Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination Ch. 103

Chapter 103

Just a couple days later, the recruitment and procurement team of the Peace of Mind Study set sail southwards.

This was the Peace of Mind Study’s first procurement trip to Fujian since its grand opening and it also involved recruiting new staff. Shopkeeper Ji took this task very seriously, overseeing every detail personally. He wished that he could undertake the journey himself. However, given his advanced age, Cui Xie was concerned about him traveling such a long distance. Eventually, it was decided to have Clerk Fang, who frequently traveled to the south, to lead the team from the old Cui Southern Goods shop.

The clerks of the Southern Goods shop had previously taken much pride in their exclusive knowledge of long-distance procurement routes. However, since the dismissal of Cui Dahui to the ancestral home and the subsequent sale of the store by the Young Master, they had come to realize who truly held the reins of power in the household. As a result, they humbly accepted their roles and worked diligently, their tail between their legs.

Cui Xie had them sign a business outsourcing land contract with the Peace of Mind Study, which was officially certified by the government authorities, making Clerk Fang a semi-proprietor in their eyes. Since Clerk Fang was experienced in long-distance travel and had the necessary connections and knowledge of proper traveling etiquette, he managed to keep the team in line, quelling even the thought of any mischief occurring on the journey.

Since the Cui cosmetic and fabric shops also needed to restock, Cui Xie instructed the shopkeepers of both shops to list the items they needed to purchase. The Cui family then chartered two boats, appointing two skilled accountants to oversee the journey. The boats from both shops joined to form a convoy, offering safety and companionship as they sailed on their journey.

Given the challenging terrain and numerous checkpoints along the way, Cui Xie provided Clerk Fang with a letter of introduction from Advisor Cui, advising him to use it to facilitate relationships and ease their passage.

In the capital, they had done all they could, the journey was now in the hands of the long-distance team.

After Clerk Fang left, the family’s main store back in their hometown was left without supervision. Shopkeeper Ji, occupied with affairs in the capital, could not leave, and sent Cui Yuan back alone to oversee things. He also arranged for someone to transport manuscripts of the twelfth and subsequent volumes back to the capital.

The wood printing blocks for the Three Kingdom series at the Peace of Mind Study had been purchased earlier. For typesetting, they just needed to add narrow strips engraved with commentary around the existing text blocks, which was fairly convenient. Although Cui Xie had been unable to update the illustrations during his examinations and time spent in the capital, the text had already been printed up to eightieth chapter. They only needed to engrave new printing blocks for the illustrations and colorful covers, and then bind everything together to complete the books.

When Shopkeeper Ji came to the capital to open the branch, he had brought many artisans and apprentices with him. While the apprentices were not yet proficient in printing, they were skilled in binding and packaging books. Hence, they were able to continue printing and releasing new volumes in the capital, quickly producing the twelfth and thirteenth volumes.

Shopkeeper Ji had also arranged for skilled artists to trace the two big portraits in the store, following Cui Xie’s suggestion. They also engraved new printing blocks for the faces and hands for printing, while the rest of the portrait was manually colored within the traced lines. If they had solely relied on hand-drawn illustrations for such large portraits, not only would it have been time-consuming, but the images could have easily become distorted. By setting the hands and faces first, minor discrepancies in the shoulders and garments were less noticeable. Even without close scrutiny, the figures remained lively and attractive, and it was sure to attract customers.

The affairs of the store were always well-managed by Shopkeeper Ji, sparing Cui Xie the need to worry about every single detail. However, what truly demanded his attention was the cosmetics shop right now.

After Cui Ting had been brought in for a private discussion, he quickly sent over his son, about an eighteen or nineteen-years-old youth named Cui Liang, to assist Cui Xie in learning how to make rose dew and fragrant soaps.

The soap required a variety of spices and medicinal herbs, which were not readily available all at once, so only a few packets of powdered medicine were initially delivered,  none of which Cui Xie recognized. However, fresh flowers were much easier to procure, especially cape jasmines, which were in full bloom at the moment. Several different flower gardens located in the suburbs of the capital supplied such flowers. Since only a few jin of fresh flowers were needed in the initial trials, the labor involved in the creation process was minimal. Cui Liang brought cleaned and dried flowers on the night he came to meet Cui Xie.

