amaotonovel Chapter 216 Making Essential Oils
Chapter 216 Making Essential Oils
Mrs. Wen smiled sheepishly and said, "I haven't been to town for a long time, and I accidentally bought too much."
"It's okay. If you want to come out in the future, just tell us. There are so many people at home who can help take care of Xiaohai. Don't stay at home all the time and make yourself sick." Shen Wanning said.
Mrs. Wen nodded gently, "Okay, I remember that. Thank you, Wan Ning."
The three of them chatted casually about some family matters on the way. As soon as they returned home, Shen Wanning couldn't wait to take out the dried osmanthus flowers from the room to prepare to make essential oil.
She took out a few small porcelain bottles, put the dried osmanthus flowers in them, and finally poured tea oil into the small porcelain bottles. Finally, she took the small porcelain bottles out and put them in the sun for a week.
Aunt Gui watched her work and asked with a smile, "Are you making essential oils, my lady?"
Shen Wanning exclaimed in surprise, "Madame Gui also knows about essential oils? Aren't there many people in the capital who use essential oils?"
She hadn't been to the capital yet, so she couldn't be sure whether essential oils existed in this era.
Nanny Gui nodded. "The nobles in the palace like to use essential oils for hair care or as incense, but they are quite expensive. Originally, there was only one shop outside the palace selling them, but later the emperor summoned that person to the palace to make essential oils specifically for the nobles."
"So, it is difficult for the noble ladies in the capital to use essential oils, and only people in the palace can use them?" Shen Wanning asked again.
"That's true. Only women from important court officials' families can use essential oils," replied Nanny Gui.
Shen Wanning felt relieved now. Firstly, it showed that there was a market for essential oils, and secondly, essential oils were extremely rare, so she could sell them at a higher price.
"My Lady, the method of making essential oil is now known only to the person in the palace. So when you are making the essential oil, it is better for you to stay away from other people to avoid being seen by many people." Nanny Gui reminded again.
"Thank you for your reminder, Ma'am. I'm still in the experimental stage of this essential oil and I don't know if it will be successful. Maybe I have to try other methods. I will definitely pay attention to this aspect in the future." Shen Wanning thanked her sincerely.
The essential oil would need to be kept for a while, so she stopped caring about it and started thinking about the soap again.
Lin Dashan had already made the mold, but as for the soap, she was thinking of adding some fragrance into it so that it would live up to the name of "fragrant" soap.
After thinking for a long time, she realized that it was winter and there were no flowers, so she had to find another way and planned to make a batch of tea-scented soaps.
You only need to use the lowest quality tea leaves to extract the tea aroma.
Tea is available all year round, and tea only needs to be boiled in water, which is much more convenient than extracting essential oils.
He got to work right away. He brought some tea leaves from home, boiled them, poured them into the alkaline water extracted from wood ash, then added lard, and finally placed them in the mold Lin Dashan had made.
Because I listened to Aunt Gui's instructions, these steps were completed in her room.
It was lunchtime when Madam Hong finally showed up, and that was only after Madam Gui and the others had finished preparing the meal.
Shen Wanning wasn't going to spoil her this time. Nanny Hong had just arrived, and Shen Wanning deliberately sighed, "Hey, I originally heard that Nanny Hong had taken care of Concubine Li's child, and I was planning to let Nanny Hong live here to help take care of my second sister-in-law's child. But now it seems that Nanny Hong is old and can't get up in the morning, so forget it!"
When Madam Hong heard this, she didn't even bother to eat and hurried over to say, "This servant has experience in taking care of children, so I can naturally take good care of the young master. I just arrived and haven't adapted to the life here yet."
"Madame Hong is old, I can understand. Since Madame Hong can't adapt, then when Madame Hong adapts to life in Daqing Village, she can come and help take care of my second sister-in-law's child!"
Nanny Gui, standing by, was moved. She had long seen that Shen Wanning was no pushover. Normally, families like theirs, coming from the palace, would treat them to delicious food and drinks. No one had ever sent them to live in a house like the old mansion, like Shen Wanning had done, much less made Nanny do chores like cooking and washing.
"After last night, I have adapted. If I can live here, I will definitely be able to serve the young master well." Nanny Hong replied with a flattering smile.
"Mammy, we can only know whether it is suitable or not by seeing it. You can't just say it with words. Let's wait for a while. There is no rush." Shen Wanning refused with a smile.
Madam Hong was now regretting her decision to leave. If she had known earlier, she would have gotten up earlier and helped with some chores. She could have moved into the big house today. She wouldn't have to sleep in that leaky house anymore.
