Chapter 123

Butler Tao’s original name is Asheng. He has no surname and was sold to the Tao family when he was six years old. At that time, many places in the south were experiencing disasters, and the crowds were filled with refugees fleeing from all over the country. Ah Sheng was a kid sold by Jian Ya. He was very cheap, and he could be bought out for three thousand dollars.

He was so lucky that he didn't suffer much when he entered the Tao family. He went directly to the eldest lady's house and worked as a servant to fetch water.

When he was sixteen years old, by chance, he followed the Tao family's caravan to run a batch of goods. He encountered a dangerous situation and solved it, thus gaining the appreciation of the eldest lady.

The children of the Tao family rarely bear the surname "Tao". For the head of the family, giving a surname is a very important reward and value. But Ah Sheng was a capable man. He first took the job of traveling to the inner house, and later he was sent to work as a cashier in Tao's restaurant. He worked his way up step by step and became the butler.

He was already thirty-two years old at that time. It only took more than twenty years for him to go from having only Asheng to being Tao Da's housekeeper.

Naturally, in the eyes of more capable people, Tao Sheng would be looked down upon. But who among the servants of the Tao family doesn't envy him? They all want to be the second "Master Tao".

Tao Sheng took a sip of tea, squinted his eyes, glanced down at Xiaodouzi who was pinching his feet, kicked his feet and screamed at him.

"You just said that Tao Xiaolangjun took people to the rouge shop on North Street?"

Xiaodouzi nodded and bowed: "Yes, Butler Tao, should we ask Xiaolangjun? He never cares about the rouge shop. , Why did you bring someone over today?"

Tao Sheng didn't show it on his face, but he knew clearly in his heart that this young man didn't like him in every way.

Even though he thought about it for a long time, he still couldn't figure out why Tao Qinghao hated him, but it didn't matter now.

"Have you asked clearly, who did he bring?" Tao Sheng asked him.

Xiaodouzi shook his head: "The shopkeeper of Rouge Shop didn't dare to ask, for fear of offending Mr. Xiaolang."

Tao Sheng: "..."

He put down the tea cup and picked it up again: "What did you do?"

Xiaodouzi said: "Little Master didn't do much. He just asked the shopkeeper to take out all the dough in the shop, and then took away every style."

As he spoke, Xiaodouzi's eyes became more curious and curious . , murmuring and guessing: "The little man asked for so much facial fat, maybe he wants to give it to some young lady."

Tao Sheng glanced at him coldly and cursed unhappily: "You can make fun of me at will, too? What do you mean by this? If I hear it from your mouth a second time, don't blame me for punishing you. "

"Butler Tao, it's my fault. Don't take it personally. How dare you say anything about Mr. Xiao?" Douzi was a clever man. When he saw this, he immediately begged for mercy.

Tao Sheng waved his hand and stopped waiting on him. He told him to go back to the rouge shop and ask for explanation before coming back.

Going to a rouge shop for no reason was not something Tao Qinghao would do. There must be something going on and he didn't get the news in advance.

...

On the other side, Xu Yi and Tao Qinghao got on the donkey cart. They also carried an exquisite lacquer box with flowers painted on it.

What was inside was nothing but various kinds of face creams that they had come out of the rouge shop.

The Tao family's rouge shop is not bad in scale. Although it is not its main business, the shop is quite large and has two floors.

The first floor sells ordinary rouge and gouache, while the second floor sells high-end products. The ladies in the city like to visit rouge shops and other recreational places, so the rouge and gouache they buy are naturally different from ordinary women.

This high-end rouge and gouache is expensive. A small box can cost a lot of money, and it's priceless on the market.

Every time several high-end rouge stores in the city put on new products, the ladies in the city use them first.

If there is a new facial fat on the shelves, there is no need to worry about selling it.

Tao Qinghao looked at Xu Yi with concern: "I haven't asked you yet, why do you suddenly want to buy so much face cream?"

"Let's see how your face cream is." Xu Yi touched the box without opening it.

