Chapter 49 Fakes

Lin Qiao had looked at the account a few days ago, and it did say one yuan per pound. There was no need for Ji Duo to make a fake account to show her, so there was something wrong here.

Liquid soap was selling well recently, and some people in Yandu had heard of it even if they had never bought it, so soon some female workers came out to take a look. Lin Qiao pretended to be interested and also went over to take a look. She only took a glance into the bucket and couldn't help frowning.

The color and everything else are similar, just a little thinner. I don't know if it's because it wasn't purified using the salinization method or if it was mixed with water.

However, a few female workers obviously didn't notice it, or they had never seen it before, and were still considering whether to buy it.

Lin Qiao mixed in with the crowd and asked, "My sister-in-law bought a pound of it last week. It was much thicker than this. Why is yours a little thin?"

No one noticed until she said it, but once she said it, everyone else started to notice it, and started talking about it, "You're not kidding, are you?"

"How can that be? If you don't believe me, try washing it with some water." The seller was clearly prepared. "It's just that I haven't stored it long enough. It will become thicker in another three to five days. Our boss's house is due to expire, so we have nowhere to store it. Otherwise, do you think you can sell it so cheaply?"

He then specifically asked Lin Qiao: "How much did your sister-in-law pay for it? One yuan per pound, right?"

It seemed that he understood it quite well, so Lin Qiao showed some hesitation, "I think so, I can't remember clearly."

"Of course it is. We used to sell it for one yuan per pound. Why don't you buy some while it's cheap now? If you miss this opportunity, you'll never see this shop again."

The salesman was quite good at talking, so Lin Qiao followed the crowd and bought a pound of it for 70 cents. He also paid a deposit and borrowed a bottle from the man.

Unexpectedly, when I returned to school, Lady Bi came over with a bottle in her hand and asked, "Look, is this the liquid soap that your friend sold?"

Lin Qiao noticed something was wrong with his expression, "You also ran into a rare person?"

"It's not me, it's my sister." Lady Bi said, "She heard me say it's good, so she bought some the day before yesterday. But when she took it home and used it to wash her hair, she found it was too greasy and didn't produce foam. She told me about it, but I didn't believe it, so I asked her to give it to me. I didn't expect it to be so different."

Lin Qiao showed him the bottle in her hand, "I came across it too, and bought a pound of it, ready to show it to my friend."

"So it wasn't sold by your friend?" Lady Bi took it and shook it. "I was saying that this thing was selling well. There's no need to sell it cheaply after diluting the price. Not only is it a waste of time, but it also damages our reputation."

He pinched his waist, obviously very angry, "Who is so wicked? Two yuan for three pounds? These five pounds are not as useful as two pounds."

Judging from his expression, it doesn’t look like his sister bought it, but he bought several kilograms at once just to save money...

Of course there was no need to say this. Lin Qiao only asked the other party where he bought the things.

Empress Bi really knew where "his sister" bought things. Lin Qiao took note and it was some distance away from where she bought it, but not too far.

When she got back, she gave Ji Duo the bottle of liquid soap and two addresses, "Check it out. I don't know where it came from."

In fact, there are two most likely reasons: one is that the father and son who did not get the complete formula were really unwilling to lose so much money, so they just wanted to get back as much as possible; the other is Ji Duo... the salesperson under that friend.

After all, the quantity of the stuff is limited, but if it is mixed with water, it will be irrelevant. As long as it is properly controlled, it will definitely make a lot of money. As for whether doing so will ruin the reputation...

It's not his business. If he fails in this one, he can just go to the next one. Anyway, he has already made the money.

Not to mention that they only hire temporary workers, those sales people with iron rice bowls in major companies also do this kind of thing a lot.

As soon as Ji Duo saw what was in the bottle, he understood. He wrote down the address and asked Xiao Fang to drive there and deliver it to Ji Ze early the next morning.

Because the things were wrapped, Ji Ze stayed up late to make soap again last night. He was a little confused at first, but when he opened it, he suddenly became sober. For the next few days, he checked his salesmen one by one, and also went to the place Lin Qiao mentioned to wait for those who sold counterfeit goods.

