Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination Ch. 102

Chapter 102

Soap making, iron smelting, firing glass – weren’t these the three essential enterprises for a transmigrator?

It was nearly two years since his arrival in the Ming Dynasty and he finally planned to embark on a path that a normal transmigrator should have been following. Once Cui Qi finished tidying up his drawings and returned to his room, Cui Xie took out a new sheet of paper, grinded some ink and sat at the table. Closing his eyes, he pulled open the ancient chemistry book that he had neglected for quite some time.

Making soap was simply a matter of combining fats with caustic soda (sodium hydroxide). After the saponification reaction, one would need to store it for a while, but it should not be too difficult. In his previous life, many people made their own soaps, using essential oils or even sheep milk. With his ability to now distill essences and his access to cow and sheep milk, producing these high-end skincare products for sale was extremely feasible.

He spent a considerable time perusing the index, eventually finding several recipes for face washes: there were scented bean powders, fragrant, circular soap made with spices, and pancreatin soap. Curiously, the modern method of making soap with caustic soda was absent.

As a modern literature major, although he occasionally came across soap-making in novels about transmigrators, he had never paid much attention to it. The authors had not described it with the detailed precision of an experimental design. Now, two years after his own transmigration, having spent every day memorizing and solving classical problems, he could barely remember what he had previously learned. Reflecting,  he could not even recall the temperature to heat the vegetable oil, nor the concentration of caustic soda to use. He would have to rely on his own skills to recreate it….

He opened his eyes, gazing at his hands, which were now adorned with thin calluses, resembling those of an individual in ancient times. Cui Xie signed, a gesture of resignation mixed with acceptance.

He decided to take small steps first, endeavoring to recreate the ‘Fragrant Soap’ recipe once used by Empress Dowager Cixi.

This recipe was an intricate blend of various spices, combined with soap powder and nut powder, harmonized with soapberries for smoothness. Its replication seemed rather straightforward and the soap formulas sold outside on the market typically had fewer species and used flour as a binder. Cui Xie’s premium version would omit the flour, using intricately carved molds to shape the common spherical soaps into modern, elongated bars with a cinched middle, transforming them into high-end products.

Beyond soap, there was also the possibility of creating pancreatin soap.

During the great Ming Dynasty, the use of pig pancreatin was very popular. Ten portions of pig pancreatin could be bought for just a fraction of a silver tael, making it a very commonly used industrial ingredient. It was not only used for making hand soap, but also in creating lotions —known today as, ‘fermented mixtures’, which were made out of a mixture of pig pancreatin, spices and alcohol. Cui Xie had just received a small distillation vessel from Colonel Xie, which could be used to distill the cheapest, thinnest brew into clear, bright liquor. Wouldn’t this greatly reduce costs?

However, the book mentioned that using ‘fermented mixtures’ in summer was not light enough for female skincare and that women preferred to use pancreatin mixed with goose fat, which could both cleanse and nourish the skin. The traditional method of making pancreatin involved the use of sodium bicarbonate. The Cui family’s ancestral lands in Qian’was capable of producing sodium bicarbonate, or soda ash. In Hebei, known since ancient times for its saline-alkali soil, it was possible to collect soil from their estate and refine it into relatively clean, white carbonate. Alternatively, they could gather alkali-resistant plants from mountainous areas, burn them into plant ash, and then use flour to filter out the carbonate compounds.

Both of these substances were effective for washing hands and clothes, with the only difference being that the alkali derived from plant ash could not be used for leavening dough, but only for making alkaline noodles.

The estate in Qian’an was primarily dry land and although it was near water, the soil base still contained saline-alkali materials, making its yield far less than the lands near the capital, which had paddy fields and cotton fields. If a third industry could be developed for carbonate production, not only would it be self-sufficient, but it would greatly save on wood and improve the livelihoods of those living on the estate as well.

Further on in the book, there were also recipes for anti-wrinkle, whitening and spot-removing cosmetic products, as well as refinement recipes for face powder, rouge, fragrant oils and lip balm. He transcribed these meticulously into several sheets of paper, pondering how to discreetly involve himself in such womanly affairs without drawing attention.

The next morning, as he went to the main courtyard for his meal, he coincidentally caught sight of the Second Young Miss, Yun-jie.