Tao Qinghao's frown did not relax. He sighed softly and told Xu Yi honestly: "Actually, I have never had any involvement in this rouge shop. It is all managed by Butler Tao. We went here and wanted to come to him." I understand."

Xu Yi sensed something was wrong and asked him, "You don't like him?"

Tao Qinghao asked, "Yes? I'm still disgusted with him, but so what, my mother trusts him, let him go." A lot of power has been given to him, and he is taking care of the accounts of several shops."

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows: "Your mother..."

Tao Qinghao said, "You want to ask, is my mother not afraid of raising a white-eyed wolf?"

Xu Yi smiled sheepishly and said, "Is this possible?"

"Why not?" Tao Qinghao said, "That man is very ambitious, but if he wants to do something behind his back, I'm afraid he will do it secretly. I I don't like him, not because I have any clues about him, but I don't like the way he looks at people every time I see him. "

That look is like a wolf that has been waiting for an opportunity for a long time. It gets scared after being stared at for a long time. Gotta panic.

Tao Qinghao felt that he was not a very scheming person. When he thought about facing such a person, he felt that he could not win just by thinking about it.

Xu Yi asked thoughtfully: "Just because of the eyes?"

Tao Qinghao's shoulders stiffened slightly.

Not only that...

there is one more thing that he still remembers in his heart, and no one has said it for a long time.

He was afraid that he would be laughed at if he spoke out, so he hid it for several years. Perhaps because of this, he hated Tao Sheng even more.

Xu Yi saw that his expression suddenly changed. He changed his topic and said with a smile, "I haven't told you yet what I bought the face cream for."

"That's right, you haven't said that yet." Tao Qinghao replied. God came and asked, "Tell me, you've been holding this in all this time, you're very mysterious."

Xu Yi didn't answer directly, but asked him: "What do you think of the facial makeup I made?"

Tao Qinghao said: "Of course it's good. "Yes."

Xu Yi asked again: "What if this kind of facial makeup is sold in your rouge shop?"

Tao Qinghao was stunned.

At this moment, he didn't know what Xu Yi had in mind.

It turned out that he wanted to sell the prepared facial fat in his shop. That's a good idea. He was originally thinking about Xiangyinzi, but Mrs. Chen took the Xiangyinzi away. Naturally, he couldn't be shameless and ask for more. Take it to the teahouse and sell it.

But now Xu Yi's facial makeup was the first to think of him, how could he not be happy?

After Tao Qinghao was happy, he thought of a big trouble.

His enthusiastic enthusiasm was instantly poured cold water on him, his expression collapsed, and he said helplessly: "It would be great if you want to sell the prepared face cream in my shop, but the rouge shop is managed by Butler Tao , if he..."

"What's wrong with it?" Xu Yi looked at him.

Tao Qinghao glared angrily: "He dares!"

Xu Yi said with a smile in his eyes: "Since he doesn't dare, what worries do you have?"

"Oh, you don't understand." Tao Qinghao said, "My parents originally I just hope that I can pursue an official career and manage the teahouse at home, which is hard to come by. If I still want to join the rouge shop, my mother will be the first to disagree. "

He told Xu Yi that this rouge shop belongs to his mother. It was brought as a dowry and was not originally intended to be left in his hands.

Therefore, when he brought Xu Yi to Rouge Shop, he didn't even think about that.

After Tao Qinghao finished speaking, he looked at Xu Yi's thoughtful expression and said hesitantly, "You...don't think it's boring to be a doctor anymore and want to do facial fat business?"

Xu Yi smiled and shook his head: " I'm not a businessman, I just thought it would be a pity that only a few people can use the facial fat. Even if I don't want to be a doctor, I don't know how to sell facial fat."

"I originally wanted to sell this facial fat. I will only distribute the dividends to your family for two to three years, and the rest will be used by your family." Xu Yi rubbed the box with his fingertips, thinking undecided, "Now it looks like it won't work."

Tao Qinghao looked at it. Xu Yi's eyes widened a little.

"Are you telling the truth?" Unable to suppress his emotions, he pulled Xu Yi and asked.

Xu Yi said: "That's what I thought."

Tao Qinghao paused for breath: "What about now?"

