Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The following day, Meng Die accompanied Madam Ning to visit Lady Ning. Lady Ning led the two of them to the main residence and enquired along the way, "My dear Butterfly, how have those few maidservants and old servants I sent you last time been working out for you?"

Meng Die replied, "Mother, your choices were excellent. They are very efficient in their tasks."

Lady Ning said, "As long as they're useful to you, that's all that matters. But remember, they are merely servants for menial tasks. In your chambers, apart from your wet nurse and Lu Wei, Xing Huang and Xue Qing are the ones capable of assisting you. I'll arrange for a few more to help you."

"Thank you, Mother."

Madam Ning's gesture naturally filled Meng Die with gratitude. Being suddenly thrown into a new environment, the presence of strangers would undoubtedly make her even more uneasy. By introducing servants to her gradually, Madam Ning allowed her ample time to acclimate, demonstrating great consideration for her comfort.

Madame Ning was efficient. After she returned from the main house in the morning, Mother Zheng and Mother Fan had a brief discussion and confirmed that Meng Die only needed four maidservants. Immediately, they sent them over.

Each of these four maids was attired in fine cotton garments, tidily dressed and evidently well-groomed. From their appearances, it was clear that they were more attractive and astute than the previous group of servants sent earlier.

Meng Die surveyed them and inquired, "What are your names?"

"My name is Da Ya."

"I'm also called Da Ya."

"I'm named Qiao Niang."

"I'm Xiao Hong."

Upon hearing this, Meng Die couldn't help but laugh. "Their names are too similar."

"Second Grandmama might as well give them new names," she suggested.

"Very well." Meng Die did not decline the offer. "We're all at the bloom of youth. You can address yourselves as Mei'er, Ying'er, Tao'er, and Li'er in order."

"Thank you, Second Madam, for bestowing these names upon us."

With the addition of four capable young maids, Lu Wei, Xue Qing, Xing Huang, and even Nurse Fan found their workload significantly lighter.

Meng Die spoke to Nurse Fan, "Now that we have four more helping hands, I won't be too busy. There's no need for you to stay with me all day. It would be better if you were at home. If there's anything from the estate, it'll be easier for you to inform me, avoiding the back-and-forth communication like last time."

Nurse Fan did not refuse. Since Second Madam was uninvolved in managing the household affairs, and with Lu Wei around, she was quite at ease with the courtyard matters. Comparatively, the estate held greater importance. Not only was the soap-making project showing promising progress, but the daily sales of the oil scrapings as a vegetable dish were also a profitable venture. Any mistake could not be afforded.

As the chill of February dissipated, the days grew warmer, and Meng Die no longer confined herself indoors. On sunny afternoons, she would stroll in the courtyard or occasionally visit her neighbor, Lady Wen, for a chat.

On this particular day, as Meng Die returned from Lady Wen's courtyard, she encountered Nurse Fan approaching with a cheerful expression. A flicker of anticipation stirred within her. Could it be that they had finally found the optimal formula for the soap?

Sure enough, as soon as she entered the room, Nurse Fan pulled out a yellowish-white object from her sleeve and eagerly announced, "The soap is ready! Young Master Fan had the people on the estate try it, and they all said it works well. I tested it too – its moisturizing effect is comparable to that of the pomade." At the mention of "pomade," Nurse Fan's voice lowered slightly.

"Excellent, very good," Meng Die replied, equally delighted. She had initially thought the experimentation would be quick, but it had taken nearly a month. This was certainly not due to Fan Youliang's lack of effort; rather, it was his first encounter with such matters, leaving him without any prior experience.

Nurse Fan suggested, "Second Lady, if we add some fragrant herbs, flowers, and medicinal ingredients, it will resemble the pomade even more closely. We could sell each bar for one tael of silver!"

Fumbling with the soap block, Meng Die immediately dismissed the idea. "No." From the beginning, she hadn't planned on stealing customers from those major merchants. But facing Auntie Fan, she changed her tone. "Our production method is different. Adding fragrance would decrease its moisturizing quality, and it might not even turn out to be soap at all. Even if we manage to make it, it might not be as good as our soap paste."

Auntie Fan's eyes were filled with disappointment. "Sell it as soap? It's a bit of a waste. A bar of soap currently sells for around three hundred cash."

Meng Die chuckled. "No rush. The reason why a three-hundred-cash soap is called soap is because of its various scents. In reality, it's just bath beans. Ask Brother Youliang to try ours too. We can add fragrances to our soap, like pine, osmanthus, rose, jasmine, and since we have bamboo leaves on the mountain, let's experiment with a bamboo scent. Also, we can try lotus or lotus leaf scents."

"I still have quite a bit of rose water left, right? Keep a few bottles, but use the rest for experiments. I'll draw a design for you, and you can ask the carpenter to make a few sets of molds."

Auntie Fan asked, "Molds in the shape of soap?"

"Indeed." Meng Die nods, dips her brush into the ink, and begins to paint.

Since they weren't crafting high-end luxuries like perfumed soap, there was no need for the soap designs to be overly intricate. Instead, Meng Die decided to categorize them by fragrance. For the pine-scented variety, she drew a picture of the famous Welcoming Guest Pine from Yellow Mountain. For the bamboo scent, she depicted a few slender bamboo stalks... Before long, she had finished her sketches.

