Shen Qing didn't continue.
Mr. Bai's eyes darted around a few times, and he immediately understood what she meant. He then said, "I also know merchants in Tianjin and Fujian. When I go back this time, I'll meet up with them and recommend your material to them!"
Shen Qing was satisfied and sat down again, offering him a fresh cup of hot tea.
That's when we started talking business.
In the following days, merchants from Tianjin and Fujian indeed came to inspect the materials. Shen Qing opened the jars at the door to show them the effects of soaking, boiling, and airing the materials.
The new customers were very satisfied and immediately ordered 100,000 horses each. Moreover, these two customers had far more funds than the one in Guangzhou, and immediately agreed to give Shen Qing 70% of the payment as a deposit, but they also had to pay 10% off.
Shen Qing disagreed, insisting that she could only offer a 9.5% discount.
The order from Mr. Bai in Guangzhou didn't make money; it was purely to use his funds to expand the factory. That's why she offered unprecedented discounts to attract him. But the subsequent orders wouldn't work; she had to make money, otherwise there was no point in doing them.
The superior quality of the materials ultimately led the customer to place an order with a 95% discount and a 70% prepayment.
Shen Qing received the deposit that same day.
Looking at the thick stack of banknotes on the table, she felt a sense of unreality.
Just a few months ago, she was a widow with only ten taels of silver in her purse, but she owed 100,000 taels of debt and had to borrow money everywhere to start her business.
Suddenly, she became a wealthy woman with millions of taels of silver in her hands.
Shen Qing didn't get carried away. After returning to the factory's accounting office, he immediately took out the ledgers and carefully planned the next steps for factory expansion and capacity increase.
She wears many hats, not only as a purchasing, administrative, and technical staff, but also as a production supervisor. It is thanks to this busy schedule that she is able to manage all the affairs of the factory, big and small, and make various plans with ease.
Before I knew it, it was evening.
Chunju comes in and lights the lamp.
Shen Qing told her to take Su Lan home first, and that he would go back later.
After speaking, he went out into the courtyard to stretch his limbs. Seeing that there were still people in the school in the side courtyard, he quietly walked over and stopped by the door.
The kids haven't gotten out of school yet.
Recently, due to a large order, the female workers have been working overtime. Some children have no one to take care of them when they go home, so they stay at the school and go home together after the female workers finish their get off work.
Mr. Han always waited until the children had left before leaving last.
Right now, he's chatting with the kids.
Shen Qing stood and listened for a while.
"Man is born free, he is his own master, and he has the right to choose what he does and what he does not do..."
"All people are equal. Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny? The existence of dynasties is itself a form of enslavement, oppression, and exploitation!"
"We must have the courage to overthrow it and establish a new order!"
As Shen Qing listened, his expression grew increasingly solemn.
She remembered what the shopkeeper had said: Mr. Han had passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, but he did not continue to take the exam. He spent his days at home teaching students to read and write.
Fame and fortune are the ultimate goal of all scholars. In this era, no one studies hard for ten years in order to become a teacher.
This Mr. Han wasn't indifferent to fame and fortune; rather, he wanted to...
Let's start a revolution!
Shen Qing recalled the night he was invited to be a teacher at the school. He didn't care about the wages or anything else, he only asked one question - how old are the children?
This likely indicates a consideration of whether the children still have a chance to be infiltrated.
Revolutionary ideas can only be instilled in young people; once they are older and have the goal of pursuing fame and fortune, they are incapable of revolution.
A chill crept into Shen Qing's heart, and she resolutely walked into the school.
When Mr. Han saw her enter without knocking, a flash of displeasure crossed his face, but he still bowed to her politely and said, "Ms. Shen, you've arrived."
Shen Qing nodded and said in a low voice, "Let the children play in the yard for a while. I have something to tell you."
Mr. Han did as instructed.
The children rushed out in a swarm, and Shen Qing went to close the door.
The orange-red light of the setting sun was suddenly shut out through the door, and the schoolroom instantly darkened.
Shen Qing turned around, looked at Mr. Han's face which was flickering with light and shadow, considered for a few seconds, stepped forward, and lowered her voice: "Sir, what did you mean by what you said to the children just now?"
Mr. Han remained silent.
The attitude is very clear.
Shen Qing felt a headache coming on and lowered his voice even further: "If you want to start a revolution, now is not the time..."
Thinking of the revolutionaries in history who attempted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty but were executed along with their entire families, and who bravely sacrificed their lives, she said with heartache, "Wait another thirteen years... no, wait another twelve years, not now..."
Mr. Han remained silent.
This deepened Shen Qing's inner fear.
She knew that making a revolution at this juncture would be a dead end. She couldn't watch these lovely children go to their deaths, nor could she watch her workers suffer the tragedy of losing their sons and daughters in their old age.
Although she knew that saying these things might cause some trouble, she had to persuade him.
Although she had planned to fire him today, she had to persuade him not to go and die.
“Mr. Shen…” Mr. Han finally spoke.
A glimmer of hope welled up in Shen Qing's heart, and she said urgently, "Please speak!"
"Thank you for your advice, but once the path of revolution begins, it can never be stopped. I am all alone and have no fear."
Disappointed, Shen Qing lost his temper and yelled, "You're all alone, but don't bring the kids with you!"
She pointed to the school gate, her eyes red with heartache: "Go! Go now!"
...
As night deepened, Chunju pushed open the door to the school and asked softly, "Young Madam, are you going back to the manor?"
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze, got up, and walked out.
Chunju glanced at the empty schoolroom behind her: "Mr. Han isn't here. Why are you sitting here alone, lost in thought?"
"Mr. Han has resigned. We will invite a new teacher to teach tomorrow."
After Shen Qing finished speaking, she remembered something and added, "The new gentleman should be brought over to see me first."
"Yes, young mistress."
The two walked along the quiet street toward the Gao family's house. There was no one along the way, except for the occasional patrolling soldiers.
Seeing their clothing, Shen Qing recalled scenes from history books.
A kneeling body, a severed head, blood splattered on the gray-blue police uniform...
The next moment, the scene shifted to the children.
They were so innocent, adorable, and naive that Shen Qing couldn't imagine them going through such terrible things.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She regretted letting a wolf into her house and prayed that Mr. Han would keep a low profile in the future and not bring trouble to the children.
Back at the Gao family home, Chunju went to the bathroom to prepare hot water, while Shen Qing dragged his tired body back to his room.
From afar, a chubby figure could be seen coming out of his house.
Shen Qing quickly hid behind a pillar.
It's Gao Yuanxiang.
She tiptoed to close the door, glanced around to make sure no one was passing by, and then stealthily slipped out through a nearby alley.
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