Chapter 216: Jade Visage Powder
Niangzi Lou opened a restaurant, spending most of her time in the kitchen, her face turning yellow from the oil smoke, with red pimples popping up now and then, which even bothered her looking at it.
Ever since using the Jade Visage Powder and White Jade Paste that Shang Wan gave her, not only did the pimples stop appearing, but her complexion visibly turned whiter, and that yellowish tinge was almost invisible.
“It’s really white now.”
“It feels smooth to the touch, just like an egg.”
“Great, you’ve been secretly using good stuff without telling us. Are we still sisters?”
Niangzi Lou smiled and said, “What I used was all given by Shopkeeper Shang. She hasn’t opened yet, and if I told you, wouldn’t you all be itching with curiosity and unable to sleep?”
Everyone chuckled lightly, not asking about the price, and called out one after another:
“I’ll buy two bottles!”
“I want five bottles!”
“Give me ten bottles!”
Everyone was a boss lady, not short on a few coins, and willing to spend on themselves.
“Don’t rush, there’s more good stuff.” Niangzi Lou waved her hand, “Besides Jade Visage Powder, this White Jade Paste is also great.”
The boss lady in the blue skirt urged, “Stop teasing us and tell us quickly.”
“Yeah, hurry up and say it.”
“Applying Jade Visage Powder makes our faces smooth, but to get whiter, you need this White Jade Paste.” Niangzi Lou stretched out her hand for the sisters to see, “Look, what’s the difference between these two hands of mine?”
The boss lady in the blue skirt said, “The left hand has a few red marks, the right doesn’t. Did you get splashed by hot oil from the pan again?”
Niangzi Lou sighed, “It’s inevitable when flipping pans and being head chef.”
The boss lady in the pink flowing fairy skirt said, “I see that the right side is whiter than the left.”
“Sharp eyes. I only applied White Jade Paste on the right side, not the left, and it’s only been five days. Look at the difference.” Niangzi Lou moved her hands, “White Jade Paste can also fade red marks. The red marks on my face were all eliminated by White Jade Paste.”
She brought her face close to the sisters, “Look carefully, are there no marks at all? Even the old black marks are gone.”
Everyone leaned in to look, “It’s true, this effect is even better than the pearl cream I gave you.”
Xiao Huan, standing behind the glass cabinet, timely took out a box of White Jade Paste for the boss ladies to try.
She scooped a bit with her fingernail and spread it on the back of her hand, and a fresh, subtle fragrance instantly wafted out.
The boss lady in blue clothes brought her hand back to her nose to sniff, and asked curiously, “What fragrance is this?”
Xiao Huan smiled, “My shopkeeper spent a high price to source flowers from all four seasons, specially blended, with over ten kinds. You can’t buy it outside. Apply a bit on your wrist in the morning, and you can smell the fragrance for most of the day.”
During this time, Shang Wan hadn’t just been overseeing the shop’s decoration; she had been vigorously experimenting with the spiritual field and Spiritual Spring Water, combining ancient formulas from medical books to create quite a few good products.
Women couldn’t resist fragrant things that also made them prettier and smell nice; the experience was simply top-notch.
“This White Jade Paste is cheaper than pearl cream.” Niangzi Lou winked at the sisters and lowered her voice, “Don’t say I don’t care about my sisters. Shopkeeper Shang said Jade Visage Powder and White Jade Paste are just trial sales, with limited stock. Once sold out, you have to wait half a month. Today is half price; if you don’t grab this deal, I will.”
She turned to Xiao Huan and said, “Young Lady Xiao Huan, pack three bottles of Jade Visage Powder and two boxes of White Jade Paste for me.”
Xiao Huan immediately agreed.
One boss lady got anxious, “You’ve already used it, why fight with your sisters? Pack mine first. I want five bottles of Jade Visage Powder and three boxes of White Jade Paste.”
“Ten each of Jade Visage Powder and White Jade Paste!”
“Four boxes of White Jade Paste!”
Led by the boss ladies, other female customers in the shop also gathered around.
