Chapter 25

Ye Jia loved cats and dogs, but in her previous life, she was too busy with work and often traveled for work to keep one. After all, cats and dogs are like children; if you have one, you have to take responsibility. As she stroked the soft tips of the little creature's ears, she couldn't help but feel like her dream was halfway fulfilled.

Yu heard the noise and came over to see, gazing at the dark little creature with a hint of envy. When Yu was still Princess Jing, she had kept a snow-white Persian cat. Sadly, the kitten had disappeared since the Jing Palace was raided. She now gazed at the little creature in Ye Jia's arms with envy. She reached out to touch it twice, nearly biting her finger, and asked Ye Jia what to name it.

Ye Jia was extremely bad at naming things. When Yu asked this, her mind was full of food: "Oven pancake? Shaobing?"

Yu: "...Isn't this too casual?"

The two glanced at Zhou Jingchen, who smiled and said, "Anything is fine, as long as it comes to your mind."

Ye Jia's eyes met his, and for some reason, she was struck by the glint in his gaze. Her gaze flickered for a moment, then she looked away. Frowning, she thought carefully for a moment, and finally gave the little creature a somewhat normal name: "Dian Dian."

I have to say, this name is really catchy, just like the little lamb in Ruijie'er's arms, Meimee. Ruijie'er came over with the little lamb named Meimee, clapping her hands and praising her aunt for the good name. Zhou Jingchen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he didn't object: "You can give it some of the leftover goat milk at home. This little thing hasn't been weaned yet."

Ye Jia said that it was no wonder that there was a strong smell of milk, and she carried the little one to the kitchen to scoop up some goat milk.

Zhou Jingchen probably hadn't finished his work yet, so he returned the little one and left again. He didn't even offer to stay for dinner, only a promise to return in the evening. Yu watched him disappear into the distance, then turned to glance at Ye Jia, who was crouched in the corner feeding Diandian, and sighed deeply. She had a feeling her son probably didn't express as much disgust for Jia Niang as he did. After all, true disgust is something you don't want to express even a word of.

Alas, but once a son grows up, he is no longer under the control of his mother.

The family had a simple meal at noon and started working again in the afternoon.

The hot sales of chive and egg pancakes over the past month have made them quite a bit of money. It's not like other shops in town haven't been selling chive pancakes before, except for the old man frying radishes who's now making fried chive boxes. Whether they're following the trend or imitating it, they're all still a step behind. Not only does the taste differ, but the ingredients are also insufficient. After all, not everyone is as generous as Ye Jia, willing to use eggs and flour.

You're not willing to give up your good stuff and still want to make a fortune. You're the only business savvy person in town, and everyone else is a fool. After all this talk and action, in the end, only Ye Jia and the old man who fried chive boxes were still doing well.

The Zhang family's stall was open from time to time, but due to a series of problems, it had not been open for several days.

Ye Jia didn't bother to meddle in other people's affairs, and it would be even better if the Zhang family didn't come around. But she wasn't one to just get by. While she didn't like to plan everything, she always had to be prepared for the worst. Her current business couldn't stop, and she was also thinking about finding other ways to make more money. A few dozen taels of silver a month wasn't Ye Jia's goal, and she couldn't just run a small stall for the rest of her life.

Ye Jia had been eyeing the northwest trade route since he arrived. Regarding this fragrant soap, Ye Jia couldn't let go of his thoughts.

Firstly, Ye Jia had wandered around the rouge shop that time, and there was only one in the small town. Besides rouge and powder, there were no soaps or similar toiletries. While she knew the purchasing power of the people of Libei Town, the market gap was huge. It was truly tempting. Since Ye Jia saw such a huge business opportunity, she couldn't let her sit on it. Secondly, she had her own selfish motives. She didn't know if it was her imagination or something else, but she felt that her beautiful face, exposed to the daily sandstorms from the northwest and the constant smoke from cooking oil, had become greasy.

This had to be wrong! If she continued this rough, wouldn't she be a completely shabby old woman by the time she was thirty? Thinking of the short lifespans of people in ancient times, when women didn't bloom for long, Ye Jia felt uncomfortable. She didn't want to be so weathered in her twenties or thirties.

She is determined to stay beautiful until she is fifty!

Sun Simiao once wrote in his "Qian Jin Yi Fang" that "within ten days, the face will be as white as snow, and in twenty days, as smooth as solidified fat." Ye Jia didn't know if this statement was exaggerated, but generally speaking, using the ancient method of fragrant pancreas has its benefits.