Cui Xie was a man of practical action. Seeing Cui Liang arrive, he immediately had him change into work clothes and meticulously instructed him to clean the distilling vessel gifted by Colonel Xie. He then fetched a jar of precious high-proof alcohol and had Cui Liang use a cotton ball soaked in the alcohol to sterilize the vessel’s interior.

Hosever, the distilling vessel from Colonel Xie was slightly different from the typical apparatus used for distilling rose dew.

A standard distiller for making rose dew was small and round, consisting of two parts: an upper section, the head, and a lower pot. The flowers were placed directly at the bottom of the head of the upper section, with a sieve on top. An inverted dome-shaped lit sat above, its hollow chamber used for cooling the water. Around the sieve, there were grooves to collect the condensation that formed. Heat was applied to the pot, causing water to boil and essential oils could be extracted from the flowers, which then dripped out from a spout at the bottom of the head of the upper section.

The distiller for making liquor, dating from the late Qing Dynasty, was a long, cylindrical vessel placed directly over a stove for steaming. The spout is connected to a ring of condensation channels around the top of the vessel. The lid of the vessel was hollow, allowing water to be poured inside. This water would cool the steam, condensing the vapor containing the extracted essential oils, into liquid form.

Though the tools were different, the principle was still the same: using steam to extract essential oils.

The chemistry book only briefly mentioned ancient distillers in the chapter on alcohol distillation, without including detailed instructions on their use. Cui Xie, having only seen the large distilling vessel used for making liquor, adapted the method for distilling alcohol. He instructed someone to find a copper sieve to place inside the distiller, laying the flowers on the sieve and filling the area under it with water. Once the water inside heated up, he opened the water inlet at the top of the stiller and poured in crushed ice made from saltpeter. As the ice melted, the water was scooped out in order to continue adding ice. The seam, upon meeting the cold, slowly dripped down the condensing pipe into a small, plain white porcelain bottle placed for catching the drippings.

After several rounds of ice in the lid, the distillation process yielded only half a bottle of snow-white floral dew, with a thin layer of essential oil floating on the surface, nearly indistinguishable from plain water at first glance.

Noticing the slow dripping of liquid from the condenser, Cui Xie removed the covering cloth and asked Cui Liang to extinguish the fire. They then took the bottle containing the dew and essential oils, returning to Cui Xie’s courtyard for further examination.

The courtyard was not particularly cool, but having just emerged from the stifling, dripping heat of the kitchen, the two felt a refreshing breeze as they pulled down their face coverings. Cui Liang sealed the porcelain bottle with a cork and inhaled the fragrant air that had escaped and permeated everything, so intense that it almost numbed his sense of smell. He sighed, “I have always loved the scent of this floral water, dreaming of the day I could afford to buy a bottle for my wife to use. But now, I almost wish she would never need to use makeup again.”

Cui Xie chuckled, “I fear it is not that you will dislike the fragrance, but rather she may find you too fragrant, insisting you bathe every day.”

Cui Liang lifted his arm to sniff and said with a wry smile, “Right now, my nose is overwhelmed with this uncomfortably intense fragrance. I cannot even tell where it is coming from.”

While they had been distilling in the small kitchen, the pot had been crammed with fresh flowers, filling the room with their fragrance, making it impossible to discern the source of the scent. But, as they carried the floral dew from the kitchen to his chambers, the night breeze dispersed some of the floral aroma. Once their sense of smell was refreshed, they were able to appreciate the delicate, crisp and rejuvenating fragrance emanating from their bodies.

Cui Liang, having removed his outer robes at the door, sat in the side hall dressed only in his middle garments. He held the bottle with both hands, slightly opened the cork and wafted the fragrance from a distance repeatedly, sniffing deeply and trembling slightly as he said, “This is the flower dew. Several jin of flowers are distilled just to make a little bit of essence…”

Cui Xie asked him, “How does it compare to the floral dew from the Western Regions?”

Cui Liang honestly replied, “It is hard to say. I have never seen floral dew made from these southern flowers for sale. The ones available are usually from roses or similar flowers, with a sweeter and more intense fragrance. Moreover, though this floral dew smells good now, who knows how long the fragrance will last.”

Silly boy, what they had distilled was pure floral dew with a layer of genuine essential oil on the surface. As long as the essential oil did not completely evaporate, the fragrance would remain whenever the bottle was opened.

However, the issue of oil-water separation was an area that needed further investigation. The layer of essential oil on top could be sold at a higher price. It would be somewhat wasteful to sell it mixed with the floral dew.

