After a busy day, everyone was extremely excited.

It was their first time doing business and their first time seeing so much money—a whole chest full of copper coins.

The sight of it made them overjoyed. In reality, the total value of those copper coins was just a little over one hundred taels of silver, but because copper coins took up more space, it felt like they had earned a fortune.

“Master, we sold a total of 128 shi of grain today and made 138 taels, 7 qian, and 50 wen in profit,” Lu Youfu exclaimed, holding an abacus with excitement as he looked at Shen Qingwan.

If they could earn over 100 taels of silver in a single day, that would be 4,000 taels in a month!

Even if their net profit was only ten percent, that would still be 400 taels of silver—an astonishing sum to him.

What Lu Youfu didn’t know was that Shen Qingwan had obtained all the grain at no cost.

Even with just 400 taels of net profit per month, he was already thrilled beyond measure.

Shen Qingwan’s eyes carried a hint of amusement as she said cheerfully, “Let’s go! I’ll treat everyone to a meal at Xiangyun Tower!”

At the mention of Xiangyun Tower, everyone immediately restrained their excitement.

Lu Youfu objected, “That won’t do! Xiangyun Tower is the most expensive restaurant in Suzhou City. If we eat there, it would be like we worked half a day for nothing. I say we should go to Yuanji Restaurant across the street instead. I heard their dishes are affordable and delicious. Besides, since they are our neighbors, we should support their business too.”

Yuanji Restaurant, as Lu Youfu mentioned, was just a small eatery run by a husband-and-wife team, with their son working as a waiter.

Due to its reasonable prices, the business was quite decent on regular days.

“Master, let’s go to Yuanji then,” Lu Dashan chimed in, agreeing with Lu Youfu.

Seeing that everyone wanted to save her money, Shen Qingwan simply went along with it. “Alright, Yuanji it is.”

They quickly began packing up and preparing to close the shop, but a queue of people still refused to leave.

Since they couldn’t chase them away, they had no choice but to let them wait.

Ever since the shop opened, the four men had started calling Shen Qingwan “Master.”

At first, she found it a bit awkward, but they insisted, saying that it was important to follow proper etiquette in business and that calling her “sister-in-law” or “young lady” all the time wasn’t appropriate.

Eventually, she just let them be.

After closing the shop, the five of them were about to head across the street to Yuanji Restaurant when a horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of their store, blocking their path.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a handsome young man dressed in white leaped off gracefully.

He then turned around and helped a young lady in a light purple silk dress down from the carriage.

Shen Qingwan recognized them immediately.

They were none other than Miss Jin Qianqian, the eldest daughter of the Jin family, and her younger brother, Jin Zhengyang—the same siblings who had been distributing porridge at the city gates a few days ago.

“May I ask if you are the owner of Tianxia Grain Store?”

Jin Qianqian’s gaze fell on Shen Qingwan, who stood tall and dignified.

A hint of amazement flashed in her eyes—she hadn’t expected the owner of the store to be such a young gentleman.

For the sake of convenience, Shen Qingwan had dressed in men’s clothing.

She cupped her hands in greeting and replied politely, “Yes, that would be me. May I ask what business Miss Jin has with me?”

“My sister wishes to speak with you and invites you to Xiangyun Tower for a discussion,” Jin Zhengyang said, raising his brows with an air of arrogance. He seemed to believe that receiving an invitation from his sister was an honor in itself.

“If Miss Jin has something to discuss, she may say it here. We are strangers, and dining together may harm your reputation,” Shen Qingwan replied calmly, meeting Jin Qianqian’s gaze directly.

Jin Qianqian’s clear eyes stared at her for a moment before glancing at the refugees nearby, seemingly unsure of how to begin.

Seeing her hesitation, Shen Qingwan told Lu Youfu and the others to go ahead and order food, promising to join them shortly.

After they left, Shen Qingwan reopened the shop and invited the Jin siblings inside to talk.

Once the door was closed, Jin Qianqian finally spoke. “May I ask for your name?”

“You may call me Shen Qing,” Shen Qingwan answered without revealing her full name. “Miss Jin, please speak freely.”

“Mr. Shen, as you may already know, Suzhou City is currently experiencing a food shortage. My family has been distributing porridge for over half a month, but our grain reserves are running low.

To continue providing porridge, we must purchase more grain.

However, acquiring a large quantity of grain in Suzhou has become increasingly difficult. In the past few days, since we ran out of porridge, many refugees have starved to death.

Though my family is not a noble clan, we are one of the wealthier households in Suzhou. With so many disaster victims flooding the city due to the calamities in the southwest, we wish to do our part in providing relief.

My father and I have decided to distribute porridge for one hundred days, hoping to accumulate blessings for our family. However, without sufficient grain, we cannot proceed. That is why we have come to you.

You are selling grain at low prices even during these difficult times, which shows that you wish to help the refugees. Why not cooperate with us?

If you sell some grain to me, I will distribute it under both the Jin family’s name and Tianxia Grain Store’s name. This way, you gain both reputation and profit while also aiding the refugees.”

Jin Qianqian spoke at length, and Shen Qingwan was somewhat surprised.

She hadn’t expected a wealthy young lady like Jin Qianqian to be so passionate about aiding disaster victims.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Qingwan responded, “Miss Jin, you are kind-hearted. Since that is the case, I will set aside some grain for you. However, the situation outside the city is chaotic, and not all those seeking porridge are truly refugees. Please ensure the food is not wasted on those who do not genuinely need it.”

While disaster victims were indeed pitiful, there were many opportunists among them.

Some locals and even city thugs, who weren’t truly starving, would take advantage of the free food.

If the Jin family had an endless supply of grain, it wouldn’t be a concern.

But since their resources were limited, they had to use them wisely.

Jin Qianqian understood Shen Qingwan’s point and nodded. “You’re right, Mr. Shen. I will take extra precautions.”

“There is no need for your family to pay for this batch of grain. I will provide 500 shi of grain, and I will rely on you, Miss Jin, to handle the distribution,” Shen Qingwan stated.

Jin Qianqian was taken aback by the generous offer, but before she could express her gratitude, Jin Zhengyang objected.

“Our family is not lacking in money! If we are the ones distributing the food, how can we let you provide the grain for free? Here, take these 500 taels of silver notes,” Jin Zhengyang said, pulling out a handful of banknotes and shoving them into Shen Qingwan’s hands.

His arrogant demeanor was surprisingly tolerable for once.

Shen Qingwan touched her nose, amused.

Being “forced” to accept money didn’t feel bad at all. Since they insisted, why refuse?

“Zhengyang!” Jin Qianqian was about to scold her brother, but to her surprise, Shen Qingwan had already accepted the money with a smile.

“In that case, thank you, Young Master Jin,” she said cheerfully.

Jin Zhengyang was momentarily stunned.

She just took the money? No hesitation? Hmph, how shameless.

Jin Qianqian gave Shen Qingwan an apologetic look. “Please excuse my brother’s bluntness.”

“No worries. You may send people to collect the grain tomorrow morning,” Shen Qingwan replied.

After bidding them farewell, she finally headed to Yuanji Restaurant, where her companions were already seated.