One is the ability to remove dirt, and the other is to beautify and nourish the skin.

After much deliberation, Ye Jia saw that she had nothing to do in the afternoon, so she went to the butcher's in town and bought a large piece of pig pancreas, bath beans, and soapberries. To make the smell better and less offensive, she also specially got some incense powder made from ground flowers.

Ye Jia brought the items back and squatted by the well to sort them out. Yu Shi, thinking she was going to try some exotic food again, stretched her neck to watch. Yu Shi didn't usually visit friends and didn't get along with the other women in the village. In the past, she would either wash clothes at home or spend her free time embroidering. Only after she got married did her life become prosperous and enjoyable.

The pancakes were fresh only when the fillings were mixed and wrapped at night, so they were not made in the afternoon. At this moment, she came out with a basket, making clothes for the family while watching Ye Jia busy herself.

"Jia Niang, are you thinking of something new to eat?" Yu Shi looked forward to having a good meal every day. She watched Ye Jia bring back some fishy and red pig's intestines, but she was no longer disgusted as before.

After all, she had already eaten pig intestines. How could anything else in her life be able to shatter her dignity? Yu was just afraid that Ye Jia's cooking was not tasty.

"No." Ye Jia hadn't expected that after spending so much time with Yu, everything looked delicious to her. She went inside to change into work clothes, then came out and cleaned the blood from the pig pancreas. Then she removed all the fat and meridians. "Make some fragrant soap for washing. My face and body still smell greasy even after washing them every day."

These words made Yu's embroidering hands pause, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

Yu Shi was also a woman, born in the twelfth lunar month, so she was only thirty-eight this year. Women love to be coquettish, and Yu Shi was no exception. When she couldn't afford to eat, she naturally didn't think about these things. Now that her family could eat meat, she naturally enjoyed dressing herself up. "Jia Niang, do you know how to make fragrant soap?"

"Not really." Ye Jia had actually only done it once, and that was by following a tutorial. Now he was just trying it out.

Although Ye Jia's words were firm and decisive, Yu Shi was still full of hope. Over the past six months, she had seen everything Ye Jia did. In her heart, this daughter-in-law was already very important.

Yu spread her arms and sniffed, her expression instantly changing. It's true, she wouldn't have noticed it until Ye Jia mentioned it, but even then, she could smell the greasy smell. After all, Ye Jia showered daily and shampooed every few days. She, on the other hand, was much lazier, showering only once every four or five days, or washing her hair once every ten days or half a month. Since people here didn't shower or wash their hair often, she had never felt dirty.

"Mom, help me grind these beans and soapberries into powder."

Bath beans, also known as bean scraps, were a luxury sanitary product popular among the nobility during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. They're related to spices. Ancient aristocrats, at best, would smoke them with a multitude of spices, but commercially available versions only use one or two. [The text then abruptly shifts topics.] Mung bean paste smoked with chrysanthemum leaves and osmanthus stamens. If used well, it can even remove the fishy smell left on your hands after eating crab.

Ye Jia bought the simplest one. In order to make it cheap and fragrant, she also bought some perfume powder.

Yu took it, picked up the pestle, and began to grind. She had been doing more work now, and her hands were stronger. Grinding bean flour took only a moment.

The method of making fragrant pancreas is quite simple: clean the pig pancreas and grind it into a paste with a pestle or hammer. Add some sugar during the grinding process, and then mix it with sodium carbonate or wood ash. The finer the grind, the better the finished product.

Pure alkalis like sodium carbonate aren't currently available on the market. Ye Jia knew the chemical formula for its production, but she didn't have the experimental experience to experiment. She could only get wood ash, which was readily available in the countryside. There was plenty of it after burning the straw; she could get it from behind the stove. Ye Jia was crushing the pig pancreas with all her might. Yu and Rui Jie'er, watching with envy, crouched nearby and asked if they could help. Ye Jia asked her to get some wood ash.

After adding the wood ash, Ye Jia pounded it again, then added the spices and other flavor enhancers he'd bought, mixing them evenly. Yu's face paled as she watched. It wasn't that she was afraid, but rather that the sticky stuff looked disgusting.

"Then what?" Yu could endure it for the sake of beauty. "What should I do next?"

Ye Jia poured in the soybean powder and pounded it again. It was his first time, and he wasn't sure how much pounding was good enough, so he just estimated it. When he was done, looking at the mushy mess, he couldn't help but vomit.