This guy was quite cautious. He would not sell the item a second time in a place he had sold before. He expanded his search area and finally found it.

As soon as he found out the truth, he immediately called his uncle, but Brigade Commander Liang's wife said he was not at home, and neither of them responded.

It's lunchtime now. Even if the two of them went to the cafeteria, they shouldn't have not come back.

Ji Ze tried to call Ji Duo's office again. This time the call went through. He was very surprised. "Uncle, didn't you go home at noon?"

How should Ji Duo respond to this?

Your aunt is taking the students to a social practice class and she doesn't come back at noon, so I don't come back either?

He didn't take the call.

"Has that matter come to fruition?"

Ji Ze didn't waste any more words, "Yes, it's that father and son again. They really didn't waste the formula. They made it into soap water and sold it."

I've spent more than a thousand yuan and still have a criminal record at the police station. I should at least get some of my money back, right?

It is impossible to keep selling this stuff. They can at least make some money by selling it in a new place. Even if they make money, the liquid soap will be stinky in that area. But who cares? Anyway, they are doing a one-hammer business. It would be better if they can cheat Ji Ze.

"I spent so much effort to build word of mouth, but they ruined my business after selling it for two days."

Ji Ze got angry when he mentioned it. "These guys didn't even wait for the saponification time, they made it and sold it directly, and the effect is not good at all. They also said that I made it here. When they sell it to other places in Yandu, I want to expand the market, how can I sell it?"

This is what made him most angry. Not only did the shameless person steal his formula, but he also sold fake products under his name. Was he deliberately trying to dislike him?

Ji Duo's voice was relatively calm. "What are you going to do?"

"What can I do? Let's first think of a way to crack down on counterfeiting." Ji Ze had obviously already had a plan in mind before making this call. "Give all the salesmen uniforms and replace all the barrels for liquid soap with plastic ones. If they want to learn, I'll see where they can buy it."

In the early days, the country was blocked from Western technology, and its petrochemical industry could not keep up. The production of plastics was very limited, and the only common plastic sandals on the market were summer plastic sandals.

He was able to get the plastic barrels for oil because he had connections. The Qin family father and son did not have such connections. Even if they did, they would not be willing to spend such a huge amount of money.

Ji Ze sneered, "Can't they sell fake goods? I will go to all the places where they have sold goods under the name of fighting against counterfeiting, and regard it as free publicity for me. As for those that they have not sold, I don't need them to go through this trouble, I will sell them myself."

He originally wanted to take it slow and not rush to expand, but these people forced him to do so.

"I will first rent a few warehouses in other places to crack down on counterfeiting and seize the market. After this wave is over, I want to discuss cooperation with stores."

"Like a food factory selling soy sauce and vinegar?"

"Yes, we sell them in bulk to stores. That way, I only need to deliver the goods, and I don't have to go door to door to sell them."

Before, he sold it from street to street, but because his reputation was not well known, the people did not recognize it, and even if he sold it to a store, they would not want it. Now that his reputation has been established, every time he carries it out on a shoulder pole, it is quickly sold out, and he can also gradually switch from retail to wholesale.

As long as they occupy all the major stores and make people accustomed to buying their liquid soap, they will not be afraid even if someone else can really make it in the future.

"Can you keep up with the production scale?" Ji Duo seemed silent for a moment and asked.

"If you can't keep up, just expand it." Ji Ze said, "Anyway, this doesn't require any equipment, you can do it with a big pot, and at most you can hire a few dozen more workers."

Ji Duo's voice was still low and calm, without any emotion. "Didn't you say you were just going to practice with this?"

Ji Ze had a lot of business plans in his mind, but these words hit him hard, and he froze completely as if he had encountered a cold wave.

Yes, didn’t he initially just want to use this as a training exercise to learn the ins and outs of doing business?

After all, making liquid soap and selling it is just a small business, unlike making electrical appliances, where any single product can be sold for over a hundred or even a thousand. If he can do it well and overcome the technical difficulties, maybe our country will be able to use its own electrical appliances in the future, without having to import them.

