It is obviously impossible to raise funds by selling badminton equipment, and Hong Tao invented that thing was not originally used for this, it was just to give the princess and himself multiple games, exercise and exercise while beating rabbits to increase income. Even if it could become an aristocratic sport, it would take time before it could have a large income.

Selling abacus, it seems to be a bit of a possibility. I don't know how many buyers and sellers in the country need to settle accounts, abacus and calculation chips are easier to learn and faster, as long as the popularity in the early stage, there must be a lot of potential customers.

But after thinking about it carefully, I still can't make a lot of money, and the reason is only two words, piracy!

The moral bottom line of the Song people is relatively high, but the problem is that the Song Dynasty did not have an intellectual property protection law. People don't imitate your trademarks and signboards, but the abacus is not difficult to manufacture, anyone can make it, and it is very easy to make, and you can sell it with a different trademark and name.

The calculation formula cannot be kept secret, and the ease of learning becomes a disadvantage at this time, as long as one person knows the formula, there is a second, the second hundred, and the second thousand......

I can't always pin my hope that everyone is a humble gentleman, and after learning the mantra from myself, I don't pass it on without permission, and every apprentice in the church will take the initiative to run back and pay a training fee to myself, this idea is obviously too naïve.

The possibility of making a lot of money with the two small inventions of badminton and abacus is basically ruled out, and raising insects and making wax is a good business, but unfortunately there are not even ash trees and insects now, and if there is no money, they may never have them.

Things like making guns, making cannons, playing with gunpowder, etc., don't have to think about it at all now, the identity of the horse is too restrictive, planting a tree, raising a flower, writing a calligraphy, painting a painting, the imperial history has nothing to say, and it is not illegal to do a small business or something. But relatives don't get involved in politics and the army, this is a red line in the Song Dynasty, whoever dares to touch it will be finished.

It's okay to plant trees and flowers, I'm doing it myself, but unfortunately the cycle is too long, and far water can't quench my thirst. Writing and drawing, I really don't have that talent. But there is one thing that can be done, and it is indeed related to writing and drawing, and that is printing.

There is a private library called Bao Huitang, which contains a lot of books, calligraphy and paintings, and seals, which are said to be rare items. In addition, there are many books in the study room of the Horse House, including both manuscripts and block printing.

Since the Song Dynasty was a world of intellectuals, the culture was naturally relatively developed, and there was a great demand for books. The printing industry is also quite developed, with both state-run printing factories and many private printing workshops.

However, there is no qualitative breakthrough in printing technology, and it is still at the level of engraving printing, which is nothing more than that the engraving technology is higher, the number of carvers is more, and the state's control over publishing and distribution is more relaxed. As long as you can afford the printing fee, anyone can print the book, and whether anyone will buy it is another question.

And with the development of commerce, the printing industry is no longer just printing books, such as account books, leaflets, small advertisements, product packaging and so on. Overall, this is a thriving sunrise industry.

Hong Tao has an innate advantage in this regard, he ran a newspaper in the Southern Song Dynasty, and used the lead printing technology of later generations. Although the specific person in charge at that time was not himself, he was the one who had the bad idea behind it, and he was rich in theoretical knowledge.

If there is ready-made technology to make money, why should we innovate? It should be a good deal to copy the printing workshop that was originally built in the Southern Song Dynasty and adjust it slightly according to the current conditions.

The most important thing is that this thing has a high threshold for entry into the industry and is technically difficult, and others can't learn it for a while if they want to learn it, and the first bite of big fat must be given to themselves.

And Hong Tao has even found the first customer, which is the calculation institute! The doctor of his own arithmetic institute can't be in vain, just contributing an abacus is not enough to reflect the difference between this doctor and his doctor, and then a printing technology to open your eyes, by the way, don't look at it in vain, take out the real money.

As long as the Arithmetic Academy accepts the new thing of lead printing, more government departments will soon place orders, because most of the teachers and students in the Arithmetic Academy are court officials or reserve officials, and it is impossible that they have no influence at all.

In addition, Hong Tao also has a business direction, that is, temples. Now Buddhism is more popular, from the royal family to the common people are proud of believing in Buddhism, large and small monasteries have sprung up everywhere, and the demand for scriptures is naturally very, very large.

Even if the domestic engraving and printing industry of the Great Song Dynasty can be satisfied, will it not consider the issue of export? Not to mention other countries, the Liao State in the north has been learning from the Great Song Dynasty, and their printing industry should not be as developed as the Song Dynasty.

If one day his caravan arrives in Liao with a large number of beautifully printed scriptures, it should still be quite popular. In this way, he is a cultural envoy, and he must mingle with the cultural people of Liao, and then sell the flower paste to them along with the situation.

Cultural people have always been brave enough to try in this regard, and they must be eager for that fluttering feeling. With their cover, he naturally gained a firm foothold in the local area, even if there was a person who understood it, it was useless.

The old beauty of later generations is not to pay attention to a carrot in one hand and a big stick in the other, we are much more cute than the image of Lao Mei, holding a beautiful scripture in one hand, a fragrant flower paste in the other, and a smile on his face. It is a messenger of spreading culture, buying and selling voluntarily, never forced.

If you want to play with lead printing, you must first cast the lead word, and if you want to cast the lead word, you must first have a copper mold. The gold and silver craftsmen of the Southern Song Dynasty could carve traditional Chinese characters on copper blocks very finely like carving jade, and presumably the craftsmen of the Northern Song Dynasty were not far behind. Just ask if you can do it.

Who to ask? It's still the palace craftsmen in the back garden. However, there is one thing that makes Hong Tao very distressed, three of the seven craftsmen are called Da Lang, and two of them have the same surname, plus he is also Da Lang, so it is easy to mess up.

Facts have proved that the court craftsmen of the Northern Song Dynasty are more skilled than the ordinary craftsmen of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the two gold and silver craftsmen only took four days to complete the work of explaining the horses, and carved the two lines of words on the white copper the size of two matchboxes.

I also did polishing and pattern treatment on the copper block, one is the cloud longevity pattern with plum blossoms, and the other is the water ripple with lotus flowers, which is lifelike.

It's a pity that Hong Tao needs to be engraved as a mold, and the two of them misunderstood, thinking that the horse should use copper as a seal, and all of them are yang carvings. I also said in unison that the handwriting is not good-looking, and I don't have painting skills, so I can play at home, don't take it out and cover it messily, I will be laughed at.

The words of the two craftsmen made Hong Tao a little embarrassed, is this word ugly? Is this painting still a good time? Don't let people live! After reexplaining his intentions and making sure the craftsmen understood, Hong Tao encountered another small problem, insufficient production.

If you want to cast lead characters, you have to have more than 1,000 copper molds to meet the printing of daily books, and rare characters have to be temporarily re-engraved. If the mold making speed is too slow, you will have to increase the number of people.

"It seems that I have to trouble Your Majesty......" Regarding this problem, Hong Tao did not have the idea of self-reliance. Now he has taken the country as his home, as long as the emperor has what he has, he can borrow it and use it, such as the royal craftsmen.

As usual, the princess entered the palace and conveyed the meaning of the horse to her brother, and invited the emperor to inspect the Flying Eagle Society under construction, for the simple reason that the name was your inscription, and you can't ignore it.