perfumer

Bai Xin took a sip of water to rest for a while, and then carried his things into the house. He had just put the things on his front feet as usual when he saw the elder sister knocking on the door and coming in.

"I just heard from you that you want to make incense, and I want to take a look." After speaking, a pair of eyes stared at the spices on the table.

Bai Xin knew that the eldest sister was at the most beautiful age, and she especially liked these powders and rouges, so she waved to her, "Okay, sit here and watch."

"What are these you bought?" After speaking, the eldest sister lowered her head and smelled it again, and saw that the fragrance was not strong.

Bai Xin pointed to each and introduced them one by one, "This is clove, this is Sichuan pepper, this is Cyperus cyperus, and this is Angelica dahurica."

The eldest sister read it in a low voice, trying to keep these spices in her mind.

After chatting a few gossips with the eldest sister, Bai Xin began to process the spices he bought one by one. First of all, cloves were sold in the shop. They were all processed. He only needed to scoop some out and grind them slowly in a small mortar.

The aunt watched it for a while, and found that Saburo just ground these spices into fine powder, so she volunteered: "Brother, you have been out for a day, take a rest, let me do it, isn't it just to grind these spices into fine powder?"

Bai Xin subconsciously shook his head and refused. The elder sister thought he was diligent and didn't think much about it. She smiled and said, "Sit down and have a rest."

Bai Xin stopped his hands and explained: "This grinding is also very particular. If it is too fine, the smoke will not last forever in the future, and if it is too thick, the gas will not be harmonious." After a pause, he continued: "But I The incense made this time is not incense.”

After hearing so much from him, the eldest sister became serious, no longer competing for grinding, but watching carefully with her chin on the sidelines.

In the evening, Bai Xin ground the four spices into fine powder, while the elder sister kept watching from the sidelines, "And then, how do I make it?"

Bai Xin said: "Didn't you and your mother make a lot of sachets?"

The elder sister was a little embarrassed when she heard the words, "I have done a lot, but today I saw the little ladies in the neighborhood. They wore the patterns on the sachets, but we have never seen them. They are lifelike and very beautiful. My mother and I are worried. This sachet cannot be sold in the capital."

Bai Xin didn't know the female workers well, and didn't bother to pay attention, so he said casually, "Can there be any difference? Isn't it just exotic flowers and plants, lions and beasts, gourd orbs, sun, moon and stars? There is no difference."

"That's very different!" The elder sister said seriously: "I look at the capital, and it is fashionable to make the sachet into the shape of a flower, and make it into a small flower ball, rolled around with gold thread, delicate, small, exquisite and cute."

Bai Xin thought about it, the flower-shaped sachets are indeed more pleasing than the general round, square, and gourd-shaped sachets, "Then you can also embroider them into small flower balls!"

"But we won't." The eldest sister grabbed the hem of her clothes unwillingly, "I saw someone wearing a small flower ball on the street today, and so did the little lady next door. I'm sorry to ask her to borrow it for a look. I thought about it for a while, but Can't do it."

"What's so difficult about it? I'll go to the street tomorrow and buy one for you. You and your mother will study it closely and figure it out soon."

The eldest sister had an expression of wanting but not daring to ask for it, "That will cost a lot of money, right? Mom knows that you are going to say that you are spending money recklessly."

"How can this be a waste of money? After you learn it, you can make it and sell it!" Bai Xin remembered that he had asked the elder sister to take the sachet, and said again: "You first take the sachet you made earlier. Come out, I'll put the prepared spices in and try selling them on the street tomorrow."

The eldest sister was very happy to get the flower ball sachet tomorrow, so she quickly went to her room to get the sachet, and brought it in a short while.

For every two cloves, Bai Xin mixes one or two Sichuan peppercorns, five qian xiangfuzi, and five qian angelica dahurica, scoop them into a sachet, and seal the mouth.

The eldest sister picked up a finished one, put it in her nose and sniffed it, "It's not very fragrant, is it?"

"Seeing that the weather is getting hotter and sweating profusely, my incense is called anti-sweating incense. Cloves can remove bad odor and emit fragrance. Sichuan pepper has acrid and numb nature, and Angelica dahurica has the effect of repelling insects. Cyperus cyperi can remove heat in the brain and abdomen. , especially for fragrance.”

