When returning home, it was customary not to stay at the parents’ house. So, Jiang Zhou and Wen Yan went home after dinner.

The next day, Jiang Zhou went to Liu Erlang’s house again, but his father-in-law Wen Yuanxing said that he was temporarily called away by the government office, so he had to go alone first and discuss business matters later.

Liu Erlang happened to be clearing snow in the yard. When he saw him coming, he invited him in to drink tea. He said, “You are here just in time. I have some clues about the lumber. I was planning to ask you to take a look.”

It turned out the Qiu family moved out in a hurry, as if he was rushing to move someone’s place, and leaving behind a pile of mess. The eggs ordered by Lu Dalang before were like this, and the wood left behind to build the house was also the same.

It was reserved in advance, but as a result, Master Qiu left like this, and these pieces of wood were left all alone.

This wood seller was called Jiao Heng. His family had been a wood merchant for generations. He had run this business in more than a dozen towns around here. Although he wouldn’t go bankrupt just because of this pile of wood, he would always be a little annoyed about these pile with low turnover of money.

Therefore, when Liu Erlang came to him and said he wanted to see this batch of wood, he was overjoyed and even reduced some money. Anyway, it was less than what Jiang Zhou had originally budgeted.

.

Liu Erlang went to contact him yesterday, so Jiang Zhou came to see him today. Jiao Heng was anxious to get rid of the wood and waited at Liu Erlang’s house early in the morning.

“Brother Jiang, I’m not bragging. You also know the quality of the wood in our Jiao’s Wood Shop. There is no one in this area that is better than ours.”

Jiao Heng was telling the truth. Their family always have been honest. Originally, some short-sighted businessmen saw this business and wanted a piece of the pie. However, they did not pay attention to the pricing, and the quality was not up to standard. It only lasted a few months and then ended in a hurry.

Jiang Zhou still understood this, so he just said: “Brother Jiao’s credibility is naturally no problem; otherwise, Brother Liu wouldn’t introduce him to me. I just want to take a look at the wood first to see how much it is, and also, after the house is built, the furniture also has to be filled in, and I want to ask Brother Jiao to take care of it. I will move into this house after it is built. If I wait until the house is completed before starting to build the furniture, I may not be able to make it in time. So, I want to measure the dimensions and book them with you first.”

His idea was also extremely convenient, but Jiao Heng sighed, feeling a little embarrassed: “This… It depends on the wood, but I might not be able to decide on making furniture in advance.”

Jiang Zhou was surprised: “What? Wasn’t it possible to make a reservation in advance?”

Jiao Heng smiled bitterly: “Since the incident involving Master Qiu, my old man won’t let us book things in advance.”

Jiang Zhou frowned: “Isn’t it okay to pay a deposit?”

Jiao Heng shook his head: “To be honest, Master Qiu also paid a deposit at first, but then they were in a hurry to move out. We didn’t even ask for a deposit, so all the furniture we made was idle. The Qiu family wanted to build was a big house with a big yard, and the custom-made furniture was all rich and grand, and the size didn’t quite fit in with an ordinary home. Besides, there are very few people who dismantle the furniture alone and don’t buy the complete set.”

Jiang Zhou saw that he was in trouble, so he made a calculation in his mind and came up with an idea: “Well, since you can’t make the decision, let’s ask the old shopkeeper. I am doing business sincerely and will never let you suffer.”

Liu Erlang also joined in: “Jiang Da has always been a good person and has nothing to deceive. His family has been in our town for generations, and he doesn’t move as easily as Master Qiu. If you are really undecided, just take us with you to see the old shopkeeper, and let Jiang Da also go and see the wood.”

He said it sincerely, and Jiao Heng thought it made sense. In addition, the wood business was not decided by him alone. He had to ask his father at least, and then he agreed.

So, the three of them went to Jiao’s Wood Shop in the town.

.

Jiao’s Wood Shop was not far from Fengtai Tea House, just two streets away. When Jiang Zhou and the others arrived, the carpenters hired in the front hall were sawing wood, and there was a scent of sawdust. The incense was quite fragrant, and the sawdust was splashing. There was also a lot of dust.

Jiao Heng glanced at the craftsman and asked, “Where is the old man?”

“The shopkeeper is taking a nap upstairs. He said he would wake up in half an hour, and I guess it will take a while.”

Jiao Heng then turned around and asked, “Why don’t we go take a look at the wood first? My father is getting old and can’t rest well these days. He rarely wants to sleep.”

Jiang Zhou smiled: “It’s fine, just take a look at the wood first. The shopkeeper will wake up later. It’s not too late for us to discuss it again.”

It was better to deal with it once and for all than to talk about business without knowing the situation clearly.

.

Jiao Heng took the key to the warehouse and opened the door. As he walked, he explained to Jiang Zhou: “We usually don’t store too much wood. We are afraid that it will not be sold over time, become damp or be eaten by insects.”

He opened the door, and several people passed by a pile of ordinary wood. Most of these were worthless and not straight enough. They could only be used to build some less important things, but they couldn’t be used to build beams.

The further they went in, the stronger the fragrance of the wood became, and the quality of the wood was obviously better.

Jiao Heng opened one of the warehouses: “It’s all here.”

As soon as the door was opened, the wood inside was exposed. The most conspicuous ones were the large beams. The wood was straight, and the material looked hard and could support the house.

