Chapter 223 The Cao Family Has Arrived

In less than three days, the soap workshop gradually took shape.

A large house was built next to the original house, attracting much attention and causing much discussion in the village.

Grandma Zhao couldn't hold back any longer and pulled Cheng Wanwan aside to ask in a low voice, "This house cost a lot of money to build, what is it going to be used for?"

Cheng Wanwan knew that everyone would find out about this sooner or later, so she decided not to hide it anymore and said, "I'm planning to do another business."

She brought out a basin of water, placed it in front of the old lady, and then handed her a bar of soap, saying, "Mom, wash your hands."

Grandma Zhao had a pair of rough, wrinkled hands. The back of her hands was deeply grooved, and there was black stuff everywhere in the gaps between her fingers and her palms. This was dirt that had accumulated over the years. In the days before cleaning products, these stubborn stains could not be washed off at all.

She glanced at Cheng Wanwan's fair and clean hands and felt inexplicably embarrassed.

Actually, everyone in the village has hands like that, and she used to think it was nothing, but when her eldest daughter-in-law suddenly made her wash her hands, she felt a sudden sense of shame.

"Mom, wet your hands first, then rub this on your hands."

Cheng Wanwan gave a brief demonstration.

Grandma Zhao did as instructed. The substance felt slippery on her hands, and a layer of fine white foam appeared on her palms, as if it had rubbed off some of the black stuff. She quickly put her hands in a basin of water and took them out. Sure enough, her hands were a little cleaner.

"What...what is this?" Old Mrs. Zhao exclaimed in surprise. "It's not one of those bath beans that wealthy families use, is it?"

She had heard of this thing, but she had never seen it, much less used it.

In her mind, only bath beans could achieve such a good cleaning effect.

"That day when I was cooking, I poured a jar of lard from the stove into the wood ash, and it solidified into this stuff. I tried it, and it actually works really well, much better than just using wood ash to wash things." Cheng Wanwan laughed. "Mom, do you think there would be a market for this stuff if I made it and sold it?"

"Lard? A jar of lard?" Old Mrs. Zhao's eyes widened. "This stuff is made from lard! My God, I just washed my hands with lard!!"

One jar of lard can last their family a year!

How can this eldest son's wife be so wasteful!

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

Why do old ladies always have such bizarre interests!

She began to explain, "Mother, please calm down. I'm asking you, do you know how much a bath bean costs?"

Grandma Zhao shook her head. She didn't know where to buy bath beans in town, so how would she know how much they cost? Anyway, she couldn't afford them and didn't care about the price.

“I asked Xiao Zheng, and a bath bean the size of a baby’s fist costs about one tael of silver,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “Xiao Zheng said that our product is even better than a bath bean, but it doesn’t have any fragrance… Once I figure out how to add fragrance, it can sell for at least one tael of silver per piece. Do you know how much lard one tael of silver can buy?”

Old Mrs. Zhao quickly did the math in her mind: pure fatty pork cost more than twenty copper coins per pound, and one tael of silver could buy nearly fifty pounds, which could render forty pounds of lard... After doing this calculation, the old lady's mind became even more unsettled, and even her breathing became rapid: "This stuff can really sell for one tael of silver?"

She grabbed Cheng Wanwan's sleeve.

Cheng Wanwan nodded seriously: "As long as this product is on the market, it will definitely sell for this price."

"Eldest daughter-in-law, you can't tell everyone how you discovered this stuff. What if someone else copies you and makes it with lard and wood ash?" Old Mrs. Zhao said in a low voice. "This stuff will definitely sell, but if the recipe is leaked and everyone rushes to make it, how will you make money?"

Cheng Wanwan knew that the old lady was genuinely concerned for her, and she didn't want the old lady to worry about this every day, so she smiled and said, "I've been researching and improving the recipe these past few days. It was made by adding some other things. Just lard and wood ash wouldn't have such a good effect."

High-proof alcohol and salt water are the foundation of the soap business.

Grandma Zhao breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. You must keep the secret recipe to yourself. Those children in Dashan are still young and easily fooled, so don't tell them yet..."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking inside the house.

Ah Fu suddenly rushed in: "Auntie, something bad has happened!"

Cheng Wanwan hurriedly went out: "What happened?"

"Several horse-drawn carriages came to the village entrance, and the patrol team couldn't stop them. Those people are heading straight for Auntie's house!" Afu gasped for breath. "Those people are all dressed in silk and satin, so they must not be ordinary people. Auntie, be careful."

Cheng Wanwan stood on the stone in the courtyard and looked out. Sure enough, she saw three carriages coming in from the village entrance. The village patrol team and the village head were following the carriages and kept trying to get them to stop, but the carriages were going faster and faster.

"Halt!" The village headman chased after the carriage, running alongside. "This is Dahe Village. Outsiders are not allowed to enter. Who are you? State your names, or I will report you to the magistrate!"

An old woman stepped out of the carriage, lifting the curtain, and sneered, "A mere villager dares to stop the Cao family's carriage? How dare you! Guards, restrain him!"

Two guards jumped off another carriage and rushed towards the interior without saying a word.

Three or four members of the patrol team rushed over to protect the village head.

Taking advantage of this lull, the carriage sped forward and stopped in front of Cheng Wanwan's house.

Li Zhengqi's chest heaved with anger: "Even the patrol team can't stop these people! There's no law at all! It seems our patrol team is still too small!"

Wang Yongcheng said, "It's not that we have too few people, it's that we lack martial arts skills. Those two guards are clearly very skilled. Even if all ten of us attacked together, we wouldn't be a match for them!"

The village head was well aware of this principle.

He sighed deeply. The village was full of farmers who, apart from their strength, had no other advantages. The patrol team could stop ordinary people, but they couldn't stop the rich and powerful...

The village head didn't have time to think about these things and quickly followed the carriage to Cheng Wanwan's house.

The old woman in the first carriage jumped down. She was dressed in silk clothes, with a silver hairpin in her hair and a jade bracelet on her wrist. Her whole demeanor was that of a lady from a wealthy family.

She asked coldly, "Is this the home of Zhao Chengshi in Dahe Village?"

Cheng Wanwan stepped forward and said calmly, "I am Zhao Chengshi. Who are you?"

"I am the head housekeeper of Madam Cao of the Cao family, and my surname is Xu." Granny Xu smiled insincerely. "I heard that a beautiful young girl has recently joined the Zhao family. Is that true?"

Cheng Wanwan smiled: "There's no need for us to report our family matters to a servant, is there?"

This group of people came aggressively; since they were from the Cao family, they must be after Cao Yingying.

The Cao family is considered an upper-class family in Hekou Town. She thought she could find Cao Yingying's hiding place in ten days at most, but more than half a month has passed before they came knocking. It is obvious that the Cao family does not take this eldest daughter seriously at all.

Granny Xu was furious: "Ignorant village woman, how dare you despise the Cao family! Guards, hold her down and search her!"