Chapter 72: Soon to Master the Art of Porcelain Making

Auntie Wang thought for a moment and said, “You know, in farming households, people only worry about filling their stomachs. Even if they have some extra money, they’d rather spend it on grain. If it were me, I’d pay at most twenty wen for this. Anything more, and I’d rather endure the itching and pain than spend that kind of money.”

Du Wanchun fell into deep thought. Selling each bottle for just twenty wen wouldn’t yield much profit, especially since the medicinal ingredients required silver to purchase.

However, if this scented dew could attract more common folk and make their store lively—rather than just catering to nobles and officials—then the Zhou family could establish their own customer base. They wouldn’t have to rely on the Fang family and could even open their own shop in the future.

Zhou Da-niang was also pondering over this.

Seeing that neither of them responded, Auntie Wang sighed as she looked at the scented dew in her hands. “Well, it’s not a big deal. You can always sell it to wealthy families in the county. That way, you’d still earn silver.”

She finished speaking with a slight hint of disappointment in her eyes.

Zhou Da-niang placed the scented dew back into her hands. “Here, you keep this one.”

Auntie Wang was startled. “Sister Zhou, I can’t afford this.”

Zhou Da-niang smiled. “This is a gift for you. We’ve been borrowing your family’s carriage for quite some time now—consider it a token of gratitude.”

Auntie Wang beamed with joy as she looked at the scented dew in her hands. “Then I won’t hold back!”

Saying that, she happily applied more to her arms.

Watching her reaction, Zhou Da-niang felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Creating something more useful than ordinary scented dew was more rewarding than anything else.

Du Wanchun observed her mother-in-law’s expression and understood her feelings.

After Auntie Wang left, Du Wanchun proposed, “Mother, I have an idea.”

Zhou Da-niang asked curiously, “What idea?”

Du Wanchun smiled. “Auntie Wang mentioned that they can only afford to pay twenty wen per bottle, but our cost for a single bottle is already over fifteen wen. On top of that, we still have to share profits with the Fang family, leaving us with very little. But, Mother, what if we split each bottle into two?”

Zhou Da-niang was slightly confused. “What do you mean?”

Du Wanchun explained patiently, “This scented dew is used in small amounts each time, and a single bottle could last an average household one or two months. Instead of selling one large bottle, we could split it into two smaller ones and sell each for twenty wen. That way, after covering costs, we’d still make a reasonable profit.”

Zhou Da-niang’s eyes lit up as she nodded. “That makes sense. We should give it a try.”

Du Wanchun grinned. “Great! Let’s head to the county right away and buy some bottles.”

Zhou Da-niang glanced up at the sky. “It’s getting late. We need to hurry.”

Du Wanchun quickly got up and went to fetch the carriage.

This carriage was a gift from the Fang family, primarily to make it easier for the Zhou family to deliver their scented dew to the shop.

Madam Zhou stepped forward and led the carriage into the courtyard.

The two of them got on the carriage and arrived in Cheng’an County before dusk.

They first purchased bottles and then stopped by the incense shop.

On their way back, as soon as they stepped outside, they ran into a familiar face.

“Wanchun, what are you doing here?”

It was Du Wanchun’s eldest aunt, Du Damei—also known as the daughter-in-law of the Cao family, as Madam Zhou called her.

Du Wanchun was equally surprised to see her aunt. She quickly explained everything about her marriage.

Du Damei was furious. “Your father is truly heartless! He didn’t even tell me about something as important as your marriage! Hah, he was probably afraid I’d ruin his plans!”

As she spoke, she gently comforted the child she carried on her back.

Du Wanchun glanced at the child and quickly guessed that this must be the one her stepmother had abandoned.

While she was lost in thought, Du Damei grabbed Madam Zhou’s hand and said, “Sister Zhou, my little niece has had such a hard life. You must take good care of her.”

Madam Zhou nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry. Wanchun is now my own daughter. I won’t let her suffer anymore.”

Hearing this, Du Damei’s nose tingled with emotion, and she wiped away a tear.

As she lowered her head, her eyes suddenly caught sight of the bottles in Du Wanchun’s hands.

“Wanchun, why did you buy so many bottles?” she asked.

Du Wanchun pointed to the incense shop behind her and said, “The scented dew sold in that shop is made by us.”

Du Damei immediately responded, “Silly child, you don’t need to buy bottles. We have plenty at home.”

Du Wanchun was slightly surprised. “Aunt, you have bottles at home?”

Du Damei nodded. “I’ve been learning pottery with my husband for over ten years. We’ve made quite a lot of unused porcelain bottles. If you need them, I’ll give them to you.”

“Why are they unused?” Du Wanchun asked. “If you sold them, wouldn’t that be a good sum of money?”

Du Damei let out a long sigh. “A wealthy merchant from the neighboring county had originally ordered them. But later, his entire family left Qingzhou Prefecture, so we were left with all this unsold porcelain at home. Since we couldn’t find buyers, my husband eventually gave up pottery altogether.”

Hearing this, an idea struck Du Wanchun, and she smiled. “Aunt, this is perfect! Not only do I want to buy your porcelain bottles, but I also want to buy your pottery skills!”