Chapter 20: No Comparison, No Pain

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Chang Yushan and his companions loaded the tiger onto the cart and took it to the Hanyang Prefecture Office to claim their reward.

Jiang Yi returned home, placed the cut soap bars and prepared perfume into a wooden box, and then loaded it onto the cart.

Once inside the city, he handed it over to Qian Muyun, asking her to distribute it to female customers for use.

After trying them, the women were very satisfied and were sure to want to buy the soap and perfume.

Gradually, the sales channels opened, allowing the soap and perfume to become bestsellers.

Jiang Yi then went to the Qian Family Silk Shop, where business was as prosperous as ever.

“Is the owner, Madam Qian, here?” Jiang Yi asked the shopkeeper.

“She’s upstairs. I’ll call her down; please wait a moment.”

The shopkeeper instructed a clerk to pour tea for Jiang Yi and offer him good hospitality.

Jiang Yi placed the wooden box on the counter and waited for Qian Muyun.

After a short while, Qian Muyun came downstairs.

“What business do you have with me?” she asked with a smile. Having witnessed Jiang Yi easily defeat the guards of the Hanyang Marquis’s mansion previously, she regarded him with newfound respect.

“I’ve brought some soap and perfume, hoping you could help me with something.”

“My shop sells clothing and fabrics. If you want to sell soap and perfume, you might try the rouge shops or general stores,” Qian Muyun replied, thinking Jiang Yi had come to the wrong place. Her shop specialized in clothing, fabrics, and jewelry, never handling cosmetics like rouge or powder.

“I imagine many wealthy young ladies and noblewomen come here to shop. You could let them try these soaps and perfumes,” Jiang Yi explained, confident in the quality of his handmade products and aiming to advertise through her clientele.

“It’s fine if you want to give them away for free, but they may not necessarily buy them. Across Hanzhou, Li Fu soap and rouge are quite famous,” Qian Muyun said. Breaking Li Fu’s monopoly would be extremely difficult—it was a centuries-old establishment.

“I just want to know if you, Madam Qian, would be willing to help me. This soap has whitening and moisturizing effects, and the fragrance lasts long. You can try it yourself,” Jiang Yi said, taking out a round soap bar that released a refreshing scent.

Qian Muyun took the soap and gently smelled it, the fragrance soothing and pleasant.

“I’ve used ceremonial soaps before, which also have a scent, but nothing like this,” she said.

She asked a clerk to bring a basin of warm water and tried washing her hands.

First, she wet her hands, then applied the soap and rubbed for a while.

The soap produced abundant foam, and the entire basin was filled with a refreshing fragrance.

She washed her hands in another basin, dried them, and found no sticky residue left by the soap.

Holding her hands close to her nose, she noticed a lingering pleasant scent.

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Earlier, her hands had some dust and sweat, making them feel uncomfortable, but after washing with the soap, they felt much fresher.

She picked up a small porcelain bottle from the box, poured some perfume onto the back of her hand, and rubbed it in with her right index finger.

The perfume carried a faint herbal aroma, especially soothing.

“If I’m not mistaken, you added herbs to the soap and perfume. This soap feels really good to use, and the perfume emits a gentle, lingering fragrance,” Qian Muyun said.

Having tried many renowned perfumes and expensive soaps, she felt that none compared to Jiang Yi’s products. Continued use might reveal whether the effects he claimed were true.

“Yes, I added some herbs beneficial for the skin. They detoxify and beautify. You should use them for a few days and see the results,” Jiang Yi replied.

“Your products aren’t well-known, so even if I give them to my customers, they might hesitate to use them. If you trust me, I can test them for you,” Qian Muyun offered.

If the results were good, she would consider a long-term partnership with Jiang Yi.

If he could produce in bulk, she might even open a rouge and powder shop.

After all, women’s love of beauty is innate, and anything that could delay aging would be welcomed.