Xiao Huan took the chance to introduce another round.
After hearing the introduction, many followed suit and bought, drawing the attention of other customers in the shop.
Niangzi Lou tapped the glass cabinet surface to remind, “Young Lady Xiao Huan, hurry and pack for the sisters, not one bottle less.”
“Okay,” Xiao Huan smiled and responded, calling out, “Customers, don’t rush. Line up and come one by one.”
She took out a stack of handmade custom paper bags from the bamboo basket under the glass cabinet.
The paper bag featured a black silhouette of a lady from an ancient painting, elegant and beautiful. In the upper right corner were the three neat words “Spiritual Medicine Pavilion.”
The paper bags at other counters had a ethereal old doctor, with “Spiritual Medicine Pavilion” in the upper right corner as well.
Shang Wan specially had Lu Chengjing draw the designs, then carved molds from jade stones she found, so they just needed ink pad to stamp on the bags.
These bags represented products from Spiritual Medicine Pavilion, serving both for publicity and to distinguish from potential future counterfeits.
“This drawing is nice; Shopkeeper Shang is so clever.” Niangzi Lou took a paper bag, pointing at the drawing and teasing the sisters, “If we use the medicine from Spiritual Medicine Pavilion, we can be as beautiful as the lady in the painting.”
This remark drew a burst of delicate laughter from the female customers.
Xiao Huan took a bottle of medicinal water and carefully demonstrated the usage method of Jade Visage Powder to everyone.
“You must mix it with medicinal water. Use a spoon this size, add two spoons of medicinal water and four spoons of Jade Visage Powder, mix into a paste in a bowl, apply to the face for two quarters of an hour, then wash off with clean water. Afterwards, you can thinly apply your own facial cream or our Spiritual Medicine Pavilion’s White Jade Paste.”
The method was simple; customers who bought Jade Visage Powder could remember it after one listen, and some even asked Xiao Huan if the spoons were for sale.
Xiao Huan smiled cheerfully, her round face looking even friendlier, “Today is our grand opening. Every customer who buys Jade Visage Powder gets a free spoon.”
This earned unanimous praise from the female customers, making the atmosphere even more lively.
Shang Wan stood by for a bit and saw that Xiao Huan could handle it completely, so she went to check on the medicine cabinet side.
Yuan Musheng and Rong Niangzi were in charge there, cooperating very tacitly on consultations and dispensing medicine. Seeing Shang Wan, they greeted her.
Rong Niangzi pulled Shang Wan aside and said worriedly, “Many customers buying medicine are picking the expensive ones, all for the half price. Younger brother’s wife, it’s just the beginning, and by the end of the day, won’t you lose a fortune?”
“No worries, I have plenty of medicine stocked.” Shang Wan had already calculated with Lu Chengjing in advance. Even if the medicinal herbs side lost a bit, selling ointments and medicinal powders would definitely profit, so overall, there wouldn’t be a loss.
Besides, she wasn’t counting on retail medicinal herbs to get rich; cooperating with medical halls and the Chamber of Commerce was the big part.
Rong Niangzi muttered, “Even a lot of medicine can’t withstand this kind of consumption.”
She sincerely hoped Shang Wan would do well and didn’t want to see her losing money just for publicity.
“My dear sister-in-law, put your heart at ease.” Shang Wan patted the back of Rong Niangzi’s hand, “Now that we’ve just opened, there will definitely be more customers, but it’ll thin out in the afternoon. We won’t lose much.”
Rong Niangzi’s expression improved, “As long as you have it figured out, I’ll go help Old Yuan dispense medicine.”
Shang Wan smiled, “Thank you for your help, sister-in-law.”
Rong Niangzi waved her hand, “Why be polite with sister-in-law? You’ve been walking around for several rounds; take a break. Everyone can handle it.”
“Okay.”
Shang Wan agreed verbally but couldn’t idle at all.
Opening a shop for the first time, she was excited too, and had to wander around to see the results of her over a month’s hard work.
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to everyone!
