Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 293 - 292: Lost Lumber

Qin Yao nodded, "The convoy is coming empty, and since July isn’t far off, next time I’ll let the convoy deliver some of the completed book boxes to the warehouse first, so you can get the goods faster, right?"

Jiang Wen thought about it. Since renting the warehouse is inevitable, getting the goods earlier would bring them peace of mind, so he agreed on the spot.

"Alright, then next time just have these two Manager Lius deliver the book boxes to the dock. I’ll arrange someone to come and meet you, and we’ll check the goods on-site. How does that sound, Miss Qin?"

Qin Yao laughed, "That sounds great, but rest assured, the quality of our book boxes will definitely satisfy you."

This way, any book boxes potentially damaged in transit can be overproduced at the factory, ensuring delivery volume.

At the same time, it relieves the storage pressure on the stationery factory’s warehouse—a shipment out is no longer the factory’s concern.

Jiang Wen asked curiously, "So next time, how many book boxes can be brought over?"

Nobody knows the amount in stock better than Liu Bai, the warehouse guardian. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Fei pulled him back, whispering, "Big brother, don’t say anything."

Liu Bai was anxious inside because Qin Yao didn’t know the exact inventory. What if they got it wrong?

On Qin Yao’s side, she pretended to do some calculations and told Jiang Wen, "Next time, we can deliver a thousand boxes."

Liu Bai’s eyes widened instantly, and only after Liu Fei pinched his hand did he resist correcting her.

Seeing Jiang Wen’s satisfied expression, Liu Bai sighed with relief, yet felt puzzled.

Even though they can produce a hundred boxes a day now, considering the painting and drying time, they can deliver eight hundred in fifteen days.

By the end of June, when they next arrive at the Prefecture, they could already provide two thousand boxes.

But Qin Yao said a thousand, and Jiang Wen seemed very satisfied. Isn’t more supposed to be better?

After the meal ended and everyone dispersed, leaving just the family, Liu Bai couldn’t help but voice his confusion.

"Why didn’t we tell the truth?"

Qin Yao gave her brother a helpless look, "We can’t be too honest, especially with these shrewd merchants. You should only tell half-truths."

Liu Bai nodded to indicate he understood but still couldn’t figure out why to report fewer than they could.

Qin Yao explained, "They are buyers, and they want guaranteed quality and quantity. If we can produce two thousand boxes in less than a month, wouldn’t that make them suspicious of our production quality if they were the buyers?"

"Plus, sometimes being overly efficient isn’t advantageous. We are in a long-term cooperation, and if we break the agreed deadline on the first try, what if they compress our production time for the next order?"

"You say you can’t do it, they’ll say you managed last time."

"Never break rules you’ve set yourself. Do you understand now?" Qin Yao asked gently.

Both Liu Bai and Liu Fei nodded, indicating they learned something.

Suddenly, a sense of inferiority surged, feeling like they both might be holding Qin Yao back, knowing nothing, relying solely on her, and needing her guidance in everything.

Qin Yao hurriedly explained, "I should be thanking you for helping me a lot. Although it’s not good to be nepotistic, I only trust you now."

"Because we are family, helping each other, striving for wealth together."

"Good!" The two brothers instantly felt motivated, loudly chanting the slogan together: "Striving for wealth together!"

Qin Yao supported her forehead, thankful it was late, and there was no one on the road, or it would be quite embarrassing in the Prefecture.

After resting a night at the inn, the convoy left the city early the next day to load up at Manager Fang’s warehouse.

The timber was heavy; after opening the door, Manager Fang’s workers left, leaving the loading to the drivers themselves.

They worked from morning until midday, finishing loading the twenty horse-drawn carriages. The longer timbers were cut in half on-site for easier transportation.

Without delay, after a quick lunch, Qin Yao led the team on their return journey.

By evening, they arrived at the agreed cooperative inn, a space to park the carriages.

Wooden material, especially for book boxes—so many carriages together can’t be carelessly handled overnight.

Qin Yao arranged four people into two pairs, one guarding the first half of the night and the other the second half. If there was an issue, they’d sound the small copper gong they carried to alert everyone.

These arrangements had been covered during the training, but it was the drivers’ first practical application, making them a bit uncomfortable.

They were numerous and relied on the official inn, thinking no one would dare steal timber.

Yet, two logs went missing on the first night.

Liu Bai, up early, began counting. They had recorded each carriage’s load when departing from the Prefecture using charcoal on a small notebook Qin Yao provided.

Every carriage was labeled with black paint, corresponding to the tally, starting with the outer row. By the second carriage, the count was off.

Liu Bai initially thought he miscounted since noticing a missing log among the pile wasn’t easy.

He counted twice more, confirmed the discrepancy, and woke Liu Fei, who was still resting from the night shift, to count again.

"Twelve." Liu Fei counted twice and looked at his brother in confusion, "Correct?"

Liu Bai shook his head seriously, Liu Fei woke from his sluggishness, and was about to run to call Qin Yao from the camp.

Liu Bai quickly grabbed him, "Finish counting; confirm the tally before doing anything."

Liu Fei nodded; the brothers continued verifying the count. By the time they got to the twentieth carriage, they found another log missing.

"Two logs just vanished?" Liu Fei couldn’t believe it.

The drivers were attracted and awakened by their activity. The three others on duty quickly distanced themselves, claiming ignorance to avoid blame.

Eventually, Liu Fei had to go find Qin Yao himself to report the wood theft.

Expecting a scolding, to his surprise, Qin Yao yawned and said, "You and Liu Bai are team leaders. Although I accompany you, you two should resolve any issues within the convoy yourselves."

Without the expected reprimand, Liu Fei hadn’t relaxed when Qin Yao’s last statement left the young man momentarily stunned, unsure for a moment how to proceed.

But after hesitating for only four or five seconds, he dashed back to find Liu Bai and whispered, "Sister-in-law says we’re the convoy leaders, she’s not dealing with this, we must resolve it ourselves."

"Brother, what should we do? Should we retrieve the lost timber?" Liu Fei was now uncertain about what actions to take.

He’d rather be scolded by Qin Yao than deal with the current situation.

Being somewhat older, Liu Bai steadied himself and reviewed the notebook with the timber tally.

Indeed, two logs were missing from carriages two and twenty.

Because they were priced wholesale, he had no idea how much two logs cost. But considering market prices, such good timber could sell for five maces of silver per log—two logs are one tael.

To ordinary peasants, losing one tael of silver means mobilizing the whole family to search for days on end.