Chapter 128 Milk and Wool Workshop
Mongolian cattle are not draft animals; their only output besides meat is milk. Compared to beef, milk is a byproduct, and as long as the cows are alive, milk production continues, making it a sustainable resource. Unlike livestock and meat products, which are a one-off transaction with relatively low purchase prices, Mongolian cattle are not.
Milk has low production costs, which makes this business profitable and promising. However, low costs alone do not guarantee profits. Processing raw materials into finished products, transporting them, and finally selling them to customers are all challenging steps.
Like meat, fresh milk also has the disadvantages of a short shelf life and easy spoilage. Without the cold chain transportation system of later dynasties, the Qing Dynasty could not sell any fresh milk, and it was simply impossible to transport milk to customers all over the country within a few days.
However, milk can be made into milk powder, which not only has a long shelf life but is also easy to transport. Even if you can't bear to use metal, glass, or ceramic for packaging, cloth or paper bags will do just as well.
Processing milk into milk powder doesn't require any new technology. Milk powder existed when Genghis Khan was conquering everywhere. Any herdsman on the grasslands could make it, so there was no need to train technicians.
The only problem is that the milk powder is hard to sell.
It's impossible for milk powder to be produced and sold to Mongolians on the spot. They can drink fresh milk; only a madman would buy stale milk powder that needs to be diluted with boiling water.
Selling it to the interior of China was also difficult, as Han Chinese people didn't have a habit of drinking milk. Cattle in the Central Plains were mostly used for draft purposes, lacking the vast pastures for grazing. Historically, people in the Central Plains hadn't had a habit of drinking milk; it was only through extensive advertising that the milk powder market was developed.
Manchus do have the habit of drinking milk, but they don't have much purchasing power when it comes to milk powder.
The noble families of the Eight Banners were wealthy and powerful; if they wanted milk, they could raise cattle and sheep on their own estates to provide fresh milk, or hire wet nurses. They would never consider spending money on milk powder.
Finally, only ordinary Manchu families could afford to buy milk powder. And even then, it had to be families without Mongolian relatives; otherwise, wouldn't it be more cost-effective for them to buy it from relatives at a lower price?
Yin'e was somewhat pessimistic about the prospects of the milk business and was not optimistic.
As for goat milk, it's not even as good as cow milk. Goat milk is both fishy and pungent, and even if it's made into milk powder, it doesn't sell well. In later generations, cow milk became the dominant product, and only a minority of people could accept goat milk.
Even with modern scientific animal husbandry, the situation is still like this; Yin'e doesn't even dare to imagine how strong the muttony smell of Mongolian sheep is now.
However, the infant formula market was a completely new market that no one had ventured into before, and Yin'e still wanted to give it a shot rather than give up in vain.
All we can say is that we're trying our best to develop by-products, such as cream cakes, milk candies, milk tablets, cow's milk pastries, milk biscuits, cakes, and even goat's milk whitening masks. We can consider all of these to develop the added value of cow's milk and goat's milk and build brand advantages.
In terms of by-products, the real bulk comes from wool. Among the four basic necessities of life—clothing, food, housing, and transportation—clothing ranks first, and the by-products of wool processing are the commodities with real demand and a large market.
Nowadays, Mongolians use wool very little. The wool they collect is mostly yellowish and oily, neither fluffy nor soft, and has a strong smell. In terms of warmth, it is far less cost-effective than sheepskin.
Aside from some herders using wool to make felt for their feet, wool has almost no other use. Mongolians consider wool completely useless, and even find it too smelly to put in their tents.
This situation occurred because the Mongols did not know how to properly process wool, or how to process wool from raw wool into fibers.
Sheep grazing on the grasslands roam freely, following the grass, and over the years, their wool inevitably gets covered in mud, sweat, and grease. The first two are fine, but grease is difficult to remove with just water. Even with just water, the wool will still be yellowish, greasy, and smelly.
Even the grease on the wool couldn't be completely removed, and the wool couldn't be degreasing or smelly, so the Mongols naturally couldn't make further use of the wool.
In fact, wool that has only been washed with water cannot be called textile raw material. What can be called textile raw material is wool fiber after further processing.
Wool fibers are soft and elastic, and can be woven into yarn to make sweaters, woolen fabrics, blankets and other clothing.
Wool products have a full feel, good warmth retention, and are lightweight and comfortable to wear, making them a promising product with great development potential.
At that time, the textile industry in the Qing Dynasty was still dominated by cotton, linen, silk, and leather. Except for the hot south, wool products could easily dominate half of the market and quickly take over the market.
Yin'e would not miss such a promising business opportunity. For him, who had memories of the future, the technology of processing wool was extremely simple. He only needed to wash and degrease the wool with detergent, and after the wool dried, he could comb it again to obtain wool fibers, which could be spun into yarn and woven into cloth.
Even if the ingredient list of detergents used to wash wool in later generations is clear enough, the current Yin'e cannot replicate the formula, nor does it have enough factories to carry out mass production.
However, there's no need to pursue cost-efficiency comparable to later products in wool detergents; they can remain completely primitive, and washing wool directly with pure alkali would be just as effective.
Pure alkali is also very easy to obtain. The world's largest natural alkali mine, Naiman Banner, is located in Mongolia, so it is a local source.
