Because Fu Xiaoguan brought two women with him, Wang Er and his family did not go out after they came back.
They didn't know the identities of the two women, but judging by their manners and attire, they were definitely daughters of wealthy families. Wang Er had already warned them not to offend them and embarrass the young master.
Early the next morning, Fu Xiaoguan was doing morning exercises in the yard. When he saw Wang Er and Wang Qiang coming out, he ran over.
He thought for a long time last night about who should be the right person to take care of the perfume business.
This thing doesn't require any technical skills, except for the alcohol, which is a little troublesome. But if a traitor appears again, it will be very easy to imitate it.
After much deliberation, Wang Qiang's fiancée, Zhang Xiaomei, was the only one he could trust. Fu Xiaoguan had met her many times before, and she was quite thoughtful and efficient. So, let her be in charge of the perfume business.
"Wang Qiang, wait a minute."
"Master!"
"When you meet your fiancée later, come to my place with her. I have something for her to take care of."
Wang Qiang was stunned and said, "How can she do that? She can't even read a word and she's a woman. No, no, no, if she ruins the young master's business, it will be troublesome."
Fu Xiaoguan patted Wang Qiang on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't look down on women. It's settled. Bring her to see me."
Wang Er slapped Wang Qiang on the back of the head. "This is because the young master thinks highly of our family. Listen to the young master. Also, I'll send the Fu Yidai seed to the young master as soon as the sun comes out. Do you hear me?"
"Okay, okay, as you say."
…
The two women were reluctant to get up on such a cool morning. Besides, they had been sleeping much later than usual since coming to the Xishan Villa, so they definitely couldn't get up so early in the morning.
Fu Xiaoguan listened to Zhang Ce's reports on various places in recent days in the inner courtyard. Overall, there were no problems, except that the construction progress of the new workshop was extremely slow.
This was not an easy matter to handle, because it was the busy farming season, and the workers Xishan relied on were almost all his own tenants, and their primary task was farming.
Now even Xishan Express has stopped half of its operations. If it weren't for the cement workshop's urgent need for slag, Xishan Express would probably have to stop.
"I heard from the people at Xishan Express that refugees seem to have appeared in Yao County. It's said that the county magistrate, Yu Lian, has ordered the city gates closed and only porridge and soup are released every day. I'm afraid there will be a lot of people coming from both sides of the Yellow River. These refugees are like locusts. If they bypass Yao County and reach our area, it will be quite troublesome."
Fu Xiaoguan had heard about the Yellow River flood from his father, but he didn't expect that the refugees would arrive here so soon.
But his eyes soon lit up, "So County Magistrate Yu is not planning to accept these refugees?"
"How can we accept this? If you dare to accept this, the refugees behind you will hear the news and rush here. How much food can a small Yao County have for all these refugees? If the refugees get hungry, they will cause trouble. If they cause a big disturbance, Yao County will not have soldiers to suppress it. How can County Magistrate Yu afford it?"
“What if we accept?”
Chuck was startled and waved his hand quickly, "Master, you can't do that. The land of the Fu Mansion has long been distributed. The reason these tenants have been able to farm peacefully over the years is that the master never touches the divided land. Besides, we don't know how many refugees will come. Where will they live? What will they eat? Our place doesn't even have the most basic defense except for this West Mountain Villa. If they make trouble, everything you have done will come to nothing, and even these farmers will be robbed by them."
Chuck swallowed his saliva, sat up straight, and said, "Master, you have never seen the horror of refugees. For a bite of food, they really dare to kill people."
Fu Xiaoguan was silent for a moment, but still decided to accept these refugees.
This has nothing to do with kindness, but he needs people, he needs lots and lots of people!
"I understand. I will consider this matter carefully."
Zhang Ce retreated, and Fu Xiaoguan walked a few steps by the stream, thinking about the refugees.
Since Yao County was still distributing porridge even though the city gates were closed, it meant that there were not many refugees at the moment, otherwise County Magistrate Yu would definitely have asked for help from Linjiang Prefecture.
The provincial government has an army. For the safety of Linjiang, Liu Zhizhou will probably send out troops. If not to suppress, it will at least serve as a deterrent.
So if we accept these people now while there are not many refugees, there won't be any big trouble.
This not only helped County Magistrate Yu escape from the siege, but also enabled the subsequent refugees to be received in an orderly manner.
This matter must be handled as soon as possible. We must get the perfume out today, teach Zhang Xiaomei, and leave for Yao County tomorrow.
When Wang Qiang brought Zhang Xiaomei over, Yu Wenjun and Dong Shulan had already finished washing up and were sitting in the yard.
Zhang Xiaomei was very nervous. She knew that everything the young master did was a big deal. Wang Qiang gave her many instructions along the way, which made her feel even more pressured.
Not long after, Master Liu came in with alcohol. He had tried to make this thing last night, and he made another bottle himself today.
Zhang Ce also came in carrying a basket, which contained jasmine and osmanthus flowers picked from Xishan early in the morning.
Fu Xiaoguan waved to Zhang Xiaomei and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, I will teach you. After you learn it, go choose some women or girls and teach them."
"Young Master..."
"Watch carefully, I will only teach you once."
"This thing is called a distiller. Master Liu, I'd also like you to bring a furnace and a can of distilled water, which is the water separated when brewing wine."
"Master, wait a moment."
Soon, Master Liu ran into the yard with a worker. What strange thing was the young master going to make?
"Now we put these jasmine flowers in this still and heat them on the stove until water is produced inside, which is called essential oil."
A group of people held their breath and waited for half an hour, and essential oil really appeared in the distiller.
"This thing is called a measuring cup. Look, it has scales on it. We'll take six scales of distilled water and pour them into this large container. Then, take one scale of alcohol—the strong-smelling stuff—and pour that into this container. The last step is to take three scales of essential oil and pour them into this container as well."
As soon as the distiller was opened, a rich jasmine fragrance wafted in the air, and everyone's eyes lit up.
"Next is stirring. Use this glass stick to stir the container. Remember, this stirring time will take at least two hours, so I'll omit it here."
“The final step is bottling and placing it in the cellar for about two months before it can be released for sale.”
"Do you understand?"
Zhang Xiaomei nodded, then shook her head.
Fu Xiaoguan patiently made it again with osmanthus flowers, and only then did Zhang Xiaomei remember it.
"Okay, from now on, this matter will be entirely your responsibility. If you need anything, go to Butler Zhang."
Butler Zhang agreed and took everyone away. Only then did Yu Wenjun and Dong Shulan couldn't wait to take the perfume and smell it carefully.
Because it is not fully stirred and aged, the taste is not yet mellow, but the aroma is already lingering.
"This stuff spilled on you?"
"Well, you guys try it."
"This thing seems very troublesome, and it will take so long to store. What is the price?"
"The bottle I ordered costs one ounce of silver!"
One ounce of silver? That doesn't seem expensive.
Two wealthy women changed Fu Xiaoguan's price. Since the perfume came on the market, they sold it for ten taels of silver per bottle, and the demand still couldn't keep up with the supply!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
