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

The approval had just been granted, and Zhang Dabiao hadn't yet decided whether to set up a factory in Hong Kong for production when three assistants came to his door.

Zhang Dabiao explained to them that the Lou family owed money, so under Lou Yufan's "introduction," he had someone else register the business under his name, a local Hong Kong resident. That person was named "Zhang Yaoyang," who owned four Mixue Ice Cream parlors and two newspapers in Hong Kong, and was quite influential.

Zhang Dabiao and "Zhang Yaoyang" had a profit-sharing agreement, so they couldn't trust the Lou family anymore. It was basically just Zhang Dabiao transferring money between his own pockets, but with a 50/50 split. This way, they didn't need to repatriate all the foreign exchange. With development in Hong Kong, "Zhang Yaoyang" needed to keep some money on hand, more Hong Kong dollars and US dollars, for future use.

Moreover, the amount of money returned was too much and too conspicuous.

Even if the ministry knew about this, there was nothing they could do about Zhang Dabiao. It had been previously stated that Zhang Dabiao was allowed to find a way to register the patent in Hong Kong at his own expense. There was precedent for this; the lighter case was an example of this, and the ministry had no reason to stop Zhang Dabiao—because it was impossible for him to receive a share of the profits domestically.

If you don't do it this way, Zhang Dabiao won't make money and won't have any motivation. He still has more than 40 yuan in the bank; he could have just given up long ago.

Moreover, every time Zhang Dabiao's designs helped the country earn so much foreign exchange, what did the country give Zhang Dabiao in return?

Each time it's just a certificate and 200 yuan?

To put it bluntly, do people even care about this thing?

Zhang Dabiao provides free design services to domestic factories, but he receives no commission, no licensing fees, and no factory shares.

How much can Zhang Dabiao earn by inventing a lighter?

A licensing fee of three to four hundred thousand US dollars!

Therefore, Zhang Dabiao is the only person in the entire country who can register a patent abroad, and it is legal and legitimate, with the approval of the higher authorities.

He spread out the stack of blueprints and the authorization letter without saying a word, and poured himself another cup of tea.

The three were talking just a moment ago, but after seeing the omnidirectional wheels in person—

Then they all fell silent.

Huang Yan reacted first, pressing one hand on the corner of the picture of the folding cart, her tone very steady, but the first word she uttered was off-key: "How did you come up with the idea for this omnidirectional wheel structure?"

"I drew it myself, is there a problem?"

Huang Yan looked up, Chen Puqing turned to the side, and Wang Fushan leaned over. The three exchanged glances and then simultaneously reached for the stack of blueprints.

Sha Zhu happened to be passing by the outer wall at that moment, on his way to buy some groceries to make soup for Qin Huairu. He peeked inside on tiptoe and saw three adults huddled around a table, fighting over a stack of papers, stuffing them into their own pockets and trying to pry them from each other's hands. The stack of papers was already creased from being torn.

Wow, another great invention!

[Da Biao is going to make a fortune again. How is his brain even working?]

Making money is easier than drinking water!

------------

The three drawings were eventually separated according to their respective areas, but both Huang Yan and Chen Puqing's departments needed the drawing for the folding cart.

The two stood blocking the entrance to the small courtyard, neither moving. Each presented their reasons with seemingly valid points, but as they talked, Chen Puqing raised his voice slightly, and Huang Yan followed suit without holding back. The gaps between their words grew shorter and shorter, and it looked like they were about to start arguing right there at the entrance.

With a headache, Zhang Dabiao said, "Stop fighting, I'll draw another one, and everyone can take their own."

The three of them immediately shut up and stood obediently outside the door to wait.

Sha Zhu, passing by, poked his head in and asked, "Da Biao, what kind of thing did they design this time? Is it worth fighting over like this?"

Zhang Dabiao was engrossed in drawing lines and ignored him.

Sha Zhu sullenly headed towards the kitchen, took a couple of steps, then turned back and muttered to himself:

"...Isn't that just a wheel?"

"Three people fighting over one wheel? Are they out of their minds?"

"I hope Da Biao's design won't backfire this time?"

Zhang Dabiao also asked them to take a message back with them.

If you add another 200 yuan for each certificate, then there will be no more design drawings.

The 12-month priority period was meant to allow the country to produce ahead of schedule. Since Zhang Dabiao couldn't receive any commission or shares anyway, it was considered a contribution to the country.

I offer free licensing, but if a country buys a regional agency right after 12 months, and the products manufactured in our country can't be sold, then it's none of my business.

After all, when you're outside the country, you still have to abide by copyright law.

I can't exactly say that I paid for the copyright registration myself, gave it to the country to use for free, and only took 200 yuan and a certificate for myself, can I?

No one would do a business that loses money.

Therefore, we need to offer some tangible benefits, otherwise we really won't have any design drawings left in the future.

------------

After the design drawings were submitted, the commotion was much bigger than Zhang Dabiao had expected.

The blueprints for spinners, carry-on suitcases, strollers, folding strollers, folding shopping carts, and supermarket shopping carts were jointly designated as "priority projects" by several departments, and the process was much faster than usual. The steel rolling mill took on the production task of the metal structure for the spinners, while Hongxing Daily Necessities Manufacturing Plant took on the work of producing the boxes and folding cart components and assembling the whole.

Having both factories accepting orders simultaneously is no small matter under normal circumstances.

Liu Guangqi came to the small courtyard to give a briefing in his capacity as the accountant of "Hongxing Daily Necessities Manufacturing Factory". When he entered, there was something in his eyes, it was hard to say whether it was excitement or something else, it was complicated.

"Da Biao, both factories have already filled their quotas, and the factory managers seem to be saying..." He paused, slowing his speech, "...Do you have any new inventions on your side that you could arrange for our factory to have a few more—"

Zhang Dabiao: "Guangqi, be careful not to overeat and burst your belly!"

"Besides, if these designs of mine didn't go through the three ministries, they could be given directly to our factory."

"Guess what the higher-ups will do to our factory? It's hard to say whether we can even keep our existing business."

"Anyway, I can't make that decision."

Liu Guangqi moved his lips, but didn't ask any more questions, got up and left.

Actually, he also felt that Zhang Dabiao was losing out. Each time, all he got was 200 yuan and a certificate of merit. But did Dabiao need those things?

Not lacking.

But Da Biao wasn't a formal employee of the factory; he was a part-time worker.

Although the factory turned its fortunes around because of Zhang Dabiao's design, even if the factory director and secretary wanted to give him more money and more rewards, there was no policy or reason to do so.

If things continued like this, Liu Guangqi felt that Zhang Dabiao would run away, as the factory was treating him too poorly.

After thinking it over for a moment, Liu Guangqi went back to find the factory director and the party secretary.

The factory plans to build dormitory-style apartments this year. How about we get one for Da Biao?

But what reason could we use?