Without waiting for anyone to respond, he continued explaining: “What you don’t know is that I’m just the manager of Jiya Studio in Xingcheng. Our head is really something! Not just in the capital, but even in the surrounding cities of Xingcheng, there are more than ten branches! Three thousand is absolutely no problem!”

Eighty wen per brush, a full ten wen difference.

He buys the brushes at eighty wen each and reports a price of eighty-seven wen to his boss.

The brushes would surely be sent from his branch to the nearby Jiya Studios.

He would make seven wen per brush—seventy wen for ten, seven hundred wen for one hundred, seven thousand wen for a thousand brushes, three thousand brushes…

Oh, what nonsense?

How can business be called nonsense?

It’s just natural that he suffers for the benefit of the surrounding Jiya Studios!

At this moment, Shen Qing finally relaxed.

She wasn’t worried about selling this batch of brushes, but she was concerned about how to sell the continuously produced brushes in the future.

After all, transportation was not developed in these times, and it would be difficult to transport goods.

With no one at home and no car, trying to find a market by herself was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

“Alright.”

Manager Lin rubbed his hands and asked with a smile: “How should we set the delivery dates, quantities, and prices?”

Shen Qing had already thought it through and replied immediately: “We’ll send a batch every six days, about three hundred brushes for you to inspect. Once you inspect them, we’ll exchange goods for silver; as for the price, we’ll stick to the price for three thousand brushes. If your shop sells well and exceeds three thousand brushes, don’t worry. We won’t recalculate. The price will remain the same.”

If production efficiency improves or production expands, it’s not hard to exceed three thousand brushes.

In that case, they wouldn’t have to worry about future sales; they could focus on production and ensure quality.

Manager Lin’s round face immediately lit up with a smile, repeatedly thanking her.

Suddenly, his expression became serious, and he awkwardly looked at Jiang Xiangbei and Guan Li, who were standing beside Shen Qing, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Shen Qing, sensing what Manager Lin was thinking, spoke first: “There’s one more thing, I hope you will agree.”

Manager Lin was a bit dazed and instinctively replied: “Please, go ahead.”

“Our standard price for the brushes is ninety wen each. It’s only because you’re buying in bulk that we can offer this discounted price. We couldn’t possibly supply this many brushes in Xingcheng, or even in the surrounding cities. So, please don’t mention this discount to others. If anyone asks, just say they are ninety wen each. We’ll all say the same thing outside!” Shen Qing spoke with a feigned sense of hesitation.

Manager Lin was both surprised and delighted.

He clapped his hands, repeatedly saying “Good, good, good.”

It was like someone handing him a pillow when he was sleepy—what a coincidence!

This was exactly what he was hoping for!

Then he realized what Shen Qing meant. He squinted and looked at her.

Shen Qing looked back boldly without saying a word, but the two businesspeople understood each other immediately.

Manager Lin stood up and said to the three: “Please have some tea and snacks while I go fetch the silver.”

---

As soon as Manager Lin left, Jiang Xiangbei quickly stood up, first peeking through the door to check if he was far enough away, then rushed back and lowered his voice to warn Shen Qing: “Mother, I think Manager Lin is trying to pocket those few wen.”

Shen Qing smiled and first looked at Guan Li, who had been quiet and hadn’t even touched the pastries.

She then asked, “What do you think?”

This child had eloquence and could keep calm.

After being with her second son, the family depended on her to hold things together.

Her second son worked well but wasn’t suited for handling business outside.

She didn’t want to insist on her son starting the family business, so she decided to take her daughter out to see more of the world.

Guan Li hesitated and spoke carefully: “Didn’t you do it on purpose? The profit from those few wen was intentionally allowed for Manager Lin to earn.”

Jiang Xiangbei was stunned.

After thinking it through quickly, he realized it was true!

If Shen Qing hadn’t allowed Manager Lin to earn those few wen, how would he have agreed to supply the brushes to the surrounding Jiya Studios?

Without Manager Lin, what would happen when they sold out this batch?

What about the next batch?

Shen Qing was quite pleased with Guan Li’s answer.

This child really understood a lot.

She turned to Jiang Xiangbei, comforting him: “Look and think more; people always improve with time.”

Jiang Xiangbei was filled with admiration at that moment!

He was also a bit in awe of Guan Li, realizing that she saw things much more clearly than he did.

Guan Li praised: “Aunt, you’re so clever! You knew that Manager Lin was most worried about the price leaking, so you purposely said that to ease his worries?”

Only by easing his worries could Manager Lin feel comfortable about bringing in goods from their family.

Shen Qing smiled and nodded.

Manager Lin soon returned.

He entered, first closing the door tightly, then walked over to Shen Qing and pulled out a cloth bag.

He placed the silver and a string of copper coins on the nearby table: “For one hundred and fifty brushes at eighty wen each, that’s twelve taels of silver. I figured it would be more convenient for you to carry the silver in small pieces, so here it is. Please count it.”

Shen Qing, now familiar with the size of small silver pieces, glanced at the pile and the three strings of copper coins.

She smiled: “Manager Lin is thoughtful. Let’s settle on this. We’ll send the second batch six days from now, and you’ll inspect them personally.”

Manager Lin squinted his eyes and nodded eagerly: “Sure, sure! They must be delivered to me in person. No matter who comes, we’ll settle the exchange inside!”

“Of course!” Shen Qing assured.

Manager Lin quickly wrapped the pastries on the table in oil paper and handed them to Shen Qing.

He then happily escorted the three outside before rushing back to his office to write a letter.

---

As soon as they were outside, Jiang Xiangbei, still in a daze, asked: “Why do I feel like this is all unreal? Like walking on clouds.”

Twelve taels of silver!

That’s twelve taels!

They had earned twelve taels in less than ten days at home!

Guan Li thought to herself, “I’m no different, though.”

She had been trembling earlier, afraid of embarrassing her aunt, but had held herself together.

She had seen twelve taels before.

Her father earned a little over one tael for building a carriage, but that took a month and a half of work.

Yet now, her aunt had earned twelve taels in just a few days!

What mattered most was that her aunt had brought her along and hadn’t kept her at a distance.

This trust…

From a distance, Jiang Xiangnan saw them coming out and quickly ran over, asking excitedly, “How did it go? Did you sell them?”

He didn’t care about the price; he just cared whether they had sold.

After all, the price was set by Mother.

If she said it was fine, then it was fine.

As long as they sold, they’d make money.

Jiang Xiangbei, still stunned, was silent.

Guan Li quickly replied: “Sold. All sold.”

Jiang Xiangnan was overjoyed and looked at his dazed younger brother, teasing: “Why do you look so stupid? You scared me!”

He thought they hadn’t sold them yet.

Then, with some concern, he asked: “It wasn’t sold at too low a price, right?”

“No,” Shen Qing replied briefly, not mentioning how much they had earned. Instead, she said, “We agreed to pay your wages once the brushes are sold. Let’s find a quiet place and settle the payment.”

Upon hearing the word “wages,” Jiang Xiangnan jumped in excitement and immediately forgot about the price.

Guan Li and Guan Xiaoshan were a little confused.

Was Aunt really going to pay them their wages?

Especially Guan Xiaoshan.

His sister had promised one wen per brush, and his work rate was two wen per brush.

She could make over thirty brushes a day at first, but later could manage forty or more; he, on the other hand, could make fifty to fifty-five a day!

Wasn’t two wen per brush too much for him?