Chapter 322 Ye Chutang makes cement
After closing the business at night, Sun Chu immediately went to Qi Mansion to report the battle results to Ye Chutang.
He talked about the grand opening ceremony like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.
"It's such a pity that you didn't go to Tianxialou today. I'm afraid it will be hard to have such a lively time again in the future."
Ye Chutang looked at the excited Sun Chu and said with a smile: "Every time there is a festival, we launch new activities and it is still crowded."
As long as you have good cooking skills and unique dishes, you will never have to worry about not having customers.
Sun Chu's mouth was dry as he spoke, so he took a big sip of tea.
“The response to the medicinal food was very good, and there were many reservations, but the ingredients soon ran out.”
The main reason is that the roads are difficult to travel in winter and transportation is difficult, which leads to the inability to transport vegetables.
Occasionally some are shipped in, but the price is ridiculously high.
Ye Chutang filled Sun Chu's empty cup with hot tea.
"I asked Azhou to buy ten acres of land to build a greenhouse. In half a year at most, we will be self-sufficient in all kinds of vegetables."
After hearing this, Sun Chu gave a thumbs up.
"It's a big deal. The greenhouses are so expensive, it's a shame to grow ordinary vegetables."
Then he asked, "Do you have any seeds of rare vegetables?"
Ye Chutang raised his eyes and looked at Sun Chu, "Testing me?"
Sun Chu picked up the teacup and put it to his lips.
The rising water vapor blurred his vision and also blurred his eyebrows.
"You've already taken out the climbing rope, what else can I test? I just want to know if you have much stock."
"Lots, inexhaustible."
Sun Chu was almost crying with envy.
"I also want the golden finger. How can I get it?"
"You want it so badly? How about you die again? Then you can restart with one click."
Sun Chu put down the cup and waved his hand.
"Don't give me any stupid advice. What if I get hurt and die completely?"
"Then just consider this the result of being greedy."
Sun Chu: “…”
"I'd rather not try. It's fine as long as you have the golden finger. We can make a lot of money as a partnership anyway."
After saying that, he mentioned the opening of "Furongtang".
"Furongtang will open on the eighth day of the first lunar month, but I'm afraid the business won't be very good."
In ancient times, women had a low status, and apart from officials, wealthy businessmen, or prostitutes in brothels, not many people bought rouge and powder.
Not to mention asking them to spend money on skin care and beauty.
Ye Chutang's original plan was to invite a few people with poor skin to do skin care on the spot.
Use strength to open up sales.
But now she is still in the confinement period and cannot go out.
"It's okay, let's open the store first. After I finish my confinement, I can revitalize the store."
"Okay, then do you want to do the store opening activities?"
“Of course we have to do it. Regardless of whether there is business or not, at least people have to know about the existence of Furong Hall.
Anyone who enters the store will receive a pack of detoxifying and beauty-enhancing scented tea. There are 100 packs in total, while stocks last. ”
Sun Chu thought this method was feasible.
"Okay, let's do this. Free things always attract people, and we can also earn some flower tea reservations."
After that, he asked, "It will probably take half a year before we can produce scented tea again, right?"
Ye Chutang was not very interested in growing flowers and plants, so there were not many flower seeds in the space.
"Yes, but I can usually make a single seasonal flower tea."
"That's fine. Good wine needs no bush."
The two chatted a little more about the details of running the store before Sun Chu left.
Ye Chutang called Jinzhi into the side room and handed her today's account book.
"Aunt Jin, I have taught you for a long time, let's check the accounts."
Even though the account book only contains one day's income and expenditure, it is extremely difficult to read.
Because there are too many items of income, and they are also related to deposits, discounts and gifts, it is very difficult to calculate.
Jinzhi had looked at the account book with Tang Wanning before, but it was completely different from the one in her hand.
Although she had learned a lot of new mathematical knowledge these days, she was unable to put it into practice, which made her very worried.
Ye Chutang guided and taught her patiently.
It took the two of them more than two hours to finally finish the accounts.
The sum of revenue and expenditure is exactly the same as what Sun Chu calculated.
Jinzhi then realized that it was almost midnight and quickly stood up to apologize.
"Miss, I am stupid and have delayed your rest."
Ye Chutang helped Jinzhi up and said with a smile: "Aunt Jin, we are relatives, don't be polite to me, and teaching you will also benefit me."
"I will study hard and live up to the young lady's expectations."
"It's getting late. You should go back and get some rest. Let Shan'er look after An'an and Lele tonight."
Jinzhi shook her head, "I am not tired, so I won't bother Shan'er."
Her role was to look after the wet nurse, so she didn't have to take care of the child and her body could handle it.
Seeing that Jinzhi insisted, Ye Chutang just followed her lead.
