Chapter 059 Hunger Marketing

Zhao Bantou asked, "If that's the case, why don't we make the soap first, bring it into the city, and start selling it right here?"

"Making soap takes time, and we don't have enough time. Besides, we're unfamiliar with this place, so it's not easy to sell it. Even if we hold this thing out and shout loudly, no one may even look at it. Isn't it better this way? I don't ask people for help, but let them ask me, and the money will naturally roll in—"

Xu Degui suddenly understood, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Xu Qingying again became different.

He sighed quietly in his heart. He wondered who Xu Qingying inherited her personality from. Why didn't he realize she was so smart before?

This child seems to have become a different person after being exiled.

Xu Degui suppressed the inexplicable thoughts in his mind and quickly followed.

At this moment, Lian was in a rouge shop.

The shopkeeper offered the best tea, but Lian only took a sip before putting it down with a frown. He said slowly, "Junshan Yinzhen, although it has a noble fragrance and a mellow and sweet taste, its base color is a bit white and a bit damp."

As a shopkeeper, you naturally have to be good at networking and have a pair of sharp eyes.

Especially the owner of a rouge shop must have a pair of sharp eyes.

The shopkeeper knew all the famous ladies in the city, but he didn't know Lian.

But with just one glance, he recognized that her clothes were from Baoyi Pavilion in Bianjing City, and her bracelet was from Zhen Yuxiang. She sat there with a stern look on her face, and her pair of phoenix eyes were full of intimidation. She looked even more majestic than the county magistrate's wife.

Even the two girls beside her knew how to act and how to retreat, and it was obvious that they had received training from everyone. How could such composure be fake?

When did such a powerful lady come to this city?

The shopkeeper didn't dare to neglect the matter and put all his energy into dealing with it, lowering his head even lower. "Madam... what exactly is this soap you're talking about? I've never even heard of it!"

Lian didn't seem to want to embarrass the shopkeeper. She simply said, "Never mind. In this small Pingyang County, I'm afraid no one has ever seen this soap. I won't embarrass you. Do you know if other shops have this soap?"

The shopkeeper naturally didn't want to let go of this business, but he was also curious about what soap was, so he bravely asked, "Excuse me, madam, what does this soap look like? Please describe it in detail, perhaps I can help you--"

Lian winked at the maid beside her, who immediately understood and said arrogantly, "Pingyang County is not far from Bianjing City, but how come it's like a remote and poor place? There's not even a bar of soap. The soap is the size of a palm, as transparent as jade, and can be used to wash hands or clothes—"

"But isn't that a fragrant soap?"

"Of course not. How much is a fragrant soap worth? That soap is worth three taels of silver for a small piece. After washing, the skin becomes smooth and tender, and it also has the effect of whitening and nourishing the skin. How can it be compared with a small fragrant soap?"

"This..." The shopkeeper looked embarrassed. "I'm really sorry, but our shop doesn't have anything like this. May I ask, madam, where can I buy the soap you mentioned in Bianjing? I just came back from Bianjing two days ago, and I've never heard anyone mention it before."

Lian's face was slightly flustered for a moment, but then she remembered Xu Qingying's instructions before she left, so she said slowly, "Things like soap have only become popular recently. I only saw Sister Zhang from the Imperial Household use it once, at the chrysanthemum viewing banquet last month. I thought it was everywhere, so I thought of buying some for my old family members so they wouldn't have to go back empty-handed to pay respect to their ancestors. I never expected that after asking in several shops, no one had heard of it."

The shopkeeper wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling that the woman in front of him was very intimidating. She kept calling the wife of the Imperial Household "Sister Zhang".

As the owner of a rouge shop, she naturally knows all the ladies of each family very well. It can be seen that she calls the second-rank lady "sister" so affectionately, which shows that the relationship between the two must be very close.

Then this lady’s husband must be of a high rank.

The shopkeeper served more carefully. "Perhaps this soap is a new thing and hasn't spread to our county yet. Madam, why don't you wait a few more days? If I get any news about soap, I will definitely send it to your door..."

"No need." The maid raised her chin slightly, wary of the shopkeeper trying to gain access to her connections, and said arrogantly, "My wife has to go back to her hometown to worship her ancestors. How can she wait for a few days?"

After that, the girl turned to Lian and said, "Madam, since there's nothing in this county town, why don't you go to Henan Prefecture and have a look? After all, it's much bigger there, and there are more shops. Who knows, maybe you can find some soap there."

