72 Soap
"This has potential."
The new courtyard has a plaque that reads "Shen Mansion".
The Shen residence is quite unique; the backyard is larger than the main courtyard and the council hall. The house consists of three main rooms connected together, complete with a firewall and an earthen bed.
When Su Yubai arrived, Shen Suqin was boiling wood ash and lard in a pot, a big pot of grayish ash, bubbling away.
"I've come to deliver the silver," Su Yubai said bluntly.
Shen Suqin bent down to stir the pot, asking without looking up, "What silver?"
"The vegetable seller, for a total of 43,000 taels. Because 'Chenji Rare Goods' is also opening at the same time, and it's currently available in the capital, Ningyuan and several other prefectures, so some money has been spent. The rest can be considered pure profit. How should we split it? Three-seven or four-six? Any lower won't do."
Shen Suqin removed some firewood, poured in salt, and said, "Keep whatever you earn; we'll both need this money in the future."
“I thought you were joking at first,” Su Yubai said.
"I never joke around."
Su Yubai put the silver notes away. "What are you doing?"
"Soap, used for washing clothes and bathing."
"Is it something like soap powder?"
"almost."
“But I see that you put lard and salt in this, which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with soapberry.”
Seeing that the contents of the pot were becoming increasingly viscous, Shen Suqin said, "Just wait and see, this is the most successful one I've ever made. It's almost done, just wait a bit."
Su Yubai found a seat and sat down: "Okay."
Shen Suqin was busy, while he looked around the room.
After the three rooms were combined, the whole house became much more open and spacious. The windows seemed to have been enlarged, letting in a lot of light and making the whole house exceptionally bright.
In addition, there were many wooden shelves and bottles and jars in the room, and I don't know what they were for.
Half an hour later, Shen Suqin turned off the fire, poured the thick liquid in the pot into a wooden box that had been prepared in advance, and took it to the yard to freeze and set.
Soon, Shen Suqin poured a small, pale yellow object, about the size of a palm, out of the wooden box.
“Come on, Mr. Su, try the soap.” She beckoned to Su Yubai.
How do we test it?
"Here, wash your hands and use this."
Su Yubai took it with some skepticism, then wet his hands and rubbed them on his own hands. The slippery feel surprised him.
Then, dense foam appeared on his hands. He rubbed them, rinsed them with water, and felt much cleaner and more refreshed.
"This is a good product." His eyes lit up. "Are you planning to expand it?"
"Yes, sell it at Shen's."
“That’s right, Chenji can’t just sell vegetable leaves; this has potential.”
Shen Suqin took out a piece of paper from his pocket, on which was written the soap recipe. "Here's the recipe. You can ask Commander Zhou to coordinate the manpower. As you know, many of the Black Flag Army's veterans have nowhere to be resettled. If it's suitable, we can give them priority consideration."
"You just gave me the formula like this?" Su Yubai asked.
“Of course, there’s also this,” Shen Suqin handed him a pre-prepared price list. “The top-grade product sells for five coins, the medium-grade product for three coins, and the bottom-grade product for one coin. This stuff has low cost and many uses, so it shouldn’t be hard to sell.”
Soap is a matter of public concern, and Shen Suqin didn't want to price it too high.
Su Yubai said excitedly, "It's not hard to sell these! Don't worry, while it's a bit difficult to become richer than a country with these things, it shouldn't be too hard to accumulate some wealth."
Shen Suqin nodded. "In addition, soap making requires oils. Perhaps we could set up another pig farm in the western suburbs, and the pork could be made into jerky." She would then study whether to make it into canned goods or jerky.
"Perhaps we don't necessarily have to buy the pigs ourselves; we can let farmers in various places raise them, and we can buy them ourselves."
"This is good, it saves time and effort. We'll have to rely on Master Su then."
"No problem, no problem."
Su Yubai returned to the western suburbs with his new money-making scheme to discuss it with Zhou Baihu.
Meanwhile, on a secluded path outside the city, a skinny horse slowly walked carrying a huge bundle. The horse was led by a thin, lame man, who was emaciated but had particularly bright eyes.
