Just as the soldiers departed, a servant approached and clasped his hands. "Miss Bai, Master He has arrived."
"Quickly, invite him in," Bai Hanyun instructed.
"Yes, Miss Bai."
After the servant left, Bai Hanyun waited outside instead of entering the main hall. Soon, she saw the servant return with He Xuanren.
The servant gestured politely at He Xuanren. "Master He, Miss Bai is waiting inside."
Nodding at the servant, He Xuanren replied, "Thank you for leading the way."
"Master He is too polite. This is what this servant should do."
After the servant withdrew, He Xuanren stepped past the moon gate. The mont he saw the sacks, bags, and wooden boxes filling the courtyard, he froze.
’Heavens... are all of these grains?’
Before he could recover, Bai Hanyun noticed him. Smiling, she stepped forward. "Master He, you are here. Please, co in."
Coming back to his senses, He Xuanren pointed at the supplies. "Miss Bai... are all of these grains?"
"Not all of them," Bai Hanyun replied as she walked over and opened one of the wooden boxes.
Motioning for He Xuanren to take a closer look, Bai Hanyun added, "Inside these wooden boxes are daily necessities and so ready-made clothes I prepared. Since our stores are called grain and grocery stores, we should also sell so groceries."
Pointing at a round item wrapped in coarse paper, He Xuanren asked curiously, "Miss Bai, what is this? It slls very good."
Bai Hanyun picked one up, unwrapped it, and showed it to him. "Master He, this is soap. It produces foam when it cos into contact with water."
He Xuanren beca interested and asked, "Miss Bai, what is the use of this thing called soap?"
Turning to Xiao Cui, Bai Hanyun instructed, "Xiao Cui, bring a dirty cloth and a basin of water."
"Yes, Miss Bai." Xiao Cui hurried away and soon returned with a basin of clean water and a dirty tablecloth.
Placing them on a nearby stone table, she said, "Miss Bai, everything is ready."
Gesturing for He Xuanren to co closer, Bai Hanyun said, "Master He, it’s better to see it for yourself."
Growing more curious, He Xuanren watched as Bai Hanyun wet the dirty tablecloth, then dampened the soap and rubbed it against the fabric.
Before long, white foam appeared.
He Xuanren’s eyes widened in astonishnt. "This... this thing can really produce foam. This commoner has lived for so many years, yet this is the first ti this commoner has seen such an item."
Smiling at his reaction, Bai Hanyun said, "Master He, this soap not only slls pleasant, but it also removes dirt and oil stains very effectively."
As she spoke, she continued rubbing the tablecloth. Soon, the white foam turned gray. Bai Hanyun then rinsed the cloth with clean water.
After wringing out the excess water, she showed it to He Xuanren. "Master He, please take a look."
When He Xuanren saw the cloth, he was speechless.
"..." So the original color of this dark gray cloth is actually brown!
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, He Xuanren glanced at the murky water in the basin with so oil floating on the surface.
Looking away, he said, "Miss Bai, this soap is extrely useful. How do you plan to sell it?"
Bai Hanyun set the clean tablecloth aside and explained, "Our target custors are the common people. If we price our goods too high, only wealthy families will be able to afford them. Therefore, I plan to sell these supplies at low prices."
He Xuanren nodded in agreent and clasped his hands. "Miss Bai is wise."
Seeing that he did not try to persuade her to raise the prices, Bai Hanyun nodded inwardly. ’I really did choose the right person.’
While she was thinking, He Xuanren asked, "Miss Bai, have you decided on a na for the store?"
"Yes," Bai Hanyun replied. "It’s called Bai Feng."
He Xuanren fell silent.
"..." Isn’t that just combining your surna with Great General Feng’s? This... is rather straightforward.
Unaware of his thoughts, Bai Hanyun said, "Master He, you may take these supplies with you. Open the store as soon as everything is stocked."
Coming back to his senses, He Xuanren clasped his hands and bowed. "This commoner will follow Miss Bai’s instructions."
Smiling at him, she added, "You must be busy, so I won’t keep you here. Safe travels, Master He."
After saying that, Bai Hanyun returned to her main courtyard, while Xiao Cui stayed behind to help He Xuanren supervise the loading of supplies onto the wooden carts parked outside the Great General’s mansion.
anwhile, news of the grand opening of the grain and grocery store spread rapidly across the western border.
Outside the Great General’s mansion, commoners gathered and watched expectantly as workers—guarded by Feng Army soldiers—loaded bags and boxes onto the carts.
Pointing at the piling up supplies, a middle-aged woman asked the elderly woman beside her, "Aunty, what is going on here?"
The elderly woman looked at her in surprise and asked her back, "Haven’t you heard the news?"
The middle-aged woman shook her head. "I just arrived today and was looking for a place to stay. When I saw a crowd gather here, I ca over to take a look."
"No wonder," the elderly woman said. "Since you are new, you might not know this."
"Great General Feng’s fiancée is opening grain and grocery stores across the western border. Tomorrow is the grand opening of the store in Xiqiang City. They said that the price is affordable. If you have ti, you should go and take a look."
The middle-aged woman was startled at this information. "A grain and grocery store? Where did she get so much grain? And... are they still using copper coins?" she asked doubtfully.
Listening to her questions, the elderly woman pulled out a few copper coins from her sleeve and showed them to her.
"These are the new copper coins issued by Great General Feng. Right now, you can use them to buy things from the Feng Army or from the grain and grocery stores."
"These copper coins can only be used in the Feng Army’s territory for now, but we might be able to use them in other places in the future. You should earn more while you can." The elderly woman explained patiently.
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