Chapter 9: Tobacco Curing House

The son is impressive, and naturally, I am pleased. Upon hearing the praise, Zhang Baosheng felt quite proud and said: "This is innate. Alright, alright, I've called you all over, and now everything is clear. Who among you would like to give it a try?"

He replaced it with another picture and pointed to the rows of wooden racks, saying: "The walls of the curing barn have many holes. When the time comes, the tobacco leaves will be tied in bundles with ropes and hung up using these holes, which will help the leaves heat evenly."

Indeed, indeed, let's get started quickly. There is still plenty of time. It would be best to have everything prepared by tonight so that we can begin tomorrow. Everyone agreed.

Did we not agree to collect it after the New Year? It is not appropriate to demand payment before the New Year. After a moment of silence, Qin Luofeng, leaning on his cane, squeezed out from the crowd and said, his face flushed with anger

No, no, no, how could I dare to joke with you? However, we have indeed encountered difficulties, but now the trouble has been resolved. That lad from the Zhang family can help us. I earnestly request Mr. Xie to grant us a few more days. As for us country folk, we may not have other skills, but we do possess some brute strength, which will be useful when the time comes

Everyone burst into laughter, and Zhang Lei secretly cursed, indeed, no matter the era, selfishness is part of human nature. He spoke loudly, "Fellow villagers, this is not just a matter for my family. Currently, the tobacco leaves are stored at home, and I believe it won't be long before these leaves become completely unusable. Of course, that is not my concern; anyway, when the curing barn is completed, the first batch will also be our family's tobacco. After another half month of processing, I estimate this will take a total of one month. After one month, even if my method is effective, your tobacco will be of no use either."

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Not at all, how could I compare to your family's thousands of acres of fertile land? Even sitting at home, wealth flows in continuously. We common folks are merely trying to make ends meet."

What is a waiver contract? someone asked

Zhang Lei tossed the disclaimer to Zhang Chen and said, "You have also studied in a private school for a few years, why don't you read it to them?"

Someone heckled, saying: "Hey, don't you have your own tobacco? Why not try using your own first"

Of course, of course

Before Qin Luofeng could finish speaking, Xie Yuanwai waved his hand impatiently and said: "Enough, enough. This group of paupers has made me come here for nothing. I will give you another month. If I do not receive the money after a month, then you can just wait and see. Hmph."

How can one tell if the tobacco leaves are already roasted? There are no windows, so it cannot be seen. Someone raised doubts about Zhang Lei's design.

Zhang Lei patiently explained: "The meaning of the exemption contract is that I have the means to process tobacco leaves into finished products, but I have not actually practiced it myself until now, so it is uncertain whether it can be successful. Therefore, if anyone is willing to let me give it a try, we can sign a contract stating that you voluntarily provide the tobacco leaves for me to experiment with. If the expected results are not achieved, I will not bear any responsibility."

"Heh, you still want to prosper? Maybe in your next life." With that, Mr. Xie flicked his sleeve, turned around, and, amidst the support of the crowd, walked out with his head held high.

Zhang Lei was not at all surprised by this question; it seemed he had anticipated that someone would ask it. He continued to speak eloquently: "This is similar to the reason why I need you to sign a disclaimer regarding the books. The process of curing tobacco is akin to cooking; the timing is crucial. I have never done this kind of work before, which means I am still a novice in this area and need to explore it step by step. Consequently, it is inevitable that there will be instances where the timing is not quite right. However, you can rest assured that the tobacco leaves from our family will definitely be the first batch to go in."

Qin Luofeng was determined to get rich through tobacco, so he cultivated the most. However, when he calculated his finances, he found himself heavily in debt. Additionally, other people's debts were also attributed to him, amounting to 255 taels of shiny silver. Even if his eldest son's pork shop could earn one tael of silver each month, it would take several decades to repay the debt.

Zhang Lei turned around and pointed at the fat man, saying, "Who are these two?"

Zhang Lei did not expect Zhang Baosheng to be so direct. For a moment, he was unprepared and was taken aback. Only then did he say: "Before we proceed, I would like to mention that we need to sign a liability waiver. Otherwise, if things do not go as planned, I will end up cleaning up after Qin Luofeng."

Seeing that Master Xie had relented, Qin Luofeng said with a charming smile, "Yes, yes, yes, thank you for your leniency, Master Xie. If I achieve success in the future, I will certainly not forget to show my filial respect to you"

They are Mr. Xie and the accountant, and all the land we cultivate is rented from their family, Zhang Chen whispered as he leaned closer

Zhang Lei let out a light hum and said, "This is what you all said; if things do not go as planned, do not blame me."

Mr. Xie said: "It is not yet the end of the year, I have heard that you have messed things up. When you rented the land, you were so confident that there would be no problems, yet now you are making excuses and delaying. Are you playing me?"

Oh ... ...

Qin Luofeng wiped the sweat from his forehead and the * book * , saying: "Fortunately, they are all our own people." He turned to Zhang Lei and said: "Nephew, look, there is only one month left..." He picked up the disclaimer that had just been discarded by the accountant and said: "I don't understand what is written on it either. You are educated, and I believe you won't set a trap for me here. So, I will be the first to sign, is it alright if I use my fingerprint?"