As soon as he entered the city, he went straight to the General's Mansion. After explaining the situation to the gatekeeper, the gatekeeper immediately summoned Xiao Pingchuan.
"You said someone named Yan Lin sent you?" Xiao Pingchuan asked.
Yan Lin sounded familiar.
"Yes, deliver the gifts to his family."
"You don't look like someone from Daliang?"
“I have Yuezhi blood.”
Xiao Pingchuan nodded. "Let's go. The person you're looking for isn't here. I'll take you there."
The medicine for today hasn't been delivered yet.
He asked the person to wait a moment, then went back and retrieved the food box.
"What's your name?" he asked the person on the way.
"Luo Su."
Upon arriving at the Shen residence, Xiao Pingchuan pushed open the door himself and instructed the servants to arrange food and lodging for Luo Su.
He carried the food box to the backyard, and before he even saw anyone, he shouted, "Time to take your medicine!"
Shen Suqin pushed open the window, poked her head out, and said, "I'm coming right now. Put it on the stone table."
There is a flower stand in the courtyard, and a stone table under the flower stand.
The flower stand was transplanted just two days ago. It hasn't grown any branches or leaves yet, but the strong old branches are sticking out, which is quite interesting.
Xiao Pingchuan took out the medicine box. "Someone came to the General's Mansion to see you just now," he said while tidying up the food box. "The man said he came from beyond the Great Wall and was asked by Yan Lin to bring you something."
With a loud bang, the sound of something breaking came from inside the room. Then the door was pushed open violently, and Shen Suqin strode out, anxiously asking, "Where is he? Take me to him."
Xiao Pingchuan: "Front yard."
Shen Suqin hurriedly walked out.
Xiao Pingchuan followed up: "I saw he was carrying a big bundle, with something important inside?"
“If this is truly what I want, then the Great Liang Dynasty will be transformed,” Shen Suqin said.
When they arrived at the front hall, Luo Su was slurping down porridge. He was starving and eating without a care in the world, completely disregarding his appearance.
When he saw someone coming, he didn't stand up. Instead, he glanced around and said, "The thing is on the ground. Look for yourself."
Shen Suqin didn't stand on ceremony with him. She dragged the enormous bundle over and unwrapped it layer by layer, revealing soft, white cotton inside.
She gasped for breath, then carefully picked up a flower and examined it closely in her hand. Only after confirming that it was genuine did she ask the person, "May I ask your name?"
"Luo Su."
"Where did Brother Luo come from?"
"Yuezhi".
"Do the Yuezhi people use this to make cloth and clothing?"
Luo Su nodded. "Boss Yan's idea is for me to bring the seeds and teach people how to grow them. As for the payment, he said you won't treat me unfairly."
Shen Suqin was overjoyed: "Of course, Brother Luo, don't worry. As long as it grows successfully, I will not let you down."
“That would be perfect,” Luo Su said. “Take another look; there are some other things inside. If you’re interested, I can teach you how to plant them.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Suqin spread out her bundle wide. Wow, if she wasn't mistaken, there was also wheat and sweet potatoes. These two had high yields and could fill one's stomach, which was much better than growing millet.
Xiao Pingchuan didn't understand these things very well. He just helped Shen Suqin take the things out of the bundle and asked, "These things are very useful. You seem to like them a lot."
Shen Suqin held out the cotton in both hands and showed it to him, saying, "I call it cotton. When you pick this stuff and put it in the lining of your clothes, it can keep you warm, and it's warmer than reed catkins."
"Keeps them warm?" Xiao Pingchuan's interest was piqued. "How well do they keep them warm?"
"It is no different from fur."
"!" Xiao Pingchuan was somewhat surprised. "This flimsy little thing can be compared to fur?"
"No, it's not only warm, but also more comfortable and lightweight than fur. If we grow it and promote it, think how many people would benefit?"
Xiao Pingchuan dared not imagine that if it were true, it would be a monumental achievement that would be remembered for all time.
Shen Suqin's expression turned serious as he slowly began to explain his plans: "If the cotton cultivation is successful, I will cooperate with the Su family to develop new fabrics and garments. However, before that, I need to acquire land in the northern plains of Liangzhou."
