Chapter 270: A prosperous population

Yunniang asked very quickly, "Liu Qi just read to us the delivery standards that you wrote, Manager Qin. It said that each bookcase must be equipped with two shoulder straps?"

Qin Yao ate her meal in big mouthfuls, not being able to empty her mouth. She nodded when she heard this, and looked at her to ask if she had any questions. He's cooking skills were already very good, and now with Qiu's details, my God, she didn't know the workers ate so well!

He lowered his head and took a big bite of the multi-grain steamed bun soaked in vegetable soup. It was so delicious.

Being in the same place, Qin Yao was in high spirits while Yunniang looked conflicted.

"We originally bought ready-made ones from the embroidery workshop in the county, which was a bit expensive. Now the quantity required has suddenly increased from one hundred to ten thousand. After calculating the bill, it is even more expensive!"

She suggested hesitantly: "I was just thinking, how about we give it to the wives in the nearby villages to make it?"

Qin Yao asked doubtfully: "Can their embroidery skills meet our standards?"

Yunniang nodded frantically, "Of course, of course. There are several embroiderers in the nearby villages who are very skilled, and the patterns on the shoulder straps are very simple. If they make them, we only need to give them the raw materials and a few dozen coins."

Yunniang had just calculated the cost. Originally, if she bought ready-made ones from the embroidery workshop, a shoulder strap would cost them ninety cents, but if she asked the women in the village to make it, the cost might be only fifty or sixty cents.

The material of the shoulder straps doesn't need to be too good, it just needs to be strong and soft and be able to relieve shoulder pressure.

There is a difference of thirty or forty cents between fifty or sixty cents and ninety cents. The difference of ten thousand pieces is three or four hundred taels of silver.

Qin Yao finished eating the food in the jar. Qiu took the initiative to take the jar and chopsticks away to wash. She was waiting for Qin Yao's "empty bowl". After washing, today's work was done and she could go home~

Yunniang looked at the sisters-in-law He and Qiu with envy, and continued to talk to Qin Yao about the specific operation details.

For example, they can still purchase fabrics and needles and thread from embroidery workshops in the city. If the quantity is large, the cost price can be lowered, and then they can notify nearby embroiderers to come and take the work.

It would be best if each village had one capable embroiderer who was responsible for supervising the work, helping to check quality and deliver cloth, which would also facilitate unified management.

Another thing is that the fee is charged by piece. The more you do, the more you get, and the less you do, the less you get. The price of each piece of embroidery can be clearly marked. The embroiderers in the city's embroidery workshops are very good and charge high prices, but shoulder straps are actually an overkill for them.

The embroiderers in the village only paid fifteen or twenty cents for each piece, and many people were scrambling to do this job.

If you are quick, you can make two pairs of shoulder straps in a day.

Qin Yao looked at Yunniang in amazement. She even knew the phrase "killing a chicken with a butcher knife".

Think again about Yunniang a year ago, who concentrated on running the small stall at home, spoke softly, rarely went out, and did not act with the decisiveness and courage she has today.

"Manager Qin, what do you think?" Yunniang looked at Qin Yao a little nervously, waiting for her to make a decision.

Qin Yao stood up and said, "Very good. I think your idea is very good. Then let's do it as you said. You should draft the charter for me first. I will give you the funds if I think there is no problem."

Yunniang was overjoyed and nodded quickly, saying that she would definitely get the job done.

But then, he suddenly remembered that he couldn't write a single word and only knew how to play with ink, and his smile fell.

Qin Yao knew what she was worried about, and suggested that if she couldn't write, she could draw it, or arrange the order of things in her mind before telling her.

"Or, you can find someone who can write to help you." Qin Yao smiled and looked at Liu Qi, who was pressed in front of the millstone by Liu Zhong to calculate, and winked at Yunniang.

Yunniang laughed out loud, "Hey!" She understood.

Qin Yao was in the factory the whole afternoon, helping out wherever there was work needed. With her joining in, everyone seemed to work more energetically.

The happiest person was Carpenter Liu. As soon as Qin Yao arrived, all the responsibilities on his shoulders were lifted, and he even had time to sit on the pile of wood with Uncle Jiu and smoke a pipe.

The two of them looked at the new factory that was about to be completed with bright smiles and shining eyes.

In the evening, the workers who gathered from various villages finished their work and went home together.

On the mountain path, which used to be deserted all year round, you can now hear the echoes of people chatting.

The sound echoed through the silent valley, bringing infinite vitality to these overly quiet forests.

The villagers of Liujia Village who were working in the fields looked at the young workers returning home after work as the sun set, and felt that such days were becoming more and more promising.

All this is because a stationery factory was built in the village, which has attracted a lot of people and is a sign of prosperity.

Qin Yao walked home as the sunset approached, passing through the ridges along the river. The villagers she met along the way all greeted her.

There were children working in the stationery factory, and she was told to tell them if her children were disobedient, and they would help her deal with those bad boys.

If you have a daughter at home, you will say proudly: "Our daughter is capable and sensible. Madam Qin doesn't need to worry about her. She can definitely do the work assigned by the factory manager!"

Because the factory did not restrict gender, many unmarried or unmarried girls joined Yunniang's painting team. Because they were all women at first glance, Mrs. Zhou jokingly called them the women's army.

The girl received two cents more than the average male carpenter's wages, twelve cents a day, and after settlement she took home a heavy bag of copper coins.

The tribesmen then realized that girls could also earn money to support their families and themselves, and that they were truly capable.

The elders who used to talk about the prosperity of the family but did not admit that girls were also part of the family, now saw those girls smiling and going home together after work, and they could not help laughing no matter how hard they tried to talk, and murmured:

“It’s booming, it’s booming.”

Several families with only daughters drove away the matchmakers who came to find their daughters, saying that their daughters were not in a hurry to get married and would wait a few more years before deciding.

These fifteen-year-old girls are the main force in the factory. Not only can they earn money for themselves but they can also provide subsidies to their families. Who would mind if they stayed at home to feed more mouths when they grow up?

I only hope that you can stay for a few more years so that I can provide you with good food, drink and clothes.

However, there are a few who gnaw their children and suck their marrow and bones. The superiors keep an eye on them, take their wages, and tell them to come to them when they need money, to prevent the money from being snatched away by those bastard parents.

With the support of the stationery factory, these poor children can now secretly buy some delicious food to satisfy their hunger, and their faces have regained some color.

The villagers were not good at speaking nice words, but their gratitude was about to overflow from their eyes. Qin Yao was about to leave, but they were still watching from afar, and told her to remember to call the children to come to their house to pick vegetables and mulberries, and to dig peanuts to take home.

Qin Yao was most afraid of these things. She accepted the kindness but quickened her pace and almost ran all the way home. She slammed the door shut, thus locking out the enthusiasm that was about to overwhelm her.

(End of this chapter)