Tian An worked on his plan until midnight last night. The next morning, he went to see Zhao Yiming with a large stack of papers he had drawn.
Arriving at Zhao Yiming's study, Tian An first pulled out a piece of paper with a drawing of a lipstick tube. It was a messy mess, so she had to ask Zhao Yiming to polish it before anyone else could understand it.
After carefully examining Tian An's drawings and listening to her explanations, Zhao Yiming began sketching. Having collaborated with her many times before, he generally understood everything Tian An said. Soon, a clear blueprint for the lipstick tube was ready.
Tian An took the drawings and checked them, making sure nothing was missing before putting them away.
Then she took out a second picture, this one of a facial cleanser bottle. It was a straight, tall, thin bottle with a simple design. But she asked Zhao Yiming to decorate it with flowers or something, and add her logo.
Tian An named the cosmetics shop "Huanyanfang", which is also the brand of the products. All the products sold there are made by himself.
Following Tian An's request, Zhao Yiming revised the design several times before finally finishing the facial cleanser bottle. He then worked on the toner, lotion, and so on.
After drawing the bottles, I started drawing the various cabinets and facilities in the store.
The two of them worked in the study for a whole morning before they barely finished the painting.
After lunch, Tian An hurried to Jiayuan to find the carpenter, Old Man Wang.
After handing him the drawing of the lipstick tube, Tian An explained her requirements to him while pointing at the drawing.
"This is the base. It needs to be movable, and there needs to be a fixed bamboo stick inside so that when you twist it from the bottom, the contents can rotate upwards. Finally, put on the lid. The lid also needs to have this pattern engraved on it."
After understanding, Old Man Wang said, "Okay, I'll try it first to see if I can meet the girl's requirements. If not, I'll make some changes."
"Try making a dozen or so first, and bring them down to me later. I'll come back to you after I've tried them and decide what to do next."
Then he took out the blueprint for the gift box and said, "This one is very similar to the mooncake gift box we made last time. It also needs carving. The pattern and size are all on the blueprint. Just follow it. Make a sample for me first."
Old Man Wang took the blueprint and said, "Okay, girl, I'll start right away."
"Don't worry." Tian An then pulled out several more sheets of paper from the stack in his hand and handed them to him: "These are the drawings of the container. They have the dimensions. Take a look at them first and ask me if you have any questions."
After he finished speaking, Old Man Wang took the drawing and began to examine it carefully. Zhao Yiming's optimized drawing had smooth lines, clear markings, and reasonable proportions, making it easy to understand at a glance. After reading it, Old Man Wang said it was very clear and there was nothing he didn't understand.
After Tian An handed over the storage of lipstick tubes and gift boxes to Old Man Wang, he took Deng Xue out again.
She was going to Old Xu's house, where she had bought the porcelain flowerpot last time, to order custom-made porcelain bottles for her facial cleanser, toner, and lotion.
As soon as they arrived at the door, they met Lao Xu, who recognized Tian An and warmly invited her in. Tian An had left such a deep impression on him that it was hard not to recognize her.
Just because she bought all those crooked and broken plates his son had made last time and praised him several times, which encouraged his son, he couldn't help but burn the porcelain flower pots all over the floor these days.
When he saw Tian An coming, he thought Tian An was here to buy the porcelain flowerpots made by his son.
But when Tian An took out the blueprint, he was stunned: "Aren't you here to buy a porcelain flower pot?"
Tian An was startled, then he also remembered this. He paused and said, "Buy them all, including the porcelain flower pots."
Old Xu heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Tian An wanted to buy them. If Tian An didn't buy them, then the ones his son had burned would just sit there and collect dust. He didn't think anyone else besides Tian An would appreciate those flower pots.
Xu Laoer, who had just returned from delivering goods, heard that Tian An was coming and thought that Tian An was here to buy the porcelain flower pots he made.
He walked into the house happily and said, "Miss Tian, are you here to buy flower pots? I have burned a lot more. Come on, I will take you to see."
Tian An said awkwardly: "Let's look at the flower pot later, let's talk about something else first."
Xu Lao Er was stunned and felt a little disappointed: "Aren't you here to buy a flower pot?"
"I want to buy it, but I also want to buy something else." What else can I do? It's all my own fault!
However, the flower pots I bought last time have all been used up, so it would be nice to buy some more, and then I can sell flowers again during the Chinese New Year.
Hearing that Tian An wanted to buy other things besides flower pots, Xu Laoer no longer mentioned taking her to see the flower pots. He sat down aside and listened to Tian An.
Tian An took out the drawing that Zhao Yiming had helped her optimize and handed it to Lao Xu: "Take a look first and see if you can do it?"
Old Xu took the blueprints and passed a few to Old Second Xu to look at together. True to father and son, they moved in unison, first examining the shape of the bottle, then its dimensions. After they finished examining their own, they exchanged theirs.
After reviewing all the drawings, Old Xu held up a drawing and asked Tian An, "Does this box with all the grids also need a lid?"
Tian An nodded: "Yes, all these bottles and boxes must have lids, and they must be as airtight as possible. And don't forget the patterns on them."
Old Xu looked at the drawings again and hesitated, "Are you in a hurry? How about I make a set first and you can take a look at the samples first?"
Tian An also thought it would be safer to look at the samples first. "How long will it take to make a sample?"
Old Xu held up three fingers and said, "Three days."
Tian An: "Okay, then how much is the price?"
Old Xu smiled and said, "It depends on the quantity. The more you burn, the cheaper it is. How many are you going to burn?"
Tian An thought for a moment and said, "Let's start with fifty of each! We can get more later if we're short."
Old Xu flipped through the blueprint again, mentally estimating the shape of the bottle, the materials and labor required, and the waste. After a long while, he finally said, "Eighty cents each."
Tian An looked up at him in shock. "Eighty cents each? So expensive? These bottles are so small!"
"Although these bottles are small, many of them have intricate shapes and need to be airtight, which requires a high level of skill. My sons can't make them, so I have to do it myself, and it's quite laborious. If we didn't know each other well, I wouldn't be able to do it at this price!"
Tian An looked at Xu Laoer with an inquiring look.
Xu Lao Er shook his head and said, "My father didn't lie to you. My brother and I can't do this."
Tian An designed the bottle herself; she knew the price. No wonder rouge and powder were so expensive back then; the bottle alone accounted for a large portion of the price.
Tian An endured the pain and gritted his teeth and said, "Alright! I'll come to see the samples in three days. If there's no problem, we'll do it."
Then he looked at Xu Lao Er and said, "I didn't come here by ox cart today. The donkey can't pull those porcelain flower pots. I can only come back in three days."
Xu Laoer said it was no problem, it would only take two or three days anyway.
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