"Okay, three days should be just about right," Yang Rulin nodded, then pulled out a new property deed and handed it over, "Although we previously said we’d give you the house, it wasn’t officially transferred. These past few days, our great-grandfather had Lizheng make a trip to the county office to change the homeowner to Xiaofeng, so now your residence is legitimate."
Yang Ruxin took the deed and glanced at it, noting that it not only detailed the house’s condition but also clearly stated the ownership of the surrounding land, which was very comprehensive. This clearly indicated that the old man had completely accepted her approach.
"Additionally, my main reason for coming this time is about this table," Yang Rulin said, glancing at Yang Ruxin, "What I want to say is... I... I want to use your blueprints to make and sell this kind of table... Of course, I won’t use them for free, we can collaborate..."
"Brother Rulin, then tell me, how shall we collaborate?" Yang Ruxin smiled. She knew her shrewd great uncle wouldn’t let such a profitable opportunity pass by.
In this era, craftspeople were basically of two kinds: one was contracted by wealthy families, and the other was independent craftsmen; the Yang Family was the latter.
Although Yang the elder’s craftsmanship was good, it was barely enough to maintain a livelihood, as villagers rarely needed new furniture. Even when they needed some simple pieces, everyone had some carpentry skills and could nail together some wood themselves—why would they pay for it?
Wealthy households usually had their own craftsmen, and unless they were short-handed, they wouldn’t typically look outside for craftsmen.
When he was young, Yang the elder had served as a bonded servant for a wealthy family, but later, due to wars and upheavals, he left his master’s home and returned to Dapu East Village.
Though independent craftsmen enjoyed freedom, it was genuinely hard for them to make money. However, if they had novel designs, it would be different—creating unique pieces that no one else had could be lucrative.
"I use your blueprints to make tables, and after selling them, we split the profits," Yang Rulin said hastily.
Yang Ruxin laughed, "Brother Rulin, are you thinking of selling just one or two tables to make a bit of silver and be done with it? Or do you want to keep selling tables to make a continuous profit?"
"This..." Rulin was stumped and hesitated for a moment, "Of course, I want to keep selling..."
"It’s a good thought, but have you considered that there really isn’t much secrecy to this thing? Any carpenter with some skills, once they have a finished product to look at a few times, will learn how to make it, then could you still sell it?"
Yang Rulin didn’t know how to answer.
"So, if we really want a partnership, it’s not impossible, but we need a concrete and detailed plan," Yang Ruxin pointed to the blueprints, "I can do more than these. I can design many novel pieces of furniture. Even just tables, I can design many types: foldable, expandable, height-adjustable, round, square, for dining, for drinking tea, for writing... In short, there’s nothing you can think of that I can’t design..."
"You..."
"However, I don’t want something that I’ve worked hard to design to be easily copied by others, with the money then earned by them," Ruxin exhaled, "If you really want to work with me, then we need to establish a brand, just like how Sheng Hetai does with their gold and silver jewelry." She paused. "You know about Sheng Hetai, right?"
Yang Rulin nodded.