying: "This is our store's treasure, take a look."

  As soon as the lid was opened, a fragrance wafted up and Bai Yang couldn't help but take a deep breath.

  "What a wonderful idea, great stuff!" Bai Yang took out a cigarette and examined it carefully, exclaiming.

  Zhang Lei recited the introduction he had said at least ten times today, word for word. After hearing him, Bai Yang teased: "This is not smoke, it's a magic pill, haha."

  "This is the panacea." Zhang Lei said with a straight face in response to Bai Yang's teasing.

  Bai Yang gave a hand signal to his followers behind him, and smiled: "Great, great, great! I didn't think that in this lifetime I could still eat spiritual elixirs. Come on, I'll try it now."

  As soon as the servant gave him the money, he eagerly took out a Xianjing cigarette, lit it according to Zhang Lei's instructions, and took a deep drag. Zhang Lei said, "Swallow this puff of smoke."

  Bai Yang indeed made a swallowing motion, and then opened his mouth, white smoke emerging from his mouth and nose, speaking as if a goldfish was spitting out water bubbles, followed by a rich fragrance.

  "Haha, interesting! Taking a puff is indeed extraordinary. Young people, you've done well!" Bai Yang said sincerely, looking at the cigarette in his hand.

  Zhang Lei said calmly: "Thank you, Mr. Bai, for your praise."

  "Good, good," said Bai Yang. "Tong Zhanggui, you have one too?"

  Hong Xing Wine House's Tong Zhang said: "You guys make it sound so great, I have to try it too. Old Zhang, give me a box as well."

  Zhang Lei smiled and handed the cigarette with the number three to him, Tong Zhuanggui couldn't wait to light it up on the candle holder, also deeply inhaling like Bai Yang, a look of intoxication appeared on his face.

  Seeing Tong Zhanggui lighting a cigarette, Zhang Lei suddenly had an epiphany and remembered a phrase passed down from his previous life: "With smoke but no fire, it's hard to achieve the desired result. Now that we have smoke, why not create fire as well?"

  Lighters are out of the question, so we can only think about matches.

  Matches were invented by the Chinese in 577 AD, but at that time, matches had two fatal flaws. The material used for friction and combustion was white phosphorus, which meant that these matches could ignite at any temperature and anywhere, making them extremely unsafe. Another drawback was that white phosphorus itself is toxic, and even slight carelessness could lead to poisoning incidents, resulting in the death of match factory workers.

  Later, after a long period of improvement, the safety of matches was improved to some extent. At this time, the name of the match was called "fire stick".

  In the "Huojing" section of Tao Zongyi's "Chuogeng Lu", a book written during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, it is recorded: "The people of Hangzhou cut thin slices from pine wood, as thin as paper. They applied sulfur to the top of the wooden slice, which was called 'huojing' or 'jinger', used for starting fires and replacing candles. According to historical records, during the sixth year of the Jianwen era of the Southern Qi dynasty, some poor members of the imperial family made a living by selling huojing, perhaps they were the same as those made by the people of Hangzhou."

  The shape of the match in Zhang Lei's view was like a card that could be ignited, because sulfur was used as fuel, which would produce a very pungent smell when burned. Although it had made great progress compared to when it was first invented, it still did not meet the requirements for large-scale promotion in terms of simplicity and cheapness.

  But for Zhang Lei, who had learned chemistry from using modern matches, this was no problem at all.