Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 224 Perfume and Fruit Wine

With tangible benefits at their fingertips, the newly recruited servants got to work quite smoothly.

The Lin family home, which had been somewhat quiet, soon became lively again.

This state lasted for a month before reaching its peak when Lin Zhiqing rewarded him again.

Watching the servants collect their money and leave, Lin Yangyang's heart bled. She couldn't help but follow in Lin Zhiqing's footsteps.

"Sister Qing, although we've made some money from our violet perfume, it can't withstand such a huge expenditure."

Lin Zhiqing was initially puzzled as to why Lin Yangyang would ask such a question, but after a moment's thought, she quickly realized the reason:

"Cousin, have you received your brother's letter?"

"A letter? I think I received it, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet." Lin Yangyang asked, puzzled, "What does this have to do with money?"

"Of course it's related." Lin Zhiqing put the abacus aside and scribbled on the paper.

The distance from Shengjing City to Yunnan is far, and it would take two to three months to travel by water.

If traveling by land, even with a light carriage and following the routes of the post stations, it would still take at least a month.

Lin Zhiqing initially thought his cousin would take several months to travel, but he rode at full speed and took the land route.

After spending a month in Yunnan, he immediately did a lot of things according to Lin Zhiqing's ideas.

Lin Yangyang couldn't understand those messy characters and could only wait for Lin Zhiqing to explain.

"Once our violet perfume sells, it will just cover the cost of the flowers we bought earlier," Lin Zhiqing said with a smile.
"But in Yunnan, perfumes made from fresh flowers are more popular."

"Huh? Isn't this kind of thing very common in Shengjing City?" Lin Yangyang had previously learned about this perfume from Lin Zhiqing, so she naturally knew some of the general information.

Lin Zhiqing shook his head: "It's common in Shengjing City, but this commonness is only for the rich, and the price is expensive."

"Are you willing to spend several taels of silver on a bottle of perfume?"

Lin Yangyang shook her head vigorously: "Of course I can't bear to part with it."

Lin Zhiqing pointed to the bottles of perfume on the table: "These are perfumes that my cousin asked someone to bring back from Yunnan. Try them out."

Lin Yangyang picked up the small bottle and poured out a drop.

In an instant, a unique fragrance was released.

Even Lin Yangyang, who never uses perfume, couldn't help but take a deep sniff:

"What is this smell? I've never smelled it before."

“Camellia,” Lin Zhiqing replied. “Besides camellias, there are also cherry blossoms.”

"I've never heard of any of these flowers you mentioned. They must be very expensive, right?" Lin Yangyang raised her hand and waved it near her nose.

“One ounce per bottle,” Lin Zhiqing replied.

"What! One tael?" Lin Yangyang was somewhat surprised, then frowned: "Is Shi'an out of his mind? He's selling such a good thing for such a low price."

In fact, one or two taels of silver is not cheap for ordinary people.

But compared to perfumes in Shengjing that cost more than ten taels of silver, this price is really affordable.

"Only people with some money would buy this. Yunnan has plenty of fresh flowers, and they're not expensive. Even if we price it at one tael, we'll still make a profit," Lin Zhiqing explained.

The reason is simple: the target audience for perfume is not ordinary people, but wealthy people such as businessmen.

Perfumes from Shengjing City were more complex and sophisticated, and therefore more expensive, making it difficult for them to spread to other places.

Lin Zhiqing moved the market to Yunnan, which was actually taking advantage of the information gap.

Locally sourced materials result in low raw material costs.

Local sales reduce transportation costs.

Caravan cooperation resulted in a wide reach.

Production is high, and prices are low.

In these respects, it still has some advantages compared to the complex and varied perfumes found in Shengjing City.

Different target audiences mean different markets to capture.

Lin Zhiqing calculated that they had earned more than five thousand taels of silver in the past month.

However, since this perfume is not something only they can make, it cannot be ruled out that someone might go to Yunnan to imitate its production.

After Lin Zhiqing made money, aside from his daily expenses, he basically gave the rest to Lin Shi'an to expand the market, mainly by buying mountains and land.

Yunnan is a treasure trove.

Green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets.

But it's not just the perfume that brings about this.

Before Lin Zhiqing could finish speaking, Lin Yangyang couldn't resist opening the other bottles of perfume and smelling them.

A moment later, she noticed something different: "This perfume doesn't smell like flowers, it smells more like..."

“It tastes like cherries,” Lin Zhiqing replied.

"Cherries? Aren't they supposed to taste sour and astringent? How come they smell so sweet now?" Lin Yangyang's nose twitched again.

"No, this perfume wasn't treated properly; it still smells like alcohol."

Lin Zhiqing chuckled: "Your nose is really sharp at this time of year; the cherries from Yunnan are very sweet."

“Take a close look and see how this differs from the perfumes we just had.”

"Different?" Lin Yangyang scratched her head, looked down, and quickly noticed the difference.

The perfume bottle was about the same size as the pill bottle, very small.

But this water, which has a wine and cherry flavor, is served in an exquisite bamboo tube.

She had initially assumed they were all perfumes, so she hadn't paid much attention.

Lin Yangyang lowered her head, sniffed carefully, and quickly discovered the clue:
"Is this wine?"

“That’s right, it’s called cherry wine.” Lin Zhiqing poured some into a glass.

Lin Yangyang took a bite and her eyes lit up: "It's sweet!"

"Not bad, this is fruit wine." Lin Zhiqing also took a sip; the taste was indeed quite unique, just right for a woman.

After downing a glass of wine, Lin Yangyang was still somewhat unsatisfied.

Lin Zhiqing quickly put the bamboo tube away:
“These are for your eldest uncle and fourth uncle to try. If you drink them all, there won’t be any left.”

"Okay." Lin Yangyang smacked her lips, seemingly savoring the moment.

Lin Zhiqing was amused by her actions.

In fact, there are many other types of this wine.

Besides cherry wine, there are several other wines with different flavors, such as mulberry wine and rose wine.

How could one earn so much money in such a short time just from perfume?

Lin Zhiqing racked his brains and finally came up with a way to make money with fruit wine.

She had attended the Spring Banquet and drunk the wine at the banquet.

Perhaps because the Great Sheng Dynasty valued martial arts, even the women drank strong liquors like peach blossom wine and daughter's red wine.

However, the refreshing and mild taste of fruit wine is actually more suitable for occasions such as banquets.

Both their perfumes and fruit wines have become quite well-known in Yunnan.

Once something appears on the market, countless people will inevitably imitate it.

Both of these are very simple to make; the point is to enjoy them fresh.

If some businessmen are envious, they might also go to Yunnan to develop their businesses. In fact, people in Yunnan are starting to utilize local characteristics for development.

That's why Lin Zhiqing wanted to make money as quickly as possible and buy as much of the mountains and land in Yunnan as possible.

Although this is just a preliminary idea, and she doesn't have that much money right now, dreams always come true eventually.

Getting back to the point, although Lin Zhiqing still had many different kinds of fruit wine, she couldn't give them all to Lin Yangyang.

Firstly, she intended to take these things to Bianliang, where commerce was even more developed than in Shengjing.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, she could ostensibly go to Bianliang to discuss cooperation and do business, while secretly seeking out Lin Jingya to inquire about the specifics of poisoning her cousin—killing two birds with one stone.

Secondly, if Lin Yangyang gets drunk again, her plan to go to Bianliang will have to be put on hold.

Time is urgent and there is no time to delay.