That is what we call a great undertaking. Even if it is not better than that of my grandpa and uncle, it will not be worse than that of them.

At least when people mentioned him again, he was first called Ji Ze, a young and successful entrepreneur, and then his uncle's nephew and his grandfather's grandson.

Seeing that he didn't say anything for a long time and obviously couldn't give an answer, Ji Duo lowered his eyes and said, "Think about it again. I'm hanging up."

Ji Ze hurriedly called him uncle, but after that, he didn't know what to say for a long time, and Ji Duo really hung up.

After hanging up, he didn't rush to continue working. He picked up the thermos and poured himself a glass of water.

Xiaoze probably didn't notice that every time he came to talk to him about business, his eyes became brighter and brighter, and he never stopped talking. Brighter than when he asked him about his troops before, or even brighter than the day he mustered up the courage to tell his father that he wanted to go into business.

Whether it was someone stealing the recipe last time or someone selling fake products this time, although he was angry, he was not frustrated and was actively trying to find a solution to the problem.

He let Xiaoze make some money with his own ability first, which was indeed his intention to train Xiaoze, but he didn't expect that the opportunity to promote Xiaoze's growth would be Lin Qiao.

Xiaoze probably didn't notice that he was no longer avoiding Lin Qiao as much as he did at the beginning.

Lin Qiao seemed to have the ability to make everyone around her gradually change their attitude towards her, Xiaoze, Liang Brigade Commander’s lover, him...

Someone in the corridor came back to work after lunch, and when he slammed the door he didn't hold back enough force, making a loud "bang".

Ji Duo came back to his senses and found that the enamel pot in his hand was no longer emitting steam. He had been in a trance for a full ten minutes.

Except when something happened, he seemed to have never done nothing for such a long time just because he was thinking about someone.

On the other hand, Lin Qiao had no time to think about her husband in name as well as in body.

Because it was their first social practice, the students in Class 4 were very excited. On the way to the printing factory, some students even took the lead in singing in the car.

A group of teenagers aged 17 or 18, even if they have no skills and even run away so much that their mothers don't recognize them, they are still full of vitality.

The Chinese teacher who taught classes three and four sat next to Lin Qiao and couldn't help but look back. "Let's not talk about anything else in your class, but the atmosphere here is really good."

After all, there were more than 60 students, and because it was the last year of high school, there were a few repeaters in the class this semester. Lin Qiao was afraid that she could not take care of them, so she found another teacher to go with her. This female Chinese teacher came on her own initiative, but there was a condition: each student had to submit an essay after returning.

"It would be great if the results could be as good as the atmosphere." Lin Qiao also looked back and smiled.

"Not bad. Class 4 used to be the most difficult class in our grade, you know that. Now at least there are fewer fights, and not so many people skip classes. Two days ago, during morning reading, I was doing dictation, and Qi Huaiwen turned in his homework for the first time, and he got every word right."

The female Chinese teacher was quite impressed by Lin Qiao's point. "You are young, have many ideas, and are willing to put in the effort for these students."

"After all, this is the first class I teach, and it may also be the only one." This is the truth in Lin Qiao's heart.

She will be taking the college entrance examination next year, and even after graduation, she probably won't come back to teach in a middle school. This will be the only class she has ever taught.

When they arrived at the printing factory, the factory had arranged for someone to take them on a tour, and also kept veterans who had worked there for many years to give them demonstrations and teach them how to get started.

Students have all read and used books, but they never knew that these books were made in this way.

The old typesetter, wearing a rubber glove that only covers one finger, knows the position of every lead character in the typesetting room by heart. Even if they are arranged in the order of traditional Chinese radicals, he can accurately find the corresponding simplified Chinese characters below.

The female worker in charge of counting the papers was even faster, she could count five sheets accurately with one stroke of the bamboo board. Some students didn't believe it, so they went up to count them, and found that not a single one was wrong.

"Is it so amazing? They finished ordering all of them in just a short while?" The students couldn't believe their eyes.

The female Chinese teacher said, "Hasn't everyone learned The Oil Seller? 'It's nothing special, it's just a matter of practice.'"

