ABD - Chapter 62

The carriage stopped near Baihua Lane on Zhijin Street. Shen Xuan took a closer look and realized that the shop Xue Fenglin had bought was right next to Changcui Workshop, a hairdressing shop. It was exactly the spot Shen Xuan had wanted most!

Last night, Shen Xuan had mentioned it to Xue Fenglin, merely complaining that the shop was too expensive for him to afford at the moment.

Later, Xue Fenglin kept pressing him for "interest" and didn't respond, so Shen Xuan thought he hadn't heard.

He never expected that his words had already been taken to heart by Xue Fenglin. Last night, he had specially called Wuxin and sent him out before dawn to find a broker and buy the shop Shen Xuan coveted!

This shop had a ten-foot-wide frontage. On both sides, a hairdressing shop and a makeup shop were doing very well.

The original shop used to sell silk flowers and accessories, but its business was overshadowed by the neighboring hairdressing shop. So, the owner simply sold the shop and bought a manor instead, saving himself the trouble of managing it.

With Shen Xuan opening his shop here, the customers from the shops on both sides would be his ready-made clientele. How could his goods not sell well?

Delighted, he went to find Master Wang again. He drew a rough sketch for him and asked him to renovate the storefront according to his requirements.

The shop needed to be bright and spacious, with convenient display cabinets for goods. The color scheme was no longer the festive crimson of the Xiyuan Xianwei but opted for natural wood tones. This was to stand out among the many dark-colored storefronts and create a fresh and refined feeling.

This shop was several times larger than the Xiyuan Xianwei, so the renovation work was significantly more extensive. Fortunately, the two courtyards behind the shop were already well-maintained and didn't require renovation, saving a lot of effort.

Shen Xuan then went to a shop that customized plaques and personally wrote the three large characters "宣字坊" (Xuanzi Fang) to have a plaque made according to his calligraphy.

The plaque for Xuanzi Fang was different from that of Xiyuan Xianwei. It didn't aim for golden splendor and grandeur but for elegance.

Therefore, the plaque didn't use the usual black but had a natural wood background, with black characters instead of gold, specifically to highlight the elegance of the calligraphy.

After completing these tasks, Shen Xuan prepared to recruit some shop assistants for Xuanzi Fang.

Since the soap formula needed to be kept secret, he decided, like with the Xiyuan Xianwei, to buy a few people and hold their deeds for more reliability.

However, before Shen Xuan could go to the human market again, Wuwang found him and handed Shen Xuan a few deeds. He said that Xue Fenglin had already selected a few people for Shen Xuan; they were all well-trained and ready for Shen Xuan to use.

Shen Xuan hadn't expected Xue Fenglin to have even prepared this for him. He followed Wuwang to the shop and met the four servants Xue Fenglin had sent.

These four included two ger and two women, all around sixteen or seventeen years old.

Making soap was not difficult and didn't require heavy physical labor, but it did require meticulousness. These servants appeared clever and neat, making them useful.

Their appearances also met the standards for selecting servants in wealthy households, being quite beautiful.

Shen Xuan casually asked them a few questions and learned that the two gers were named Wenzhu (Bamboo) and Wensong (Pine), and the two women were named Wenlan (Orchid) and Wenju (Chrysanthemum)—all names given by Xue Fenglin.

They were all illegitimate children from business families who had suffered from the locust plague. Their entire families couldn't get enough to eat, so they were sold by their stepmothers to earn some food for the family.

Shen Xuan was surprised to hear their introductions. Previously, the labor market had only sold children from impoverished farming families, but now even those from small business households were selling their children?

Shen Xuan meticulously asked them more about their hometowns. The few people then tearfully explained in detail, saying that the locust plague had swept through the northwest, and grain prices had skyrocketed to astronomical levels. Even millet and beans had increased dozens of times in price.

In those rural areas, there were even instances of people exchanging children to eat (易子而食 - a desperate act where families exchanged children to kill and eat to avoid eating their own). Their families had no other choice but to sell them for money; it was better than the whole family starving to death.

Shen Xuan's heart sank, and a sense of worry subtly grew. 'Had the locust plague in the northwest become this severe?'

Fortunately, he had stockpiled a good amount of grain in advance. Even if the disaster continued to spread, it should be enough to last until the first harvest next year.

However, if the disaster continued, the common people who couldn't survive might turn into displaced persons.

At that time, with displaced people roaming around, the security of the capital would also be affected. He wondered if the capital would fall into chaos...

As a ger, Shen Xuan couldn't do much even if he worried about the peace of Great Jin.

But because of this slight worry, Shen Xuan called Jin Gui again, gave him three hundred taels of silver, and told him to quietly buy some lower-grade provisions from the market.

During this period, grain prices on the market soared. Previously, three hundred taels could buy two hundred shi of good rice, but now it could only buy one hundred shi of coarse rice.

Although Jin Gui didn't understand why Shen Xuan wanted to hoard more grain when the household already had so much, he still followed his instructions and bought the grain. These were then stored separately in the warehouses of Xiyuan Xianwei and Xuanzi Fang.

Although Shen Xuan bought so much coarse rice, he did not skimp on the servants' meals. The shop assistants usually ate the rice and flour purchased before; this millet was kept for emergencies.

***

Shen Xuan chose a suitable day and taught the Wen assistants the steps for making soap.

These few individuals had helped their families with work since childhood and were skilled at working and doing business. They quickly learned the production techniques with little instruction from Shen Xuan.

Seeing this, Shen Xuan purchased the first batch of raw materials. With the four of them working, they produced over a thousand bars of soap in just a few days.

