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

In the prosperous land of Qing, the toy market is not huge, but it is highly competitive. With their extraordinary wisdom and superb skills, Chen Jia and Chen Jue launched the colored glaze wood carving building block toys, which are like a bright meteor across the night sky. Once they came out, they quickly attracted everyone's attention. The unique design perfectly combines the rustic texture of wood carving with the crystal clearness of colored glaze. Each building block is like a carefully crafted work of art; the exquisite craftsmanship is even more amazing. From the selection of wood to the inlay of colored glaze, every process has been poured into the hard work of the craftsmen. The children love it, as if they have found the key to the fantasy world in these building blocks, and the profits of the workshop have also risen like mushrooms after rain.

However, the market is like a battlefield, with unpredictable changes. With the great success of building block toys, many businesses smelled business opportunities and followed suit. For a time, a large number of crudely made similar products emerged on the market, attracting those uninformed customers with low prices. Chen Jia and Chen Jue knew that if they wanted to continue to gain a foothold in this fierce competition and become a leader in the toy field, they must innovate boldly again and create more differentiated products that would be difficult for competitors to catch up.

One afternoon, the sun shone through the carved window lattices, casting mottled light and shadows, adding a bit of tranquility to Chen Jia's study. Chen Jia sat at the desk, flipping through a rare book borrowed from an ancient book collector. The pages of the book were yellowed, exuding a faint scent of ink. A scroll depicting an ancient royal garden suddenly caught her eye. The garden in the scroll was exquisitely laid out, with pavilions and towers scattered among the mountains and rivers, and the long corridors were winding, as if telling the story of the long years. The rockery in the distance and the clear lake water complemented each other, the lotus leaves were in full bloom, and the lotus flowers were gorgeous, a beautiful picture like a poem.

Chen Jia was so absorbed in reading that a flash of inspiration suddenly occurred to her mind, and a bold and novel idea came flooding in. She slammed the book shut, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and hurried to the workshop, with only one thought in mind: to tell Chen Jue about this idea immediately.

"Husband, I have a good idea!" Chen Jia rushed into the workshop breathlessly, with beads of sweat on her forehead, but her eyes were shining with excitement, as if they were hiding a sky full of stars.

Chen Jue was instructing the craftsmen to polish a wood carving. When he heard Chen Jia's voice, he stopped the tools in his hands and turned around curiously. Seeing Chen Jia's anxious look, he smiled and asked, "Madam, tell me quickly, what tricks have you come up with?"

Chen Jia pulled Chen Jue aside, found an empty seat and sat down, picked up the paper and pen on the table, and said excitedly while gesturing: "Husband, you see, although our building block toys are very popular now, there are more and more imitations on the market. In the long run, our advantages may be gradually eroded. After thinking about it, I think we can develop in the direction of jigsaw puzzles, and we should make high-end and interesting jigsaw puzzles. Just like this picture of the royal garden I just saw in the ancient book, it is simply perfect. We disassemble it into pieces of exquisite wood carvings and glass puzzles, each of which is unique with unique shapes and patterns. In the process of splicing, children can not only exercise their hands-on ability and spatial thinking, but also have a deep understanding of the architectural art and cultural connotations of ancient gardens, which is much more meaningful than ordinary toys."

Chen Jue listened quietly, his eyes always focused on Chen Jia, and his mind sketched out vivid pictures as she described. After Chen Jia finished speaking, his eyes gradually showed an admiring look, and he nodded and said, "My wife's idea is really wonderful! However, we must also know that it is not an easy task to make such a high-end puzzle. First of all, the cutting process of the puzzle must be extremely precise, and the edges of each piece must fit tightly, just like the mortise and tenon structure, so that children can smoothly assemble them. Secondly, the materials of wood carvings and colored glaze are completely different. Wood carvings are hard but easy to crack, and colored glaze is crystal clear but very fragile. In the process of cutting and splicing, their respective characteristics must be fully considered and the most appropriate method must be found, otherwise all previous efforts will be wasted if we are not careful. Furthermore, in order to keep the children's interest for a long time, we have to design some unique ways of playing and challenges, so that they can continue to explore and gain surprises while playing."

Chen Jia nodded vigorously, indicating her full agreement: "What you said is absolutely right, sir. When it comes to cutting technology, we can hire the famous old carpenter in Beijing to help us. He has devoted his life to carpentry skills and knows the characteristics of wood very well. He will definitely cut the puzzle just right. As for the material problem, we can arrange experienced craftsmen in the workshop to conduct multiple experiments first, from the choice of tools to the cutting angle, to the splicing techniques, and explore one by one to find the most suitable method. As for the gameplay, I am thinking of setting up some hidden tasks, such as cleverly hiding some small and exquisite glass treasures in the puzzle, and then providing some clues to the children, so that they can find these treasures according to the clues after they have finished the puzzle. In this way, not only can the puzzle be more interesting, but also the children's observation and exploration spirit can be cultivated."

The two hit it off and got down to work. Chen Jue immediately set out to find the old carpenter. He worked tirelessly, traveling through the streets and alleys of the capital, asking around for the old carpenter's whereabouts. Finally, deep in a quiet alley, he found the old carpenter who was concentrating on carving. Chen Jue explained his purpose and showed their design concept and sketches. The old carpenter was moved by their sincerity and innovative spirit and readily agreed to join.

