Chapter 14

The summer sun streamed into the small restaurant through the window, and the air was filled with a faint smell of cooking smoke.

Yu Shiying sat at the dining table, tapping her fingers nervously on the table.

Yu Shiying invited Du Feibai to meet his uncle Du Qi at a small restaurant next to Hangzhou Normal University.

She also called Qiaomei along. Since it was their first partnership, of course they had to discuss business together.

Du Feibai pushed open the door carelessly, followed by a middle-aged man.

“Classmate Yu, this is my uncle, Du Qi.”

Yu Shiying immediately stood up and extended her hand politely: “Hello Uncle Du, I’m Yu Shiying, and this is my friend Qiaomei.”

Du Qi smiled and shook her hand. “Hello, little girl. Fei Bai said you had something to ask me?”

Du Feibai asked the waiter to order food. His uncle owned a printing factory, so he wanted to have a big meal today.

Yu Shiying also felt that it would be better to talk while eating. It would be a bit awkward to get right down to business right away.

We don’t know each other well, so it’s hard to get a discount.

Yu Shiying started by chatting with Du Qi about family matters, telling him how she and Du Feibai met and some embarrassing things Du Feibai did in front of her mother.

Du Feibai picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, mumbling: “Classmate Yu, didn’t you come to see my uncle for something? Why do you always bring me up?”

I had heard that one of the Du family’s uncles ran a printing factory, and Yu Shiying needed to print something.

She was originally thinking about how to start the conversation, but was interrupted by Du Feibai. Yu Shiying simply said:

“Uncle Du, this is what I am doing. I have a printing requirement and would like to ask you for advice.”

Du Qi put down his chopsticks and looked at her with interest: “Oh? Tell me about it.”

“I need to print something. The paper doesn’t have to be too fine, but it needs to be a little stiff and able to stand up. I think the stiffness should be somewhere between the hardshell paper used for home appliance packaging and the kraft paper. Do you have this kind of paper now?”

Dutch nodded. “This kind of paper isn’t hard to find. It needs to be strong, so kraft paper will do.”

“How much does it cost? I want something cheap.”

“Then we can use recycled paperboard, which isn’t too expensive. How many copies do you plan to print?”

Kraft paper is harder than kraft paper and is mainly used to make file bags and file boxes.

“The specific quantity has not been determined yet. I would like to ask the price first.” Yu Shiying answered cautiously.

Du Qi smiled and said, “Little girl, you really know how to pick the right time. Paper prices have gone up recently, and printing costs have gone up too. But for Feibai’s sake, I can give you a discount.”

Yu Shiying was delighted and quickly asked, “How much is one copy? I want it printed in black and blue.”

Du Qi pondered for a moment. “Paper is easy to find, but printing plates is a hassle. Once the plates are opened, we need to print at least a thousand copies. Using an 8-inch format, the size of an exam paper, and printing in two colors, I can charge you 5 cents per copy for a thousand copies.”

Current printing technology is not mature and can only transfer ink through the concave and convex surface of a flat plate to print some basic colors such as black, white, red, blue, and yellow. It is impossible for the printing machine to jet ink and adjust the color by itself.

In addition, the price is calculated based on the number of colors. The more colors there are, the higher the price.

Yu Shiying quickly calculated the cost in her mind, and a question suddenly occurred to her: “Uncle Du, is the paper cheaper if it’s bigger, or cheaper if it’s smaller?”

Du Qi was amused by her question. “Smart girl! 8-mo format is actually the cheapest. 16-mo format like textbooks or 4-mo format like newspapers are more expensive.”

“Would it be cheaper to print more?”

“Of course. If you print 10,000 copies, I’ll give you 2 cents a copy.”

At 2 cents per copy, 10,000 copies would cost 200 yuan. Printing 1,000 copies would also cost 50 yuan, so it would still be more cost-effective to print 10,000 copies.

It’s a pity that I don’t have that much money.

