Traveling back to ancient times to get rich

Chapter 25 The Exorbitant Profits of Floral Water

The cost of floral water is actually relatively low, and the production process is quite simple. Ye Qingchen had already deeply realized this during his first attempt and achieved gratifying results.

At that time, Ye Qingchen was just starting out and, with a mix of trepidation and anticipation, began her first trial. After successfully concocting her first batch of floral water—which she made directly from the alcohol, spices, mint, and honeysuckle stored in her space—she unhesitatingly entrusted it to a cosmetics shop for resale. Since she hadn't prepared any special bottles for the floral water, she had to ask the shop to provide them. Even so, a mere 20 milliliters of floral water sold for a whopping one tael of silver, and she made over 1000 taels!

Such astonishing sales results truly surprised and excited everyone. The cosmetics shop was naturally overjoyed; they had just received the goods and sold them for two taels of silver, and they were sold out in just two days. They never expected that this fragrant floral water would be so enthusiastically received. Therefore, after the first batch of goods sold out quickly, the cosmetics shop owner couldn't wait to find Ye Qingchen, earnestly hoping that she could supply a second batch of goods as soon as possible.

However, when the cosmetics shop owner returned with eager anticipation, Ye Qingchen didn't readily agree as before. She frowned slightly, lost in deep thought. After much contemplation and weighing the pros and cons, Ye Qingchen finally decided to make a significant adjustment to her original strategy. A confident light shone in her bright, star-like eyes; she had a new plan in mind—she would start selling products with a unique trademark!

Furthermore, Ye Qingchen firmly believed that no one else could replicate her homemade floral water. The reason was simple: while manufacturing alcohol was relatively easy, the fragrance was the core of the floral water, its very essence. Many young ladies from prominent families chose to buy floral water without hesitation not merely to prevent mosquito bites, but more so because they were attracted by its captivating and intoxicating aroma. After all, in this bustling and noisy world, possessing a fragrance that exudes unique charm is undoubtedly a dream for many women. Therefore, even if other similar mosquito-repellent products existed on the market, as long as Ye Qingchen firmly grasped the key element of fragrance, she was certain that her floral water would stand out and dominate the market.

The ingredients of the floral water are very simple: alcohol, distilled water, mint, and honeysuckle. Alcohol production isn't difficult either; it's made from starchy raw materials like corn, wheat, and potatoes, or sugary raw materials like molasses, through cooking, saccharification, fermentation, and distillation. She only makes a small batch each time, then infuses it with mint and honeysuckle leaves, which have cooling, antipruritic, mosquito-repellent, and analgesic effects. She then blends it with fragrances from her spatial dimension to create various scented floral waters. Fragrance extraction is relatively easy, and it's not impossible to extract it elsewhere, but the process is complex. Therefore, she only demonstrated some simple fragrance extraction methods to Bai Zhi and Fu Ling. They learned quickly and soon developed rose, gardenia, jasmine, and peach scented floral waters. Other scents were indeed difficult to make and the raw materials were hard to find, so they only made these few.

Those small porcelain bottles were meticulously commissioned by Ye Qingchen, who went to the porcelain kiln on a special trip. The bottles were entirely covered in a snow-white glaze, pure and flawless like the first snow of winter, instantly captivating the eye. At the mouth of each bottle was a cleverly placed, delicate cork stopper, its warm color complementing the bottle perfectly, appearing as if naturally formed, making them exceptionally exquisite and beautiful.

What's most unique is that a beautiful poem, written in delicate calligraphy, describes the aroma of the contents on the porcelain glaze. This not only imbues the vase with a captivating fragrance but also adds a touch of poetic charm, making it utterly enchanting. Furthermore, Ye Qingchen ingeniously had the kiln workers add his own exclusive trademark—"Yi Ye"—to the vase. These two characters are like the finishing touch, instantly making the entire vase stand out, even more eye-catching and breathtakingly beautiful.

In the courtyard, Ye Qingchen stood there, while Bai Zhi and Fu Ling, the two sisters, were busy sorting boxes of exquisite floral water for Uncle Gu, Aunt Gu, and their brother Sanqi. They all had expressions of excitement and anticipation on their faces.

"Gu Changfeng!" Ye Qingchen's clear and melodious voice rang out as she called out to Gu Changfeng, who was practicing martial arts in the courtyard, "Come and help us out!"

Gu Changfeng put down his sword, strode over, and asked with a smile, "Madam, is there anything I can do for you?"

Ye Qingchen pointed to the boxes full of floral water on the ground and said, "Husband, we would like to ask you to help deliver these floral waters to cosmetic shops in the city and various towns." As she spoke, she picked up a bottle of floral water and handed it to Gu Changfeng to see, "Look, our floral water is pure in quality and has a captivating fragrance. It will definitely sell very well!"

Gu Changfeng took the floral water and examined it carefully. He opened the cap and smelled it; the fragrance was delightful, with hints of mint and honeysuckle. He nodded in approval and said, "Indeed, this floral water is so well-made; it will surely be loved by everyone. But... how do you plan to price it?"

Ye Qingchen blinked and replied playfully, "Each bottle is 5 taels of silver! How about it, do you think that price is reasonable? I used to sell them for less than half that price, 1 tael of silver, and they were very popular!"

After a moment's thought, Gu Changfeng said, "Hmm, the price is reasonable. However, with such a large quantity, and so many places to deliver to, it might be a bit of a hassle."

But seeing the expectant look in Ye Qingchen's eyes, he patted his chest confidently and said, "Don't worry, this little thing is no problem for me! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

So Gu Changfeng gathered his men, split them into several groups, and began their delivery and payment journey. They delivered boxes of floral water to cosmetic shops one after another.

A few days later, the men returned to report, all bringing good news. Due to the exceptional quality of the floral water and its reasonable price, it quickly sold out. In the end, they tallied up a whopping 1 bottles sold! After deducting costs and other expenses, they made a surprising net profit of over 4 taels of silver!

When Gu Changfeng returned home with this good news, Ye Qingchen was not surprised, as expected. Bai Zhi and Fu Ling, on the other hand, were overjoyed and danced with delight.