The eldest sister sniffed it carefully again, only to feel a slightly pungent and numbing smell penetrated into her nostrils, her whole body was shocked by it, and she immediately smiled and praised: "It really is, and now I smell it again, it seems to be stronger than before. a bit."

Bai Xin didn't stop moving his hands, and explained: "Cloves already have a scenting effect."

He packed all the spices into sachets and placed them neatly on the table, making a total of twenty.

The eldest sister asked again: "Where can I sell it tomorrow?"

"There is a Tianqing Temple in the east of the city, where incense is very popular. I am going to try it there."

The aunt said: "Okay, mother and sister-in-law still have some handkerchiefs and shoe soles, I'll bring them later, you can try to sell them together tomorrow."

On the second day, Bai Xin carried a bamboo basket on his back, put the sachet and other things in it, and put some hair oils he had brought before, and went out early. After walking for more than an hour, he arrived at Tianqing Temple.

This is indeed a capital city. Even if it is not a festival, the temple is full of people. There are many stalls gathered at the entrance, most of which sell some fruits and vegetables. There are also some female relatives who come to sell some jewelry. As a pendant, there are a few dirty beggars squatting under the pine tree in the east, their eyes are staring at each other, waiting to find a good target and rush over to ask for some money.

Bai Xin found an empty space, took out a piece of clean cloth from the back basket and spread it on the floor, then stacked the sachets one by one, and put a slip of hair oil on the back, it looked colorful at first glance, but it was pretty.

After setting it up for a while, many people passed by his stall, but no one paid any attention to it. There was also a seller of sachets not far away, but he had already sold several items. Bai Xin also knew that he should shout twice, otherwise he would There are sachets on display, and they don't look as fresh as anyone else's. Who will buy them?

But let him set up a stall, let him yell and he can't let it go. He was in business with his father in his previous life, but they were all sold in shops, and he had never done yelling.

Bai Xin struggled in his heart for a while, seeing that it would be noon if he dragged on any longer, so he ignored it and shouted, "Sweat-eliminating sachet, sweat-eliminating sachet, insect-repellent and evil-eliminating sachet!"

At the beginning, I couldn't let go of the yelling, but then the yelling became more and more smooth, and I felt nothing.

People are all trying to figure out something new. Either they have just rushed to Tianqing Temple, or they just came out of Tianqing Temple, and they are sweating. When they heard that the sachet can ward off sweat, they couldn't help being curious and came over to have a look. After a while, three or four people gathered in front of the booth.

Someone asked: "How does your sachet keep sweat away?"

Bai Xin said: "I have specially made spices in this sachet, which can ward off sweat and eliminate evil."

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help picking it up and smelling it, and they really felt a numbness rushing into their noses, refreshing their minds and shaking their spirits.

Another person asked the price, "How much do you pay for this sachet?"

"Fifty coins a piece."

Many people think it is expensive, even the beautifully embroidered flower ball sachet is only thirty or forty yuan, but this sachet is ordinary, although the embroidery is good, it is a bit old-fashioned after all.

Someone put down the sachet and wanted to leave, Bai Xin hurriedly said: "I have added spices in this sachet, so it is naturally more expensive than ordinary sachets, even if the spices inside are worth tens of pennies, if you don't believe me, go to the spice shop and ask about it." , any kind of well-prepared fragrance costs several hundred cash, my sachet can still smell after wearing it for ten days and half a month, it is only fifty cash, is it still expensive?"

Everyone thought it was reasonable, and nodded one after another. Those who come to offer incense this year, most of them are from wealthy families. Among them, a young man dressed in plain clothes was the first to take out the money and took away a sachet in the shape of a treasure gourd. Three or four more people followed suit, and five sachets were sold in the blink of an eye.

Bai Xin called for a sale again, and met a girl dressed as a maid. After asking the price, she paid and sold it without blinking an eye. I will like it, I went back and cut the sachet, put the spices inside into the flower ball I made, to please her."