Even if Mongolia's natural alkali deposits cannot be mined in the short term, alkali production is not difficult. Industrial production uses the Hou's process for alkali production, and there are many more methods for biological extraction of alkali. Crude alkali can be extracted from alkali plants such as grapes, tea, kelp, and persimmons.
Moreover, the value of wool is not limited to the wool fibers used as textile raw materials after washing; the oils adhering to the raw wool fibers are also very useful.
Lanolin can be extracted from the wastewater after washing wool with pure alkali. It is a natural emulsifier. When mixed with water and oil, it can be made into ointments such as hand creams. It can prevent frostbite and keep hands warm and moisturized in winter. It has a market in cold places except the south.
The method for making grease is equally simple. Yin'e had successfully made grease using beeswax and lard as emulsifiers long ago. The process is the same when using lanolin, and lanolin is even cheaper, which can further reduce the final selling price of the finished product.
Yin'e wasn't that picky or sensitive; he couldn't distinguish the differences between ointments made from beeswax, lard, and lanolin, which were more delicate and moisturizing, and which were rougher and drier, or what the differences were.
But that doesn't matter. We should focus on quantity, not quality. The difference in production volume between lanolin and beeswax means that one focuses on quantity and the other on quality.
Lanolin-based ointments can be priced lower, allowing for profits through high volume and low cost.
Beeswax and lard versions of liposuction emphasize brand concepts and target the high-end luxury market. Flower petals, herbs, cow's milk, goat's milk—anything that sounds luxurious can be added as an ingredient to the liposuction. Just by different scents and colors, many different varieties can be created.
After calming himself down, and setting aside projects he didn't plan to get involved in for the time being, such as glass and beef and mutton, Yin'e slowly and thoroughly explained the production, transportation, and sales plans for the three commodities—milk, wool, and fat—to the Ninth Prince.
Although they weren't going to start a business partnership immediately, the Ninth Prince at least wanted to have a clear idea of what kind of business they would be involved in. Yin'e had high expectations for the Ninth Prince's future fully-fledged wealth-generating abilities, hoping that his ideas would shine brightly in the Ninth Prince's hands and earn them a substantial fortune.
With his hands supporting his head on his knees, the Ninth Prince listened intently to Yin'e's story, his lips pursed.
Although he couldn't understand the technical knowledge or the principles behind those formulas.
But it doesn't matter, because the Ninth Prince understood that Yin'e had a way to make wool clean, so that it could be spun like silk and linen; he also understood that the oil washed off the wool could be made into ointment.
That's enough. The Ninth Prince doesn't need to understand the production process, the steps involved in manufacturing the product, or how it's produced. He only needs to know what goods they can produce; the Ninth Prince isn't a research and development engineer.
As for the transportation and sales of the goods after they are produced, the Ninth Prince understood it immediately. After listening to Yin'e's explanation, he immediately said, "Wool products and fats sell best outside the Great Wall. If they are transported to Mongolia, Heilongjiang, and Shengjing, they will be enthusiastically sought after."
Compared to the interior of the pass, the weather outside the pass is much colder. Whether it's woolen textiles for warmth and insulation or hand creams to moisturize and prevent frostbite, the demand is much greater in the north. The same goods will receive completely different treatment depending on whether they are shipped to the north or the south, and the final price can be adjusted accordingly based on demand.
“I understand what you mean.” Yin’e gave the Ninth Prince a knowing look. “We can set up workshops in Mongolia, use local materials, sell some locally, and then transport the rest to Shengjing and into the interior.”
As for Heilongjiang, it borders Tsarist Russia. Apart from the soldiers stationed there, there were only exiled criminals. There were not many ordinary people living there. Wool textiles and fats could be transported there without retail sales; they could be packaged and sold to the army.
The biggest advantage of setting up a workshop in Mongolia is that it saves the trouble of transporting raw materials. Whether it is wool or pure alkali, Mongolia is the largest producer, so local production is the most convenient.
Although Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were in the capital, setting up a workshop there would be costly, not to mention the high cost of land and goods in the capital. Just transporting wool from the grasslands to the capital and then transporting the processed wool fabrics and fats back to Mongolia would waste a lot of manpower and time.
The Ninth Prince suddenly straightened up, his phoenix eyes wide open, sparkling as he looked at Yin'e with a face full of ambition: "Tenth Brother, when are we going to build a wool workshop? Or should we send someone to Mongolia after the New Year?"
Yin'e was stunned by the Ninth Prince's eagerness. After a long while, he shook his head repeatedly, laughing and crying at the same time: "Ninth Brother, things are not that easy. We only have preliminary ideas now. The specific plans are still far from being finalized. If we really want to make the business a success, there are many problems to solve."
Before Yin'e could even count on his fingers the remaining problems waiting for them to solve, the Ninth Prince declared with the boldness of a newborn calf: "Where there's a will, there's a way. We'll solve them one by one."
"There's always a way, there's definitely no problem." Wrapped in the quilt, the Ninth Prince confidently waved his hand, using body language to emphasize his determination.
But perhaps because the blanket was too bulky, the Ninth Prince stumbled and almost fell off the bed when he moved too much.
Yin'e was amused by the Ninth Prince and laughed so hard that he fell backward and leaned against the Ninth Prince.
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