Exiled to Lingnan, the Crown Prince's wife raises children, cultivates the land, and leads the

"Sister-in-law Leng, please don't be angry. Young Madam Jin must have her reasons for making such a division."

Zhuang Lizheng spoke up to smooth things over.

The old woman lashed out at the village head, yelling, "Bullshit! The villagers get 30% of the profits for nothing, of course you think what she says makes sense!"

"Sister-in-law Leng, what you're saying is wrong. People from our village also help with the work; we don't get paid for nothing."

Zhuang Lizheng argued confidently, "Besides, next year we'll plant more sugarcane and not sell it outside. The more sugar we make, the more money we'll earn, right?"

"Hehehe."

The old woman sneered, looking at Cheng Qiqi and saying, "The Jin family has done the sugar workshop a great favor, but isn't it inappropriate to take so much money? No matter how good Cheng Qiqi's sugar is, it's not worth 40% profit, is it?"

The old woman's words were blunt and direct, without the slightest hint of tact.

You've misunderstood!

Compared to Granny Leng's agitation, Cheng Qiqi appeared exceptionally calm and composed. She sat there regally, and even in this old house, she still gave off an air of superiority.

"I've said it before, I'll only take 10% of the profits!"

Cheng Qiqi said with certainty.

"What about the remaining 30% profit? You want the Jin family to sell it? Isn't that just making money for free?"

The old woman's face remained cold, her anger undiminished.

"Grandma Leng, did you used to sell your candy only in the prefectural city and the county?" Cheng Qiqi asked instead of answering.

"certainly."

The old woman straightened her back and said, "I only got this connection because my daughter married into the prefectural city. Otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to sell my sugar there."

"How much did it sell for that year?"

Cheng Qiqi asked again.

"Why would you tell me how much money you make in your business?"

The old woman clearly didn't want to talk.

"The sugar mill will belong to everyone from now on. If you don't tell us, how will we know how much money we'll get?"

Cheng Qiqi answered confidently.

"That's right, Sister-in-law Leng, otherwise wouldn't we be working for nothing?"

The village head immediately spoke up in support.

The old woman glanced at him. This was her husband's cousin. It seemed he had been eyeing the sugar shop for a long time.

The old woman said, "Eighty taels."

The old woman deliberately understated the amount, giving away money to others for free; it pained her to think about it!

"Then let's calculate it as one hundred taels."

Cheng Qiqi said, "You can only sell one hundred taels a year, but we can sell two hundred, three hundred, or even five hundred taels!"

"impossible!"

Hearing this, Granny Leng couldn't help but laugh sarcastically: "Cheng Qiqi, you're still young. Do you think doing business is that easy? Our Leng family has been selling candy our whole lives, and we've never made more than a hundred taels a year!"

"What if it was the quality I achieved that day?"

Cheng Qiqi tilted her head and looked at Leng Yu, asking, "Did you bring the candy?"

"I brought it."

Leng Yu took it out from his pocket. He studied how this sugar was made to have such a beautiful color every day!

"Everyone can take a look."

Cheng Qiqi stood up and compared the candy she had received from the Leng family that day with the candy; the difference was immediately apparent.

The old woman's expression changed, and she said, "I admit that your sugar is good, but good sugar doesn't necessarily sell."

"I can sell it to Hongdu, Huzhou, and even further afield. This is such good sugar. We can divide it into three stages: premium sugar for high prices, medium-grade sugar for those who are moderately wealthy, and the most common sugar for ordinary people."

"That way, anyone, regardless of their background, can buy our candy."

As Cheng Qiqi spoke, her brows radiated confidence. Looking at the thoughtful expressions of everyone present, she continued, "At the same time, I also plan to improve the sugar mill. With the same amount of sugarcane, producing an extra batch of sugar will generate an extra one or two hundred coins."

"Besides sugar extraction, there are several areas where the sugar mill can be improved. I've seen that Guihua Village grows a lot of sugarcane, and several neighboring villages also grow sugarcane. The sugar mill's production capacity is limited, and a lot of the sugarcane has to be sold to other places."

"The villagers work themselves to the bone but don't earn much money. But after our sugar mill is renovated, we can consume all this sugarcane. At that time, with everyone working together and the sugar mill expanding, how can we not make money?"

Cheng Qiqi smiled and described a bright future. Not only were the villagers who were eavesdropping outside interested, but even the village head and Granny Leng were attracted.

"You talk a good game, but who knows if you can even sell your stuff?"

The old woman's tone softened a bit. Listening to her talk about improving the sugar mill, she thought of how Cheng Qiqi made the sugar that day, and indeed, it produced an extra pot of sugar compared to usual.

"If I can't sell them, I won't take the money."

Cheng Qiqi wasn't worried at all. Her sugar was better than any of the sugar in Kyoto, so she wouldn't be unable to sell it.

That doesn't exist.

"Sister-in-law Leng, Mrs. Jin is right, let's all make money together."

Zhuang Lizheng said, "Your sugar mill doesn't have many people now. Once everyone in our village joins, and we've made more sugar, we'll be able to earn more money."

The old woman remained silent for a while before going out to discuss it with her elder brother, Zhao Hei, before saying, "You have to write it down in black and white. If we don't sell a hundred taels of silver in a year, you'll only take ten percent of the profits!"

"OK."

Cheng Qiqi nodded, and just as the old woman was about to have the contract written, Cheng Qiqi slowly spoke up: "What if I sold it for more than a hundred taels?"

"Wouldn't that be a win-win situation? Everyone would make money?"

The old woman asked in return.

Cheng Qiqi's smile widened: "Grandma Leng, what are you saying? If I can't sell for a hundred taels, you'll punish me by making me only take 10% of the profit. So, if I sell for more than a hundred taels, shouldn't I get more money?"

"The risks of transportation, distribution, and collecting final payments are all borne by the Jin family."

Cheng Qiqi's gaze swept over everyone, and she said, word by word, "If we sell for over a hundred taels, I want 50% of the profit!"

"What?"

The old woman exclaimed in surprise, and the paper in her hand fluttered to the ground.

"this……"

Zhuang Lizheng's face also turned ugly. Does this Cheng Qiqi really want to do business?

"Don't misunderstand, for amounts under one hundred taels, we'll still split it as we just agreed. But for amounts over one hundred taels, I'll take fifty percent."

Cheng Qiqi gave a simple explanation, saying, "For example, if we sell for two hundred taels of silver, then I will take fifty taels of the extra one hundred taels, and you can divide the rest among yourselves."

"You're not at a loss either. Without us selling more sugar, we wouldn't have earned those extra fifty taels of silver. You're getting fifty taels for free! Isn't that great?"

Cheng Qiqi's words were so eloquent that even the village headman and the old woman were confused, as if they made perfect sense.

The candlelight flickered, and the small living room was crowded with Dang Dang's people, but no one spoke.

"We can take a longer-term view. If we earn an extra hundred taels, the Leng family and the village will each get fifty taels. If we earn an extra two hundred taels, then the Leng family and the village will each get one hundred taels!"

"What if we could earn an extra three or four hundred taels?"

Cheng Qiqi's clear voice rang out once again, each word exuding a seductive charm.