Chapter 409: Chapter 405: The First Payment

Xu Wenwan stood at the doorway for a moment to compose herself, then stepped inside. Once she was in the room, she finally got a clear look at Mr. Jiu.

Mr. Jiu looked to be in his thirties, with small eyes and a fleshy, brutish face. When he wasn’t smiling, he gave off a sinister, ruthless vibe.

Xu Wenwan, however, wasn’t the least bit afraid and spoke with great confidence.

"I’m the one who made it."

Mr. Jiu glanced at his underling, and the underling nodded.

Mr. Jiu was very satisfied.

"Alright then. I’ll take these facial soaps. From now on, you deliver them here, and I’ll pay you fifty cents a bar."

Xu Wenwan immediately frowned.

"Fifty cents a bar? Don’t these sell for one-twenty?"

The price she had in mind was a dollar.

Mr. Jiu gave Xu Wenwan a longer look.

He’d dealt with people for years and was naturally a good judge of character. Someone like Xu Wenwan, who wore all her thoughts on her face, was the easiest kind of person to handle.

"Miss Xu, they sell for one-twenty, but you have to let me and my brothers under me earn a little something, right? Besides, we have to take these to the black market. That’s a huge risk. If we get caught, our lives are forfeit."

"How about this: if you don’t trust us, you can go sell them yourself."

"Sell them on your own, see how many you can move, and then we can talk price again."

Seeing that Mr. Jiu seemed unwilling to negotiate, Xu Wenwan started to get anxious.

’It wasn’t that she couldn’t accept fifty cents; she just felt it was a bit low. To be honest, the cost to make each one was less than twenty cents, so even at fifty cents, she would still be turning a profit.’

However, she wasn’t willing to compromise just like that.

"Seventy cents. I’ll agree for seventy cents."

Mr. Jiu shook his head. "Fifty cents is fifty cents. I’m not trying to cheat you. You know what your costs are, and I need a large volume. The money you’ll make in just a few days will be more than a worker’s entire monthly salary."

Xu Wenwan wavered.

’Mr. Jiu was right. Even though she’d be earning less per bar, the soap wasn’t difficult to make. She could still make a good profit by selling a larger quantity.’

With that thought, Xu Wenwan agreed.

"Fine. Fifty cents it is."

After saying this, she looked at Mr. Jiu.

Mr. Jiu understood and had one of his men give Xu Wenwan two dollars.

Clutching the money in her hand, she reflected that this was the first money she had earned through her own efforts since arriving here.

’Although she hadn’t recouped her initial costs yet, she now had an income. It was only a matter of time before she made it all back.’

She excitedly pocketed the money, then looked at Mr. Jiu.

"I was wondering, how many bars of facial soap will you be needing, Mr. Jiu?"

"A hundred bars. Can you do it?"

When Xu Wenwan heard that number, her eyes lit up.

’A hundred bars, at fifty cents each... that’s fifty dollars!’

’After costs, she’d make at least thirty dollars in profit.’

"I can."

Mr. Jiu’s gaze sharpened.

Everything he had said before was just a test. He hadn’t actually expected Xu Wenwan to compromise, which could only mean one thing: the production cost was extremely low.

By that calculation, this facial soap was an absolute gold mine.

In an instant, the way Mr. Jiu looked at Xu Wenwan changed, as if he were looking at a walking cash cow.

His attitude grew even more amicable.

"How long will you need for a hundred bars?"

Xu Wenwan thought for a moment. She still needed to have more molds made. At home, she only had two small ones, which meant she could only make twenty bars at a time. This time, she wanted to get a large one made—the kind that could produce fifty bars at once.

By her calculations, that would take about a week.

"One week should be enough."

Mr. Jiu nodded. "Alright, then. Bring the facial soap here in one week."

With their business concluded, Xu Wenwan left. Mr. Jiu stared after her ass for a long time, only looking away once she was gone.

"That little gal... she’s a real looker."

’If she weren’t the one who could make the facial soap, there’s no way he would have let her leave just like that.’

Hearing this, his underling immediately understood his meaning.

"If you’ve taken a fancy to her, Mr. Jiu, the brothers can find a way to bring her to you!"