Cui Xie could not help but gaze at Yun-jie, observing the makeup on her face so intently that she became bashful, feeling embarrassed. Only then did he avert his eyes and speak to the Old furen, “Our Yun-jie is growing up. In a few years, she will come of age. Although we cannot take her to socialize with women from high-ranking families, we should still allocate more money for cosmetics and what not, so she can dress more elegantly.”

The Old furen looked at Yun-jie’s delicate and beautiful face, smiling, “Silly child. Yun-jie is already well-dressed. How much more does she need to adorn herself?”

Yun-jie shyly lowered her head, avoiding her brother’s gaze. Her mother sat nearby, visibly anxious, stealing glances at Cui Xie, fearful that he might refuse to allocate more money for her daughter’s needs.

Cui Xie, considering himself a straight man (TN: LOL not true, but guess he’s in self denial), was one who had traveled through time from over 500 years in the future. He may not be able to discern the nuances of light modern makeup worn by contemporary women, but the ancient style of white powder and red makeup, which would streak into red tears upon crying, who could not see this?

He smiled and said, “As her elder brother, I admit I have not paid enough attention to my sister in the past. I should make it up to her from now on. Yun-jie, are you using products from our family shop, or do you buy them from outside? Which brand do you find the best? I will have someone purchase some for you.”

Yun-jie remained silent, her head bowed. Her mother, the yiniang, seemingly disappointed in her lack of assertiveness, glanced at her reproachfully before speaking up to Cui Xie, “Yun-jie is not picky, she usually uses the cosmetics and face powders from our shop. However, the truly fine items in the Residence never reach her, a mere concubine’s daughter. For better quality items, we usually send a servant to buy them. If Da-ge desires to favor her, you need not select from the most expensive stores like the Hall of Myriad glories or the Pavilion of Precious Gold. Just sending some of the better items from our own shop would suffice.”

Cui Xie smiled and looked at Yun-jie, asking, “What kinds do you desire? As a young lady of your age, it is time for you to dress yourself beautifully. No matter what, the family should not cut corners on you.”

It was commonly said online that girls should be raised in abundance and boys in frugality. Once the cosmetics shop started making a profit, he planned to buy his sister some jewelry and fashionable garments.

Before leaving for the Imperial College, he instructed Cui Liangdong, “Bring me the best cosmetic products from our shop and the high-quality ones from other shops to serve as a comparison. Also, bring fragrant soaps and pancreatin soaps. I wonder how women can bear wearing such thick layers of makeup on their faces. Does it not feel suffocating if it is not thoroughly washed off?”

Nodding repeatedly, Cui Liangdong said, “Young Master, do not worry, I will have Cui Ting personally deliver them to you tonight.”

These days, the Imperial College was devoted to reviewing, not learning new content with the instructors’ lectures, which meant that less memorization was needed. Cui Xie could finish most of his schoolwork there, which left him free time to ponder that evening on how to revitalize the cosmetics shop.

Upon his arrival home, Cui Xie found Cui Ting already waiting for him in the small hall of the side courtyard, cradling a bundle of cosmetic products. There were the fragrant soaps and pancreatin soap he had specifically requested, as well as the dark-green, almost pitch-black, spiral shell shaped umber-black eyebrow dye, lead face powder shaped into small steamed-bun forms, peach blossom powder mixed with silver cinnabar, dry rouge made of cinnabar, rouge colored by red and blue flower extracts, white wax rouge for the lips, jasmine oil for the hair and fermented mixtures for softening the skin and hands…..

Cui Xie examined each item, growing increasingly amazed by the marvels of ancient cosmetic products.

In an era in which the chemical industry was so underdeveloped, they had still managed to create a wide array of cosmetics and skincare products. Apart from the absence of eyeliner and eyeshadow, weren’t these just like modern cosmetic products?

Watching Cui Xie’s expression, tinged with a hint of astonishment, Cui Ting felt a swell of pride. He leaned in to introduce the items: “This is the sweat-reducing face power and rouge from the Hall of Myriad Glories, an illustrious store located in the southern part of the city. This is the steamed-bun face powder sourced by our shop from Guilin ….”

As Cui Xie listened, he nodded and said, “Thank you for your efforts,” while setting aside the two items he had just been shown. He then asked Cui Ting, “Do we have any violet jasmine powder?”

Having been enthusiastically praising the products just now, Cui Ting was momentarily taken aback by the question, “What Jasmine powder?”

