Chapter 274 Everything is Ready
Commissar Lu didn't want to discuss the side business with Cen Yan any further. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would be left with nothing but scraps, and Cen Yan would eat him alive.
This young lady is truly a capitalist's daughter; she's incredibly shrewd and calculating!
Cen Yan personally escorted Commissar Lu and his wife to the door, closed the door, and began planning the studio's affairs.
With the strong support of Political Commissar Lu and the organization, she was not worried about anyone causing her trouble in the short term, especially Sister-in-law Yu.
Now that Cen Yan felt reassured, she started complaining that the studio was too small and not big enough. If she could move the solid wood workbench, she would definitely move it around to see how to make more use of the space.
Qi Jingchuan returned home in the evening, covered in snow. He tossed the sack aside and quickly closed the door to keep the cold wind out and dissipate the heat from the burning charcoal inside.
"Have some water to warm yourself up!" Cen Yan quickly poured the man a cup of hot water, adding a third of cold water to make it drinkable.
After drinking the water, Qi Jingchuan felt his body warm up and then recounted his harvest in detail, "I collected a total of sixty-three catties of beeswax, which I bought for three and a half mao per catty. I also cut down two bamboo stalks on the way. I don't know how much you need. If you don't have enough, I'll go cut some more another day!"
Cen Yan walked over, opened the sack, and looked inside. There were 63 catties of beeswax, much more than she had expected, and the price was as she had anticipated.
The main reason people kept beeswax was because of the scarcity of supplies these days. They kept it mainly to make candles or as a lubricant when sewing shoe soles or making thick clothes.
Making candles is time-consuming, laborious, and uses a lot of materials; it's not as economical as using a water-fire-oil lamp.
Therefore, in the minds of ordinary people, oil lamps replaced candles, and the beeswax they occasionally obtained was naturally left unused.
"This is enough for now. This beeswax can make a lot of lipsticks, so there's no need to buy any more for a while. I've already found the solidifying agent needed to make lipsticks. In a couple of days, I plan to render some lard and distill some rose essence. That way, the materials for the lipsticks will be ready."
Qi Jingchuan raised an eyebrow: "You need to use lard to make lip balm? Wouldn't that smell terrible?" He frowned as he imagined Cen Yan applying the thick, greasy lard lip balm to her lips.
"If you have coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil, or similar alternatives, they are certainly more cost-effective and healthier than lard! If not, you can use lard or rapeseed oil as a substitute for now. However, animal fats have a meaty smell, so I need to add rose essence to neutralize it."
Cen Yan explained to Qi Jingchuan, and pointed to the edible roses in the courtyard that were already somewhat dilapidated, but were surviving thanks to the spiritual spring water in the space. These were good things for her to make money, as they could be used to extract fragrance.
Qi Jingchuan hummed in agreement. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Cen Yan thought for a moment, then pointed to the small bamboo strips in the yard, "Make them into small bamboo tubes about half a finger's length, then put them in a pot and boil them, then let them dry in a clean place. Also, the other containers need to be boiled and dried to sterilize them, otherwise the lipsticks will be contaminated with bacteria. It's not just that the lipsticks will spoil; the real danger is that users might get infected by these bacteria..."
Qi Jingchuan didn't quite understand the underlying principles, but he would do whatever his wife asked him to do!
"You rest, I'll take care of it." Qi Jingchuan finished drinking all the hot water in the enamel mug in one gulp, picked up the saw, sat down in the yard, and began to turn the bamboo into bamboo tubes of roughly the same size according to Cen Yan's requirements.
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