It was already lunchtime, but the group had been chatting and had forgotten about lunch, while the others were still waiting for them.

It wasn't until a servant came over and reminded him that Zhao Xian realized what was happening and led the three members of the Ruan family to the restaurant.

Ruan Zhenggang was surprised to find that Zhao Xian's family had so many people eating. The food was laid out on three tables, and the dishes on each table were the same, so there was no distinction between master and servant.

The family atmosphere was very harmonious, which Ruan Zhenggang greatly admired.

After lunch, everyone dispersed to attend to their own business. At this moment, Ruan Fang raised her head and looked at Zhao Xian.

“I know that the Registrar has many businesses, and the Ruan family also has a very wide business in Xinkou County. I wonder if there is any room for cooperation between the two parties.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian laughed.

“Miss Ruan is both literate and skilled in martial arts. She is definitely a master at business. Since Miss Ruan has brought it up, I will show you the businesses that the Zhao family currently operates.”

After Zhao Xian finished speaking, he led the three into the workshop. They first went to the workshop that made kimchi. Everything here was made by hand, and it was similar to most people's workshops, with little difference.

There are now many varieties of kimchi, with vibrant colors, including yellow and green, and a fragrant aroma.

"This must be the side dish we had for lunch. It's crisp and crunchy, with a unique texture, and goes very well with rice," Ruan Zhenggang asked.

"Yes, that's the cold dish we had for lunch. It's called kimchi, and it's very popular. Kimchi is all the rage right now and has even made its way into many restaurants in Qing'an Prefecture."

"Really? It's a real shame that such delicious side dishes haven't made it into Hekou County," Ruan Zhenggang said with a hint of regret.

"Due to the huge demand for kimchi and our limited production, it is difficult to promote kimchi on a large scale in a short period of time."

Ruan Zhenggang nodded. He was in the trade business and not good at product manufacturing, but he knew that if kimchi appeared in Xinkou County, it would definitely sell very well.

Then the group arrived at the winery, where several workers were carrying lees and dumping them on the open ground in front of the door. Soon, villagers filled the lees into bamboo baskets and carried them away.

Ruan Zhenggang had never seen wine lees before. These lees were steaming hot and had a strong wine aroma, which smelled wonderful.

"What are these things? They smell so strong, why were they taken away by the villagers as soon as they came out?"

"This is distiller's grains, a byproduct of liquor production. It's a very good feed. The villagers take it back to feed their ducks, and it works very well."

As they talked, they walked into the workshop, where the aroma of alcohol was stronger and the air was thick with mist. The workers were working with great enthusiasm.

At the end of the distillation apparatus, there is an iron pipe through which the distilled liquor flows into a jar. Once the jar is full, it is carried away by the workers.

Ruan Zhenggang was stunned by what he saw; this was the first time he had ever seen the production of baijiu (Chinese liquor) up close.

"I heard in Xinkou County that a new type of liquor called baijiu has appeared on the market. It is said that this liquor costs several taels of silver per kilogram and is still in short supply. Today I have the good fortune to see it for myself," Ruan Zhenggang said with a sigh.

"That's right. Currently, these liquors are only supplied to five customers. These five customers were the ones who initially signed contracts with me. Later, many other customers wanted to wholesale liquors from here, but I didn't agree to any of them."

"Because I also need to supply a portion of the liquor to restaurants, and as the franchise stores begin operating, the demand for baijiu will increase significantly, I need to increase baijiu production."

Since white sugar cannot be produced while producing baijiu (Chinese liquor), the sales volume of white sugar is not large, so it is entirely possible to produce white sugar in the gaps between baijiu production. However, Zhao Xian always felt that this was not a solution and that a new white sugar production workshop must be built. But he was too busy at the moment and had not had time to consider this matter.

Next, Zhao Xian led the three to the soap workshop. The workshop was currently operating at full capacity, but even so, it could only produce a thousand bars of soap per day.

It's still in the trial sales stage, and the market hasn't opened up yet. Even if the whole village came to help him produce soap, it still wouldn't be able to meet market demand once the market opens up.

All I can do now is try to increase soap production to meet the market demand in one region.

Ruan Zhenggang held a bar of soap and examined it carefully. He began to ask about the soap and its effects. When he heard about the soap's uses and effects, he immediately became very interested in it.

His shop sells soapberry and soapberry paste. If the soap works as Zhao Xian says, then the soap will immediately replace the soapberry and soapberry paste.

“Can I try the soap and see how it works?” Ruan Zhenggang said.

"Of course, there's a well outside, let's try that."

Several rags used for wiping things in the workshop were quite dirty. Ruan Fang collected a few and said:

"Father, let me try and see if I can clean these rags."

The group arrived at the well, and Ruan Fang began to wash the rags. Ruan Fang usually used soap paste to wash things at home, and this was the first time she had used soap to wash things.

Only through comparison can one discern the truth. Ruan Fang quickly washed the rags clean, finding that soap was much more effective at removing dirt than soap paste.

"Father, soap is indeed very useful. It removes dirt better than soap paste, and it's cheaper. The market prospects are sure to be very good."

Ruan Zhenggang was very excited. Soap was such a great product. If his family sold soap, they would be the first in Xinkou County, and making money would be a certainty.

However, Ruan Zhenggang came today to express his gratitude, not to discuss business. Moreover, Zhao Xian's products are in high demand and he has no worries about sales. It is not the right time to discuss business cooperation.

At this moment, Ruan Zhenggang remembered that there were still some gifts he had brought with him on the carriage, so he asked Ruan Jingui to unload them.

Although Ruan Zhenggang only brought a few gifts, each one was a rare treasure, mainly ginseng and jade.

Ruan Zhenggang did not bring gold or silver with him this time, but only a ginseng root and jade, which shows the status of these items in people's minds.

“Manager Ruan, you’re too kind. These items are priceless. I’m now considered a government official, so I can’t accept gifts,” Zhao Xian said.

Seeing that Zhao Xian was unwilling to accept the gifts, Ruan Zhenggang became anxious. He almost knelt down before Zhao Xian, but Zhao Xian stopped him.

"Compared to the lives of our Ruan family, this little thing is nothing. Please, Lord Registrar, do not find it offensive and accept it."

Ruan Zhenggang came to express his gratitude sincerely, and it would be difficult for me to refuse.

Zhao Xian stopped refusing and began to examine these rare treasures.