Chapter 204: Pen-in-Cap Duo
Shortly after Ma Tianhao and his group left, Fan Li returned from outside.
“How did the discussion go?” Zhang Fei asked.
Fan Li nodded and said, “Li Guozhong said that as long as our firm guarantees we won’t sue them over the standard contract terms in the future, they agree to use our contracts. But we must sign an agreement.”
Zhang Fei nodded, “No problem. I’ll draft an agreement, and you can discuss it with them again.”
Truth be told, these bookstores were the biggest users of contracts. Although they were competitors, the now ruthless Zhang Fei wasn’t willing to let this opportunity pass, so he sent Fan Li to negotiate with them.
If everyone used the same contracts, at least there wouldn’t be conflicts over contractual terms.
After all, they might meet in court someday.
Li Guozhong and the others were afraid of Zhang Fei, and they knew their own contract terms had many loopholes. Since Zhang Fei had approached them about this matter, they didn’t dare refuse.
Fan Li suddenly asked, “Brother San, are you short on money?”
In their eyes, Zhang Fei had always maintained a high-class image. His sudden interest in this small business meant he must be having financial problems. Zhang Fei sighed, “I won’t hide it from you. I originally planned to earn money by taking more cases using my reputation, but now even you dare not take cases that might damage our reputation. Clearly, our reputation has become a constraint.
But if reputation can’t be converted into profit, what’s the point? We’re not seeking to make history. That’s why I had to find another way. Don’t underestimate these contracts though – they may only cost a few coins each, but with enough volume, we can earn considerable money.
Later, you’ll need to send people to advertise that common folks can buy our contracts too. When they hire others to write contracts, it usually costs more than ours.”
“If everyone in the world uses our contracts, we could indeed earn quite a bit!” Fan Li nodded, but then said, “But everyone has different purposes for contracts, most probably won’t be suitable for printing, right?”
Zhang Fei said, “I’ll handle that. Just have the pen-in-caps bring me samples of commonly used contracts.”
“Alright!”
Fan Li nodded, then suddenly said, “Oh right! Speaking of lawsuits, I almost forgot to tell you something. I heard that Li Guozhong’s bookstore took that case about the son disputing property with his neighbor.”
Zhang Fei was startled, “Really?”
Fan Li made an affirmative sound, “He knew we didn’t take it, and asked me why. I suspect he wanted to know if we were helping that old woman.”
Zhang Fei asked, “Did you tell them?”
“Of course not.”
Fan Li shook his head, “It’s better for us if we don’t say anything.”
Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, “It’ll be good practice for Zhiqian.”
It was already the third watch of the night, but Zhang Fei was still working at his desk. He needed to draft various types of contracts quickly, as making the printing woodblocks would take considerable time.
Even as a transmigrator, making money wasn’t easy.
He didn’t dare introduce any more advanced technology now.
As a law graduate, he only understood basic principles of technological advancements. He now realized that turning these principles into commercial products was a long journey.
The movable type printing technology alone had cost him nearly a thousand strings of cash, even before producing actual type pieces.
Though his standards were high, this technology was still native to the Northern Song dynasty.
Without a strong foundation, he really didn’t dare try anything else.
It was too expensive.
Gao Wenyin stood quietly beside him as always, holding a fan to keep away mosquitoes for Zhang Fei.
At this rate, Zhang Fei couldn’t do without her.
Zhang Fei suddenly put down his brush and rubbed his eyes, thinking to himself that working late nights in an era without electric lights was truly inconvenient.
Standing beside him, Gao Wenyin said softly, “Zhang San, for tasks like this, you could let Nanxi handle them.”
Since Zhang Fei had established his relationship with Xu Zhiqian, she had consciously begun changing how she addressed him.
Zhang Fei understood this but didn’t point it out. He glanced back at her and explained, “The first draft cannot be written by someone else.”
Gao Wenyin asked, “Why not?”
“Because…”
Zhang Fei paused briefly, then said, “Why don’t you sit down? With you standing, I have to twist my neck to talk to you.”
“Oh.”
Gao Wenyin quickly sat down, continuing to fan at her feet.