Bai Xin opened his mouth. He couldn't help feeling that it was a pity that his mother and eldest sister's hard work had been cut off, but he couldn't say anything after they bought it back. Even if there were more people, he might just throw it away after a few days.

When there is no one around, there is no one in front of the stall. If someone comes to ask, many people will gather in a short while. After a while, all twenty sachets are sold, and the hair oil is also sold a few times. A box, but a sachet without spices, and no one even asked.

Bai Xin thought that he couldn't sell them, so he simply closed the stall, rolled up the remaining ordinary sachets and shoe sole handkerchiefs, and the cloth on the floor, and stuffed them into the back basket.

He didn't go home immediately, but went around to the spice shop yesterday. With today's results, Bai Xin was so confident that he bought three times as much spices as yesterday. He wanted to ask something, but he didn't say anything until Bai Xin left with his things on his back.

Bai Xin wandered around the street again, remembering what he promised his elder sister yesterday, and the shape of the sachet was disliked by others today, so he found a stall selling sachets and silk sash, and chose the sachet, "Which kind of sachet?" The sachet sells better? Is it popular?"

The peddler didn't know Bai Xin's real purpose. He thought he was buying it as a gift, so he enthusiastically introduced it. Bai Xin saw that the flower ball sachet was the most fashionable. There are countless flower balls made of small plum blossoms, and some made of butterflies fluttering flowers. They are all kinds of colors, very exquisite and lovely.

In the end, Bai Xin bought two.

As soon as he got home, he was surrounded by his family and asked how the sale was going, because now, selling sachets is the only thing they can survive on.

Bai Xin said that all the spiced sachets made by himself were sold, but not the others.

Mrs. Cao's face turned red when she heard this. Later, when she heard that her son's sachets were sold for fifty cents a piece, she was both surprised and happy, and couldn't care about anything else. She counted with her fingers and said: " You made twenty, and you made a consistent amount of money that day?"

"Mother, it was sold for a consistent amount of money, not for a consistent amount of money. Those spices cost 540 cash, plus the fabric and needlework for making sachets, a total of [-] cash was earned."

Cao almost jumped up, "That's a lot! Four hundred Wen! Besides, the fabric doesn't cost that much money, it's all bits and pieces that people didn't want when they went to the town to pick."

Bai Xin didn't speak, and took out the two sachets he bought. Mrs. Cao didn't react immediately, and asked, "You bought it? Why are you buying this?"

The eldest sister took it over in surprise, and Wu Niang thought the sachet was so cute, so she couldn't help but grab one and hold it in her hand to play with.

"Mother, the sachet we embroidered can't be sold in the capital. I'll ask my third brother to buy some sachets that are in fashion now, so we can learn and sell them in the future." The elder sister raised her head and said.

Mrs. Cao was right when she thought about it, but she still couldn't help but said: "Hey, if I knew it, I would go talk to the little lady next door and borrow her sachet to have a look, but it might not be necessary to buy it."

The eldest sister said again: "This pattern is complicated, and I really can't get it out without dismantling it. We borrowed it from others, how can we break it? Maybe we owe a favor and haven't figured out how to do it. Why don't we start from the beginning?" Buy it outside, learn it in the future, and then drop it.”

Mrs. Cao was coaxed by her few words, nodded repeatedly, and saw the little daughter throwing the flower ball in her hand, and grabbed it in her hand, "It's not for you to play with, be careful if it falls on the ground and it gets dirty, sell it!" not going out."

The author has something to say: a bug in the previous chapter has been changed, Cyperus cyperi and Angelica dahurica are one catty each, not one or two. Adding a little bit, I now also find that the change of "big sister" and "big lady" may cause confusion for everyone. I will explain it again, that is, between brothers and sisters, they call her big sister, but others and outsiders call her big lady. When I write the article Well, if Bai Xin is the subject, it will be written as Big Sister, and if it is narrated in the third person, it will be written as Da Niang (OTL, I knew they were all called Da Niang at the beginning, but I especially like brothers and sisters called Brother X and Sister X, looks very friendly)

I really don't want to bring hatred to Mrs. Cao, I just think it's unavoidable for him to be so worried. If he really doesn't care about anything, doesn't care, but just asks, he will be heartless.