Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 241 - 240: Marketing Tactics

It’s just a miniature version of a door hinge, something every household has.

Normal door hinges are large, with two grooves on the top and bottom, with a round wooden piece in between, which holds the wooden door; when fitted into the grooves, it allows the door to open and close smoothly.

However, as it’s not very smooth and has high friction, it often makes a "creak, creak" noise when opened or closed.

This design, when scaled down, can be applied to pencil cases, and the noise is also significantly reduced.

Liu the carpenter was once again amazed by the design on the blueprint.

He had made countless doors for the villagers but had never considered that the hinges on doors could be downsized and applied in this way.

Of course, there are limitations to the environment; from ancient times to the present, the scholars’ pen cases have always been sliding boxes, which are very convenient to use, so no changes were made.

But a flip-open pencil case can actually hold more items; both the top and bottom can store things as long as suitable groove positions are equipped.

Second Lang, following Qin Yao’s instructions, took out the pencil case from Si Niang’s book box.

The box was brand new, and Qin Yao had brought it with her when they set off, but none of the four siblings had used it yet.

When they arrived, Qin Yao had already recruited new staff with Liu the carpenter, turning the water mill factory into a stationery factory. Besides the planned expansion of the Divine Power Book Box production, they also added pencil cases.

Even without orders, they began production, which Liu the carpenter thought was a big risk.

But Qin Yao thought that this trip to the Prefecture couldn’t be in vain. There was a huge untouched market here, and it would be wasteful to return empty-handed.

So, when they arrived, Qin Yao had Liu the carpenter organize workers to rapidly produce Divine Power Book Boxes and pencil cases, and she was determined to bring orders back.

After all, it would be embarrassing if someone wanted to place an order and she had to tell them, "We haven’t produced any yet, please wait."

Every book box and pencil case produced at the factory is engraved with the words ’Made in Liu Family Village, Kaiyang County.’

Qin Yao had a premonition that this trip to the Prefecture would make the Liu Family Village famous.

Look, as soon as the Da Lang Brothers and Sisters’ stall was set up, it was surrounded by layers of people.

No one came to have a letter written, but several groups asked about the Divine Power Book Box and pencil cases.

Due to inconvenient transportation and closed information channels, the Divine Power Book Box, already popular in Kaiyang County, was unknown to the people in the Prefecture.

Second Lang, being the clever one, would tell each inquirer that the products came from Liu Family Village, Kaiyang County, and generously showed the internal structure and the unique lacquer pendants and graffiti of the book box.

Many scholars who came to the Prefecture for the exam were intrigued by the ingenious and unique book boxes and asked about the price.

Second Lang glanced at Qin Yao, and after receiving a signal, he replied, "In our place, it’s only sold for 568 coins."

This statement left a lot of room for local businessmen to negotiate the price, considering factors like transportation and varying prices everywhere.

To those who could afford to read, 568 coins wasn’t considered expensive, and those from well-off families found it cheap, curiously asking:

"This material seems a bit inferior; is there better wood, like rosewood or mahogany?"

Second Lang nodded, "We can customize."

The scholar was thrilled, clapped his hands, and eagerly asked, "Where’s the book box shop? Little brother, tell me quickly!"

Si Niang picked up the pencil case, handed it over, pointing to the engraving on the bottom, "Here, Stationery Factory, Liu Family Village, Kaiyang County."

The scholar felt a bit disappointed, "The Prefecture doesn’t have one?"

Qin Yao stepped forward, responding, "Indeed, we didn’t expect the Prefecture not to have one either, but if you have relatives or friends in Kaiyang County, you can have them purchase one for you and send it here. A bit more for postage should do it."

The scholar sighed, crouched down, and touched Sanlang’s Divine Power Book Box, enamored and wishing to take it back with him.

Sanlang quickly pulled his own book box in front, sitting on it to protect it.

However, Second Lang was once again tempted to sell his own book box.

He was only stopped by Da Lang’s fierce glare.

Seeing this, the scholar refrained from taking something someone cherished and let go.

Qin Yao then spoke, "If you really want one, but don’t have any relatives or friends in Kaiyang County, there’s actually another way."

The scholar looked at Qin Yao, surprised, motioning for her to continue.

Qin Yao said, "A single book box, the factory might not go to the trouble of delivering it to your door, but if you can order fifty or more, then it’s feasible."

"What? Fifty? I can’t use that many myself!" The scholar was startled.

Qin Yao remained calm, continuing, "You might not be able to use that many, but you can organize a group purchase. You can gather classmates from your county to place an order together. This way, not only can you enjoy home delivery, but you’ll also get a better discount."

"This pencil case is also very practical; it can hold ten pens, much more convenient than a pen box. Do you want to grab one too?"

Hearing this, both the scholars and onlookers finally realized.

This wasn’t someone writing letters for others; they were here to sell book boxes!

The scholar chuckled and asked Qin Yao, "You must be the boss, right, young lady?"

Qin Yao laughed openly and admitted, "You caught me; I am indeed. So, would you consider the group purchase?"

The scholar was indeed a bit tempted, but the Prefecture exam was the priority, and he didn’t have the time to organize so many people for a group purchase.

Qin Yao smiled slightly, "No worries, take your exams first. You can come back after the exams are over. I’ll be staying in the Prefecture for a while, so if you’ve made up your mind, you can come to Yuelai Inn to find me. My name is Qin Yao."

Some attentive people in the crowd immediately noted down the name, location, and how long she’d be staying.

Da Lang and the Dragon and Phoenix Twins finally realized at that point that their mother was doing marketing here.

But the strategy was indeed clever. If they had said outright that they were selling book boxes, the crowd wouldn’t have been as curious, and the effect wouldn’t have been as good.

Si Niang, thinking about how she and her brothers acted so diligently, whispered to Qin Yao, "Mother, you have to buy us something tasty when we get back."

Qin Yao made an OK gesture, patting the little girl’s shoulder, "Keep going, more people are coming."

Si Niang giggled, watching another wave of people gather round, and continued with her brothers to repeat the previous book box demonstration.

The mother and her five children worked in perfect harmony; by the end of the afternoon, no letters were written, but by then, all the townsfolk knew that Yuelai Inn’s Miss Qin Yao could help them buy these novel Divine Power Book Boxes.

Qin Yao and her children manned the stall until evening, then packed up to head home.

Upon entering the inn, Qin Yao noticed several curious scrutinizing glances.

She looked back to see middle-aged men, dressed in fine, thin silk garments yet understated and simple in style. Their sharp looks showed a merchant’s shrewdness.

Seeing Qin Yao look back, they were a bit surprised by her acuteness but tipped their heads politely.

Qin Yao returned a nod and smile, leading her kids back to their room.

The others were still observing, but her children were hungry, making today evidently not the right time for a business talk.