The climate in northern Liangzhou is warmer and better than that in Jinzhou, making it the perfect place to grow cotton.
"This will take time. Since Governor Lei Sheng of Liangzhou disappeared, the position of governor has been vacant. It may be difficult to take the route from the top down."
“Well, it will take some time to cultivate cotton seeds.” After saying that, Shen Suqin turned to Luo Su, “Brother Luo, I’ll have someone tidy up your house later, you can rest first. I’ll take you to the western suburbs to have a look tomorrow morning.”
"good."
Seeing that she had made arrangements, Xiao Pingchuan said, "I'll go back with you to drink your medicine."
Shen Suqin nodded.
"The Lunar New Year is just a few days away," Xiao Pingchuan said.
Shen Suqin was momentarily dazed. "Yes, it's almost Chinese New Year."
"I have to take people back to Shule River after the New Year, Shen Zhaozhao. I'll be gone for half a year. Will you miss me?"
Shen Suqin smiled and said, "I'll only know if I'll miss you after the general leaves."
Xiao Pingchuan: "It's really hard to get a nice word from you. Oh well, I knew what kind of temper you had all along."
Chenji Zhenhuo opened for business just days before Lunar New Year's Eve. Su Yubai emptied all the vegetables in the greenhouse in the western suburbs and transported them to various parts of Daliang, making a fortune. He also gave generous New Year's gifts to Zhou Baihu's men.
On New Year's Eve, Shen Suqin rarely wore a festive red jacket and skirt, but unfortunately, her red agate hairpin was gone; otherwise, the set would have looked beautiful.
Ju Tao led Liu Zimu to clean the house thoroughly, inside and out, and then posted the spring-themed calligraphy written by Su Yubai himself. The entire Shen Mansion was filled with the atmosphere of the New Year.
Xiao Pingchuan arrived around lunchtime, carrying large bags of food, clearly intending to freeload.
He's currently shuttling between the two places. After all, the scouts are still living in the general's mansion, and there's nowhere to put some of his important official documents after they've been moved here. So he goes back to handle some official business during the day and comes back again when he's eating or sleeping at night.
Su Yubai retorted, "General, you leave hundreds of brothers in your mansion alone and come to the Shen mansion to freeload your New Year's Eve dinner. You're too shameless."
Xiao Pingchuan leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and said coldly, "Didn't Boss Su also get his position by freeloading?"
“I’m different. Miss Shen calls me Brother Yu Bai, but she doesn’t call you brother.”
Xiao Pingchuan sneered: "So you're destined to be her older brother for life, while I'm going to be her husband."
Su Yubai was defeated.
While preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, Shi Ye and Xu Youcai rushed back, covered in dust, and as soon as they got off their horses, they ran to the Shen residence and stayed there.
Shi Ye heard some of what had happened from Xu Youcai. On one hand, he felt that Xiao Pingchuan was useless, and on the other hand, he felt sorry for Shen Suqin who had been wronged.
So the moment they met, he said, "We're distant relatives, after all. If you're being bullied, can't you just call me by name? With me backing you up, what are you afraid of?"
Shen Suqin pointed to herself, then to him, and asked in confusion, "Are we distant relatives?"
"How can you not count? You're my aunt's daughter."
Shi Ye refers to Princess Changtai.
Shen Suqin fell into a long silence. If he knew that Princess Changtai had been forced to feign madness and enter a Buddhist monastery by her, he wondered what he would think.
"So remember this from now on: anyone who bullies you is a bully of the Crown Prince of Liang. Just teach them a lesson, and I'll take care of it if anything happens."
Shen Suqin was somewhat moved by these words.
[Author's Note]
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-04-20 23:43:41 and 2023-04-27 00:53:32!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: Shy Grandma Bodhisattva Fish 1;
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Shy Grandma Bodhisattva Fish 1;
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Shy Grandma Bodhisattva Fish 20 bottles; Yan Nian 5 bottles; Midnight 2 bottles; Jianbing Guozi 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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