bestfiction Chapter 107 New store opens
Chapter 107 New store opens
The town became lively early in the morning, with people coming and going on the streets.
There were wives carrying baskets to buy groceries, young ladies wearing hoods, and handsome young men dressed as scholars walking in groups of three or four on their day off.
On both sides of the street are various steaming breakfasts and the cries of vendors.
The vendors looked at the people passing by suspiciously. In the past, there would always be some passers-by who came to see what was good to eat and buy one or two to eat while walking. But today, for some reason, they all walked in the same direction without even looking at their stalls.
"Have you heard? Shopkeeper Jiang has opened a new shop, this time specializing in selling soap, and there's this new soap that I heard can be used to wash your face!"
"I heard about it a long time ago. When the shop was first decorated, the news spread among the neighbors."
"The toothbrush and tooth powder I bought from that store are really useful. My mother keeps talking about this soap. I must buy her a few more bars."
"It's the same at my house, but don't worry about not being able to buy it this time. The shop is quite large, and they've been preparing for several days, so you should be able to buy it."
As they talked, they looked towards the shop in the distance and were startled by the long line outside the door: "Why are there still so many people? Let's go quickly. If we can't get it back, my mother will pull my ears and say I'm incompetent."
The person in front quickened his pace after he finished speaking, and the people behind him hurried to follow, fearing that they would not be able to buy it like the previous times.
From a distance, everyone saw a plaque wrapped in red cloth on the door with four big characters on it: Huai'an Shop.
Jiang Shian and Ji Yinghuai had made preparations in advance. They rented a horse carriage yesterday and asked the hired workers to transport all the soaps made in the past few days to the shop.
The workshop has been running smoothly for four or five days. During the first two days, Jiang Shi'an watched it very carefully, fearing that there would be problems in any process. He watched from the side and taught Fang Zi how to manage it in the future.
They were worried that Fangzi couldn't handle it alone, and they didn't know whether the workers who returned would be able to fully trust this trick, so they could only go to the human trafficker in town and buy another one.
The other party's indenture is in his hand, so betrayal means selling him out or beating him to death.
The child who was bought was only seventeen years old. He had many brothers and sisters in his family and he was the middle child, so he was sold by his parents in exchange for food. Rather than being scolded and beaten every day by human traffickers, he naturally would rather find a good employer.
After returning home, Ji Yinghuai took the items to town in the afternoon and bought a set of clothes and some simple daily necessities.
Maybe they were scared by being beaten by the bullies, so the children were so terrified that they would kneel down and kowtow to them at any time.
Jiang Shian tried to comfort him with kind words again, and then told him seriously what to do. If someone had other thoughts or revealed the business, he would be beaten to death without mercy.
The two men had carefully examined all the people working in the workshop. There were boys and men, most of them were in their early twenties. A total of fifteen people were found.
They posted the notice at the dock, and many people came to the shop. The two of them took a quick look and only those who were honest and hardworking stayed.
In addition to soap, perfumed soap is also being produced in full swing. These doctors and their sons are also busy in the workshops.
After all, it is used on the face. As a medical practitioner, Doctor Wang naturally understands these things clearly. The first few steps are not much different from making soap. Some medicinal materials and scented powder need to be added to the soap according to its efficacy. This is just the beginning and it still needs to be monitored for some time.
As the crackling sound of firecrackers rang out, people on both sides covered their ears at the same time. Amid the red confetti, the "Huai'an Shop" officially opened.
After the smoke dissipated, the crowd raised their hands to applaud and said to Jiang Shian and Ji Yinghuai who were standing at the door: "Congratulations."
Both of them had faint smiles on their faces. The noise gradually faded away. Jiang Shian stepped forward and spoke loudly: "Thank you all for your support. Today my Huai'an shop is officially open. Anyone who buys more than 200 coins in my shop today will receive a box of soap for free."
A waiter came up with two boxes behind him. Jiang Shian opened them and introduced them to everyone: "Everyone knows that what's in this box is soap. I won't say much about its effects. I'm sure those who have used it will understand it."
Jiang Shian picked up another box. This box was also made of bamboo, but it was carved with patterns and looked more delicate. Another waiter brought over a basin of water. Jiang Shian opened it and took out the dark green soap from the box.
"This is what we're promoting today. It's called soap. It can produce foam just like our soap, but soap is used to wash clothes, while soap can be used to wash your face, hands, or take a bath."
He soaked his palms and rubbed them with soap twice. Soon his hands were covered with white foam. He raised his palms to show the people around him and explained, "You can use it on your face or any part of your body without worry. It contains cleansing herbs specially added by the doctor. It will not damage the skin and can clean any dirt or oil on your face."
As he said this, he demonstrated it to everyone.
The production of scented soap is more complicated than that of soap. It contains herbs that are good for the skin and can remove acne. It also contains some mint powder, which smells refreshing.
The crowd was watching closely. This was really strange. It was just washing your face. You could just wash it with a basin of water. Why would you need soap? But Jiang Shian said something so mysterious. Everyone stared at it without blinking.
However, some guys and girls who were going out to draw their eyebrows or put on powder listened carefully. It was true. The weather was hot and their faces were prone to oiliness in the afternoon, which would ruin their freshly applied makeup. They had to wash their entire face, and the freshly applied makeup would be gone. They were too lazy to go out.
If this really works, they'll have to buy a few more pieces.
Jiang Shian was facing everyone, and his face was covered with foam. He rubbed it gently, calculating the time to be about one minute, and then washed it with clean water.
Ji Yinghuai handed over a clean handkerchief at the right time.
Jiang Shian wiped the water off his face and hands, pointed at his face and showed it to everyone: "This is how it is clean. This soap also has a light fragrance. The freshly made one has a mint fragrance, which is especially suitable for summer use to cool down. If you like it, you may want to try it later."
After a brief introduction, people gathered at the door to buy soap or perfumed soap and immediately asked when it would be on sale, the price, etc.
Jiang Shian gave up his position at the door and said, "The shop currently only sells soaps, and the items are all the same. Today there are many people, so just tell us what you want and the shop assistant will deliver it to you. But in the future there will be fewer people and there will be more new items in the shop, so you can come in and browse."
"The price of soap is still the same as before, twenty-five cents a box, but the price of perfumed soap is a little more expensive, sixty cents a box."
In addition to the soaps on the shelves, the large wooden boxes they pulled in the cart were also filled with soap.
Looking at the large and small wooden boxes filling the shop, everyone knew that they would not return empty-handed today, so they stopped pushing forward.