Chapter 27: Promoting the Product

After Ji Jingxuan left, everyone started talking about the charcoal pens and the whiteboards.

“Writing nonstop for a month—just the cost of brush, ink, and paper would easily run two to three taels of silver.”

“If we could use these whiteboards and charcoal pens instead, it would definitely save a lot of money.”

“Exactly. Let’s just hope Jingxuan’s wife doesn’t set the price too high. We’re all from humble backgrounds, and none of us have much money.”

Ji Jingxuan had a quick bowl of plain noodle soup on the street for ten copper coins, then hurried back home.

Would this count as earning money?

Unaware of all this, Chu Xiaoqi took Ji Jingze and his siblings up the mountain to collect chestnuts. This time, they chose a route by the river.

When they ran into some village women washing clothes by the river, they simply said they were heading up to chop firewood, maybe dig up some wild vegetables if they got lucky.

Chu Xiaoqi noticed green plums scattered all over the riverbank and curiously asked Ji Jinglan, “Xiaolan, whose plum tree is this? So many fallen green plums, what a waste.”

Ji Jinglan glanced at the tree by the river. “It doesn’t belong to anyone. It’s wild.”

“Wild? So anyone can pick from it?”

Ji Jinglan nodded. “You can, but those things are really astringent and sour—nobody bothers picking them.”

“No one wants them? That’s perfect! Let’s go. After we gather chestnuts, we’ll come back for the plums.”

“Sis-in-law, what are you gonna do with those? They really don’t taste good…”

Carrying her basket, Chu Xiaoqi went up the mountain without stopping. “You don’t understand—these are good stuff. You’ll see.”

An hour later, the three of them dumped the chestnuts into the cellar at home and went back to collect the green plums.

The village women doing laundry giggled when they saw them. Has the Ji family gone completely broke? Picking up just anything to eat?

Ji Jingze and his siblings felt a little embarrassed but didn’t say anything—they just accepted their fate and picked up the intact green plums from the ground.

Chu Xiaoqi used a bamboo pole to knock down every single plum still hanging on the tree.

All in all, they collected a good one to two thousand jin (roughly 500–1000 kg) of green plums, which ended up taking over half the yard.

When Ji Jingxuan came back and saw the yard full of green plums, he was utterly confused. “Qiqi, what are you doing with all these sour fruits?”

Chu Xiaoqi, already immune to being startled by his ghostly way of calling her name, didn’t react much this time.

“Of course I brought them back to make food.”

“What? These things are edible? Even when we didn’t have enough to eat, no one thought to eat this stuff.”

Chu Xiaoqi didn’t look up and continued sorting the plums into a large basin. “That’s because you don’t know how to process them. Just wait and see.”

Seeing how confident she was, Ji Jingxuan didn’t question her further.

“Qiqi, I brought the whiteboards and charcoal pens to the academy today. My classmates were really happy to see them and asked if you’d be willing to sell some.”

Chu Xiaoqi paused and looked up at Ji Jingxuan with some surprise—This guy actually went and did some product promotion today?

Not bad. The boy’s got potential…

“Qiqi, all the classmates still attending school now come from poor families. If you’re going to sell the charcoal pens and whiteboards, could you keep the price low?”

The fire of enthusiasm that had just ignited in Chu Xiaoqi was immediately doused with cold water by Ji Jingxuan’s request.

Well, true enough. How much money do these poor scholars even have? If they had the money, they’d be buying proper ink and paper instead of this makeshift stuff.

Sigh… never mind. She had promised the heavens to be a just and righteous citizen.

“Tell them—50 copper coins for one whiteboard, 2 copper coins for one charcoal pen.”

Ji Jingxuan pursed his lips and nodded excitedly, then hugged Chu Xiaoqi tightly and rubbed his face against her arm.

“Qiqi, you’re the best—”

Chu Xiaoqi awkwardly pushed Ji Jingxuan away.

Being suddenly hugged by such a handsome guy… it made her feel a little shy.

She turned and called toward the main house, “Xiao Ze, come start the fire. Chop more kindling and toss it into the roasting stove.”

Ji Jingze came bouncing out of the house. “Okay, coming…”

Chu Xiaoqi stood up, patted the dust off her clothes, and looked up at Ji Jingxuan.

“You stay home and study properly. I’m heading to town to make more whiteboards for your classmates and to pick up a few jars and seasonings while I’m at it.”

“I—I’ll go with you…”

“Stop right there. Stay home and study properly, or I’ll beat you…”

Ji Jingxuan pursed his lips and reluctantly nodded. “Then… I’ll walk you to the bridge.”

Seeing how reluctant he looked to part, Chu Xiaoqi eventually gave in and agreed.

After entering town, she didn’t go straight to the carpenter’s shop. Instead, she first went to a general store and bought a pound of paraffin wax. Then she made her way to the carpenter’s.

“Miss, you’ve come again—what are you up to today?” the shopkeeper asked as soon as she walked in, not even stopping his work, already familiar with her.

“I’m here to talk business. I want to make a deal with you for the whiteboards.”

“A deal? Just one board again?”

Chu Xiaoqi grinned and waved her hand. “No, no—just one board? That’s not business. Come, let me explain…”

The shopkeeper, seeing how secretive she looked, didn’t really believe she had any serious business, but still good-naturedly put down his tools, wiped his face with the cloth draped over his shoulder, and walked over.

