Bige Transport: Have Bige Pull the Cart

Zhou Yao then came up with a brilliant idea. It could keep the Jiuyao Kilns' output on pace and make perfume an indispensable daily item for customers. Even if the Eldest Princess didn't, as long as they spread the word, she refused to believe perfume wouldn't surpass face powder in use.

She called over the woman in charge of purchasing at Golden Curtain Pavilion, and in the study, she ground new ink, wrote a list, and handed it over. The list included all kinds of flowers, fruits, woody spices, and the like.

"Select these raw materials carefully, pick the finest, and discuss cooperation with them. Have them take over supplying the raw materials in the future, and settle the accounts for Golden Curtain Pavilion monthly."

"Your Highness... today's matter has stirred up quite a fuss. People outside are all saying that Golden Curtain Pavilion's business is going to be shut down. If you go to them to set up credit at a time like this, I'm afraid no one will be willing."

She reasoned correctly; Zhou Yao frowned in embarrassment and thought for a moment, then said, "That Miss Feng who came to Golden Curtain Pavilion to send grapes earlier, what do you think of her?" Earlier, the female merchants they met at the black market had, more or less, had dealings with Golden Curtain Pavilion's purchasing staff.

"Miss Feng is straightforward. I'll go handle it right away."

Fragrant Orchid Pavilion still had leftover spices. Zhou Yao sent someone to retrieve them, then she washed them all and dried off the lingering water droplets. She placed rose petals into a porcelain bottle, poured in alcohol, and sealed it for preservation. She repeated this process for the other spices, needing only to wait another seven days.

Just as she finished making the perfume, Qing'er and Su'er ran up to her joyfully. Zhou Yao looked up and was unconsciously infected by their happy mood. She smiled and asked, "What happened to make you two so happy?"

Qing'er nudged Su'er, signaling her to speak. "At the Eldest Princess's birthday celebration today, she praised our perfume and colored glaze in front of all the nobles. It was clear that she liked them very much. She used it on the spot and even rewarded us with many things!"

"It's all thanks to Your Highness's perfume, otherwise we wouldn't have received such rewards."

Zhou Yao smiled. "As long as the Eldest Princess likes them, then it's good. After Fragrant Orchid Pavilion does a bit more publicity, the perfume will likely sell out soon."

"Yes, it's just that the process is a bit troublesome, but now Fragrant Orchid Pavilion has many hands, so they should be able to manage."

"You've been talking for so long, why haven't you told Your Highness?" Qing'er reminded Su'er, looking mysterious.

"That's because I wanted her to guess!" Su'er retorted.

Qing'er smiled and said, "When the feast was over, the Eldest Princess's maid stopped us and said she would be willing to buy perfume regularly in the future, and that we should deliver thirty bottles to the Eldest Princess Mansion at the start of each month."

"Thirty bottles?" Zhou Yao looked at them in surprise and doubt.

"Yes! The Eldest Princess also had her maid give some deposit money. It should arrive at Fragrant Orchid Pavilion soon."

"Did the Eldest Princess specify which fragrance?"

They shook their heads. "The Eldest Princess only said it should be in season. In addition, it seems she also wants a set of colored glaze jewelry, and asked if we have any."

Colored glaze jewelry...

"You two have worked hard today. You can arrange the afternoon as you like. I'll give you the rest of the day off."

— — — — — —

While waiting for the perfume to steep, she was taking care of the Imperial Physician. She also didn't forget to add fresh spices to the porcelain jars daily and stir them repeatedly. When she opened them again, the scent of roses rushed to meet her. She took gauze and filtered out the spent petals. She bottled the remaining perfume into colored glaze bottles. This time, she made about ten bottles of just the rose fragrance. The other spices went through the same process.

The finished perfume was stored in Fragrant Orchid Pavilion's storeroom by others. The newly purchased spices soon entered a new round of production. After teaching Su'er and the others two or three methods of making perfume, Zhou Yao stopped interfering, letting them handle the rest in Fragrant Orchid Pavilion's backyard.

"Your Highness, this batch of perfume is well stocked. Even if we sell a thousand bottles a day, it would be enough."

"Let's price it at four thousand six hundred gold per bottle to test the market. If the price is right, we'll gradually release new products later. If it's not suitable, we'll tell customers that a new store is opening and launch a glass bottle recycling program."

"After the first time they buy perfume at full price and use it up, they can bring the empty glass bottle back to Fragrant Orchid Pavilion and receive a glass token," Zhou Yao said, taking out a thin, square piece of glass prepared in advance, stamped with Golden Curtain Pavilion's emblem. "With this, they can enjoy a 31% discount when they buy perfume again next time." She thought for a moment, "These days, give all customers who buy face powder a free trial."

"For perfumes that are complex to make and require distillation, charge ten thousand gold per bottle. After these base scents have steeped, we can add other fragrances to mix them on top of that for sale."

"Yes," Su'er agreed, "But how long can customers try the perfume?"

"Also, this fragrance stays on the skin for about a day... if they try multiple, the scents tend to mix."

Zhou Yao thought for a moment. "Place a small piece of silk cloth with a drop of perfume in front of each scent, so customers can pick their preferred fragrance. If they confirm they like it, then put a drop on their skin to test. As for the duration, let it continue indefinitely."

