Chapter 9: A Small Profit

  Lin He listened, and couldn't help but want to beat up this master, her eyes becoming even more fierce as she said "Before my brother came, you all agreed on 100 taels of silver per month. This month we don't want it, but the monthly allowance you gave us is from last month. Just give us last month's allowance and that will do."

  Lin He knew that Da Bao's iron shop paid wages in this way, with the 25th of each month paying last month's wages, and this month's wages were deducted here. This way of paying wages was common in Lin He's previous life, but it was unacceptable in ancient times.

  In ancient times, people were very trustworthy and would usually pay their monthly salary on the last day of each month. This boss was quite forward-thinking, but Lin Hu's master was surprised that a little girl knew such things. He didn't want to give in, so he hesitated and muttered to himself. Lin Hu said, "If you don't give it to me, I'll go to the government office and tell them about this. Let's see what kind of explanation you can come up with."

  The master of Dabao was somewhat afraid after hearing this, not because he was afraid that the little girl would really go to report him, but because if things were made big for a hundred taels of silver, others would know that he was so stingy with his apprentice, which wouldn't be good. Although unwilling, he still counted out a hundred taels of silver and gave them to Linhe. Linhe told Dabao to pack up her things, and Dabao went in for a moment before coming out with a small bundle on her back. As she left, she even had her master inspect the bundle. Xiaobao and Sanwa followed Linhe as they walked out of the blacksmith's shop.

  Dabao followed Linhe behind, looking listless and disheartened. He should have taken his sister's hand just now. Although his sister said that their family was a bit better off this year, how could he not know about his own family? Just as he was feeling disheartened, Linhe pulled him and said, "Big brother, I've thought of a way to make money. Today, I'm going to sell things on the street. Don't worry."

  Dabao's eyes lit up when she heard, but soon dimmed again, thinking that her sister was just comforting her. What could be valuable in their home to sell? If there were, she wouldn't have gone to the blacksmith's shop as an apprentice in the first place. Lin He pulled Dabao aside and took out a small yellow teddy bear from her bundle for Dabao to see. Dabao was truly dazzled by it, and although the workmanship was a bit rough and the fabric was just ordinary coarse cloth, the style was unlike anything she had ever seen before, and it was made very realistically. The color was also very eye-catching, but after a while, she lowered her head again, thinking that even if they sold such a doll for hundreds of dollars, it wouldn't solve much of their problems.

  Looking at Da Bao's dejected appearance, Lin He didn't say much to him either, only asking "Big brother, is there a store in this town that sells this type of cloth doll? I want the big kind, and it should be from a reputable shop."

  Dà bǎo nodded and said "I have it, I'll take you there."

  The town is called Tianxin Town, which is more than twice as big as Huayu Town where Linhe's home is located. There are also many wealthy people in the town who are willing to spend money on these things. Linhe followed Dabao to a store called "Cai Die Xuan", the store was very large and the business inside was also very good.

  Lin He turned around in the store, and the shopkeeper saw that they were three small children. Although they were dressed in tatters, the shopkeeper did not despise them, but instead enthusiastically introduced himself and asked what they wanted to buy. Lin He was quite satisfied with this store, saying "I want to see your boss, I have something to sell to him".

  The little kid also has a discerning eye, but he's just a child at home. When there are good things to sell, he says "What goods do you have for sale? Let me take a look."

  Lin He said "Can you be in charge or not? If so, what kind of price can you give me? If it's okay, I'll show it to you."

  The shop assistant's face turned red with embarrassment, not knowing how to respond. After a moment, he said, "The boss is temporarily not in the store, can you wait for a moment? I'll go and ask the boss to come."

  Lin He nodded, and the shopkeeper called another person to attend to them, while he himself went to look for the boss.

  The young shop assistant actually hoped that the few kids would really have something to sell, otherwise they would be scolded to death when the boss came back. But looking at Lin He, she seemed like a girl with a mind of her own, and her tone of voice was somewhat different from ordinary little girls.

  In a moment, the shopkeeper came in, followed by a man of about thirty years old. The man was very tall and had a slightly protruding belly, wearing a deep purple long gown with a cyan-black jacket on top, and deerskin boots on his feet. His face showed the shrewdness of a businessman, but gave people a comfortable feeling.

  The shopkeeper, seeing that they were three small children, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and smile as he asked: "I am Wen Shijie, the shopkeeper of Cai Die Xuan. What can I do for you?"

  Lin He withdrew her gaze, nodded and said "Hello, Mr. Wen". Wen Shijie saw this little girl, his lips curled up, this little girl was quite interesting.

  Lin He continued, "I have something I'd like to sell to your store. It's guaranteed to be something the owner has never heard of or seen before. Can we talk somewhere else?"

  Wen Shijie took them to the outhouse in the backyard and asked, "What is it?" Wen Shijie was surprised that a plain-looking little girl dared to say such things, and indeed showed curiosity about such objects. Lin He took out the package from San Ya's hand and handed several small bears to Wen Shijie.

  Wen Shijie took over the few small bears, his eyes lit up, and the three small bears in his hand, although the material was only coarse cloth, and the workmanship was not particularly good, but they were vivid and interesting. The little bears should be a set, just with different postures, some sitting, some standing, and another cute one winking its eyes. Moreover, the fabrics used to make the three small bears were all matched in different colors, which was just right.

  Wen Shi Jie smiled and said, "These little bears are quite interesting, miss. How do you plan to sell them?"

  Lin He: "These are just samples, I can make many different ones like this, guaranteed to be different from what you usually see. If you want, we can cooperate in the long term, I'll provide you with samples, one for each color and style, nothing else is my concern, make a sample and give me 50 taels."

  The big mouth behind her couldn't close, and for such a broken toy, her sister actually wanted fifty taels. Isn't this cheating? However, Lin He had told him before entering the store not to speak too much without her permission. Dabao opened his mouth but ultimately didn't say anything. San Ya was too small, so she was left outside with the shop assistant. Wen Shijie knew that fifty taels for a stuffed animal was an exorbitant price, but the business opportunity was limitless. If the little girl hadn't been constrained by her family's lack of capital, she wouldn't have given him a discount; if he were to sell it himself, he would make even more money.

  Wen Shijie hesitantly asked, "Will 50 taels be too expensive?"

  Lin He looked at him and didn't say much either. "If Mr. Wen thinks it's not worth it, we can go somewhere else." Lin He made a move to get up and leave.

  Wen Shi Jie hastily pulled her back, laughing, "This little girl may be small in stature, but she's quite formidable. Little girl, let's talk this out."

  Lin He said, "Boss Wen, you've seen this doll, you should know its value is far more than 50 taels. If you manage it well, 5,000 taels or even 50,000 taels are possible."

  The boss furrowed his brow for a moment, then relaxed and said, "I can give you this price, but you have to guarantee that you will only supply goods to my store and not to anyone else."