Once these soaps were fully saponified and packaged, the shop's facade was also newly renovated.

Shen Xuan had the packaged soaps displayed on the counter. Some unpacked ones were set out as samples on the counter for people to view.

He then erected a signboard, clearly pricing all the soaps.

Regardless of the type of soap, each piece cost two taels of silver. Although the price was high, this soap was inherently a precious item, only bought by the wealthy.

A mere two taels of silver was nothing to the rich...

As the time approached the Winter Solstice, with the New Year just around the corner, Shen Xuan chose an auspicious day, hung up the plaque, and grandly opened the shop with gongs and drums.

The Lunar New Year is the most important festival of the year, and prominent families in the capital attach great importance to it.

Every year as the New Year approaches, each household purchases various goods and gifts for the festive season. Shen Xuan deliberately opened his shop during this period of New Year preparations, aiming to make a significant profit before the year ended.

On the first day of opening, the four assistants of the Wen collectively stood at the entrance, dressed in elegant long robes, attracting customers.

Unlike most shops that hired male assistants, the two gers and two women at Xuanzi Fang were a refreshing sight, making people can't help but want to take a closer look at what exactly was being sold inside.

With the shop filled with fragrant soaps, simply walking past the outside of the shop was enough to be greeted by a strong, pleasant aroma.

Passing customers initially thought the shop sold perfumes, but then they saw the assistants holding wooden trays displaying semi-transparent block-shaped items.

"What exactly is this? Why is it even carved with flowers?"

"It looks exquisite and smells good, but what is it for?"

"This looks very familiar. Doesn't it seem like soap?"

"It is soap, isn't it?" A young lady who could read said, "Look at the sign next to it. It says 'Fragrant Soap.' It must be scented soap. It actually costs two taels of silver per piece; the price is quite high."

...

Although many people felt that two taels of silver for a bar of soap was incredibly expensive, its novelty and beautiful appearance still attracted many people into the shop.

"Is this fragrant soap the same as regular soap?" A young lady, looking at the soap on the counter, couldn't help but ask Wenlan, who was nearby.

Wenlan immediately stepped forward and, using the sales pitch Shen Xuan had taught her in advance, said, "Young lady, this fragrant soap can be used for washing your face and body just like regular soap, but it is much more refined."

"This bar of soap you're holding has osmanthus added to it, giving it a delicate osmanthus fragrance. When used for bathing or washing your hair, your body will naturally carry an osmanthus scent, just like your own natural body fragrance."

Among the ge'ers and women in Dajin, scented powders were popular, and there were specialized powder shops on Zhijin Street.

However, most scented powders had a strong, often pungent odor when used excessively, far from the natural aroma of this soap, which contained only one type of floral essential oil. After bathing, the scent would typically dissipate.

The young lady was immediately intrigued when she heard that the fragrant soap would leave a lingering scent on her body after washing her face and bathing.

At this point, Wenlan brought a tray of warm water and encouraged the young lady to try it.

The young lady did not decline and used the osmanthus fragrant soap to wash her hands.

After washing her hands, she brought them to her nose and indeed smelled a sweet, clear osmanthus fragrance.

"This fragrant soap truly smells good!" The young lady was delighted and immediately wanted to buy this osmanthus-scented soap.

Wenlan, standing by, said, "Young lady, this particular bar of soap is our sample. If you like the scent of this soap, I'll get you a new one."

After saying that, she took a packaged osmanthus fragrant soap and presented it, adding, "The shop also has other scented soaps and a shampoo soap that nourishes black hair, all at the same price. If you like, feel free to take a look."

The young lady was Sheng Ruzhi, the daughter of the Shengfeng Cloth Merchant in the capital, so her family certainly wasn't short on money.

Seeing how beautiful and fragrant the soap was, and how attentive and courteous the service in the shop was, she was pleased and immediately bought one of each type of soap available.

Seeing Sheng Ruzhi purchase a complete set of six different scented soaps at once, Wenlan led her to the counter.

She took out a very exquisite bamboo box, neatly placed the six soaps into its compartments, and then closed the lid, which was stamped with the character "宣" (Xuan).

"Young lady, that will be a total of twelve taels of silver," Wenlan stated.

"Is the box free?" Sheng Ruzhi asked, somewhat surprised.

Such an exquisite bamboo box, if sold separately on the market, would likely cost five hundred wen!

Wenlan: "Young lady, since you bought the complete set of soaps, this box is complimentary."

Sheng Ruzhi was even more delighted upon hearing this. She had her maid carry the box and left the shop happily.

In the shop, some onlookers who had witnessed the well-traveled Sheng family's daughter buying these soaps immediately became eager.

Many rushed to have the assistants explain the functions and scents of the soaps. After trying them one by one, they also readily paid and left with their preferred soaps.

Shen Xuan was currently drinking tea in the teahouse across the street, observing the situation in his shop through the window of his private booth.

Xuanzi Fang's shop followed a high-end approach, so customers didn't line up in long queues like for the snacks at Xiyuan Xianwei.

However, almost every customer who entered the shop, especially those coming from the two neighboring shops, bought something before leaving. The conversion rate was quite high!

Around noon, most of the customers on the street went to eat, and Xuanzi Fang became a bit quieter.

Shen Xuan then had Jin Gui quietly go to the shop to calculate the morning's earnings.

Unexpectedly, in just one morning, the shop sold twenty-four bars of soap, earning forty-eight taels of silver.

As Shen Xuan had predicted, this shop was indeed extremely profitable.

Even after deducting the relatively high production cost of the soap, the pure profit from half a day already equaled that of Xiyuan Xianwei's full two days of earnings.​