Chapter Fifty-One: Setting Sail

  For Zhang Lei's display of unheard-of wisdom and his strong stance in front of the court officials just now, everyone is even more unable to guess his identity. So when Zhang Lei didn't show any signs of encroaching on their interests, everyone fell silent.

  "This is also the effect that Zhang Lei needs, and using both kindness and severity is the way of management. He looked around and said: "Since everyone agrees with me on this, let's move on to the next agenda item, the authorization ceremony. I have prepared the certificates for authorized dealers here, now distribute them to you. From now on, we are all cooperative partners who share a common interest, and we need to support each other."

  "Boss Zhang - oh, now I should call you the big boss, haha, no need to say more, as long as we follow you and do better than before, what's not to support? You guys think so too?" Xu Feng, who had already tasted the sweetness of success, stood up and laughed, a loyal supporter of Zhang Lei.

  Ma Teng also smiled and said: "We are business people, we won't let money get in the way, will grow, everyone is looking forward to rising strongly under your leadership."

  "Rise is necessary... Alright, since everyone has no objection to this matter, let's start authorizing." Zhang Lei handed the authorization certificates to each of their hands.

  Then he said: "Alright, after everyone goes back, add the words 'Zhang's Business Association' to the lower right corner of the signboard."

  The main things have been said, and Zhang Lei felt that there was nothing else to say. After saying a few more trivial matters, he announced the dispersal of the meeting. When everyone came out, those bailiffs were still there, and when they saw these bosses coming out, they went back to report their duties.

  After listening to the report, Magistrate Su realized that this must be another one of Su Lun's foolish deeds. He couldn't help but feel resentful in his heart: "It seems that Su Lun needs to be taught a lesson soon. These years he has been living too comfortably, so comfortably that he is almost forgetting his own identity."

  What Su Lun didn't know was that the big backer, Tong Zhi, had already become wary of him. At this moment, he was still sitting at home in a huff - it seemed like he was always in a huff even when he was quiet.

  "Alright, it seems I've wasted all the silver taels I sent as gifts every year. Haha, I finally understand now - he's a high-ranking official, and I'm just a lowly merchant. No matter how well I do, he still looks down on me, only coveting the money in my hands."

  "Zhang Lei... haha, what a big nerve you have! Not only did you humiliate me, but you also dared to openly challenge the county magistrate. You're indeed a newborn calf that's not afraid of tigers. Let's see how you die!"

  ……

  After the dissolution of this first representative conference, Zhang Lei did not idle around. He immediately called on those bosses to gather their most outstanding craftsmen, including blacksmiths and carpenters. In the name of the Chamber of Commerce, he also purchased a large piece of land in the suburbs as a production base. By the time everything was ready to start work, it had already been a month later. During this month, Songjiang Prefecture seemed very calm, and Su Lun never came over to make trouble again. As for whether Tongzhi Daren had arrested him according to the law and spanked him, Zhang Lei didn't worry about that at all.

  This month, Zhang Lei went back to Xujiayuan several times. The raw materials for making match medicine can still support a period of time. Zhang Chen is still reading books at home. The tomatoes and castor oil plants on the mountain are growing well, and everything seems to be in order.

  What followed was a bit dull, Zhang Lei spent most of his time in his office making drawings, while the ironware department outside was bustling with activity. They were not working on the cutting machine and planer that Zhang Lei had showcased at the trade fair, but two other tools - a wire twisting machine and a rope-making machine.

  The twisting machine designed by Zhang Lei is to first take out the merged yarn from the spool, pass it through the yarn guide rod and the horizontal moving yarn guide device to output it from the yarn guide net. Through the yarn hook and steel ring wrapped on the tube, when the spindle drives the tube to rotate together, the yarn pulls the steel ring to rotate on the annular steel collar, twisting the yarn. Of course, Zhang Lei invented this mechanical device with the same function as a spinning wheel not for making yarn, but for making necessary items for sailing ships - hemp ropes! The twisting machine twists out strands of hemp rope, and then uses a rope-making machine to make the final hemp rope.

  Hemp rope is made from various plant fibers, which can be completely unaffected by Suren in terms of raw materials. In the case where all timber in Songjiang Prefecture was controlled by Suren, if only wood processing was carried out singly, the profit would be too great to consume, which did not conform to Zhang Lei's idea. So he handed over this part entirely to Xu Feng for operation - this is also one of his ideas, each franchisee is responsible for a commodity, and then set targets for them, so as to mobilize everyone's enthusiasm.

  He initially wanted to use steel bars, which would be many times stronger than hemp ropes, but unfortunately, the production of steel bars was too inefficient when relying solely on manual labor, and there were no iron mines nearby, so he gave up on this idea.