But it takes time to become so proficient. For the master in charge of machine printing, the movement of scratching the paper has even developed a unique rhythm.

The last part was the practical part. Due to the short time, we were unable to do typeset work or print on a machine, but the students still made a batch of blank paper copies by hand.

From dotting the paper, applying glue, cutting, and wrapping the cover, every step was completed by the students themselves under guidance, and the result was a great achievement. Everyone discussed it privately and each of them contributed a few cents to buy a copy of the book they made and took it back to school.

This is much more interesting than a day of classes at school. Even though they still have to write essays when they go back home, they are looking forward to the day when they can go back.

When a group of people returned to the school, the new experimental building next to the teaching building was being topped out, and the sound of workers shouting could be heard from a distance.

Junzi couldn't help but stop and asked Qi Huaiwen: "I heard that the teacher found you at the construction site. Is this the kind of work you do at the construction site?"

Qi Huaiwen looked up with a blank expression, "I'm just a laborer, it's not my turn to do this kind of work."

"There are still

Divide into big and small jobs." The soldier was shocked.

What others noticed was the progress of the construction of the experimental building. "We have just started to build the roof. The conscription will start next month. We will definitely not be able to catch up."

"Of course. To be honest, I really want to go to the laboratory building to take a lab class. I wonder what Teacher Lin will have us do."

"There are also social practice classes. I don't know where I will go next month..."

Lin Qiao had scheduled it for once a month, but right after this session, they couldn't help but start looking forward to the next one.

Teacher Lin always seems to have new ideas, which makes them enjoy attending classes, learning, and exploring new knowledge. In the past, they thought that they would not have to go to school if they joined the army, which was a kind of relief. Now that they are really leaving, they feel reluctant.

Amidst all the discussion, the soldier suddenly said, "I won't go to the conscription next month."

"You're not going?" Everyone looked surprised, even Qi Huaiwen looked at him.

"I'm not going." Junzi was a little hesitant at first, after all, he had made an appointment with his buddies, and he also went back and told his family.

But after he said this, he became more determined. "I'm not old enough to begin with, and now I have to change my household registration to join the army, so I don't need another year. Besides, it's not easy to get promoted to a military post now. I might as well finish high school first. What if I'm lucky enough to get into a military academy?"

There is still a big gap in the treatment of officers and soldiers. Even if an officer's rank is not promoted due to his age, he can basically become a leader after retiring.

The soldier patted his chest and said, "When I become a battalion commander, I will be the chief of a police station when I return to my hometown. If you have any problems, just come to me."

"Just tell them that you still want to do experiments with Teacher Lin and take practical classes." The classmates all laughed.

"You said it as if you don't want to." The soldier chased after the ones who laughed the hardest and hit them twice, then straightened his face, "Really, you guys should think about it carefully."

He told him what he could remember from what Ji Duo had said that day. The data was certainly not accurate, but it was much more convincing than the belt of Brigadier General Liang. Several boys were silent for a while, and then they all laughed, "We would like to apply for military academy, but we can't pass even if we study for another two years."

This is not a joke. Sun Tiejun, who sat in the front seat of the military class, listened to the lectures in class and did his homework after class, but he made all kinds of mistakes and could not learn no matter how hard he tried.

Compared to studying, he is better at sports and always wins several first places in the class in every school sports meet.

So before the first monthly exam and before the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, Sun Tiejun still came to school to pack his things and went home to prepare to join the army.

Wang Guoqiang, on the other hand, hesitated again and again, and probably went home to ask his parents for their opinions, and decided to stay in school for another year like Junzi. "There's only one year left, and it will pass in a flash. I can also take Mr. Lin's experimental class and social practice class again."

If Brigadier General Liang was not a revolutionary soldier, Liu Cuiying would have bought some incense to burn for Lin Qiao after hearing that the soldier was going to continue his studies and enter a military academy.

Just like that, a comrade of Brigade Commander Liang came from his hometown and brought a large basket of fresh mushrooms, which she also gave to Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao's arms were filled with gifts, and she didn't know whether to accept or not. "This is mainly what Ji Duo and Junzi said. Besides, we are not at home to cook."