Xu Yi patted the back of his hand, retracted his hand and said, "But that is your mother's dowry, you can't touch it. "

..." Tao Qinghao didn't know what he was thinking, his face changed again and again, but finally he couldn't help it, "I'll tell my mother!"

"No rush," Xu Yi smiled and shook his head, "Look at me. "There are still so many facial fats that I haven't looked at."

Tao Qinghao: "Yes, why did I forget about this? Are you thinking about improving them when you take the facial fats back?"

Xu Yi's mouth twitched. He was not that busy. .

The reason why he wanted to start with facial fat was because he would need a lot of money to support his future travels.

Now he has some money on hand, but money is not durable and he has to find some convenient ways to make money.

Facial fat is very good, it is highly profitable, and it serves a group of aristocratic women, so it is not comparable to ordinary people. Xu Yi has no burden to earn their money.

...

After Tao Qinghao left, Xu Yi entered the pharmacy with facial makeup.

There are twenty types of face creams that I bought from Tao's Rouge Shop, all of which are common face creams on the market.

The difference in pattern lies in the box containing the dough, which is exquisite in workmanship and beautiful in appearance. The box is mostly made of lacquerware. It is small and round, and is about the size of an egg when held in the palm of your hand.

Xu Yi opened each product and smelled it, then used his finger to scrape a small piece and spread it on the back of his hand.

Those with flower names all have an elegant floral scent, and among them there is a pear-scented facial butter that smells the best.

There are also "Magnolia Cream" and "Musk Cream", etc. These facial creams have a smooth texture. When applied on the back of the hand, they are absorbed in a short time, leaving only a shiny sheen.

Xu Yi poured water to wash off the facial fat, put the lid back on them, and took them outside.

He called A Jin and Fang Liu Niang.

Ah Jin asked, "Mr. Lang, do you have any orders?"

"Yes." Xu Yi handed her the box, "These facial creams have only been opened and have not been used. Take some and give them to Mrs. He and Chen Madam, you can use the rest, Mother Fang."

Fang Liu Niang was surprised when she heard that she also had a share.

"Lang Jun, I can't take it." She swallowed and looked away from the box in A Jin's hand reluctantly, "That noodle oil is too expensive, and the slave family has never used such good things before. Xu Yi

chuckled and said, "There will be more and more of these things in the future. Mother Fang, you have to get used to it."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Fang Liu Niang's stunned expression and asked Ah Jin to divide the things. .

In the next few days, Xu Yi stayed in the pharmacy, researching new facial fat formulas. He wanted to prepare facial oil suitable for everyone, divided into "dry skin" and "oily skin", so that he could solve many problems with just two recipes.

*

Baili Village.

Ever since Zhang Tiegou made a marriage arrangement with the Li family, his life has become very busy and he doesn't even have time to go to the Xu family to practice boxing.

The matchmaker made him a long list of things he would need to get married.

The most important thing in getting married is money.

In order to marry the young lady of the Li family, Zhang Tiegou went hunting in the mountains every day before the time was decided. He earned more than a dozen taels of silver, which was not even enough for the bride price.

Although the Li family lost Li Mengniang's dowry, the old lady loved her granddaughter and took out twenty strings from her pocket to add to the dowry.

The old lady has said so. How can the second bedroom pretend to be deaf and dumb? Naturally, she has to add some points.

But the second brother Erlang was a spendthrift. Wherever he had any money, the money would naturally go to the second wife. The second wife was worried about losing face, so she had to tighten her belt and dig out five strings of money from the dowry she brought.

Counting the gifts from other aunts and aunts, I collected thirty guan dowry for Li Mengniang.

Her parents made up for the rest of the dowry, which amounted to thirty pieces, as well as a piece of silver jewelry, two carved boxes and a beech wood standing cabinet, as well as a dressing box, a dressing table, a clothes rack, etc.

After all, the Li family has some wealth. If they hadn't lost the more than one hundred pounds of silver, Li Mengniang's dowry would have been even greater.

Nowadays, the dowry gift list delivered to Zhang Tiegou includes dozens of items.

