What Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan liked to see the most was their family living together in harmony, the people around them being able to live a stable life, and the smiling faces of their children.
It could be said to be great or selfish, but the two of them were already tired of taking the initiative to attack others, so they had been patiently doing what they wanted to do.
When merchants came from outside, they first had to consider their attitude. If they came with a friendly attitude, the two of them would treat them the same. If they came with the intention of suppressing the Zhang family in the Chamber of Commerce, the two of them would deal with them according to the degree.
The attitude of the people of the Yellow River Shipping Company had been fluctuating between cooperation and non-cooperation, so Zhang Xiaobao made a move. The main reason was that those owners had a bad attitude towards Zhang Zhong. It wasn't that merchants couldn't do anything to officials, but it was a matter of mentality.
If it were two people, it wouldn't be a big deal for a merchant to meet some officials of a certain rank, but the status of the officials here was much higher than that of the merchants. Those owners spoke to Zhang Zhong in such a way, it could only mean that they didn't respect Zhang Zhong's position in their hearts.
Perhaps this matter would cause a lot of losses to the people of the Yellow River Shipping Company, but to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, it was just a small episode. It wasn't as big of an impact as a two-year-old child struggling in the water.
"Xiao Bao, look, that child is really fun. He seems to want to swim, but unfortunately, the water is too shallow." After Wang Juan finished talking about the shark, she pointed at the child in the shallowest pool and said excitedly to Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao turned his head to look and also laughed. That pool was unusually shallow. Even if the child sat in it, he wouldn't drown. Only two of the more than ten pools were like this, so he was afraid that the child wouldn't be able to stand steadily and sit down.
The child seemed a little unwilling to stay in such water. His little hands and feet moved vigorously, and his body really floated up a little.
After swimming for a while, he felt that it was not satisfying to be able to touch the bottom of the pool all the time. He stood up and staggered in the water. He actually climbed to the top of the pool and opened his arms. His legs moved quickly and with a splash, he jumped into the pool that was slightly deeper than the original one.
This time, it was deep enough, and the child's chin just happened to be up to the child's chin. This scared the child playing inside. When he saw a child younger than him coming over, he thought that it would be dangerous and wanted to come over to save him. However, the child raised his head and started to swim by himself while giggling.
Not only were the children who wanted to save them dumbfounded, but Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also stunned.
"What a genius! He can actually smile and swim at the same time. Could it be that he also trained like you?" Wang Juan was relieved. She signaled to the rescue personnel on the shore to just watch from nearby. There was no need to go and pull the child out.
Zhang Xiaobao also felt that it was very strange. How did the child float? Obviously, his four limbs were not moving. When he was lying there and smiling, it was impossible for his breathing to be so coordinated. It was just not heavy.
After thinking for a while, he said, "It seems that we should come up with more sports in the future, such as football, basketball, and so on. There are also track and field events. Yes, the polo here is also good."
"Then I will personally train this child. When he grows up, he will win a gold medal and a championship. It's okay to do some sports, but there must be a standardized school. However, it must not be the kind where the rich can enter, and the poor lose the opportunity. Also, there must not be any corrupt officials."
Wang Juan thought that Zhang Xiaobao wanted to use those sports to make money. She was worried that with the large amount of money generated, some people would lose themselves, so she reminded him.
Zhang Xiaobao knew that this matter was indeed profitable. However, he not only planned to make money, but also to increase some entertainment activities in the lives of the gradually prosperous people.
"Don't worry, we can take things slowly. The people here are not like when we were in the past. Sometimes, they might not cheat even if you ask them to. When we are about to leave Lu Zhou, we will start with Lu Zhou and the capital. As for the other places, as long as our chamber of commerce has not penetrated into them, we will leave them alone first."
Since Zhang Xiaobao mentioned this matter, he had to come up with a general framework first.
Wang Juan nodded. Then, she shook her head and said, "I don't think it will work. If the few places you mentioned are successful and really make money, how can Chu Zhou City and Henan not follow suit? Then, won't we lose an opportunity to join them? "
"You're right. Others will learn. Even if they can't come up with such a good system, they will follow suit. After all, this matter can make money. Let them follow suit. When the time comes, we can cooperate with them and compete with each other in several areas, just like the competition between various craftsmen."