"If you didn't teach Junzi, how could Xiaoji say these things to Junzi? Besides, I think he is reluctant to give up your lab class and practice class, and he talks about it every day." Liu Cuiying insisted, "You are not at home to cook, so you can take Xiaoji's parents' food to eat. It's Mid-Autumn Festival now."

As he spoke, he shook Lin Qiao's hand and said, "I was ignorant before. Why should an educated woman like you do housework at home? You should become a teacher and teach students."

Since he even said such words, it was clear that he was sincere. It was difficult for Lin Qiao to refuse, after all, the two families were neighbors.

So during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the family reunited and Lin Qiao and Ji Duo returned to the old house for dinner, carrying a large basket of mushrooms with them.

"This Yandu hasn't been sold yet, right?" Xu Li was just reading in the house. When she heard the noise, she came out and took a look through her glasses.

Aunt Zhang goes to the market to buy vegetables every day and knows all this best. She also said, "I didn't see anyone selling it. They must be from other places."

Ji Duo had already carried the things into the kitchen, so Lin Qiao took Xu Li's arm and briefly explained the matter.

"How could the second son care about such trivial matters?" Xu Li glanced at her son with a smile.

Ji Duo let her look, unbuttoned his shirt sleeves and rolled up two buttons, and asked the old man, "What did you say you couldn't find it before?"

"I have a pen." The old man immediately took his son to the study. "Xiao Zhang's legs are not convenient for me to find it. It's a good opportunity for you to come back and help me find where I dropped it."

The grandfather and his wife were moving things in the study when Ji Jun and his wife came back, followed by Ji Ling, who was hopping on tiptoe.

This was obviously a ballet movement, and Ye Minshu couldn't help but look back at her.

The little girl immediately pulled back her legs and ran to Xu Li and Lin Qiao, "Auntie, our school has started building a laboratory."

"Your school has also been selected as a pilot school?" Lin Qiao really didn't know. "I remember that you will only be in the third grade next year."

"Next year, in the third year of junior high school." The little girl nodded, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "My dad said it was because you wrote a letter to the leaders to make suggestions. Is that true?"

Would Ji Jun still tell her this?

Lin Qiao glanced at his uncle, which made Ji Jun feel a little uncomfortable.

Xu Li nodded, "Really? The reply from the leader's office is still in your grandfather's study, and it has the leader's signature on it."

When Ji Ling heard this, she said she would go and see, but Ye Minshu looked at her again and said, "Your grandfather and your uncle are in the study room."

Ye Minshu's tone was not harsh but gentle. After she finished speaking, she took the purchased dishes to the kitchen and casually asked about the mushrooms which were not even available in the kitchen.

Then I heard that it was given to Lin Qiao by the parents of the students to express their gratitude, and Lin Qiao brought it back to honor the old couple.

This is really a double choke. Ye Minshu has been surrounded by Lin Qiao since she entered the door. She hasn't even started eating yet, but she feels full already.

Fortunately, Ji Ze came back soon. She immediately ignored Lin Qiao and went to care about her son and the relationship between him and Song Jing.

However, Ji Ze had been absent-minded since he entered the room, and when she asked, he just answered perfunctorily, "Where's my uncle?"

"You only care about your uncle." Ye Minshu was a little angry. "I asked you how Song Jing is doing in school recently. Your Aunt Cheng came to ask me for help."

"How would I know that? You might as well ask my aunt. She goes to the same school as Song Jing."

Ye Minshu felt choked for the third time. What was wrong with her son? Didn't he never mention Lin Qiao before? Why did he call her "my aunt" today?

She wanted to say something, but Ji Ze had already seen the two grandfathers looking for something in the study, and came over to help move a table.

The pen was found quickly, and other small odds and ends were found under the table. Ji Duo went to get a broom and dustpan to clean up, and Ji Ze took them as soon as he saw them.

Seeing such a positive performance, he must have something to say, so Ji Duo didn't rush out.

Sure enough, not long after the old man returned to the living room, Ji Ze lowered his voice and said, "Uncle, I have decided not to make electrical appliances anymore. I will build a factory to make liquid soap."