These were just Yaelle's assumptions. How it would actually work in reality still depended on the situation.
...
Just like that, Yaelle had been working non-stop for almost half a month and managed to produce over ten thousand pieces of regular soap. There was no other way since the supply of pig suet was not enough. Every day, she assigned several people to go out separately to buy suet, each person buying more than ten jin.
Even then, they could only gather about 100 jin a day, which could produce about eight to nine hundred pieces of soap. But only the ones made in the first two or three days were ready to be sold. The rest hadn't solidified yet.
Yaelle gave the workers two days off so they wouldn't waste their time making more soap that couldn't be sold. She personally brought two thousand pieces of soap to her small shop. When the carriage arrived at the shop door, Yaelle got off first and asked Attendant Sean and Attendant Sam to carry the soap inside.
Then she went straight to the back and found Manager Ma. When Manager Ma saw her, he was all smiles. "Miss, is it a new style again?
Ever since the master made jewelry using the new designs, our business has improved a lot. This month, our income has more than doubled." "That's good. As long as people like it.
I didn't bring any designs today, I'll have Attendant Sean send a few over tomorrow. This month, let's give the staff an extra half month's wages. They've worked hard too."
"I came today for something else. I've been making something at home that works really well for cleaning. It can be used for laundry, bathing, and washing hair."
"I want to set up a small cabinet at the shop entrance to sell this. It's cheap and practical, and we can promote it to attract customers. It can also be used as a gift for returning customers or for those who spend above a certain amount."
"As for the spending limit, you can decide that yourself." "What kind of thing is this? Is it really that amazing, better than liquid soap?" "Much better, and it lasts longer.
Let me show you how it works." Yaelle had brought some scraps and a few unfinished soap pieces. She picked up a rough cloth and smeared it with dirt.
Then she asked a helper to bring over a basin of water. She rubbed the soap directly on the dirty cloth. It quickly created a rich foam, and the cloth was cleaned thoroughly.
Manager Ma was stunned. He picked up the cloth and looked at it several times. It really was completely clean.
"Miss, what kind of soap is this? It's amazing. The cleaning effect is great.
How do you plan to sell it?" Yaelle took out a finished product and showed it to Manager Ma. "This size, five coins per piece."
"The molds are handmade, so for now, we can only make round or square shapes. But the sizes are the same. If we make new types in the future, we'll price them separately."
"Something this good for just five coins? Can we still make a profit from it? Miss, we shouldn't do business at a loss."
"Don't worry. Each piece can earn us two coins." That was true.
One jin of suet mixed with lye could make five pieces of soap. The cost of suet was twelve coins per jin, so each piece cost 2.4 coins. Labor costs weren't high.
Even if she hired people, regular workers in the city earned thirty coins a day, and carpenters made fifty. So the daily labor cost was about 110 coins. She didn't count the people who went out to collect ash or buy suet since they had to go out for supplies anyway.
Firewood was gathered from the mountains, and plant ash could reach nearly a hundred jin a day, so it could be ignored. Right now, she could make eight to nine hundred pieces of soap a day.
"I'll have someone clean up and move a shelf over right away." Shopkeeper Ma also thought this had great potential, so he actively directed the shop assistants to get to work. "I brought quite a lot of leftover bits and pieces, about the size of a finger. They're not worth much, so we can just give them to customers to take home and try when they make a purchase."
"If anyone questions it, we can arrange for someone to demonstrate how to use it, like I did just now." That's how live streams work nowadays. She still remembered the time that eyebrow pencil from Huaxi cost 79 yuan each and flopped badly. After that, domestic live-streamers were all over the place.
The hosts in those streams were scrubbing clothes live. Just thinking about that was pretty funny. With the business handled and still some time left, Yaelle felt a sudden urge to go out for a walk.
She asked, "Uncle Ma, do you know any fun places around here? It's rare for me to come out, and I don't want to head back so early. I want to walk around a bit."
"I heard there's a peony garden over by West Mountain. The blooming season is almost over. The county official's daughter is hosting a flower viewing party during these last few days."
"Women can enter for free and are allowed to bring two men with them. Men seem to need to pay two silver coins, probably for tea and snacks. It's not far."
"Just take a carriage straight out the city gate along this street and head west for about fifteen minutes." Shopkeeper Ma thought for a moment and gave directions. Yaelle had never experienced a traditional gathering in ancient times, so she wanted to see what it was like.
She thanked the shopkeeper and took Attendant Sean and Attendant Sam with her. The location was easy to find. Following the shopkeeper's directions, they walked for a little over ten minutes and arrived.
At the entrance were two men registering visitors, and two officers with long spears standing nearby. The young man at the registration desk was very friendly. The information needed was simple, like name, where they lived, and whether they were married.
It was done quickly, and then a servant was assigned to lead them to the banquet area. As they walked in, they saw peonies blooming on both sides of the path. They competed in beauty, all in full bloom, like girls dressed in splendid clothes, lovely and dazzling.
The petals were layered and varied in size, some like small bowls, others as tight as fists. The colors ranged from red, white, pink, to purple, each flower with its own charm, making it hard to look away. A gentle breeze passed by, and the flowers swayed, releasing waves of sweet fragrance that made people feel enchanted.
After a short walk, they arrived. The young servant was responsible and only left after guiding them to their seats. The venue was outdoors.
Luckily, the weather was nice or it wouldn't have worked. Society in this dynasty was still relatively open, so even though men and women sat separately, there were no screens in between. In the middle was an open space, with a row of long tables set up.
On those tables were ink, brushes, paper, and inkstones. The seating areas for men and women were about four to five meters apart. There were probably around thirty women on this side.
They sat symmetrically in two rows on each side. On the long table between them were snacks and drinks. If someone wanted something, a servant would fetch it for them.
It was quite thoughtful, like a modern buffet. Each woman had her own table, and next to her stood or sat two male companions. Yaelle wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but the women in her row seemed a little younger than the ones across.
The men also sat in groups of two or three at each table, positioned across from the women.