Chapter 148: There Are More Important Things Waiting for Us to Do

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The moment Xu Mo returned to Ancient Mountain Village, Xu Tieshu and Xu Hui came to find him and told him about the soap formula being leaked.

Chen Miaoyi, Qin Mutou, and Xu Ping'an were there as well. It was obvious that everyone was deeply worried about the matter.

“Don’t look so gloomy,” Xu Mo said. “Didn’t I tell you before? Making soap is too simple. It was bound to get out sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.”

Xu Tieshu frowned. “That may be true, but I thought it would at least take a year or two. I never expected it to happen after only a few months... Alas!”

“Cousin,” Xu Hui said, “we can’t just let this go. We have to find the person who leaked the formula and punish him severely!”

Xu Ping'an agreed with his sister and immediately nodded.

“I certainly want to find that person too, Huihui,” Xu Mo said. “But let me ask you this: there are so many people in our soap workshop. How are we supposed to investigate? Where do we even begin?”

Xu Hui was stumped and could not answer for quite some time.

Xu Ping'an suddenly said, “Cousin, I think there’s a good chance it was Li Sanshui.”

“Li Sanshui?” Xu Mo had nearly forgotten about him. Only when Xu Ping'an mentioned his name did he remember.

Xu Tieshu immediately said, “Ping'an, don’t make reckless accusations. Li Sanshui is part of the delivery team. He can’t even enter the workshop. If it was him, how could he have stolen the formula?”

Xu Tieshu fervently hoped Li Sanshui was not responsible. He had been the one to recommend Li Sanshui. If Li Sanshui really had done it, Xu Tieshu would bear a great deal of responsibility.

Xu Ping'an did not have any definite evidence either, but his instincts told him it was Li Sanshui.

“Father, I just feel that it was him,” Xu Ping'an said. “Think about it. He hasn’t come back all this time, and not long after he disappeared, Pearl Brand Soap appeared. Don’t you think that’s far too much of a coincidence?”

Xu Hui thought it over, then immediately nodded. “That’s right, Father! Brother has a point. Li Sanshui is highly suspicious.”

Xu Tieshu’s face tightened. “Suspicious or not, we can’t falsely accuse someone without evidence!”

Xu Mo did not want the discussion to stray off course, so he quickly clapped his hands and interrupted them. “Everyone, stop for a moment. Listen to me first...”

Only then did the room fall silent.

Xu Mo said with great seriousness, “In my opinion, this matter will be extremely difficult to investigate. For one thing, there are too many people in the workshop. Apart from ourselves, anyone could be a suspect...”

“For another, finding evidence will be difficult. We won’t be able to tell whose words we should believe and whose we shouldn’t.”

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“If we investigate endlessly and still fail to uncover the truth, it won’t just damage everyone’s relationships—it will also affect the workshop’s productivity!”

Xu Mo felt that the formula’s leakage was already an established fact. Even if they spent a great deal of time and effort finding the culprit, they would not be able to reverse the situation before them.

“Husband, are you saying... we shouldn’t investigate?” Chen Miaoyi asked.

Xu Mo nodded firmly. “That’s right. We won’t investigate it. There are more important things waiting for us!”

“What things?” Xu Tieshu hurriedly asked.

The others were curious as well, and all their eyes turned toward Xu Mo.

“We must quickly seize the mid-range and low-end consumer markets,” Xu Mo said solemnly. “We absolutely cannot let Pearl Brand get there first!”

Xu Tieshu did not quite understand. “What are the mid-range and low-end markets?”

Xu Hui explained, “Father, the people currently buying our soap and scented soap are wealthy households. That is what we call the high-end consumer market.”

“The mid-range and low-end consumer markets refer to ordinary households that aren’t as wealthy. What Cousin means is that we must quickly make it possible for ordinary families to buy our soap and scented soap as well. We cannot let Pearl Brand Soap gain the advantage.”

“That’s exactly what Huihui said.” Xu Mo nodded at once and cast Xu Hui an approving glance.

Xu Tieshu immediately said, “But how can ordinary families afford them? Our soap costs eight strings of cash per bar, and the scented soap is even more expensive. Anyone who isn’t wealthy simply can’t afford it!”

“Uncle, I met with Miss Ning earlier,” Xu Mo said. “We discussed lowering the prices...”

He then explained the plans to offer additional goods for bulk purchases and to sell special-value gift packages.

When Xu Tieshu heard that so many items would be sold for only twelve strings of cash, he was stunned. “What...? Isn’t that far too cheap?”

“Uncle, have you forgotten how much our costs are?” Xu Mo reminded him.

Xu Tieshu fell silent. After thinking it over carefully, he realized Xu Mo was right. Even at twelve strings of cash, they would still make a considerable profit.

“Besides, Miss Ning and I have already reached an agreement,” Xu Mo continued. “No matter what price Pearl Brand Soap sets in the future, our Peony Brand will always be one hundred copper coins cheaper. We must maintain our price advantage at all times!”

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

“Husband, what should we do from now on?” Chen Miaoyi asked.

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Xu Mo answered without hesitation, “First, we’ll expand the workshop and hire more people so that we can rapidly increase production!”

“Second, we’ll alter the soap and scented-soap molds and make the bars a little larger, thereby improving Peony Brand’s competitiveness in the market!”

...................................

Early the next morning, Xu Mo’s family split up and got to work.

Before dawn, Xu Tieshu and Xu Ping'an had already left for Xizhou City. Their tasks were to hire carpenters to return and expand the workshop, as well as to make new soap molds.

Xu Mo and Qin Mutou went from house to house, informing everyone that the soap workshop was hiring again. There were no restrictions on age or gender. As long as people were willing to work diligently, the workshop would employ them.

As for Xu Hui and Chen Miaoyi, they invited Fifth Aunt and several other women to set up a table in an open area of the village. They called out continuously, announcing that anyone willing to work at the soap workshop could come over and register immediately.

As news of the hiring spread, the villagers streamed into the open area and scrambled to sign up.

Those who had failed to register the last time were especially eager.

Fortunately, Fifth Aunt and the other sturdy women were there to help. Otherwise, if it had been left to Xu Hui and Chen Miaoyi alone, the table would have been knocked over by the crowd.

In less than two hours, the registration book was packed with names, as though the entire village had come to sign up.

Xu Tieshu and his son were equally efficient. In just one day, they had reached agreements with more than twenty carpenters, who promised to come to the village and begin work within two days.

Two days later, the workshop expansion officially began, and the entire village suddenly became a hive of activity.

There were more workers this time, and Xu Mo was also offering higher wages, so everyone worked with exceptional zeal.

In just three short days, nearly half of the expansion had been completed.

Although everyone else was busy, Xu Mo found himself somewhat idle.

There was no need for him to involve himself in the physical labor. All he had to do was inspect the site every few days to check on the progress and ensure the quality of the work.

So Xu Mo took Qin Mutou with him. Early each morning, they went around the village gathering nitrate-rich soil, then returned home to produce saltpeter. In their own way, they were kept quite busy.