Chapter 21 Formulas

  The drug factory is under construction, and the knife hands are also in training. Now it's Yang Meng's turn to make an effort. Everything he does is for one purpose: to manufacture and sell drugs, and to sell this poison to the Eight-Nation Alliance, in order to realize his own extravagant dreams.

  The Eight-Nation Alliance smuggled opium into the Qing Empire, and they would definitely prevent these things from flowing back. So Yang Meng wanted to manufacture a new type of poison that foreigners could accept.

  On the first day of arriving in Qing Dynasty, Yang Meng asked Ding Baojun about the snuff he mentioned, which became Yang Meng's best cover-up tactic.

  It's just this snuff, Yang Meng had only heard of it before, but never really saw it. To come up with new ideas, he must take a look and try the snuff to see what it's all about.

  That day, Dingdingbao also said to let Ma Bang bring some back, but Ma Bang didn't come back. When did he leave? When did he bring the snuff back? It was uncertain. His time was pressing, so it's better to get some in Kunming city, as long as you know the flavor, then add conch to the snuff and it's done.

  Kunming was a place where he didn't want to show his face, and similarly, he didn't plan on going there himself, so Cen Yu'ying became the errand boy.

  Yang Meng told him to buy a bottle of snuff from every shop in Kunming, and if he could find out the formula for making snuff, that would be even better.

  Cen Yu Ying this kid handles things efficiently, it only took more than an hour to get things done, but the types of snuff in Kunming City are not many, there are only two categories: Indian snuff and Sichuan snuff, with several flavors available.

  Yang Meng tried smelling it, and the flavor wasn't bad, but when he took a sniff with his nose, this stuff was somewhat choking, the flavor was somewhat sour, astringent, bitter and spicy, if this thing can be used, then one's own things won't have to worry about sales.

  "Yu Ying, have you heard about the method of making snuff?"

  Things are ready, you can just grab the medicine according to your own method, mix the snuff, then add the conch reason to finish the job, and you can do business.

  "Third Master, this snuff is quite difficult to make. One must select the finest tobacco leaves, remove the dirt and sand, grind them into a fine powder, and then mix in various precious medicinal materials. It's stored for several months or years, with the best snuff being stored for tens of years. The price of this thing is also astonishingly high. Just one or two ounces of snuff costs several taels of silver, and these are still not top-grade snuff. Truly good stuff can cost hundreds of taels of silver per bottle."

  As soon as he heard this, Yang Meng was intimidated. A few taels of silver were equivalent to several hundred kilograms of grain! Not to mention the cost of seashells, just this snuff alone would make his new type of poison a luxury item.

  Luxury goods can also make money, but the most profitable business is still mass-market products. This snuff is so expensive that it absolutely cannot be used as a diluent for poisonous substances.

  In the past, when diluting drugs, most people used things like milk powder, talcum powder, or cocoa powder. These white powders looked suspicious and would ruin their get-rich-quick scheme as soon as someone became suspicious.

  "Yu Ying, go find Old Jiang and let's come up with a plan together."

  Afraid that Cen Yu Ying's experience was too low, he couldn't come up with any good ideas, Yang Meng let him find Jiang Shu first, and the three of them thought together, what could replace snuff.

  "Lao Jiang, is there talcum powder available locally in Yunnan?"

  "Yes, this is a medicinal herb, with a sweet and mild flavor, cold in nature, non-toxic, also known as liquid stone or common stone. In the mountains near Kunming, there is white talc, and the powder ground from it is the best quality of talcum powder."

  This Jiang Shu's usefulness is not small, let alone that valley, just his familiarity with Yunnan's mineral resources is worth those silver coins.

  "How much is the talcum powder?"

  "It's a cheap thing, because white talcum powder is readily available, it just takes some effort, and one can sell half a bag for a big copper coin."

  Talcum powder is ready, next comes some fragrant powder that can replace snuff.

  "Lao Jiang, Yu Ying, think about it, is there a powdery medicine in Yunnan that has a fragrance and is beneficial to the human body? The finer it can be ground, the better. And the cheaper, the better."

  This stumped the two of them, as Yunnan had many medicinal herbs, but most were expensive. There were plenty that could be ground into powder, but few that nourished the body. And to find one that was inexpensive? Where would they find such a good thing?

  "Third Master, what is this medicine for?"

  Cen Yu Ying is not as rigid as Jiang Shu Xian, if things are easy to find, San Ye won't ask questions, and if he knows what San Ye wants to do, finding things might be simpler.

  "Imitation snuff, without using tobacco leaves, but making others like to sniff it."

  Nose smoke was something that Xun Yu Ying had never seen before, and it wasn't easy for him to come up with a substitute. Lao Jiang, on the other hand, was worldly-wise. He picked up the nose smoke, sniffed it, and hesitated, wanting to speak but fearing San Ye's blame.

  "Speak up if you have something to say, I'm not some kind of official, can't I hit you?"

  Yang Meng took one look at Old Jiang's expression and knew he had something to say. Communicating with these Qing people was really troublesome, and from time to time they still had to drag out the classics. Over the past dozen or so days, although Yang Meng felt somewhat ill at ease, he also had some of the air of a young master of a wealthy family.

  "Tea leaves!"

  Jiang Shu hesitantly said the answer, this snuff is not very good, white talcum powder mixed with some dark green tea leaves, the color is almost the same, and it has a tea fragrance, so it can be used as fake snuff for sale.

  "Are there many tea leaves left? Our tea still needs to make money, it would be a waste if we grind them up."

  Yang Meng was also becoming more petty under the influence of Ding Baojun, and tea leaves were the main business of the Yang family, so grinding them into a supporting material was a bit wasteful.

