Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 109 Xinhua Bookstore
As they walked, Yan Hui chatted with Brother Wang and learned that although Brother Wang was only 30 years old, he was already the owner of a furniture store. He was a very meticulous person, which was both a weakness and a strength.

Yan Hui wasn't worried at all that Brother Wang didn't trust him, because he didn't recognize any of these stalls and could buy from any of them.

Yan Hui could tell the texture of the larch trees in Changbai Mountain at a glance, without even needing to ask.

He took his cousin and Wang Ge to inspect dozens of piles of timber, and finally selected one pile for Wang Ge to see.

Brother Wang carefully measured the timber, then picked up a scrap piece and tested it with a knife.

"You can give it a try. You can use larch from Changbai Mountain for carving without any problem." Yan Hui knew a lot about carving.

"Mm." Brother Wang took out a small device from his pocket, tested the hardness of the wood again, and nodded. "Help me ask about the price."

"Is the hardness okay?" Yan Hui certainly recognized this hardness tester.

"no problem."

"Okay." Yan Hui walked to the side and told his cousin to make the contact.

My cousin didn't have a cell phone, so he wrote down the pager number on the pile of wood and told Yan Hui to wait there while he went to find a phone to contact the seller. After he left, Brother Wang and Yan Hui talked about larch carving again.

"Does your furniture factory's furniture need carving?" Yan Hui asked.

"Of course, the chair backs and table legs also need to be carved; that's what makes them look good," Brother Wang explained.

"So, are you planning to use machine carving or hand carving?"

"Machine carving? There are machines that can carve?" Brother Wang was stunned for a moment. "How is that possible?"

"Yes, CNC machine tools, but there are very few of them now." Yan Hui had only heard of them, but had never seen one.

Have you ever seen a machine like this? How much does one cost?

"It depends on the specifications. Generally speaking, 300,000 is just the starting price," Yan Hui explained. He had heard Ma Junliang mention this before, but unfortunately, the two lost contact afterward.

"Too expensive, forget it," Brother Wang shook his head repeatedly. "What techniques are involved in this hand-carved technique you mentioned?"

"Hmm, Brother Wang, look." Yan Hui lifted up a piece of wood. "For carving, you need to choose wood with fine texture and even growth rings. The moisture content of the wood should be controlled... This pile of wood is of a suitable age. Just air-dry it until the moisture content is 15%. As long as it's dried properly, it'll be fine for both relief carving and openwork carving."

In reality, Yan Hui didn't know that much, but he always intentionally or unintentionally told Brother Wang that the condition of each batch of larch trees was different, and what he was telling him this time only applied to the part at hand.

Later, Yan Hui began to tell his story in the Changbai Mountain forest farm, and also told the story of how his brother dug up a master sculptor there.

"Redwood? I know that, but it's too expensive. Our furniture factory doesn't need such expensive wood." Brother Wang felt inexplicably inferior.

He certainly knew about rosewood, but he also knew he couldn't afford it.

Upon hearing this, Yan Hui immediately began to explain the relevant knowledge about rosewood, including its density and origin. Yan Hui understood that the more he told Brother Wang, the less he would remember, and he would have to come back to ask him questions later.

As they were chatting, his cousin returned, so Yan Hui stepped back to let his cousin and Brother Wang discuss the price.

Brother Wang seemed to want more, but his time was also precious. After several rounds of negotiation with his cousin, they finally settled on a price and he paid the deposit on the spot.

My cousin will deliver four cubic meters of timber to Brother Wang's furniture factory before noon tomorrow. The reason he only ordered four cubic meters is because Changbai larch is a bit expensive, and Brother Wang has never used it before, but in any case, it's a good start.

After Brother Wang left, my cousin watched his retreating figure, still somewhat speechless: "This guy is such a pain, making such a fuss over buying something. Today we made 480 yuan from four cubic meters of wood, and we couldn't have done it without you. I'll give you half."

"Thank you, brother." Yan Hui didn't need to be polite at a time like this.

"Okay, I'll deliver it tomorrow, and I'll give you the money after he pays the bill."

"Brother, let me tell you, you have to be careful with this person. He's definitely going to be a long-term client. If you don't want to deal with him anymore, just hand him over to me. We'll split the profits 50/50," Yan Hui instructed.

The quality of a customer is not only determined by current orders, but also by future orders.

“Okay, I’ll call you as soon as you find me.” My cousin nodded seriously.

It's not that my cousin has a bad temper; they're both in business, and putting the customer first is a given. What's frustrating for him is that he was stumped by customers' questions several times today!

"It's all done, that's a good thing." Yan Hui probably guessed what his cousin was thinking and laughed heartily.

"You're something else! I'm telling you, if the two of us brothers stay in this market, we'll definitely be able to get new phones in less than two years! Maybe you'll even be able to buy a house in two years!" His cousin genuinely thought Yan Hui was a good fit for this place.

"If we're going to buy, let's buy together." Yan Hui smiled happily. To be honest, he didn't really care about Jianye's houses anymore. If he really had money, he'd still like to go back to his hometown and build a two-story, or even a four-story house!
There wasn't much to do this morning. Yan Hui knew this place wasn't really suitable for him to find clients, so he said goodbye to his cousin and prepared to go to the bookstore.

"Go ahead, remember to come find me around 5 PM tonight, so I don't have to call you."

"understood."

Yan Hui's interaction with Brother Wang today exposed several shortcomings. He has never actually studied timber systematically; he just happens to be knowledgeable about larch from Changbai Mountain. If the customer wanted to buy ash from another region, Yan Hui wouldn't have performed as well as his cousin.

If that's the case, then reading is very necessary.

While taking a walk last night, Yan Hui saw a Xinhua Bookstore, but it was already closed. He plans to go and take a look now.

Yan Hui loves reading, especially novels. He has basically read all of Jin Yong and Gu Long's works. He heard from someone that a writer named Wen Ruian wrote "The Four Great Constables," which is quite good, but Yan Hui has never read those books before.

After walking for more than ten minutes, Yan Hui ate something along the way and arrived at Xinhua Bookstore.

It's not the weekend, so there shouldn't be many people, but there are at least twenty readers in the bookstore.

Everyone, whether standing or squatting, was intently reading their books.

There was nowhere to sit, but Yan Hui didn't mind; he could stand for ages without getting tired.

The bookstore had many books. After searching for a while, Yan Hui found a "Handbook of Wood Processing Technology" and began to read it with great interest.

This book has illustrations.

Throughout the entire library, no one was reading this kind of book. When Yan Hui picked it up, he found that it was almost brand new and hadn't been touched at all.

I opened it and looked at the table of contents. It covers the entire process of wood drying, processing, gluing, and environmental treatment. It's a treasure trove!
(Sorry for the late update. The next chapter will probably be around 6 PM.)

(End of this chapter)