When Qin Sang boarded the carriage, she already knew Madam
Huang was there, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Madam Huang, it's been a few days since we last met. How is the
young master?"
Madam Huang had already stood up and brought her son over.
"He's well. After following Doctor Qin's advice to restrict Brother Lei's
diet, he really hasn't developed any more rashes.
Moreover, after using mosquito coils to repel mosquitoes at night
recently, Brother Lei has been able to sleep through until dawn.
Before, he would be woken up several times a night by the
mosquitoes."
Steward Huang, who was standing to the side, gave a light cough
and looked at his wife with some dissatisfaction.
He wanted to discuss the mosquito coil business with Qin Sang, but
his wife had praised the mosquito coils to the heavens as soon as
she spoke. How could he negotiate a lower price now?
Madam Huang was not intimidated. Carrying her son, she walked to
Steward Huang's side and said,
"Master, this is the Doctor Qin I told you about who saved Brother
Lei."
Only then did Qin Sang look toward the seated Steward Huang.
Perhaps upon hearing his wife's introduction, the stern man, who
had previously been unsmiling, softened his expression slightly.
"So it was she who saved Brother Lei. This is indeed fate."
Qin Sang smiled and got straight to the point.
"I heard from the shopkeeper that Steward Huang is also interested
in the mosquito coil business?"
Steward Huang nodded.
"I also heard that you signed an exclusive sales agreement with the
shopkeeper.
However, I have already discussed it with the shopkeeper. He will sell
in Songbai Town, and I will be responsible for sales in other places.
We won't interfere with each other."
Qin Sang didn't inquire about what conditions Steward Huang had
offered to make the shopkeeper agree—whether it was money or
simply using his influence to bully him, it wasn't her concern.
"That's fine; I have no problem with it. My agreement was only
signed with the shopkeeper. I have no objection to whom he sells to
or who he lets sell."
Her meaning was that since the contract was set, she wouldn't
interfere with how he sold them, but the price had to follow the
contract.
Steward Huang raised an eyebrow. From the moment he found out
that the mosquito coils were under an exclusive sales contract, he
knew this village woman's vision was extraordinary; he had never
encountered such a way of doing business before.
Now that Qin Sang was standing before him and had saved his only
son, Steward Huang dared not underestimate her even more.
"That is indeed the case. The reason I asked you here, Doctor Qin,
is to ask: how much is your supply capacity?"
Qin Sang curved her lips into a smile. "I can make as many as you
want."
What a joke. By today, everyone in the village should know her
family wanted mugwort. They already had a lot of mugwort
stockpiled at home, and the charcoal powder was constantly being
ground.
With summer nearly over, if she didn't hurry up and make them,
there would be no need once the weather turned cold.
Steward Huang set down his teacup and smiled.
"Good. Since Doctor Qin says so, then in two days, I want one
hundred tubes of mosquito coils."
The shopkeeper's mouth fell open. He walked a few steps toward
Steward Huang and asked,
"Wait, Steward Huang, didn't we say we were going to push the
price down?"
Steward Huang raised an eyebrow slightly and didn't hide it, saying,
"That was before I knew the one supplying the mosquito coils was
Doctor Qin.
Doctor Qin saved my son. I think the price of five hundred wen is
very fair."
What else could the shopkeeper do? Sales of the mosquito coils had
been very brisk over the past two days. He hadn't expected the
profit to be so large; buying them for five hundred wen and selling
them for eight hundred wen, yet demand still exceeded supply.
He had sold out yesterday, and many people were waiting for
today's delivery.
Since the money was so easy to earn, he naturally wanted to take
advantage of the hot weather to distribute the goods to the
surrounding county towns, selling more and earning more.
He didn't have enough strength, but Steward Huang did. The two hit
it off immediately. Steward Huang promised to take the goods from
him with a fifty-fifty profit split. It was also Steward Huang who
suggested that since the volume was large, the purchase price must
be lowered.
The shopkeeper thought this was a sure thing. How could a mere
village woman resist Steward Huang's power? That's why he had
hurriedly called Qin Sang over.
As it turned out, the one who said they would lower the price was
him, and the one who said it was a deal was also him.
What else could the shopkeeper do? He had to continue purchasing
at five hundred wen.
"Then I want fifty tubes."
The shopkeeper was still playing it safe.
Qin Sang was not polite either.
"Since the shopkeeper and Steward Huang want so many, with such
a large quantity, a deposit must be paid first. After all, I need to buy
raw materials and pay wages."
This was understandable, and Steward Huang was very
straightforward.
"Ten taels of silver as a deposit, how about that?"
Qin Sang looked at the shopkeeper. "Then shopkeeper, you give five
taels as a deposit."
Shopkeeper: "This..."
Steward Huang's follower handed over ten taels of silver, and the
shopkeeper reluctantly handed over five taels as well.
Qin Sang tucked away the fifteen taels of silver and smiled.
"Then the day after tomorrow in the afternoon, we will deliver the
goods."
Tian Dazhuang watched blankly as Mother calmly negotiated
business with Steward Huang and the others. Next time they had to
deliver one hundred and fifty tubes of mosquito coils—how much
money would that sell for?
He couldn't calculate it anymore...
Seeing the business concluded, Madam Huang walked over and
smiled.
"If Madam Qin had come to sit at my house last time, perhaps this
business wouldn't have fallen to the shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper could only give a dry laugh, also finding it strange in
his heart. Since this village woman knew Madam Huang, why didn't
she exploit this connection?
Qin Sang smiled and explained,
"I was afraid Steward Huang would be too busy with important
matters to look down on such a small business. Besides, when I
made these mosquito coils, I never thought they would sell so well.
In the future, it's a good thing for everyone to make money
together, isn't it?"
Qin Sang had indeed considered going to Madam Huang to sell the
mosquito coils, but after thinking it through...
People who come uninvited might not be respected. Although she
had saved their son, showing up at their door would always give the
impression of using a favor to demand a reward, making them look
down on her from the start.
Their status was already unequal; if she was looked down upon
further, she would fall into a passive position and lose her pricing
power. Once a contract was signed, no matter how well the
mosquito coils sold later, she would only end up as their laborer.
Therefore, Qin Sang put this path at the very end; she would only
go to the Huang family if she truly couldn't sell them herself.
Hearing Qin Sang say this, Steward Huang thought even more highly
of her, though he couldn't help but feel some regret.
When he heard his wife mention planning to visit Tianjia Village to
offer thanks, he had been very dismissive, stating outright that they
had already paid twenty taels for the medical fee—even doctors in
the county town didn't charge that much—so why waste the effort.
If they had gone back then, this mosquito coil business...
Qin Sang remembered something.
"Steward Huang said he's going to the county town to sell. I wonder
if my family can travel with you?"
She had previously asked Old Man Xu, who drove the ox cart. It was
a half-day journey from Tianjia Village to the county town. In an era
where transportation was underdeveloped, it relied entirely on two
legs. Most importantly, the Original Body had never been there.
Steward Huang asked in confusion,
"You're going to the county town?"
Qin Sang said,
"It's like this: my village is near the mountains, and the villagers
often dig up medicinal herbs, so I've collected some.
The prices offered by the Pharmacy in town are too low. I thought
that if I went to the county town to sell them, the prices should be
higher."
The cost of living in a big city couldn't possibly be lower than in a
small town.
Madam Huang smiled while holding her young son.
"Doctor Qin, actually, there's no need for such trouble. My husband
has a Pharmacy in the county town, and he also collects medicinal
herbs.
If you have herbs on hand, just sell them directly to my husband.
Why make the trip?
Nowadays, the roads aren't very peaceful, right, Master?"