Alas, a good cook cannot cook without rice, and a penny can make a hero fall. The ancients were right.

All I had was 100 yuan given by my parents and 10 yuan in cash of my own.

I can’t get enough two hundred yuan.

So, is it okay to pay in installments?

“Uncle Du, what I want to print is very simple. I just need to print eight pictures on one A4 sheet of paper. I want ten thousand copies.”

“So much?” Qiaomei was surprised, and then whispered to Yu Shiying: “Don’t you only have 100 yuan?”

Qiaomei also quickly calculated the cost and unit price in her mind. She also knew that printing 10,000 copies was more cost-effective than 1,000 copies, but didn’t she have that much capital?

Today, she received a call from Yu Shiying and rushed to the city. Sister Yu said she had a job for her, but unexpectedly, it turned out that Sister Yu wanted to start her own business and asked her to help.

Qiaomei was still wondering if she could borrow some money from her aunts and uncles to help Sister Yu raise money.

Yu Shiying gave her a reassuring look.

“Ten thousand? Little girl, are you going to distribute flyers?” Du Qi was also surprised.

Now when some new stores open, they will print some flyers and distribute them, but they all use ordinary 16-page paper. They don’t use cardboard, and they won’t print 10,000 copies.

“I’m not going to hand out flyers, but what I’m going to do with them is a trade secret. You can’t tell Uncle Du.”

Du Feibai was stunned watching from the side. He didn’t expect that Yu Shiying, who was usually silent, could be so sophisticated when talking about business.

Du Feibai couldn’t help but interrupt: “Yu Shiying, 10,000 tickets, this is not a small amount.”

“Well, we’ll print 10,000 copies first, and we’ll definitely need more later. Uncle Du, how long will it take to print 10,000 copies?”

“You have to decide on the layout first. Once you’ve decided on it, printing can be done very quickly, in one day.”

“Uncle Du, I’ll give you the design the day after tomorrow at the latest. Can I go directly to the printing factory to find you then?”

It’s just an order of 200 yuan, and you’re looking for the boss?

Yu Shiying also felt that it was a bit shameless, but there was nothing she could do. Since she had to use the favor, she had to use it to the fullest.

Subordinates will also pay more attention to matters directly instructed by the boss.

Your first business must be foolproof.

“Okay.” Du Qi didn’t object. He just regarded the little girl in front of him as a junior like Du Feibai.

“Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll arrange it for you. But we have to agree in advance. According to industry regulations, you have to pay half of the deposit in advance.”

“Really? That’s great.” Yu Shiying nodded without hesitation, “No problem, Uncle Du. I’ll send the deposit and the design over the day after tomorrow.”

Half of the deposit is exactly 100 yuan, which is smoother than expected. As for the balance after receiving the printed materials, I will talk about it after they are printed.

After the deal was settled, Dutch said he had something else to do, paid for the meal and left.

Although Yu Shiying originally insisted on treating everyone, Du Qi was a boss after all. How could he really let these youngsters pay?

After the meal, Du Feibai felt that he couldn’t quite understand Yu Shiying anymore.

In the past, when he was taking tutoring classes at Teacher Sun’s house, Yu Shiying always stayed quietly in her room, like a taciturn person who didn’t like to talk. She was completely different from the Yu Shiying in front of him who could chat about family matters and business with his uncle and was full of confidence.

A few days ago, he witnessed the conflict between Yu Shiying and Hu Shudan. At that time, Yu Shiying’s eyes were sharp and her words were sharp. She refused to give in and almost came to blows with Hu Shudan.

At that time, Du Feibai was shocked. He had never thought that someone as weak as Yu Shiying would actually confront Hu Shudan head-on.

Du Feibai felt like countless kittens were tickling his heart.

He really wanted to know what had caused Yu Shiying to change so drastically?

Could this be her true appearance?

Or does she just show different faces in different situations?

Women are truly a transforming species.