Zhang Chen rubbed his fists together, his face filled with excitement as he said, "Brother, tell me what to do, haha, if we succeed, we will have made history."

Zhang Lei wiped his sweat; why are people always like this? They hesitate for so long at the beginning, and once they make a decision, they wish they could accomplish it immediately

His statement was immediately met with a response from everyone. Zhang Lei looked at Zhang Baosheng, who hesitated for a moment and said, "Alright"

Mr. Xie gave the accountant a look, and then said with a forced smile, "That is not how things should be said. The world is not very peaceful right now, and it is not easy for everyone to make a living. So, as winter is approaching, everyone should have paid their rent for this year."

Zhang Lei took a piece of paper out of his pocket and said, "Well, let's return to the topic we were just discussing. This is the disclaimer I drafted. Whoever is willing to take out the tobacco, please sign here."

Well, since it is like this, I will speak directly. The tobacco leaves need to be dried to remove moisture before proceeding to the next processing step. Since the weather is not suitable now, my idea is to build a curing barn, where we can start a large fire to raise the temperature inside the barn. Then we can place the tobacco leaves inside, which will achieve this purpose

The accountant took out a large, thick ledger from his blue cloth bag, flipped to the middle page, and said in a loud voice: "Zhang Baosheng, a family of three, rents forty-five mu of land, with a rent of forty-five taels. Chen Laochui, a family of six, rents sixty mu of land, with a land rent of sixty taels, and has purchased seeds on credit for five taels. Qin Luofeng, a family of seven, rents one hundred mu of land, with a rent of one hundred taels. Chen Laochui, a family of six, rents sixty mu of land, with a land rent of sixty taels, and has purchased seeds on credit for five taels. Qin Luofeng, a family of seven, rents one hundred mu of land, with a rent of one hundred taels. Li Dingyi, a family of five, rents fifty mu of land, with a rent of fifty taels."

"Brother Zhang, this won't do. It's all densely packed here, with black characters on a white background. They recognize us, but we do not recognize them. If someone could read it out loud for us, we would understand, and naturally, there would be no more doubts." A villager spoke up, and his words resonated with everyone, earning their agreement.

Everyone turned their gaze towards the source of the sound. An old man, wearing a hat and sporting a small goatee resembling a skull, held an exaggeratedly large abacus in his right hand and clutched Zhang Lei's disclaimer in the other. Behind him stood a rotund man, resembling a large barrel, with a big belly, his hands clasped behind his back, a shiny face beaming with pride as he looked at the crowd before him

"Alright, alright, now everyone can see you. What should we do next? If there's anything we can help with, let's all pitch in together," said Old Chen. Although he was not yet fifty, he appeared prematurely aged. His son, Chen Dayong, had grown up playing with Zhang Lei, so the two families had a relatively good relationship. As soon as Zhang Lei put away the liability waiver, he immediately started shouting.

Ah? What should we do? I was still hoping to make a good profit from Qin the Blind for the New Year, but I didn't expect to be taken advantage of by him. If the tobacco leaves are no longer useful, how can my family repay the debts? Brother Zhang, is there any way to include ours as well? Everyone was frightened by Zhang Lei and Tu Shu's words. Rather than letting the tobacco leaves sit at home and go to waste, it would be better to let Zhang Lei give it a try; perhaps it could succeed, and then wouldn't that be a revival from the dead?

Everyone seems unable to think of any other vulnerabilities, Zhang Lei said: "Then, next, I would like to ask everyone to help build this tobacco curing house. Right here in my yard, what do you all think?"

Zhang Lei nodded. With Qin Luofeng taking the lead, and with the ultimatum already issued by Mr. Xie, there was no other option but to believe that Zhang Lei could bring them hope. Thus, it went smoothly, and those in the family who had planted tobacco rushed to press their fingerprints on it.

He took out a piece of paper as large as a八仙桌 and drew several pictures on it. Zhang Lei pointed to the first picture and said: "Look, this is my drawing of the structure of the tobacco curing barn. It is quite similar to the house we live in, except that it has no windows, which helps maintain the temperature inside. This chimney is for expelling moisture."

Mr. Xie squinted his already small eyes and carefully examined Zhang Lei, who was dressed in fine silk. In a deep and resonant voice, he said: "Isn't this the young man from the Zhang family? It's been a few months since we last met, and he has really prospered, dressed so well."

Zhang Chen took it over and looked at it, cleared his throat, and was just about to read it when suddenly a hand reached over and grabbed the disclaimer. Then, a lewd voice said: "Hold on."

"Hey, this kid is still so composed in his work. Brother Baosheng, I really don't know how you taught him." A robust man in his thirties or forties joked after hearing this.

In fact, the shelf life of tobacco is quite long, as nicotine is inherently a narcotic, thus there is no issue of snake bites or insect infestations. Zhang Lei stated this merely as a spur-of-the-moment tactic to scare them.