She sat listlessly on a chair and ate with everyone. After eating, she picked up the broom and swept the floor casually.
By the afternoon, the soap in the room had set and did smell faintly of tea.
In addition, tea leaves are originally green, so the soap made from them is also gray-green.
Shen Wanning came out with soap, "Madam Gui, come here for a moment."
Aunt Gui came over and bowed.
Shen Wanning handed her the soap in her hand and said, "Madam Gui, I've never been to the capital. I wonder if the noble ladies there have ever used soap?"
Nanny Gui took the soap, looked at it, smelled it a few times, and shook her head, saying, "This is the first time I've seen this thing. I don't know what this soap is used for?" Just boil the water, which is much more convenient than extracting essential oils.
He got to work right away. He brought some tea leaves from home, boiled them, poured them into the alkaline water extracted from wood ash, then added lard, and finally placed them in the mold Lin Dashan had made.
Because I listened to Aunt Gui's instructions, these steps were completed in her room.
It was lunchtime when Madam Hong finally showed up, and that was only after Madam Gui and the others had finished preparing the meal.
Shen Wanning wasn't going to spoil her this time. Nanny Hong had just arrived, and Shen Wanning deliberately sighed, "Hey, I originally heard that Nanny Hong had taken care of Concubine Li's child, and I was planning to let Nanny Hong live here to help take care of my second sister-in-law's child. But now it seems that Nanny Hong is old and can't get up in the morning, so forget it!"
When Madam Hong heard this, she didn't even bother to eat and hurried over to say, "This servant has experience in taking care of children, so I can naturally take good care of the young master. I just arrived and haven't adapted to the life here yet."
"Madame Hong is old, I can understand. Since Madame Hong can't adapt, then when Madame Hong adapts to life in Daqing Village, she can come and help take care of my second sister-in-law's child!"
Nanny Gui, standing by, was moved. She had long seen that Shen Wanning was no pushover. Normally, families like theirs, coming from the palace, would treat them to delicious food and drinks. No one had ever sent them to live in a house like the old mansion, like Shen Wanning had done, much less made Nanny do chores like cooking and washing.
"After last night, I have adapted. If I can live here, I will definitely be able to serve the young master well." Nanny Hong replied with a flattering smile.
"Mammy, we can only know whether it is suitable or not by seeing it. You can't just say it with words. Let's wait for a while. There is no rush." Shen Wanning refused with a smile.
Madam Hong was now regretting her decision to leave. If she had known earlier, she would have gotten up earlier and helped with some chores. She could have moved into the big house today. She wouldn't have to sleep in that leaky house anymore.
She sat listlessly on a chair and ate with everyone. After eating, she picked up the broom and swept the floor casually.
By the afternoon, the soap in the room had set and did smell faintly of tea.
In addition, tea leaves are originally green, so the soap made from them is also gray-green.
Shen Wanning came out with soap, "Madam Gui, come here for a moment."
Aunt Gui came over and bowed.
Shen Wanning handed her the soap in her hand and said, "Madam Gui, I've never been to the capital. I wonder if the noble ladies there have ever used soap?"
Nanny Gui took the soap, looked at it, sniffed it a few times, and shook her head. "This is the first time I've seen this thing. I wonder what this soap is used for?"
"This soap is very good at removing dirt and oil. It can be used to wash your face, hands, and even take a bath." Shen Wanning said.
She walked to the kitchen, smeared some oil on her hands, and then took Aunt Zhang to the well. "Madam, please watch over it."
Shen Wanning washed her hands with soap, dried them, and showed them to Aunt Gui.
Nanny Gui was surprised. "There is such a good thing? I have never seen it before."
"Madam, how much do you think a bar of soap would sell for if this thing were sold in the capital?" Shen Wanning asked.
Nanny Gui pondered for a moment and replied, "It depends on the production volume. If it's high, five taels of silver won't be a problem. But if the production volume is very low, the ladies will definitely rush to buy it. In this case, the price can naturally be higher. Twenty taels wouldn't be too much."
Aunt Zhang and Madam Xu were listening to Aunt Gui's words and were shocked. They had never thought that such a small piece of soap could be sold at such a high price.
"Well, if it can be sold at such a high price in the capital, it probably won't sell that much in Fuzhou. Aunt Gui, do you think it would be okay if this soap is priced at three taels of silver per piece?" Shen Wanning asked again.
"Three taels of silver is not expensive. Women's products are not cheap. I think three taels of silver will make it a big seller." Nanny Gui said truthfully.