Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 246 - 245: Negotiating Again

"Didn’t reach a deal, he left," Qin Yao answered truthfully.

The siblings of Da Lang all sighed together in unison, feeling a bit regretful but not overly concerned. After all, they enjoyed an especially delicious meal tonight, with large plates of meat, and they were all stuffed.

Liu Ji’s first reaction was, "Wife, were you being too harsh?"

After saying that and seeing Qin Yao’s smile instantly disappear, he realized something was amiss and quickly tried to make up for it, "What I mean is, in business, sometimes you have to make some concessions. If you demand too much, others won’t be willing."

With a soft snort, Qin Yao propped her chin on her hand and tilted her head, asking, "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"No, no, no!" Liu Ji quickly waved his hands. "Wife, you are who you are. There’s surely a reason why you did it this way. I’m just a scholar and don’t understand these things, so I won’t worry about it. Goodnight, wife, goodbye, wife!"

Liu Ji lay down straight on the ground, pulling up the blanket and closing his eyes in a second.

Sanlang and Si Niang’s eyes lit up. They thought that their father’s actions were really funny, so the siblings let out a yell and mimicked him by falling to the ground, pressing on Liu Ji’s toes which made him sit up in pain, grabbing the two little mischief-makers and giving each a smack on the behind.

The Dragon and Phoenix Twins did not cry; instead, they laughed heartily, thinking their dad was playing a game with them.

With helplessness, Qin Yao put her hand on her forehead, waved at the siblings, blew out the candle, and went to sleep!

The official examination was approaching, so to let the four children understand the process, the food stall was paused. Qin Yao and her husband took the children along to handle the final procedures with the agent.

The examinees in the inn kept to themselves, cramming to ensure they could pass with flying colors.

With such an atmosphere, Qin Yao met with the shopkeepers from the general store, carriage shop, and bookstore who came looking for her in the inn.

After having dinner that night and parting ways, Jiang Wen did not appear the next day. Qin Yao thought he wouldn’t be back for another five or six days at least.

Unexpectedly, just after she had sent off these shopkeepers, Jiang Wen arrived.

Coincidentally, Qin Yao was smiling while seeing off the carriage shopkeeper at the inn’s door. They had a pleasant conversation, and she met Jiang Wen face to face. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment, and the carriage shopkeeper asked in surprise, "Why is the second shopkeeper here?"

A warning bell rang in his heart!

They had come to Qin Yao only after seeing that her talks with Fulong Trading Company had failed and thought the business was nearly in hand. Who knew the other party would make an unexpected return? How could they continue like this?

Jiang Wen calmly smiled at the carriage shopkeeper, cupped his fists, but did not say anything.

The carriage shopkeeper looked worriedly at Qin Yao, "Miss Qin, should we discuss this matter again? I just realized that the condition you mentioned earlier might not be impossible for us to meet..."

Before he finished, Jiang Wen raised his hand and pushed him outside, "Your assistant is looking for you everywhere; it seems urgent."

"Huh?" The carriage shopkeeper got anxious, needing to check immediately, but before leaving, he didn’t forget to tell Qin Yao, "Miss Qin, wait a moment, I’ll be right back, and we can discuss it again!"

Qin Yao smiled while watching him leave, then turned to Jiang Wen and made a gesture inviting him, "Second Shopkeeper, please come inside."

Jiang Wen followed her in, came to the table, and found several empty tea cups on it. He smiled helplessly, "You have good business here."

"Good things don’t worry about not selling, naturally," Qin Yao said without modesty, inviting him to sit down and calling the waiter to clean the table.

"Has Second Shopkeeper had lunch?" Qin Yao asked politely.

Jiang Wen shook his head, and Qin Yao told the waiter, "Bring me the set meal that Second Shopkeeper ordered last time."

"Last time we enjoyed your delicious dishes; this time, let me treat you," Qin Yao said with a smile to Jiang Wen.

Jiang Wen politely replied about the expense but inwardly felt a bit apprehensive, again silently exclaiming how difficult it was to deal with this woman!

"Did you come looking for me this time because you’ve thought it over?" Qin Yao proactively inquired.

Both sides had laid their cards on the table, with nothing much to hide, aiming for efficiency.

Jiang Wen nodded, "I’ve thought it over. Would you let me tell you, Miss Qin?"

Qin Yao nodded, raised her teacup, and drank the cool tea, gesturing for him to speak.

"Regarding the cooperation, our trading firm thinks it’s feasible. We don’t have to discuss the unit price anymore. According to Miss Qin’s idea, four hundred cents each is acceptable."

"But the right to set the price, Miss Qin, should not intervene, and within five years, the Divine Power Book Box must not be sold to any other trading companies or stores apart from Fulong Trading Company."

Qin Yao neither agreed nor disagreed, asking further, "What about the deposit?"

Jiang Wen seriously nodded, "We can pay a fifty percent deposit in advance."

Qin Yao smiled because if a fifty percent deposit could be paid in advance, the rest would be easy to discuss.

"Is there anything else? Please continue," Qin Yao personally poured him a cup of cool tea, a gesture of goodwill.

Jiang Wen also sighed silently with relief and continued, "One last point: From the date of signing the contract, the Liu Family Village’s stationery factory must not sell any products externally until one month after our trading firm receives the first batch of goods."

Qin Yao raised her hand to stop him, asking, "What does ’any products’ mean here?"

"The Divine Power Book Box, Divine Power Luggage Box, and stationery box; these three cannot be sold before the goods are delivered. As for later, besides the Divine Power Book Box, we don’t care about the sale of the other two," Jiang Wen thought Qin Yao would not refuse since this did not have much impact.

Qin Yao nodded, agreeing, and asked casually, "Is the trading firm not considering the luggage box?"

Jiang Wen gave an awkward laugh, "The luggage box is like a chicken rib to the common people; tasteless to eat but a pity to discard, it can be there or not. For the wealthy, it’s of little use. There are carriages and servants for traveling, so it’s unnecessary."

The book box is different, originally a necessity for scholars. Even poor students, to fit in, would grit their teeth and buy one.

Qin Yao: "I’ve learned from you, as expected of a trading company’s store manager, knowing so much."

Her sudden praise made Jiang Wen uncomfortable instead of pleased, waving his hands to indicate Qin Yao should stop, as he was scared of compliments.

The two continued discussing the last important matter—the delivery date.

Qin Yao said, "Since the trading firm prohibits us from selling any related products before receiving the goods, then having a later delivery date to give us enough time to polish the quality shouldn’t be an issue, right?"

"And one more thing, are you sure your trading firm wants to buy out all the Divine Power Book Boxes we produce within five years?"

The former, Jiang Wen could allow more time.

But the latter needed clarification.

"Within five years, it’s based on our trading firm’s orders."

The implication was that the factory would produce as much as the orders were placed, and any excess could not be sold.

Qin Yao frowned, "That won’t work, unless your trading firm also guarantees that within these five years, you won’t source from other factories and the order volume will be based on actual sales. If sales aren’t good, you should inform us in advance to reduce production and terminate the contract."

Otherwise, she would expand to run a large factory, yet the goods delivered wouldn’t be enough to support her employees. She could only watch the factory decay without being able to do anything.