When Zhang Xiaobao heard Wang Juan's words, he knew that he could not control everything. The people here were not stupid. Not only were they not stupid, but they were also very smart. Perhaps they were a little less knowledgeable, but as long as he and Wang Juan came up with something, others would immediately copy it.
There was no way to guard against it, unless he wanted to tamper with the things he was doing and deliberately harm others. Then, it would become a purely commercial calculation. Zhang Xiaobao didn't want to commercialize everything.
"It's still early to talk about this. Xiao Bao, are there pirated copies of our bags? Do we need to do something? " When Wang Juan talked about the imitation, she thought of the situation of the furniture and bags. These two things had just been released for a short time, but in the end, there were people who copied them.
The marks deliberately left behind at the beginning could come in handy at this time. The problem of imitation could not be solved by any legal means. Not to mention that the law was not so perfect, especially in the business aspect. Even if it was perfect, so what? Those that should be counterfeited would still be counterfeited, and it would be impossible to catch them.
Zhang Xiaobao also knew that the counterfeiting started in Beijing. After all, those leather bags and furniture were sent to Beijing to be sold first. These were just delivered not long ago. It must be those who couldn't buy them and wanted to buy them at a high price. As a result, the counterfeiting market was formed.
"Didn't they already issue a certificate? According to the information we received, the people over there did not issue a certificate. When the time comes, the people who bought them will think of a way to do it themselves. Let them make it first. Stop the first generation and start to change the design. Start the second generation. This time, directly start the production in Beijing, which is the workshop in Sanshui County.
Make more. The first generation is just to see the reaction of the market. It seems that it is good. Then let's stockpile the second generation and release it at the same time. It is convenient to have carrier pigeons. Now I want to know how many pigeons Zhang Jiuling has in Beijing. Did he send a few batches of pigeons over there? "
Zhang Xiaobao pondered. There were not many counterfeiters over there. If the marks were exposed now, others would follow suit. He would wait until there were more people.
This kind of thing was decided in one sentence. Zhang Xiaobao pulled Wang Juan and walked to other places. "The two of us also play. I didn't play when I was young. Make up for it, make up for it."
The two of them walked towards the merry-go-round. On the way, they encountered a mirror. There were many children in front of the mirror doing all kinds of things. Even the adults were curiously watching. They had never seen this kind of thing before.
"There are kaleidoscopes in front. It is more interesting over there." Wang Juan saw that there were not many mirrors and there were many people, so she reminded them. When the two of them were making the mirrors, they thought of making one mirror of the same size. Now, they found that it was not enough. When the children played here, they would stand in front for a long time.
The children at the back had to wait. Wang Juan reminded others and said, "Let's go back and make two more sets. It is easy to get into fights if you always wait."
"That's true. Fortunately, there are no children fighting now. They all know that this place was made by my father. They are very obedient. The weather is too hot. Let's have a small competition. Children of the same age compete. The first few can eat ice cream for free, and the last few can eat shaved ice. It is a consolation prize."
Zhang Xiaobao saw that almost all the children here came to play. Their faces were full of smiles. He was happy. He wanted to spend more money to make the children happy.
"Okay, it doesn't cost much anyway. If money can buy happiness, it is worth it. Unfortunately, the kaleidoscopes can only be seen here and can't be taken away. After all, that thing is too expensive. If everyone has one, it can't be sold at a high price in the future. It will also harm them."
Wang Juan also agreed with Zhang Xiaobao's suggestion of a competition. It was just an excuse to give people things for free. She thought of the kaleidoscopes. That thing was not expensive, but it was definitely not cheap. If it was really given to the children here, when they knew the price in the future, would they keep it or sell it? It was easy to cause trouble.
The two of them found the person in charge here. After some instructions, when the children knew that there were good things, the whole amusement park was filled with children's cheers.
At this time, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had already ridden on the wooden horse. With the impact of the water, the wooden horse rotated up and down. The two of them originally thought that they could experience the joy of childhood, but now they found that even with their current bodies, they could not find the feeling of the past.
On the contrary, the children here were very excited to ride on the wooden horse.
"Life, once it is gone, it can never be found again. Even the setbacks in childhood are beautiful memories now. What a pity."
After riding for a while, Zhang Xiaobao realized that there were other children waiting there. He said something to Wang Juan, who was beside him, and jumped down to carry the four-year-old child up. He even held him in place so that he wouldn't accidentally fall off.