  Zhang Lei's mechanically produced hemp rope was sturdy and durable, and soon gained a reputation in the Songjiang Prefecture area. This hemp rope had a wide range of uses and could replace iron chains for lifting goods with pulleys, greatly reducing weight, and was also very suitable for raising and lowering sails on ships.

  The ships docked at Songjiang Wharf were all replaced with this kind of hemp rope under Zhang Lei's promotion in no time.

  In the vast ocean, there are countless treasures of gold and silver. On the other side of the ocean, there is a broad sky and earth.

  As for the sea, among the people Zhang Lei knew, no one was more qualified to speak than Qin Luofeng, so Zhang Lei went to his house in person.

  At this time, it was just lunchtime, and Zhang Lei came to Qin Luo Feng's home without notifying anyone. After more than a year of development, the small village of Xujiayuan has completely changed its appearance. The fields are planted with tobacco, and everyone's face is filled with smiles. On average, each person now has an income of one or two silver coins per month, far surpassing the surrounding villages by several streets.

  "Boss Zhang, how did you come?" Qin Luo Feng was very surprised by Zhang Lei's visit. Since the roasted tobacco incident, not only did Zhang Lei not hold a grudge, but he also made good use of everyone's talents, almost bringing out the best in each person. Qin Luo Feng watched with admiration and gradually came to obey him.

  Zhang Lei waved his hand and smiled, "Uncle Qin, it's okay if people outside call me Boss Zhang, but why are you also calling me that? Isn't this going to shorten my lifespan? How did you used to address me before, and how do you address me now?"

  "That won't do, if others see me they'll say it's mine. Right, didn't you go to Songjiang Prefecture? How come you're back today?" Qin Luofeng said. As he spoke, his face was still expressionless, and if he smiled slightly, his features would become even more ferocious.

  "This isn't specially coming to find you, you've been mixed up in the sea for so many years, I want to ask you about the situation." Zhang Lei moved a stool over and sat down, saying.

  Qin Luofeng was somewhat surprised and asked: "What? You want to go out to sea?"

  Zhang Lei waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, it's not time to go out to sea yet. I came to find you today just because you're familiar with the sea. By the way, are you familiar with Chongming Island?"

  "It's okay, but if you really want to go out to sea, I suggest starting from Guangzhou Bay. It's a deep-water port and can accommodate larger ships." As soon as the ocean was mentioned, Qin Luo Feng immediately became spirited and gave Zhang Lei a suggestion from his professional perspective.

  "Huh? This one? What about the Qiantang River?" Zhang Lei did not confirm or deny it, but now that you mention it, going to Guangzhou Bay seems a bit far.

  Qin Luofeng glared with his one eye and said: "Forget about the Qiantang River, who can withstand its tides when they rise?"

  Zhang Lei heard him say that, and could only say: "Well, it seems we can only go to Guangzhou Bay. Alright, you come with me to Songjiang Prefecture immediately, let's discuss this."

  "Good."

  Qin Luo Feng went to find Old Master Yu to explain the situation, he is now planting tobacco leaves, nominally belonging to Yongfu Commercial House's employment. It was said that Zhang Lei called him to go, and Old Master Yu let him go without saying a word.

  Arriving at Songjiang Prefecture, seeing such a large factory, Qin Luo Feng's blood was boiling: "Boss Zhang, you're really something, it's only been a few months and you already have such a large enterprise in Songjiang Prefecture."

  Zhang Lei smiled and said, "This is not just my credit, it's the result of everyone's hard work." He took Qin Luo Feng to the warehouse and pointed at the bundles of hemp rope, saying, "I asked you to come mainly because I want you to sell these things to the bosses at the dock. Their ships will need a lot of these things."

  Qin Luo Feng suddenly realized and said: "So you called me here to do this? Guangzhou Bay? Let me think, it seems that I really know someone over there. As long as the goods are good, if I get in touch with them, it should be almost done."

  "It would be great if there's an acquaintance. When I came over just now, didn't you see those hemp ropes on the boat? Those are all from here, and the quality is definitely guaranteed." Zhang Lei originally thought that Qin Luo Feng was originally a coastal dweller who made a living by the sea, so he should have a lot in common with his peers, which is why he handed over this errand to him. But unexpectedly, he accidentally ran into an acquaintance on the dock, which would make things much easier.

  He immediately wrote a long list and handed it over to Qin Luo Feng, which specified the specifications and prices of various ropes. After preparing for two days, a large ship set off under Qin Luo Feng's leadership. Jiang Yu Yang, who had shown his marksmanship on Lake Nest last time, and his team were transferred by Zhang Lei to join Qin Luo Feng at sea. The group followed the coastline, departing from Songjiang Prefecture Wharf, and headed south to expand their market.

  In the capital city thousands of miles away from him, in Xu Guangqi's mansion, that Qin uncle mentioned by Xu Min was reporting to him about Zhang Lei's movements over this period of time.