Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 106 - 105: Steady as an Old Dog

Chapter 106: Chapter 105: Steady as an Old Dog
In the early morning, it started to drizzle again. Qin Yao donned a raincoat and a bamboo hat, grabbed a few simple tools and a set of paper and pen, skipped breakfast, and headed out early.
As she passed by her own fields, she glanced at the rice plants. Seeing nothing amiss, she quickly made her way to Jinshi Town.
Around 8:30 in the morning, Qin Yao arrived at Manager Wu’s house in town.
Before going there, she bought two flatbreads made of mixed grains to fill her stomach, and when she arrived at Manager Wu’s house, the two went straight to the site where the water mill was to be built.
In the whole Kaiyang County, most towns and villages were built near the river. Though it was the same body of water, due to different terrain, it formed various styles.
The section in Jinshi Town was wider and deeper compared to Lower River Village, but relatively gentle.
Nearby in the mountains, there were also streams and small waterfalls, providing ample water supply.
Manager Wu chose a location next to the river by the county road. Here stood a stone bridge, more than two meters above the river, and the site for the water mill was on the relatively flat riverbank beneath the bridge.
Qin Yao looked at it and thought this location was not ideal. Although the transportation was convenient, if the water rose, the waterwheel might get flooded.
Moreover, the ground on the riverbank was soft, posing a risk of sinking if a mill was built on it.
These terrain factors were also one of the important reasons Qin Yao wasn’t worried about the waterwheel technology being copied.
In this ancient feudal kingdom with its backward agriculture, it wasn’t like the modern technological countries with industrial systems. The rivers were mostly in their primitive state, and simply placing a waterwheel wouldn’t utilize the river water.
However, Qin Yao was determined to close this deal. After getting Manager Wu’s consent, the two of them walked a bit further and finally decided to build the water mill 100 meters away from the county road.
This part of the river was narrow, with fast-flowing water. Crucially, there were natural stone embankments on both sides, making all aspects relatively stable.
The only troublesome part was that Manager Wu had to widen the road himself to allow ox-carts and horse-carts to enter.
But it was just about a hundred meters, not even two hundred, so it wouldn’t cost much.
Manager Wu didn’t want to give up this business, so after thinking for a moment, he settled on three sets of small waterwheel combinations with Qin Yao.
"We’ll take one-third of the deposit first, and I’ll write you a receipt. Once everything is installed and tested with no issues, we’ll settle the remaining payment."
Qin Yao took out paper and pen, glanced at Manager Wu.
Manager Wu nodded, so she wrote a simple deposit receipt, and both pressed their handprints.
This kind of simple receipt had no legal effect but had a certain binding force among the clans.
Ordinary civilians didn’t want to get involved with the government, so it was common to write such private receipts and contracts. As long as there were no issues between the parties involved, it was considered accepted.
The receipt was given to Manager Wu, and Qin Yao asked, "When do you plan to install it?"
"Within ten days, I guess." Manager Wu asked with a hint of concern, "Can you manage that?"
Qin Yao replied, "That timeframe is no problem. The main thing is, you need to have the site ready first."
Manager Wu patted his chest and assured that he would have the area cleared and prepared within four or five days.
Regarding interpersonal relations, he had also thought it through. Since it was using the town’s public water area, to avoid trouble, he would offer a higher discount to the townspeople so that Qin Yao could focus on her work and install on time.
After negotiating all this, Qin Yao left with peace of mind.
Returning to Liu Family Village at noon, she first handed the design drawings to Liu the carpenter before going home for lunch.
After lunch, with no time to rest, she carried the tools to quarry stones.
She could complete the three small mills by herself, but Qin Yao didn’t plan to push herself too hard this time and enlisted some help.
In Liu Family’s old house, as soon as the family saw Qin Yao enter with tools, they knew her purpose. Liu Bai and his two brothers, who were busy mending farming tools, got up without a word and went along with her.
This time, the four of them took a few extra stones to keep in place for future use.
The protective shed they built last time was still there. After moving the stones to the shed and working on them for two or three days, three small mills with a diameter of 70 centimeters were completed.
Liu the carpenter also worked quickly. Because he had advised his father-in-law last time to chop some wood when he had spare time and store it at home, he could directly use it this time.
The waterwheels were made, painted, and dried to extend their lifespan.
The three waterwheels were exactly the same size, with not even a hair’s breadth of difference; the same went for the stone mills, except for slight variations in the grain. Both components bore the inscription "Liu Family Village Water Mill Workshop."
During the time spent making the water mills for Manager Wu’s place, Shunzi brought three groups of people from Lower River Village here, and Qin Yao successfully closed two orders for private household sets.
For the previous order from Lower River Village, Qin Yao gave Shunzi 150 cents afterward, and for this time, at the same rate, two smaller orders earned him a total of sixty cents.
With more orders, Qin Yao’s side with the stone mills was alright, with four people unaffected and maintaining a decent pace.
Liu the carpenter, however, couldn’t manage and quickly found two helpers in the village to help make the waterwheel blades.
As long as the measurements and data were consistent, anyone with some woodworking knowledge could accomplish this task.
By the end of the month, a total of five sets of small combination mills were delivered, and when Qin Yao handed over one hundred cents to the Clan Leader in front of the entire village, all of Liu Family Village was in an uproar!
Upon hearing Qin Yao say that villagers could also act as brokers and receive a one percent commission on the transaction price for successful orders, every family was intrigued.
The women married from outside collectively went back to their parental homes to promote the benefits of the water mill to their families.
They also mentioned it when attending banquets and asked the parties to remember to mention their names for a discount.
Through such operations, they indeed brought a few small orders back to Qin Yao’s manufacturing workshop.
The commissions Qin Yao gave them allowed these women to take five to ten cents and return it to their families who ordered the water mills.
Each family was in a similar situation; none were particularly wealthy, and not every village possessed the capability of Lower River Village. So, three to five families would collectively buy one set, spreading the cost and making it very cost-effective.
Moreover, in this matter, Qin Yao found that the women in the village had great potential as sales agents, bringing in all the orders.
Especially in this small-scale agrarian economy based on family units, women took on almost all household chores except for farming, logging, and firewood gathering.
This water mill brought more benefits to women, providing additional motivation.
However, the women’s scope of movement was quite limited, making it difficult to expand beyond the town, so they still had to rely on traveling merchants and peddlers.
Qin Yao didn’t have high expectations, thinking more practically about initially laying out the county’s market, maintaining it in the mid-term, and selling replacement parts later to ensure relatively stable income.
In modern times, getting a product out is already full of difficulties, let alone in this class-rigid ancient society. As a farmer, making some daily living expenses and bringing a bit of economic development to the village was already excellent.
Even Liu the carpenter knew that the moment they touched the interests of the nobility, they could no longer earn a single cent.
So when promoting enthusiastically among villagers, hoping their families could also prosper alongside, Qin Yao and Liu the carpenter remained steady and composed, keeping the accounts and distributing the money.