Chapter 2: Jade Rabbit is going to open a shop. Mrs. Bennett’s fragile nerves can be saved…
She looked down at the jade pestle in her hand which had become much smaller. Without enough mana to drive it, she could only use it as a pestle to pound earthly herbs for the time being.
Alice took a glass basin and placed it on the stove, then took out the spices used by the maid for cooking from the cupboard, as well as other ingredients she had collected on a daily basis.
Cloves, mint, wood chips cut from camphor branches... are put into the pot one by one.
She gently pounded the jade pestle twice, and wherever the pestle touched, the herbs were enveloped in a ball of spiritual light. In the blink of an eye, the basin full of herbs of varying sizes and textures merged into a pool of spiritual fluid.
Turning the pestle upside down, it swiped across the spiritual liquid, and the unformed liquid followed the guide and flowed into the glass bottle prepared nearby, quickly solidifying into a paste as desired. Its color was golden and clear, its texture light and delicate, and the scent filled the room.
This method of preparing medicine not only eliminated the many tedious processes of the Eastern mortal world, but also allowed him to pound the Mysterious Frost Elixir for years in the Moon Palace. Even with only a few wisps of the elixir's residual power, it could maximize the medicinal properties of the mortal medicine, achieving its maximum potential. Regular use by mortals could also improve their physical fitness and prolong their lives.
The medicine was ready. She held the jade pestle horizontally and gently wiped her eyes. The artifact returned to her body, and her strange pupils instantly returned to inky black.
The beauty was hidden in the eyes, and the smile returned to the eyes.
"Mom, the medicine is here." Pushing open the kitchen door, Alice walked to Mrs. Bennett with a glass bottle, dipped her fingertips in the ointment and applied it on both sides of her forehead. The medicinal power quickly penetrated into the human body with a layer of glimmering light that was invisible to the human eye.
The person who had been moaning just now gradually relaxed as he smelled the fresh aroma of grass and trees. "I feel much better. This ointment is better than the smelling salts that make your nose fume and your brain swollen. Alyssa, you are really a good baby to your mother."
Now that her memory has been restored, Alice can naturally see with her own ability that Mrs. Bennet's condition is not serious. She is half pretending and half the long-term use of smelling salts has damaged her body.
Nowadays, it is popular among upper-class women to always have a bottle of smelling salts with a pungent smell, so that they can express at the right time that they can't bear it and are about to faint. Shouting for smelling salts is this signal, used to show their fragility and so-called nobility, just like Mrs. Bennet at this moment.
However, the smelling salts used throughout England are made from shavings of deer antlers. Although the smell is strong enough to allow ladies to prove that they have indeed woken up from a fainting state, they are actually poisonous. Excessive use will make the nerves sensitive and fragile, and headaches and dizziness are the most obvious side effects.
Her ointment, with the residual power of the elixir, can remove even the slightest impurities and side effects, and can even slowly repair damaged nerves. It is beneficial to people rather than harmful.
Mrs. Bennet's headache and dizziness symptoms soon eased, and she immediately regained the strength to shout loudly: "This smelling salt was purchased from a London pharmacy, and it is not at all comparable to baby Eliza's ointment. I can't believe that London merchants use such things to fool those nobles!" As she spoke, she kept calling her favorite daughter Alice her darling.
"Since the smelling salts used by the nobles can't compare, Mom, what do you say I should sell them this oriental ointment?" Alice rolled her eyes and threw out a bombshell, "I'm going to open a shop in London!"
Although she had lived here for eighteen years as the third daughter of the Bennet family without noticing and had adapted to her current status, it would be too boring for her to follow the rules and be a lady from a country family, living a life with a foreseeable end.
Mr. Darcy, the friend Mr. Bingley brought with him, was a bit arrogant, but there is a saying that is true: the scope of activities in the countryside is limited after all, the people you interact with are limited, and you don't meet a variety of people.
Now that she's in the mortal world, people are the most interesting specialty here. Why don't you let her go out and have fun with others in lively places? I wonder if this world can withstand her fun.
The more she thought about it, the more she thought it would be a good idea to open a pharmacy in London, where she could sell the ointments she had prepared for Mrs. Bennet. After all, what lady didn't need to heal her nerves weakened by smelling salts?
As for the capital...
Alice sat down between Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Bennet with a smile on her face, and took turns shaking the arms of the two men who were in charge of the family's finances, and acted coquettishly, "Please, please! Please, please! Best mother! Dearest father! I want to go."
It was not the old gentleman, Mr. Bennett, who first expressed his objection.
Mrs. Bennet couldn't understand Alice's novel idea: "My dear, you are a lady from a gentleman's family. How can you go to London to do business? The merchants there are not always as good as your uncle. They will eat you whole and dry."
Hearing this, Alice couldn't help but almost laughed out loud. Didn't she know enough goblins that ate people with their bones?
Mr. Bennett wiped his glasses and put them back on, then looked at his second smartest daughter: “Alyssa, are you serious?”
Trying to suppress her laughter, Alice pretended to be serious: "Of course, Dad. I think I need a different life, and Mom and Jane also need more security in their lives."
"Elissa, you should know that although our family is happy to associate with businessmen, people are always prejudiced against a lady who works in business." Mr. Bennett looked at her. "And the thing that your mother finds most difficult to accept is that you may not be able to marry a respectable gentleman because of this."
