Chapter 245 The Famous Master Wang

If you were to ask what the most talked-about thing in Ping'an County has been these past few days, countless people would surely say it's Lady Sui.

The Lady of Dahe Village, through word of mouth, has long been like a cloud in the sky that can only be looked up to but not profaned; when people talk about her, they are filled with awe.

A peasant woman, without relying on her husband or son, rose to become a ninth-rank official in the imperial court. Before this happened, all the people thought it was impossible.

But it just happened.

Upon hearing the name "Madam Sui," the servant at the gate of the Prince's mansion immediately ran inside to announce her arrival. In a mere instant, he returned, his attitude extremely respectful: "Madam Sui, our master requests your presence."

Although Cheng Wanwan was dressed plainly, her demeanor was completely different from that of an ordinary peasant woman, and the servant believed from the bottom of his heart that she must be Lady Sui.

Furthermore, impersonating a court lady is a capital offense, and he did not believe anyone would dare to do so.

Zhao Ergou and Zhao Dawang followed them inside.

Having been in business for so long, Zhao Ergou had long since learned not to be alarmed by anything and to remain calm no matter what happened.

But this was Zhao Dawang's first time doing business with someone, and he was stunned as soon as he entered the Wang family's gate. The artificial mountains and flowing water, the pavilions and towers, the carved beams and painted rafters... these sights he had never seen before made Zhao Dawang feel a little dizzy.

"Ahem." Zhao Ergou gently reminded, "Don't look around, don't embarrass the people of Dahe Village."

Zhao Dawang blushed: "I'm sorry, Brother Ergou, I'll remember this."

He quickly looked away and obediently followed behind Cheng Wanwan.

The three were invited into the main hall, where a portly middle-aged man sat, none other than the renowned Master Wang from Ping'an County.

"My name is Wang, and I greet Lady Sui!"

Master Wang stood up and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

"You're too kind, Master Wang," Cheng Wanwan said with a gentle smile. "I'm just an ordinary peasant woman, please make yourself at home."

Master Wang dared not treat her as an ordinary peasant woman, after all, she was personally appointed by the Emperor and had an official title; he could not afford to offend someone with such a high rank.

The servants served tea and snacks and placed them on the table. Master Wang asked cautiously, "May I ask what brings Madam Sui here?"

Cheng Wanwan got straight to the point: "I want to discuss a business deal with Master Wang."

Master Wang became interested. He was a businessman who did business all day long, but recently his business had hit a bottleneck and he had not been able to break through.

He adopted a posture of listening attentively.

"Half of the shops on the streets of Ping'an County belong to the Wang family, and three of them sell soapberry and soapberry products," Cheng Wanwan said calmly. "Soapberry and soapberry trees can be planted everywhere. The Wang family can monopolize the market in Ping'an County, but they can't monopolize the market in other areas. For example, in the neighboring Hekou County, that part of the market is divided up by the Zhang, Li, and Cao families. Master Wang can't squeeze in at all. Is that true?"

Master Wang exclaimed in surprise, "Madam Sui is truly intelligent. No wonder His Majesty bestowed the title of Madam upon a mere peasant woman..."

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

This has nothing to do with intelligence; as long as you are good at observing and summarizing, you can analyze the answer.

“Has Master Wang ever thought about why even a small business like selling soap balls is so difficult?” Cheng Wanwan continued, “The root cause is that no matter which store sells soap balls and soapberries, they are almost identical in appearance and efficacy. If the product is not outstanding enough, it is easy to end up with a bad deal.”

These words struck a chord with Master Wang. He owned over a dozen estates, some of which he rented out to tenant farmers for farming, collecting rent annually. The rest of his estates were used to cultivate soapberry and soapberry trees, which he then had made into soap balls or soap powder, which he sold in his shops. Business was very good for the first few years, but later, more and more merchants entered the trade, and he found himself with a portion of his stock tied up each year.

He tried everything he could to barely keep his business in Ping'an County afloat.

A large portion of the soap balls in the warehouse had to be transported by boat to places further south to be sold, which increased costs considerably for both the trip and the return trip.

He plans to stop planting locust trees starting next year. The money is too hard to earn, so it's better to grow grain. Grain is always a hard currency.

However, after hearing what Cheng Wanwan said, he was somewhat tempted and asked, "What does Madam Sui think we should do?"

Cheng Wanwan made a gesture.

Zhao Ergou opened his bundle, took out a bar of soap wrapped in paper, and handed it to Cheng Wanwan.

She slowly unwrapped the paper package and asked in a low voice, "Does Master Wang know what this is?"

Master Wang took the item, smelled it, and noticed a faint odor. He had never seen this before and shook his head.

"This is soap," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "Why don't you invite Master Wang's cook over?"

Master Wang, unaware of the purpose, quickly sent someone to invite him.

Before long, a cook was invited over. She was wearing an apron, which was dirty from her busy morning.

Cheng Wanwan asked the cook to take off the apron, soak it in a basin, and then rub it with soap. In no time, all the oil stains on the apron were washed off.

Master Wang was extremely shocked.

Soap balls and soapberries can both be used to wash clothes, but these oil stains are difficult to remove. You either have to soak them in water for a long time or rub them vigorously with extra soap. These things are expensive to begin with, and if you rub them vigorously with extra soap, they will be used up in a few days. Ordinary people would not be willing to waste things like that. Most people would choose to soak the dirty clothes overnight and wash them the next day.

Even the most expensive bath beans don't have such a strong cleaning effect.

Suppressing his shock, Master Wang asked, "Where did this soap come from?"

“If we put this soap in Master Wang’s shop, it should also boost the sales of soap balls and soapberries, right?” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “There are three kinds of soap in total. This is the most basic one, which can be used to wash clothes. The other two have milk and honey added, which can be used to wash hands and face.”

She placed all three products on the table. "The unscented soap costs two hundred coins, while the milk-scented and honey-scented soaps cost eight hundred coins."

The cost of a bar of unscented soap is about fifteen coins, so selling it for two hundred coins is considered a very profitable business.

Goat milk and honey are extremely expensive, with costs at least three times higher. They are targeted at middle and upper-class consumers, and there is a market for them even at higher prices.

Master Wang picked up the milk-scented soap and smelled it. The rich milky fragrance wafted over him. He wet his hands and tried it. After washing, his hands felt very refreshed, without the tightness and dryness he felt after using bath soap.

He knew it was good stuff!

He steadied his breathing and said, "I want two hundred dollars for unscented soap, and fifty dollars each for milk-scented and honey-scented soap."

Bath beans on the market are priced at over one tael of silver. A tiny little bit dares to sell for one tael of silver, and some with added fragrance can even cost two taels of silver. But this milk and honey scented soap is square and large, and one bar is equivalent to at least three bath beans. Moreover, it is more durable than bath beans. Selling it for one and a half taels of silver is not unreasonable, is it?

As for unscented soap, it should sell for 300 coins a piece and there should be plenty of buyers. The purpose is not to make money, but to revive the shop's business.

The first deal was settled so smoothly it was unbelievable.

Cheng Wanwan knew that this was thanks to her status as Lady Sui; otherwise, why would Master Wang have received a rural woman?

Both parties signed a contract, with an initial payment of 5% and the goods to be picked up three days later.

As Zhao Dawang left the Wang family residence, his eyes were filled with respect and admiration when he looked at Cheng Wanwan.

My aunt is truly amazing. She spoke so confidently and confidently in front of Master Wang, showing no stage fright whatsoever. Even a big shot like Master Wang was led by the nose by my aunt. When will he ever become as capable as her...?