Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 243 - 242: Fulong Trading Company

The days around the Dragon Boat Festival are the hottest, so the inn prepared chilled drinks.

Yesterday, Qin Yao promised Si Niang to buy them some delicious treats as a reward, but since they closed their stall late, the other stalls were already closed, so she couldn’t buy them.

It’s only mid-afternoon now, with plenty of time left. The inn just put up the sign for chilled drinks. Seeing the red faces of the four Da Lang siblings from the sun, Qin Yao ordered five bowls of iced drinks, and the five from the mother and children sat down at an empty table in the hall.

A bowl of iced mung bean soup costs eighty coins, and when the waiter reported the bill, the four siblings, who were already familiar with counting money, almost had their eyes pop out. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

It’s just a bowl of mung bean soup; just because they added some shaved ice, it costs eighty coins?

Qin Yao waved her hand calmly, "Eat up."

Then she took out a piece of silver and handed it to the waiter for change.

After a couple of spoons of the mung bean soup, remembering Liu Ji was still in the room, Qin Yao hesitated for a few seconds before instructing the waiter to send him a bowl.

Liu Ji, who was reading in the room, was utterly flattered when he received the ice-cold mung bean soup, feeling incredibly moved — it showed that she still cared for him!

The four siblings saw that the whole family had some, and with their stepmother enjoying it so much, they let go of their inhibitions and happily savored the iced mung bean soup.

For the first time, the four siblings tasted the fluffy shaved ice and were pleasantly surprised to find it was nothing like the icicles they broke off from the eaves in winter.

This shaved ice melted as soon as it touched their mouths, sweet and icy, with a hint of tea aroma.

Sanlang gulped too quickly and gave himself brain freeze, but the mung bean soup was so delicious that he couldn’t bear to spit it out.

However, the ice quickly melted, and what remained was the sweet graininess of the mung beans.

In the sweltering heat, with just this mouthful, the sweat on their bodies dissipated. The little ones squinted contentedly, their legs dangling happily from the high stools.

"Is it good?" Qin Yao asked with a smile.

The four siblings nodded enthusiastically, Yes, it’s delicious!

"It’s just a bit pricey..." Second Lang still felt a pinch.

Qin Yao ruffled his hair, "Enjoy the moment, don’t overthink it."

The future is unpredictable, who knows, maybe tomorrow the price of this bowl of mung bean soup will skyrocket?

If so, then they’ve already gained by eating it today.

Second Lang forced a smile at Mother, trying to comfort himself over the expense, but he licked the last drop of mung bean soup clean from the bowl.

That wasn’t all; he even asked the waiter for a pot of free water, poured it into the bowl, and drank every last bit of flavor, feeling his belly swell. Only then did he feel that the eighty coins were well spent.

Qin Yao just watched gently, without stopping them for the sake of so-called dignity or because of others’ surprised gazes.

Once you do it the first time, every subsequent time becomes easier; after eating it a few more times, it won’t seem like a big deal.

The four siblings only brought out two Divine Power Book Boxes today, one belonging to Second Lang and the other to Si Niang. One is the latest model, the other covered in playful graffiti; it’s enough for promotion.

After finishing the iced drink, noticing those curious glances around them, Qin Yao instructed Da Lang to take the younger siblings back to their room to finish their afternoon homework while she stayed in the hall for a while.

Da Lang understood and led the younger siblings back to the guest room, leaving the two book boxes behind.

All their valuable textbooks were in the guest room, and the book boxes only held pens, ink, paper, and inkstones, which wouldn’t affect their homework.

After all, they advertised themselves as ghostwriting letters, so it’s no good if someone needs to write a letter, but they can’t produce paper or pens; that would be too fake.

As soon as the Da Lang siblings left, someone immediately stood up in the hall and walked over to Qin Yao.

They exchanged glances, and the other party first examined her from head to toe before tentatively asking, "A woman handling business affairs herself, aren’t you afraid of damaging your reputation?"

Qin Yao raised her hand in a "please sit" gesture, smiling as she replied, "There’s no law in Sheng Country that says women can’t engage in business, right?"

"That’s true." The person laughed and sat down, the two Divine Power Book Boxes standing nearby. Seeing that Qin Yao showed no sign of stopping him, he reached over and began to examine them.

A few other curious glances turned their way, but since someone was already sitting with Qin Yao, according to the unspoken rules of taking turns, they didn’t move forward.

Qin Yao initiated an explanation of the Divine Power Book Box, its structure, usage, and the areas open to customization.

She added, "This is the main model of the book box, but our factory also produces luggage with wheels and shoulder straps for convenience. They are slightly larger than the book boxes and lack as many compartments, but both sides can be unfurled to freely arrange clothes or other items for travel, and they’re waterproof and sunscreen-sheltered, very portable."

She also took the opportunity to introduce the stationery case.

After explaining, she had the waiter bring the tea and snacks before asking the other party for their identity and name.

"The name’s Jiang, with just one character, Wen. I’m the second shopkeeper of the East Market Fulong Trading Company," Jiang Wen replied.

He appeared to be around forty, tall and slender, exuding scholarly air, though his keen eyes betrayed his shrewdness. An outsider might easily mistake him for a scholar.

Curious, Qin Yao asked, "What kind of business does Fulong Trading Company usually handle?"

Jiang Wen replied, "Mountain goods, linen and silk, the four treasures of the study, all of these are within our scope."

It sounded quite varied, but indirectly indicated the powerful logistics network they possessed, capable of gathering these diverse goods from across the regions.

Qin Yao was a bit surprised, not expecting the Divine Power Book Box to attract such a large trading company.

But this opportunity was available only in the Prefecture.

Qin Yao poured tea for herself and her counterpart, Jiang Wen, who took a sip, then put it down and laughed:

"To be honest, when Miss Qin first brought out these book boxes yesterday, I thought they would definitely make their way onto our Fulong Trading Company’s shelves."

After praising his own company, he didn’t forget to expose the inner workings of the other competitors, like those miscellaneous stores in the city, bookstores, or vehicle shops — compared to Fulong’s sales channels, they were all small fry.

Qin Yao understood the implication, realizing this second shopkeeper wanted an exclusive deal.

Qin Yao tentatively asked, "Does your trading company have branches?"

"Of course!" Jiang Wen laughed, tracing a line on the table with his finger. "From Zijing Mansion to Jiangnan Prefecture, we have branches all along the way."

"We’re old friends with the inland canal transport system." He revealed additional valuable information.

With riverine transport routes, sales could really open up. Given that the south boasts abundant scholars, Fulong Trading essentially controlled the largest client base.

Yet, Qin Yao did not feel overly excited. Jiang Wen revealing so much about their clout right from the outset obviously meant he sought something in return.

Indeed, the next words were, "How many book boxes can Miss Qin’s factory produce in a month?"

"If we can’t meet the volume required for shipping by canal boat, even though our trading company cooperates with large cartels for land transport, the costs would rise significantly..."

Revealing his intention, "Thus this price..." he was clearly aiming to negotiate it down to the minimum.