In the evening, when Lin Wan returned home, Lin Yinghui was already there, saying they had found three renovation workers.
"Did you negotiate the price?"
"Yes, we did. Forty for five days. We provide the materials."
"Alright, I’ll draw up the plans today, and tomorrow I’ll go with you. It’s all arranged here."
The siblings discussed shop matters in the room, while Liang Hongmei, who had fried the food to be sold tomorrow, sat and watched.
Early the next morning, Lin Yinghui took a few days off from school and then went to the suburbs to order several thousand bricks. They were too expensive at the kiln factory, so he went to a finished factory area and bought leftover bricks from the person in charge. New bricks cost over fifty, while old bricks were just over twenty.
Lin Wan went to the carpenter’s house. This carpenter uncle was quite talented; he often took on small jobs, had a little workshop, and trained two or three apprentices. Lin Wan handed over the round table drawings to the carpenter uncle to help make twenty-three sets of tables and chairs.
The table wasn’t big, round with a hole in the middle reserved for a stove later. Each side of the table was foldable; it could be lowered for fewer people or extended for more.
While Lin Wan talked with the uncle, his eyes sparkled; this was a good item. Many citizens now had poor housing conditions but large families, and a small table wasn’t enough for meals. A large table wouldn’t fit.
Many people struggle with this.
This is exactly what’s needed for the public.
"Girl, can I use this design later?"
While introducing, Lin Wan suddenly heard this and was puzzled for a moment. The carpenter uncle thought she disagreed and quickly said, "Don’t worry, girl, I won’t use your design for free. For the twenty-some tables you made, I won’t charge you. Each set costs eight, including waste materials and labor. It’s not easy, plus adding chairs and over twenty vegetable stands; stands are one fifty each, chairs one each, you’re the one benefiting."
Lin Wan understood, realizing she saved over a hundred.
"Uncle, I was going to sell this design to a furniture manufacturer, but they haven’t come early. So, I had you make it first. Initially, he offered me three hundred for the design, three hundred, uncle."
The carpenter uncle got anxious; he knew how the furniture factory worked, often trading new designs with them. The girl’s design indeed could sell for this price.
"Little girl, since he hasn’t come, maybe he didn’t fancy it. How about this, I’ll buy the design for three hundred as you said."
Lin Wan hesitated briefly and said, "I drew this myself; no one else has seen it yet, not even the detailed breakdown."
"I’ll make everything you need; then I’ll give you a hundred more, saving you quite a bit already."
Though Lin Wan seemed reluctant, she was secretly delighted. "Alright."
After agreeing, the carpenter uncle worried she might sell the design to others, so he signed a contract with Lin Wan and handed her the remaining hundred.