The child wiped his nose and smiled happily. From time to time, he waved his hand at the Master Jia who was standing below.
Wang Juan also gave her position to others. She stood there and watched, trying to find the past from the children.
"In fact, I haven't been to the amusement park many times. How can I have the time? My family is busy, and I have to keep learning, just to be better than the children of the same age. After so many years, I have a little regret, but also a little pride. This is the child we were at that time, gambling on tomorrow with youth. "
Wang Juan also sighed with emotion. She pulled Zhang Xiaobao and walked to the slide. Even if they did not have the feeling of childhood, they should still play. From the time this thing was made until now, the two of them had not played with it. Besides, this slide was different from the wooden horse. When they came down from a high place, no matter what kind of training they had had, they would still have a special feeling.
The ladder of the slide was wide, and the height of each step was not high. This way, there was no need to worry about the children accidentally falling from above. The adults were also watching from below. At the bottom of the slide, there was a sandpit, and there were a few quilts on it.
This slide was three feet high. When the children were sliding down from above, they seemed to have never had such an experience. They were very nervous. One of them did not dare to slide down halfway. He held on to the protective places on both sides with his hands and did not want to go down. The children waiting at the top kept urging him.
The adults below kept persuading the children to let go of their hands, which led to the laughter of others. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not have any good ideas. The children were afraid. The problem was that they were still sliding down. Wouldn't it be better if they did not come down?
"Go, go up and get the children down." Zhang Xiaobao said and ran up from the other side. He asked the people waiting at the bottom of the slide to make way. He slid over. When he reached the child in the middle, he slowed down and said a few words. Then, he carried the child down.
"What did you say to him?" Wang Juan asked curiously.
"I said there is good food to eat down there. If you don't go down, it will be eaten by others." Zhang Xiaobao replied with a smile.
Sure enough, the child who came down opened his eyes wide and looked at Zhang Xiaobao, waiting to eat. Wang Juan had to go to the place selling baked egg rolls and get an egg roll for the child. However, the child turned around and wanted to go up again.
"I'll say this first. If you continue to stay in the middle and wait for others to give you food, there won't be any left." Wang Juan knew what he was thinking when she saw the little boy's rolling eyes, so she said this.
The child immediately stopped regretfully. He turned around and took the egg roll from the master's hand and ate it bit by bit. At his speed, it was estimated that he could finish the egg roll for an hour. Obviously, he was reluctant to part with it.
"The productivity is not developed, and the supplies are not enough. Even some of the things in life are greatly affected. Seeing him eat reminds me of the ice cream that someone once gave me. It melted in the end, but I haven't finished it yet. When will all the children be able to eat as much as they want?"
Zhang Xiaobao went to get another egg roll and gave it to the child. In the end, the child gave the egg roll to his mother so that she could try it.
Wang Juan said with a smile, "Actually, this is good. At least the child knows how to cherish. When Lu Zhou's life is better in the future, it will be a kind of happiness for them to remember. Just like how we are now, they can feel a little sentimental."
"Little Young Master, let's make another slide." At this time, a little girl about five years old came over and pulled Zhang Xiaobao's clothes in fear. She begged in a low voice. Her father was frightened and immediately came over to take the child away.
Zhang Xiaobao stopped the adult, patted the little girl's head, and said, "Well, let's make another slide. But this time, we won't make a slide like this one. Make a water slide. We'll directly rush down from the top and fall into the water."
Zhang Xiaobao suddenly thought of something else, a water slide. It was something that gave off the feeling of surfing. This was not only for children to play with, but also for adults. However, adults naturally did not have the privilege of children. They had to spend money to play with it.
The little girl's father smiled apologetically at Zhang Xiaobao and said, "Little Young Master, don't listen to this little girl's nonsense. We know that this slide costs a lot of money. It's made of iron. Doesn't one cost more than 100 strings of coins? You don't have to make another one. One is enough. "
Zhang Xiaobao nodded and did not explain further. Anyway, he had already decided to make a water slide. The water that rushed down from the top was easy to deal with. He also used a water wheel to send it up. He just needed to make a slightly bigger pool. This project was not small. It needed to be built at such a high place. Otherwise, it would not be able to hold so much water.
