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"That's true, but now it seems that no matter how good the heater is, I have no intention of buying one."
The morning light streamed down from above, casting a golden glow on the paper. A dozen or so heads pressed together, shrouding the drawings in shadow.
Regardless of whether people are foolish or not, the fact that they are allowed to make such useless things and sell them on a large scale for their own profit, taking advantage of the people's trust, reaching into their pockets and rummaging through their pockets, and using money to keep themselves warm in the cold winter, makes them unworthy of living in Peace Valley.
"How about... we retire from this business?"
Several hands immediately flew out from the crowd and struck Brother Hao on the head without hesitation. Brother Hao cried out in pain and retreated to the corner of the table to wait for everyone to express their opinions.
"Nothing is impossible in this world. Don't be so eager to surrender, okay? Junior Sister Yan has already drawn the picture. Do you think she wouldn't have thought of this?"
"Oh, right! Junior Sister Yan is here. I'm sorry, Senior Sister, I've never done this kind of business before. I was only thinking about not harming the people, so when I encountered this situation, I subconsciously came up with this method." Senior Brother Hao scratched his head and obediently squatted down in the corner.
In fact, everyone in the organization was doing a large-scale business for the first time, and they had been constantly trying and making adjustments. Unexpected situations were inevitable, and they had wanted to give up more than once or twice. They were not angry or resentful about Brother Hao's thoughts, and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.
After the twists and turns, everyone's attention turned to Meng Yan, wanting to see how she would handle the matter.
"I can't think of a perfect solution, but I can say I have some ideas."
Amidst a dozen pairs of bright eyes, Meng Yan waved his hand and said, "I will divide the future sales of the heaters into two groups: one is the old customers who have bought the heaters before, and the other is other people who may need them."
"For my regular customers, I plan to give them the finished product as a gift. I'll use a mechanical kite to carry the furnace to their doorstep. With my past experience using ice furnaces, I can avoid having to copy an instruction manual."
"I'm not sure about selling the heater. As everyone says, it's not a necessity for ordinary households. Therefore, my design focuses on saving costs and setting the price around the cost of the raw materials we consume. Overall, I aim to break even and use it as a form of advertising to prepare for the new building next year."
After listening, everyone seemed to be deep in thought. Admittedly, the wealth brought by the ice furnace is considerable, but this is inseparable from its practicality and durability. In other words, people who buy an ice furnace this year will definitely not buy one next year. The more the ice furnace brings to everyone now, the less it can bring in the future. Once everyone who needs it has made a purchase, the ice furnace will fall into the predicament of having no one to sell it.
The appearance of the heater is a transitional measure. In the future, when the design of new mechanical creations is completed, the ice heater will be replaced by it. This process will continue, with the development of the mechanical courtyard being constantly innovated.
The proposal was unanimously approved without a doubt, but when the discussion turned to raw materials and costs, the lively group gradually quieted down.
"We use handicrafts, copper and iron, and molds all the time. Making them ourselves or asking others to buy them is commonplace. Over the years, we've all gotten to know each other well, and we're paying a price for old friends, which isn't expensive. But we've already negotiated the price with that Taoist priest for the key item in the brazier, so it's probably hard to cut back any further."
The ice furnace's current popularity is all thanks to the complementary relationship between the furnace body and the talisman paper. The talisman paper accounts for about 30% of the cost, and there is still a profit to be made in the ice furnace's selling price. However, if the same price were placed in a heater, it would become a huge burden.
Brother Li had already negotiated a good price, and no one wanted him to go and discuss it further, lest it damage the friendship. So they could only carefully calculate other costs to minimize the losses on the heater.
"I'll go and discuss the talisman issue with someone today," Meng Yan said quietly at the table. Unfortunately, everyone's minds were elsewhere, and only a few people caught a glimpse of a hand moving.
The senior sister said dejectedly, "When you have free time, just make molds according to Junior Sister Yan's drawings. Picking at the table won't help, and we can't draw talismans anyway."
The junior brother said absentmindedly, "Yeah, you can't draw talismans on a table or make wishes, and dancing your hands on it won't help either."
After they finished speaking, they both fell silent for a moment, then slowly asked, "Weren't you the one performing the ritual just now?"
Meng Yan waved his finger in front of the two of them, attracting the other bewildered gazes.
"You all go ahead with your work. I'm going to the outside of the valley to discuss cooperation and deliver a few stoves to someone while I'm at it."
Amidst a sea of gloomy stares, Meng Yan tossed the little wooden bird aside and stepped out of the gate of the courtyard. After turning the corner, he turned back and slipped away towards the kitchen in the opposite direction.
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Out of politeness, Meng Yan resisted the urge to fly the mechanical kite directly into the mountains. Instead, he unfolded the folding wooden cart, moved the ice furnace as he had done the first time he delivered goods here, and pulled the cart full of clattering objects toward the mountain gate.
The pillars and plaques of the mountain gate are quite impressive. Last time I was in a hurry and didn't have time to take a closer look, but this time I finally had the chance to see it all.
