Chapter 241 The Soap Workshop Starts Operations

The gift Cheng Wanwan prepared was an exquisite lady's dagger.

"Girls must learn to protect themselves." She handed the folding dagger to Cao Yingying. "If someone takes an inch, I'll retreat a mile. If they take an inch, they'll take a mile. I won't back down anymore. From now on, I can't be cowardly anymore. What belongs to me, I must take back."

Cao Yingying looked at the dagger with some surprise.

She was a woman of the world, but this was the first time she had ever seen something so exquisite. It was concealed in her sleeve without being bulky, and even if she held it in her hand, no one would know what it was. There was also a small mechanism; when pressed, the blade would pop out, its edge gleaming with a chilling white light, clearly very sharp.

"Auntie, this thing must be very valuable, right?"

"It's not as valuable as your two hundred acres of land, so keep it safe." Cheng Wanwan smiled. "You must carry this with you at all times, because you never know if someone might try to take advantage of you."

Cao Yingying nodded vigorously.

Cheng Wanwan got up and went to the soap workshop next door. The building had been completed, with a total of eight rooms, the largest of which was a warehouse, and the others were workshops.

The first room was used to render lard and produce wood ash.

The ashes from the burning plant were transported to a second room for filtration.

Then it is sent to the third room for high-temperature steaming. Once the alkaline solution concentration reaches the standard, it is sent to the fourth room.

This fourth room is made more enclosed, and only trusted people can enter, because the most crucial step in the recipe is done here.

The fifth room is for adding fragrances. Three fragrances have been tentatively chosen: floral, milky, and honey. The process will be completed at three separate workbenches.

The sixth room contains one hundred molds, which are specifically used for molding and solidification.

Finally, it was sent to the seventh room to be packaged and stored.

Cheng Wanwan checked everything in each room and then began recruiting.

The villagers already knew that there would be job openings here. As soon as she announced it, countless people came to sign up. Men, women, young and old were all there. No one knew exactly what the job would be, but they just signed up anyway.

The main farm work now is watering and weeding, which can be left to the children. The adults need to find ways to earn more money.

"Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me," Cheng Wanwan said, raising her voice. "This business is just starting out, and we only need about a dozen people. Don't worry if you weren't selected yet; there will be other opportunities in the future."

The villagers all nodded in agreement.

Almost everyone in the village has earned some money from Cheng Wanwan. At first, it was from selling lantern grass, then from helping build houses, and these days from collecting firewood. She pays high prices for all of them. In the past, it was difficult to make any money in autumn and winter, but this year every household has earned some money, ranging from a little over a hundred coins to as much as one or two taels of silver.

Nobody dares to offend Cheng Wanwan, because if she stops helping them make money, they'll have nowhere to turn for help.

Cheng Wanwan asked Zhao Sidan to record the number of people who signed up. There were more than 130 people who signed up. If she hadn't said those words, there would probably have been even more people signing up.

She chose two strong women to render the lard, as it was delicate work and she felt more at ease entrusting it to them.

She chose two teenage girls to filter the wood ash, as young girls have good eyesight and are suitable for this job.

The process of boiling wood ash at high temperatures takes almost an hour from start to finish, and it's physically demanding. She found four strong men to take turns stirring it.

The fourth step is to add alcohol, which also needs to be stirred. This requires four men.

Adding fragrance isn't hard work; you can do it with just three women.

Next, the soap is poured into molds to solidify. One hundred soaps can be solidified at a time, which can be done by one woman.

For the final packaging step, Cheng Wanwan also hired a young girl.

There are a total of seventeen people.

She asked Zhao Sidan to write down the list and post it at the school gate.

Those who were chosen were so happy they didn't know what to say; some of them had never even met Cheng Wanwan before.

In fact, Cheng Wanwan had her own little ideas when it came to choosing people.

The people chosen are mostly people who don't know each other very well. For six or seven processes, it takes the collaboration of six or seven unfamiliar people to understand the general production process.

Although she completes the most crucial step, if the basic production process is leaked, businessmen will inevitably try to replicate it, which will only create more trouble.

The next morning.

Seventeen people from the village gathered at the entrance of the soap workshop early in the morning.

"Before we officially start, let me make this clear," Cheng Wanwan said calmly. "What you've been doing all day, and how you've done it, is something you keep to yourselves. You're not allowed to tell anyone else."

All seventeen nodded in agreement: "Of course, we don't even tell the boys in our families!"

“I’ve had a contract written.” Cheng Wanwan held up seventeen sheets of paper. “If anyone violates the terms of the contract, they will have to pay at least one hundred taels of silver in compensation. If you all agree, you can sign it.”

One hundred taels of silver... that's an astronomical figure for the villagers.

The seventeen people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Tie Zhu's mother was the first to step forward: "I'm a tight-lipped person, I won't say anything no matter who asks me, I'll sign this!"

Aunt Xu also stepped forward: "I'm just a woman, I don't understand anything, and I won't tell anyone."

Two people took the lead, and the others followed suit and signed their names.

They knew in their hearts that if this lucrative business were leaked, Aunt Dashan would definitely not make any money.

If Da Shan Niang can't make money, then they have even less of a way to make money.

Cheng Wanwan put away the dozen or so contracts.

Actually, this contract is a bit unfair. The monthly wage is so low, yet she's being asked to pay 100 taels of silver. If this were in modern times, her contract would be considered an unfair contract term, the kind that the court wouldn't support.

However, in ancient times, once a document was signed, it would take effect.

She acted domineeringly this time, so naturally she had to be given a sweet treat.

Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Then let me talk about the wages. The women and girls will earn 600 coins a month, and the men will earn 800 coins a month. They come at 7:00 AM, rest for half an hour at noon, and finish work at 3:00 PM. They work six days a week and rest one day a week."

Zhao Shagen's father, Zhao Yougui, rubbed his ears: "What does 'working six days a week and resting one day' mean?"

"It's six days of work followed by one day of rest," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "Everyone has children and chores at home, so you can't spend all your time in my workshop. But I don't provide meals, so you'll have to take care of your own food."

Everyone was stunned when they heard her words.

Work six days and rest one day?! Is there really such a good thing in the world?!

The people in their village never have a break all year round. Even during the off-season, there are still a lot of things to do. Nobody would really lie at home doing nothing, except for lazybones, of course.

The wealthy man in the county, Master Wang, was considered an extremely kind person. Working for Master Wang meant getting one day off a month, which earned him praise from countless people in the county.

But now, the mountain woman is actually making them take only four days off a month!

Four days of rest, and you can get nearly a tael of silver – this is like a windfall!

Such good fortune had fallen into their laps; it was something they had never even dared to dream of. Everyone was itching to get started and ready to make a big splash!