Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Lou Bancheng remained silent for a long time with a dark expression, while Qu San, the driver and bodyguard beside him, clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

Lou Xiao'e, who had just gone to prepare tea for the two of them, came over with a thud, slammed the tea tray on the coffee table, and then began to scold them.

"Da Biao, how dare you talk to my dad like that?!"

"I kindly brought you back to meet my dad, so you should at least be a little polite, right?"

Zhang Dabiao scoffed, "I won't be polite?"

"You'll see what being polite really means in a few years."

A cold glint flashed in Lou Bancheng's eyes: "Da Biao, what do you mean by this?"

"It doesn't mean anything."

"Da Biao, this is really boring."

"It was you who were being unfair, Boss Lou."

"So what makes something interesting?"

"That depends on how you interpret it, Boss Lou."

"...Da Biao, you're a very interesting person."

"Hehe, Boss Lou, you're quite interesting too."

"How much longer can I be interested?"

"That depends on how much you're willing to give."

The two of them talked for a long time, as if reciting a tongue twister, leaving Lou Xiao'e completely bewildered.

What are you guys talking about?

Lou Bancheng sent Lou Xiao'e and Qu San away and took Zhang Dabiao upstairs to the study for a private talk.

Once inside the room, he offered Zhang Dabiao a cigar, but Zhang Dabiao refused.

"This stuff doesn't go into the lungs, so it's not very effective when you smoke it."

Lou Bancheng raised an eyebrow: "You've smoked cigars before?"

"How novel! Can I smoke it in my dreams?"

Lou Bancheng sat down, lit a cigarette for himself, and Qu San brought in tea and a piece of paper before leaving and closing the door behind him.

"Regarding the patent, when you had Xiao'e contact me last time, I already had my people look into it."

"If you want our Lou family to register in Hong Kong on your behalf, that's not impossible."

"Leaving aside other things, we inquired about the registration process. For small products, you should first find a patent agent and submit an application to register the patent. Hong Kong's patent system is similar to England's, and it is mainly a registration and filing system."

Lou Bancheng took a puff of his cigar and began to read from the paper.

"It needs to be submitted through Hong Kong and then to England for review, which takes 3-5 years, with the main time spent in the English review stage."

"The costs are extremely high. The legal fees, official fees, and Hong Kong registration fees for a patent application in England can total tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars." (There was no such thing as a local Hong Kong patent or fast-track patent grant in 1960.)

"No matter how small your product is, even if it's not very valuable, it must still cost several thousand to tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars, right?"

"Besides, it's hard to say whether you'll be able to get this patent. Someone might have already invented it."

"But the corresponding advantage is that the patent rights are more secure, and based on this, rights can be asserted in multiple Commonwealth territories outside of Hong Kong, resulting in a broader protection network."

"Moreover, once the application is submitted, it can be marked 'Patent pending' on the product, allowing for rapid market expansion or finding buyers to monetize the product."

Lou Bancheng handed the paper to Zhang Dabiao, asking him to take a look and prove that what he said was true.

"I have to say, Zhang Dabiao, you have a great eye for international business, but this is not something a kid like you can handle."

"Moreover, the patent system is useless in our country."

Are you sure you still want to register the patent?

Zhang Dabiao was also a little apprehensive; tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars...

How could I possibly have taken it out myself?

I only have 2200 yuan in total. And that's after adding my recent bonus.

What the hell is this?

Moreover, it takes 3-5 years to get the application approved.

For a moment, Zhang Dabiao even considered giving up.

But considering how popular lighters will become... not to mention anything else, if just one-tenth of the manufacturers in the world comply with English patent law and pay them patent fees, they'll make a fortune!

As for the rest, we can find a lawyer and sue them if we have nothing else to lose. We'll try to get whatever we can.

Once flint lighters are available on the market, he'll "invent" the piezoelectric ceramic structure. After that, he'll develop a windproof lighter.

He has more than 20 in his little den!

There are all sorts of things, enough for him to "copy"!

