With the Jiang siblings taking care of things, how could Guan Li not be at ease?

She hesitated no longer and followed behind Shen Qing, only to realize that Shen Qing wasn’t heading toward the small shop Jiang Xiangbei had suggested.

Instead, she was walking straight into a grand, luxurious store that was clearly expensive.

Jiang Xiangbei hesitated and called out, “Mother?”

Shen Qing glanced at her son and lowered her voice to give him a real-time lesson. “I asked Xiangzhong about it—there are fewer than a thousand students in the entire Xingcheng.

Among these students, some are wealthy, while others are poor scholars like Xiangzhong.

If we estimate that each student uses three brushes per year, that’s at most three thousand brushes annually.But right now, our family can produce thirty to forty brushes a day.

When your second brother returns from his labor service, fifty brushes a day won’t be a problem. Xingcheng simply doesn’t have the demand to absorb that many brushes!”

It was a scorching summer, and there were still more than two months before the floods.

In these two months, they could produce over three thousand brushes.

Even if every scholar in Xingcheng bought all their brushes for the entire year within these two months, it still wouldn’t be enough to sell all of them.

That was clearly impossible.

Jiang Xiangbei immediately grasped the point.

In the past, he had only sold a few fish or a dozen pounds of eels at a time—he had never encountered or considered these kinds of problems.

He looked at his mother, resolving to be more observant and proactive in the future, just like her.

Guan Li silently took note of everything as well.

As soon as the three of them stepped into Jiya Zhai, a shop assistant promptly greeted them. “Welcome! May I ask what kind of calligraphy supplies you are looking for?”

The three of them were clearly not scholars based on their attire, but since they were customers, the assistant remained polite.

Shen Qing was pleased.

No wonder Jiang Xiangzhong had said that Jiya Zhai wasn’t just the most prosperous shop in Xingcheng—it even had branches in other cities, including the capital.

She took the bamboo basket off Jiang Xiangbei’s back, lifted the cloth covering it, and revealed the neatly arranged calligraphy brushes inside.

Then she politely asked, “Excuse me, is your shopkeeper available? I’d like to see if he’s interested in these brushes.”

The assistant’s eyes widened in surprise.

He hadn’t expected them to be here for a business deal.

Hurriedly, he nodded. “Yes, yes! Please wait a moment. I’ll go to the back to call Shopkeeper Lin.”

Before long, a plump, middle-aged man in a long robe came jogging out.

He was momentarily stunned upon seeing the three of them but quickly composed himself.

He bowed slightly and smiled. “Please, come inside. It’s quieter there—we can discuss things properly.”

The group entered the western side room in the backyard.

After the assistant served tea and snacks, Shopkeeper Lin got up and firmly closed the door before smiling and saying, “May I inspect the goods first?”

“Of course, that’s only right,” Shen Qing replied, signaling to Jiang Xiangbei.

Jiang Xiangbei quickly handed over the bamboo basket.

Inspecting the goods was always the most crucial step—otherwise, one might end up spending a fortune on a batch of subpar products and suffer huge losses.

Shen Qing had already checked the brushes at home and was confident in their quality.

She sat comfortably, took a sip of tea, and patiently waited.

The rich aroma of the tea made her squint in satisfaction.

Back in Huaguo, tea was common, but in Qili Village, it was a rare luxury!

Because of the densely populated area, there were no tea trees or fruit trees—if anyone tried to grow them, it was uncertain who would end up taking them.

This vicious cycle led to no one bothering to plant them at all.

After all, tea and fruit weren’t essential for survival.

People would rather spend their time catching fish for a decent meal.

Jiang Xiangbei and Guan Li anxiously watched as Shopkeeper Lin inspected the brushes.

He examined the shafts, pulled at the bristles, and gently brushed the tips back and forth with his fingers.

After testing several brushes, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Did that mean he was satisfied?

The two of them felt slightly relieved.

Then, Shopkeeper Lin looked up and said tactfully, “The quality is indeed good. However, to be honest, our main store is in the capital, and we have an existing partnership with a brush workshop.

If your supply price is low, I can make the decision to buy them directly. But if your price is too high, I’ll have to consult the main store before making a deal.”

Shen Qing understood—he was asking for her price.

Instead of answering directly, she countered, “Since you’ve examined the brushes, Shopkeeper Lin, what is your base price?

If the difference between our prices isn’t too big, we can settle the deal now. But if it’s too far off, I’ll have to look for other buyers.”

Over the past few days, Shen Qing had carefully calculated their costs.

The bamboo for the brush shafts was free, with the most expensive parts being the brush hair, silk thread, cloth, and labor.

These materials cost no more than eight wen per brush, and labor added another six to seven wen.

In total, the cost per brush was at most fifteen wen.

Even selling at fifty wen each would yield a decent profit.

But Shen Qing didn’t want to sell too cheaply.

Her target price was eighty wen per brush.

First, brush-making was a skilled craft that few people could do, and those who knew how to make them rarely passed the knowledge down to others.

As a result, high-quality brushes were always in short supply.

According to Jiang Xiangzhong, whenever a good batch arrived, people scrambled to buy them.

Second, brush-making required meticulous craftsmanship with no room for error.

While labor was cheap, they were essentially selling expertise and skill—which were valuable.

Shen Qing had no intention of disrupting the market with a price war.

Undercutting prices would only harm both herself and her competitors.

Shopkeeper Lin inspected the brushes again, furrowed his brows, and deliberated for a moment before gritting his teeth and saying, “The highest I can offer is ninety wen per brush. If that’s acceptable, I’ll buy all 150 brushes today.”

In reality, he could go up to ninety-two wen per brush, as the partnered workshop supplied them at ninety-three wen.

However, shaving off just one wen wouldn’t give him much leverage when reporting to the main store.

But buying at ninety wen would make him look good.

If the quality was acceptable and the sales were strong, the main store might even let him distribute brushes to other branches.

Still, he had no intention of doing that.

After all, these weren’t rare, high-end brushes—they were affordable yet good-quality products.

If the other Jiya Zhai branches sold too well, it would just mean more work for him. Why should he bother?

Shen Qing nodded. “That’s acceptable, but I have a discount policy.”

Shopkeeper Lin was intrigued. “What kind of discount?”

“For orders of one thousand brushes, the price drops to eighty-seven wen per brush. At two thousand, it’s eighty-four wen per brush. And if you reach three thousand, I’ll go as low as eighty wen per brush!”

Shopkeeper Lin swallowed hard, nearly jumping out of his chair.

Eighty wen per brush?!

Did he hear that right?

Shen Qing sighed and shook her head. “I’ve already inquired—Xingcheng barely sells three thousand brushes a year, and there are several other shops as well.”

Shopkeeper Lin’s mind raced.

After a moment, he grinned and said, “No, no, even if my store in Xingcheng can’t sell that many, the other Jiya Zhai branches can!”