The little girl was a little disappointed, but she knew that this thing was expensive, so she nodded obediently. She gave Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan a charming smile and let her father lead her to another place to play.
"Let's go. This place doesn't belong to us anymore," Wang Juan said to Zhang Xiaobao. "Let's go. After all, this place doesn't belong to us anymore. Let's go to the dock and see how many sharks they've killed to make delicious shark fins. The shark skin can be used to make swimming clothes. If we can find some rich people to come here, we can sell them the swimsuits."
"Let's go. We won't look." As Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan walked towards the pier together, Zhang Xiaobao couldn't help but look longingly at the children playing there.
When the two of them came to the dock where the fish were processed, the smell of blood washed over them from afar. When they got closer, they saw a lot of blood flowing into the sea. From time to time, people went in and out of that place.
"We have to think of a way to solve this environmental problem. If we keep washing the blood in, how many flies will it attract? Let's build a special boat and let them process it on the boat. "
Wang Juan smelled the smell of blood and looked at the flies hovering in the sky.
Zhang Xiaobao also noticed this problem. He thought for a while and said, "We don't know how long it will take to build a boat. Let's not wait. We'll change a cargo boat and use it as their workshop. We'll arrange it in a while."
"Little Master, Little Miss, you two are here? The smell of blood here is too strong. It's better to look at it from afar. Otherwise, you will have nightmares at night. "When the steward in charge of the situation here saw the two of them coming, he quickly came forward to persuade them.
"There's no need. Is there any shark skin that is more complete?" Zhang Xiaobao asked the manager.
The steward revealed a troubled expression. When they went out, they had already been instructed to keep the shark's skin intact as much as possible. However, it was too dangerous to kill it. Everyone just wanted to kill it quickly and neglected this matter.
Seeing the steward's expression, Zhang Xiaobao understood. "It's fine if there isn't. As long as the people are fine, it's fine. Get the damaged shark skin. When the time comes, we can make something with it."
"Little Gongzi, that place is really too dangerous. We all tied ourselves up with ropes. Otherwise, it would be very easy for us to fall. Little Gongzi, is it possible to make a strong net? When the time comes, we can use that to catch sharks. The net we used last time was broken by the sharks."
Seeing that the little master and the little miss didn't pursue the matter, the steward was relieved and told his idea.
"Oh, so the nets don't work? It seems that we have to make the boats bigger. When the time comes, we can use the nets made of iron wires to catch the sharks. This matter will be arranged when we go back. You can continue. Remember not to throw away the fishing float. It's delicious. "
Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao had discussed using nets to catch the sharks. They also mentioned iron wires. But now, iron wires were not easy to make. They needed craftsmen to make them bit by bit. The two of them didn't have a wire drawing machine.
After giving another order, the two of them didn't stay here any longer. They took a few shark fishing floats and prepared to go back to make some dishes. Then, they rode back.
"Cuckoo, do you think we can find a way to get a few whales here? The kind that can be shot with cannons or crossbows? There are more good things on the whales. "
On the way back, Zhang Xiaobao sat behind Wang Juan and asked while holding the shark fishing floats in his hand.
"I can't make cannons now, and I don't dare to do it. If it's discovered, it'll be over. As for the crossbows, we have to ask Li Xun. Do you dare to make the crossbows directly? Let's see if Li Xun can think of a way to let us not be restricted. Also, let's talk to Grandpa Bi. Otherwise, as long as this thing appears, it will be big trouble. "
Wang Juan replied after thinking for a while. The two of them were silent for a while. This matter was really too difficult. That kind of large-scale war weapon couldn't be made casually. The technology was difficult for others, but it was easy for them. However, they didn't dare to do it casually. Now, they made some weapons, but they were all small ones. No one would investigate, and they did it in the name of conscription.
After a while, Zhang Xiaobao said, "Let's have someone make it first. When the time comes, we will put it on the boat. As long as no one else sees it, it will be fine. Catching a whale can let many people eat fish meat. Let's bring up the matter first and take it slowly."
With Zhang Xiaobao's words, Wang Juan didn't care anymore. She sped up and the horse began to gallop from its previous stroll.
When the two of them returned to the yamen, Li Xun was already waiting at the door. He didn't go in to wait, but sat on the stairs outside. He held his chin with both hands and was thinking about something. His eyes were looking at the distant sky. No one knew what he was thinking.
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