eurekapd Chapter 197 Perfume
Chapter 197 Perfume
"Sister, I need to talk to you," Lin Xiaoxiao said, arriving at the soap production workshop on the outskirts of Beijing with her maid, Xiaohong.
Wen Yuxia smiled faintly and said, "What is it?"
Lin Xiaoxiao said softly, "Sister, noble ladies like scented soap and body lotion, but the body lotion on the market only comes in one scent..."
Wen Yuxia nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, I'll give it a try."
Back in his spatial dimension, Wen Yuzhen immediately immersed himself in making the body fragrance liquid. After mixing several bottles with perfume essence, he gave them to Xiaoxiao and Xie Qianlian to try.
Wen Yuxia began experimenting with new combinations of floral liquids. After half a month, she finally blended several unique fragrance essences and used them to create a body scent liquid.
Just as I was about to go out to find Xia Yichen to discuss the body fragrance liquid, An Yi came to the Princess's residence saying that Xia Yichen wanted her to attend a meeting at the workshop. After inquiring...
Wen Yuxia only then realized that the orders for scented soap were increasing, and the workshop was short-handed. Xia Yichen had called a meeting to discuss expanding production.
"The orders for scented soap have already booked up next year's production. I'd like to hear your opinions on whether to expand the workshop or keep it as it is," Xia Yichen spoke first.
"I'm in charge of the workshop. Now I'll give you a quick overview of the current situation," Li Jiating said, quickly describing the workshop's workload and staffing levels.
After careful consideration, Wen Yunhong offered his suggestion: "Set up workshops in various prefectures and cities of Daxia to increase the production of scented soap."
"With workshops opening in every prefecture, won't the scented soap they produce be unsellable?" Zhang Jinxuan asked with some concern.
Wen Yuxia smiled and said, "It's alright. Scented soap is a consumable item that every household uses. After expanding production, we can lower the price, and there will be no worry about selling it."
Thinking of the raw material for scented soap, lard, Wen Yuxia continued, "Making scented soap requires a lot of lard. While workshops are being built in various prefectures, the livestock industry also needs to be developed, ideally directly managed by the prefectures."
If more pigs are raised, the price of pork will drop, making it easier for ordinary people to afford meat, and ensuring that soap-making workshops have no shortage of raw materials.
Most importantly, the income from the farm will be turned over to the national treasury as military supplies, earmarked for this purpose. This ensures that even in the event of war, there will be no shortage of funds to purchase military supplies.
Xia Yichen thought it was feasible, so he handed over the construction of the workshop to Li Jiating. "I will discuss the matter of the breeding farm with the Emperor before making a decision. Everyone, you may leave now!"
After everyone left, Wen Yuxia called out to Xia Yichen, who was about to leave, took out several bottles of body fragrance from her bag, opened the caps, placed them on the table, and calmly said, "Brother, smell them."
Each bottle had a different scent. After smelling them all, Xia Yichen asked in surprise, "Body fragrance liquid, Mu Hua, how did you do that?"
Xia Yichen was familiar with body deodorant, but only these few bottles had a strong floral scent and a unique fragrance. Xia Yichen sensed a business opportunity and looked at Wen Yuxia with shining eyes.
Wen Yuxia said with a faint smile, "It's made with artificial flavoring."
Each bottle of fragrance is made by blending fresh flower extracts in a specific ratio; these extracts are purified from various fresh flowers.
To prevent her scented soap from being imitated, Wen Yuxia put a lot of thought into the production of the fragrance, ensuring that each bottle contained dozens of kinds of flower extracts.
For example, the formula for jasmine-scented essence is 50% jasmine liquid and 50% other dozens of fresh flower liquids.
A scented soap with jasmine fragrance mixed with other scents is something that no one can imitate; at best, they can only create a jasmine-scented soap.
The body fragrance liquid concocted by Wen Yuxia features a main floral scent interspersed with other floral notes, resulting in a rich and long-lasting fragrance that cannot be achieved without the correct fragrance formula.