Cui Xie took the bottle of floral dew and gently fanned the fragrance towards his nose. The scent was pure and robust, without any hint of a burnt smell, indicating this was a high quality product. As for whether its fragrance was long-lasting, that could be tested later.

After corking the bottle, he said to Cui Liang, “It is getting late. You should find a room in this courtyard to sleep in for tonight, we can discuss other matters tomorrow. When you go out, ask Songyan to prepare bath water—tell him to use only soapberries, no fragrant soaps or pancreatin, and to refrain from fumigating my robes for tomorrow. I am overwhelmed with all this fragrance and need a break from it for the next few days,

Soon, Songyan arranged for water and soapberries to be brought to the bathroom. Cui Xie untied his hair and washed it several times with the soapberried water, feeling relieved only after he thought he had rid himself of the day’s acquired scents.

The next morning, Cui Xie took the floral dew to the main courtyard, asking the Old furen if he could borrow a maid to have her try it out.

The fragrance of jasmine he had distilled in his courtyard’s kitchen had permeated the entire courtyard. Rising in the morning, he was enveloped in the scent, but having become accustomed to it, he hardly noticed it. However, upon entering the main courtyard, everyone detected the aroma emanating from him, casting curious glances his way. They suspected that he had become so enamored with the freshly distilled floral few that he had applied it to himself.

Unaware of what was happening, Cui Xie approached his grandmother with the floral dew in hand, “Yesterday, Shopkeeper Cui Ting brought several jin of cape jasmines, and I distilled this half bottle of floral dew with his son. I am unsure how it compares to imported floral dew and was hoping to borrow a couple of people from you to conduct a comparison.

The Old furen smiled, “Why bother comparing?  The floral dew distilled by my grandson is naturally exceptional. It is fragrant, pleasant to smell, surely better than anything brought from outside!”

Cui Xie replied helplessly, “Grandmother, aren’t you biased just because I am your eldest grandson? Everything I do seems to be perfect in your eyes. But, our customers may not think the same, we need to test it at home before we can confidently boast about it to others.”

He wanted to borrow two people: one to use the homemade jasmine dew and another to use commercially bought rose dew, to see which fragrance lasted longer and which aroma was more pleasing. However, those who tested the floral dews would have to refrain from using any makeup, hair oil, perfume sachets or scented robes. Only those who could understand these restrictions would be suitable to be chosen.

All the maids and nursemaids were eager to participate, with even Zhang mama who served Old furen showing some interest. Although Yun-jie was curious to try, she was reluctant to part with her newly learned makeup techniques and thus chose to sit demurely, embodying the grace of a well-bred Young Miss.

Old furen selected two maids who were normally indifferent to cosmetics, remarking with affection, “Let these two try it. The others are constantly applying powder, the fragrance is practically ingrained into their skin. These two, with their natural simplicity, will better reveal the true scent of the dew.”

The two maids who were chosen were overjoyed, The others dared not express their feelings openly, feeling a mix of envy and jealousy. They stood to the side, slightly aggrieved and casted hopeful glances at Cui Xie, wishing that they might be chosen the next time he distilled more flower dew.

Cui Xie, however, had little time to attend to these minor movements, and just said to Yun-jie, “Do not worry, this is merely the first batch. There is room for improvement and I will give you some once I have perfected it.”

At this, the young girl’s momentary discontent faded, her delight so profound that she found herself eating an extra bowl of porridge that morning.

Cui Xie, having meticulously planned his experimental study, slung his book bag over his shoulder and headed to the Imperial College. He arrived early and after sitting in the study hall for a while, the place began to take on a faint fragrance. His classmates entered, noticing the delicate scent but could not discern its source, speculating that a Hall Chief on night duty had perhaps perfumed the room.

As they prepared for the review lecture, those sitting close to Cui Xie soon identified the source of the fragrance. Hall Chief Zhang, who had been teaching in front of Cui Xie all morning, could not help but inquire at the end of the session, “Where did you get that jasmine incense? Or is it a perfumed powder or floral dew? How come it is so fragrant?”

Cui Xie, taken aback, asked, “Is it still so fragrant? I thought I had washed it off.”

Hall Chief Zhang, with a meaningful tone said, “Oh? Where did you pick up such a scent? I would not have thought that after your studies with the Teaching Assistants in the evenings, you’d have time for…other activities.”