It was just a coincidence that as soon as I rushed to the door, I bumped into Zhou Jingchen who was bringing people in.

Before she knew it, it was already evening. Ye Jia hadn't expected the afternoon to pass so quickly. Seeing her like this, Zhou Jingchen thought something had happened and quickly threw away the things in his hands, holding her shoulders and hugging her.

The three young men who followed behind him, carrying things, quickly turned their heads to the side. Zhou Jingchen then asked softly, "What's wrong, Jia Niang?"

Yu's eyes were fixed on him from behind. The little one in the yard, who was sleeping after feeding, got up and cried for milk. Ye Jia was so embarrassed that he had made himself sick.

She wiped her face, expressionless: "It's okay, husband, are you back?"

"Yeah." Zhou Jingchen lowered his head and looked at her expression, unable to tell what she meant. He raised his eyes and met his mother's. His eyes flickered slightly, and he loosened his grip on Ye Jia's shoulders, "A guest is coming."

Turning around, I saw three young men behind me looking up at the sky and the ground with an expression of evasion.

Zhou Jingchen coughed twice, then calmed down. He lifted his foot and gently kicked the little creature, no bigger than his shoe, away from him. The creature, with its fat belly dragging towards him and biting his trouser leg frantically, shook its head and started to move.

The little thing rolled around on the ground, its belly too big from feeding, and its legs too short, so it couldn't turn over. Ye Jia looked at the 'puppy son' she had just adopted that afternoon, lying on the ground with its four short legs kicking in the air, twisting and turning, but unable to get up. She quickly turned her 'puppy son' over with a distressed look on her face: "Dian Dian, my dear..."

Zhou Jingchen looked over instantly.

Ye Jia had already retreated to the side with a dull expression, as if she had just heard the words. However, when she picked up her "son," she noticed some wild animals on the ground: pheasants and rabbits. She picked them up and said politely with a smile, "Sir, please take everyone inside and sit down. I'll go get some tea."

After saying that, she carried her son back to the kitchen.

While making tea, I also fed my dog ​​son a bowl of milk when he just woke up.

Zhou Jingchen: “…”

Yu had already packed up her things and stood up, slowly walking over to greet them.

After a few polite greetings, Zhou Jingchen led his men inside to sit. They were supposed to be back by nightfall, but now they were earlier than expected. Ye Jia had almost finished making the scented soap, all that was left was to shape it with her hands and then place it in a vent to air dry.

The Zhou family's land wasn't large, just three small rooms and a small kitchen. Guests were only allowed to chat in the main room; they couldn't sit in the couple's room. Ye Jia had already cooked a pot of mung bean soup that afternoon. He used a slow pot to simmer the soup, and by now the beans were soft and mushy. Now that his family was no longer poor, Ye Jia never skimped on his treats, so he generously added sugar.

After serving a few bowls and bringing them to the main room, Ye Jia called Yu over and had her knead the mashed pancreas into cubes.

Yu frowned as she kneaded the pieces. Admittedly, the texture was incredible. Ye Jia also bravely pressed the bullet. The two of them quickly kneaded fifteen pieces, finishing them all. Ye Jia placed the items on a wooden tray, one by one, and then took them inside to dry by the window.

After finishing, he washed his hands and had a bowl of mung bean soup with Yu Shi's sister Ru, and then Ye Jia began to prepare dinner.

Zhou Jingchen had called in that morning, and Ye Jia had already bought some food on his way out. Yu had already brought out the ingredients and was squatting by the well, asking Ye Jia how to prepare them. Ye Jia didn't buy much: just a strip of pork belly, a little over two pounds, with some fat and lean parts. He also bought some white cabbage and leeks, as they were still in season. Many vegetables were in season in May, so Ye Jia bought some amaranth and celery.

Because everyone who came here to eat fish thought Ye Jia’s braised big red sea bass was delicious, they also bought a fish this time.

Naturally, Zhou Jingchen had to do the killing of the fish. Ye Jia had considered doing it herself, hammering the fish to death with a mallet. But considering the gory scene, she felt it was more practical to leave it to Zhou Jingchen.

Zhou Jingchen smiled as he pulled the fish out. Since there were still customers waiting, he quickly killed it, then scaled and peeled the black membrane from the fish's belly. He also helped skin and pluck the rabbit and pheasant. His movements were so skillful, and with the faint smile on his face, anyone who saw him would have thought he was doing something elegant. After finishing all this, he slowly and methodically washed his hands by the well.

