Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

Wang Qing'er quickly calculated in her mind and said, "Young Master Shang, it's definitely not feasible to price all of them at eight taels a piece. Some of them can only be used for washing clothes, so the price certainly can't be sold for eight taels of silver a piece."

"And those brown ones, although the color isn't pretty, are carefully blended by me for washing hair. They're different from other scented soaps, and the price of these is definitely far more than eight taels of silver per bar."

“You’ve not only smelled those white magnolia flowers and pink peach blossoms, but you’ve also tried them, so you must know their benefits. You’re knowledgeable, so you must also know that white magnolia flowers are rare and hard to come by.”

"The price of these two fragrances is far more than eight taels. There is also an aloe vera fragrance later, and I expect the price to be more than eight taels as well."

"The fragrances I mentioned need to be priced separately. Although the quantity is not large at present, it will definitely increase in the future, and I will be at a great disadvantage then."

"The price of soap used for laundry is far less than eight taels per bar, and the quantity would be quite large. I don't want you, Young Master Shang, to suffer a loss."

The scented soap she used for shampooing was carefully blended with Chinese herbs, including Polygonum multiflorum. Although it wasn't over a hundred years old, it was still worth at least a hundred taels of silver per piece, so selling it cheaply would definitely result in a loss.

She didn't want to suffer a loss or gain an advantage; even close brothers should keep clear accounts, so she had to lay the matter out on the table and make things clear.

"Sister-in-law, I was careless. I don't know how to set the price for the different scents." Shang Congjian hadn't expected there to be so many twists and turns in this scented soap business, so he wanted to set only one price and buy them all.

Wang Qing'er thought for a moment and said, "Young Master Shang, we can leave the prices for these fragrances unsettled for now. You can take them and sell them first, and then we'll discuss the prices later."

"Not to mention the other medicinal ingredients in the shampoo soap, the price of just one ingredient, He Shou Wu, is not cheap. I'll give you the laundry soap at one tael of silver per piece, and the rest at eight taels of silver. What price you can sell it for is your business, I won't interfere."

Shang Congjian readily agreed: "Sister-in-law, we'll do it your way."

Wang Qing'er continued, "I run a shop called Qingxia Pavilion in the county town that sells scented soap. It's a partnership with my sister, so I can't sell all of these scented soaps to you. I have to keep some for the shop to sell."

Shang Congjian: "Sister-in-law, this is no problem."

Shang Congjian and his group decided to stay at the Mu family's house for two days before leaving, and Wang Cuiying took Mu Qin to help them tidy up their rooms.

Wang Qing'er signed a contract with Shang Congjian to share the profits from the dishes. In addition to the recipes, Wang Qing'er would also sell them some raw materials.

Raw materials such as pickled cabbage, pickled bamboo shoots, starch, pickled peppers, and chili oil were all sold to them by Wang Qing'er.

So she not only earns a share of the profits from this deal, but also the money from selling the raw materials.

However, it seems that the most profitable product right now is scented soap. We must make a fortune before others can even produce it.

Even if someone makes it in the future, it definitely won't be as good as the scented soap I made. I'm quite confident about that, so I estimate it will still be the most profitable.

We don't know how much of the revenue we'll get from the dishes. After all, it's in someone else's hands. We're far from the central government, so we don't know how the restaurant is doing or how well the dishes are selling.

It's impossible for them to check other people's books. Even if they did check, how could they find out if the books were falsified?

Forget it, she doesn't spend any money or effort, it's the same as getting something for free. She can get a few hundred taels of silver every month, plus what she earns from selling raw materials, and she's quite satisfied.

"Sister-in-law, how much can you sell me for those mosquito coils?" Shang Congjian was still thinking about the mosquito coils.

"Young Master Shang, if you want mosquito coils, you'll have to wait ten days. This batch was pre-ordered by customers in the county town. How about I deliver a thousand boxes to Fuxianglou in ten days? The price is one tael of silver per box."

Wang Qing'er thought that since the mosquito coil workshop had been established, the sales volume had to be increased. Qingxia Pavilion certainly wouldn't have a large volume, so she would have to rely on Shang Congjian to help with sales.

"Deal. In addition to these 1,000 boxes, I'll order another 1,000 boxes. Sister-in-law, you can deliver them to Fuxianglou after you've finished making them."

"Okay, but don't give me a deadline for the next thousand boxes. I'm worried I won't be able to finish them. Just send them over as soon as I finish them."

Wang Qing'er was still worried about the supply of raw materials, since things like elm bark and mugwort had to be found in the mountains and dried.

"No problem," Shang Congjian readily agreed.

Wang Qing'er wrote down five recipes overnight, and didn't go to bed until midnight, yawning.

The main reason is that the peppers are not ripe yet, so some dishes cannot be made. She also considered that she should introduce one or two new dishes every now and then, so as to retain customers.

Besides, you can't just give them the whole recipe at once; you have to keep something in reserve, just in case. You never know what someone might do.

Mu Nan sat in the pavilion with several junior brothers, drinking and chatting. They talked freely, from the local customs and culture of the capital to the current political affairs.

The Eastern Liang Kingdom has been established for a hundred years. It has a vast territory and strong national power. Apart from some turmoil during the change of emperors and some natural disasters, the country has been peaceful and prosperous for most of the past hundred years.

Although those small countries outside the pass were eyeing the Eastern Liang Kingdom covetously, they only had the desire but not the courage to do so.

However, in recent years, the emperor's health has shown signs of decline, but he has not yet appointed a crown prince.

Now that more than a dozen princes have come of age and have their own power, they are all secretly plotting and vying for power, with various factions competing against each other.

Although the capital city appears calm on the surface, it is actually a place of turbulent events and unpredictable changes.

That's why Mu Zhicheng was transferred away from the capital. On the surface, it was because he had displeased his father, who then went to the palace to request that he be exiled to Wuyang County as magistrate.

In reality, it was to prevent him from getting involved in the current situation and to protect his safety, since he was the only son of the Mu family.

The next morning, Wang Qing'er, Qin Miaomiao, and Yun Jing woke up and, not finding their husbands, all went to the front yard to look for them.

"How many of you are there?" Qin Miaomiao walked at the front and saw several men lying haphazardly on the ground of the pavilion, fast asleep.

"Miaomiao, Yunjing, quickly help them back to their room to sober up; they must be suffering from a hangover." Wang Qing'er paused for a moment before walking into the pavilion.

"Brother Mu Nan, get up and go back to your room to sleep." She gently shook Mu Nan.

Qin Miaomiao and Yun Jing also hurriedly went over and called out to their respective husbands.

"Qing'er, what time is it? Why are you awake?" Mu Nan was woken up by her and asked his wife with sleepy eyes.

"Brother Mu Nan, look where we are!"

"Isn't this the gazebo at home? Why am I lying on the ground?" After taking in her surroundings, Mu Nan sat up and realized that she was lying on the ground.

"Brother Mu Nan, how much alcohol have you guys drunk?" Wang Qing'er asked.

Mu Nan rubbed her aching head. Yes, how much did he drink? How come he's still sleeping on the floor?