Surrounded by his classmates, who shook their heads with a smile, they teased, “Well, Hezhong is not that young anymore. It is time to understand these things.”

No, no, no, that’s not it!

Cui Xie, despite being a man in possession of 2 TB external hard drives with such content, maintained a purity of heart!

He quickly clarified, “Last night, our household staff were learning to distill floral dew and I assisted them. I spent a long time near the distiller, hence the fragrance. Seniors are thinking too far.”

The idea of a young and romantic scholar frequenting pleasure houses may have been believable, but a young and romantic scholar squatting beside a furnace to watch the distillation of floral dew…who would believe it?

Their gazes grew more probing. Cui Xie, feeling compelled to explain, said, “My family owns a cosmetics shop and it has been struggling as of recently. The household relies on it for income, so I had to lend a hand, right? Seeing nothing notable in the shop’s inventory, I suggested they try making floral dew products. If you do not believe me, wait until it is produced and I will bring you all a few bottles to sample.”

A few of the students half-believingly said, “Alright, no need to bring us any. When your shop launches the new product, we will have a look and support you.”

Hall Chief, was a connoisseur of fine things and had a deeper understanding of perfumes and the value of floral dew. Seizing the opportunity during lunchtime, he privately asked Cui Xie, “Are you truly able to distill floral dew?”

Cui Xie shook his head modestly, “It is not entirely possible yet, we are still in the experimentation phase. If the Hall Chief’s furen and esteemed daughter are fond of such things, I will send you two bottles once it has been perfected. To be frank with you, I am personally overseeing this project. The scent on me is because I was distilling flowers in our courtyard, which ended up perfuming the entire place. I assure you, I am not the frivolous type.”

Looking into Cui Xie’s sincere eyes, Hall Chief Zhang readily believed him, “I trust your character. If you were spending your days amidst flower beds, how would you find the energy to study so diligently? I never really thought like the others, always inclined to attribute matters to more romantic or sensuous pursuits.”

Cui Xie  humbly demurred a few times and then complimented Hall Chief Zhang on his character and insight.

After a brief exchange of mutual flattery, Hall Chief Zhang glanced at Cui Xie with the corner of his eyes, and lightly said, “I am not boasting, but I do have some knowledge about fragrances. If Hezhong needs any assistance or advice regarding incense or scent making, I might be able to offer some rough ideas.”

Unsure if Hall Chief Zhang was being sincere or merely polite, Cui Xie’s eyes lit up, looking at him with surprise, “Would you really be willing to help me, Hall Chief Zhang? I indeed have some questions about species and scents and I wasn’t sure whom to ask!”

That day, Cui Xie had ostentatiously ordered two taels of silver worth of each spice required for soap making, merely to sniff them and strike a pose of ‘doing research’ in front of Cui Liang. He planned to later mix them according to the formulas dictated in the book, to avoid suspicion about how he could come up with the recipe so spontaneously.

But, when the spices were delivered, their packages bore no labels or instructions, reminding him that this was not the modern era where everything was accompanied with a user manual.

Without any labels and unable to recognize the appearance of the spices, Cui Xie found himself in a predicament that threatened to expose his lack of knowledge. He had not dared to mention the word ‘soap’ to Cui Liang the entire night.

It was the old Cui Xie who truly understood fragrances, not him. Cui Liang, a mere cosmetics shop clerk, was no expert in spices either. If a bunch of unnamed herbs were delivered, he certainly lacked the expertise to identify the correct spices  and ingredients needed for soap-making.

Cui Xie had managed to deflect the attention by focusing on making floral dew the past few days, but once that was perfected, he could not delay any longer.

His plan had been to visit a spice and herb shop, learn the names of the ingredients and ensure he purchased genuine supplies. However, he was concerned that the shopkeepers would take advantage of his ignorance and sell him inferior or fake products. Hall Chief Zhang’s willingness to provide help, especially in verifying the authenticity of the ingredients, was a great relief!

Hall Chief Zhang fanned the intense fragrance of jasmines from his nose and smiled, “If you need help identifying fragrances, you will have to stay a bit away from me. With the overpowering scent of jasmine, it will be impossible to discern anything else.”

Cui Xie replied with a smile, “I just wanted to buy some spices, but I fear that I have not received high quality ones. I was hoping that the Hall Chief could help me to take a look.”

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TN: Hope you are all doing well, have a great weekend ❤

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