He looked up and saw Ye Jia looking at him with an unfathomable expression, and immediately smiled: "What's wrong?"

Ye Jia smiled and said, "Husband, your hands are very fishy after shaving fish, right?"

Zhou Jingchen was a little puzzled, but he was still very easy to talk to: "It's okay."

"It's okay. It doesn't matter. Although it's not dry yet, the effect should be almost the same." Ye Jia brought over the basin that he had used to pound the soap.

Zhou Jingchen looked down at the basin covered with paste, then raised his eyes to look at her.

Ye Jia grabbed one of his hands and, holding his fingers, scraped the basin's edge with a flourish. His slender, even fingers were stained with something sticky. The regent, who had suffered from mysophobia for years, pursed his lips: "..."

"Wash your hands and try." Ye Jia's eyes sparkled, and he tried hard to control his excitement and remain serious.

Zhou Jingchen washed his hands twice with half belief and half doubt.

Ye Jia suddenly came over, grabbed his hand and sniffed it. The moment Zhou Jingchen's hand was held, his body suddenly stiffened. He stood motionless. After Ye Jia confirmed it three times, he saw the glow of "I am indeed her" on her face. His eyelashes trembled violently and he chuckled softly. His voice also became much softer, softer than the evening breeze: "What's wrong?"

"Ah?" Ye Jia held his hand to his nose and let him smell it himself. "Smell it, smell it! Does it smell good?"

Zhou Jingchen smelled the scent of sweet osmanthus. It was light and refreshing.

"The cleaning effect is quite good." Ye Jia had this idea when he saw him shaving the fish. Now that he knew the effect, he nodded with satisfaction. "If the fragrant soap is successful, our family will have another way to make money!"

Zhou Jingchen curled his fingers at his side and whispered, "...are you guys busy with this this afternoon?"

"Yeah." Ye Jia originally wanted to flush the contents of the wooden basin with water, but now that she knew it was effective, she decided to use it to wash clothes. She had to soak the clothes in the basin before washing anyway, so she wanted to make the most of it. "We can't always rely on setting up stalls."

Zhou Jingchen's Adam's apple rolled twice, and he said "hmm" in a deep voice.

Ye Jia had already left with the wooden basin in his arms.

After staring at her back for a moment, Zhou Jingchen sniffed his fingertips again. Indeed, there was a scent of osmanthus. He wiped the water off and returned to the main room, where he started chatting with a few people. Two of them were acquaintances: Sun Yushan, who had repaired the roof last time, and a long-faced, dark-faced scholar. Ye Jia hadn't known his name the last time, but this time she learned it was Guo Huai.

Ye Jia was stunned by the name. She didn't remember the original novel's plot in detail. She only remembered the general plotline, and wasn't sure how many characters there were in the book. Guo Huai's name sounded familiar. The other one was a nine-foot-tall, muscular man of exotic descent.

This man was tall and muscular, half a head taller than Zhou Jingchen. He had a broad build and a full beard. He wore a tattered scarf on his head, and he looked a bit like Li Kui. However, his name wasn't Li Kui; he had a more difficult name, Zabatu. The moment Ye Jia saw these men, he knew they had to prepare a large meal. The Li Kui-like man alone could probably eat the entire family's meal.

Thinking that two pounds of meat was still not enough and that these vegetables might not be enough, Yu took some more money and went to the butcher or meat shop in town to look for them.

Ye Jia cooked braised pork and a fish stew with soft tofu. He stir-fried wild rabbit and stewed pheasant with mushrooms. He also made a vegetable stir-fry of amaranth. He also shredded celery and stir-fried it with pork. Fearing it wouldn't be enough, Ye Jia fetched five or six eggs and cut a bunch of chives from the backyard, making a large dish of scrambled eggs with chives. After these dishes were served, he simmered a large pot of mixed-grain rice and steamed a dozen or so steamed buns.

Of course, Yu didn't buy anything when she came back, but she brought a bag of cakes and, very thoughtfully, a jar of wine.

The dishes were all ready, and the meal was ready. Ye Jia saved some for later, then brought the rest to the table. In the countryside, women were not allowed to sit at the table, a custom Ye Jia had always disobeyed. But with so many people here today, and drinking, they might end up eating only leftovers. Ye Jia, Yu Shi, and Rui Jie'er simply set up a table in the backyard and began to eat.