Had jasmine powder not been invented yet during the Chenghua reign? Cui Xie recalled reading that Empress Zhang of the 15th Ming Emperor Tianqi had introduced this powder to the palace. Perhaps it had not  been invented yet, or maybe it was only popular in the south.

This, Cui Xie realized, was an excellent opportunity to launch an exclusive product. Didn’t ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ mention that jasmine powder was light, white and fragrantly superior to lead foundation powder for the face? They could experiment with adding rouge plant extracts to the jasmine powder for coloration, avoiding lead and cinnabar to create a traditional, yet health-promoting cosmetic product.

Pointing at the two highly toxic heavy-metal based cosmetics, Cui Xie advised, “Lead powder can turn the skin greenish with prolonged use. Yun-jie is still young, don’t let her use this. Bring in some with pearl powder for now. On your next trip south, bring back a few dou of jasmine seeds on board. Extract the white kernels from inside, dry and crush them into powder. We could also start a small garden at our Changping estate, planting white and purple jasmine to make our own cosmetics.”

Cui Ting expressed his concerns, “This might be difficult to do. Our family has always sourced products from the outside and we lack the artisans who know how to make such things.”

Cui Xie pondered for a moment, then suggested, “We can hire a gardener to help us with this. It should not be too hard to plant a few jasmine osmanthus trees on the estate, right? Grinding the flower powder does not require special skills, just careful attention. We could also try planting Japanese roses and rugosa roses. Imagine if we distilled our own rose dew and sold it for eight taels of silver per bottle. Do you think there is profit to be made there?”

The profit potential was enormous!

Rose dew was usually sold at such an exorbitant price, with merchants in the middle making the bulk of the money. The cost they paid was already eight taels and selling without a markup would mean a loss, while pricing it too high would leave them unable to compete with larger shops. If they could use their own flowers to distill rose dew, would that not mean making profits manifold?

Suddenly a thought struck Cui Ting and his fingers clenched unconsciously, gripping the hem of his garment as he asked, “Is the Young Master truly referring to rose dew and not just scented oil made by soaking in roses? Scented oil would not be worth much silver.”

Cui Xie nearly rolled his eyes, “With this large bottle of hair oil right here, do you think I would not be able to tell the difference between scented oil and rose dew? Find me a clever and skilled clerk, I have borrowed a distilling vessel from Colonel Xie of the Jinyiwei and have seen how they use it. I will personally train someone for you.”

With these words from Cui Xie, it was clear the Young Master was elevating his own people, even offering guidance on how to run the shop!

The fabric shop had flourished under Cui Xie’s guidance, selling off expensive materials that had stagnated in stales; the store selling Southern goods has prospered with his ideas, turning worthless old stock into silver and even earning a plaque from the County Magistrate. If the Young Master’s intervention could also reverse the fortunes of his cosmetics shop…

Cui Ting’s smile was so wide that his teeth were showing as he nodded and bowed, saying eagerly, “This subordinate will get right on it. As for the clerk—in this subordinate’s family, there is a sixteen-year old girl, quite pretty too, brought up lovingly and delicately, no less than any young lady from a modest household. Young Master can teach her this exquisite skill. Later, if the Young Master takes her as a maid or concubine, the skill will remain within the household. It is also a token of this subordinate’s filial piety…”

Cui Xie, not accustomed to the Ming Dynasty custom of offering daughters so readily, frowned, “What nonsense are you spouting! She is your own daughter and instead of arranging a proper dowry for her to marry a kind and young husband, do you want her to become a servant or concubine? Cast aside such thoughts or do not think of keeping your shopkeeper position! Send a man instead, and find a respectable family for your daughter to marry into!”

Cui Ting was taken aback by this sudden outburst, stuttering, “If Young Master is unwilling, this subordinate dares not bring it up again! This subordinate will head back now and tomorrow, my son will be sent to learn the art from you.”

It was not that Cui Ting lacked affection for his daughter, his intention to offer her to the Young Master was to solely curry favor. He had thought, given their Young Master’s promising prospects, handsome and gentle demeanor, would it not be a good match? Even if she could only be a servant or concubine, considering the treatment of the other mistresses in the inner courtyard, would that not  be far better than marrying a man with lower status and smaller household?