Zhang Fei explained, “If I don’t write it myself and only dictate, I can only give a general outline. This isn’t a complaint document but a contract – we can’t miss any details. I must write the first draft myself, then I’ll have Nanxi review it.”
It was really a matter of habit – writing and dictating involved two completely different thought processes.
Additionally, Xu Zhiqian had always helped with this, but she was now busy preparing for that lawsuit. So Zhang Fei was planning to have Feng Nanxi try it instead.
Though Feng Nanxi’s writing wasn’t as elegant as Xu Zhiqian’s, it was very practiced, given his background as a clerk.
While his complaint documents might not be as moving as Xu Zhiqian’s, he would likely be more suited for contracts.
Gao Wenyin nodded with partial understanding, not quite grasping the difference. Seeing that Zhang Fei didn’t intend to continue writing, she asked curiously, “But I noticed many blank spaces in the contract. Why is that?”
She had been watching from the side and was curious about the purpose of those blank spaces.
Zhang Fei explained, “I plan to print these contracts and sell them to the people. You probably know that many common people can’t read, and they often get cheated when making contracts. Once my contracts are printed, they’ll only need to spend two or three coins to buy one from me, which will help them avoid some risks of being deceived. Those blank spaces are for the contracting parties to write their names and dates – that part they must fill in themselves.”
Gao Wenyin’s eyes lit up. “That’s such a good idea! No wonder you were writing a loan contract earlier. Loan contracts are what common people use most often.”
Zhang Fei suddenly looked at her, “So you do know how to read and write!”
Gao Wenyin made a small sound and said shyly, “I learned a little from my father when I was young, but I’m nothing compared to Miss Xu.”
“Is that so?” Zhang Fei asked, “What did your father do?”
Gao Wenyin’s expression darkened as she said, “My father was a gentry in Qin Village of Xiangfu County. He passed away five years ago.”
“What about your mother?”
“My mother passed away very early.”
“Don’t you have any other relatives?” Zhang Fei asked.
Gao Wenyin hesitated briefly before shaking her head.
Seeing she was reluctant to say more, Zhang Fei didn’t press further. He noticed several red mosquito bites on the white skin of her left hand and said, “You’ve been so busy keeping mosquitoes away from me, look how badly you’ve been bitten.”
Gao Wenyin looked down and quickly withdrew her hand, gently shaking her head. “It’s fine, they’ll go away soon.”
Zhang Fei shook his head helplessly. Noticing her gray hemp dress that didn’t show off her shapely figure, he thought to himself that she wasn’t even giving him a chance to feast his eyes. He asked, “Why are you wearing this hemp dress? Have we become so poor we can’t afford silk anymore?”
Gao Wenyin quickly said, “No, it’s just that I need to cook something for you later, and this hemp dress is more suitable.”
Zhang Fei nodded, suddenly standing up. “Let’s go together.”
Gao Wenyin hurriedly stood up and said, “No need, I can manage alone. You should rest first, it won’t take long.”
Zhang Fei smiled, “I’ve been sitting too long and want to move around. Tonight I’ll cook, consider it my thanks for letting the mosquitoes feast on you instead of me.”
Gao Wenyin instinctively hid her hands behind her back, making Zhang Fei burst into laughter.
After a short while.
“How does it taste?”
Zhang Fei leaned on the kitchen table with both hands, looking like a chef as he watched his only customer.
“It’s smooth and delicious, really good.” Gao Wenyin nodded happily and asked Zhang Fei, “What’s this dish called?”
“Vermicelli rolls.”
“Vermicelli rolls?”
Gao Wenyin looked down at the white rice rolls covered in sauce and minced meat on the plate. She glanced secretly at Zhang Fei and asked curiously, “Zhang San, usually scholars rarely cook, so how do you know how to cook so well?”
Zhang Fei shook his head and sighed, “It’s a long story. My grandfather once told me that being good at cooking can make women happy. Unfortunately, nowadays women prefer poetry and prose, so my cooking skills have nowhere to shine.”
Gao Wenyin’s cheeks immediately turned red, and she said shyly, “You must be making this up. No grandfather would say such things.”
Zhang Fei chuckled noncommittally, then added, “But don’t tell Xiao Tao about this, or she’ll be sulking for days.”
