Chapter 58: Ning Yaxin Pays a Visit

After three days of felling, a broad clearing had been carved out of the forest—much larger than Xu Mo had initially expected.

The next step was to deal with the stumps left behind. Cutting down the trees hadn’t killed their roots, which still clung deep in the earth. If left alone, with time and enough rain, new saplings might one day sprout from that very spot.

For the smaller trees, everyone simply dug the roots out by hand. Once dried, the roots made excellent firewood. But handling the roots of large trees was another matter—their sprawling root systems reached far underground, and it wasn’t practical to remove them by hand.

Fortunately, Xu Mo’s background in the sciences meant this problem was hardly a challenge. He ordered people to buy coarse salt in bulk and instructed the villagers to dissolve it in water, ensuring the brine was highly concentrated. Once the brine was ready, the surface roots were dug out to expose the deeper network, and then the strong salt solution was poured over the remaining roots.

The reason was simple: trees are generally intolerant of saline soil. This treatment would thoroughly prevent the roots from growing back.

This step took the group another full three days. Once the land was leveled, it was time to lay the foundations.

Xu Mo wasn’t knowledgeable about such matters, so he left everything in the capable hands of his uncle and the two elderly carpenters from the village.

As for Xu Mo himself, he settled into a routine of sleeping by day and working by night—not out wandering the village, but meticulously experimenting with the blend of dried flower petals and fragrances needed for making soap.

The different dried petals each had their own scent intensity, so the proportions of petals and added fragrance needed to be varied accordingly. Xu Mo wanted to create a scent that was genuinely pleasant, not just something haphazard—more than just “fragrant,” or the stronger the better.

After several days of experimentation, Xu Mo finally perfected two ideal scent profiles: one peony-based, the other a blend of jasmine and osmanthus.

The peony scent came first. Peony’s fragrance resembled that of a rose—neither overpowering nor too faint, neither odd nor foreign. In Xu Mo’s opinion, it was perfectly suited to be the sole note in a single-flower fragrance.

Then there was the jasmine-osmanthus blend. At first, Xu Mo had wanted to make each into a single-note scent as well. But upon testing, he found that with the addition of fragrance oils, both jasmine and osmanthus developed a peculiar, overly sweet aroma that quickly became cloying.

So Xu Mo tried blending the two types of petal powders together and adjusted the fragrance levels with varying amounts of added scent. This process alone took him two full nights, but in the end, he succeeded in finding the right proportions to create a harmonious, enduring scent.

As for honeysuckle, Xu Mo had not managed to create a satisfactory fragrance with it. The main reason was that honeysuckle’s scent was simply too faint; any added fragrance would immediately overpower it, resulting in an unpleasant and unsubtle aroma. For the time being, he decided to set the idea of honeysuckle soap aside, hoping to find a suitable floral note to blend with it in the future.

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That morning, Xu Mo was fast asleep when Chen Miaoyi hurried into the room, nudging him awake. “Husband, wake up—Miss Ning is here.”

Xu Mo, still groggy, asked, “Miss Ning? Why is she here?”

Chen Miaoyi replied, “Husband, it’s been half a month since you signed the contract with Miss Ning. If I were her, I’d want to come see how things are progressing too.”

Xu Mo had to agree. Stifling a yawn, he got out of bed. With Chen Miaoyi’s help, he quickly dressed and went out to the courtyard. Not far outside, the Ning family’s carriage was already waiting, surrounded by a group of attendants.

Since the robbery incident, Ning Yaxin dared not travel lightly anymore.

When Ning Yaxin spotted Xu Mo, she stepped down from the carriage with her maid Ling’er. The moment she did, the women standing near Xu Mo’s aunt began whispering among themselves.

“Look at her, the young lady from a wealthy family—such fair, delicate skin, as if you could press it and water would bead up!”

“That’s right. And not just the young lady, even her maid is so pale and neat, nothing like the girls from our village, all dark and skinny, like sticks of firewood.”

Worried that their gossip might offend her distinguished guest, Xu Mo’s aunt hurriedly quieted them and shooed them away.

Xu Mo and Chen Miaoyi went out to greet Ning Yaxin and invited her inside. But Ning Yaxin said she’d prefer to first see the progress at the workshop site.

Xu Mo explained, “Miss Ning, everyone is working right now. If we go over, it’ll just get in the way. Why don’t we wait till lunchtime, when they’re all taking a break, and look then?”

Ning Yaxin, ever reasonable, nodded her assent and followed Xu Mo and Chen Miaoyi inside.

After the customary pleasantries, Ning Yaxin got straight to the point. “Mr. Xu, I came today to ask: how much longer until the soap workshop is finished?”

Xu Mo replied, “Yesterday, my uncle said it should be ready in another half a month.”

“Another half a month?” Ning Yaxin frowned.

Xu Mo explained, “Miss Ning, building a house isn’t simple. We have to clear the land, dig the foundations, set the beams and pillars, buy and transport materials—all of which takes time. Please be patient a little longer, if you will.”

Ning Yaxin nodded, then changed tack. “Mr. Xu, do you know how much a single bar of soap is selling for at the Sundry Goods Hall right now?”

Xu Mo shook his head.

She held up three fingers. “Thirty strings of cash!”

“Thirty?” Chen Miaoyi exclaimed in shock.

Xu Mo, however, was not surprised. He hadn’t supplied any soap for over half a month, and as the supply dwindled, prices naturally soared.

Ning Yaxin put her hand down and continued, “Mr. Xu, soap is all the rage among the wealthy now. I’ve heard that even people from the capital are coming here to buy it. Shouldn’t we start producing and selling as soon as possible?”

Xu Mo understood her point. With prices rising and not a single bar in her hands to sell, Ning Yaxin, as the exclusive distributor, must have been both anxious and embarrassed. In truth, her visit was less about checking the construction progress and more about urging Xu Mo to begin production as soon as possible.

“Miss Ning, I completely understand your feelings. But production really can’t be rushed. At the very least, I need to finish building the workshop. Otherwise, if we just start making soap out in the open, everyone will learn how it’s done,” Xu Mo said.

Ning Yaxin understood this, but her impatience was clear. “Mr. Xu, I do understand, but we can’t afford to delay too long. I worry there might be unforeseen changes…”

“Unforeseen changes?” Xu Mo was puzzled.

With a serious expression, Ning Yaxin said, “Mr. Xu, there are many clever people in this world. Just because you were the first to make soap doesn’t mean others can’t. It’s only a matter of time.”

Xu Mo was struck by her words, a realization dawning on him.

She continued, frowning, “If we delay too long and someone else manages to make soap as well, we’ll miss our best chance to make real money!”

Her words immediately made Xu Mo reconsider. A thought flashed across his mind: Never underestimate the wisdom of the ancients!

Xu Mo’s expression grew solemn; he bowed his head in thought. “Miss Ning, you are absolutely right! Soap is in such high demand—there may already be others racing to discover how it’s made. We must speed things up!”

With that, Xu Mo looked up at Ning Yaxin. “Miss Ning, could I trouble you to find more carpenters for me? That way, I can accelerate construction and start production as soon as possible!”

Ning Yaxin didn’t hesitate. “Leave it to me, Mr. Xu. As soon as I return, I’ll have people take care of it right away!”