Transmigrated as A Farm Girl Making Her Family Rich-Chapter 148 - 147 Imitation Makes Money

Chapter 148: Chapter 147 Imitation Makes Money

Meng Zhaojun saw Tang Shunyan walking out and her smile abruptly halted. Her eyes shifted as she said, “Tang Shunyan, disappointed, aren’t you?”

Tang Shunyan turned his head and replied to Meng Zhaojun, “Meng Zhaojun, you do not understand. Those toys were given to me by my wet nurse’s daughter. They carry not only the sentiments of my wet nurse and her husband but also that of my ‘milk sister’. They need not be expensive; the most valuable thing is the sentiment behind them. The weight of the gift is light, but the goodwill is heavy.”

Having said this, he proudly turned his head and continued walking out.

Meng Zhaojun stamped her foot in frustration and called out loudly behind him,

“Tang Shunyan, they’re just some wooden toys, you’re thinking too much into it. Those toys aren’t even worth money.”

Tang Shunyan had already left the room, and the other children, surrounding Meng Zhaojun, were uncertain whether to stay or go.

“Go away, all of you…” Meng Zhaojun, seeing so many pairs of eyes on her, angrily shooed them away.

Seeing her angry, the children dared not say anything further and left her boudoir.

Before and after meals, Meng Zhaojun pouted and remained in a huff, causing the other children to avoid playing with her and instead stay by their elders’ sides.

Tang Shunyan was stubborn and did not seek to appease Meng Zhaojun when she was angry, instead keeping company by his grandmother’s side.

While the children sulked, the adults merely chuckled and went on with their conversation, continuing their socializing.

Tang Shunyan stayed by his grandmother’s side the entire time, aware of Meng Zhaojun’s angry face, yet he had no desire to coax her. He knew how to be angry too—Meng Zhaojun’s words had also made him angry, hadn’t they?

The birthday feast eventually ended, and the guests went back to their homes, some going to County Magistrate Meng’s government office’s backyard after dinner, being those more closely acquainted. Many others, not wishing to trouble their hosts, simply went straight home.

Tang Shunyan followed his grandmother onto the carriage. As they rode along, he recalled Meng Zhaojun mentioning that those toys were so common that many shops were selling them.

“Grandmother, can you ask the driver to slow down a bit? I want to see if the shops on the main street are selling toys,” he said.

“Oh, my little grandson, do you want to buy toys?” she asked.

“Grandmother, I heard that the wooden toys my ‘milk sister’ gave me are also available on the main street. My wet nurse didn’t come out with me today and didn’t hear those words. It would break her heart to hear them,” he said.

“Oh, grandson, are you saying someone deliberately did this?” she inquired.

“Yes, the toys my ‘milk sister’ gave me—my friends said they had never seen them before. But today, I saw those toys in Meng Zhaojun’s room, and those friends said the shops on the main street were selling them too,” he explained.

“Oh, is that so? Then let’s go and have a look,” she suggested.

Madam Tang still remembered the matter of her grandson’s toys. Initially, her husband and son had planned to distribute the design to other shops for production. However, after seeing how much her grandson cherished them, they refrained, indicating that someone must have done it intentionally.

Imitators in business have always existed; it is an unavoidable issue. Even if the perpetrator who copied the designs was caught, no crime could be charged against them.

As the carriage passed by, they saw some small shops with toys on display, including those little wooden toys.

Tang Shunyan asked the driver to stop the carriage. Accompanied by maids and guards, he and his grandmother got out to take a special look and saw the very scene he wished not to see.

With prior mental preparation, he was very angry, but did not lose his temper at the shopkeepers. After scouting a few shops, he silently returned to the carriage with his grandmother.

“My grandson, people who blindly imitate others have always been rampant since ancient times. From clothing styles to all sorts of other things, as long as there is money to be made, people will imitate and follow the trend. You should not take it too seriously,” she consoled.

“Grandmother, I understand now. The toys in the shop are mere imitations by merchants, while mine are handcrafted by the wet nurse’s family. I won’t mind,” the child said.

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Tang Shunyan realized something. Why should he be angry? Let them imitate if they wish, as long as the gift he received was from his Ru Mei, that was enough.

From that day onwards, Tang Shunyan always treated Meng Zhaojun with indifference. Even if she came over to play, he no longer chatted carefreely with her, and from then on, he never shared the gifts he received with this girl.

After her birthday had passed, Meng Zhaojun sought out Tang Shunyan again and noticed that his attitude towards her remained indifferent, though he was exceedingly polite.

She understood that Tang Shunyan felt distant towards her, but what of it?

After one successful imitation, whenever the Tang Family released any good wooden toys, she had her collaborators produce imitations.

Months passed by, and as their production grew, they began renting factories and hiring people to manufacture wooden toys.

Meng Zhaojun became a silent shareholder, providing wood and designs, and thus, she amassed her first pot of gold.

Doing business and making money was addictive; Meng Zhaojun, at her tender age, took great pleasure in earning money and dared not reveal her actions to her family.

She concealed them even from her closest parents.

Over the past several months, County Magistrate Meng received numerous complaint letters but had no leads to investigate, so he could only instruct the Government Officials to patrol more diligently.

Madam Meng often heard from her husband that the imitation wood figures had become rampant, constantly provoking complaints, but since their own family wasn’t involved in the business, she advised him to proceed with his work at a relaxed pace. With the never-ending stream of imitations, could they truly be traced?

Neither spouse would have imagined that their daughter, barely over three years old, was the mastermind behind the imitation spree.

As the Tang Family’s wooden figures were sold nationwide, many merchants came here to purchase goods. Finding the imitations more affordable after comparison, Meng Zhaojun’s scheme as the mastermind behind the imitation workshop only grew larger.

After more than a year of effort, this small factory transitioned from renting a space to purchasing land and building large-scale facilities.

Continuing their secret imitations and occasionally releasing a genuine piece, the Tang Family was unable to sue successfully and could only guard against this imitation factory.

The sharp-witted Tang Family, in the end, discovered that the factory was backed by powerful interests; how else could their repeated attempts to shut it down have failed?

Once the Tang Family understood who the mastermind was, they could only endure silently and stopped sending complaint letters to the government office.

County Magistrate Meng initially had no clue it was his daughter; after more than a year, Mrs. Meng grew suspicious of why her daughter’s maid frequented the streets, seemingly under orders.

Upon following the maid and learning the full extent of her activities, Mrs. Meng became aware of the situation.

To protect her daughter, she didn’t immediately inform her husband. Instead, she confronted both her daughter and the maid, insisting they tell her the truth.

The maid, under Mrs. Meng’s questioning, dared not withhold the truth, revealing the extent of the daughter’s involvement and the considerable money she had earned.

Mrs. Meng was astounded that her daughter, barely past three, was capable of earning money like this, and now at over four years old, had made such a sum without her mother knowing.

As things stood, all Mrs. Meng could do was to advise her daughter to be more cautious in her future endeavors, to limit the imitations, and since she was capable of creating genuine articles, it was best to follow the law.

Hearing her mother’s words, Meng Zhaojun could only agree. She was skilled in drawing, but when it came to toys, she lacked the inspiration. Now that her mother was aware, her father would undoubtedly find out, so she had no choice but to rack her brain to produce original items.