As they were talking, they saw Mrs. Fisherman hurriedly lift the curtain and come in from the back door.

Upon seeing Li Mai, Madam Yu smiled, "You silly girl, I was so worried about you! I heard something happened in your village today, and I was planning to take some people to check on it tomorrow!"

Seeing Madam Yu's attitude, Li Mai smiled. She was already calling herself "elder sister," so it seemed the result was good, and she was relieved.

“Thank you, Madam. We only stabilized yesterday. The rain stopped, and we settled down on the mountain. But the whole village is gone, and we need to rebuild a new village,” Li Mai said with a helpless sigh.

“Your village is truly the most unlucky one. I heard that the other villages are fine.” Madam Yu gestured for Li Mai to follow her to the backyard to explain in detail.

Li Mai nodded and pushed Zhou Quan to follow her.

However, when they were going out the back door, there was a threshold. When Madam Yu saw it, she called the waiters to come and help lift Zhou Quan's wheelchair. But to her surprise, Zhou Quan stood up by himself, lifted the wheelchair over the threshold, put it down, and sat back down.

Zhou Quan's sudden outrageous actions stunned Madam Yu, Manager Cui, and several waiters.

Seeing the startled expression on Madam Yu's face, Li Mai chuckled, glanced at Zhou Quan, and said, "He's actually benefited from this misfortune. He recovered while we were fleeing. He can only walk a few steps, and after a while his legs become weak and he needs to sit down."

Madam Yu composed herself, coughed lightly, and elegantly said, "I see," before gesturing for the two of them to go to the back hall.

Li Mai pushed Zhou Quan to catch up.

Zhou Quan turned around and exchanged a glance with Li Mai. Li Mai saw the mischievous smile in his eyes and smiled helplessly.

"Madam, has the rain affected the sales of the lover's hairpins?" Li Mai asked.

Speaking of this, Mrs. Yu was happy. "No, no, no, the result was actually very good. It's because there was a little rain scene in my story. It rained a little on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and the lover's hairpins sold exceptionally well during those days."

"I received the results from the five shops on the tenth day of the month. They were accounts that each shop had sent back despite the rain. I also put together the final accounts that night. You really don't know until you try. Once you try, you'll be shocked. From June 29th when the Lover's Hairpin was put on the various shops until the ninth day of the month, a full ten days, the five shops sold a total of two thousand taels. Can you believe it?"

This made Madam Fisherman very happy, which is why she excitedly called Li Mai "sister" as soon as she saw her.

But when she heard Li Mai still address her as Mrs. Fisherman in a calm and understated manner, she calmed down and secretly laughed at herself for not being as composed as a young girl.

But she really didn't expect that just one hairpin would generate such a good income; it was something she never anticipated.

Moreover, she knew even more deeply that if word got out, countless people would try to take Li Mai from her.

These past few days, she has been eagerly awaiting Li Mai's arrival day and night.

But she didn't expect to hear that Zhoujia Village had been hit by a flood. She immediately made a decision and sent people to buy rice, flour, clothes, cotton clothes and quilts. She planned to go to Zhoujia Village to see Li Mai herself the next day.

Unexpectedly, by sheer coincidence, she came today.

Moreover, she seemed unaffected; in fact, her husband's chair looked more luxurious than the last one, now with wheels so it could be pushed around.

"It's good that Li Mai got a good result, but Madam, you don't need to be too happy about it. After all, we are just the first to try something new. Once other people know how you did it, they will soon follow your example and many people will try to take the crab legs from you."

"As you know, the best part of the crab is the meat on its legs. So, when others come to compete with you for crabs, your future income will definitely not exceed what you have earned in this period. Therefore, we cannot stand still; we need to continue to work hard, think of new strategies, and continue to stay ahead of those people."

After Li Mai finished speaking, Madam Yu stood up excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Li Mai. She hurriedly said, "Sister is absolutely right. I've been thinking about this issue these past few days. The peak sales period for these lover's hairpins is estimated to end in early August. So, should we seize the Mid-Autumn Festival next?"

Li Mai nodded with a smile, "Of course, after all, the Mid-Autumn Festival and osmanthus theme is quite good. After that, we can only wait for the plum blossoms to bloom and then do a plum blossom-themed event. The next step is the Lunar New Year, and before that, we don't have many opportunities left."

“Yes, yes, that’s what I was thinking too. So, since my sister is here today, let’s formally discuss our cooperation, shall we?” Madam Yu sat up straight as she spoke to Li Mai.

In between, she didn't forget to have the waiter prepare tea and snacks for Zhou Quan so that he could eat slowly by himself.

Zhou Quan obediently sat to the side, quietly eating, drinking tea, and listening to the two of them talk.

Who would have thought that two women could have such a fascinating business discussion?

This was the first time he had ever seen such a scene in his life. Zhou Lei and Zhou Tao had told him before how terrifying it was when their sister-in-law negotiated business with Madam Yu, but he still couldn't quite imagine it.

But now, he feels that it's not terrifying, but it's certainly very exciting.

He suddenly felt extremely proud; this was his wife!

Li Mai glanced at Zhou Quan obediently drinking his tea, chuckled, and nodded to Madam Yu, "Alright, then I'll listen to what Sister Yu has to say!"

“Let’s do it the way we agreed before, according to the second cooperation method. I will give you a monthly salary of fifty taels, plus 10% of your total monthly income, and you will produce at least three designs for me every month.”

"Of these three styles, at least one must be a set of three pieces. Also, I'll leave you a thousand taels as collateral, since it will take three months to calculate the 10% income for the first month."

"The fifty taels of silver you receive each month can be given to you in one lump sum, or I can give it to you at regular intervals each month when you give me the design. But remember, you can't draw jewelry designs for other people."

Li Mai nodded, "Okay, Sister Yu values ​​me so much, I certainly won't let you down. Let's sign the contract then, how about a one-year contract?"

"Three years, please!" Madam Yu decided to sign a three-year contract first. She was afraid that if it was only one year, someone else would come and snatch Li Mai away with a large sum of money.

Li Mai smiled and said, "Are you sure you want three years? You need to know that 10% of the total revenue from all your stores is a lot of money."

Madam Yu nodded, "Of course I know. You've made me so much money in these ten days, how could I not know? But I'm not afraid. The more you earn, the more I earn."

Li Mai laughed, "Alright, just for Sister Yu's vision, three years it is. But you should know that during these three years, I may still be running my own business, so on your side, I will only provide the pictures and accompany you a few times, and I will not care about anything else."

Madam Yu nodded. "I know you're no ordinary woman. If it weren't for this disaster, you would have started your own business by now, wouldn't you?"

Li Mai nodded; she had indeed found a business opportunity.