Chapter 39 – The Beginning of a New Venture

Chapter 39 – The Beginning of a New Venture

The shopkeeper nodded and said, "Alright, that'll be three dollars fifty."

"Okay." Yang Wendong didn't haggle. He handed over a five-dollar bill.

As the shopkeeper counted out the change, he asked, "Sir, may I ask your surname?"

"I'm Yang," he replied.

"Well then, Mr. Yang, if this glue works out, I hope you'll keep buying from me," the shopkeeper said with a polite smile.

"I will," Yang said. "But just so you know—I'll be checking with other shops too. Think carefully about your pricing. If your rate is fair, I'll stick with you. If not, I'll move on."

The shopkeeper chuckled. "Understood. Price matters."

Of course, this hardware market wasn't exclusive. Yang and Zhao Liming visited several other stores, buying six different kinds of glue in total.

As they left the last store, Liming looked down at the glue in his hands and asked, "Brother Dong, didn't we see this same glue at another shop earlier? Why buy it again from a different one?"

Yang smiled. "We don't need to buy glue from six shops. Most carry similar products—we only need one that works.

"But we're not just buying glue. We're also looking for future suppliers. When we start ordering in bulk, we'll compare prices. Whoever offers the best deal gets the contract."

"Ohhh." Liming nodded, suddenly understanding. "But won't all these shop owners figure it out and team up to raise the price?"

Yang laughed. "You're thinking too far ahead. They don't know how much we're planning to buy. For all they know, we might be bluffing.

"And besides, this isn't the only hardware market in town. Later on, we'll scout others too.

"Right now, our priority is just getting this new product made."

Liming asked curiously, "So all this glue, and that sticker paper… What are we making?"

Yang grinned. "You'll see. Let's head back. Haoyu should be almost done by now."

…

Back at the office, Lin Haoyu had just returned as well—carrying a bamboo shoulder pole with two baskets, front and back.

Yang peeked inside and saw stacks of thin wooden boards.

"Nice work," he said. "Looks like we've got plenty."

Haoyu put the load down and wiped his brow. "Yeah, but the quality's not great. I asked some people in the shantytown to help me dig through the garbage pile behind the hill, and this was all we could find.

"The good boards had already been taken by the neighbors for repairs or furniture."

Yang picked one up, ran his fingers over it, and nodded. "Not bad. Usable."

Haoyu smiled. "That's because I paid a bit to buy some extra from people who hadn't used theirs yet."

"Smart. Going out to collect them ourselves takes too much time. If others already have them, we might as well pay for them," Yang said. "Wood isn't expensive, and labor is more valuable."

In the early days of his business, Yang had relied on free bamboo poles discarded by construction sites. They were easy to find and no one wanted them.

But wood? That was different. Wood was used for repairs, shelter, and furniture. Even scrap pieces were picked up quickly in the shantytown.

"Okay," Haoyu said. "Now that we have everything, what are we making?"

Yang smiled. "Something great. Watch."

He pulled on rubber gloves and placed a plastic tub on the ground. Then, right in front of everyone, he spread a thin layer of glue across one of the wood boards.

"Now we wait for it to dry a bit," he said.

Su Yiyi, who had been watching closely, asked, "What happens after it dries?"

"You'll see," Yang replied. "Let's eat first."

After their meal, the group returned to check the board. The glue had set—sticky, glossy, and slightly tacky to the touch.

Yang gently tapped it with his finger, then gestured for Su Yiyi to try.

She obeyed, pressing a finger into the glue—only to struggle pulling it back.

"That's strong!" she said. "Way stickier than the paper we used for pasting spring couplets at work."

"I want to try too," Zhao Liming said, stepping up.

Without thinking, he slapped his entire palm down onto the board.

"…Brother Dong… it's stuck," he said, face contorting. "It really won't come off!"

Yang rolled his eyes. "You genius."

Lin Haoyu rushed over to help, trying to pry the board away without hurting Liming.

"Stop pulling!" Yang said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small spray bottle.

He spritzed some medical alcohol onto the glue. After a few seconds, the adhesive loosened and Liming was freed.

"Sorry, Brother Dong," Liming said sheepishly. "I didn't expect it to be that sticky."

"No worries," Yang laughed. He looked at everyone and said, "Now imagine a rat stepping on that."

The room fell silent for a moment. Then Su Yiyi said, "You're planning to catch rats with this?"

Yang nodded. "This is our next weapon."

…

The next day, Yang returned to Zhang Weida's law office with the finished glue trap prototype.

They first went together to finalize the company registration. It cost 300 dollars total, including miscellaneous fees and "gifts" to various officials.

Finally, Yang held a legally registered business certificate in his hand.

Then, he presented the glue trap to Zhang.

Zhang wasn't particularly impressed. "Looks simple enough. If you want to register a patent for it, we can do that too."

He didn't understand the potential—but Yang did.

That same day, Zhang took Yang to the patent office, where they filed for a patent under the name "glue board".

And just like that, Yang's new business officially began.

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