"I'm just… I'm just not used to writing with the pencil you taught me yet, and I haven't mastered the quill pen either." Tong Hu looked at the rice paper in Xiangbei's hand with some self-blame and embarrassment. Originally, Miss Bei's invention of writing with a pencil and quill pen could save a lot of paper, but he thought that his accustomed calligraphy with the brush looked better. "Xiangbei, I saw that this list requires a small blackboard. We had some leftover from when we delivered goods to Mr. Qiao's place before. Both Dad and I think it's better for the children to learn to read with green boards and chalk, saving on paper and ink, so we made about a hundred of them. And for the teaching board you wanted, there are deep blue doors in the village. We dismantled two pieces and placed them tightly in the martial arts hall."
"That's really great. Chalk is also a form of hard writing. All new things that change habits require a process of acceptance and practice. Take it slow, practice more, and you'll get the hang of it." Xiangbei casually responded without delving deeper, her attention fully absorbed by the contents on the paper. It seemed she had inadvertently unearthed a talent.
"Brother Tiger, Hu Ge, I never expected that by just listing one task list, you would come up with so many excellent work suggestions, and they're completely in line with what I was thinking. Come here, take a look at the plan I wrote last night, especially the workshops I want to start in the village immediately. Don't you think we're on the same page?" The two of them sat down directly at the stone table in the courtyard, and Xiangbei first took out the plan for the leather workshop to compare.
"I proposed the idea of processing leather into different thickness categories in the village, because Uncle Lin and the others are renowned for their tanning skills in the town. The women in the village usually don't throw away the second-rate leather with many scars; instead, they use it to make simple boots and coats for their families. So I thought: besides hunting, we can also provide some additional income for the hunting families in the mountains." Tong Hu confessed his original intention, feeling slightly embarrassed due to his selfish motive.
"You and I are completely on the same page!" Xiangbei's immediate approval ignited Tong Hu's confidence and enthusiasm. He even took a few excited steps towards Xiangbei, earnestly examining the stack of papers in her hands.
"Look here, I've drawn some sketches here. One category is shoes and boots. I've designed several new shoe styles. The other category is leather bags." Xiangbei briefly displayed the shoe design sketches before stacking them aside, focusing on spreading out the other set of papers on the table, signaling Tong Hu to look at her design sketches with a hopeful expression, seeking his approval.
"You also know that leather shoes, leather slippers, and lightweight home shoes with leather decorations can utilize many small pieces of leather. As for bags, perhaps these styles seem a bit novel, but if you broaden your thinking, isn't it true that everyone, regardless of age or gender, needs to carry something when they travel or go to school? Can anyone do without various types of bags and backpacks? Brother Tiger, Bro Hu Ge, in less than half a year, you'll become the new big boss everyone wants to butter up in this emerging industry."
Tong Hu thought she was joking, but the small items on these sketches looked cute and practical, and they didn't require large pieces of leather. Several aunts and sisters in the hunting families were skilled in needlework, especially in making small leather goods, which could generate multiple benefits if given to them to produce.
"Well, there are more than a dozen people living in the hunters' families here, and half a room is filled with scraps of leather. We can ask them to make a batch of these. Oh, by the way, you know, in the recent hunting expeditions, we captured many mother cows with calves. You see, can't we manually milk and tame the calves with our water buffalo herd? Besides feeding the calves, we could produce a lot of milk, which we could use to make plenty of milk tea to sell down in the valley." Tong Hu no longer felt awkward and started to present his business ideas.
"As for that, I just thought of more than just milk tea. Do you remember the cream cake we had at the banquet? That creamy, sweet foam is made from milk. I have a set of papers here for processing butter, condensed milk, cheese, and milk wine from cow and sheep milk. The tools and equipment have all been sent up the mountain and stored with me. I'll get them for you later." Xiangbei had already decided that she would manage the processing on the mountain in the future.