After asking Yin Le to remember to pick up the children from school in the afternoon, Qin Yao drove the children to school and then drove the carriage into the city.

Song Yu and Liu Zhong had to go to the county town every day during this period. They met Bai Shan selling some fresh fruits brought from the south in the city. He had been back for some time.

I also set up a fixed stall to sell fruits, and business is very good.

Qin Yao entered the city, walked along the street, and soon saw the unique fruit stall.

On the table with a banana leaf base, there are white peaches, red plums, melons, and stuffed lychees, which are not usually seen in a small place like Kaiyang County.

So even though this small stall offered shockingly high prices, it was still crowded with housekeepers from various prefectures who came out to buy things, fearing that they would miss out on the freshest goods.

Qin Yao stood by and waited for a full quarter of an hour before the crowded crowd dispersed.

Within this quarter of an hour, all the fruits on the stall had been sold out.

Rich families have no shortage of money, so they take money in baskets.

Qin Yao smelled the fruity fragrance in the air and fanned herself with her hands, but she still felt extremely thirsty.

He took out fifty cents and bought a bowl of iced drink at the water stall and drank it in one gulp, then walked towards Bai Shan who was counting the money.

She let out a "hey" sound, and Bai Shan, who was counting money, was so scared that he grabbed the silver in his arms. He raised his head vigilantly, thinking it was some daring robber, but he was stunned for a moment when he was met with Qin Yao's playful smile.

"It's you!" Bai Shan complained, "I was so scared."

"It's quite profitable." Qin Yao looked at the money box filled with money in his arms with envy, and sighed: "There are still many rich people in this city. White peaches are sold in baskets at 50 cents per pound. It seems that our village's bitter melons will have no trouble selling this summer."

Bai Shan was delighted, "Is the melon ripe?"

Seeing Qin Yao nodding with a smile, he quickly closed the cash box, asked the waiter to pack up the stall first, and took Qin Yao to the water stall next door and ordered two bowls of the cheapest herbal tea.

He said politely, "These fruits are just a few cents of hard-earned money. There is no profit to be made."

It would be strange if Qin Yao believed him.

It was indeed hard work. After all, it was long-distance freight transportation in ancient times, and the journey was bound to be difficult.

But the profit is also huge. Not to mention making twice as much, but at least you can make once as much.

However, it is the rule not to interfere too much in other people's business. Qin Yao talked about the village's bitter melon harvest this year and asked Bai Shan when he would be free to go over and take a look in person.

"Last time you asked someone to tell me that you would collect all the bitter melons you could find. Does that still count?" Qin Yao asked tentatively.

Bai Shan took two big gulps of herbal tea to moisten his throat, which had been dry from shouting. He then nodded and said with a smile, "It counts, but the quantity is large, so I will definitely not offer as much as last year."

Qin Yao was mentally prepared. "Okay, then when will you come?"

Bai Shan calculated the time and looked at the sun. It was just noon. "Then let's do it today!"

Qin Yao was very happy, "Let's go now?"

"Hey, finish this bowl of herbal tea." Bai Shan shouted.

Qin Yao pouted in disdain, "I'm not thirsty."

All right. Bai Shan picked up her untouched bowl of herbal tea and drank it all, not wasting a drop.

Bai Shan went back to his residence to get the horse, while Qin Yao drove out of the city. The two met at the outskirts of the city and drove to Liujia Village together.

Arriving at the village in the afternoon, Qin Yao asked each family to pick the melons and bring them to the village well so that Bai Shan could get an estimate of the price.

That evening, the small village was unusually lively.

Those who grew melons at home held their carefully selected melons and waited anxiously for Bai Shan to estimate the price.

Those who don’t grow melons at home would come with their bowls to eat melons and join in the fun.

The children were the happiest. Every time a melon was opened, after Bai Shan picked up a piece, Qin Yao would give the melon to them to share.

Every child in the village had a portion, and some could get a second piece after eating one. The whole evening was filled with the happy laughter of children.

However, after the price was announced, some were happy while others were sad.

The price from Qin Yao's family and Liu Fendan's family is twenty cents per pound.

Old Man Liu’s price is twelve cents per pound.

The remaining price of ten cents per pound was given only out of consideration for Qin Yao.

Otherwise, he really doesn't want to harvest these weird melons.

However, if the price is ten cents per pound, it can be sold to a town far away, because there is no competing product, it can still make some profit.

Maybe it was because Qin Yao’s family sold watermelons at 30 cents per pound last year, which brought too much expectation to the villagers, so when they suddenly faced a three-fold price reduction, it was a little difficult to accept for a while.

Those who planted more melons agreed.

Those who have few melons at home decide to sell them themselves.

But there are still a few complaints.

Yin Le said sarcastically, "Although it rained heavily this year and the weather was not good, with the same seeds and the same rain, why can Liu Fendan grow 20 cents per pound of bitter melon? You know how much effort you put into growing the bitter melons."

"Besides, ten cents is not a low price. They are all crooked melons and don't look good. I'll be thankful if I can sell them for money."

The complaining villager's face suddenly turned black, but he also knew that he was not as caring as Liu Fendan, so there was nothing to say and he just accepted it.

When Bai Shan came with his car to collect the goods, the villagers really got the silver in their hands. They no longer had any complaints and secretly decided to grow the bitter melons well next year and try to sell them for twenty cents per pound.

Liu Fendan's family produced 1,000 kilograms of rice, and at 20 cents per kilogram, that's equivalent to 20 taels of silver.

When Liu Fendan held the money in his hands, he was stunned.

The villagers were also stunned. There were so many of them!

The villagers who did not go to get melon seeds this year are regretting it very much.

Zhang planted two mu of melon fields, but because of heavy rain, subsequent efforts to save the fields only yielded 1,300 jin of melons, at 12 wen per jin, which earned him 15 taels and 6 cents of silver.

This was a huge sum of money. Zhang was so happy that she couldn't help but urge Liu Fei, who had just returned home from vacation, to get married. "The betrothal gifts are all here. Which girl do you like? I'll propose to you right away!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Fei, who was eating a watermelon, shuddered all over, dropped the watermelon rind, covered his ears and fled the scene.

Following behind him were Dalang's four brothers and sisters, Jinbao, Jinhua, Damao and several other children, as well as Xiao Laifu and a group of half-grown girls and boys from the village. They formed a long line and made the villagers laugh.

"He's still a child, why are you in such a hurry?" The clan leader teased Old Man Liu and Zhang.

Old Man Liu couldn't help laughing out loud, which made Zhang so angry that she secretly hit him with a hammer, nodded at Qin Yao, turned around and stormed back home.

Qin Yao shook her head with amusement and continued to help the villagers weigh and calculate the accounts.

The villagers who planted melons this time received at least two taels of silver, and the one who received the most was Liu Fendan, who received twenty taels.

Qin Yao kept half an acre of his five acres of land for himself and sold the rest, earning 72 taels of silver.

After the melons were sold, the issue of raising funds for shareholding was brought up again, and everything went smoothly.

The villagers participated actively. Those who could not buy a share would pool together two or three families to buy one share. In the end, a total of 208 taels of silver were raised.

Qin Yao paid another thousand taels of her own money, for a total investment of one thousand two hundred taels, and the stationery factory's comprehensive upgrade was officially launched.