My domineering ex-husband is living off his wife in ancient times.

Chapter 91 Lard Hand Cream

Cheng Ruoan knew that when Lin Shi brought up this matter with her, it might not have been what Lin Shi herself wanted to ask.

It's very likely that Shiro was too embarrassed to ask directly, so he asked the woman in his family through her.

Therefore, Cheng Ruoan broke down the pros and cons of the matter and explained them to her in detail, so that Si Silang would not be unable to resist standing up for their third branch of the family, and then Si Erlang would find fault with her.

Cheng Ruoan said, "Fourth sister-in-law, you know that I made a big scene in Sijia Village, right?"

At that time, my mother-in-law was seriously ill, and the second son's family was such a selfish person that they would definitely not stand up and challenge the clan. If the third son and I did not stand up, we would not even be able to get a household registration.

According to clan practice, all they need to do is insist that Grandpa's courtyard was confiscated and taken into the clan because he committed a crime, and then we will no longer have an ancestral home.

The government couldn't arrange a new place for us to settle down. When our travel permits expired, we could only return to our registered residence in Qingshan County.

"But you all know what Bachuan Prefecture is like now; if we go back, we'll be dead."

Lin nodded vigorously, "That plague was terrible; almost the entire Great Xia knew about it."

Cheng Ruoan continued, "But after making such a fuss, our third branch of the family will definitely not have a good reputation."

Now that we've arrived in the new village, we don't know what kind of people the neighbors are, or what the village chief's attitude is.

If they're all difficult people to get along with, and after hearing what people in Sijia Village say about our reputation, and considering I'm in charge of managing the household affairs...

When people see this, they think, "Such a fierce and disrespectful wife, who doesn't respect her mother-in-law, brother, or sister-in-law, and your third brother doesn't divorce her? How is your third brother supposed to take the imperial examinations in the future?"

“That makes sense.” Madam Lin listened.

"So for now, I can only honestly follow the rules and respect my mother-in-law and elder brother as much as possible. In short, Si Erlang will eventually give me back the power to run the household."

"It won't be tomorrow, it'll be the day the house is built and completed. Anyway, you and Silang, don't worry. We, the third branch of the family, will handle everything. Just stay home and do what you always have."

There had been enough troubles at home, and Cheng Ruoan didn't want things to get so messy after she finally arrived at her destination.

It's hindering her career.

After applying the lard ointment for a while, Lin felt extremely comfortable in her hands, without the pain of her skin being stretched every day.

Moreover, when Lin touched her right hand with her left, she felt that the tiny, scattered wounds and scratches on her hand seemed to have disappeared, and her skin had become much smoother.

She couldn't help but exclaim, "Third Sister-in-law, did Doctor Hu give you this balm? It must be very expensive. The effect of applying it to your hands is so good, it must have been made with high-quality medicinal materials."

"After applying this, I feel like the silk won't snag anymore when I touch it."

Lin lowered her head, admiring her hands back and forth, her heart filled with a small joy.

I just wish it could stay like this forever.

Cheng Ruoan: !!!

Add some medicinal herbs to lard ointment, and isn't this a classic traditional hand cream?!

The ladies of wealthy families might think this stuff is not presentable, but if it can be made with cheap herbs to create a slightly better hand care product, wouldn't it sell like hotcakes among embroiderers?

The more Cheng Ruoan thought about it, the more she felt that making hand cream was the best business to start with with her master.

Low cost, no need for workshops or shops, and no need to add futuristic technology to wow people, making it the least likely to backfire.

Even if I lose money, I won't feel guilty towards my master.

"If Fourth Sister-in-law thinks it's useful, then I'll give it to you!" Cheng Ruoan stuffed the lard ointment into Lin's arms, got up and ran to find Doctor Hu.

Lin: !!!

You just gave me something so valuable without even asking?

Dr. Hu's shack wasn't finished yet, but the old man was health-conscious. After finishing his meal, he washed his face and feet and prepared to spend the night in the shack of the four children in the eldest son's house.

Just as I was dozing off, I heard Cheng Ruoan's hurried shouts.

"Master! Master! Your disciple has a problem!"

Dr. Hu: ...

He sat up helplessly, lifted the curtain of the shed, and revealed his old face full of displeasure.

"What's wrong with you? I've never seen you working this hard during the day!"

Cheng Ruoan chuckled twice, rubbing his hands together outside the shed, looking rather lewd.

She leaned closer, her voice extremely low: "Master, I have a way to make money, are you interested?"

Dr. Hu pricked up his ears, "Stop keeping me in suspense!"

What nonsense.

Is there anyone in this world who isn't interested in money?

That must mean there's something wrong with their brain.

Cheng Ruoan explained his idea for lard hand cream, and then chuckled twice.

"Master, do you think this is feasible?"

Dr. Hu pondered, "The common face cream recipes have always involved soaking cloves in warm wine to enhance the fragrance, then simmering them with beef marrow or beef fat, finally filtering them through cotton cloth, cooling and solidifying them, and using them to prevent cold and frostbite and nourish the skin."

However, beef marrow and beef tallow are rare, and even mutton tallow, which is a substitute, is expensive. Therefore, face cream has always been something that only wealthy people can afford.

If using lard works just as well, as you mentioned, then you only need to remove the odor, and the cost will be much lower.

Once the cost price comes down, there's no need to sell it at a high price; ordinary embroiderers can afford it.

With the addition of medicinal herbs, as long as the effect is better than ordinary rapeseed oil, the embroiderers will need to use this hand cream every day they work.

When you calculate it like this...

Doctor Hu got up, put on his robe, and came out of the shed.

"Master, where are you going?" Cheng Ruoan asked.

Dr. Hu: "Go find the village butcher and order fresh lard every day!"

"..." Cheng Ruoan's lips twitched.

In the end, Dr. Hu was persuaded by Cheng Ruoan, and the two of them started a small fire and discussed several prescriptions that could moisturize the skin.

It wasn't until Si Shaoheng and Si Silang had finished setting up Doctor Hu's shack in the dark that the master and apprentice parted ways, yawning.

Back in their respective shacks, Cheng Ruoan, having washed her face and feet, no longer cared about being a germaphobe.

She snuggled into her and Si Nian's bed and drifted off to sleep.

Si Shaoheng asked her, "What were you and Dr. Hu talking about for so long?"

"You'll find out tomorrow. I'm sleepy, going to sleep... *sigh*..."

Si Shaoheng: ...

shocked.

This woman actually started snoring halfway through her sentence.

He could only fall asleep quietly.

On the first night in Daxi Village, no one kept watch.

Because Village Chief Liu said, "Sleep soundly, and he'll take responsibility for anything that gets lost."

In addition, everyone was exhausted today, so even the shack was just hastily set up. A curtain was hung up, it looked like a haystack, and a mattress was laid out for sleeping.

So even though their belongings were still piled up in the carriage, they slept soundly.

The next morning, the roosters of Daxi Village began their wake-up call as the first rays of sunlight appeared.

The first to get up were the couple from the fourth house.

Lin lit a fire, and Si Silang fetched water.

By the time the others woke up one after another, Lin had already cooked breakfast in a pot.

When Si Erlang saw the thick, sticky rice porridge in the pot, he let out a screeching sound like a groundhog.

"Fourth sister-in-law! Who told you to cook so much rice?!"