Alas, the Young Master had too high of a standard, uninterested even in the possibility of having a gentle and understanding concubine who could aid in the family business. Cui Ting wondered what kind of celestial beauty the Young Master was waiting to marry.

With a disheartened look and drooping eyes, Cui Ting wished he would take his leave immediately. But Cui Xie, holding the piece of fragrant soap, sniffed it and remarked, “The scent of this soap sold outside is not very appealing. They have mixed in flour, making it slippery when using and it cannot thoroughly cleanse one’s face of makeup. When your son comes, have him bring some fragrances. I will adjust the formula to create a more pleasantly scented soap.”

Cui Xie had already drafted a list of ingredients he needed yesterday, but now, instead of using that list, he deliberately took out a fresh sheet of paper, pondering and writing down the names of various spices. He requested more spices than actually needed, deliberately omitting the quantities and asked for two taels worth for each type and a jin of horn powder. He planned to experiment with these ingredients to find the perfect proportions after they were delivered.

After Cui Ting left, Cui Xie instructed his young male servant, Songyan, to deliver the usable cosmetics to Yun-jie, also asking him to explain why should not use lead powder and silver cinnabar.

Yun-jie had been looking forward to switching to using osmanthus powder to make her skin look fair and tender. She was slightly disappointed upon seeing that it had not been sent, but her mother, Dong-shi, was overjoyed, “My silly girl. This shows how much your da-ge cares for you. If he did not truly love you, da-ge would have just sent any random thing to make your face shine, without caring if it turns your skin green over time.”

Although the lead face powder was absent, the fermented mixtures, rouge and spiral-shaped black-umbar dye were all genuinely high-quality products. Yun-jie, holding a tube of white wax rouge, admired it before quietly saying, “I do not have much to give in return to da-ge. Maybe I should make gege a sachet.”

Dong-shi smiled and said, “Yun-jie’s needlework is excellent, whatever you embroider will look beautiful. As a scholar, the accessories da-ge wears should be elegant and refined. Adding some fragrances inside would be even better.”

However, Yun-jie was only twelve and her skills were still limited, which meant much of the embroidery on the sachet was actually Dong-shi’s handiwork. They adorned it heavily with motifs of cranes and turquoise clouds. The mother and daughter redid the design several times and spent two whole days completing it. They then hurried to present it to Cui Xie at breakfast.

Cui Xie had been so busy these past few nights, sketching, advising on soap and pancreatin production, that he hardly had time to lift his head, let alone think of his younger sister. Receiving her exquisitely embroidered sachet was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. He immediately wore it on his waist and thanked her.

Yun-jie nodded shyly, “Da-ge has given me so many things, all I can give back is your sachet, it is hardly worthy of your thanks.”

As she lifted her head, Cui Xie noticed that Yun-jie had changed her makeup style. Her small face was painted white, with a faint blush of rouge on her cheeks, and her eyebrows were delicately arched upwards, giving her a more mature and alluring appearance, almost like an adult.

Cui Xie politely commented, “Mei-mei, your new makeup style makes you look more sophisticated. Who did your eyebrows? They are quite beautifully done.”

Yun-jie replied, “I did them myself. I saw the eldest daughter of the Xu family, our neighbors, wearing this style. She said it is called ‘Shangxiang Eyebrow Style’ and it is very fashionable right now.”

Shangxiang eyebrow style…did that mean there had been a time when Diao Chan and the Qiao sister’s eyebrow styles had been in vogue?

Cui Xie smiled wryly, recalling the fiery red-robed Sun Shangxiang he had drawn in one of his illustrations.

He never would have imagined, as someone who never paid attention to fashion magazines or videos, a true single man, that he would inadvertently become a trendsetter for women’s makeup in the great Ming Dynasty?!

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TN: Hope you are all doing well! A bit of merchant shenanigans from Cui Xie in this chapter and the next few! Do not worry, we will see more of the couple soon!

Huge Announcement: We have set up a kofi and patreon account! If you would like to support us or get early access to advance chapters for Blood-Sucking Empress OR TMD, those options are available for you (in support us page)! I have just added a patreon tier for Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examinations in which patreons can have access to a google document with ALL of my advanced translated chapters for the novel. Since I am a college student, there should usually be at least 10 advance chapters in the document at a time, but depending on my schedules, there may be fewer or more. I’m currently extremely busy, but I have translated out some new chapters for you all! But, I will still post each week with the same schedule. Thanks!

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