Chapter 822: with translation of chapter title

Leaving aside how Chen Wuji conducted the march, after he left Hezhou, Xiao Yuji and Shen Youwei instantly shifted into a formidable businesswoman mode and began planning the soap sales.

On the third afternoon after the army left Hezhou, Xiao Yuji gathered the heads of various merchant caravans on the fifth floor of the Jade Lady Restaurant for a tea gathering.

Xiao Yuji sat upright in the seat of honor, her bearing dignified and grand, exuding a capable and powerful aura from head to toe; compared to her demure little-woman demeanor beside Chen Wuji, she seemed like an entirely different person.

Shen Youwei, attending such an occasion for the first time, inevitably felt a bit nervous; she simply sat quietly, observing Xiao Yuji and the reactions of the merchant caravan heads.

"How is the spring tea from Tianchi Mountain, everyone?" Xiao Yuji asked with a light smile.

Those present nodded and agreed, saying one after another that it was not bad, quite good.

A merchant caravan leader dressed in gold and silver, with two jade thumb rings on each hand, chuckled and said, "Lady Xiao, are you planning to sell tea?"

Xiao Yuji smiled and shook her head. "The tea from Tianchi Mountain is all wild tea; my husband loves it dearly, and we barely have enough for ourselves—how could we sell it? I gathered you today not for this tea, but to discuss another business."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly felt that the tea before them had become more precious.

Something even the regional commander loves so dearly—could it possibly be cheap?

The vast majority immediately picked up their teacups and performed the three-step tea tasting: first smell, then taste, finally savor.

Although the taste was still the same as what they had just drunk, they suddenly felt it had become noble.

Only a few turned their attention to the new business Xiao Yuji mentioned; a thin man dressed in coarse hemp, looking particularly impoverished, asked, "May I ask, madam, what business are you discussing today?"

Xiao Yuji glanced toward the door.

A group of maidservants entered, each holding a wooden tray, placing one before every table.

"Please have a look first!" Xiao Yuji said, lifting her wrist.

The merchant caravan leaders looked at the few soap bars of varying colors on the wooden tray, each with a puzzled expression, and picked them up to examine closely.

"Madam, what is this?" someone asked.

No sooner had his words fallen than another group of maidservants entered carrying a copper basin, with a cloth draped over its edge.

Xiao Yuji timely said, "This is soap, a cleansing agent. Please try it first; after you've tried, we'll discuss other matters."

"A cleansing agent? How is it made? It's so pure!" someone exclaimed in bewilderment.

Xiao Yuji smiled faintly and said nothing.

Such a question naturally cannot be answered; if we told them how it's made, how could we continue this business?

That person, evidently not expecting an answer, muttered doubtfully, then dipped his hand into the copper basin to wet it and rubbed the soap a few times.

At that moment, someone shouted, "Madam, could you provide us with some ink?"

"Wuzi, go fetch it." Xiao Yuji instructed the man standing beside her.

Wuzi's full name is Chen Wu, and he comes from the Chen MainVein.

Chen Wuji entrusted Xiao Yuji with managing such a large venture; naturally he wouldn't let her handle it alone, and earlier he had assigned several experts from the MainVein to take charge of her security, while also providing some assistants.

Moreover, there were several hundred soldiers who had retreated from the battlefield due to injury.

Chen Wu was the leader of this group, holding the position of steward.

Wuzi ordered someone to bring the ink.

The earlier speaker rose, got his hands covered in ink, then dipped them into the copper basin and began rubbing the soap. Seeing this, others stopped what they were doing and watched him wash his hands.

Ink and grease are both relatively difficult to wash off.

If the ink could be washed off completely and easily, there would be no need to doubt the soap's cleansing power—indeed, even testing it on grease would be unnecessary.

"It's washed off so thoroughly!" exclaimed the merchant caravan leader who had tried the ink, raising both hands in amazement. "This is several times stronger than bath beans. May I ask, madam, what is the price?"

"As usual, each bar of soap here costs two taels of silver. As for how you sell it, that's your business—I won't interfere further." Xiao Yuji said, "For every additional thousand bars purchased, the unit price drops by a hundred wen, with the lowest price being one tael."

This has been Xiao Yuji's consistent sales approach: the more you buy, the cheaper it gets.

Whether it's paper or woolen clothing, the same principle applies.

"Two taels of silver… setting the price like this, isn't it a bit too high?" said a merchant caravan leader.

Before Xiao Yuji could reply, the person beside him retorted, "I think two taels is actually too low—bath beans are less than half the size of this soap, and their cleansing power is far inferior; in some places they even sell for five or six taels, while in major cities the normal price is around one tael."

The earlier speaker shot him an annoyed glance and muttered under his breath, "Lackey!"

"You fool, I'm just stating the facts—isn't that the truth?" he said, displeased. "A price of two taels is very fair; this soap is unlike other things, and since bath beans exist for comparison, a simple test makes the superiority obvious."

Those around nodded in agreement, finding this view more convincing.

The merchant caravan leader who had questioned the price, unwilling to concede, countered, "It's true that the superiority is obvious, but bath beans normally cost only about one tael; with one tael you can buy bath beans, so why should ordinary people spend more silver on soap? Madam, you set the price at two taels—we ought to make at least a little profit when we take it out. How much do you plan to sell it for? Four taels or five?"

"Even if the soap is much larger than bath beans, if we sell it at two taels, people will surely choose the soap—after all, once they try it, they'll definitely find the soap superior. But if the price is too high, I ask you all, what would you choose? In my view, since it's merely a cleansing agent, why waste so much money?"

The crowd fell into thought, and many nodded slightly, convinced by this argument.

At that moment, the middle-aged man wearing jade thumb rings suddenly stood up.

He cupped his hands toward Xiao Yuji and Shen Youwei and said, "Ladies, may I ask how much soap you currently have in stock?"

"Plenty!" Xiao Yuji replied with a light smile.

The soap has been produced for almost a month.

After the success, Chen Wuji immediately ordered the recruitment of artisans and began large‑scale production.

Having experience from the previous workshops, the soap workshop went into production within just a few days.

Doing these things individually would be fraught with difficulty, every detail a problem; but the soap workshop has the full backing of Hezhou's manpower and resources—once Chen Wuji issues an order, we simply pile on the labor and materials.

With ample manpower and material resources, plus the prior successful experience, everything is no longer a problem.

In the newly established soap workshop, over two thousand artisans are already busy at work.

With two thousand workers, the daily output exceeds ten thousand bars of soap.

"Ladies, I want thirty thousand bars; is that at the base price of one tael each?" the middle‑aged man with jade thumb rings asked with a chuckle.

While others were still hesitating, he went straight for the deal.