This wave of benefits can last for twenty or thirty years, right?

Therefore, we absolutely must obtain patents!

This was one of the few options Zhang Dabiao had to complete his initial capital accumulation before the reform and opening up.

So Zhang Dabiao gritted his teeth and nodded: "Let's do it! We're already here!"

"We have to give it a try!"

"Take a chance, and your bicycle might turn into a motorcycle!"

Lou Bancheng couldn't understand this gambler's nature: "Then where does your money come from?"

"Business is business. Even if I were willing to help you, it's not like the Lou family could pay out of our own pockets to handle this for you, is it?"

"Ignoring labor and time costs, you still have to pay the registration fee yourself, right?"

At this moment, Lou Bancheng had already placed Zhang Dabiao on an equal footing to negotiate.

Although Zhang Dabiao is young, he has made many inventions and received many honors. He also has a keen eye for talent, and his drive is something even Lou Bancheng admires.

Xu Damao and Sha Zhu are nothing but little brothers in front of him!

Zhang Dabiao opened his schoolbag and took out the money he had saved up—

2200 yuan, plus the two small yellow croakers that were compensation for the time Yan Bugui slapped his hand, the two small yellow croakers that were given to Hu Zi when he sold his workstation, some antiques that Liu Gen's family gave him when he bought his workstation, and an old ginseng that the old hunter from Qinjiatun sold to him.

"This is all I have. Could you please calculate how many Hong Kong dollars I can exchange for, Mr. Lou?"

Lou Bancheng looked at it with disdain: "Four small yellow croakers, the official purchase price is 380 yuan, the black market price should be between 760 and 1500 yuan."

"Old Mountain ginseng is a good thing. It looks like it's 15 years old. The black market price is between 100 and 300, but it can sell for more than 500 if a customer is in urgent need."

"These antiques are all genuine, but the total price is only around 2000 yuan."

"Even if you add it all up and discount it by 5000, after exchanging it for Hong Kong dollars, it'll only be around 7000 Hong Kong dollars."

Then Lou Bancheng leaned back in his chair and said disdainfully, "Maybe it won't even cover the cost of hiring a lawyer."

This put Zhang Dabiao in an awkward position—"I gave it my all! But reality has left me utterly defeated?!"

So he awkwardly scratched his head and, with a grin, asked Lou Bancheng, "How about... Uncle Lou, could you lend me some?"

Lou Bancheng rolled his eyes, almost laughing in exasperation: "Zhang Dabiao, I've noticed you're the kind of person who uses people only when they need them, and then discards them when they don't!"

"If you want to distance yourself from me, call me Boss Lou; if you want my help, call me Uncle Lou."

"You're really...you're even more shameless than Xu Damao!"

Zhang Dabiao didn't care: "What's a face? Can it help me make money? Or can it protect your entire Lou family?"

"What's the use of noodles these days, in this environment?"

Zhang Dabiao was quite frank. There was no point in trying to outsmart a shrewd boss like him, especially one nicknamed "Half-City."

Lou Bancheng became a little unsettled when he heard Zhang Dabiao say "save the whole family".

"Da Biao, how much longer does my Lou family have?"

Zhang Dabiao shook his head: "Boss Lou, you're a smart man. I wouldn't dare say something like that so casually, it would shorten my lifespan."

Lou Bancheng thought for a moment with a gloomy expression. Back then, he was saved by Zhang Banxian. Moreover, it was said that Zhang Dabiao was saved by Zhang Banxian at the cost of his own life to summon his soul and change his fate.

Last time, this bastard was stabbed, just millimeters from his heart, and he survived being submerged in water for 14 hours...

They have some good fortune to them.

Lou Bancheng had no choice but to believe in these strange and supernatural things.

Yes, he told himself that the answer he wanted was defying fate, and he couldn't do it without paying a price.

"Then how about..."

"Should I marry Xiao'e to you?"

"Don't be like that, Boss Lou! You're going to get me into trouble!"