  "Third Master, you don't know that the local tea in Yunnan is mostly made into tuocha for easy transportation. This tuocha is a brick-shaped tea with a shape similar to a bowl. When making tuocha, there are often some waste and residue. These things are mixed with tea stems and then made into another inferior tuocha. The good tuocha is sold to Sichuan and other places, while the inferior tuocha is sold to the Tibetan border."

  In Tibet, it's bitterly cold and there are no vegetables in season. The Tibetans love to eat beef and mutton, and this foot-washing tea is just what they need to digest the grease. If you sell them good tea, they think it's inferior.

  When making tea bricks, the tea leaves cannot be added too much, if they are added too much, it will not shape well. These scraps can be sold out, but most of them are discarded. The old man's family is poor, when he wants to drink tea, he uses the tea leaves scraps."

  Jiang Shu's words made Yang Meng's eyebrows dance with excitement. Tea fragrance is the Chinese flavor, isn't this the best selling point? Tea fragrance snuff, it's just unknown whether it can be made or not.

  "Yu Ying, you go tell Uncle Ding to get some tea leaves from our family's tea factory. Lao Jiang, you're in charge of getting the talcum powder! On your way, also get some tools for grinding flour, and have the silver withdrawn from Uncle Ding's place."

  If this diluent is passable, then it's almost a success, just wait to grab some opium, make some morphine and add it in.

  Yang's third master's order, whoever dares to take it as a passing wind, in just one or two hours, everything will be ready. Yang Meng ordered Lao Jiang and Cen Yu'ying to grind the tea leaves and talcum powder again, then sifted them with the finest sieve, leaving behind an extremely fine and smooth powder, now it's just a matter of taste.

  Call in Mr. Accountant, let him take the scale used to weigh gold and silver, mix the talcum powder and tea leaves according to the ratio, and made a dozen or so samples. After Yang Meng and Qin Yueying, Lao Jiang tried them one by one, the three people's opinions were consistent.

  The sample with 3 parts talcum powder and 7 parts tea leaves has the best flavor, lightly and softly carrying a long-lasting tea fragrance. The only drawback is that it lacks some aroma, making it difficult to savor its taste without inhaling it into the nostrils.

  "Lao Jiang, now that we've finished harvesting the opium poppies here, what are we going to do with the remaining opium plants?"

  Lacking fragrance, the poppy pods that have been cut open and the remaining fruit and straw can bring out the most fragrance. Although it's said that the smell is not as good as before, when inhaled through the nostrils, there is a distinct unusual fragrance.

  "Most of it was burned as firewood, and some people used those straws as cigarettes, which wasn't bad either."

  Jiang Shu was very familiar with Yunnan locals, and some of the local customs, he knew best.

  He brought back some poppy fruits and straws, ground them into powder, sifted them carefully, and Yang Meng began to try again, adjusting the formula. These things contained a small amount of poison, and after adding it, the flavor was indeed more fragrant.

  Write down the formula one by one, and Lao Jiang became a purchasing officer. Yang Meng was afraid that this old man would embezzle, so he made a guarantee with him. The goods must be purchased at the lowest price, and for every 1,000 catties of usable powder produced, some water fee will be given to Lao Jiang. If he is found to be corrupt, he will be killed directly.

  In the choice between money and life, Old Jiang chose to continue making money. Yang Meng said so because he could understand that from top to bottom, the officials of the imperial court were most skilled at embezzlement and deductions. If Yang Meng hadn't reminded him, Old Jiang would have continued to act in his usual way.

  With the Yang family's financial resources and manpower, doing these things was very easy. Over the years, they had accumulated several tens of thousands of catties of tea leaves, some of which had even developed mold. Yang Meng didn't care about this and accepted them all as is. After drying, grinding, and sifting, in order to preserve them for a long time, these tea leaves were all packed into ceramic jars, with oilcloth used to seal the openings.

  In the mountain cave, Yang Meng also had people find him. Many of the remaining ash and residue from burning limestone were used to prevent dampness. These could have been done with quicklime as well, but Old Jiang, who was accustomed to hardship, spent a few silver dollars to buy up the remains of several lime kilns. They even had to be responsible for packing them into grass bags.

  Large-scale weighing rods, ceramic jars and copper cans for holding final products, Yang Meng also ordered a batch, now the auxiliary materials are basically all ready, and the raw materials for traditional opium production are only missing opium.

  Opium is also one of the things that are strictly forbidden by the imperial court, but whether this ban is effective or not, only those big smokers know. Yang Meng didn't understand the local situation in Yunnan very well, and he knew even less about the merchant caravans transporting opium.

  Cen Yu Ying and Lao Jiang were also ignorant of opium. They didn't even touch it, let alone understand its origin.

  This thing still has to go find Old Master, finding Uncle Ding is just like finding Old Master, it's better to explain to Old Master himself that he wants to seize a batch of opium for research.

  As for the situation in Yunnan, Lao Yezi must be clear about it. Whoever is involved in opium, shouldn't be able to hide it from him. Let Yang Meng handle it himself, it's not impossible, but he's afraid of getting entangled with a troublesome family, which would only bring trouble to the Yang family.

  I'm just getting started now, I still need to be more stable, this matter can only go ask the old master, when my own product comes out, the old master will also know, it's better to lay cards on the table now.

  Found his old man meditating in the main hall, Yang Meng was also straightforward and directly handed over the conversation.

  "Dad! I want to smuggle opium, do you know which family is in this business?"

  "Wow! San Ye is here! What have you been busy with these days?"

  Old man Yang Shiqin, speaking like this is quite like a treacherous minister. It seems that he himself knows what he has done, and this old man must be clear about it.