The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 511 New Product Launch

Kansai Trading Company seriously underestimated the gap in overseas markets.

The inventory of more than a dozen flagship products for a year can only meet half of the orders placed by foreign merchants.

The first product launch event was exceptionally popular.

The debut item is a replica product from Kansai Pen House.

Yes, this product is not original.

It took the pen workshop more than half a year to replicate the fountain pen of later generations!
no way.

It's because foreigners still can't get used to using the traditional Chinese brush, which has been passed down for thousands of years in the East!

In order to sell ink to more distant places, Gan Minglan had taken several fountain pens from later generations two years earlier and asked pen makers and blacksmiths to work on them.

have to say.

Most of the artisans of this period were truly skilled.

Several months were spent on the selection of ink cartridge materials and the fixing adhesive.

Finally, a hunter's secret recipe was used to make a thin yet resilient ink sac from a sheep's bladder.

The adhesive used was fish glue, which had an adhesion comparable to 520 in later generations.

The nib of a fountain pen was the first thing that was made.

Gold, silver, and copper can all be used.

When paired with penholders made of materials such as jade, black jade, and agate, the resulting pens are incredibly high-end and classy!

The manager of the pen workshop asked the general about the materials used for the pen handles, "Why not use materials like purple bamboo or wood to make the pen handles?"

His general thought, "If you use purple bamboo and wood to make the pen handle, wouldn't a fountain pen last for decades or even a hundred years? Jade paired with gold is more luxurious, but it also wears out faster!"

Anyway, I've made up my mind to make durable goods follow the fast-moving consumer goods route.

The craftsmen, however, said that if they could replicate it, foreign craftsmen with a certain level of skill could as well.

In the end, everyone concluded that they would never release such a pen unless they had tens of thousands of them in stock!
This deposit lasted for two years.

After the invention of the fountain pen, notebooks were subsequently mass-produced.

The outer packaging is made of kraft paper, and the white paper is cut to A4 size. There are promotional pages, and each book contains one hundred pages.

Over two years, the inventory exceeded 500,000 copies.

really.

The self-dispensing fountain pen with a hard nib immediately outperformed European dip quill pens.

The foreign businessmen tried out the fountain pens made of three different materials.

Everyone who has used it raves about this great invention.

"Did God know I'd been putting up with the quill pen for so many years, and finally send this fountain pen to save me?"

"It works well. One tube of ink filled more than ten pages and it's still not used up. The ink flows very smoothly and the ink color is very even."

"What? You're saying quill pens are cheaper? Can you calculate how many times a quill pen can be used?"

The bank's account manager seized on this statement and quickly responded:
"Yes, our gold and jade pens can last for hundreds of years! That works out to only two taels of silver a year, and a single gold and jade pen can be passed down for at least three generations! Don't you think it's a good deal?"

Believe it or not, you should know.

After the account manager of this trading company used his abacus to calculate, the gold and jade fountain pen, which cost no more than twenty taels of silver to produce, became even more sought after.

Then look at the sandalwood pen case that comes with each fountain pen. The exquisite carving and the fragrance of the wood make it a truly high-quality gift.

Tens of thousands of units were sold out in half an hour.

The number of notebooks is equally impressive, with 500,000 copies.

The fighting was so fierce it almost turned into a bloody brawl. The main reason was that Europe at that time still relied on papyrus and parchment imported from Egypt for writing paper.

The production process of papyrus and parchment is complex and costly.

A notebook with a wholesale price of only one or two taels of silver is much more cost-effective than papyrus and parchment scrolls.
The production cost of paper mulberry bark, which has been subject to stricter controls in recent years, has seen its value rise again due to the production of notebooks for export.

With a pen and notebook, how can we do without ink?
It doesn't matter if ink is difficult to transport; even the Han emperors said that lampblack ink sticks are useful, so we can have them!
Before they knew it, the debut of the new product launch had emptied the pockets of a small group of foreign businessmen.

The new product launch, like a hook, caught the curiosity of foreign businessmen.

The second event was packed with people.

The toothbrush made of goat hair and the matching tooth powder made from soapberry, salt, mint and other materials, which had cleaning and antibacterial effects, made a fortune after being tested.

During the new product launch, what truly captivated these foreign businessmen was a certain elegance.

When the root carvings, several meters long, were transformed into tea tables with bridges, streams, pavilions, and towers, they were brought out, along with various white porcelain, celadon, and purple clay teaware, cups, and adorable tea pets related to Kung Fu tea, they were placed on the table.

Then, several tea masters dressed in ethereal attire would skillfully brew a set of Gongfu tea.

The foreign businessmen were completely stunned!

I was completely captivated by the aroma and flavor of the tea!

After a few drinks, I felt much better!
They all shouted:

"My God, we've been drinking Oriental tea for so many years for nothing!"

"I strongly suspect that the teas flavored with sugar, honey, or spices (such as cinnamon and cloves) are the same drinks we are drinking now?"

"No, no, no, it must be that our brewing method and teaware are wrong! Even without adding those seasonings, the brewed tea still doesn't taste the same."

"Eastern teaware is a perfect match for Eastern tea!"

"."

These root-carved tea tables, each with a unique shape and weighing hundreds of kilograms, are incredibly aesthetically pleasing.

The carvings are intricate and lifelike.

It comes with a built-in water flow platform and can circulate.

Inviting three or five close friends to sit around a tea table and enjoy tea – what could be more elegant than that?
Do you find this tea table too heavy?
There are also lightweight and compact versions!

Even the simplest set would cost two or three hundred taels of silver.

For its most valued customers, Kansai Trading Company offers a complete set of gold teaware, dazzlingly luxurious and extravagant.

The price often amounts to tens of thousands of taels of silver.

The foreign merchants felt that the prices in Bagua City were different from any other city they had ever been to.

Here, a transaction involving hundreds of thousands of taels of silver is nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

No one dares to ask suppliers for discounts or free gifts unless the transaction involves millions of taels of silver.

A combination of old products and new product launches was employed.

The Kansai Trading Company alone contributed 15.8 million taels of silver in customs duties to the imperial court.

Merchants from within the Kansai region, whose products were essentially the same as those of the Kansai merchants, were at a loss.

"Let's say we both sell porcelain! Why did we only know how to sell plates and bowls before? We also have tea sets! Aren't they just one tea set with a few cups? Gongfu tea, how can it be accompanied by so many twists and turns?"

"Speaking of which, what surprised me the most was that tea pet! Those big-mouthed toads, those big-headed dolls that pee when they get wet, those cats and dogs that change color when they're splashed with hot water, how come they can sell for tens or hundreds of taels of silver when they're only the size of an egg?"

"Blame it on those foreign merchants who've never seen the world!"

"Those foreign merchants aren't fools! They were among the first to bring back this refined culture! Just imagine, if foreign royalty or nobility started brewing Gongfu tea, wouldn't their wealthy merchants follow suit?"

"It's a designated meeting! We're all from the same social class, so why can't my family have what yours does?"

"Speaking of which, the workshops under the Kansai Trading Company are incredibly creative! None of our workshops inside the Great Wall can even come close."