At the same time, Chen Jia gathered all the colored glaze craftsmen in the workshop and displayed the design drawings in front of everyone. She looked focused and said in a firm tone: "Masters, this time we are going to challenge an unprecedented high-end puzzle. Look at this picture, every piece of the puzzle carries our hard work and expectations. For the wood carving part, the architectural details of the ancient gardens must be displayed vividly, whether it is the flying eaves and brackets of the pavilions and towers, or the carved patterns on the corridors, they must be carefully carved. For the colored glaze part, it must be inlaid just right, like a finishing touch, so that the whole puzzle will shine under the light. Moreover, the edges of each puzzle must be handled extremely smoothly, without a single burr, after all, this is for children to play with, and safety is of paramount importance."

An old craftsman with gray hair frowned and said with difficulty: "Madam, this job is really difficult. The combination of wood carving and colored glaze is already full of challenges, and now it has to be cut into so many small pieces. If there is any mistake, all the previous efforts will be in vain."

Chen Jia smiled and walked to the old craftsman, patted him on the shoulder and consoled him: "Uncle Zhang, I know this task is arduous, but our workshop has always been based in Qing with its exquisite craftsmanship. This high-end puzzle is not only the key to our breakthrough in market competition, but also to bring a unique toy experience to children. As long as everyone works together and gives full play to their respective expertise, I believe we will succeed. Moreover, I have full confidence in everyone's craftsmanship. Let's work together to make these puzzles into impeccable masterpieces."

With Chen Jia's encouragement, the craftsmen straightened their backs, with determination shining in their eyes, and expressed in unison their willingness to give their best.

In the following days, the workshop was bustling with activity. The carpenters used their superb skills to cut the wood into puzzle pieces of various shapes. Each piece of wood seemed to have life in their hands. After repeated polishing and calibration, the edges were as smooth as a mirror and the angles were precise. Chen Jia and Chen Jue would inspect the workshop every day. Chen Jia would give the carpenters some suggestions for improvement from time to time: "Master Zhang, can the carvings on this wooden pavilion be carved more delicately to show the exquisite charm?" Chen Jue always reminded everyone to pay attention to safety and quality: "Master Li, you must concentrate when cutting to ensure that every cut is accurate. This is not only related to the quality of the puzzle, but also to the safety of the children."

The glass craftsmen are no less skilled, they carefully select the appropriate glass pieces, inlay and decorate according to the design of the puzzle. During the inlay process, they are very careful, as if they are protecting a rare treasure, to ensure that each piece of glass is perfectly integrated with the wood carving and complements each other.

After more than a month of hard work day and night, the first batch of high-end puzzle samples were finally completed. When these puzzles were placed in the workshop's showroom, the entire showroom seemed to instantly turn into a miniature royal garden. The sunlight shone through the window onto the puzzles, the wood carvings exuded a simple texture, and the glazed parts reflected colorful light, which was magnificent and breathtaking.

Chen Jia and Chen Jue looked at the results in front of them, their hearts filled with satisfaction and pride. They knew that the hard work over the past month had not been in vain, and these puzzles embodied the wisdom and sweat of everyone.

In order to successfully launch the new product, Chen Jia and Chen Jue carefully planned a unique parent-child experience event. They invited children and parents from major families in Beijing and decorated the workshop's showroom with childlike fun, colorful tables and chairs, exquisite snacks, and sets of brand-new high-end puzzles.

On the day of the event, the children, like a group of happy little birds, happily flocked into the workshop accompanied by their parents. When they saw the puzzles in the exhibition hall, the children's eyes lit up instantly, as if they had discovered a treasure. They couldn't wait to sit together, stretched out their hands to the puzzles, and began to try to piece them together.

A little boy in a red brocade robe picked up a puzzle and carefully observed the pattern on it, with curiosity shining in his eyes. He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then carefully placed the puzzle on the puzzle board. When he found that this puzzle piece fit perfectly with the one next to it, a happy smile appeared on his face and he shouted excitedly: "Wow, I got it right! This puzzle is so fun, it's like building a little world of my own."

A lady in gorgeous clothes was watching the children doing the puzzle, her eyes full of love and admiration. She couldn't help but exclaimed: "This puzzle is so exquisite! Each piece is like a work of art. In the process of piecing together, the children can not only exercise their hands-on ability, but also learn a lot about ancient gardens. Moreover, this way of finding hidden treasures is so interesting that the children can't stop playing. Madam Chen, Duke Chen, you are really creative to bring such good toys to the children."

Watching the children having fun and listening to the praises from the parents, Chen Jia and Chen Jue were filled with a sense of accomplishment. They knew that this time their high-end puzzle product had successfully achieved differentiated competition, once again standing out in the toy market and ahead of other competitors.

As word of mouth spread quickly, orders for high-end puzzles came in like snowflakes. Not only did local merchants in Beijing place large orders, but many merchants from other places also came to discuss cooperation matters after hearing the news. They were full of confidence in this unique puzzle product and hoped to promote it to a wider market.

During a negotiation with foreign merchants, a businessman from a remote border town tightly shook Chen Jia and Chen Jue's hands and said excitedly: "Your high-end puzzles are so popular here! Children love them and parents praise them highly. This kind of toy that is both interesting and can increase knowledge is exactly what we need. I hope to have long-term cooperation with you and promote these puzzles to every corner of our border town so that more children can enjoy this happiness."

Chen Jia and Chen Jue readily agreed to the businessman's request for cooperation. They knew that in the fiercely competitive market, only by continuous innovation, courage to break through, and creating differentiated products can they remain invincible.