Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 122 - 121: Opening Offer of Fifty Units

There’s no good food, but there’s something fun to play with.

Feeling idle, Qin Yao made several bamboo dragonflies for the four kids at home who didn’t have many toys.

Jinhua was delighted to hold them, happier than getting candy, eagerly calling Si Niang, and the two ran off together.

Second Lang was inside reciting his lessons, living up to his name as the King of Quan in the family.

Da Lang and Sanlang were both at the water mill, watching the horse bathe in the river while keeping an eye on the money box in the mill.

Business is exceptionally good these days; as long as villagers have their turn, they choose the water mill. Those without money bartered with their homegrown vegetables instead. Afraid of them being stolen, Da Lang would make rounds at the water mill periodically, taking any goods home first if there were any.

The villagers jokingly called him the little shopkeeper.

Qin Yao led the visitor to the main room, pouring water while observing his clothing and appearance.

He was a middle-aged man around forty, sporting the popular small inverted mustache of the time, dressed in plain gray hemp clothing, with his hair neatly tied up with a gray cloth strip, looking no different from the surrounding villagers at first glance.

Yet, Qin Yao keenly noticed he was wearing thick, multiple-layered cotton shoes.

His exposed hands appeared much finer and cleaner than his face, not like someone who did manual labor year-round.

His face had a wheat-colored tan, like someone who spent years traveling outdoors.

"Have some water." Qin Yao handed him some cool boiled water, sat down across from him, and asked with a smile, "How may I address you? Are you planning to install a water mill at home?"

"My surname is Bai, with the single given name Shan." He picked up the cup, taking a long swig to quench what seemed like a long-standing thirst, emptying it in one go.

Qin Yao raised her eyebrows, reaching to refill his cup, but a hand stopped her above the cup, "No need, it’s enough."

Qin Yao agreed, sat back down, gesturing for him to speak freely.

Bai Shan first asked the price of a complete set of miniature water mills. After getting the price, he pondered for a moment, his fingers moved slightly as he did some mental math, then nodded.

Then, he reached inside his clothes and, with a "thud," placed two large silver ingots on the table, each weighing twenty taels, totaling forty taels.

"I want to order fifty sets of miniature water mills, no need for you to worry about the installation. I’ll send some guys over to learn from you when the time comes. If this batch goes well, I’ll order more later."

"But I have one condition: until my order is complete, you can’t make them for anyone else."

"If you can take the job, then let’s discuss the price and delivery time now. If not, I’ll take my money and leave, and you can pretend I was never here."

Those two large silver ingots just hitting the dining table was unexpected. Qin Yao was quietly surprised inside, though her expression remained calm and composed.

Bai Shan noticed her expression, his brow slightly furrowed, not expecting someone who looked so young to be so seasoned.

Anyone else seeing those two large silver ingots would surely show some surprise.

Since he was so straightforward and frank, Qin Yao didn’t hesitate, pausing for a few seconds before offering a wholesale price.

"For fifty sets, I can offer a 20% discount, but if you order a hundred sets, I can give a 32% discount. Would you consider taking more goods?"

"Our village has plenty of manpower, it’s just this farming period that’s busy. We can definitely deliver all hundred sets before the year-end."

Bai Shan shook his head, "The year-end is too far away; stick with the 20% discount, fifty sets unchanged, delivery in October."

The calculator in Qin Yao’s mind was almost worn out. With the Mid-Autumn Festival around the corner, and the peak farming season approaching, she couldn’t produce many sets by late July.

The effective time is in August, September, and October. She hadn’t even prepared the lumber or stone yet. Averaging sixteen sets per month, accounting for the loss rate, even if she hit the stones until sparks flew off, she could barely make it.

Qin Yao tentatively suggested, "Delivery by November 1st."

Bai Shan wagged his finger, "October 15th, three months is enough."

"It’s really not possible, it overlaps with the farming season, manpower is insufficient." Unless you pay more, Qin Yao added in her heart.

Bai Shan looked helplessly at Qin Yao, picking up his silver ingots to leave.

Qin Yao didn’t stop him either.

As Bai Shan reached the courtyard gate without hearing a sound, he paused, turned back, and gritted his teeth:

"By October 20th at the latest, we need to transport it south. There’s snow in December, and we must ship it before then. Otherwise, if we’re stuck by heavy snow on the road, everything will be for naught!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Yao thought, so it’s for sale down south, that’s actually a great idea.

Water is abundant down south, perhaps every household can use one, the market is vast indeed.

But she too had her difficulties. Qin Yao beckoned him back to sit down and renegotiate.

"How about this, on October 15th we deliver the first batch, with the rest delivered by November 1st. I guarantee that the first batch will definitely exceed 60% of the total, so thirty sets."

The assembly line worked like this, the start was busy with adjusting the structure, arranging production materials, recruiting manpower, and building the factory. The real pace picked up in the last half month.

Qin Yao glanced at Bai Shan’s clothing, where his bulge was her initial funding to build the production workshop.

Bai Shan’s firmness weakened slightly; he pondered and added a clause: "If you can’t deliver thirty sets by October 15th, then we won’t take the remaining twenty sets, but the price remains a 20% discount."

"No problem!" Qin Yao got up to fetch paper, pen, and red ink paste.

Her speed left Bai Shan stunned, with a feeling of having lost out.

Fortunately, Qin Yao’s demonstrated professionalism that followed gave him a bit more confidence.

The contract took an hour to write up, and Da Lang happened to return with Old Huang after his bath, with Qin Yao instructing him to call over Liu the carpenter.

Liu the carpenter brought a basket of wild Yang Mei, delighting the kids, who asked Qin Yao if they could use their pocket money to buy rock sugar from Liu Huolang’s place. With her permission, they planned to use the sour wild Yang Mei to make Yang Mei Soup.

Second Lang, Sanlang, and Si Niang were silly with joy, but Da Lang was thinking, come the autumn harvest in a couple of days, the adults could use some refreshment at home.

Qin Yao, busy with the large order, let them be, introducing Liu the carpenter and Bai Shan to each other briefly, having Liu the carpenter mark the contract with his seal.

Liu the carpenter just glanced at the order total of 120 taels of silver, his hand trembling with excitement as he pressed his fingerprint.

After they politely saw Bai Shan off, Liu the carpenter leaned on the door frame of Qin Yao’s house, sitting on the threshold, "I need to catch my breath, catch my breath..."

"Is it really 120 taels?" he couldn’t help but ask again.

Qin Yao picked up a silver ingot in each hand, knocked them together with a "bang, bang," "See for yourself." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

She already collected a third of the deposit, so how could it be false?

Liu the carpenter gasped, "Be careful, don’t make a dent."

With her immense strength, she could flatten silver ingots into silver coins; no wonder he worried.

Qin Yao nodded, pocketing the silver first. They sat and stood, watching the golden rice fields below the mountain, as if feeling the joy of the harvest already.