The Young Dragon of the Ming Dynasty: Bound to an Industrial Blueprint from the Start

Zhu Zhanji picked up a bottle and examined it against the light. The bottle was an ordinary porcelain bottle, but the mouth was sealed with wax, and a small red paper was pasted on the body of the bottle with the four characters "Sandalwood Fragrance, Pure and Far-Reaching" written on it.

"This is?"

"I had someone write it," Lin Xiuniang said somewhat embarrassedly. "The Crown Princess said that if the product is good, the packaging must also be exquisite."

Zhu Zhanji put down the bottle and looked at the shelf on the other side.

There were more than a dozen boxes of perfume balm on the shelf, varying in size and color.

"Is this a sample of deodorant?"

"Yes." Lin Xiuniang picked up a box, opened the lid, and handed it to him. "This is the seventh batch, and the smell is much better than the previous batches."

Zhu Zhanji leaned closer and smelled it. It was a faint fragrance, a mixture of cloves, patchouli, and mint, which was indeed better than the smell of those "temple incense burners" he had smelled before.

"You've worked hard, Madam Lin," he said. "The perfume balm isn't urgent; we can test it slowly. But the sandalwood flower dew can start mass production now."

Lin Xiuniang nodded emphatically.

Zhu Zhanji walked out of the courtyard and was about to head to Tingxue Pavilion when Qian Lai hurriedly ran up from the front.

"Boss, we have news!"

Zhu Zhanji stopped in his tracks.

Qian Lai took a breath and lowered his voice, saying, "The owner of Tongyuan Auto Shop asked someone to tell me that he wants to meet Master Sun and see that detachable carriage."

"Tongyuan Car Dealership?" Zhu Zhanji's eyes lit up.

Qian Lai said, "It's the largest carriage company in the capital, specializing in freight transport. They have hundreds of carriages under their control. If we can get on board with them, Master Sun won't have to worry about selling his carriages."

Zhu Zhanji thought for a moment and said, "Have Sun San take the samples, but don't reveal our identities. Just say that it's a new product from Mingyue Workshop."

"clear."

Just as Qian Lai was about to leave, Zhu Zhanji called him back: "Also, you know about the feedback from Lao Wan's blacksmith shop regarding the anti-rust oil. Once Doctor Wu finalizes the formula, arrange production as soon as possible."

Qian Lai agreed and left in a hurry.

Zhu Zhanji stood in the courtyard, gazing at the hazy sky above.

The detachable carriage, anti-rust oil, and sandalwood flower dew lines all started moving simultaneously.

He took a deep breath and walked towards Tingxue Pavilion.

The next step is to see if the market will accept it.

On the tenth day of the eleventh month, Tongyuan Carriage Company.

Sun San, accompanied by two apprentices, drove a modified horse-drawn carriage and stopped in front of the carriage shop.

The car dealership owner, surnamed Han, was in his forties with a dark, ruddy complexion, clearly someone who spent most of his time traveling.

He circled the car twice, frowning. "This is what you meant by 'detachable carriage'?"

Sun San nodded, said nothing more, and immediately took action.

Unloading one carriage takes fifteen minutes, then loading another carriage takes fifteen minutes.

Boss Han's eyes widened even more.

After Sun San finished his demonstration, he squatted in front of the pile of clips, examining them from all angles for a long time before looking up and asking, "Is this thing sturdy?"

"Manager Han can try it himself," Sun San said.

"Load up the cargo, drive on the worst roads, if it gets damaged from the bumpy ride, it's on me."

Boss Han stood up and clapped his hands: "Okay, I'll give it a try."

He summoned a driver and gave him a few instructions.

The driver loaded the cart full of stones and headed out of the city.

Sun San stood at the door, watching the departing carriage, his palms sweating.

An hour later, the carriage returned.

The driver jumped off the cart, his face beaming with excitement: "Boss, it works great! The latch didn't come loose at all, the cart is rock solid, much more comfortable than our old cart!"

Boss Han's eyes lit up.

He turned to Sun San: "Master Sun, name your price for this car."

