Chapter 129 Is the Long-Winning Jade Dew Experience Really Useful?
These articles, disguised as letters, were randomly sent by Yao Xiaoyu to several tabloids. She did not leave an address, but only used the pseudonym "Letter Collector," meaning someone with a penchant for collecting letters.
This pen name has no fixed location; it's merely a transit point for letters, conveying emotions from all corners of the world. If different senders were truly similar, that would be a disaster.
After sending the letter, Yao Xiaoyu didn't care anymore. It was just a matter of half a month without publication, and she was busy copying down a small matter of changing newspapers. It was nothing compared to her rubber band.
"Have you packed everything? If not, let's set off."
Yao Xiaoyu asked while fanning herself. It had suddenly turned into summer these past few days, and she would never have gone out if the time hadn't already been set.
Damn, even the wind is hot!
Seeing everyone nod, Yao Xiaoyu didn't delay. She led the five people into a rickshaw and sped away without even glancing back at the envious father and son guarding the house.
The person who can't even supply a rubber band wants to spend her money? If you don't want to wash at home, there are public bathhouses everywhere; you can get in for a little money.
Yao Xiaoyu led the women of the Yao family to the bathhouse. Upon entering, they noticed a slight coolness. After asking the staff, they learned that the bathhouse would place ice blocks in the corners when it was hot, and staff would fan the windows to keep the temperature.
"You guys are so thoughtful."
Although she knew it was a marketing tactic, Yao Xiaoyu was still lured in by the sweet talk. While she was hesitant to use cosmetics, she decided to buy perfume.
"Are there any light perfumes, preferably ones that smell cool?"
Yao Xiaoyu asked bluntly, "When I was at the Yao family's house, I could hide in a room with ice to cool it down, but I couldn't always carry an ice basin with me when I came out. If there was a perfume that could create the illusion of cooling down, it would make me feel a little more comfortable."
Actually, what Yao Xiaoyu wanted most was Liushen floral water, the kind in the oldest glass bottle. After taking a shower, while her body was still wet, she would pour some out, mix it with water, and apply it all over her body. It would make her feel cool even on the hottest days. However, this floral water was only developed after the reform and opening up, so Yao Xiaoyu could only look for a cheaper alternative.
"Does it smell cool?"
The waitress frowned in embarrassment. She roughly understood what Yao Xiaoyu meant, but it seemed that they didn't actually have this kind of perfume... Wait a minute!
The waiter pulled out a glass bottle from the corner, containing some light green liquid, sealed with a silver knob, which looked strangely antique.
"It contains mint juice, which should meet your needs."
The cosmetics and perfumes in the bathhouse used to be split evenly between domestic and foreign brands. However, the perception that imported goods were superior has become deeply ingrained, and domestic products, except for a few select ones, haven't sold very well. As a result, only a handful of domestic products remain. The glass bottles are the newest products from the perfume shops that have survived; I don't know what they're called...
"Eternal Jade Dew?"
Yao Xiaoyu read it out word by word: "Changying" is another name for summer, and "Yulu" is a common name for perfumes in China. Together, they mean a straightforward summer perfume, which made Yao Xiaoyu look forward to it.
She unscrewed the bottle, poured a little out, and applied it to her wrists and behind her ears. She quickly smelled a slightly bitter, cool mint scent, followed by a light lotus seed aroma. The intense heat, which even ice couldn't suppress, didn't disappear, but it did alleviate it considerably.
True masters are often found among ordinary people!
"How much of this jade dew is left?"
Yao Xiaoyu had only casually mentioned it with the thought that she might try her luck, but she wouldn't let go of something really good if she came across it. This bottle clearly wouldn't last through the summer, so Yao Xiaoyu needed to prepare more.
The waiter paused for a moment, then turned around and rummaged through the bottles for a while before remembering that since the perfume was a domestic product, no one had any desire to try it and it was not selling at all. It had already been returned to the shop, but after much persuasion, they managed to keep a sample bottle as a last resort. Unexpectedly, someone actually wanted it.
However, she certainly couldn't say that in front of the customers, so the waitress calmly turned around and smiled as she spoke:
"This is a newly formulated fragrance, specially for testing. If you like it, you can leave your surname and address and pay a 20% deposit. When the first batch of goods arrives in a few days, we will deliver it directly to your door."
She then told her supervisor that someone had ordered Changying Jade Dew and asked her to send someone to pick it up from the shop as soon as possible. She also needed to bring back a batch for backup, since their bathhouse wasn't the only place selling perfumes.
Yao Xiaoyu nodded. The curly-haired girl next to her heard that she wanted to place an order and curiously came over. Before she could even speak, she smelled a faint bamboo scent, which reminded her of the bamboo sap she had drunk before. It was bitter with a hint of sweetness. Although it didn't quite suit her taste, Xia Tian couldn't help but want to take a few sips.
"Is this the perfume you're wearing?"
If you were outside, a girl would probably chat casually before "casually" asking about the source of the fragrance. But since you're completely open in a bathhouse, there's no need for such roundabout questions. It's just that this bottle looks a bit familiar.
"Yeah, I quite like it."
Seeing the girl staring longingly at the glass bottle, Yao Xiaoyu generously opened it and let her smell it. Unsurprisingly, the girl's eyes lit up, and she told the salesperson she wanted to order. Passersby heard her and curiously gathered around...
When the fifth customer asked to place an order, the saleswoman found someone to take her place and rushed to find the manager—the perfumes that had been sent back were almost all ordered, and she was just a small saleswoman; she really couldn't make any decisions after that!
...
The Hua family.
"Father, if you want the bottle, order it yourself. Why should you touch my Everlasting Jade Dew!"
