Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 104 - 103: Forget It, Lost for Words

Chapter 104: Chapter 103: Forget It, Lost for Words
The mother and her five children returned home barefoot with muddy legs, leaving Liu Ji dumbfounded.
"Did you all take a bath in the mud?" he asked in shock.
The sky had cleared up, and the mud hanging on their calves had dried, giving off a stench that the mother and her children didn’t notice. They excitedly put down the big wooden tub for bathing, one scooped water while another lifted a basket to pour into the tub.
Fat little fish plopped into the tub, which was a bit shallow, almost causing them to jump out. Sanlang and Si Niang got anxious and dived in to press the fish down, splashing water all over their faces, giggling foolishly.
Seeing the tub full of fish, Liu Ji was delighted, "Where did you catch the fish?"
Their family found it bothersome and hadn’t bought any fish fry to raise in the field.
Qin Yao scooped water to wash the mud off her feet, and by the way, cleaned the mud-coated straw shoes of the four children.
Da Lang and Second Lang excitedly told their father how the fish from someone else’s place got washed down, and they regretted not bringing more baskets; otherwise, they could have caught even more.
Even with a tank full of water, it was impossible to clean the five of them. Qin Yao waved her hand, "Let’s go, fetch water by the well!"
The four children yelled and immediately threw down the baskets, rushing barefoot down the hillside like wild boars let loose.
There were small rainwater channels bubbling on the road, making splashing sounds as they ran, playing like crazy.
Liu Ji helplessly looked at Qin Yao, "Aren’t you going to manage them? What if they catch a cold from all this running around?"
Qin Yao picked up her specially made enormous water buckets, looked up at the sun peeking through the sky, amusingly said:
"With such a big sun, if they don’t hurry and play now, the water will be all dried up soon."
Once the water’s dried, there’s no fun to be had, so they naturally need to seize the opportunity.
While talking, she asked Liu Ji if he wanted to join in the fun. He shook his hands vigorously, quoting phrases from books, "How disgraceful!"
Qin Yao dismissed him with a "tsk," happily splashing water with her bare feet, shouting at the four little kids ahead:
"Monster coming to catch you kids!"
The four kids ’scared’ turned their heads to see her charging towards them, and shrieked as they ran wildly towards the village.
The ground was already muddy, and with this run, their clothes were completely unwearable.
At noon, Liu Ji stealthily carried a large tub of mud-spotted clothes to a hidden riverside, feeling so angry that he wanted to strangle the culprit, Qin Yao.
She had said so nicely before, about washing one’s own clothes, but what happened?
After fetching water, Qin Yao bundled up the clothes of the five of them and dumped it in his arms.
Could he refuse?
Dare he?
"Sigh~ Women and petty people are difficult to raise..."
He grumbled while skillfully doing the laundry.
The river water after the heavy rain was rushing and clear. Looking up, the distant mountains rose one after another, majestic and verdant, with a flawless sky as beautiful as a painting...
Forget it, running out of words, Liu Ji didn’t trouble himself and just continued washing clothes.
Back at home, the courtyard gate was knocked on by a stranger.
Qin Yao came out and saw a somewhat familiar face, "Who are you?"
The visitor led a donkey, around thirty years old, with a goatee, dressed in a green robe, standing out from the field-working farmers with one glance.
He smiled and introduced himself to Qin Yao, "Miss Qin, I met you the other day at Lower River Village with Manager Wu about the water mill, from the town’s grain shop, remember?"
Qin Yao suddenly realized, "Oh, it’s you. Are you ready to build the water mill now?"
"Please come in, you’ve had a long journey. It just stopped raining this morning, was the road difficult?"
Qin Yao invited him inside. Seeing no man in the courtyard, Manager Wu didn’t enter the main house but sat in the yard instead.
After taking a big sip of the plain boiled water Qin Yao handed him, he immediately asked, "I mentioned wanting to build a water mill, not using a large waterwheel, just like the small waterwheel by your river, making three, small and not taking much space."
"At that time, I asked you about the charges, you said around two taels for a small water wheel, does that still hold?"
Qin Yao nodded, "Two taels for a waterwheel, you can prepare the millstone yourself, and I’ll charge you a hundred cents for installation, is that reasonable?"
"Not including the millstone?"
Manager Wu was a bit surprised, as he thought it was a combined price.
Qin Yao dragged a small stool and sat across from him, helplessly saying:
"You must know the price of timber. Just the materials cost more than a tael, plus delivery is also an expense. We do business to make some profit. If we include the millstone, I’m doing it for free."
Manager Wu sighed, "Any kind of mill? I have to organize a millstone myself, that’s quite a hassle. Give me a total price; I can’t have come in vain. This needs to be settled today!"
Qin Yao signaled him to calm down, did some calculations in her head about how much would be appropriate to charge for a mill.
Since one person has come, surely there’ll be a second and a third.
For convenience, they’ll offer a combined price for the waterwheel and millstone package, while thrifty ones can pay separately for the waterwheel and prepare the millstone themselves.
But Qin Yao thought, why not give the millstone money to their own villagers instead of outsiders?
Whatever the market price outside, it’s the same as inside. With delivery included within Kaiyang County, and beyond that, the buyer covers transport costs.
"How about this, a small waterwheel set, includes installation and delivery within the county, for three taels of silver."
Qin Yao put on the face of making a non-profitable deal, "Outside, a large millstone costs at least five maces, six maces of silver. I’m really not making much, see if it works for you, I’ll survey the site first thing tomorrow morning."
"If conditions for building the water mill aren’t met, the matter is dropped."
Manager Wu quickly calculated in his mind, three waterwheel combinations altogether cost nine taels of silver. The functional effectiveness could rival Lower River Village’s fifteen taels water mill. It saves a lot.
Of course, the higher cost has a reason. Lower River Village’s waterwheels use better materials, and horizontal waterwheels have more power than vertical ones, unaffected by water flow, capable of functioning nearly all year round, three hundred sixty-five days.
Unless during rare significant droughts leading to river drying, the use is unaffected.
"Alright, I’ll wait for you at home tomorrow," Manager Wu agreed. His idea was not for personal use but turning the water mill into a business.
So, he must start early and scale up to seize the opportunity.
Qin Yao raised an eyebrow, suggesting, "If you want to open a profitable mill, just three small waterwheels seem a bit lacking; adding a water roller would broaden your audience."
Manager Wu chuckled, "Miss Qin, it’s not even certain if it will be built, and you’re pushing the water roller on me. Don’t worry, if the water mill comes up, not one but even four or five water rollers can be considered!"
Qin Yao waved her hand, enough with making false promises to each other.
Manager Wu left the address for his house and took a glance at the water mill at Qin Yao’s place, continuously praising, "This is good, this is good."
With that, he left full of anticipation.