"Mu Hua, do you have any plans to open a workshop?" Xia Yichen asked excitedly, while Wen Yuxia calmly nodded.
"The body fragrance liquid was concocted at Lin Xiaoxiao's suggestion. The profits from the body fragrance liquid will be split 30% between you, Yunhong and I, and the remaining 10% will be left to Jinxuan and the other four."
Xia Yichen nodded in agreement. As usual, Xia Yichen would be responsible for the site and initial investment, while Wen Yuxia would be responsible for guiding the workers in producing the body fragrance liquid.
"Brother, the name 'body deodorant' is too awkward to pronounce. 'Perfume' sounds better," Wen Yuxia said. The name "body deodorant" reminded her of the small advertisements for curing body odor that used to be posted at the entrance of her dormitory building in her previous life.
"Perfume, that's a good name," Xia Yichen nodded in approval.
Before leaving, Xia Yichen said that he would start preparing for the perfume workshop. Back at the Princess's mansion, Wen Yuxia asked Steward Tang to select several skillful maids for her and explained the perfume making process to them.
A few days later, Xia Yichen found a suitable location on the outskirts of Beijing, next to the soap workshop. The farm there belonged to Madam Li, Li Jiating's mother.
The Li brothers, Jiating and Li Jiatin, were also involved in the perfume business. Mrs. Li generously agreed to let Xia Yichen build a workshop on the farm, stating that the workshop on the farm would serve as their initial capital.
Wen Yuxia led the four Bei Yi sisters to inspect the place and found that the space provided by Madam Li was spacious and bright, indeed very suitable for making perfume.
At this time, Xia Yichen, through Xie Qianlian, announced to the public that he would soon be launching more than ten different perfumes.
Many daughters of wealthy and powerful families expressed their anticipation, so Wen Yuxia decided to first produce a batch of exquisite trial packs. She personally designed the packaging, choosing delicate porcelain bottles adorned with elegant floral patterns.
After the first batch of trial packs was completed, Xia Yichen sent half of them to the Empress Dowager, who distributed them to the concubines in the harem. The other half was given to Xie Qianlian, who then distributed them to powerful and influential families with whom she had close ties.
Even before the perfume officially went into production, many people inquired with Xie Qianlian about when it would be available for purchase. Even the Empress Dowager in the palace sent someone to deliver a message to Xia Yichen.
Eighteen different perfumes were sent, and the Empress Dowager liked every single one. The samples Xia Yichen sent were pre-selected for the number of people, including the Emperor, one bottle for each person. The Empress Dowager only had one bottle.
The Empress Dowager wanted every single fragrance, so she instructed someone to tell Xia Yichen to send her a set of perfumes to the palace once they were produced.
The Emperor subtly told Xia Yichen that he liked the cologne he had given him. Xia Yichen replied seriously, "The cologne was specially formulated for Your Majesty by Wen Yuxia. Cologne will not be available on the market."
Of the eighteen perfumes they launched, none were cologne; cologne was reserved for the emperor.
The Emperor was delighted upon hearing this: "Yichen, you can give 10% of the profits from perfume sales in Great Xia to Guyue, and still give half of the profits from perfume sales in other countries." Xia Yichen nodded and said, "Okay."
Over the years, in every business deal he made with Wen Yuxia, he handed over half of his profits to Gu Yue, the Minister of Revenue, to replenish the national treasury. Wen Yuxia was aware of this.
The Emperor knew that he owned 30% of Da Xia Perfume, yet he voluntarily reduced his share by half a percent. Haha, it seems the Emperor really likes cologne.
Wen Yuxia accelerated the formal production process of the perfume, and she carefully trained the few skillful maids, who were also assigned to the workshop.
On the first day of official production, the workshop was filled with an enchanting fragrance. Bottles of perfume were carefully sealed, and a shop of nearly 100 square meters on the most bustling street in the capital was ready to sell the perfume.