"Well," Lian stood up calmly and glanced at the rouge shop owner. "I thought your shop was so big, at least it should have a complete range of goods, but it turns out it's just a shell... If I had known, I wouldn't have listened to that lady's advice and come to you to look for it... I wouldn't have had to make all these steps... Okay, no need to see me off..."

Lian waved her hand impatiently, and the maids hurried to follow.

The shopkeeper was very careful to accompany her, and only felt relieved after Lian left, so he called the servant over.

At this moment, the humility on his face was completely gone. Instead, he said angrily: "Go, go to Bianjing City immediately and find out what this soap is! If you see the soap, buy it back to me at any price. I want to see what it is-"

The same thing was happening in all the grocery stores and rouge shops in the city.

Soon, the industry knew that there was a thing called soap in Bianjing City that was very popular and deeply loved by the ladies. Unfortunately, it was too expensive to buy it.

The protagonists of the play are now gathering at the designated location.

Lian and others had long disliked such formal attire and were afraid that it would be damaged by the old lady of the Fang family, so they changed their clothes on the way and felt much more relaxed.

The rest of the people had already been waiting for them outside the city.

Seeing them return with a full load, they were naturally happy, but some people were jealous and muttered a few words, but Xu Qingying pretended not to hear.

Miao went forward, looked at the father and daughter, and asked, "How is it going?"

"Once we've bought everything, we can start work tonight. Let's make a trial batch to see how it turns out. If it works well, we'll immediately gather people for mass production."

Miao listened to it completely and just nodded, "My Ying'er is really amazing."

Xu Huiming was already eager to try. With the shackles removed, he was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins. He just wanted to get started right away. "Sister, what should I do? Tell me what to do quickly. I don't want to be the only one in the family eating for free..."

Xu Meixiao looked up and said cheerfully: "The rice smells good, the rice tastes good—"

Xu Qingying suppressed her laughter, touched her face, and then, like a magic trick, produced a few candies. "Meizi, look what this is?"

"Lotus seed candy!" Xu Meixiao's eyes lit up.

"Take it and share it with your friends."

Xu Meixiao hugged her, rubbing her little head against her waist, and showered her with compliments, "Sister is the best to me. Sister is like a fairy from heaven. Sister is my favorite!"

Xu Meixiao was about to reach out to take it, but stopped, looking at the adults with her wet eyes wide open, "Mom, brother, you guys eat first..."

Miao Shi held back her laughter, "Mom won't eat, Mom has a toothache—"

Xu Huiming deliberately teased her, "Little girl, you like whoever buys you candy the most, right?"

Xu Meixiao was a master of keeping things balanced. Seeing this, she hugged Xu Huiming and said with a smile, "Even if brother doesn't buy candy for Mei Zi, Mei Zi will still like brother... But if brother buys candy for Mei Zi... then Mei Zi will like brother even more..."

"Alright, you little flatterer..." Xu Huiming mercilessly exposed Xiao Meizi, "Take it and go play with your friends..."

Xiaomeizi skipped away and went to play with her sisters of the same age in the exile team.

Miao said, "Ying'er, you only bought it for Mei Zi and didn't buy any for the other girls from the second house? If your father saw it, he would say we are unruly..."

"Don't worry, Mom. Dad watched me buy it. Ever since the third room signed the agreement to be responsible for the profits and losses of the soap business, Dad has lost interest in that business—"

"Well, forget it, let's not talk about them. It's better for us to run this soap business properly than anything else."

"That's right."

In the evening, the group arrived at the post station, and Xu Qingying made clear arrangements for everyone.

As the Fang family's supplies dwindled, carriages gradually became available. Xu Qingying bravely rented one for two taels of silver. She had five or six pig pancreases carried down and instructed the two young men working on the job, "Crush the pancreases. Then borrow a large pot, add a little water, and slowly boil the lard over low heat. Watch over it and make sure the fire doesn't go out. Don't fall asleep and let anything burn or get mushy."

She instructed the others, "The remaining girls will work in pairs. One group will collect firewood, and one group will burn wood ash. Add water to boil out the alkaline solution. As long as there is a clear layer on top, the more the better. One group will get quicklime, and one group will fetch water. Everyone must wash their hands before working. What we make must be clean and of guaranteed quality. If there are any quality issues, I will definitely hold you accountable and deduct your wages. From now on, you need to work for at least two hours before you can go to bed. Of course, your wages will be calculated from today. Do you have any other questions? If you have any questions, please let me know..."

