Chapter 196 Cooperation Comes to You
Lin Zhiyi asked Li Wenjing to help write a notice and posted it outside the door, recruiting five literate men for a daily wage of fifty cents.
But there is one condition: you must be educated and literate.
You can’t say that when a customer asks the waiter to help find a book, he himself is confused and can’t find it for a long time.
It is difficult to recruit literate workers, but fortunately the wages are high, the work is easy, and they can read books in their free time, so it is much easier to recruit them.
On the second day after the notice was posted, dozens of people came to ask.
Most of these people were men, but there were also women. Lin Zhiyi asked about their situations one by one and recorded them all.
She asked these people to go back and wait for notification. After the list was finalized tomorrow, a notice would be posted at the door of the shop.
"Sister Lin, someone is looking for you." Cui Yuru shouted inside.
When Lin Zhiyi heard the voice, he quickly put down his books and walked out.
There was a man at the door, he was about twenty years old, quite tall, with an indigo brocade shirt wrapped around his tall body, and a wide belt with silver thread embroidered with cloud patterns tied around his waist, which perfectly outlined the contours of his broad shoulders and narrow waist.
He also has a handsome face and extraordinary bearing, with a calm look between his brows.
You can tell at first glance that he is not an ordinary person.
"What does this young master want from me?"
"Miss Lin, I'm Pei Zhouye. Can we talk inside?"
Lin Zhiyi thought for a moment, why does this name sound so familiar?
She had indeed heard it before, but she couldn't remember where.
Pei Zhouye reminded him, "Cui Ji Iron Company."
Yes, Boss Cui once told him that Qu Yuanli had cooperated with this person before.
She also inquired about it at that time. Although Pei Zhouye was only in his early twenties, he was smart and made the Pei family business flourish, so he became the youngest head of the Pei family.
It was because of him that their curved plow was brought to Chang'an and to many prefectures in Dagan, and the emperor also knew about the existence of the curved plow.
Lin Zhiyi immediately put on a smile and said, "Boss Pei, please come in."
Pei Zhouye nodded and followed Lin Zhiyi to the inner courtyard.
Lin Zhiyi invited Pei Zhouye to sit down, served him tea, and asked, "Boss Pei, what did you want to see me about today?"
Pei Zhouye took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and then took out a book from his sleeve pocket and asked Lin Zhiyi, "I came here this time to ask Miss Lin who wrote this book?"
"My mother was fascinated by this book. She said she had her servants buy it from Lin Wenge the other day. I asked and found out that Miss Lin opened a shop."
Only then did Lin Zhiyi realize that the only copy of The Story of the Stone sold in the shop was bought by the old lady of the Pei family.
"It was written by a good friend of mine." Lin Zhiyi made up something casually.
Pei Zhouye continued to ask, "I heard that this book is the shop's most valuable book. Why is Miss Lin selling it so cheaply?"
He also heard from the maid that the original price was three hundred coins, but Lin Wenge only charged one hundred coins.
If it costs one hundred wen, just buying one hundred sheets of paper from other shops would cost three or four hundred wen. One hundred wen cannot even buy the paper.
What's more, print the book.
"Master Pei is a smart man. I'm afraid he has guessed it a long time ago. Even if he hasn't guessed it, I'm afraid he has investigated it, right?" Lin Zhiyi asked with a smile.
"I guess Patriarch Pei came here this time to cooperate with Lin Wenge, right?"
Pei Zhouye smiled and said, "The Lord of Jiahe County is indeed intelligent. No wonder Boss Cui always praises Miss Lin to the highest heavens. It seems he isn't exaggerating at all."
"Manager Cui, you're exaggerating. Boss Pei's caravan can travel from north to south. How can we small merchants and vendors compare?"
Pei Zhouye laughed twice again, "Miss Lin, let's get back to the point. This time I'm looking for Miss Lin for cooperation. I wonder what Miss Lin thinks?"
"That depends on Boss Pei's sincerity."
Lin Zhiyi didn't expect that Boss Pei would be attracted so quickly.
Even if he didn't come, Lin Zhiyi had thought about visiting him.
The Pei family in Quyuanli sold very well last time, and they also want to sell the bamboo paper in their shop all over the country. If they rely on themselves alone, their strength will be too small.
It’s okay now that the shop has just opened, but I’m afraid that after a while, other study rooms will be affected in business and will definitely find ways to suppress Lin Wenge.
If we rely solely on the support of literati, we may not be able to do anything about it.
"I have sent my servants to buy some bamboo paper and have tried it. It is indeed good, but I want to know the cost of this bamboo paper." Pei Zhouye asked.
"Twenty-five cents." Lin Zhiyi blurted out.
As for the cost, it is less than ten cents, but the workmanship is too complicated.
But how could she possibly tell the truth to Pei Zhouye?
Even so, Pei Zhouye was stunned for a moment.
Originally, he thought that Lin Wenge sold bamboo paper at fifty cents a piece because the shop had just opened and he wanted to expand the sales of bamboo paper, so he sold it at such a low price.
Fifty cents might not even be enough to cover the cost.
He didn't expect to hear the number twenty-five cents.
"Is it really only twenty-five cents?"
Lin Zhiyi nodded.
"If I want a large quantity, how much can Miss Lin give me?"
Lin Zhi thought about it for a moment, and he knew what Pei Zhouye meant by "a large amount". That is, Pei Zhouye would take as much as she made.
The Pei family has shops all over the country. As long as she gives it today, within ten days, bamboo paper can be seen in every province in Dagan.
And their Lin Wenge can also find protection in Fangzhou.
"Well, I have to go back and discuss this with my brothers. To be honest with Boss Pei, this shop is not mine alone, it's our Lin family's property."
"understand."
Pei Zhouye picked up the teacup again and took a sip, then said, "Miss Lin, please go back and discuss it today. I'll come back tomorrow."
"But I want to know how Miss Lin can keep the books in the shop so cheap?"
Lin Zhiyi smiled and said, "Boss Pei, you already know that this book was printed by our Lin family. It's just that we can't tell you how it was printed.
Although he already knew the answer, Pei Zhouye's heart was still in turmoil when he heard Lin Zhiyi say it in person.
"If I also want to purchase a large number of books from Miss Lin, how many can Miss Lin print?"
"Boss Pei can have as much as he wants."
All she had to do was hire more people and speed up printing.
Since one printing house couldn't keep up, she would open another one somewhere else and recruit some literate people.
"As for the price of the book, it depends on the number of words and pages in the book, as well as the quality of the book that Boss Pei wants."
Li Wenjing couldn't sit still when he didn't see Lin Zhiyi coming out for a long time.
He put down the book in his hand and came to the inner courtyard. When he entered the room, he saw the two of them talking and laughing, so he sat down.
Pei Zhouye glanced at Li Wenjing and asked in confusion, "Who is this?"
What he wanted to ask was, if this person was Miss Lin's brother, they could discuss it together.
Lin Zhiyi curled her lips, "This is my husband, his surname is Li, Boss Pei can call him Master Li."
Li Wenjing paused. He didn't expect Lin Zhiyi to introduce him so openly.
Originally, he was worried because they hadn't come out for such a long time and the young man was very handsome.
It seems he was overthinking it.
He glanced at Lin Zhiyi and was very satisfied with her introduction.
Pei Zhouye bowed, "Mr. Li, it's a pleasure to meet you."
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