I was chased by my sickly junior brother who had two lives

Chen Jia and Chen Jue have already established themselves in the craft industry of Qing State. With their exquisite wood carving and glass craftsmanship, their workshop business is booming and their various furniture works are sold everywhere. However, the road to business is never smooth. With the rising cost of raw materials and the intensified competition from peers, how to further expand the profit margin has become a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

One day, Chen Jia was inspecting the workshop as usual. When she walked to the utility room in the corner of the workshop, she found a lot of defective furniture piled up there. Although these defective furniture could not be sold as finished products due to some flaws, the wood carvings were still exquisite and the glazed inlays were also complete. Chen Jia's eyes lingered on these defective furniture for a long time, and suddenly a bold idea flashed through her mind. She hurriedly found Chen Jue, her eyes flashing with excitement and expectation.

"Husband, look at these." Chen Jia pulled Chen Jue into the utility room and pointed at the defective products on the ground and said, "We have been worrying about the increase in profits. I think it would be a pity to throw away these defective products. If we can turn waste into treasure and make a brand new thing, maybe we can open up a new world."

Chen Jue squatted down and carefully examined the defective products, with a thoughtful look gradually appearing in his eyes: "What does my wife mean?"

Chen Jia's eyes were bright and her tone was firm: "Let's disassemble these defective products and use the wood carving parts and glass pieces to make them into building blocks. There are very few toys on the market now, and children have very few toys. If we make exquisite and educational high-end glass wood carving building block toys, it can not only meet the children's play needs, but also serve as a kind of art collection. Parents will definitely be happy to pay for it, and this will be a new growth point for profits!"

Chen Jue stood up, patted the dust off his body, and nodded slightly: "My wife, this is a great idea! However, although the target audience of this building block toy is children, the production standards cannot be ambiguous at all. First of all, the size of the building blocks must be accurate and uniform, so that children can easily assemble and build; secondly, the edges and corners must be polished smooth and must not have burrs to avoid scratching the delicate skin of children; thirdly, in order to increase the fun and educational significance, we can carve some simple historical stories, poems and allusions on the building blocks, so that children can learn while playing."

Chen Jia nodded repeatedly and added, "Also, the accompanying instruction manual must be carefully written. It should not only include conventional building examples, but also incorporate storytelling to guide children to use their imagination and create more ways to play. In addition, the packaging cannot be sloppy. It must be exquisite and childlike, and it can also be decent as a gift."

The two of them had made up their minds and immediately called the craftsmen to the workshop. Chen Jia stood in front of everyone, holding a defective wood carving in his hand, and passionately explained the plan: "Masters, our workshop is now facing a new challenge and a new opportunity. These defective products that can only be piled up in the corner on weekdays will soon be transformed. We will disassemble them and make them into high-end glazed wood carving building block toys. Look at the wood carving part, the figures, flowers and birds, and buildings are in different shapes. With a little processing, they can become the main body of the building block; the glazed pieces are used as embellishments, such as inlaid on the roof and windows, to make the building block works more dazzling."

An old craftsman looked embarrassed and said worriedly, "Madam, this work is very delicate. It is not easy to disassemble the defective products. We also need to grind them into standard building blocks, carve and inlay them. The process is complicated and time-consuming. Can we handle it?"

Chen Jia smiled and encouraged everyone: "Uncle Zhang, you have superb craftsmanship and are the backbone of our workshop. I know this task is arduous, but think about it, we are creating something unprecedented. When the toys are on the market, children will love them and our workshop will become more famous. The days ahead will definitely get better and better! If everyone works together, conducts more experiments and makes more adjustments, there will be no obstacles that cannot be overcome."

Inspired by Chen Jia's enthusiasm, everyone cheered up and threw themselves into the intense production.

The woodcarving masters carefully disassembled the defective products, selected the usable parts, and polished them carefully according to the standard size. "Master Zhang, this corner needs to be rounded off. It is related to the safety of the children. You must not be careless. Master Li, the flatness of these building blocks needs to be fine-tuned so that they can fit together perfectly..." Chen Jia patiently guided at the side, not missing any details.

The colored glaze craftsmen focused on repairing and polishing colored glaze pieces, selecting those with bright colors and good texture, and designing suitable inlay positions for them. Chen Jue personally supervised the inlay process of colored glaze. He picked up a small colored glaze piece, gently inserted it into the groove of the wooden carving building block, and then carefully fixed it with special adhesive, keeping a close eye on it to ensure that it was firm and beautiful.

"Slow down, be gentle. This piece of glass is fragile. Please be more careful." Chen Jue reminded the craftsmen from time to time.

After weeks of hard work, the first set of glass wood carving building block toys was finally completed. When it was placed on the display stand in the workshop, everyone's eyes lit up. The sunlight shone on the building blocks, and the pavilions, figures, flowers and birds in the wood carvings came to life. The glass inlaid parts sparkled, like a miniature fantasy world.

Chen Jia excitedly picked up a building block and gently stroked the exquisite carvings on it, tears sparkling in her eyes: "It's done! We succeeded! This building block toy embodies the hard work of all of us, it will definitely be very popular."

Chen Jue was also filled with joy, and he and Chen Jia smiled at each other. The craftsmen also cheered and hugged each other to celebrate this hard-earned achievement.

In order to successfully launch the new product, Chen Jia and Chen Jue decided to hold a unique parent-child experience event. They invited children and their parents from major families in Beijing and set up a child-friendly play area in the spacious courtyard of the workshop, which was equipped with tables and chairs, snacks, and a set of brand new glazed wood carving building block toys.

On the day of the activity, children accompanied by their parents happily rushed into the workshop. When they saw the colorful building block toys, their eyes lit up like stars and they could not wait to sit around and start building.

A lady in gorgeous clothes watched her child concentrating on building blocks, her face full of satisfaction: "This building block toy is so exquisite! Usually the child always complains that there is no new thing to play with. Now it's good, it can not only exercise hands-on ability, but also learn knowledge. Madam Chen, Duke Chen, you are really creative."

A well-mannered old man also nodded and praised: "It is indeed extraordinary. The wood carving and glass craftsmanship are integrated into the toys, which is unique. Look at the poems and allusions carved on the building blocks. Children can learn while playing. It is both educational and entertaining. I can't help but want to participate."

With the laughter of children and the praise of parents, the reputation of the glazed woodcarving building block toys quickly spread throughout Beijing. Orders came to the workshop like snowflakes, not only from Beijing, but also from many foreign merchants who came to discuss cooperation after hearing the news, hoping to introduce this unique toy to markets around the country.

Faced with this sudden boom, Chen Jia and Chen Jue were not carried away by the victory. They knew that market demand was changing rapidly, and only by continuous innovation and strict quality control could this high-end glass wood carving building block toy continue to shine and bring continuous profits to the workshop.