Chapter 5 Huang Xiaowen

  Huang Chengzong is around forty years old, of medium to slightly above average height, with a round face and a slightly chubby build. Under his light eyebrows, a pair of eyes shines with astuteness.

  Huang Chengzong is an acquaintance, having met him a few times. The one behind him, whom I haven't seen before, is a young girl about the same age as Ling'er. She has curved eyebrows and big eyes that seem to speak, with a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth. When she smiles, shallow dimples appear on both cheeks, and her small oval face is pale but refined and elegant. Behind her follows a little maid.

  "What a beautiful girl!" Zhuge Jun thought to himself.

  Huang Yueying introduced the woman to him and Ling'er. Her name was Huang Xiaowan, the only daughter of Huang Chengzong's five sons, the youngest in line, and his heart's treasure, whom he extremely doted on. She lived with her family in Xiangyang City, and Huang Xiaowan had never been to the countryside before. When she heard from Huang Yueying that there was a younger sister at home, inviting her to come and play, Huang Chengzong brought her along.

  Ling'er was also a pitiful child, having no playmates since childhood. Zhuge Liang's family rules were extremely strict, and he rarely took her out, nor were there any suitable girls in the nearby villages. Even with Zhuge Jun, she didn't get along well. At this moment, seeing Huang Xiaowei, she was overjoyed, and hastily pulled her into her own room.

  The living room was a bit cold, so Zhuge Jun ordered someone to add a charcoal brazier, and it felt much better.

  Huang Chengzong listened to Huang Yueying say that soap was invented by Zhuge Jun, and he couldn't help but cast a strange glance at him. According to his previous impression, Zhuge Jun was just a dissolute young man, and it was unbelievable that he could invent such a useful product, which made him doubt in his heart. When he asked around and found out that Zhuge Jun had learned it from a Taoist priest, he finally felt relieved.

  Zhuge Jun introduced him to the basics of soap making.

  Soaps are mainly divided into six categories: ordinary, fine-grained, floating water, oily, transparent and special soaps. Zhuge Jun introduced his plan to produce soap series products for different consumer groups.

  Huang Chengzong was overjoyed and, with his businessman's keen sense of smell for profit, knew that there were huge benefits to be gained. He discreetly inquired about the soap formula and proposed that he invest together to produce it.

  Zhuge Jun knew the importance of intellectual property rights, and the formula was his own livelihood, so he couldn't let it out. He pushed it off by saying that his brother Zhuge Liang disagreed with letting it out, and before leaving, he entrusted him to produce it himself. However, the product could be packaged and sold by Huang Chengzong.

  Huang Chengzong saw that he was discussing things with Zhuge Liang and did not force him anymore. He was already very satisfied that he could sell the product.

  The two men agreed on a price, and Zhuge Jun said that the price could be lowered a bit, but they had to pay upon delivery and couldn't owe any money.

  Huang Yueying drafted the contract, and the two signed their names. Huang Chengzong took away some samples, leaving 200 taels of gold, saying it was a down payment, and asked them to mass-produce as soon as possible.

  Huang Chengzong is leaving, Huang Xiaowen and Ling'er get along very well, and they are bored in the city again. They propose to stay for a few more days. He didn't say anything, just instructed Yuanyuan to take good care of Miss. Then he left.

  After seeing off her uncle, Huang Yueying returned to the house and gazed at the glittering gold. She had many thoughts in her mind. Born into a wealthy family, she didn't care much about money, but after getting married, she took charge of managing the household. Zhuge Liang's mind was not on managing the household, and life had been tense for many years, unable to hold his head up among many relatives. These two days, she was worried about making a living, and Xiao Jun suddenly brought so much money, her heart was very happy.

  Huang Yueying happily said to Zhuge Jun: "Xiao Jun, you really have skills. That Taoist priest is also a strange person, and it's your good fortune to meet him."

  Zhuge called Lai Fu Bo, handed over the factory's drawings to him, and asked him to take charge of this matter. He said: "Fu Bo, you go recruit 50 craftsmen, build according to this drawing. Also, recruit 80 young and strong men, with treatment according to your previous standard. From now on, you will manage them. In a moment, you go to my second aunt's place to receive the expenses. And then take out another 4,000 coins (during the Han Dynasty, five copper coins were in circulation, one tael of gold was worth 1347 coins and five copper coins). You four people each get 1,000 coins as a subsidy for your family expenses."

  Fu Bo is 51 years old this year. When Zhuge Liang's father was alive, he was already in his house and was a reliable and trusted person. He didn't know what Zhuge Jun wanted to do, but only knew that his family had always been poor, with such a large expenditure, it felt like a defeat for the family. He wanted to remind Zhuge Jun, but as a lower-ranking servant, he didn't know how to speak up and remained silent for a moment without saying anything.

  Zhuge Jian understood Fu Bo and quickly guessed his thoughts, smiling and saying: "Fu Bo, don't worry about the money, just do as I say. However, it's almost time for spring plowing, will it be difficult to recruit people?"

  After thanking, he said: "As for the matter of recruiting people, you can rest assured that it's not just because of the good reputation of the Zhuge family and the high treatment now. Even if it's just three meals a day, there will be no shortage of people coming." After finishing speaking, he hurried away.

  In the afternoon, Zhuge Jun came to his sister-in-law's room to discuss matters. After finishing the discussion, he left Huang Yueying's door and was about to return to his own room when he saw Ling'er beckoning him in front of her door.

  Entering Leng Er's house, she saw Huang Xiaowei and greeted her. She returned the courtesy with a bow.

  She glanced at Ling'er and was about to ask her what's wrong when Ling'er spoke up, "Third Brother, do you think these patterns are good?"

  He took a look and thought it was quite good, with simple yet beautiful patterns. He praised: "Great job, Ling'er is really capable."

  Ling'er said: "No, Wanyu's paintings are better than mine. These few pieces were all revised by her to help me."

  Zhuge Jun pretended to be surprised and said, "Really? In my heart, Ling'er is already the most capable one. Is there someone even smarter than you?" After finishing speaking, he looked at Huang Xiaowei.

  Huang Xiaowen was praised by someone in front of her, feeling a bit embarrassed, and seeing him staring at herself, couldn't help but blush slightly, with a hint of redness on her pale face, making her look even more lovely. She smiled shyly without saying anything, just shaking her head slightly.

  Zhuge Jun saw her face turn red and felt embarrassed to look at her again, so he turned his head to say to Ling'er: "You should learn from your cousin."

  Ling'er said: "Yes, Wanyi is really clever, her poetry is so beautiful."

  At this time, Huang Xiaowen suddenly said in a low voice: "I am one month older than you, I'm your sister." Instantly, the little girl's goddess-like demeanor appeared.

  Zhuge Jun thought she was very cute and said: "Your poem is really written that well? Let me take a look."

  Ling'er smiled and said: "You don't understand anything about poetry, it's useless to look at it." She knew that her third brother didn't like writing poems. Afraid he would make a fool of himself, so she said this.

  Zhuge Jun smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true. These past two days, I've suddenly had inspiration, not only can I appreciate it, but I can also compose poetry."

  "Alright, alright, stop making a fool of yourself, don't let Wan'er laugh at you."

  Zhuge thought to himself, I am no good at writing poems, but Li Bai, Bai Juyi, and Liu Yong are. I'll just copy theirs and shock you all.

  "Listen carefully, I composed a poem last night and will recite it to you. Please, both of you, give me your feedback." As he spoke, he began to softly recite the poem.