Chapter 388: Chapter 388: Withdrawal and Profit Sharing

Second Lang immediately said, “Can I keep it myself, Mother?”

Qin Yao nodded, “Of course you can.”

“Then I’ll wear it inside my clothes, so it won’t get lost.” Second Lang said confidently.

Da Lang also decided to keep it himself. He wanted to show it to his birth mother and ask if he could call her mother.

Qin Yao didn’t understand why Da Lang suddenly became silent. This child’s mind is always busy; she could only let him go his way.

Qin Yao took out a silver hairpin meant for men, consisting of a wide circular silver piece and a short pin, specifically used to secure hair buns.

The plain silver was understated, but it would add luster to a person when worn.

Liu Ji pressed the slightly bewildered Ah Wang onto a bench and redid his hair bun, placing the silver hairpin on it.

What was once a dusty-looking person now looked much more vibrant.

Now Ah Wang, blending into a crowd, would never go unnoticed again.

At least the four Da Lang Brothers and Sisters could spot him among the family chauffeurs immediately after school and excitedly run towards him with their book boxes, with total trust.

Qin Yao crossed her arms and admired for a moment in front of Ah Wang, nodded at Liu Ji, and said, “The hair bun is done nicely.”

“Of course!” Liu Ji raised his chin proudly, not even bothering to see whose craftsmanship it was.

But!

“Madam, where’s the wooden box the teacher gave me?” Liu Ji was already itching with excitement.

What exactly did the teacher send him?

Gold, silver, and jewelry?

Or a few jars of fine wine?

Or perhaps some secretive and unpublished ancient texts?

The more Liu Ji thought about it, the more excited he became. When Qin Yao said the wooden box was on the desk in her room and allowed him to take it, he immediately went to get it.

Seeing Liu Ji’s excited expression, the four children, along with Ah Wang, curiously gathered around to watch.

Knowing the answer, Qin Yao calmly sat by the small table, took a bite of the still-warm glutinous rice ball, and, without surprise, heard Liu Ji’s exasperated cry:

“Ahhhh!!!”

“Why! Why isn’t it gold, silver, or fine wine!”

Liu Ji frantically rummaged through the wooden box, while sheets of homework assignments with Gongliang Liao’s handwriting flew out like snowflakes, none of which contained the secretive ancient texts he had imagined.

Liu Ji lifted the wooden box, ready to destroy it!

Delicious, truly delicious. Qin Yao finished a bowl of glutinous rice balls in one go!

She got up, patted her pants, and prepared to go out.

As she reached the door, the cries of distress from behind continued, interspersed with a few schadenfreude and comforting words.

Only Second Lang was genuinely envious, “Father, the teacher arranges these tasks for you because he loves you. I wish the teacher would pay more attention to me, give me a lot of extra homework, and let me quietly surpass other students…”

Kneeling on the floor with the wooden box, Liu Ji looked up at him in disbelief, “Liu Zishu, you better be telling the truth!”

Second Lang: “Really, if I’m lying, I’m a dog.”

Liu Ji clutched his chest; no one in this world understands his suffering!

Ah Wang handed over a candied hawthorn stick, “Master, have something sweet.”

Liu Ji felt slightly comforted, and with one adult and four children, each with a candied hawthorn stick in hand, they began to munch with a strange harmony in the room.

Qin Yao left the house and walked towards the stationery factory, noticing the absence of many familiar faces along the way.

After being away from the village for ten days, she suddenly felt it had become much quieter.

A villager saw her and greeted her warmly, “Manager Qin, you’re back!”

Qin Yao smiled in response and asked why the village had become so quiet. The villager replied:

“The mutes and others have gone back to their hometowns; they left the day before yesterday along with other refugees. Since it’s started snowing again, they’re afraid the snowstorm will prevent travel if they wait any longer.”

So that’s why she felt it was extraordinarily quiet today; it turned out everyone had left.

All the houses in the village that needed repairs have been fixed, and now that the mutes and others have left, they probably won’t come back again.

The mountains are high and the roads are long; ordinary people rarely travel far unless significant events occur, and many people may only experience this once in a lifetime.

After parting ways with the villager, Qin Yao arrived at the stationery factory, where the workers were preparing to pause work for lunch in the canteen.

Qin Yao made an appearance in the canteen, instructed He and Mrs. Qiu to come over for dinner at her house in the evening, and asked them to let the two elders know to come along.

He and Mrs. Qiu happily agreed, noticed that Qin Yao had changed to a new silver hairpin, and speculated there might be gifts that night, which made them feel a bit more excited.

Upon hearing that Qin Yao had returned, Liu the carpenter finished his lunch and immediately sought her out in the meeting room, saying joyfully:

“It’s good that you’re back. A few days ago, his uncle’s family sent a message that the old lady is having a big birthday celebration this year, and they want us to go there for the New Year. It’s not a short trip, so we must leave early. If you hadn’t come, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

His wife had been urging him that if they didn’t leave soon, they wouldn’t be able to travel if a big snowstorm hit.

For a woman married off, it’s rare to see her family once a year. This time, the timing is right, allowing her to stay at her mother’s house for a month if they leave early enough.

Qin Yao didn’t anticipate this and showed concern for the old lady, which calmed Liu the carpenter down.

After taking out the abacus and account book, Qin Yao got straight to the point, “I know you’re anxious, so we rushed back overnight yesterday, and I came to the factory first thing this morning.”

“It snowed a little yesterday. You rushed back overnight?” Liu the carpenter asked in surprise.

Seeing Qin Yao nod, he felt embarrassed, “Look at you; I’m not in such a hurry. You could rest today and come tomorrow; it doesn’t matter.”

Qin Yao just smiled and said nothing more, focusing on the accounts.

Liu the carpenter was clueless with the accounts, so he called in Qian Wang from the accounting office midway, and the three of them checked the accounts together.

The matter of Liu the carpenter wanting to withdraw his shares had already spread throughout the factory. With Qin Yao’s urgent handling of it upon her arrival, Qian Wang wasn’t surprised either.

However, he thought that money matters would cause some disputes, but Qin Yao and Liu the carpenter were straightforward.

The orders Qin Yao brought back were all left to the factory without Liu the carpenter taking a penny.

So the main point of contention didn’t even have a chance to occur.

Next was the 250 taels recorded in the accounts; Qin Yao had ample funds now and took them out directly to give to Liu the carpenter.

The remaining amounts were easy to calculate: the balance for the last batch of book boxes had been received, and after deducting various costs and business taxes, the total profit was 288 taels of silver.

They split 50-50, and Qin Yao took out 144 taels of silver to give to Liu the carpenter.

Only the final portion was left, which was the recent profit from the stationery gift sets, and it wasn’t much.

Qian Wang calculated, “We’ve delivered 20% of our stationery gift sets, which means 20,000 units, matching the 20% advance payment of 240 taels from Manager Bai. After removing all costs, the profit split 50-50 gives both Liu the carpenter and Manager Qin 36 taels of silver each.”

Qin Yao didn’t look at the accounts any further and took out another 36 taels from the money box and handed it over.

Such promptness was also because Fulong Trading Company paid a 50% deposit this time.

With this one thousand taels silver note in hand, it was enough to sustain the factory’s production until the final settlement.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep