Chapter 19: Ling’er is Shocked by Ye Xun’s New Product—Enormous, Enormous, Enormous Profits

The next day.

Early morning.

The breeze was gentle, and the sun shone warmly.

Ye Xun, Cao An, and Ling’er set out at dawn for Workshop A.

Yesterday, everyone in the Qin Prince’s residence, including a dog, had labored for most of the day, and today they finally reaped the rewards.

Although Cao An and Ling’er didn’t have much knowledge about soap, they had exerted considerable effort in making it the day before.

Workshop A.

A private room.

Creak...

Ye Xun pushed open the door, and a faint fragrance of soap wafted out.

Eagerly, Ye Xun stepped forward. He had made the soap purely from memory and wasn’t entirely confident.

Cao An and Ling’er also gathered around excitedly.

Milk scent, honey aroma, osmanthus fragrance, and rose perfume mingled, refreshing and uplifting.

Ling’er gazed at the various rectangular soaps in different colors, then looked at Ye Xun in amazement. “Your Highness... this is used for... washing clothes?”

She usually washed clothes with nothing more than some wood ash.

These colorful soaps seemed undeniably luxurious.

It wasn’t just her who was astonished.

Cao An was also stunned.

Even the palace laundry rooms had never used such high-grade items, at most just soapberry powder.

However, though the soaps looked beautiful and smelled pleasant, their true worth depended on their stain-removing power.

Ye Xun examined the finished products and nodded with satisfaction. “Yes, this is for washing clothes. Let’s each take a piece and test how well they work.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Ling’er lifted her brows in delight and happily took a piece.

As the sole maid at the Qin Prince’s residence, she did laundry daily and was especially interested in soap.

Moreover, this fragrant smell was surely far more pleasant than wood ash.

After a moment.

Cao An brought several tubs of water.

Ling’er took a washing bat to scrub the clothes, testing the stain removal and fragrance retention of each soap.

Ye Xun sat nearby and asked, puzzled, “Ling’er, don’t you use a washboard?”

“A washboard?” Ling’er turned her head toward Ye Xun, looking puzzled. “Your Highness, what is a washboard?”

Hearing this, Ye Xun’s heart leapt.

Could it be that Great Xia didn’t even have washboards?

But his excitement was short-lived.

Soap-making involved certain technical skills and couldn’t be easily replicated.

But washboards contained no technique whatsoever; anyone could copy them.

This did not align with Ye Xun’s original intention for product selection.

As everyone knows, for a product to continually generate wealth, it must be monopolized.

Then Ye Xun smiled and said, “It’s nothing. You can continue.”

Ling’er nodded and resumed washing seriously.

Ye Xun’s homemade soap contained no foaming agents, so the bubbles were few.

But since it was made from pure natural materials, it was truly green and environmentally friendly, causing no pollution and aligned with sustainable development principles.

Before long.

Ling’er hung the four freshly washed garments on a drying rack, her eyes shining with excitement and joy.

She hadn’t felt she’d exerted much effort, yet the clothes were not only cleaner than usual but also carried the soap’s fragrance.

The soap’s stain-removing ability was remarkably strong.

“Your Highness, it worked! We succeeded!”

Ling’er turned to Ye Xun, ecstatic and overjoyed.

Upon hearing this,

Ye Xun stood up, shook the drowsiness from his head, and hurried over.

Cao An followed suit.

Succeeded?

Cao An stared at the dripping, fragrant clothes in disbelief, speechless.

How could this be possible?

Though he had mentally prepared for it somewhat,

the shock was still immense.

The soap developed by His Highness the Qin Prince really worked wonders for laundry?

Cao An couldn’t connect the two ideas at all.

Yet, seeing is believing, and facts speak louder than words.

Ye Xun had handled the entire process yesterday, and Cao An had watched and participated; there was no room for doubt.

Could it be that the prince had truly awakened?

Had he experienced an epiphany?

Cao An could only think this.

Ye Xun touched the clothes, inhaled their scent, and was very pleased.

It seemed they were getting closer to their first fortune.

Cao An shook his head in admiration. “Your Highness, you are truly unparalleled in wisdom. How did you come up with the idea for this soap?”

Even after seeing it with his own eyes, he still felt as if it were a dream.

Ye Xun smiled lightly, “How did I come up with it? Of course, I was forced to think. If I don’t use my brain, what will we eat in the future?”

Hearing this, Cao An nodded eagerly.

If only the prince had had this realization earlier, he might not have fallen so low.

But this was good news—at least the prince had awakened.

At this moment, Ling’er looked at Ye Xun with eyes full of admiration and respect.

She had been at the Qin Prince’s residence for two days,

but had never seen a single flaw in Ye Xun, only virtues.

She simply couldn’t imagine that Ye Xun had once been so filthy and incorrigible.

Then,

Ye Xun turned to Ling’er and smiled, asking, “Ling’er, tell me your thoughts. You are the first person in Great Xia to use soap.”

Ling’er parted her lips slightly and slowly said, “Well... it removes stains well, has a faint fragrance, is convenient to carry, and has a delicate texture...”

She spoke thoughtfully and earnestly.

Then,

Ye Xun asked, “How much do you think this soap should sell for, per piece?”

Ah!?

Ling’er was momentarily stunned, then shook her head repeatedly. “I... I don’t know.”

Compared to other laundry products in Great Xia, this soap was far superior.

She dared not guess recklessly.

Ye Xun pondered quietly.

In Great Xia, pork lard was cheaper than rice; rice cost twenty wen per dou, and one jin of rice was less than two wen.

(P.S.: Ten dou equal one shi. One shi equals 120 jin. One dou equals 12 jin. One jin equals 16 liang. [Purely fictional, please don’t argue.])

Pork lard was about one wen per jin, and one jin of lard could produce about half a jin—eight liang—of soap.

Wood ash was so cheap it could be ignored.

Each piece of soap weighed about two liang, making the cost per piece roughly a quarter of a wen.

Of course, this referred to soap with no additives.

The milk and honey alone exceeded the soap’s base value.

Then,

Ye Xun glanced at Cao An and Ling’er and slowly said, “How about this: ordinary soap without petals, milk, or honey, sold for eight wen a piece?”

Upon hearing this, Cao An and Ling’er exchanged looks, contemplating silently.

After a moment, Ling’er nodded thoughtfully. “Eight wen—less than half a dou of rice—is a bit expensive but worth it. One bar of soap can last more than half a year, even a whole year.”

The common people were still poor in this era and didn’t have many clothes to change daily. One piece of soap could indeed last a long time.

Hearing that figure,

Cao An was shocked. He had purchased the materials and knew the cost.

Eight wen was not much, but considering the cost, it was an enormous profit—dozens of times over.