Lu Bo's oxcart initially served everyone in Lujia Village, but later Jiang Ling, who frequently traveled to and from the county town, simply chartered Lu Bo's oxcart and paid monthly.
As a result, Lu Bo earned a considerable income every month, and now that he saw that Jiang Ling already had a carriage, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"Don't worry about that. I've already talked to Zhao Erleng's family. They're now running my mala tang stall, so you can just serve the three of them from now on!" Jiang Ling quickly reassured her.
Upon hearing Jiang Ling's words, Lu Bo immediately felt relieved. He thanked Jiang Ling profusely, knowing firsthand how much Jiang Ling had helped his family during this time.
Jiang Ling smiled and said to Uncle Lu, "Uncle Lu, I didn't expect Shen Qianhe to give me a carriage. I'm really sorry to have kept you here for so long!"
"Oh, what are you saying? It's alright, it's alright. I'll head back to Pingxi County now!" Uncle Lu said with a smile as he drove the oxcart toward the city gate.
Jiang Ling followed closely behind. At first, she was a little worried about Jiang Yaojie's technique, so she sat with Jiang Yaojie outside the carriage.
But after a while, Jiang Ling realized that her worries were unnecessary, so she simply lay down in the carriage and began to close her eyes and rest.
The two arrived at the gate of Li Shanren's house in Changning Town. Afu also happened to return from outside and was very happy to see Jiang Ling and her son.
"Sister-in-law, oh no, no, this humble man Afu greets Madam An!" Afu was about to wave and greet her when he suddenly bent his knees and prepared to kneel down, as if he had thought of something.
Jiang Yaojie quickly helped Afu up, and Jiang Linglian stepped back and said to Afu, "Afu, there's no need to be so polite. Although I have been granted the title of Lady by the Emperor, I don't like any disparity between myself and you!"
Afu looked at Jiang Ling with trepidation. Jiang Ling patted Afu's shoulder lightly and said, "Go and inform your master that I'm coming!"
"Hey, hey, Madam An, please wait a moment!" With that, Afu hurriedly ran towards the door, almost tripping and falling in his haste.
Jiang Ling looked at Afu's slightly disheveled figure with some helplessness, and once again felt how strict the social hierarchy was in ancient times.
Afu was fast on his feet, and in less than a few minutes Li Shanren rushed out from inside in a panic. When he saw Jiang Ling, he wanted to bow.
Jiang Ling quickly waved her hand and said, "Mr. Li, there's no need for such formalities!"
Li Shanren seemed a little flustered. He hesitated for a long time before saying awkwardly, "Hello... Madam An!"
"Just call me Jiang Shi, I don't like such formal titles!" Jiang Ling said, rubbing her aching temples.
"Okay...okay, An...Mrs. Jiang, what brings you here?" Li Shanren asked, still somewhat reserved.
Jiang Ling pointed to the bamboo tube in Jiang Yaojie's hand and said to Li Shanren, "How about I show you a way to get rich?"
Li Shanren was very surprised after hearing this. He tried hard to suppress the upturned corners of his mouth and repeatedly invited Jiang Ling into the house.
"What kind of food is this?" Li Shanren asked curiously.
Jiang Ling waved her hand, signaling Jiang Yaojie to explain.
Jiang Yaojie deftly opened the lid and, mimicking Jiang Ling's earlier actions, asked Li Shanren, "Uncle Li, what do you usually use to wash your hair?"
"Wash your hair?" Li Shanren didn't expect Jiang Yaojie to ask this question. He stroked his chin and thought for a while before answering, "It's soap beans, but soap beans are expensive and you can't use them many times!"
Jiang Yaojie smiled slightly, opened the bamboo tube lid, placed the tube in Li Shanren's hand, and said, "Uncle Li, would you like to try our family's newly developed shampoo?"
"Shampoo?" Li Shanren showed a similar expression of surprise as Shen Qianhe.
He carefully picked up the bamboo tube, slowly brought his nose to it, smelled it, frowned, and asked, "This...this smell, why is it so similar to the peppermint balm and peppermint water from before?"
Jiang Yaojie explained, "Yes, some mint has been added to it, which will give your scalp a cooling sensation. Uncle Li, you can try it first!"
Li Shanren looked at the bamboo tube in his hand with some skepticism. After hesitating for a while, he showed a slightly apologetic expression and said, "Madam Jiang, well... I'll excuse myself for a moment. I'll have a servant bring you some tea and snacks. I'll go try out this shampoo first!"
After saying this, Li Shanren gave an instruction to the servant beside him, who nodded and left together with Li Shanren.
Soon the servant arrived with some tea and snacks and a pot of tea. He respectfully placed the tea and snacks on the table and then turned to leave.
Jiang Ling looked at the beautifully presented tea snacks but had no desire to eat them. Although the snacks were nice, they were almost all steamed or fried, which did not suit Jiang Ling's taste. At this moment, Jiang Ling only wanted to eat a few Portuguese egg tarts with a rich milky flavor.
Jiang Yaojie, who was standing nearby, noticed that Jiang Ling's condition was not right and quickly asked, "Mother, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Jiang Ling shook her head repeatedly, quickly adjusting her expression, and replied, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm probably just a little tired! Yaojie, try these tea snacks! They look pretty good!"
Jiang Yaojie nodded and began to savor the tea and snacks on the table. Before he had finished one snack, Li Shanren walked in from outside with a smile.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Jiang, you're amazing!" Li Shanren exclaimed with unspeakable joy, giving a thumbs-up in praise.
Jiang Ling simply smiled faintly and said nothing.
"How much silver do you plan to sell such a magical item for?" Li Shanren asked bluntly.
"I want this shampoo to benefit ordinary people like us, so I don't want to create a monopoly. This time, it's fair competition for everyone. As for how much money it will cost, it's still under development, and I can't give Mr. Li a definite answer yet!" Jiang Ling said with a double meaning.
Li Shanren had spent a considerable amount of time navigating between merchants and powerful figures, so how could he not know the meaning behind Jiang Ling's words?
He nodded and said to Jiang Ling, "Okay, then I'll wait for your news!"
Seeing that Li Shanren answered so readily, Jiang Ling didn't keep him in suspense any longer and said to him, "Okay, I'll have Yaojie come and tell you once the price is out!"
The two then chatted for a few more minutes before Jiang Ling and Jiang Yaojie left Li Shan's house.
"Mom, there are a few households in town that sell daily necessities. Once the shampoo is developed, can I try to do some business with them?" Jiang Yaojie asked.
"Yaojie, I'm thinking of handing over this shampoo business to you in the future. What do you think? My intentions extend beyond just Changning Town," Jiang Ling said, looking at Jiang Yaojie.
"What? Pingxi County and Guangping County also need me?" Jiang Yaojie asked in surprise.
Jiang Ling shook her head after hearing Jiang Yaojie's answer.
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