“Yesterday’s whiteboard—if you add this to the paint, I’ll pay you 30 copper coins per board.

If you provide the paraffin yourself, I’ll give you 35 coins per board.”

The shopkeeper took the paraffin and examined it. A few coins’ worth of material, and she was offering 35 coins?

“Is it really that good a deal?” he looked up at Chu Xiaoqi, half doubting.

Chu Xiaoqi nodded. “But there’s a condition…”

The shopkeeper looked knowingly—he had expected it. Nothing in this world comes for free.

“The production method must not be disclosed!”

“That’s it?”

“Yep, that’s it! If you let the ratio of paraffin to lacquer slip out, everyone will copy it, and once business is snatched away, how will we make money?”

“No problem. Even if you didn’t say so, I wouldn’t tell.”

“Great, then make ten pieces first so I can check the results.” Chu Xiaoqi untied her coin pouch and handed over 300 copper coins. “No rush—take your time. I’ll have my husband come by and pick them up tomorrow.

If there are more orders, just keep making them. I’ll settle up the next time I come to collect.”

The shopkeeper nodded. “Alright. No worries—come by at the hour of the Rabbit (around 5–7 a.m.). The shop opens early.”

“Perfect. I’ll leave you to it then. I’m off…”

After that, Chu Xiaoqi went to the general store again and bought about twenty ceramic jars of various sizes, a hundred jin of white sugar, and after some sweet talking, she got thirty jin of coarse salt at a decent price, along with some vinegar and chili peppers.

She rented an ox cart to haul the jars back home.

It was still early in the day, so many villagers saw her return.

“Qiqi, what are you buying so many jars for?”

“I’m using them to soak medicinal herbs.”

“Oh? You know herbs?”

“Just a little. Not sure if it’ll work, but I figured I’d try!”

“You better not end up poisoning yourself, girl.”

“It’s just some herbs—I won’t die…”

Behind her back, the villagers all started whispering—

The villagers laughed behind Chu Xiaoqi’s back, joking that she seemed determined to squander all the money she made from selling the wild boar before she’d be satisfied.

Chu Xiaoqi neither knew nor cared what they were saying.

After returning home, she had the men in the family carry the jars into the house and asked Ji Jinglan to wash them thoroughly. Then she poured some white liquor into each jar to sterilize them.

She dumped all the coarse salt into a large basin, then mixed it with water made from plant ash and limewater that had been filtered for several days. The Ji family watched, hearts aching at the sight.

“Xiaoqi, what are you doing dissolving all this salt? Such a waste,” Ji Father said, face full of pain.

“I’m refining fine salt. Coarse salt has too many impurities and tastes bitter. Refined salt will improve the flavor significantly.”

Ji Jingxuan and Ji Father both blurted out in unison, “Refined salt? You know how to refine it?”

“Even though I don’t have all the materials, this method should improve the purity and taste quite a bit.” Chu Xiaoqi continued working, not noticing their surprised expressions.

Refined salt was a rare delicacy. Ji Father had only seen it once during his time working in the imperial capital—and back then, it was something only royalty and nobility could afford.

Ji Jingxuan had only ever read the term “refined salt” in books—he had never even seen it in person.

Once again, he began to wonder: Has Chu Xiaoqi regained her memory?

A sense of unease stirred in his heart. He couldn’t shake the feeling that once she remembered everything, she would eventually leave him…

Two hours later, Chu Xiaoqi had crushed the dried salt blocks and stored them in one of the jars. She tasted a small pinch, smacked her lips a few times, and frowned in dissatisfaction.

“Hmm… still not pure enough. Looks like I need to adjust the ratios.”

The rest of the Ji family also tried a bit of the salt.

It was true—the bitterness was gone! To them, it already tasted great. Why was she still not satisfied?

Could there really be salt even better than this?

Once the salt was ready, she chopped the sun-dried green plums into small pieces and sprinkled them with salt to draw out the moisture, then placed them in jars.

Next, she boiled a mixture of sugar, vinegar, and chili, let it cool, and poured it into the jars before sealing them.

Ji Jinglan and Ji Mother helped with chopping the plums, while Chu Xiaoqi moved on to making plum wine. She carefully layered the plums and sugar in jars, then had the men carry them all to the cellar for fermentation.

The whole family worked until late into the night before they managed to process all one thousand-plus jin of green plums.

Chu Xiaoqi stretched and pounded her sore shoulders, hunched over as she crawled onto the kang bed—completely worn out.

Suddenly, a warm hand rested on her waist and began to gently knead it.

“You’re exhausted, aren’t you? Lie down, I’ll give you a massage…”

Chu Xiaoqi glanced at Ji Jingxuan, then obediently flipped over onto her stomach.

And wow—this annoying man actually had skill. His massage was firm yet gentle—it felt amazing.

“Qiqi, you’ve worked really hard lately. When I earn my title and pass the exams, I’ll never let you down. I promise to treat you well…”

Ji Jingxuan thought that such a heartfelt confession would move Chu Xiaoqi and make her want to stay with him.

But after a long silence with no response from her, he called softly again, “Qiqi… Qiqi…”

Did I not say it well enough to move her?

Hoo… hoo… hoo…

Just as he was analyzing what went wrong, he suddenly heard soft snoring coming from the woman lying on the bed.

She… fell asleep?

Forget it. Anything he said now would just sound empty. He’d wait until after he passed the autumn provincial exams.

At least then, she’d have something to look forward to.