She thought that Jinzhi's way of addressing the two children was a bit confusing, so she suggested, "Aunt Jin, from now on, you should call me Madam, just like everyone else, and call An'an and Lele Miss and Master."
"Yes, ma'am, I'll go get you some hot water."
Because of the smooth delivery and good recovery, Ye Chutang is no different from usual.
But she cannot take a bath yet and only uses hot water to wash her body every day.
"I can do it myself."
It's just fetching a basin of water, it won't tire her out.
Jinzhi didn't listen to Ye Chutang and went to the kitchenette to get some hot water.
Qi Yanzhou was in the bedroom, not resting, holding a pen and drawing something.
Ye Chutang finished washing her body and came to his side.
"Is this... a garden design?"
Qi Yanzhou put down his pen and pulled Ye Chutang to sit on his lap.
"Well, I want to modify the back garden so that the children will have a place to play when they grow up."
Ye Chutang looked at the drawing on the table, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and added several strokes on the paper.
"When An An and Le Le grow up, I want to have a cat."
At this time, she didn't know that it wouldn't be long before a "cat" would come to the Qi Mansion, the most ferocious cat in the world!
Qi Yanzhou has no interest in small animals, but if Ye Chutang wants to raise one, he won't object.
"Atang, what kind of cat do you like? I'll ask Nan Xiao to find one."
Ye Chutang thought for a moment and said, "One with long hair, preferably white."
"Okay, I'll definitely help you find it."
After Qi Yanzhou finished speaking, he picked up Ye Chutang and scratched her waist.
"During the confinement period, you are not allowed to work so late."
Ye Chutang felt a little itchy, twisting his body and replied: "Okay, I promise you."
***
Time flies and it’s already the eighth day of the New Year.
The day when Furong Hall opened.
Compared with the crowded Tianxialou, Furongtang's business can be described as bleak.
Either they are acquaintances who come to show their support, or they come for the free scented tea.
There are almost no people who buy skin care products seriously.
What they sell are ordinary rouge and powder.
At the end of the day, after deducting the costs and the free scented tea, I barely broke even.
Sun Chu had guessed this result long ago and accepted it calmly.
The same goes for Ye Chutang.
After reading the account book, she said nonchalantly: "It is normal not to make money in the early stage of opening a store. First build word of mouth and then increase sales."
Sun Chu nodded in agreement.
"I have selected three lucky customers today and will help them with facial cleansing and facial masking for three days for free. If others see the effect, it should bring in some sales."
Not to mention profit, as long as daily expenses can be guaranteed.
Ye Chutang added some tea to Sun Chu's cup.
"Thank you for your hard work. I have a business that I would like to do with you."
When Sun Chu heard that there was money to be made, his eyes lit up.
"What business?"
“I want to make cement.”
Making cement is not difficult, it is even easier than making glass. As long as you find the right raw materials, there will be no problem.
The reason why Ye Chutang had this idea was because she wanted to build a glazed greenhouse.
The outdoors is different from the city. If you use wood to make the main body, it will be deformed in a few years due to wind, sun and rain.
Once the wood is deformed, the glass will shatter and cause immeasurable losses.
So she planned to use cement piles as the main body, which is strong and durable.
As for the fact that the pillars are too thick and will affect the light transmittance, it is not a big problem.
Sun Chu looked Ye Chutang up and down and asked suspiciously, "Before you traveled through time, you learned all the necessary skills, right?"
Ye Chutang was amused by Sun Chu's words, "Almost. Just tell me whether you want to do this business or not?"
"Of course. Cement is related to people's livelihood. As long as people know its role, there will be no worries about sales. Tell me the production process quickly. I have to plan it carefully and make it step by step to prevent others from stealing your skills."
"You can't run the cement business of the entire Beichen Country by yourself. You need to master the key raw materials and promote it as a distributor."
After saying that, Ye Chutang took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Sun Chu.
The paper wrote about the raw materials of cement and the production process.
Then he pointed to the "Plaster of Paris" and said, "When mixing cement, if you don't add Plaster of Paris, the cement will solidify very quickly. So as long as you master this, no one can steal your skills."
Sun Chu nodded his head, "This is a good idea."
But when he finished reading the contents of the paper, he was speechless.
"Your description of the production process is too rough. There are raw materials but no precise proportions, there is the temperature but no firing time, and the amount of gypsum used for cement curing is not clearly stated."
Ye Chutang also knew that what he wrote was a bit rough.
But that was all the information she found.
"Ahem, then I'll have to trouble Master Sun to take more time and do more experiments. After all, making money is never an easy thing."
Sun Chu thought about it and said, "Since you want me to spend so much effort, let's split it 4-6 this time. I split 4 and you split 6."