As the ink dried, Meng Die recalled another matter. "What was the name of the shop Grandmother gave me?"

"Let's name it the Rouge Shop."

Indeed, it's convenient, but also straightforward and clear, leaving nothing to confusion.

Meng Die pondered for a moment before taking up her brush to sketch another picture. This time, it was a simple drawing of two animals, a cat and a dog. In another world, Meng Die vividly recalled that people there believed those who had both cats and dogs were truly happy. She wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment and was convinced that no one could resist the charm of these pets.

"Aww, how adorable!"

Even Fang Ma, usually composed despite her age, couldn't help but comment on the drawing's charm.

Meng Die replied, "Ma, do we have any scraps of cloth?"

Fang Ma responded, "Second Lady wants to use scraps of cloth? You can buy them at the fabric store. A large basketful would only cost one or two taels of silver – quite affordable."

Meng Die pointed at the painting and said, "Purchase some of these and have them sewn into small purses in the shape of lotus pods, with the cat and dog design embroidered on them. The size of the purse should match the dimensions of the items we sell at the cosmetic shop. I hope you understand my idea."

"I understand, I understand," Mother Fan beamed. "Madam Meng means that our shop's products will be packaged in these little purses – the less expensive items in hemp cloth, and the more valuable ones in silk purses."

Meng Die was taken aback. "No satin?"

"Oh, Madam Meng," Mother Fan chuckled. "Satin is a precious material; even a piece the size of a palm would be valuable. How could the fabric merchant sell it as scraps?"

Meng Die blushed. "I see. Then we'll use silk. That works too. By the way, let's also have someone paint this cat and dog design on our shop sign."

"Yes," replied Nurse Fan, taking the painting as instructed and departing.

Meng Die handed the soap to Lu Wei, "Use it when you wash your hands every day, and see what results it brings."

Lu Wei received it with delight, "I'll also use it to wash my face. I heard every word Nurse Fan just said; she mentioned how moisturizing it is."

Meng Die chuckled, "You're not afraid of damaging your skin?"

Lu Wei responded, "Nurse Fan is always reliable. If she says she's tried it, she must have experimented more than once. I imagine her whole family has been using it for several days to ensure there are no issues before presenting it to Second Lady."

Meng Die couldn't help teasing, "You're the clever one."

Lu Wei chuckled, basking in her triumph.

Perhaps due to his experience in blending ingredients, this time the process of creating fragrances went exceptionally smoothly. Within three days, Fan Youliang presented Meng Die with a flawless result, having crafted various scents, especially the rose fragrance which stood out uniquely.

A smile spread across Nurse Fan's face, unable to be contained. "Second Lady, the soap infused with rose water has an exceptionally rich aroma. I tried it last night, and there was still a lingering scent when I woke up this morning."

That was precisely the effect they aimed for. Nowadays, even the soap's scent didn't last long enough. Rather than pursuing a myriad of bewildering functions like whitening, freckle removal, or yellowing reduction, it was better to specialize in one distinctive feature – that was the product's charm.

Meng Die inquired, "If we exclude the cost of fragrance, how much would it cost to make a soap without accounting for labor?"

Fanny replied, "Liang has calculated that a pound of lard can yield at least one bar of soap. Currently, a pound of lard costs between thirty-five to forty copper coins, and that's already expensive for our capital city. In the suburbs, it's even cheaper."

"Herbs and wood ashes don't incur any expenses, as they're commonly available in every household. Now that Madam Liu and Madam Wang are boiling both the soup and the oil, we won't even use them all. The only potential expense might be firewood, and a little for tool wear and tear. All in all, the maximum cost would be fifty copper coins."

Fifty coins was much cheaper than Meng Die had anticipated. Lowering her gaze, she asked, "You know how I make rose water. Could you estimate the cost of production?"

"I do," Lu Wei interjected with a smile. "I assisted Second Lady in making that rose water. If we purchase the flowers, the cost for a bottle would be roughly twenty copper coins."

Nanny Fan hurriedly explained, "A bottle of flower dew can make at least two bars of soap."

Meng Die responded, "That means, not counting labor costs, each bar of soap has a raw material cost of around sixty copper coins."

"That can't be right," Nanny Fan smiled, pursing her lips. "Roses are worth a bit, but pine needles and bamboo leaves are abundant; they practically cost nothing. Second Madam, our soap, if we were to sell it, four hundred copper coins per bar wouldn't be a problem at all."

"No," Meng Die said firmly.

Nanny Fan was taken aback. Was Second Madam planning on another act of compassion for the elderly and the poor? Then she heard Meng Die say with extraordinary determination, "We'll sell it for eight hundred copper coins."

The benevolent and compassionate Second Lady, in this instant, transformed into a cunning capitalist, baring her fangs in full display.

Nanny Fan and Lu Wei stood there with their mouths agape.

Meng Die said, "Cut the soap into smaller pieces and offer a trial to customers who visit the store during the first ten days of sales."

"Yes," Nanny Fan replied, almost floating out of the room in a daze.

Meng Die found the situation amusing. She hadn't mentioned how much to reward Fan Youliang or how to adjust his monthly stipend, but it wasn't urgent. She could discuss it next time.