They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 212 Achieved
Master Qin's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together with a broad smile: "Excellent, excellent, Madam Xu's idea is brilliant! If we follow this plan, we'll definitely make a fortune!"

Master Qin's mind raced. He was already silently planning how many carpenters and blacksmiths to hire for this task, how to keep the blueprints secret and ensure efficiency, and how to produce the maximum quantity possible. He knew he had to hurry, as the autumn harvest was fast approaching.

He himself would go to the provincial capital as soon as possible to find a reliable merchant from another place, discuss the possibility of selling the blueprints to them.
Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "In that case, how about we draft a contract? Three copies, one for Lord Lu to keep. As for the profit, Master Qin can handle the accounting. After deducting all costs, Master Qin will take five percent, and Lord Lu and I will each take twenty-five percent."

Actually, Lord Lu said he would take 20% and Xu Zhichun 30%. Xu Zhichun thought it wouldn't sound good to let Lord Lu take the smallest share, so he decided that they would each take 25%. After all, if he let Magistrate Lu take 30% and he took 20%, he would probably refuse.

Upon hearing the proportion, Master Qin was startled and hurriedly shook his hands and head, saying, "No, no, how can this be! I only talked the talk, and all the profits come from these blueprints. Besides, my own family also benefits from them. How can I take so much? How about this, Lord Lu takes 40%, and my family and Madam Xu each take 30%?"

"This matter was made possible entirely thanks to Master Qin. Otherwise, I would have been helpless even with the blueprints in my hands. How about Master Qin takes 40%?"

"No, no, it must be Lord Lu who gets 40%."

"I'm afraid Lord Lu won't agree!"

"Madam Xu should talk to Lord Lu. It is only right, only right."

"Master Qin, please just accept it generously, there's really no problem."

Xu Zhichun was somewhat helpless. At that time, Lord Lu had instructed him to take only one or two percent of the profits, and not more.

Xu Zhichun knew that he was honest and upright. If it weren't for Madam Lu's words that moved him, he probably wouldn't have taken a single penny. Letting him keep 40% would be something he would never be happy about.

How could Master Qin possibly take more than Lord Lu?

Those are local officials, and local officials naturally make up the largest group.

Who else but the local officials is qualified?

He knew in his heart that Xu Zhichun must have said something explicitly or implicitly by Lord Lu, but Master Qin had his own set of reasons and survival rules.

Lord Lu may not mind now, and he may genuinely think so now, but who knows what will happen in the future.

What if?
What if Lord Lu recalls this matter one day and suddenly feels uneasy?

He must be so wronged, who can he turn to for justice?

With Master Qin insisting, Xu Zhichun had no choice but to back down.

There was no way around it; Master Qin was all smiles and seemed easy to persuade, but in reality, he was very eloquent. If he wanted to stick to something, there was nothing he couldn't do.

Xu Zhichun couldn't insist on refusing the benefits on behalf of Lord Lu, so he said, "Then, let's leave it at that?"

Xu Zhichun decided to discuss with Master Qin that if Lord Lu was unwilling to accept so much, the extra profit could be donated to the county school or a temple.

In short, taking from the people and using it for the people is a good approach.

Master Qin was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, good, this is an excellent idea! I am really old, I cannot compare with Madam Xu's youth and wisdom to come up with such a perfect solution."

Xu Zhichun felt embarrassed by his praise, "Master Qin, you are too kind. I don't deserve it!"

After discussing how to make a fortune from the two blueprints, it was already noon, so the two men prepared to take their leave.

Xu Zhichun tentatively said, "I have something else I'd like to ask Mr. and Mrs. Qin for a favor."

Madam Qin laughed heartily, "Madam Xu, why are you being so polite? From now on, we should visit each other often. Please feel free to speak your mind, Madam Xu." Xu Zhichun replied, "To be honest, I've saved up some silver and want to buy some fertile land. Master Qin and Madam Qin have many connections; if you know of any suitable plots, could you please recommend them to me?"

These days, buying fertile land is not an easy thing, and buying a dozen or even dozens of acres at once is even more difficult.

There are many wealthy people, and no wealthy family would complain about having too much fertile land. They would buy as much as they could, and they would never think they had too much.

Therefore, it was extremely difficult for Xu Zhichun to buy fertile land, especially contiguous plots.

She couldn't even get a turn in line.

The Qin family, however, was different.

If the local headman has good land, and no one in the village wants it, he will probably offer it to someone like Master Qin as soon as possible.

Master Qin was taken aback: "Madam Xu wants to buy fertile land?"

"Hmm." Xu Zhichun nodded and smiled. "My family has too little land. Although I do some small business in the city, I still feel a little uneasy. Now that I've saved up some money, I'm thinking of buying more. At least it will give me peace of mind."

"That's true, nothing is as reliable as fertile fields and beautiful land."

Mr. and Mrs. Qin strongly agreed.

Master Qin then said, "Excuse my intrusion, but may I ask how much fertile land Madam Xu wishes to purchase?"

Xu Zhichun had already calculated that one mu of fertile land was now worth seven to eight taels of silver, and she currently had eight hundred and forty taels on hand. This did not include the money from selling tomatoes for so long, which was recorded in the books and had not yet been settled.

She then said, "It would be best if we could have over a hundred acres, but if not, a few dozen acres would be fine too."

Mr. and Mrs. Qin were both shocked and greatly impressed.

That adds up to just over eight hundred taels of silver, which isn't even enough for the Qin family's monthly expenses. But they aren't ignorant playboys; they know how difficult it is for ordinary farming families to save three or five taels of silver.

Even if Xu Zhichun did business in the city, she might only have a hundred or so taels of silver saved up. I never expected her to have so much.

For farmers, this is undoubtedly an astronomical figure!
You couldn't earn that much in several lifetimes.

Madam Xu is truly amazing.

Master Qin: "Of course, of course. If there is any news, I will definitely inform Madam Xu."

Suddenly, Madam Qin remembered something and smiled at Master Qin, "By the way, sir, I vaguely remember that our family seems to have more than 30 mu of fertile land in Liangjia Village, right?"

Master Qin was taken aback, then remembered, "Madam has a good memory, it is indeed true. It's about thirty acres in the area where Liangjia Village and Quanshan Village are roughly on the border. We bought that land as dry land at first, and had the servants dig an irrigation canal to bring water for irrigation, and it later became fertile land."

"That's perfect!" Madam Qin clapped her hands and laughed. "Liangjia Village isn't close to our home, and taking care of over thirty acres of fertile land would be troublesome. Why don't we just sell it to Madam Xu?"

"Haha, that's fine too!"

Madam Qin smiled and said, "Although it's not much, Madam Xu, please don't mind."

(End of this chapter)