"Oh, no, no," said Mrs. Bennet, before she could answer.
"No, mother, there are more young gentlemen in London. Otherwise, should I marry Danny or John?" Alice didn't take these rules and decency seriously in her heart, but she said, "Earning more pounds will naturally make you respectable. Even London gentlemen won't bother with it."
"That's right, those guys are not worthy of my daughter." Mrs. Bennett's mind is always very sharp in this regard. At this moment, she has quickly gone through the list of candidates for Meryton's son-in-law in her head and found that none of them are satisfactory.
"Once we make money, we won't have to worry about being kicked out by Mr. Collins." Alice added that this was what her mother cared about most.
"Besides, just think about the kind of customers in the ointment business. You should be hoping that I'll meet a suitable aristocratic bachelor." After years of being together, he already knew how to coax his human mother, and every word he said went straight to her heart.
Mrs. Bennet soon burst into laughter. "Yes, yes, why didn't I think of it? Once you make friends with those noble ladies, you can also introduce wealthy and prestigious bachelors to your sisters. Oh, by then, all my daughters will be noble ladies. How proud I will be. Among the twenty-four families around here, no one can compare to me. Oh, hahaha."
"Alyssa, my dear, when you get to London, you must attend more public balls and more private balls of the upper class." Her mind was already full of marriage, and she began to imagine how her daughter would shine at the ball, and she didn't remember at all that she had strongly opposed it before.
"Of course, Mother, I love balls so much," Alice replied cheerfully.
Mr. Bennett watched this scene and knew that he had no choice but to pay. "It seems there is no need for me to express my opinion. Tell me, how much do you want?"
"Dad, I know Mom brought a dowry of 4,000 pounds, plus the dowry you have saved for us over the years, I want to withdraw my share in advance." Alice expressed her plan.
"That means I want your share of 800 pounds." Mr. Bennett was rarely embarrassed when he reported the figure.
Although the Longbourn estate brought the Bennet family an annual income of £2,000, the family's large size, coupled with Mr. Bennet's initial belief that an heir would eventually emerge, led to their lavish spending and little savings. Over the years, only £5,000 remained in cash. Each daughter received just over £800, earning an annual interest rate of less than 4%, as her dowry. This inheritance would not be received until their mother's death.
"Doing business in London isn't easy. Alyssa, I'll give you my £800 as capital." Elizabeth interrupted, turning to look at her always indulgent father. "Dad, please withdraw my share in advance for Alyssa."
Mr. Bennett pondered for a moment and agreed to the requests of his two most opinionated daughters.
Elizabeth immediately smiled at Alice and comforted her: "800 pounds is not enough for me to spend for the rest of my life. Keep an eye on your ointment business, and remember to support me when you become a wealthy woman."
"Count me in, too. Dad, please let me withdraw 500 pounds in advance," Jane continued, then turned to her two sisters, "I'll put in 500 pounds, leaving 300 pounds. Even in business... I mean, even the most successful businessmen can sometimes fail. If each of us sisters keeps 100 pounds, we'll always have room to maneuver."
"Jane, you have Mr. Bingley, so you won't need the 100 pounds. If we become paupers, we will rely on you for help." Elizabeth teased.
Jane smiled, and only her familiar family members could see some shyness in her dignified smile.
Now the whole family basically agreed that she would marry Mr. Bingley, a young gentleman from a northern city who rented the nearby Netherfield Manor for vacation and had an annual salary of 5,000 pounds.
"None of us will become penniless. This counts as your investment, and we'll split the profits when we make money." Alice vowed.
"I'll also offer 400 pounds. 'Don Quixote' said, 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket.' Half of this amount should be an investment that takes into account both returns and risks." Mary closed the book in her hand and interrupted.
"Have you thought it through? If you keep calling me dad, I won't be able to give you any more money. Maybe when I die, you'll end up living on the streets, the way your mother has been talking about." Mr. Bennett didn't forget his humor. "Or you might go and live with your two little sisters, if they haven't spent all their money on lace."
"Dad!" The two little ones finally understood what was going on and were very dissatisfied with what their father said.
Lydia shouted, "That's not fair, Dad. I want to keep the 800 pounds myself." Catherine agreed and also wanted to have control over the money.
"That won't do. If I give it to you in advance, I'll have to pretend I've never seen the money." Mr. Bennett opened the newspaper again and read.
“Well, then, I’ll also invest money in Alyssa, the same as Mary, 400 pounds.” Lydia vaguely realized that only in this way could she get the money in advance.
After saying that, he shouted at Alice in a timid tone, "Remember to pay me back at least double. If you lose all this money, I will never let you go. Even if you are the reincarnation of the devil, I will pester you to get it back!"
Soon, the last lady from the Bennet family also expressed her intention to invest 400 pounds, and her words showed that she trusted Lydia's ability to make money more than she did.
"Since the ointment has the potential to drive away your mother's fragile old friend, I've rounded up the amount for you." Mr. Bennett closed the newspaper, went to the study, took out a stack of bills totaling 3,500 pounds, and handed it to Alice. "Well, now, our family is equally pauperized."
Alice hadn't originally planned to leave for London too early, but plans always change.
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