Hua Xing, with red eyes, used her body to completely block the cabinet. Hua Baiwei felt a little guilty, but her feelings quickly turned into anger.
"What do you mean 'your'? This was all made with the family's money."
Hua Xing got angry and shouted back even louder.
"I ordered the bottle with money I saved up over several years, and I spent money to buy and collect the raw materials for making the Gyokuro. I even made the Gyokuro in the dark on nights when you guys weren't working. How can it not be mine!"
As Hua Xing spoke, large tears rolled down her cheeks, and Hua Baiwei took a few steps back in a panic.
“The money you saved was just pocket money from your family, how is it yours?”
Hua Baiwei muttered a rebuttal in a low voice, then turned and left the house. However, his hurried manner made it seem like he was running away. After a moment of silence inside the house, an even more piercing wail erupted. Hua Baiwei felt increasingly guilty and finally decided to leave the house and go to the shop instead.
The Hua family owns a shop called Yulu Pavilion, which was passed down from Hua Baiwei's grandfather. Back then, it was a top-notch perfume shop, but with the decline of domestic brands, their lives also became difficult. However, even a lean camel is bigger than a horse, and they were still able to make ends meet thanks to their old customers.
"Hey, why aren't you touching your precious spices today?"
Inside the Jade Dew Pavilion, Cao Xiuzhu jokingly asked, "The core of the Hua family's heritage is fragrance formulas. Researching and making perfumes is a man's job, while women are busy in the shop. Cao Xiuzhu was born into an accounting family. Her name, Zhu, means 'bead' in abacus. She lived up to her name, being skilled with an abacus from a young age. When she reached marriageable age, the Hua family sought her hand in marriage, and she became Hua Baiwei's wife and the manager of the Jade Dew Pavilion."
Hua Baiwei didn't say anything, only showing a depressed expression. Cao Xiuzhu knew her husband very well, and immediately guessed the truth of the matter.
"Are you trying to touch the bottle with the stars again?"
Her husband is so focused on perfumery that he doesn't care much about anything else. If there's been any conflict lately, it's about the Changying Jade Dew.
"They're all unsellable, what's wrong with me borrowing the bottles..."
Hua Baiwei said in a low voice. Cao Xiuzhu sighed with a headache, grabbed Hua Baiwei's ear and told her to go buy some things her daughter liked to eat, and then they would go back together to apologize to her daughter after she closed the shop.
She knew her husband's frugal nature, but wasn't there still a sample bottle left at the bathhouse? Why couldn't they wait a little longer? If it was confirmed that it wouldn't sell, her daughter would naturally dispose of the perfume. Even if they didn't dispose of it and just kept it as a souvenir, their family wasn't so poor that they couldn't survive without those bottles. This man really was...
Looking at Hua Baiwei, which had not only brought her daughter's favorite snacks but also her favorite foods, Cao Xiuzhu resigned herself to once again playing the role of the mediator.
Hua Baiwei is indeed dull and stubborn, has a bad temper and cares a lot about his reputation, and occasionally makes a stupid mistake, doing some incomprehensible frugal things.
But when the couple only had one daughter, Huaxing, and many doctors said the problem was with Cao Xiuzhu, he did not divorce his wife and remarry, nor did he take a concubine to have children, nor did he even have the intention of adoption. He only said that he would raise his daughter well and that the couple would live longer to support her.
After Hua Xing read the story of a little fish, she had the idea of inheriting the family business. Hua Baiwei said that this was not something a girl should do, but she did her best to teach her. When Changying Yulu was developed, she shamelessly put it into the Clean Women's Bathhouse. Perfumes that could be sold there would be popular outside. With a good start, Hua Xing's path would be stable.
They never expected that after hearing that Changying Yulu was a domestic product, the people inside wouldn't even look at it, and in the end, not a single bottle was sold.
"When you get back, speak properly. If you dare to hurt your daughter's feelings again, I'll sew your mouth shut!"
Cao Xiuzhu said irritably while eating snacks. Hua Baiwei nodded vigorously. He knew his brain had gone mad the moment the words left his mouth, but thankfully Xiuzhu was there.
...
Why can't Changying Jade Dew be sold?
Hua Xing cried for a while before stopping, and then, sobbing, asked herself the question she had asked countless times.
She really couldn't understand it!
Hua Xing only started learning perfumery in the last two years, but she hadn't wasted her time before. She had worked in the shop with her mother since she was a child, watching the flow of customers and what perfumes were popular in which season, and what kind of styles and packaging people preferred. She had a clear understanding of these things. Then her first perfume was a complete failure, and she still didn't know what went wrong.
bottle?
She designed it herself; even if it's not particularly likable, it's definitely not annoying.
Perfume quality?
Although Hua Xing has only been learning perfume for a short time, she has a natural talent for it. In the perfume industry, she is practically born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Changying Yulu is a perfume that even her father thinks is pretty good.
Out of step with the times?
She uses materials that add a sense of coolness, specifically to combat the sweltering summer heat.
...
Changying Yulu got such a big no, are her experiences really useful? Can she really support Yulu Pavilion?
As Hua Xing was lost in thought, it was time for dinner. Hua Baiwei shoved some snacks at her, and Hua Xing snorted a few times in a sarcastic tone. Seeing that her father was about to explode with anger, she gave a few indifferent replies and moved on from the matter. However, the fact that Changying Jade Dew had not been sold still weighed on everyone's minds until the people from the bathhouse rushed over.
"Hurry up and get it done; we want as much as you can!"
The people at the bathhouse came and went like the wind, leaving only a family of three staring blankly at the silver coins—all the Changying Jade Dew had been taken away, which was the purchase price for perfume and the deposit for new orders.
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