Basically, with a machine like this people would be able to save a lot of sweat and effort. Madam Zhang’s thoughts were very practical as she looked at this new machine.
“En, it takes a little less effort than a knife.” Su Tang nodded along. Of course, in reality, when compared with modern electric machines this Hand Operated Blender was still considered very simple and wasn’t truly effortless.
However, it was undeniably faster than using a knife, and it was also more consistent than a knife. Plus, this machine could easily grind things up until it was impossible to tell what they were before they went in. Thus, while it was okay for making meat stuffing and so on, its real purpose was to make their sauces.
This machine would be able to grind the raw materials until they were completely unrecognizable and also produce a smooth and consistent sauce, so it was just right for their needs.
Luo Xingchen was still very amazed. She looked at Su Tang and muttered, “Tang, you little devil, your tricks are really too deep.”
Su Tang rolled her eyes. Why did her friend keep saying “devil” this and “devil” that? How dare she say that she’s read books? Her vocabulary was too limited!
Su Tang didn’t bother to pay any attention to her friend’s nonsense, she just said, “It seems that this product is successful, but can it be mass-produced? How much does it cost? Also, this model is relatively small. When we are setting up our workshop, we will probably want a larger model.”
Luo Xingchen also put on a serious expression as she replied, “No one was able to make the parts to your specifications at first, so the cost was somewhat high. This one in front of us cost nearly two taels. However, as the craftsmen get better at producing these parts the costs should fall and I estimate they can probably be reduced by half.”
In this era, iron was relatively expensive. The Hand Operated Blender in front of them was only about the size of two palms put together, so two taels of silver was already very expensive. Of course, because this was the prototype the relative cost was definitely higher, and as the craftsmen gained more experience the price should go down.
Hearing the cost could be cut in half, Su Tang nodded and said thoughtfully, “We can probably sell these things easily at a few taels of silver each. If the production cost can really be cut in half, even after adding the transportation cost, we will be making a profit. In fact, aside from the blades, some of the other parts of the machine could be made from wood instead, such as the handle. Wood certainly isn’t as strong as iron, but for the less important parts it shouldn’t matter. You should try making some parts with different materials.”
The target price of a few taels of silver wasn’t cheap and even then nearly half of their profit would be eaten up by production costs, but Su Tang felt that there would be a market for this sort of energy-saving machine that was worth exploiting. Luo Xingchen nodded, “En, what you said makes sense. I will contact the craftsmen and see if any adjustments can be made. But once the parts are ready I’ll have them send them over to our farms, so you’ll have to go over there and teach them how to assemble these machines.”
As soon as Su Tang heard this, she directly looked over at Jiang Hong and asked: “Did you see how I put the machine together just now?”
Jiang Hong had been quietly minding his own business and didn’t expect to suddenly be called out. His face froze for a moment and then he awkwardly shook his head. “A little… I didn’t see it well…”
“That’s fine. Quickly take it apart and we will start all over again.” Su Tang patiently began to teach.
Luo Xingchen immediately realized that Su Tang wanted to push this task off on Jiang Hong, but she didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she decided to leave and go talk to the craftsmen again. Anyway, Su Tang had already brought Jiang Hong so it was okay to let him run around for them a bit.
And, indeed, that was exactly what Su Tang was thinking. From the beginning, she only ever bought people in order to reduce her own workload, so it was finally time for Jiang Hong to play the role she had intended for him from the start.
In the days after Su Yongqiang and Su Yongshun signed their contracts, they continued to bring more people to sign contracts day by day and help them to take away the seeds. Meanwhile, Luo Xingchen seemed to be addicted to the Hand Operated Blender and spent all of her time studying it and communicating with the craftsmen.
Finally, one day, Su Tang felt that she had gathered enough seeds. Thanks to that, she was at last able to return to her normal schedule. Now her days consisted of resting freely in the morning and going to the Song residence to study in the afternoon, but her days of staying up until the wee hours of the morning to scoop out seeds were firmly behind her. Everything was calm and peaceful.
In fact, she felt it was a little too calm and peaceful. On February 20, Su Tang got up early in the morning and went to find the orange cat. She asked, ‘Si’er, what’s happening with Chen Xiuxiu and Madam Wu? There hasn’t been any movement at all?’
Speaking of this matter, Su Tang had been very busy these days and hadn’t had time to think about it. But now that she wasn’t so busy anymore, she found it a bit strange that those villains still hadn’t made a move. Even she was feeling a bit anxious after all this waiting, ah.
The orange cat was feeling very comfortable, lying in Su Tang’s arms and letting her pat his fur, so he was reluctant to move. ‘Is there anything delicious to eat?’ He asked.
Obviously, if he was going to run an errand, he needed to secure some benefits for himself!
‘I’ll make Sichuan Boiled Fish!’
The orange cat immediately became refreshed and cast away his lazy and idle look. ‘Meow! Master, I’ll go take a look! I’ll be right back!’
Su Tang: Heh heh, some “Divine Beast”!
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