“You said the soap whitens and moisturizes, and the perfume detoxifies and beautifies. If true, your products will surely sell well,” she said, seeing the potential business opportunity to break Li Fu’s monopoly on soap in Hanzhou.

If a good, affordable soap could be introduced, it might force Li Fu to lower prices.

Because of their monopoly, Li Fu’s soaps were not only expensive but also of mediocre quality.

Customers often gave poor reviews after using them, yet Li Fu made no improvements.

“Your soap, though herbal, doesn’t have a pungent smell. It doesn’t leave residue on the hands, making washing much easier,” Qian Muyun commented.

She asked a clerk to bring over a Li Fu soap for Jiang Yi to try.

“Try this one. I feel it’s not as good as yours,” she said.

The Li Fu soap had a strange odor that lingered on the hands, which would be embarrassing if others noticed.

Jiang Yi wetted his hands and applied the Li Fu soap.

The foam was sparse, and the soap felt sticky and greasy.

After washing for a while and rinsing several times, his hands still felt tacky.

Smelling his hands, he detected a greasy, rancid odor reminiscent of fried oil.

The smell was somewhat pungent and would make for a poor customer experience.

“This is a century-old brand’s soap? It smells weird and can’t be washed off easily.”

Generally, the longer a product is sold, the better its quality should be.

Since Li Fu had a hundred years of craftsmanship, the quality shouldn’t be so poor.

“Perhaps the raw materials weren’t properly treated, or the soap makers were careless, or maybe the quality of the materials they purchased was poor,” Jiang Yi speculated.

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Their conversation attracted quite a few onlookers, who also agreed that Li Fu soap’s quality was lacking.

Qian Muyun smelled the soap Jiang Yi made again.

“Your soap feels silky and emits a faint, pleasant fragrance. After washing, it doesn’t leave a sticky feeling,” she said.

Customers around who had used Li Fu soap shared the same opinion.

They had given feedback to Li Fu Department Store, but it was ignored.

Having grown accustomed to Li Fu soap and lacking alternatives, they continued buying it.

“Would you like to try? The soap I brought whitens and moisturizes, leaves no residue after washing, and has a fresh scent,” Jiang Yi offered.

Hearing this, customers shopping for silk wanted to try it.

They handed the soap to the customers, who tried it and found it as good as Jiang Yi claimed.

Qian Muyun instructed clerks to prepare several basins of warm water so customers could wash their hands with the soap.

After use, as Jiang Yi had said, hands felt refreshing once dried.

The herbal fragrance lingered pleasantly, making it very agreeable.

Customers praised Jiang Yi’s soap enthusiastically. Jiang Yi had expected it would take a long advertising campaign to reach such promotion success.

“This soap really works well, smells nice, and the foam feels like silk. How much per piece? I’ll buy several to take home,” one customer said.

“Everyone, these soaps are for trial use. If you buy clothes or fabrics here, I’ll give you a soap as a gift,” Qian Muyun announced.

Since these customers had already come to buy clothing and fabrics, receiving a free soap was a welcome bonus.

Qian Muyun hadn’t expected Jiang Yi’s soaps to be so popular.

If the soaps bore exquisite patterns and were cut into rectangular or square shapes, they might sell even better.

“Can we buy more and get more free? Can these be sold regularly?” customers inquired eagerly.

They worried that if these soaps became limited editions, they would lose access to such quality products.

“The next batch will take some time. When it arrives, I’ll post a wooden sign outside the shop. You can also try this bottle of perfume,” Qian Muyun said, helping to promote Jiang Yi’s perfume, which some might also like.

Once opened, the perfume released a fresh, spreading fragrance.

Female customers in the store recognized the porcelain bottle as containing something precious. After buying their clothes and fabrics, they took home some perfume and soap to enjoy.

“You should make more soap and perfume. I’ll help sell them, and we’ll share the profits,” Qian Muyun proposed.

She saw partnering with Jiang Yi as a good opportunity to increase her earnings.