"What are you doing?"
Looking at the sundries and mechanical parts on the table, Jenkins asked curiously.
"Assemble the music box."
The old man murmured in reply, most of his attention focused on the part in his hand. Apparently the gears were the wrong size, and there was so much clutter on the table that he probably picked up the wrong one.
"Music box? Handcrafted and assembled?"
"What's wrong? Is something wrong?"
"No, I just lament that your craftsmanship is very good. So does this music box have any special properties? Maybe different speeds can play different tunes, maybe you use a special fluorescent coating to make it glow under a certain intensity of light .No, maybe it has a built-in gas storage device, and when the little decoration on the music box is rotated, the box can emit smoke."
Jenkins guessed, and tried to catch some fancy gadget out of the desktop's parts.
"No, this is an ordinary music box."
The old man's tone was unusually tired, even with a feeling of numbness.
"ordinary?"
"Don't you believe it?"
The old man put down the things in his hand and strode to the cabinet by the wall. He squatted down and opened the lower cabinets, opened them and pulled out a suitcase.
He dragged the suitcase to the table and opened it, which was filled with metal music boxes. The mechanics have a fairly distinctly handcrafted feel to them, but that doesn't add to their value.
"I make money from this, is there anything wrong?"
asked the old man, and took one out of them and handed it to Jenkins. Jenkins flipped the lid off, then used the key in the upright dancing figure's hand to give it a few gentle turns in the keyhole on the side of the music box. Immediately, along with the still movement of the dancing figures spinning in situ, the tinkling tune sounded.
This is really an ordinary music box.
Jenkins put the noisy box on the table. He didn't expect the old man to be so poor.
"Can you make money by selling this...?"
"Of course, whether you sell it in a toy store or set up a stall on the street, these are commodities that are in short supply, and you can earn a lot of money."
Instead of looking for a suitable gear, the old man picked up a spring and squinted under the light to observe the recovery of the spring after compression.
"Grinding parts and assembling music boxes every day, these are enough to support myself, and I can also have some savings. I don't know why people like handicrafts so much. When I have more savings in a few days, I plan to recruit one or two apprentices who can read, Teach them the repetitive and tiring work, so they can make more money and move to a better place sooner or later."
He lowered the spring and dropped it in a cardboard box made of folded newspaper.
"So, what you're doing now... is making these music boxes by hand?"
"Some metal parts also need to be bought. It is impossible for me to pull out such a spring and make such a standard gear. What I do is some more complicated and detailed work."
"No, I mean, don't you stop doing science and inventing things?"
"invention?"
The old man suddenly turned his head to look at Jenkins, with inexplicable emotions in his tired bloodshot eyes:
"Can inventions be exchanged for food?"
Of course not, even if it is a relatively useful invention, it may not necessarily be able to be exchanged for food.
"If you don't have enough to eat, what else is there?"
He points to himself:
"I'm already at this age, do you think I can't understand these things? Inventions and creations can't be exchanged for money, but learning what others have invented and copying those existing achievements can allow me to live well .”
"You think so now?"
Jenkins asked.
"Yes, I only understand now. If I could figure out this truth when I was young, I wouldn't be forced to live in this kind of place when I'm old."
He said, and resumed his work. Although he is a little old, his hands are very steady.
"I used to think that I could be an inventor. All I thought about was to invent a powerful machine and become famous. Now that I think about it, I was really stupid when I was young. Not all the investment will be rewarded. At that time If I didn't want to be an inventor, but to be a businessman, or use my money to build a factory, why am I here now?"
He speaks very quickly, more to himself than to Jenkins:
"Inventors and scientists are the most useless professions. I have never heard of any inventor who can become a rich man. I have only heard of rich people becoming inventors. Even becoming the best inventor is nothing compared to Not the best businessman. Both industries of invention and science have occupational ceilings, and the rewards are far less than the investment. Therefore, it is better to be a businessman."
Although these are the muddled words uttered by the old man in grief and indignation, there are indeed some truths. The career ceiling of invention and science is indeed lower than that of a businessman, and in this era, the uncertainty is much greater than that of a businessman.
