Chapter 187: Building the Workshop

Ye Xin Ran and Lu Chang Qing discussed the matter of the workshop.

They didn’t finalize the plan until very late.

When packing up the blue prints, Ye Xin Ran felt a bit embarrassed.

“Did I delay your study time?”

Chang Qing didn’t mind at all. “Studying requires long-term effort, it’s not about a short time.”

“Sis, building the workshop is not difficult, but where did you get the formula for the face-washing soap? Have you tried it yourself? Is it really effective?”

Lu Chang Qing was a bit worried.

But his words gave Ye Xin Ran some hints.

“When you were at the academy, what did you use to wash your face?” Ye Xin Ran suddenly asked.

“Used… used plain water!”

Lu Chang Qing was taken aback by the question and quickly added, “I think some people also use bath beans.”

Hearing this, Chang Qing’s worry deepened. “Sis, what you’re planning to make isn’t something like bath beans, right?”

“I’m telling you, those things are useless!”

“A classmate of mine had a face full of pimples and tried to wash them clean with bath beans, but it only got worse.”

“In the end, there was no choice but to go to the medical clinic to get some medicine. They boiled it and applied it daily, and it only improved a little.”

“But that medicine smelled horrible. We had to endure it for a long time. Every day, it was like sitting in a latrine during class!”

“Ha!”

Ye Xin Ran couldn’t help but laugh at his description.

“Are you talking about little pimples with white tips on top?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s it!” Lu Chang Qing responded, surprised. “Sis, you don’t need to go into so much detail!”

The detail reminded him of that awful smell!

Ye Xin Ran quickly said, “Then I’ll let your classmate try my face-washing soap once it’s ready to see if it can help with the pimples!”

“My classmate is in the capital!”

Lu Chang Qing quickly said, “Besides, he’s almost fully recovered!”

He didn’t want to go out of his way to send him some face-washing soap. That would be too awkward.

“You’re not paying attention. I’m sure someone in your class has pimples!”

Ye Xin Ran was determined not to let him off the hook.

She guessed that the so-called pimples were probably acne.

Many of the students at the academy were in their teens, so it’s normal for some to have acne.

Except for the noble young ladies, this was a great opportunity!

“Sis, you…” Lu Chang Qing didn’t know how to refuse.

Ye Xin Ran immediately said, “Don’t worry, my face-washing soap will definitely work. It won’t make you embarrassed!”

Lu Chang Qing was speechless.

He wasn’t afraid of embarrassment.

He wasn’t even close to those people, okay!

…

The autumn air was getting stronger.

The village’s autumn planting was gradually nearing its end.

This year, thanks to the threshing machine made by the Xiao family, all the villagers managed to finish the autumn harvest and planting work before the cold weather arrived.

The taxes had already been paid.

Now there was surplus grain in the storage, and new seeds had been planted in the fields.

Everyone felt much more at ease compared to previous years.

What needed to be done now was to repair the farming tools, fix the roofs, prepare firewood and dried vegetables while the weather was still good, and get the winter clothes ready…

If there was extra time, people would start looking for outside work to help support their families.

When the village head mentioned the Xiao family’s plan to build a workshop, everyone became excited.

“Village head, I’m signing up!”

“Me too!”

“Our whole family can help! Me, Shuan Zi, and Shuan Zi’s mother, the three of us!”

Everyone eagerly signed up, and soon over forty men, more than ten women, and six children had volunteered.

The village head divided them into groups and told them to come to the Xiao family’s place to work the next morning after breakfast.

Ye Xin Ran, along with a few brick layers and carpenters, began to study the layout of the workshop on the open land.

The next morning, as expected, everyone arrived early on the open ground.

Xiao Huai’an, after receiving his work badge last, joined the team digging the foundation.

No one asked what the workshop would be used for.

Everyone just focused on their work.

However, as they worked, they began to notice something strange.

The house they were building was different from any other house they had built before.

There were no bedrooms or front halls inside, once you entered, there was a large stove.

The walls of the rooms were slanted, narrow at the top and wider at the bottom, and according to the blue print, there would need to be many ventilation openings.

“This house is strange. Is it for cooking?”

A villager became curious about the workshop’s design from the blue print.

“Look at that big stove. Who uses such a large pot for cooking?” someone retorted.

Er Zhu’s father, the foreman, saw that everyone had started discussing and immediately interrupted:

“Alright, it doesn’t matter what it’s for! We need to focus and quickly mark this line.”

Everyone got back to work.

With the experience from building houses before, everyone worked in perfect coordination this time.

Five days later, the house began to take shape.

From a distance, one could already see the roof towering higher than ordinary houses, with a large chimney standing upright on top.

The villagers, both young and old, became curious.

Whenever they had nothing to do, they would wander over this way to take a look at the commotion.

“Old Zhang, when you were young and traveled far, have you ever seen a house like this?”

Someone asked.

“No, never.” Old Zhang squinted his somewhat cloudy eyes and shook his head. “Really, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“This house is really strange.”

“Yeah!”

People whispered among themselves.

“With such a big chimney, it must burn a lot of firewood.”

“The house has open spaces around it. I heard it’s going to be used for growing vegetables!”

Everyone was puzzled.

When they saw Ye Xin Ran coming with the children, they all gathered around.

“Madam Ye, this house isn’t for living in, right?”

“What is it going to be used for?”

Seeing everyone’s curiosity, Ye Xin Ran explained, “It’s for making face-washing soap.”

“Face-washing soap? Isn’t water enough for washing your face? Why do you need soap?”

Old Lady Zhang, who had washed her face her whole life, had never used such a thing.

Other villagers chimed in: “Is this something people actually buy? They’ve spent so much money building this house. I hope they don’t end up losing money.”

“Exactly, exactly!”

Everyone began to feel sorry for Ye Xin Ran.

At this point, Ye Xin Ran decided it was time to let them know what she was going to do.

She took a piece of the face-washing soap she had been using from her space.

This soap was one she had bought before, and it wasn’t much different from what she was planning to make.

“Granny, this is the face-washing soap I want to make. Smell it, doesn’t it smell nice?”

Old Lady Zhang, seeing the smooth, pinkish soap, didn’t dare to reach out but sniffed the soap held by Ye Xin Ran. She immediately nodded. “It smells nice, it smells nice! What flower is this fragrance from?”

“This is osmanthus!” Ye Xin Ran replied. “We can also make soaps with other scents in the future.”

“Zhu Zi, your house is close by. Can you go get a basin of water for me?” Ye Xin Ran stood up and called out to Er Zhu, who was standing in the crowd.