Following Zhu Zhanji's instructions, Sun San said unhurriedly, "Manager Han, we don't make complete vehicles, we only sell the clips and blueprints. Once you buy the blueprints, you can modify them yourself, as much as you want."

Boss Han was taken aback: "Selling blueprints?"

"That's right," Sun San said. "One price, three hundred taels, one set of blueprints, one set of buckle samples, and I'll teach you until you learn."

After a moment's thought, Boss Han slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Great! I'll buy it!"

Three hundred taels of silver was nothing to Tongyuan Carriage Company.

But if this technology could be applied to hundreds of cars in their own vehicles, the money saved would be far more than three thousand taels.

That afternoon, the silver was delivered to Mingyue Tower.

On November 15th, a queue formed in front of Lao Wan's blacksmith shop.

They were all fellow blacksmiths, along with several managers from carriage and horse shops. They had heard about the "miracle oil" and came to inquire.

Following Wu Langzhong's instructions, Lao Wan divided the boiled rust-preventing oil into small bottles, charging ten coins for each bottle.

For ten coins, it's a bargain, and everyone's willing to give it a try.

In one day, we sold more than fifty bottles.

Doctor Wu hid behind the shop, watching the people queuing up, secretly pleased.

November 20th, the Crown Prince's Palace.

Zhang hosted a banquet in the backyard, inviting several officials' wives to enjoy tea.

During the meal, she took out the bottle of "Sandalwood Dew" and had a maid put a drop on each person's wrist.

"This fragrance is truly exquisite," a lady remarked after taking a sniff.

"It's not as sweet as ordinary floral dew; instead, it has a touch of the calming scent of sandalwood."

Another lady said, "Where did the Crown Princess get these? I'd like to buy a few bottles too."

Zhang smiled and said, "This was something my son came up with. It's called Bright Moon Workshop. If you like it, I'll have someone send a few bottles over later."

The ladies quickly expressed their gratitude.

After the banquet, Madam Zhang summoned her maid and said, "Go to Mingyue Tower and tell them that we can prepare more goods."

The monthly meeting will be held on November 25th.

Inside Tingxue Pavilion, the charcoal fire was burning brightly.

Qian Lai opened the ledger, his voice steady:

"This month's income: A lot"

"This month's expenses: Quite a lot."

"cough!"

"Monthly balance: 5,863 taels of silver."

He closed the account book and looked at Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Zhanji nodded.

Five thousand eight hundred.

There are still 4,200 taels to go to reach 10,000 taels.

At this rate, it won't be long.

He looked at Sun San: "Master Sun, is there any follow-up regarding Tongyuan Auto Dealership?"

Sun San smiled broadly: "Back to the boss, after Manager Han bought the blueprints, he also ordered thirty sets of clips from me. He said to modify thirty cars first to test them out, and if they work well, we'll modify the rest of the cars."

Zhu Zhanji nodded and then looked at Wu Langzhong.

Doctor Wu said, "As for the anti-rust oil, Lao Wan said that people ask about it every day. He asked me to make more so that he can sell it in the shop year-round."

Zhu Zhanji then looked at Lin Xiuniang.

Lin Xiuniang said, "Reporting to the master, the Crown Princess sent word that several officials' wives want to buy floral dew and asked us to prepare the goods. I have already made fifty bottles and sent them over."

Zhu Zhanji finally looked at Qian Lai.

Qian Lai said, "Boss, Manager Liu has introduced another friend to the remittance department. He is surnamed Ma and is in the tea business. He wants to remit 800 taels to Jiangnan. We will charge a handling fee of 1.6 taels."

Zhu Zhanji was silent for a moment before speaking: "Manager Qian, from now on, the remittance business can be slightly relaxed. The handling fee remains the same, two taels for every thousand taels. We are not looking to make a profit, but only to establish a good reputation."

"Yes."

"Also," Zhu Zhanji stood up, "keep working on Master Sun's 'all-purpose carriage' idea. As for Doctor Wu's rust-preventing oil, finalize the formula as soon as possible and hand it over to Madam Lin's workshop for mass production. There are still empty rooms in her courtyard, so set one aside specifically for rendering the oil."

All four agreed in unison.