While eating, Ye Jia told Zhou Jingchen about what happened just now: washing his hands.

Yu was also pleasantly surprised: "Did it really work?"

"Yeah." Ye Jia had originally just been trying it out, but unexpectedly found success. "But using it for personal use and selling it as a commodity are two different things. Let's wait seven or eight days to see how the scented soap looks after it's formed. If it looks good, we can try selling it retail in town first."

Yu's heart burned with excitement, and her eyes almost lit up when she looked at Ye Jia. However, she managed to remain calm and nodded, "We'll have to wait and see."

Yu, who had been sulking over her son's departure, now felt a sense of relief. People are like this; without a purpose, they naturally wander. But if you have a purpose, a purpose, and a purpose of determination, you can find your feet.

"But Jia Niang, what do you think is a reasonable price for this scented soap?" When Yu was still the princess, the household affairs were handled by the eldest daughter-in-law. The eldest daughter-in-law was Rui Jie'er's biological mother, who died of complications during childbirth three years ago. As a young wife, with a capable maidservant at home, she only managed the big things. She had only a vague memory of small toiletries like scented soap, and couldn't explain them in detail.

Ye Jia wasn't entirely sure. She hadn't seen any scented soap when she went to the rouge shop. The most common bath beans on the market were half a tael of silver per pound. Besides, in the northwest, soap nuts were more common than scented soap.

"All this stuff we made today cost a little over two taels of silver, and I only got fifteen yuan." Ye Jia pondered for a moment. "I've been busy all afternoon, and my back and waist are sore. If you include the labor cost... considering the price of rouge and powder in the rouge shop, if I'm a bit ruthless, I should be able to sell it for one tael of silver and one piece of fragrant soap, right?"

Ye Jia was not very sure. At this price, he was afraid that not many people in Libei Town could afford it.

After thinking about it, he said, "We still can't rely on the local people for these things. We have to capture the caravans. If a caravan collects these things and takes them to the Western Regions to sell, we might be able to make a profit here."

Yu vaguely remembered the scented soap used by aristocratic families, which cost more than one or two taels. But the things used by aristocratic families were expensive, and they used a lot of spices, so naturally they were different. They made the most ordinary ones here, and the best price was the best.

"Let's wait and see." Yu's heart was pounding, and she took a deep breath to suppress the energy.

After the meal, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law took a short break before going back to making pancakes. They had to continue their business tomorrow morning; they couldn't let a single incident of pancakes ruin their livelihood. Their entire family still depended on the income from the pancake stall.

I don’t know what Zhou Jingchen talked about with those people, but when it was about to end, he asked Ye Jia and Yu to go and talk.

Among them, the dark-faced scholar Guo Huai said, "If anything happens to my brother and sister-in-law in the future, please feel free to contact me. If I can help, I will do my best. Brother Yushan and Brother Bazatu will follow Yun'an into the army, so I'm afraid they will be busy."

Ye Jia was naturally full of gratitude. Guo Huai's face was red from drinking. He waved his hands repeatedly and said goodbye to several people.

Yu cleaned up the leftovers from the table and saw her son sitting there lost in thought. She couldn't help but glance at him a few more times. His eyelids were slightly closed, and his expression was gloomy. She looked up at Ye Jia.

Ye Jia didn't notice and turned around and went outside.

Ye Jia went outside and brought in her puppy, carefully placing its nest next to her bed.

Yu sighed, packed up, and went with Ye Jia to make pancakes for tomorrow morning. They were both a little tired after a busy day, but making money was something they had to do no matter how hard it was. Ye Jia's arms were sore from pounding pig pancreas that afternoon. Thinking about it, she ran inside and called for her free laborer to massage her. After nudging him a few times, he slowly raised his head, and Ye Jia realized something was wrong.

Zhou Jingchen seemed to have drunk too much and was a little drunk.

Ye Jia refused to give up and had to work for her even when she was drunk. So she approached him and asked him, "Do you remember your name?"

"Zhou Jingchen, courtesy name Yun'an."

"Hmm," Ye Jia nodded, still knowing who she was. "Where are you from? How old are you? Did you hide any silver? Where did you hide it?"

It was a casual question, but the real purpose was revealed. Zhou Jingchen couldn't help himself and stared at her for a long time, his eyes full of smiles. He stroked his forehead and pushed her away a little, smiling and said, "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Ye Jia didn't panic at all. He straightened his clothes and said politely, "Get up and knead the dough for me."