The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

"My dear Duan, please get up. Go back and tell Madam Hou that I'll send you a message as soon as I get news about young Kang. I'm extremely pleased that he, at such a young age, knows how to defend the country and share the burdens of his majesty. It's just you and me here, and I promise you that if that boy truly achieves merit and returns victorious one day, perhaps Great Chu will have one of its youngest and bravest generals. This will be a blessing for Great Chu."

The more the King of Chu spoke, the happier he became, and he even helped Duan Jingzong up himself.

"Having Your Majesty is the greatest blessing of the Great Chu. If the Duan family can even do a bit to relieve Your Majesty's worries, it would be a great favor from Your Majesty to the Duan family. How could we ask for more?"

This section Jingzong and his son are somewhat similar, saying nice things.

However, one of them is uneducated and speaks a little roughly, while the other one is not very good at hands-on work, but he can still speak well.

Kang Ge'er is the uneducated person.

On the other hand, Qiu Zhuo was taken to Song Shengfu's house, mainly to discuss the matter of a quick meeting.

Qiu Zhuo had been waiting for this day for a long time. As soon as the news of the war was reported back to the capital, she knew that this thing would be of great use.

When the news came that the old lady was in poor health and was once critically ill, Qiu Zhuo was extremely worried and had already made preparations for both scenarios.

If the old lady can hold on, she will definitely offer the noodles. Based on her understanding of the old lady, she will either go in person or ask herself to go.

But if she couldn't make it, she would hide this thing and not let anyone else know.

Otherwise, a female student without the protection of the old lady is like a child holding gold. Many of the things in it would be priceless treasures if taken outside.

Once these things are exposed, female students will be like meat in the wild, eaten up by jackals, tigers and leopards.

"You once told me that if you had the chance, you would definitely bring the Zuoqiu clan back with honor. This time, a war broke out, and I had someone present the noodles. It won't be long before the palace summons you. Have you thought about how to respond?"

Song Shengfu was wearing a headband and leaning weakly on the soft pillow.

I don’t know why, but no matter how much I eat, I always feel weak and empty in my stomach.

"It would be great if the women's school had the opportunity to seize the baggage line."

There was a determination in Qiu Zhuo's eyes to let the world see the value of women. This was just one step.

"If nothing unexpected happens, this deal will definitely be done. Has the price been decided?"

Qiu Zhuo took out the list he had prepared and handed it to the old lady.

"You see, we have two different lines for the court and the people. We sell three flatbreads to the people for one penny, and the ones with the toppings are more expensive, one flatbread and one topping is one penny. The purchase price for the caravans is much cheaper, starting at one thousand flatbreads, 1,300 flatbreads each, and 500 flatbreads with the toppings. For the court, we sell one thousand flatbreads with the toppings for 300 flatbreads. What do you think, old lady?"

Song Shengfu estimated in her mind that this was extremely cheap.

A one-cent piece of bread with a condiment packet is equivalent to eating half a meal, and some people with small appetites can even eat a full meal.

“It’s so cheap, is there still room for profit?”

Qiu Zhuo smiled and took out another piece of paper.

"Yes, not only that, but it's also quite large. This is just the cheapest kind, and the package contains only simple seasonings and vegetables. Besides that, as you mentioned, a lot of sesame oil has been developed, but storage of this sesame oil is a problem. This kind of sesame oil can only be sold locally. I asked the people at the Institute of Crafts to find something that is easy to carry."

Song Shengfu took a look and found that the list listed at least seven or eight flavors, and most of them were priced between five and ten cents. The profit was higher and it was easier for the market to accept them.

"Have you calculated the manpower and costs?"

"I've calculated it. Using the assembly line method you mentioned, we now have fifty students, and we can produce a thousand pancakes a day. I originally thought the oil cost would be the highest, but I've discovered that each pancake only needs to be lightly fried, so the daily oil cost is very low."

It seems that those oils are from old employees.

Listening to Qiu Zhuo talking about the process of making instant noodles, Song Shengfu nodded secretly. She had a good eye for people and knew as soon as she heard that she had done definite on-site research and investigation, otherwise how could she know it so clearly.

"Depending on the quota later, we may need to recruit more people. The current number of students is not enough. I thought we could recruit some women from the surrounding farmers and pay them wages."

"Yes, that's a good idea. Although anyone with an eye for detail will know how this instant noodle is made once it's released, a confidentiality agreement must still be prepared. Each of our work areas must be separated, and workers from different work areas must be strictly prohibited from communicating with each other privately. Especially for important processes, they must be strictly controlled by our own people."

Qiu Zhuo was a little worried. "I'm just worried that I might not be able to prevent it. If they really were communicating privately, with so many people around, it would take a while to detect it."

Song Shengfu put down the paper in her hand and sat up slightly.

"It's impossible to be completely careful even if there's one mistake. Qiu Zhuo, remember, some things are different than others. I don't need to explain the principle of making a show of force to scare the enemy. We don't just want to guard against outsiders when we bring out some things. If we make enough money, outsiders will get jealous and start trouble."

"It's best if I can make money while everyone else can. Our products are novel and take advantage of the market, so from the beginning I said we should keep the price low, rather than starting with a high price and then lowering it after we've collected enough money."

"If a girls' school wants to make a name for itself, it needs something memorable, just like what people are selling out there. Everyone is selling steamed buns, but why are Li's steamed buns the most famous? Because they're well-known and reasonably priced."

"We shouldn't be afraid of being imitated by others when we make things. We should make them the best, so that everyone will know that Nvxue's instant noodles are the most authentic and the best."

These words struck Qiu Zhuo's heart hard. She had been traveling with her uncle for many years and knew how important a skill was to a person or a family.

Everyone hated being learned by outsiders, but today's conversation with the old lady opened up another way for her.

To Song Shengfu, these were just the simplest truths from her past life. But to the people here now, they found them somewhat unbelievable.

But the principles are all interconnected, and it is true when you think about it carefully.

In this agricultural-based dynasty, there was very little that people could learn. Eighty percent of the people were hard-working farmers, and even if they had some skills, they were only the basis for their survival in the place where they were.

There is a huge difference between having one blacksmith in one place and having five blacksmiths in one place.

But there is always one that everyone recognizes as the best.

So don’t be afraid of being imitated. If you want to do something, you must be the best in everyone’s eyes.

"Madam, I understand. I'll refine the contents here when I return. I believe the women's school will flourish and become known to everyone in the Great Chu."

"Okay, I believe you, and I believe those girls."

You will definitely find your own way out.

"Are you Qiu Zhuo, the dean of Xunlu Girls' School?"

"It's down."

The leading palace maid was dignified and polite. She was Ming Ma in the Queen's Palace. This time she went out of the palace specifically to invite the dean into the palace.