For the past three days, she had endured it all and refrained from going to Zhoujia Village to look for her.

Of course, the motivation that made her decide to do business with Li Mai was that after leaving her shop that day, Li Mai was stopped by the young master of the Lu family, but she refused him firmly. She also gave herself a subtle reminder, prompting her to find the hidden mole that had been lurking around her all along.

She even had a feeling that someone as clever as that girl might have already guessed that there were people around her in the shadows, and that she deliberately said that to her own people.

However, these are all just her speculations. Maybe they aren't true, but that doesn't stop her from thinking that Li Mai is her lucky star.

There are very few women in this world who do business. If she has such a smart partner, she will have much less to worry about in the future.

Many men wanted to cooperate with her, but their motives were far from pure, and she hated dealing with those kinds of people.

To be honest, she felt it was well worth the thirty taels of silver to exchange for eight such beautiful pieces of jewelry.

The reason why her jewelry shop doesn't sell as well as other shops in various places is because the styles are not fresh. Other shops have new designs every few days, but she is lucky if she can launch one new design a month.

Li Mai smiled faintly when she heard Madam Yu's question, "Go to my wet nurse. My grandmother is very good at drawing flower patterns. She used to teach me how to draw flower patterns. She said that before she got married, she helped many young ladies draw flower patterns."

“But my tastes are different from my grandma’s. I prefer to draw jewelry. Grandma let me express myself. When I was bored, I would draw on the ground with twigs. I rarely drew on paper.”

"It's also thanks to Madam that I drew this in the shop that day. It's the first time I've drawn such a beautiful piece since I learned how to draw jewelry designs," Li Mai said, trying to be charming.

The fisherwoman understood, and her smile deepened. This girl was indeed clever and had quite a few tricks up her sleeve.

And that's exactly the kind of person she likes; she wouldn't bother with someone as dense as her!

“My name is Yu Ling. I specialize in the jewelry business. I have more than a dozen shops all over the country, but business is not very good. No matter where I am, my business is not in the top three. The biggest problem is that my designs are not good, especially the speed at which I release new designs. Even when I do release new designs, they are not eye-catching.”

"I really like the design of your fireworks, and I have a feeling that this style will create a craze. So, I'd like to ask Miss Li if you'd be interested in a long-term or in-depth collaboration with me?"

The fisherwoman stated her meaning directly. She didn't need to play games with such a person, she could just be direct and sincere.

When Li Mai heard that she owned more than a dozen shops, she was surprised. No wonder she felt that this fisherwoman was not simple. It turned out that her business was so big.

"I've never done business before and don't know much about these things. It was only because my husband needed money for medical treatment that I thought of this idea the other day. I never expected to be so lucky as to meet you, Madam." Li Mai smiled shyly.

The fisherwoman looked at her approvingly. She really liked this girl more and more the more she looked at her. If her daughter were alive, she would probably be this age too!

Ah, she couldn't bear to think about her children and husband; just thinking about them made Mrs. Fisherman feel unwell.

Thinking that Li Mai was still there, she cheered up again and smiled at Li Mai, "How about this, I'll propose two ways of cooperation, and I sincerely invite you to join me in both, so I hope that Miss Li will seriously consider them after listening."

Li Mai nodded, signaling her to continue.

"The first type is like this firework. You design a set of jewelry, I pay for the set, and I will give you ten taels of silver every month as a way of hiring you as a pattern maker for our Jin Yu Ge. You just need to design new patterns for me whenever I need them. Of course, I will pay you extra for designing patterns."

“And I will sell the designs you draw in all the shops. But you cannot draw these designs for others, and during this period you cannot draw jewelry designs for other people.”

"The second option is that you will be responsible for the design of all my shops. You can draw whatever designs I need. I won't pay you separately, but from the date we sign the contract, you will receive 10% of the total income from all my shops."

"It's settled monthly, but because the settlements from various places aren't timely, you won't receive the money until three months later," Madam Yu asked Li Mai with a smile.

Li Mai smiled faintly. From the perspective of immediate interests, the first option seemed appropriate, but the second option was the long-term solution.

However, the second option also tests one's character. Since one is not familiar with Madam Yu and does not know her background, it is hard to say whether one will be deceived by her.

"What percentage of your total shop revenue is currently?" Li Mai asked.

Madam Yu smiled and said, "It's not high right now. With seventeen shops, we can sell about a thousand taels a month. If we sell ten percent, it's a little over a hundred."

“But if you choose the first option, you can probably earn enough by drawing three or four sets a month. If you draw ten sets, you’ll earn more than that, and you’ll get paid on time,” Madam Yu said with a smile.

Zhou Lei, sitting to the side, listened with a blank expression, but inside he was already screaming with excitement.

Sister-in-law is amazing. Madam Yu offered such good terms, and she's still considering it. If it were him, he would have chosen the first option immediately. Who can predict what will happen in the future? What if this lady's shop collapses? Getting the money now is the best long-term solution.

Li Mai shook her head. "If that's the case, your shop will collapse even faster. It will either be brought down by its own overly dense designs or by its competitors out of fear. I think you can understand this if you think about it carefully, Madam."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!