Chapter 66: Product Level

Chapter 66

Product Level

The next morning, Xiao San stood guard outside the room as usual. It seemed the Young Furen hadn’t slept last night. Near dawn, when Xiao San woke up, she could still hear the voices of the Young Furen and the General. Even though she was a woman herself, Xiao San felt that the Young Furen’s voice carried an inexplicable charm that was deeply captivating. With her stunning appearance, it was no wonder the General was so enamored that he would defy his parents’ wishes for her.

Later in the morning, the General ordered water to be brought in for the Furen to freshen up. But when Xiao San placed the basin on the bedside table, the General immediately dismissed her. The Young Furen, her long hair in a disheveled mess, looked at Xiao San from the bed as if seeking help. It seemed that under the blanket, she wasn’t wearing a single piece of clothing. Sigh...how could she meddle in a husband and wife’s affairs? The Young Furen, even just waking up, was already so alluring. How could the General resist? As Xiao San left the room, she could hear the General teasing the Young Furen. Soon after, the bed began to creak louder and louder. Blushing, Xiao San hurriedly moved to stand guard farther away, at the front door.

It wasn’t until nearly noon that the Young Furen and the General finally emerged from the room. The Young Furen had a healthy flush on her face, while the General appeared lively and in high spirits. They went to have lunch with the children, who had been whining since the morning. As soon as Bao Bao saw the General, he narrowed his eyes. Ever since this man appeared, his mother had spent less time with them. Though this man seemed to care for them a great deal, Bao Bao wasn’t ready to open his heart just yet. As Bao Bao crawled closer, it appeared he noticed and turned cautiously toward the chubby infant. No doubt he had already been on the receiving end of Bao Bao’s antics plenty of times before.

When Bei Bei saw his mother, he crawled toward her affectionately. Once Nie Shuang picked him up and placed him on her lap, he happily buried his face against her warm chest. He was a peaceful and affectionate child. Bao Bao, on the other hand, grew jealous upon seeing his mother holding his younger brother. He quickly pushed away from his father and went to his mother. Hmph! Just wait. The look he gave his father seemed to convey that message.

Bao Bao climbed onto his mother’s lap, trying to squeeze Bei Bei out. Bei Bei merely glanced at him and then lifted his chubby foot to kick his mischievous older brother. Thus, a battle between the two chubby little ones ensued. Xiao Hua Hua watched the commotion and pouted. She wanted her mother to hold her too. Her cries weren’t loud, but they tugged at her parents’ hearts. Large teardrops rolled down her chubby cheeks one after another. In the end, the youngest sister won. Nie Shuang gently picked her up and began nursing her. This time, it was Bao Bao and Bei Bei who started crying, but their mother paid them no mind. Song Qilin, therefore, picked both of them up, one in each arm, and stood up. Song Qilin was tall, and as soon as he stood, they stopped crying, looking around in surprise at how everything seemed so different from this higher perspective.

Once the children stopped crying, the couple finally sat down to eat. The new father cradled Xiao Hua Hua on his lap, gently stroking her small, round head. Her hair was fine and soft, tied into two tiny pigtails, making her look utterly adorable. She was starting to get used to him, and as she sat on his lap, her little hands flailed around on the dining table, trying to grab at the rice bowl, seemingly wanting to play.

“My Xiao Hua Hua, good girl, do you want to eat something?”

Now that the children were over six months old, they could start eating solid food. Song Qilin picked up a chicken drumstick and placed it in the rice bowl, about to cut it into small pieces to feed her, when Nie Shuang scolded him.

“What are you doing! She’s still too young to eat chicken!”

Song Qilin looked embarrassed. He wasn’t used to taking care of children. Seeing Nie Shuang feed the bland, mushy food to their daughter made him feel sorry for her and want to give her something tastier. He hadn’t expected to be scolded, so he gave a sheepish smile and said,

“Xiao Hua Hua seems hungry. What should we give her to eat then?”

The wet nurse made a move to take the young miss to feed her mashed food, but the General insisted on feeding his daughter himself. His awkwardness was obvious, as his own food sat untouched in front of him. By the time Bao Bao and Bei Bei, who had been fed by Xiao Tong and the wet nurse, were full, little Xiao Hua Hua had become a messy sight. After finishing her own meal, Nie Shuang took over feeding their daughter. She glanced at the new father, who was hungrily eating his first meal of the day, and couldn’t help but feel a bit fond of him.

Once they had finished eating, the wet nurse took Xiao Hua Hua to clean her up and change her clothes. When the children were asleep, Nie Shuang went over the accounts and listened to Da Shi report on the progress of the plans nearby. Song Qilin watched his wife with admiration, never growing tired of looking at her. When she was focused on work, she seemed like a completely different person from the one who had been coquettish with him in bed. Her mind was sharp, and she gave Da Shi instructions in an organized manner. The new line of tea boxes to be sent to the Xi Region retained the same elegant and intricate design as those sold at the Xiangyun Tea House. However, they were wrapped with silver bands and labeled as being produced in Huangjing City, differentiating them from the Jiang family’s products, which had gold bands and were marked as coming from Mount Dushan.

If the tea was a product of the Jiang family’s plantation, it would be classified as a premium item, sold exclusively at the Xiangyun Tea House. The gold-banded boxes were priced thirty percent higher than those in silver-banded boxes. Even so, the silver-banded tea was still considered high-quality but more affordable for the general public. Currently, only the Lü Cui tea was available in the silver band. Next year, Nie Shuang would be able to release the silver-banded Hong Bao tea.

Song Qilin was impressed with his wife’s marketing strategy. There was an abundance of tea grown in the Ye Region, but his wife had managed to elevate something ordinary into a luxury item. She had successfully made people believe that the tea from the Jiang family’s plantation was superior to other teas, convincing them to pay more even though, in reality, when tasted, there might not be much difference.

Who was she, that she could monopolize the power to set the quality standards of tea? Why did buyers trust her word that Jiang family’s tea leaves were better than the rest? If she said it was good, no matter the price, people would buy it. The idea of using gold and silver bands to differentiate tea quality was something he hadn’t anticipated. With this system, even if others grew tea to compete with her, they wouldn’t be able to challenge the prestige of her gold-banded tea from Mount Dushan. It was clear that she had already won people over—no amount of persuasion could make them think otherwise. Seeing that he was listening intently, Nie Shuang turned to speak to him.

"The Lü Cui tea destined for the Xi Region is ready. In fact, you could organize your caravan to depart alongside it. You mentioned that this year the Xi Region can provide a thousand horses, so I’ve prepared ten thousand jin of tea. I hope you can negotiate for no more than eight thousand jin in exchange; that would be a fair deal. If you get it for less, it’s pure profit. The remainder of the tea will be sold within our region, distributed to branch stores in other cities."Song Qilin nodded, determined to help his wife in the business as much as possible. He thought, if he could secure a large profit, it would make her happy.