If Zhang Tiegou couldn't come up with an equivalent betrothal gift, it would be difficult.

The matchmaker's mother said in a loud voice: "The Li family has sent all the orders. You have to prepare them quickly and choose a good day to send them over. Don't miss the time of gift giving."

Zhang Tiegou nodded like garlic and waited for the matchmaker's mother. After leaving, he went to dig through the box he had hidden.

The box contained his wife's books, large and small handouts, and broken pieces of silver. He counted them and found out that they were fifty-three guans and six cents each.

Zhang Tiegou's face darkened, not enough.

Still missing some.

The betrothal gift given by the man is different from the dowry brought by the woman. The woman usually brings a box, cage, counter, etc., while the man brings gold or silver cakes, three animals, fruits, betrothal cakes, tea and wine, etc.

With the money he has now, he can't beat gold cakes, but at least he has to hit a pair of silver cakes weighing two, two, and five.

Zhang Tiegou thought for a while, picked up the bow and arrow hanging on the wall, and was about to go to the mountains again.

As soon as I came out of my house, I saw an ox cart driving in the distance.

Except for Xu Yihui, who entered the village in an ox cart, there was no one else in Baili Village.

Zhang Tiegou was stunned for a moment, and after waiting for a moment, he saw clearly that the people on the bullock cart were Uncle Liu and A Xu.

Xu Yi didn't come in person.

A Xu got off the oxcart, trotted over with a package, and shouted: "Zhang Langjun."

"A Xu, why are you here?" Zhang Tiegou asked him in confusion.

A Xu said: "Lang Jun sent me to deliver something. This is a little thought prepared by Lang Jun. You must accept it."

"What?" Zhang Tiegou didn't have time to think too much. He took the package and opened it, and saw a few items inside. box.

He became even more confused and stopped thinking about going hunting in the mountains.

"What did your husband say to you?"

A Xu shook his head: "Mr. Zhang didn't say anything. Zhang Langjun, I have to go back to deliver my errands first. If you have anything to say, you can ask your husband in person."

After saying that, he bowed his hands and got on the bullock cart, saying goodbye to Zhang Tiegou.

Zhang Tiegou returned to the house and opened one of the boxes. There were ten pieces of golden paper with golden light inside.

This piece of paper, Xu Yi said at the beginning, was worth five silver coins!

He breathed slightly and opened the other two boxes. One contained agarwood pills, which he had seen Xu Yi concoct. After being lit, the scent was pleasant and the smell could make people sleepy. Yu Qiulin was also present at the time and said that the agarwood pills were worth a lot of money, and one pill could be worth a lot of money.

The other box contained a piece of Jiaozi with a face value of five liang.

Xu Yi was very considerate and wrote a note beside it, saying that these were gifts prepared for him and he could use them however he wanted.

Zhang Tiegou's eyes turned red, and he suddenly understood why Xu Yi wrote this note.

This gift was specially prepared for him.

But Xu Yi didn't directly ask him if he was short of money. They both knew that as long as Xu Yi asked, he would definitely say that there was no shortage.

Zhang Tiegou wiped his red eyes and put the things back into the box. He took a breath, and after a long time, as if he had made up his mind, he took the things and entered the city.

...

"Have everything been delivered?" Xu Yi looked at A Xu who came back to report and asked him with a smile.

A Xu nodded and explained the details of going to Baili Village.

Xu Yi said: "Thank you for your hard work. Go and deliver the post to Tao's house again. Please ask Tao Qinghao to come over."

A Xu took the post and exited the pharmacy, then went out again.

Tao's house, in the eldest lady's room.

Tao Qinghao had been staying in her room for three days. He would not leave at every meal time, but would stay in her room to eat before leaving.

All his thoughts were written on his face, how could the eldest lady not know it, but she didn't follow his wishes.

After lunch that day, he was sent out of the house on the pretext that he was tired and needed a lunch break.

The lady who was waiting beside the eldest lady saw her husband like this, and kept beating her shoulders and said, "Madam, I think it's not necessarily a bad thing that the husband wants to take care of the Rouge Shop."

