Faced with Qin Yao's probing question, Jiang Wen did not answer, but just shook his head implicitly, indicating that they knew, but without evidence, they could not solve the problem even if they went to the door.

Qin Yao nodded. She understood. It seemed that the villain behind the scenes was very powerful.

"As far as I know, all big trading companies have the rule of paying respects to the boss. Even the bosses of the trading company can't help?" Qin Yao asked curiously.

Seeing that she knew a lot, even the rules of paying respects at the dock, Jiang Wen became more certain that she had a close relationship with the He family.

"Alas~" Jiang Wen sighed, "In Zijing Prefecture alone, there are five or six businesses worth mentioning. We are not strong enough."

One more or one less of them wouldn't make much difference, and besides, since it was involved with the Grain Transport Bureau, the bigwigs in the city would try to avoid it as much as possible.

Jiang Wen also told Qin Yao the truth, "If we can't get past Fulong Commercial Bank, our cooperation with Shenli Book Boxes will probably end. Today's order for these two thousand book boxes is the last one."

Just now when he changed the deposit, he also changed the number of 5,000 book boxes to 2,000.

Qin Yao's face darkened for a moment. This was trying to force her!

But if she put herself in his shoes, if she were Jiang Wen, she would probably be even more cruel than him.

"Huh~" Qin Yao stood up with her hands on her hips, paced back and forth in the store, thinking about countermeasures.

The stationery factory and Fulong Trading Company are now tied to the same rope. Without sales channels, the book boxes produced by the factory cannot be sold.

Even if she quickly finds a buyer, there's no guarantee that Fulong Trading Company will get desperate and interfere. By that time, it will take two or three months, and the factory will only be able to support itself with profits from stationery gift boxes that sell at low prices and in large quantities. How can it afford to support more than a hundred workers?

Qin Yao didn't have to make a choice at all, because she had no choice.

Either she finishes this deal and then part ways amicably, etc. She can't do this deal. If Fulong Commercial Bank can't pay the balance, she will lose all her money and have to spend energy to sue them.

Qin Yao turned around and looked at the order contract for two thousand book boxes that Jiang Wen had re-drafted on the table. For a moment, she thought of just giving up.

But in just a moment, she decided to place another order for 5,000 boxes of books.

Jiang Wen was feeling anxious when he saw Qin Yao suddenly pick up the new contract on the table, tear it up twice, and spread out the original first contract again.

"Madam Qin, what are you doing?" Jiang Wen was surprised and happy, but he was not sure so he kept a tense face and his expression looked a little distorted.

Facing his expectant gaze, Qin Yao did not make any promises, but only said: "I'll give it a try. If it doesn't work, our two families can part ways amicably. This is fate, and I'll sign the contract when I come back."

Having said this, she paused and added: "Maybe he won't come back to sign."

After saying this, under the other party's grateful gaze, he took his five hundred and sixty taels of silver and turned to leave the company.

The shop assistants gathered around Jiang Wen and asked him expectantly, "Second Shopkeeper, did Madam Qin agree?"

Jiang Wen shook his head slightly, he didn't know.

It's a slim hope, but there's still some hope.

Qin Yao returned the same way with the cash box. When she passed by the small stall she had scouted out earlier, she was in the mood to go over and take a look.

These small windmills are made of bamboo strips and painted with colored paint. They come in three colors: red, yellow, and green. Each windmill is about the size of a palm, and in the center there is a bamboo-woven tiger, the zodiac sign for next year.

The little tiger was knitted very lifelike, but it was a mini version after all, and it gave off a sense of naivety. Not only did the children like it, but even Qin Yao, a 20-year-old adult, loved it too.

After asking the price, such a windmill costs fifteen cents. Qin Yao shook her head and said, "Eight cents, I'll take 25."

The boss gasped and his eyes bulged with anger. If Qin Yao wasn't a woman, he would have beaten her!

You can bargain if you want, but don’t cut the price in half like this!

"If you take thirty, I'll give you ten cents." The boss gritted his teeth and said. A group of customers had just left, and there was no one else around, otherwise he would never give in.

Qin Yao shook her head, her attitude was very firm: "It's only eight cents, I only want twenty-five."

The boss gritted his teeth and wanted to say, "Get out if you don't want to sell it."

Another shop nearby that was selling the same windmills suddenly waved at Qin Yao with a kind smile.

When the boss saw it, his heart was alarmed and he looked a little hesitant.

Qin Yao laughed inwardly and spoke again, "A pair of straw sandals is only three or five cents. Can your little windmill be more time-consuming than a pair of straw sandals? It's just that the craftsmanship required for this little tiger is a little more complicated. Windmills like this without little tigers are everywhere on the street for three cents."

The boss stiffened his neck, and was about to say something, but stopped himself. Finally, he sighed in defeat and put the straw stack full of windmills in front of him in front of Qin Yao, "Take it, take it!"

"Thank you, big brother." Qin Yao smiled and carefully selected twenty-five of them. She held a handful in her hand and would go back to the inn to get Liu Jishu's box to pack them in, to prevent them from being damaged by the bumps on the road.

Qin Yao paid two cents of silver, grabbed a handful of windmills, and returned to the inn amid the envious pursuit of children on the street.

As soon as Liu Ji saw it, he knew that these were goods for Erlang. He was a little dissatisfied with Qin Yao's behavior of borrowing his book box, but he didn't dare to say it. He had to empty the books in the book box and hand the empty box to Qin Yao.

"Madam, you're back so soon. Did the discussion go well?" Liu Ji asked as he followed Qin Yao.

Qin Yao nodded, put the little windmills neatly away, closed the lid of the bookcase, pushed it to the side of the bed, went to the table and took a sip of hot tea, and prepared to go out again.

Before Liu Ji could even utter the word "mother", the door of the guest room slammed shut again, almost hitting his high nose.

"I'm going out for a walk." A reminder came from afar. Liu Ji said "Oh" and his heart followed her away, feeling empty.

"Well, I'd better continue memorizing." Liu Ji glanced at the cold wind outside, put his hands in his sleeves, and simply crawled into the quilt, leaving only his head exposed to stare at the book.

In this way, he could just close his eyes and lie down when he felt sleepy. If the evil woman came back, he could immediately open his eyes and say that he was working hard to memorize his lessons.

Liu Ji: "Master, I am really smart~"

There is an official residence in the capital city. When foreign officials pass by here to handle cases or stay for a short time, they will choose to stay in the official residence.

Qin Yao sneaked along the crowd and came to the vicinity of the official residence. The atmosphere here was obviously much more solemn than the busy streets nearby. From time to time, patrolling officers and soldiers passed by and drove away idlers.

Qin Yao did not go through the main gate, but went around to the stable in the backyard of the official residence. After confirming that the black carriage she had seen yesterday was inside, she came to the main gate and spent one or two taels of silver to bribe the soldiers at the gate, asking him to help deliver a message to Mu Ling.

At the beginning, Qin Yao didn't think about going to the He family. Firstly, she didn't have a good enough relationship with them, and secondly, owing a favor to the He family would be a big trouble for her, so she planned to try her luck with Mu Ling.

As women, we should be easier to talk to, right?