"So, instead of learning science and machinery, it is better to learn business from businessmen. This is the best knowledge."
The old man summed it up on his own.
"Isn't that a little too extreme?"
Jenkins asked, and he saw that this was not what the old man really wanted, but just to vent his inner dissatisfaction.
"Extreme, isn't it? More and more people will see this. Except for those unlucky guys who have entered the wrong industry, the children in the future will probably flock to business. This is the knowledge that can make money."
"But it's not good for our civilization. Civilization needs to progress, so someone needs to study science and create."
Jenkins reminded.
"But it's not my fault that society doesn't give us those who delve into science and creation more living conditions."
The old man answered without raising his head. .
"You think it's society's fault?"
"It can be said that, except for a small number of big nobles, who would not want their children to earn more money in the future? Isn't it silly to learn science and create without knowing the ratio of income and investment?"
The old man snorted, continuing to vent his emotions.
"You see, he thinks the same as I do."
The gear man behind him also spoke, although his tone couldn't tell the emotion, but if he was a real person, he would definitely be elated at the moment:
"Your civilization itself has problems. Science and creation cannot create wealth in a short period of time. Even some science and creation are meaningless in themselves, but someone must do it to prove the meaninglessness, or to inspire others. Therefore, there should be strong support and assistance for industries and individuals who devote themselves to creation, rather than allowing them to fend for themselves. What is even more intolerable is that industries that are not of great significance to civilization should be allowed to show more than science. and generate more revenue. You are burying your own civilization."
When talking to Jenkins in the first three targets, the gear man never interjected, probably because the current situation is very suitable for hitting Jenkins.
"you're right."
But Jenkins is not hit:
"Indeed, it is very unreasonable."
Holding the table with one hand, he half turned to look at the gear man:
"That's why change is needed, but not the change you expect, but the change I expect."
"Can stubbornness be considered an advantage?"
"Whatever you say, now please shut up and watch how I get the 'heart of whimsy'."
Although it seemed a little difficult, compared to the fact that there was almost nothing he could do in the mine just now, at least Jenkins knew that when the old man was young, he must have such things as "wonderful ideas".
So all he needs is to reawaken the thoughts that have been lost and forgotten, which sounds a lot easier.
"How much money can this music box make you?"
Jenkins adjusted his mood and asked the old man, but the other party did not give the exact number:
"At least enough for me to have a good meal at the restaurant on the street."
"Then why don't you want to make more money?"
"How much money?"
The old man looked at Jenkins:
"I have already saved the raw materials to the extreme, and if I save more money, the overall service life of the music box will be greatly reduced. Although I am poor, I still don't know how to use this trick. As for speeding up the production process, I am already too old. Even hands and hands can’t keep up with the speed of mind, so I thought about recruiting a few apprentices in a few days.”
"No, no, it's not for you to save costs and time, but to find a way to sell a music box at a higher price."
"I must admit that I am not suitable to be a businessman, and it is too late to learn those skills now."
said the old man.
"What if the acquirer takes the initiative to increase the price? Maybe you can make some changes to the existing music boxes on the basis of controlling the cost and production time as much as possible to make them worth the higher price. Remember when our conversation first started, I Those thoughts you said?"
"You mean, I can add something different to the production process?"
"Of course, even if the function cannot be changed, it shouldn't be difficult for you to add some beautiful textures yourself, or hand-carve some patterns that young people like?"
"It's really not difficult..."
The old man said in a low voice, his eyes wandering and he didn't know what he thought of.
"If you are worried about failure due to excessive investment, you can just make one or two special samples and sell them in a store you know well. If someone really likes it and can pay for it, then gradually increase the production. If you are lucky enough, the innovative music box you create has the technology that only you can master, then you can make a fortune by relying on this. First set up a manual workshop, recruit five or six apprentices, and master the manufacture and assembly of core components Process. After accumulating sufficient capital, increase the scale of production, and continue to develop and create during the manufacturing process.
If all goes well, I believe it is entirely possible to become a factory owner in your lifetime. "
The above process is pure nonsense of Jenkins, he himself knows how difficult it is to do this. But it is indeed "possible", not completely hopeless, so this is not a lie to encourage the other party.