"What do you think?" The lady's eyes were closed but she did not open them.

The mother-in-law was not sure, but she still said truthfully: "Xiao Langjun is a good businessman. Since he wants to take over the rouge shop, he must have an idea in mind. If not, let Xiao Langjun give it a try. Anyway, there is no right or left." It will ruin other things."

"This rouge shop sells women's things, and he is a young man meddling in it. I'm afraid it will make people laugh." The eldest lady did not let go after hearing this. The mother- in

-law said with a smile: "The young man has not yet reached the crown, so he will not be in the way. After two years, the young man gets married, and then let him take over other teahouses. How can he manage the rouge shop?"

He snorted, opened his eyes and glanced at her: "What benefit did you get from him? Today I have been speaking for him."

The old lady immediately bowed and shouted sincerely that she was wronged. After she finished shouting, she said with her eyes: " The slave family has watched the young man grow up, and the slave family has also seen what kind of person the young man is. He has been begging for so long in the lady's room, and the lady is afraid that she has already agreed. "

The eldest lady has already agreed. She didn't deny it and said, "You just know how to guess my thoughts." When she thought of something, she smiled and said, "Well, even you said so, let him give it a try."

"Hey! My wife loves my husband the most. Yes." The mother-in-law smiled and squeezed the eldest lady's shoulders again.

Not long after, the girl from the eldest lady's house came to Tao Qinghao's yard and reported the matter. Tao Qinghao was so happy that he went to Xu Yi with the good news.

Just as he was about to call his entourage to prepare the car, the entourage handed him a message.

It was sent by Xu Yi.

"Okay, okay, I'll go right away." Tao Qinghao suddenly smiled.

The vehicle stopped, and Tao Qinghao couldn't wait to get out of the carriage. He jumped out of the car without even using the handlebars and walked quickly into the yard.

He shouted "Xu Yi" and walked towards the pharmacy.

Seeing Xu Yi in the pharmacy, she excitedly shouted: "My mother agreed!"

"I've made new facial fat, come and see." Xu Yi looked up at him and waved him in.

Tao Qinghao stared at the small jar Xu Yi handed over, and smelled it closely. He smelled a nice medicinal fragrance, which was like the smell of incense, but not different, similar to the fragrance of flowers but different.

"Is this your new face cream?" Tao Qinghao asked, "For me?"

"For you." Xu Yi smiled.

Tao Qinghao was stunned: "I am a gentleman, what facial fat should I use?! Besides, you made this facial fat, so it must be good."

Xu Yi said: "This thing is unusual, someone has to try it first "How about I put it in the rouge shop?"

"You are right." Tao Qinghao was convinced.

The two of them planned to find some women to try out this new facial oil.

They all thought of Miss Ayan at the same time, but only one Ayan girl was not enough. No matter how few, there must be more than ten trial examples.

Tao Qinghao thought about it for a while, then his mind lit up and he thought of something: "Yes, I have to leave this matter to Xinyao. The weaving workshop of Xinyao's family is full of weavers. It would be great if they can come and try out facial fat." "

Xinyao's weaving workshop?" Xu Yi raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Tao Qinghao was very confident.

"Leave this matter to me. Just wait for my good news." Tao Qinghao said.

Xu Yi said "yes" and left the matter to him with confidence.

But even though Tao Qinghao was here, the newly made facial oil was still used on his face.

He lay helplessly on the Arhat chair, with his face tilted upward and his eyes staring blankly at the upper beam. His face, which was originally a young man's, was covered with a thin layer of facial fat.

Tao Qinghao applied facial grease for the first time and felt a little stiff. When Xu Yi asked him if he wanted to drink tea, he shook his head slightly.

"Xu Yi, how long do you need to apply facial fat on this face?" Tao Qinghao asked vaguely.

Xu Yi drank tea comfortably and said, "It's almost a quarter of an hour."

Tao Qinghao was depressed: "..." Why did a quarter of an hour become so long?

...

When Ah Jin came in with a basin of warm water, Tao Qinghao stood up.

"The time has come?"

"Yes." Xu Yi nodded.