Ye Chutang did not object immediately, but let Sun Chu face the facts.
"If you don't want to continue cooperating, don't even mention 46, even 64 will do."
Sun Chu was so scared that he quickly waved his hands and laughed shamelessly.
"37 is good, I'll always use 37 from now on."
His goal was not to make a lot of money, but to extend his business empire to every place.
He couldn't do it on his own.
But by cooperating with Ye Chutang, there is hope that the wish can be achieved.
Ye Chutang nodded with satisfaction and reminded: "Building the glazed greenhouse requires cement, you should make it as soon as possible."
"I would like to make cement quickly, but the snow has been falling day after day and the roads have been blocked. Where can I get clay and limestone?"
"Give me two days and I will give you the raw materials."
"Okay, I'll prepare the rest first."
After the two of them finished their discussion, Sun Chu stood up and said goodbye.
After Ye Chutang asked Qi Yanzhou about the earthen kiln for firing plates, dishes and bowls, he found out where to find clay.
Limestone is a very common mineral and is not difficult to find.
But due to heavy snow, the roads were blocked and the goods could not be transported into the city.
But transporting raw materials was not a difficult task for Ye Chutang.
She asked Qi Yanzhou to rent an abandoned house in the north of Tianshan County to use as a warehouse for clay and limestone.
As for the iron ore needed, just go to the blacksmith shop to collect iron filings and waste slag.
The plaster used with cement is made by frying semi-hydrated gypsum at high temperature, and the raw materials can be purchased.
Two days later, Sun Chu got the raw materials for making cement.
The three "lucky customers" of Furong Hall saw significant results from the facial cleansing and medicated compresses, which helped to improve their business a little.
Sun Chu had a strong execution ability and made cement in just five days.
But if you want to mass produce, you have to build a few kilns first, which will take several days.
Ye Chutang didn't mind these two days, so he let Sun Chu do whatever he wanted.
As soon as she sent the person away, the mother and daughter of the Chen family came to visit.
Chen Ruoyun has been recuperating at the Qi family for a month and her health has improved greatly.
But she was so ill before that she needed to rest for another two months to fully recover.
If the road had not been blocked by heavy snow, the mother and daughter would have already set out back to Linzhou City.
The two came to see Ye Chutang today to thank her for the scar removal cream.
Mrs. Chen bowed to Ye Chutang with gratitude.
"Mrs. Qi is still in confinement after childbirth. I shouldn't bother you, but I have to come and thank you for your kindness."
Chen Ruoyun clasped her hands together and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Madam Qi, for giving me the scar removal cream. It works great."
She had countless scars on her body and didn't mind having one more.
But women all love beauty, and if the scars can be removed, she would be extremely happy.
Ye Chutang quickly helped the two people who were bending over to stand up.
"No need to be so polite, to me, scar removal cream is just a business deal."
What this means is that scar removal cream costs money.
Mrs. Chen knew that scar removal cream was hard to find. It was usually used by the royal court and could not be bought even if you had money.
"No matter what, I have to thank Madam Qi for the medicine."
After that, she asked, "Mrs. Qi, my daughter and I have lived in the Qi family for a month. All expenses are covered by the Qi family. It's time to settle the accounts."
This time, Chen Kui not only brought the medical fee proposed by Ye Chutang, but also left two hundred taels for Mrs. Chen.
Let her pay for all the expenses.
Ye Chutang nodded and went back to the bedroom to get the account book.
"Mrs. Chen, every penny you and Miss Chen spent on the Qi family has been recorded in the account book. Please check if there are any discrepancies. I'll get you an abacus."
After saying that, she left the side hall and went to find Jinzhi.
Although Jinzhi learned mathematics, she also often used an abacus.
Mrs. Chen opened the account book and flipped through it briefly.
I was a little shocked to see that the thin account book was almost full.
But she was more grateful.
She doesn't like to owe anyone anything, and the clearer the accounts are, the better.
But when Mrs. Chen saw the amount in each account, her face suddenly turned bad.
Chen Ruoyun noticed that her mother's expression was different, and asked quickly, "Mom, what's wrong? Is there anything wrong with this account book?"
Although she was a man of both civil and military talents, she knew nothing about managing a household and didn't even know the prices of daily necessities.
Therefore, she couldn't understand the account books and had no idea about the prices.
Mrs. Chen shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with the account book, but I didn't expect it to cost so much. I'm afraid the banknotes your father left behind may not be enough."
Although Chen Ruoyun had no idea about silver, she knew that the two hundred taels left by her father was a lot.
After all, her monthly salary was only sixteen taels.
After deducting expenses, there is no more than fifty taels saved in a year.
"Mom, how much is the scar removal cream?"
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