Jiang Yimian raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
The manager of Huichuntang is not bad; he offers free consultations, even though it's for the purpose of selling medicine.
A doctor's visit normally costs at least 20 coins, but a free consultation would save at least 20 coins.
It wouldn't be fair to say that Huichuntang is a great charitable institution, but it's certainly better than other pharmacies.
Her collaboration with Huichuntang should be a good choice.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I have some soap here, something similar to bath beads, but it's better than bath beads. It lathers up easily, is finer, and has stronger cleaning power. Do you need it?"
The shop assistant paused, seemingly confused, before finally saying, "Bath beads? Our shop makes its own, so we don't need them. But are you sure that thing you're talking about is more effective at removing dirt and has a finer texture than bath beads?"
Bath beads are decent for bathing, but because they are made from flour and soap beads, they are a bit rough to use and their cleaning ability is only so-so. If it weren't for the fact that only these and soap pods can be used for bathing, I doubt many people would buy them.
Most wealthy families still prefer to use rice water.
Jiang Yimian took out a smooth wooden box from her basket. As soon as the box was opened, a round, beige object was revealed inside, and the sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms filled the air.
The shop assistant was taken aback, reached out and took the wooden box, took out the soap from inside and examined it carefully.
The disc-shaped object in my hand has a smooth and flat surface, a beautiful color, and a faint sweet fragrance that is very pleasant.
The shopkeeper brought the item to his nose and sniffed it. Apart from the fragrance of osmanthus, he couldn't smell anything else. It didn't seem to be made from soapberry and fat beads.
He frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "I'll take it in and try it with the shopkeeper."
He didn't have high expectations for what he was holding; he was mainly curious about what it was made of.
The waiter hurried off to the back room.
Jiang Yimian casually looked around the shop, without the slightest worry.
Soap is a rare commodity in this era; it doesn't exist at all. Unless the owner of Huichuntang is out of her mind, she would definitely want to work with her after using it.
Sure enough, a moment later, the waiter came out hurriedly, his hands still wet with water, his face full of surprise. "Miss, my manager wants to see you. Please come with me to the back room."
Jiang Yimian responded and followed after him, carrying her basket on her back.
The two walked through a corridor and came to the courtyard of the back hall.
The courtyard was bustling with activity; many young doctors were grinding herbs, and a lot of medicinal materials were piled up to dry.
The waiter arrived at a house, knocked on the door, and a slightly aged voice came from inside, "Come in quickly."
Upon entering the house, the elderly man, whose beard was white but who was still quite energetic, paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting that it would be a young woman.
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but he simply smiled and said, "Please sit down, young lady."
As soon as Jiang Yimian sat down, a waiter immediately came to pour her tea.
The waiter who initially greeted her stood beside the old woman.
The old man sized her up for a while before saying, "What is your name, young lady? I am Zhang Qingquan, the manager of Huichuntang."
Jiang Yimian simply said, "My surname is Jiang."
Zhang Qingquan stroked his mustache, glanced at the light yellow soap on the table, and thought for a moment before saying, "Thirty taels, how about you sell me the soap recipe?"
After saying that, he carefully examined the person in front of him.
Jiang Yimian raised an eyebrow, stood up and said, "Since Manager Zhang is not sincere in wanting to do business, then forget it. There must be people outside who are sincere in wanting to cooperate with me."
With that, she turned to leave.
Thirty taels? This person must think she's a fool. Even if she were to sell her daughter, she'd need at least a hundred taels to start.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Zhang Qingquan was not angry at all. Instead, he laughed and said, "Miss Jiang, don't be in a hurry. I was just joking. How would you like to cooperate?"
He was just testing the girl in front of him.
The other party seemed to be a farm girl. If she were not knowledgeable, she would probably have agreed immediately upon hearing that it was thirty taels. However, it turned out that this girl was not so ignorant. Although she looked young, she was obviously a smart person, or perhaps her elders had instructed her beforehand.
Jiang Yimian glanced at him, sat down again, and said calmly, "I will supply Huichuntang with goods at cost price. How much you sell is up to you."
She found it difficult to run a soap business; firstly, she couldn't build a reputation, and secondly, she was easily targeted by others.
She understood the principle that "a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime."
She herself was not afraid, but the others in the small depression could not risk their lives with her.
The safest approach is to partner with a reputable and well-known company.
She could use the shop's existing reputation to quickly earn more money and protect her family from danger.
Zhang Qingquan raised an eyebrow, stroked his beard, and seemed to be thinking.
The room fell silent for a moment, and neither of them spoke. The waiter standing behind Zhang Qingquan was extremely anxious, fearing that the deal would fall through.
After a long pause, Zhang Qingquan continued, "How much are you planning to sell this to me, Miss Jiang?"
Pricing is a crucial step. Although each bath bead costs ten coins and is expensive, the shop makes a lot of money, but in reality, not many people come to buy bath beads.
Firstly, the price is indeed high, and secondly, it's not very user-friendly, which is why it doesn't sell well.
It only sells well in wealthy areas like the prefectural city and the capital.
But the soap that this girl brought today is not only large in quantity, but also quite delicate to use, and its lathering and cleaning abilities are better than those of bath beads.
If Miss Jiang knew the price of the bath beads, she wouldn't have priced the soap so cheaply.
But if they buy from their shops, it will be very expensive, and they probably won't be able to sell it.
Jiang Yimian simply said, "Twenty coins per piece. Huichuntang makes its own custom boxes and such. How much they sell and how much profit they make depends entirely on Huichuntang."
She had carefully considered the pricing. If it was too cheap, she wouldn't make much profit, and ordinary people wouldn't buy it. They were used to using things like soap pods, and they could just pick them from the mountains. They wouldn't even consider buying soap.
For now, she's considering wealthy families who are a bit richer than the average person, but not so rich as to be overly powerful.
The purchase price of Huichuntang is 20 coins, and the selling price will be at least 40 coins, because the transportation, shop, and labor costs will also be included. At least 40 coins will not result in a loss, and some profit can be made. If you want to make more, it is estimated that it should be around 50 coins per coin.
If it's any more expensive, it won't sell very well.
She estimated that a bar of soap could last for at least twenty showers, which was much more cost-effective than bath beads.
People who used to buy bath beads will definitely switch to soap.
If she could gain a reputation with Huichuntang through this batch of soaps, she could complete her next plan more quickly.
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