Jiang Zhou actually didn’t understand much about this, but he brought Liu Erlang with him, so he glanced at him and asked.

Liu Erlang naturally had to do his best when he took over his job, not to mention that the gift box Jiang Zhou brought him that day was really decent, and he was delighted when he saw it.

He stepped forward and touched the wood, carefully looked at the length of the grain, and nodded towards Jiang Zhou.

Jiao Heng took Jiang Zhou to look at the finished wooden furniture again: “This furniture cannot be more complete. They range from small buckets and washbasin shelves to large wardrobes and canopy beds. They are all neat and tidy.”

Jiang Zhou couldn’t understand. Although it was made of wood, it could be seen that these pieces of furniture were made with great care, and the paint on them was all good. He focused on some blind spots, and the paint there was evenly applied, and there was no indication of something missed.

Jiao Heng stood on the side and looked at Jiang Zhou’s expression carefully, but his gaze was not particularly deliberate. People who did business have a habit of observing words and expressions of others.

Furthermore, he knew that Jiang Zhou was also a businessman, and his observation could be said to be calm and did not cause Jiang Zhou any discomfort.

After Jiang Zhou looked at everything one by one.

Jiao Heng said, “I guess my dad is already awake. Let’s go over and have a cup of tea.” He took the lead and walked in front, thoughtfully leaving room for Jiang Zhou and Liu Erlang to communicate.

.

Jiang Zhou asked: “I see that this furniture is indeed not bad.”

Liu Erlang knew his concerns: “It’s just that the sizes are fixed. I’ve seen it. If this furniture is placed in your house, it will be too big. It’s too crowded.”

Jiang Zhou nodded: “That’s what I thought. The foundation is so big. If this furniture were placed, I might not be able to turn around.”

However, this furniture was really good, and he was a little moved after seeing them.

Liu Erlang gave him some advice: “Actually, some of the things are just different sizes, and some of them can still be used directly. What’s more, I saw that there was more than one set of furniture in the room, and two sets should be used in the wing. Compared with the regular ones, the room is smaller, but it looks nice.”

“I’m afraid the old shopkeeper may not be willing to take it apart and sell it.”

“What should I do?” A cheerful voice sounded.

Liu Erlang said hello: “Hello, old shopkeeper.”

Jiang Zhou followed suit.

This was the first time he met the old shopkeeper Jiao Yu. Before traveling back in time, his son Jiao Heng was responsible for all business. The old shopkeeper rarely showed up.

Jiao Yu was now almost sixty years old, but he looked very energetic. Even if he just woke up after taking a nap, his eyes are full of shrewdness.

Jiang Zhou said: “The old man seems to be in good spirits.”

Jiao Yu laughed and said: “That’s right, let’s have some tea.”

Jiao Heng finished making tea and sat down: “Dad, Jiang Da wants to discuss something.”

“Oh?”

Jiang Zhou said to himself: “I am going to build a house on the seventh day of the new year. Because I am anxious to live in it, I thought of ordering a batch of furniture and putting it directly in the house.”

Jiao Yu was half lying down, but he couldn’t help but sit up straight after hearing this. He took the tea lid to skim off the foam and pondered for a while: “You know the rules of my business.”

He did not explicitly say that he would not accept the reservation. It seemed that there was still room for turnover.

Therefore, what he said was very true and sincere: “Of course, I know, but I am just following the urgent matter, so I thought of discussing it with the old man.”

Jiao Yu didn’t say anything, so Jiang Zhou continued. “It’s like this. You don’t accept reservations. You are afraid of that the furniture made with good wood, time and effort will be temporarily returned. It will be left there with no one interested and it won’t be sold, right?”

Jiao Yu and Jiao Heng nodded. It was really difficult for them to do this, except for Master Qiu. It took several months to make something, but it was returned at the end. If they didn’t have the deposit, it would be really hard for them.

Jiang Zhou took a sip of hot tea: “Actually, this matter is not difficult to solve. What you are afraid of is that I will regret it and stop it after you finish it, right?”

He didn’t wait for the two to answer and said: “Actually, the problem is not big. First, I won’t let go of this batch of furniture. As Brother Liu said, I am a native of the town. The shopkeeper must also know the reputation of my parents.”

Jiang Zhou’s parents were also in business, but they were in the fabric business, the shop was not big, it was of high quality and low price, and had a good reputation. Everyone in the town knew it.

Hearing him mention his parents, Jiao Yu’s expression softened a little, but he still shook his head: “This little reason is not enough.”

There were too few risks they could bear, not to mention Jiang Zhou’s needs. If this batch of goods was stranded, their business would be greatly affected. He would want to avoid risks, which was what normal people do.

Jiang Zhou naturally understood this: “I understand that my parents’ reputation doesn’t mean anything. The important thing is the second point. Let’s sign a deed.”

“Deed?”

In addition to buying and selling houses and shops in their small town, he didn’t have the habit of signing deeds and contracts. Most of them just said what they wanted to buy. It was natural for people to feel novel when he mentioned new things.

Jiang Zhou smiled and said, “It’s the contract. I sign the contract with you and you print out this batch of furniture. Unless there is something wrong with the quality of your furniture, I will never return it.”

Jiao Yu raised his eyebrows: “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Jiang Zhou raised the tea cup: “After we sign the deed, we can go to the government office as usual to get the certificate. Just follow the procedures for selling a house, okay?”

He said so, and Jiao Yu naturally agreed: “Then it’s decided.”