The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 76

Seeing how curious and enthusiastic the villagers were about chess, Xu Ran suddenly had an idea to make money from the game.

It was very close to the spring celebration. Those who went around to see their relatives, Xu Ran understood, would have to entertain themselves throughout their visit.

Thus, he planned to wait until he had got enough firewood to go home and write down the rules for how to play chess games. After that, he would pay to print the booklets and sell them during the festival.

Xu Ran also reasoned that their family would be able to sell a lot of items at the festival. This year, they could buy chestnuts and sell them. Furthermore, potatoes and dried bamboo shoots might be used to produce money, as well as sausages and bacon to sell at the market.

Thinking of these, Xu Ran realized that the two pigs in his family were not enough. He had to buy another one.

While cutting firewood, Xu Ran was thinking about his business proposal. He came to a halt to wipe the sweat. Who claimed that keeping a business is more difficult than starting one? It was also difficult to start a business, OK?

Anyone looking for a way to make money had to first figure out how to sell the items. All of these things took time and effort, including figuring out how to sell them and how much money to sell them for.

Xu Ran believed they made more sense the more he thought about them. In any case, he had already implied that starting a business was more difficult than maintaining one.

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They had quite a bit of firewood by the end of October, and Xu Ran was back to his other businesses. Xu An had developed a number of chess sets. As a result, Xu Ran sent a set to Zhuo Yun and taught him how to play. He then advised Zhuo Yun to find another player to play with. He could team up with Qin Shuwen or someone else. What Xu Ran hoped was that Zhuo Yun could help promote the business so that he could get its buyer.

At Zhuo Yun's house, Xu Ran drew down the instructions for playing chess. He asked Zhuo Yun, waving the paper in his hand where the ink was still wet, "Is it possible to print this paper, Zhuo Yun? There aren't many words in it. How much is it going to cost me to get a copy?"

Zhuo Yun stared at the piece of paper he was holding "It can, of course, be printed. You don't have to make it so gently, in my opinion. It's ok as long as people can read and understand it. You only need to locate the individual who makes your chess. Ask him to get a wooden board, carve the words on it, and then print them on paper using ink."

Xu Ran thought it was okay, but he was not sure if Xu An could carve characters or not. There were quite a few words and Xu An probably couldn't even recognize them himself.

He asked Zhuo Yun, "Do you know someone who can carve characters? I am afraid that Xu An can't carve characters, so I'll have to find someone else. The time in the course of contacts would be waste, so why not you directly find one for me?"

Zhuo Yun considered whether any of his acquaintances could engrave characters. Finally, he shook his head and said, "I don't know someone like that, but you can ask for help from my older brother. He's a man with a wealth of information and expertise. He must be acquainted with someone. You can inquire of him."

Xu Ran believed it to be true. Qin Shuwu was older than them both and had a diverse background. Even if he didn't know somebody like that, he definitely knew someone who performed wonderful work. He'd packed two sets of chess pieces with him today, so he figured he'd send one to Qin Shuwu.

When Xu Ran was about to leave, Zhuo Yun asked him if he had any new things to leave for him. He said that he was going out for business in the new year.