Bride Swap Backfire: My Cousin's Rebirth Made Us a Power Couple-Chapter 74 - 48: The Qian Family
Never mind the Li family for now; Chen Wanqing was having a rather hectic day herself.
First, a few regular customers with appointments came by to pick up their orders of Moonlight Fragrance and Dream Spirit Fragrance. Then, the neighboring auntie who sold oil-paper umbrellas came over, trying to find out if that business about a girl being promised to two families had happened in the Zhao Village.
The auntie’s eyes were sharp and full of gossip. She even asked Chen Wanqing about the other young man who had escorted her over, the one she hadn’t seen before. What was his name? Was he engaged? What was his relationship to Wanqing? What did he do for a living?
The questions came one after another, and Chen Wanqing was truly struggling to keep up.
She was terrified that one wrong word would reveal that she was the very girl promised to two families, and that the young man in question was the other groom-to-be. She could only pretend to be busy and tactfully encourage the auntie to leave.
It was unclear whether the auntie didn’t pick up on her hints or was simply bored to tears, but she just kept cracking melon seeds, leaning against the doorframe, and chatting away. Fortunately, an acquaintance soon arrived and rescued her.
It was Mrs. Ying, here to pick up some Dream Spirit Fragrance. Her elderly father had suffered from chronic headaches since he was a young man, and the pain had grown so severe in his old age that he couldn’t sleep through the night. The Dream Spirit Fragrance made by Chen Wanqing had helped him a great deal.
Mrs. Ying deftly used her words to drive the umbrella-selling auntie away. Once she saw the woman return to her own shop and sit down, she whispered to Chen Wanqing, "You’re just too soft. If you need to send her packing, just do it. Listening to her ramble on is such a waste of time."
Chen Wanqing smiled. "We’re neighbors who see each other all the time."
"Neighbors, my foot! Her shop won’t see any business for the next few months. With a whole family to feed, she’ll have to sell it off soon."
Mrs. Ying then started lecturing, telling Wanqing that the way she and her mother were running their business just wouldn’t work.
She knew their incense formulas were family secrets that couldn’t be shared, but with just the two of them making the incense, they were far too busy.
They were so busy they had no time to actually open the shop, so customers always found the place empty when they came by. They were neglecting one thing to focus on another.
Mrs. Ying even offered a solution. If Wanqing was worried about hiring workers, she should just spend the money and buy a couple of servants from a broker.
"It doesn’t matter if they’re old or young, able-bodied or disabled, male or female. Making incense is just grinding, drying, and processing, after all. As long as they’re honest and quick with their hands, they’ll be useful."
Mrs. Ying was in the tailor business and had known Xu Suying for a long time, so she was naturally familiar with Chen Wanqing too.
She was giving genuine and practical advice. Chen Wanqing truly appreciated it and was sincerely grateful. Before Mrs. Ying left, Wanqing made a point to give her two of the Compound Incense Elixirs she had been testing.
Compound Incense Elixirs, as the name suggested, were created through a special blending process to mimic expensive, rare fragrances.
This particular elixir could be used to scent clothing, perfume the body, soothe the emotions, and calm the spirit.
She had created it by modifying a recipe, using some of the surplus medicinal herbs she had at home.
As for how effective it was, she had never used it herself. Her mother, however, had said the scent was decent, long-lasting, and quite pleasant.
And one had to understand, Xu Suying had exceptionally high standards. To receive such a comment from her meant the incense must be quite good. The only issue was that it used a bit of precious agarwood, which made it expensive to produce. It would never fetch a high enough price in Qingshui County, where there was no market for such a luxury. So, Chen Wanqing had no plans to sell them, having only made a few to give as gifts and favors.
Mrs. Ying’s eyes lit up at her words.
She solemnly took the sachet with the incense pills, tucked it away carefully, and then lowered her voice to ask Chen Wanqing, "How do you use these? Are there any restrictions? What’s the price?"
"I haven’t set a price, as I don’t plan on selling them. There aren’t any major restrictions, but it should be used with caution by anyone who is pregnant. As for how to use it, it’s best heated indirectly in a censer over a silver leaf, just like with other incense. That method produces a gentler fragrance without any smokiness. But you can also put it inside a wearable sachet or bracelet. This type of incense pill releases its scent slowly, so it lasts a long time. The faint fragrance follows you around like a shadow, which is quite a lovely and interesting effect."
Mrs. Ying’s eyes gleamed. "I’m thinking of using them in my tailor shop. Do you think that would work?"
Chen Wanqing thought for a moment. "I’m afraid that won’t be enough. Your shop has a lot of clothes, and it’s a big space."
"What if I only use it to scent a few of the more expensive garments? That should be enough, shouldn’t it?"
"But if those garments don’t sell, wouldn’t it be a waste of the incense pills?"
"How could they not sell? I’m afraid demand will outstrip supply! Have you forgotten? In two more days, it’s Mrs. Wang’s seventieth birthday."
It’s said that Qingshui County is the Wang family’s ancestral home. After her husband passed away, Mrs. Wang returned to the county with her two sons, escorting his coffin. Because both of her sons were accomplished scholars, the county academy specially hired them as instructors.