Tao Qinghao quickly wiped his face with a handkerchief to wash away the excess shine. He asked Xu Yi if he had a mirror.

Bronze mirror...

no.

Tao Qinghao: "..."

He touched his face and felt that his face had become tender and smooth?

Is it really such a powerful medicine?

Xu Yi broke his excitement: "This is only temporary. You need to use facial oil for a long time to have such a good effect."

"Can I..." Tao Qinghao hesitated and put the mask on the table. The jar of dough was put into his sleeve pocket, "I'll take this jar first. I'll go over to Xin Yao and ask him if he has any good news."

Xu Yi looked at him with squinted eyes . A small gesture and a smile.

"Okay."

...

The next day, Xin Shengyuan came with Tao Qinghao.

The two of them brought good news. All the weavers in the Xin family weaving workshop can try out this new facial oil.

Tao Qinghao can arrange this matter. Xu Yi only needs to send over the dough.

It is now the early stage of the experiment. Xu Yi prepares facial fat without relying on human hands. In addition to grinding the medicinal materials, he needs to do all other mixing and fusion stages himself.

He looked at the pig fat that was gradually losing weight and ordered A Xu to buy more fat pig fat from Butcher Duan.

When the lard is almost used up, you have to prepare new ones in advance, otherwise you have to wait six or seven days.

Xu Yi stayed in the pharmacy for three days and made all the facial fat he needed.

At this time, Tao Qinghao personally came to get the facial fat and reported the number of people counted to him: "There are twenty-three weavers, and their ages are registered in the book. Take a look. If it works, then Let them try."

"That's all fine, but..." Xu Yi thought for a while and clicked his tongue again, "I forgot something. I have to go see these Zhi Niangs."

"Huh?" Tao Qinghao was stunned. .

Xu Yi sighed: "It's a long story, let's talk about it on the way."

He was busy making facial cream and forgot to tell Tao Qinghao that Zhi Niang should choose between dry skin and oily skin.

Looking back, even if he told Tao Qinghao, the child might not be able to tell the difference between the two.

The weavers in the Xin family weaving workshop are all married women, aged between 20 and 30 years old.

They were very nervous when they heard that two petty officials came over to give them face cream.

"Facial cream that nourishes and beautifies the skin? Isn't that something only rich ladies are willing to use? Why would it be given to us?"

"I don't know, the little official who came back said it seemed to be called a trial?"

"What does that mean? "

I don't understand, don't ask me, someone seems to be here."

"..."

The more than twenty women standing in line all looked at the door of the weaving workshop.

I saw two young men coming side by side. They were far away and couldn't see their appearance, but judging from their walking posture, you could tell they were different.

They were much more courageous than the young ladies who had not left the court. When Xu Yi and Tao Qinghao stood in front of them, they both looked up.

Although they were curious, they didn't ask.

Don't worry, the person you are looking at is young. If you say the wrong thing, you may lose your job in the weaving workshop.

They knew the seriousness, not to mention that today they were here to give them facial hair. Not only was they given facial hair, but one of the petty officials also gave them a face-to-face consultation!

Facial fat can be applied after a face-to-face consultation. This is a good thing that falls from the sky!

After getting the facial fat, Zhi Niang opened the jar and smelled the delicious fragrance inside. She was happy and shocked.

I'm afraid there's something else they don't know about.

As a result, the little official who gave them the consultation said that they only need to apply facial cream every day, and when the jar of facial cream is used up, they can tell the registered person the results after using it.

Weaver Girls: "..."

It's really a good thing that fell from the sky!

In the carriage.

Tao Qinghao hummed a tune in a good mood. Although Xu Yi sometimes behaved completely differently from them, you could encounter many interesting things by following him.

For example, what happened today would never have happened before.

"Xu Yi, I want to get an extra can of facial cream." Tao Qinghao thought for a while and said to Xu Yi.

Xu Yi looked at him: "Have you used up that can?"

Tao Qinghao blushed slightly: "Ahem, I want to bring a can for my mother."

These things they were busy with were not hidden from the eldest lady of the Tao family.