Thinking of how Xiao Tao had sulked for days over the hotpot incident, Gao Wenyin couldn’t help but giggle, revealing two charming dimples at the corners of her mouth. She nodded and asked, “Would you teach me how to make vermicelli rolls?”
Zhang Fei was surprised, “Why do you want to learn?”
“So I can make it for you!”
“Oh, alright!”
After three days of intensive work, Zhang Fei finally completed six contract templates, two of which were for property transactions.
Another two were for bulk commodity trading, specifically for tea, salt, alcohol, and sugar transactions.
The remaining two were related to lending.
Of course, these were just drafts. Since the writing style of this era was different from his time, although he had improved, these documents were too technical, so he handed them directly to Feng Nanxi.
Meanwhile, he continued to review common contracts, as he planned to monopolize all contracts for businesses in the capital.
This business was actually one of small profits but high volume.
“I’m so angry!”
Xu Zhiqian suddenly stormed in.
Zhang Fei immediately stopped his work, looked at her and said with a smile, “Who dared to anger the great pen-in-capXu?”
Xu Zhiqian normally wouldn’t mind this title, but Zhang Fei’s tone made her feel it wasn’t quite right. She gave him a slight glare and continued, “Some people are too good, and others are too evil, it’s infuriating. That Madam Liu was so frightened by Mr Huang’s aggressive behavior and threats of lawsuits that she’s planning to give up the house and return the deed to him.”
Zhang Fei frowned, “What should we do?”
Xu Zhiqian said with lingering fear, “Fortunately I went there, and Madam Liu’s son wasn’t very willing either. We finally managed to convince Madam Liu. But that Mr. Huang is truly despicable. You know what? He’s afraid people will call him unfilial, so he secretly coerced his mother to tell the neighbors that it was her own choice not to live with her son. I never thought such people existed in this world – they’re worse than beasts.”
“Did his mother actually say that?” Zhang Fei asked with a frown.
Xu Zhiqian nodded, “She only told Madam Liu privately. To everyone else, she said she was used to living in the old house and didn’t want to live with her son. Mr Huang only passes by occasionally to take a quick look. Once he saw the rice jar was empty and didn’t even offer to bring more rice. Now he’s spreading rumors that Madam Liu took advantage of his mother’s illness to trick her out of the property deed.”
Zhang Fei said, “This makes things very difficult.”
Xu Zhiqian frowned and said, “But all the neighbors witnessed everything – they can testify.”
Zhang Fei sighed, “The case already favors him, and with his mother saying publicly that she didn’t want to live with him, he has an excuse to absolve himself. Without sufficient evidence, the judge likely won’t rule in our favor.”
He paused briefly, “By the way, for the property transfer, there should be a written agreement, right?”
“Yes, there is.”
Xu Zhiqian nodded and pulled out a paper from her waist, “This is just my copy. The taxes haven’t been paid yet, so it’s only an unofficial contract.”
Zhang Fei asked, “It hasn’t been more than two months, has it?”
“No.”
“Then it’s still valid.”
Zhang Fei took the paper and studied it for a while before muttering, “Repayment…”
Xu Zhiqian said, “Madam Huang gave her house to Madam Liu as repayment for taking care of her. Are you thinking of treating the house as compensation for caring for Madam Huang?”
Zhang Fei said, “You’ve already figured it out.”
Xu Zhiqian nodded, “But that probably wouldn’t amount to much. Mr Huang is willing to spend money on litigation, so he’d surely pay Madam Liu compensation for her services. I calculated that even at five strings per month, three years would only total one hundred and eighty strings. Compared to the house’s value, that’s nothing. If that’s the outcome, it would be too easy on Mr Huang.”
“That’s true.”
Zhang Fei nodded, thought for a while, then suddenly said, “We can decide how much to ask for. It could be one hundred and eighty strings, or it could be one thousand eight hundred strings. The final amount isn’t up to him – it’s up to the judge.”
Xu Zhiqian said, “The judge must rule according to law and can’t arbitrarily set an amount. You need evidence, and if we’re talking evidence, five strings is already quite high.”
Zhang Fei smiled, “Have you forgotten? I’m the expert at claiming compensation. What we need to consider now is how to convince the judge.”