Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 337: Each Taking Advantage of Its Own Strengths

In order to prevent this situation from happening, Hualei began to prepare in advance and temporarily found a group of villagers to help collect the materials she needed.

The dye liquid that can be prepared and stored in advance is directly prepared and stored, and the dye that can be used as dye after drying is also dried and stored. In addition to these, Hualei also posted a message on Yuanyingzhuang in advance to exchange and collect some raw materials that can be used for dyeing.

Of course, in order to prevent the dyeing craftsmanship from leaking out, Hualei did not say it explicitly, but only listed some item names, some of which can be dyed, some require secondary processing before dyeing, and some have nothing to do with dyeing at all. Hualei replaced some of them in order to confuse others.

In this way, several families helped each other and made full use of their strengths, and the wool sweater business flourished. Hualei took care of the affairs of her own farm while actively doing what was required of her as the head of the agricultural department.

Every ten days, he would follow Mr. Si Nong to inspect the corn fields. If he found any problem in the corn field, he would point it out in time and ask the corn field to be corrected. If he encountered insect diseases, he would intervene immediately.

Fortunately, I don’t know if it was because of the weather or the right planting method, but the corn field grew smoothly. Although there were two major insect pests, they were solved one by one by Hualei and the experienced staff of the Sino-Agricultural Bureau.

Every once in a while, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Revenue would report to Emperor Shengwu on the condition of the corn fields. Of course, this had nothing to do with the flower buds.

As a low-level employee of the Agricultural Bureau, she only needs to do her job well. However, because she often has to follow her superiors to the fields to work in the cornfields, compared with other male colleagues, Hualei's black hair is much more cumbersome than others.

The time for drilling in cornfields was usually during the hottest months of July and August. In addition, the official uniforms were rather rigid and not cool enough, and even the neck was rarely exposed.

So every time Hualei came back from inspecting the cornfield, he was sweating all over, even his hair was sweaty, which was very uncomfortable. He needed to wash his hair every day.

Nowadays, people in the Dasheng Dynasty still use soap beans to wash their hair. Although Hualei uses her own soap to wash her hair, she always feels that her hair is not clean enough after using soap frequently, so she decided to make her own shampoo.

The ingredients for shampoo are not difficult to find. I went to the mountains to pick cypress leaves, soapberries, saponins, and scraped some elm bark. Together with the mugwort I exchanged from Yuanying Village, and bought Polygonum multiflorum at the pharmacy, the ingredients were almost complete.

Weigh various raw materials according to a certain proportion, wash the raw materials except elm bark with clean water, put them into a larger ceramic jar, add enough water to cover the raw materials, and soak for three or four hours.

Then simmer over high heat for an hour, then turn to low heat and continue simmering for another hour. After simmering, turn off the heat and let it cool naturally. The soup is now rich but has a watery texture.

Then filter out all the raw material residues, wash the elm bark and cut it into thin strips, put it into the medicinal soup and rub it to get the pulp. After squeezing and rubbing it for a while, boil it for about quarter of an hour.

Then remove the elm bark residue, and the soup will become smooth and thick. After it cools down, you can wash your hair.

Hua Lei tried it several times herself and the effect is definitely not as good as the shampoo and cream she used in her previous life. However, it is much better than the original soapberry and cleans relatively cleanly.

But I was not very satisfied with the result, so I adjusted the proportions and added more soapberries. After remaking it, the cleaning effect was much better.

Therefore, Hua Lei made a large batch of shampoo according to the improved ratio, packed it in one-pound ceramic jars, and gave one to each of her superiors and colleagues in the Ministry of Agriculture, even the gatekeeper.

After all, in order to make your job as an official go more smoothly, some necessary "gifts" should be given to enhance the relationship between the two parties.

Moreover, these gifts are not expensive. Except for Polygonum multiflorum which is a bit more expensive, the other raw materials are picked from the mountains. It doesn’t cost any money, just some labor cost.

Sure enough, after receiving Hualei’s shampoo, the official from the Ministry of Agriculture, who also had trouble with shampooing, immediately went home to try it out. The effect was just as Hualei said, much better than that of soap beans.

I was very satisfied and recommended it to the women in my family. Of course, I secretly appreciated Hualei's generosity and tact.

Seeing the good effect, Hualei put the shampoo into the Flower Fairy Shop for sale. Of course, in order to diversify the varieties, in addition to the original formula, Hualei also added a black hair formula of angelica and dried ginger, and a nourishing formula of Sophora flavescens. Of course, the pricing is also different.

Because of the personal experience of the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and the recommendation of their families, as soon as Huaji shampoo was put on the shelves, many mistresses of wealthy families sent their maids and servants to buy it. The reputation of the shampoo being very easy to use soon spread throughout the capital city, and sales were very good.

Hualei was very satisfied and sent a group of people to the mountains to collect all kinds of wool and bring them back to Huayingzhuang, turning waste into treasure. Because they had to pick Platycladus orientalis leaves, Hualei certainly did not miss the cypress nuts growing on the branches, and asked people to pick the fresh green unopened cypress nuts separately. Prepare to make cypress nut incense powder.

Wash with clean water, boil water in a ceramic pot, blanch the cypress seeds for one minute, take them out, dry them naturally, and when there is no water at all, put them in the ceramic pot and soak them in sake.

In order to make the cypress nut powder more fragrant, Hua Lei specially bought the best sake and poured the sake into a ceramic jar, just enough to cover the cypress nut. Then he sealed it and soaked it for ten days. Then he took out the cypress nut and put it in the sun for a few days and dried it.

In order to make the fragrance of the cypress nut more mellow, the buds carefully remove the cypress seeds, and finally use a small stone mill to grind the dried cypress nuts into fine powder to make cypress nut scented powder.

Use incense seals to make beautiful patterns and then light them. The scent of cypress seeds is delicate and elegant, ancient and refreshing, and very fresh and pleasant.

If you find it troublesome to use incense seals, you can also use an aromatherapy box and directly put some cypress incense powder on it, and then light a small candle underneath to heat it. It is convenient and simple, and the smell is just as good.

After making the cypress incense powder, Hualei kept some for herself and gave some to Lord Pei and Madam Pei of the Zhenbei Marquisate. Of course, Hualei also gave some to Rong Jin and Rong Jue. The rest, Hualei shamelessly put it in the Flower Fairy Shop to sell for silver.