"What we need to do is take care of each customer's mood. Assign tasks well and keep accurate records of the perfume ratios for each batch."

As the days passed, Qi Yanhan's injuries improved considerably. The Emperor's decree had already been delivered to the Qi Mansion; otherwise, Old Qi wouldn't have remained so quiet for so long.

On the second day after her father issued the decree, Zhou Yao heard some things she'd never known before from customers drinking tea at Golden Curtain Pavilion. Old Qi and Old Zhao had appeared to be at odds, but behind the scenes, they had helped each other embezzle up to thirty million taels of gold from the national treasury's disaster relief funds.

Both were stripped of their positions and scheduled to be publicly executed on the third day of the month. Considering Qi Yanhan was the Ninth Princess's husband, he was to manage the remaining Qi family properties, exempted from the death penalty, but he was confined to the mansion for three months. As for the Zhao family, all their assets were confiscated to the national treasury, and the entire family was exiled to Lingnan.

Zhou Yao felt this was a complete reshuffling of the court. If she wanted to vie for power with the Crown Prince, this was the only chance—and moreover, it was the best chance.

Turning around, Zhou Yao noticed Bige lazing around in the courtyard, plump and idle. Its large ears had at some point been tied up with red strings, and they now stood straight up on its head.

"Woof woof woof!" As soon as Bige saw her, it ran and jumped in place, spinning around twice, and rolled over to show its soft belly.

While she was absorbed in petting the little Bige, five miniature Biges emerged from the courtyard. She asked all the servants at Golden Curtain Pavilion, but none knew where they came from.

If resentment could materialize, there would definitely be a group of ghosts full of question marks floating above Zhou Yao's head right now.

Biges in their best years are very adorable! This, Zhou Yao admitted. But... Why were there so many Biges popping up?!?!

The evil cute little Bige soon revealed its true nature. The newly repaired lawn was dug into a deep pit by it. Its little paws, which had a milky scent just now, were now covered in mud.

Bige's energy was still too abundant, Zhou Yao sighed inwardly. Following the rule that Golden Curtain Pavilion doesn't keep idle members, she thought for a moment, got up, and went straight to the study.

Since Golden Curtain Pavilion and Fragrant Orchid Pavilion lacked people to deliver glassware and perfume, why not abolish the previous scheme of paying individuals separately? Spend a little money to accomplish a big task—let the trained Biges do the deliveries. This would save on labor and her money, and also let Bige burn off its excess energy. Most importantly... this! Saved her money again!!

It was simply a money-saving master plan!

She picked up a brush and drew a sketch on silk cloth, scaling down a horse carriage design proportionally. She modified the original carriage area to be just the right size to fit a wooden box for the glassware. In front, where the horse would be harnessed, she adjusted it to fit Bige's size. This would perfectly achieve the design—with the trained Bige running in front and carrying goods behind, greatly reducing the pressure on staff.

As for training Bige, that could naturally be left to Duyun to handle. Zhou Yao was one to act on her ideas. Once the ink dried, she had her serving girl take the silk cloth to the carpenter to build it. Zhou Yao thought: Duyun had been staying at her residence to care for Qi Yanhan recently. Instead of being idle, he might as well help her train Bige. She sent someone to have Bige delivered to the Princess Mansion, then informed Duyun. With that, the matter was settled.

Afterward, the perfume went on official sale. She was always worried that the production of glassware couldn't keep up, so in the afternoon, she submitted an application to open several more kiln sites on a large empty piece of land beside the Jiuyao Kilns. The kiln application should have been approved quickly. Zhou Yao had originally expected it to take about three days. But Zhou Yao waited a full fifteen days. Even Qi Yanhan, that patient, had woken up, and her application still hadn't been approved.

She had greased all the right palms. Which step had gone wrong? Zhou Yao couldn't figure it out. The next morning after court ended, she waited at the palace gate.

"Minister Zhu, please wait." She sat lazily in the carriage. After Ling'er lifted the curtain beside her, Zhou Yao tilted her head toward Minister Zhu. That person, dressed in a fourth-rank official's robe, nervously bowed to Zhou Yao. "This humble official pays respects to the Ninth Princess."

"There is no need for such formality, Minister. I've come only to ask why the application for new kilns from Golden Curtain Pavilion hasn't been approved for so long."

"This..." He hesitated, glanced around at the surroundings, and lowered his head in consternation.

Seeing this, Zhou Yao knew in her heart what was going on. She took the initiative to help him out, saying, "If you don't mind, Minister, shall we discuss this somewhere else?" He gave a slight bow, tacitly accepting her suggestion.

"Then let's go have a seat at Golden Curtain Pavilion," Zhou Yao said, having Ling'er let the curtain down. "Let's go."

In the private room at Golden Curtain Pavilion, Ling'er placed the brewed tea on the table, the glassware and cups shimmering in resonance.

"Since the store opened, Minister Zhu probably hasn't visited Golden Curtain Pavilion before, right?" Zhou Yao smiled politely. "This is this year's fresh West Lake Longjing tea. Would you like to try it, Minister Zhu?" Having said that, Zhou Yao naturally picked up her tea cup and took a sip.

She set the glass cup down forcefully on the table, producing a crisp sound.

"Do you have some grievance against me, Minister Zhu? Why do you have to make things difficult for Golden Curtain Pavilion at every turn?"