The ten people shook their heads, and Xu Qingying gave an order to start work.

Although no one knew how soap was made, Xu Qingying explained each person's job clearly and their responsibilities were distinct.

Zhao Bantou borrowed tables, benches, kitchen knives and other items from the post station. Such a large scale event naturally attracted many people to lean on the windows to look in...

"Wow, this is such a grand event..."

"I heard from the maids who came back today that Miss Xu Liu is planning to sell the soap for a whopping price, at least this much..."

The man showed five fingers.

"Five cents?"

"You're too timid. What's the point of earning five cents? Can five cents make Zhao Bantou and the others come to help in person?"

The man then bravely guessed, "Could it be fifty cents?"

"Ha, that's not enough. They said they'd sell it for five taels of silver a piece."

There was a gasp from the crowd.

"This is crazy, this is really crazy. Is this a gold brick or silver chopsticks? Selling it for five taels of silver is simply cruel..."

"This is too fantastical. Do you think everyone else is a fool?"

"You don't understand, do you?" the man said, shaking his head. "Miss Xu Liu said, what's this called... Oh, right... hunger marketing! They say the higher the price, the better the sales. Five taels of silver is nothing. To those wives of officials, it's just a meal. If you don't believe me, ask. There are quite a few officials in our team..."

Some people actually went to ask the old lady of the Fang family. Perhaps it was because they saw that the old lady was straightforward, did not like to put on airs, had a kind heart, and often gave away food, which made her have a lot of good connections. Therefore, the people along the way were not afraid of her, but instead went to her to discuss things when they had problems.

Old Lady Fang laughed when she heard this. "The girl from the Xu family is really bold. Five taels is not expensive, but you have to show your real ability to make people willing to pay this money..."

"That's right, this girl is really crazy. She wants to cheat people out of five taels of silver just for a piece of soap..."

"I told you it's not soap, it's soap!"

“What’s the difference…”

"The Xu family girl is amazing. She spent all this money like water today without even blinking an eye—"

"Don't you know? I heard from Master Xu that all that money was paid to her husband's family after she broke off the engagement. Oh my...it's really strange...I've lived for most of my life and I've never seen a girl break off an engagement on her own...how shameless..."

"So, girls shouldn't be spoiled too much, otherwise they'll become lawless..."

Someone nudged Huang Cui'e and asked with a playful smile, "Mrs. Xu, can Mr. Xu San's business really make money?"

Huang Cui'e waved her hand and said impatiently, "How would I know?"

The more Huang Cui'e thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. It was true that so much money had been spent, but seeing how Xu Qingying had arranged everything in an orderly manner, she couldn't help but feel itchy.

What if I really make money?

Huang Cui'e couldn't hold back and had a few bites of dinner. Seeing those people still busy in the dam outside the post station, she felt like a thousand bugs were crawling in her heart. In the end, she couldn't help it and she approached stealthily.

Zhao Bantou sent several people to surround the carriage. There were several lights on inside, and Xu Qingying's figure could be vaguely seen.

She looked at all the raw materials, thinking about the saponification reaction she had learned before.

Making soap is not difficult, the difficult part is finding the right proportions.

This step is the key to making soap, so she decided to do it herself from now on. This way, even if someone can figure out all the raw materials, as long as the proportions are not right, they still can't make the soap.

The alkaline liquid has been filtered out with gauze to remove the alkaline water. Then add an appropriate amount of limestone powder, stir evenly, filter it again with gauze, and then set aside to wait for sedimentation.

The lard has been cooked and is shiny.

Xu Qingying divided it into several jars, adding different amounts each time to find the best ratio.

Pour the layered alkaline liquid into lard at room temperature, add an appropriate amount of salt, and stir continuously in one direction. The soap will slowly precipitate until the alkaline water and lard are fully mixed and become a sticky paste. Then put it into the mold to set and demold it. The whole soap is completed.

Xu Qingying estimated the temperature and estimated that the soap would solidify within two or three days.

She was sweating all over after moving like this. Before she knew it, more than half an hour had passed. When she looked up, she found that it was already dark and the soybean oil lamp in the carriage was about to go out.

Her arms were too tired to lift.

Very tired, but very happy.