Chapter 493 Sun Shuiqin Wants a Dividend

Upon hearing that his wife was going back to her parents' home, Zhao Shagen immediately offered to go with her.

No matter how much Sun Shuiqin refused, it was no use. He sent someone to the workshop to ask for leave, then rented an oxcart, put Sun Shuiqin on it, and drove the cart towards Guihua Village.

As soon as she left Dahe Village, Sun Shuiqin whispered, "I'm not going back to my parents' home. I want to go to Hekou County to buy some things for the children."

Without asking any further questions, Zhao Shagen immediately changed direction, and the oxcart slowly headed towards Hekou County.

When we arrived in the city, it was midday, and the streets were filled with the aroma of food.

"Wife, let's eat something first." Zhao Shagen left the oxcart at the city gate and carefully helped Sun Shuiqin. "Would you like meat buns or wontons?"

Sun Shuiqin looked up at the restaurant in front of her. It was Zuixianlou. She had never eaten at such a large restaurant before.

Once we get the money, we'll have a big meal.

She said, "I'm not hungry yet, let me go buy something for the child first."

She walked forward and, after asking around, found out the location of Hu's Clothing Shop. The shop was bustling with activity, and in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen cotton undergarments had been sold. Customers kept coming in, and business was booming.

"Shagen, wait for me outside."

Sun Shuiqin straightened her clothes and stepped inside.

As soon as you enter, someone will greet you: "Madam, what kind of clothes would you like to buy? Your own undergarments or your child's undergarments? We have them all in our store. Just touch them and you'll know how comfortable they are..."

“I want to see your manager,” Sun Shuiqin said calmly. “Just tell him that an embroiderer from Dahe Village has something important to discuss, and your manager won’t refuse.”

The waiter went to the rest room at the back of the shop, and soon came out and respectfully led Sun Shuiqin inside.

Shopkeeper Hu was drinking tea. He had been in a good mood these past few days. He had never been so successful since he started his fabric and clothing business. He had earned more money in the last four or five days than he had in the past year. He finally understood what it meant to make a fortune every day.

If you follow in the footsteps of the people of Sui'an, you won't have to worry about not making money in the future.

He looked up and saw Sun Shuiqin come in, his face beaming: "Come, come, sit down."

Sun Shuiqin sat down, supporting her belly, and got straight to the point: "Manager Hu's business is so booming, he must have made a lot of money. I've come to collect my share of the profits today."

“You’re being too impatient, my dear wife. It’s only been five or six days since the company went public. Who’s in such a hurry to ask for dividends?” Manager Hu took a sip of tea. “According to the rules of the trading company, dividends are usually distributed once a quarter. Let’s wait until the end of the year.”

A cold smile crept onto Sun Shuiqin's lips. She knew that Manager Hu would try to trick her at the last minute, but luckily she was prepared.

She leaned back in her chair and said, "Manager Hu's business has grown so big, and it's the same business that Sui'an people originally planned to do. Don't you want to know how Sui'an people are reacting now?"

Manager Hu immediately put down his teacup: "Tell me quickly, has the Sui'an people made any moves?"

"Manager Hu wants to get information from me, but he's unwilling to give me any benefits. Does he think I'm just a country bumpkin who doesn't know anything?" Sun Shuiqin sneered. "It's precisely because I have no money that I risked going to Manager Hu to cooperate. I took such a big risk, but I didn't get a single penny. I've suffered a loss, so I'm not willing to continue cooperating with him."

"I didn't say I wouldn't give you the money, it's just not the right time yet." Manager Hu compromised, got up, took out a box from a drawer, pulled out two silver notes and handed them over, "Two hundred taels of silver, you can use this first, we'll recalculate at the end of the year, is that alright?"

Sun Shuiqin didn't take the money, but smiled and said, "I just stood at the shop entrance for a while, and in that short time, the shop sold at least twenty sets of clothes. Each set costs two taels of silver, which is forty taels of silver. That's at least a thousand taels of silver a day. We've been selling for six days now, so let's say six thousand taels. I should be able to get about twelve hundred taels of silver. Am I right?"

Manager Hu's expression changed. This village woman was actually quite good at accounting; he had underestimated her.

However, the village woman hadn't calculated the accounts correctly. At first, she did earn about a thousand taels of silver a day. In the past few days, many merchants from other places had heard the news and came to buy goods, so her daily income had reached four or five thousand taels. Fortunately, she had purchased enough cotton and hired enough embroiderers, so she didn't have to worry about supply falling short of demand for the time being.

"The cost hasn't even been factored in, yet they're already calculating profits. This calculation is quite interesting," Manager Hu said. "Here's a thousand taels of silver for now, that's all."

Sun Shuiqin pursed her lips. One thousand taels of silver had far exceeded her expectations. Even if she could only get this much in total, she had still made a profit.

She nodded: "Okay, then it'll be one thousand taels."

Manager Hu counted out ten silver notes and handed them over. After Sun Shuiqin carefully counted them, she took out the blueprint from her sleeve: "The people of Sui'an have already come up with a solution. They have slightly modified a few parts of the design, making them more comfortable to wear. Manager Hu, please be careful."

"Making them into buttons would indeed make them more comfortable, but it would increase the cost of each garment by at least two hundred coins, and it would also lengthen the production time, so it wouldn't be worth it." Manager Hu said nonchalantly, "By the time this batch of clothes from Sui'an hits the market, my stock will have already sold out. However, please let me know as soon as you have any news, so that our cooperation can last a long time."

Sun Shuiqin nodded, pocketed the silver notes, and got up to leave. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Zhao Shagen enter the shop, looking for her everywhere.

"Honey, are you alright?"

Zhao Shagen rushed towards her in one stride, looked her up and down, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was alright.

Sun Shuiqin had mixed feelings. Although she looked down on her man, he was probably the person who cared about her the most in the world, and he was also the father of the child in her womb. It would be the two of them living together from now on.

She now has a thousand taels of silver, enough to buy a shop in the city and open an embroidery workshop, so she can live the life of a city dweller.

However, all of this will have to wait until after the baby is born.

She said, "I'd like to eat at Zuixianlou, is that alright?"

“Okay, of course, whatever my wife says goes.” Zhao Shagen helped her walk out. “Luckily, the workshop paid out wages this morning. I didn’t have time to hand them over to my mother. With the bonus and overtime pay, it’s a little over one tael of silver. Eat whatever you want, don’t be stingy.”

The two entered Zuixianlou and casually ordered a few dishes, totaling two taels of silver. In the end, Sun Shuiqin paid the bill with a silver note. Zhao Shagen pressed her for details, but Sun Shuiqin brushed him off.

The two bought some things for the children, boarded an oxcart, and returned to Dahe Village before sunset.

As soon as she arrived at the village entrance, Sun Shuiqin saw Cheng Wanwan's personal maid, Ninglan, waiting by the roadside and walking towards her.

Ninglan stepped forward, curtsied, and said, "Sister-in-law Shagen, Madam An wants you to go there."

Sun Shuiqin's heart suddenly tightened, and a bad premonition arose. She subconsciously held her stomach and said, "I...I feel a little uncomfortable."

Zhao Shagen said nervously, "How about I go in your place?"

“Anren said that we must invite Sister-in-law Shagen over; she has something very important to say.” Ninglan gestured for her to come over.