That night, Chen Qingshu didn't sleep a wink, his mind filled with his father's words.
It turned out that his father had always silently opposed his marriage to Zhang Xiaoqing, but he never showed it.
The next morning, he got up, washed his face, and had no appetite for breakfast. He went straight back to the new house to find Wang Peng.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was pale and haggard.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Wang Peng asked.
Chen Qingshu waved his hand, "Let's go, I'll take you to my friend's stationery factory."
"Teacher Chen," Li Fangfang said weakly, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault for falling asleep in the car, which caused your fiancée to misunderstand."
"It's none of your business," Chen Qingshu waved his hand again and said softly, "Let's not talk about this anymore, okay?"
The three left the residential compound and took a bus to the Delai Stationery Factory in the eastern suburbs.
The factory occupies about ten acres and doesn't have many workers.
Factory director Zhao Delai is thirty years old today, of medium build, with a shrewd look on his face.
He led Wang Peng and others on a tour of the production lines for pencil cases, notebooks, pencils, and ink, and finally to the ballpoint pen production line.
Online, it's mostly young women around twenty years old, and everyone is very busy.
"Qingshu, Xiaopeng, this is equipment I imported from Japan with US dollars. Isn't it amazing?" Zhao Delai said proudly.
The other production lines are just there to make up the numbers; the equipment for producing ballpoint pens is very advanced.
Wang Peng noticed a lot of Japanese writing on the equipment and said, "The equipment is advanced, and your vision is even more advanced. Gel pens are the inevitable trend."
"Haha, I love what he said." Zhao Delai took out a ballpoint pen and handed him a piece of cardboard.
This gel pen is similar to future gel pens, with a simple plastic outer shell and a gel refill inside.
Wang Peng wrote on the cardboard, feeling it was very smooth and had a good texture.
"Old Zhao, this pen is very comfortable to write with," Chen Qingshu said. "It's easier to use than a ballpoint pen and more convenient than a fountain pen."
"With your words, I have confidence," Zhao Delai said with a smile.
Chen Qingshu studied before teaching and spent his whole life writing, so he is the most qualified to speak on which pen is better.
"Brother Zhao, how many words can the ink in one pen refill write?" Wang Peng asked.
“That’s a good question.” Zhao Delai picked up his pen and drew a line on the paper.
He said, "One pen refill can draw a line like this for 500 meters. Guess how many words that 500 meters can be converted into."
“I couldn’t have guessed that,” Wang Peng smiled slightly. “I can only use the dumbest method to confirm it: go back and copy the text.”
"Haha, the dumbest way is actually the smartest way," Zhao Delai laughed. "According to the data from the Japanese manufacturer, one pen refill can write nine thousand to ten thousand words."
Chen Qingshu shook his head.
"That's not much."
“When I used to write novels at home, I roughly estimated that a 50ml bottle of ink could write 300,000 words.”
"Based on this standard, you'll need thirty refills. A bottle of regular ink only costs fifty cents, so how much do your refills cost?"
Zhao Delai laughed heartily, "Good heavens, you even write novels? Have any been published yet?"
“No,” Chen Qingshu said. “Thirty ballpoint pen refills are definitely more expensive than a bottle of ink. Xiaopeng, you should think it over.”
Wang Peng understood what he meant; he wanted to say that fountain pen ink was more affordable.
"When it comes to writing, you can't just compare the number of words. There are many ways in which a ballpoint pen is better than a fountain pen."
"First of all, it is clean, easy to use, and will not cause ink stains on the exam paper."
"Secondly, it's not picky about paper. It can write on even the worst quality notebooks. I'll show you."
Zhao Delai picked up a piece of toilet paper from the machine and wrote his name directly on it.
Chen Qingshu's eyes widened. He had to admit it; neither fountain pens nor ballpoint pens could write on toilet paper.
Wang Peng said, "Brother Zhao, I know the advantages of ballpoint pens. Let's talk about the price instead."
“Delai, Xiaopeng plans to wholesale ballpoint pens and sell them at the school. For my sake, give him the lowest price,” Chen Qingshu said.
Zhao Delai chuckled and stared intently at Wang Peng. "How many can you take at once? A thousand? Two thousand?"
Wang Peng wanted to slap him for asking for such an exorbitant amount, but instead laughed and said, "Let's test the waters with five hundred bottles first."
Zhao Delai remained noncommittal and led everyone to the finished product warehouse.
Individual ballpoint pens are packaged in plastic bags, one bag per pen.
The pen refills are also in plastic bags**, ten refills per bag.
"The pen barrel costs three cents, and it comes with a refill. You can sell it for five cents or a dollar when you get back."
"The pen refills cost seven cents each, but they sell for at least twenty cents."
"Xiaopeng, don't try to bargain with me. This is the lowest price I can offer you."
Zhao Delai said.
"If I want a thousand pen barrels and a thousand bags of pen refills, what price will you give me?" Wang Peng asked.
Zhao Delai frowned, and after a moment said, "For Qing Shu's sake, I'll give you an extra penny off the refills."
"Brother Zhao, I'd like to know what the retail price is at the stationery store?" Wang Peng asked.
“I don’t know about that,” Zhao Delai said. “The price I’m giving you is the wholesale price to the stationery market.”
"Okay, prepare a thousand pens and a thousand bags of pen refills for me first," Wang Peng decided.
Li Fang tugged at his sleeve, "Brother Peng, isn't this too much? Why don't you buy a smaller amount first, and if it sells well, I'll come back for more?"
“Your sister Fang is right,” Chen Qingshu said. “Xiao Peng, I suggest you take a hundred tubes to test the effect first.”
Zhao Delai chuckled, "The price is different for one hundred and one thousand pieces."
"Let's make a thousand." Wang Peng took out a pen and notebook from his pocket and quickly calculated the bill.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