The pillar is carved with dragons, phoenixes and auspicious clouds from head to tail. The engraver's skills are superb. Despite years of wind and rain, the decorations on the pillar are still lifelike. The plaque is too high and the words have become blurred. She couldn't make out a name after looking at it for a long time.
Behind the magnificent mountain gate, several stone steps lead directly to the building. From a distance, one can vaguely see clouds and mist moving around, obscuring the tower itself and only revealing its peak.
Taoist priests and immortals—such a dreamlike scene could only be seen in the abode of immortals.
Turning his gaze away from the distance, Meng Yan looked around and suddenly realized that there were no guards stationed there. The huge mountain gate was wide open, allowing people to come and go as they pleased.
As expected of someone who has only half-stepped into immortality, he can observe the outside world from his bedroom.
After climbing a few stone steps, Meng Yan began to doubt his own physical strength.
Whether it was due to lack of rest from running around in recent days, or the difficulty of carrying the wooden cart and other items, she stopped to catch her breath by the roadside after only a few steps.
No matter how he thought about it, it was just a matter of the clothes not fitting properly. Meng Yan leaned against the wooden cart and considered his options carefully.
She had originally taken some leftover mooncakes from the kitchen and was about to leave in her big bird when she thought it over and realized it wasn't dignified enough. Since she was visiting someone's home, there were many etiquette rules that couldn't be ignored. So she pulled Chu Ming, who had just woken up, to dress her up. Only after tidying up her hair and shoes did she dare to go out.
Although the wind was strong on the road, from what she could see, her skirt, sleeves, and waist ornaments were no different from when she left home, which is why her movements seemed to be still.
Well, I just hope that person is here and that the cooperation can be successfully completed. As for the inconveniences, I can just bear with them and they will pass.
The sunlight was blinding. Meng Yan rubbed his forehead to recover, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw a few more figures in the distance.
Realizing that she was starting to hallucinate, she shook her head to shake off the dizziness and stared intently at that abrupt point.
It didn't seem like she was seeing things; someone was really walking in this direction. Although it was unlikely, Meng Yan still hoped that this person was someone she had met before, or rather, someone she knew well and wanted to see.
What I thought about all day long, unexpectedly became reality.
The person arrived in a hurry, but suddenly stopped in front of her. The straw hat on his head was casually taken off and placed on his head in the next moment.
How did you get here?
How did you know I came looking for you?
Inside and outside the straw hats, two pairs of eyes stared at each other without saying a word, until the sunlight scorched them. Only then did they look away from each other and push the cart side by side.
"I was lying comfortably in bed, but after turning over a few times, I felt uncomfortable somewhere, so I thought I'd get up and walk around." After Yue Lang finished speaking, he tilted his head to look at Meng Yan's expression, but because his face was completely covered by the bamboo hat, he could only look at his chin for a long time and couldn't guess anything.
This thing is quite annoying; I wish I hadn't brought it.
During the long pause, Meng Yan sensed that the person next to him seemed somewhat displeased. He turned his head to look at him and met a pair of dejected eyes.
At the same time, those eyes also spotted her, and the emotions in their eyes instantly changed, their smugness overflowing.
A loud laugh suddenly came into her view.
"So I wandered around the room for a bit," Yue Lang continued, in high spirits, recounting the little story from before his arrival. "And soon, the erudite, perceptive, and resourceful me discovered something new."
Meng Yan knew he was waiting for her response again, but the temperature was gradually rising. Despite wearing a sun hat to shield her from the sun, she still didn't want to stay in the sun for long. After thinking it over, she decided not to give Yue Lang any attention and raised her left hand to tap the back of his right hand.
Upon receiving the urging, Yue Lang's smile spread faster than the sunshine. He swayed his body with satisfaction, and the little wooden cart and Meng Yan swayed along with him.
He was hit on the hand again, and after calming down by dragging the people and things around him, he cleared his throat and said, "I walked in all directions and my mind was in turmoil, but only here at the mountain gate, where you are standing, was it so refreshing."
"I thought I just wanted to go out for a walk, but after only a few steps I saw a small figure. I walked faster and faster, and my heart only calmed down when I was about to meet you."
"Only then did I realize that it wanted to see you, or wanted me to come and pick you up." His tone suddenly rose at the end, and Yue Lang paused for a moment before lowering his voice, "So, why did Miss Yan come specifically to find me?"
The tone of the two sentences was completely unchanged, and to Meng Yan's ears, it sounded as if the man was about to float into the sky while pushing a wooden cart. It was hard to imagine how he managed to stay on the ground.
Perhaps the root cause is that Yue Lang itself cannot fly?
"Miss Yan? Are you listening, Miss Yan?"
A greeting came from the side, sounding like a summoning spell. To prevent him from dragging her along with him, Meng Yan raised her left hand almost instantly upon hearing the voice and decisively and sincerely placed it down.
This was the first time she had really hit him with all her might today, and she actually held back quite a bit, because she was afraid that she would really break his hand if he was so delicate and weak, and then all the cooperation would fall through.
Yue Lang had no idea that someone had taken a liking to him. He just assumed that she found him annoying, so he obediently went back to playing the role of the original laborer pushing a cart and walked into the door with Meng Yan.
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