Princess Xin Yue looked at her incredibly clean palm and said in disbelief, "It's actually clean!"
A faint floral scent wafted through the air. Princess Xin Yue couldn't help but lean in and sniff her palm carefully. "This scent... it's so fragrant!"
But immediately, Princess Xin Yue's mind was filled with questions.
"Why can something boiled from oil be used for washing? It's so strange!"
"Is this also something from your ancient book called Chemistry?"
Chu Chen smiled awkwardly but politely, "Yes."
Chu Chen only took half of the soap he made this time, leaving the rest for Princess Xin Yue to use.
Having obtained a new toy, Princess Xin Yue forgot her original purpose and happily took the soap to show off to her sisters.
Meanwhile, Chu Chen took the remaining half of the soap to report back to the Empress.
"Is this what you've been tinkering with these past few days?" The Empress looked at the soap displayed on the table with great interest.
"Is this pastry?"
As expected, the Empress also mistook this white, fragrant substance for edible pastry.
"Not at all, Your Majesty. This is for washing," Chu Chen explained in detail to the Empress the uses of soap.
"Can this truly be used all over the body?" the Empress asked in surprise. "I must try it."
Soon, a maid brought a basin of clean water.
After trying it herself, the Empress instantly fell in love with the soap.
"This is much better than soapwort."
Chu Chen made two versions of soap.
One was scented soap with a higher concentration of floral essential oil, specifically for washing the body. The other was soap with a smaller amount of floral essential oil, specifically for washing clothes.
Whether it was soap or scented soap, after use, the washed areas would carry a lasting floral fragrance.
"Your Majesty, this is another product produced during the manufacturing of scented soap," Chu Chen said, pointing to a paste-like substance beside it.
"After using scented soap, applying glycerin can keep the skin moisturized and radiant for a long time."
Of course, a certain amount of floral essential oil was also added to this glycerin.
Following Chu Chen's instructions, the Empress took a little glycerin and applied it to her hands.
Indeed, a rich fragrance wafted towards her, and her palms visibly became more radiant.
"What is the profit margin of this item?" the Empress asked curiously.
Chu Chen smiled confidently, "Your Majesty, what price do you think this useful item should be sold at?"
"I think... at least ten taels of silver per bar, right?" the Empress hesitated for a moment.
Chu Chen shook his head slightly, "The cost of all these items on your table combined is only half a tael of silver."
"Even with all sorts of losses, the cost will not exceed one tael of silver!"
The Empress was truly shocked this time.
For there were twenty bars of soap of the same size placed before her!
If each bar were sold for ten taels of silver, these ten bars alone would fetch two hundred taels of silver!
This was a profit of two hundred times!
"I believe the scented soap for washing should be smaller and can be sold for three taels of silver. The soap for washing clothes, though larger, actually has a lower cost. I believe the selling price should be set at one tael of silver."
Even with Chu Chen's low pricing, selling all of them would still yield a profit of forty times!
The Empress's breathing quickened involuntarily.
"Although I don't know how much of these items will be sold, they are bound to be very popular once launched," Chu Chen said with great certainty.
"If it can be sold to neighboring countries, it can bring Yun Yue Kingdom at least a million taels of silver in pure profit annually!"
Upon hearing this, even the Empress, with her profound composure, could not help but lose some of her poise.
"A million taels of silver..." the Empress murmured to herself.
The annual tax revenue of the entire Yun Yue Kingdom barely reached a million taels of silver.
And this small bar of scented soap could double the Yun Yue Kingdom's tax revenue!
How could she not be flustered!
"You are exaggerating too much. I almost don't dare to believe you," the Empress said with a wry smile.
"Let me calculate for Your Majesty," Chu Chen smiled slightly. "One bar of scented soap is enough for one person for two months. The soap for washing clothes, though larger, is also enough for about two months."
"Calculated this way, one person would use about six bars of scented soap and six bars of soap annually, costing twenty-four taels of silver per year."
"Its cost does not exceed one tael of silver!"
"If it can become popular in neighboring countries, and if just fifty thousand people reach this purchasing volume annually, the profit will exceed one million taels of silver..."
"A mere fifty thousand people, is that difficult?"
"Fifty thousand people..." the Empress gave a wry smile. "Perhaps Yun Yue Kingdom itself has more than fifty thousand people."
"In that case, your calculation is still too low."
Chu Chen shook his head slightly, "Your Majesty, we cannot calculate it this way."
"A very important raw material for this scented soap is oil."
"Whether it's animal or plant oil, it's still oil, and oil..."
The Empress immediately understood Chu Chen's meaning.
The output of oil is limited!
The common people need oil for daily lighting and eating.
"If we purchase oil in large quantities, it will inevitably cause the price of oil to rise rapidly. This will not only affect our profits but also increase the cost of living for the common people, which is unwise."
Chu Chen smiled slightly, "Therefore, this profit of one million taels is the highest profit achievable while considering not changing the living conditions of the common people."
"However..." Chu Chen changed the subject, "If Your Majesty purchases oil from other countries, then it's another matter."
The Empress looked at Chu Chen with great admiration.
The implications of Chu Chen's words were quite profound.
The well-being of one's own people naturally aligns better with the ruler's interests.
But as for the people of other countries...
This indicated that although Chu Chen cared about the world, he was not a saint.
And this was precisely what the Empress needed.
"If only you weren't a eunuch, how wonderful that would be," the Empress said with regret.
Chu Chen remained silent.
If he had actually believed the Empress's words and told her he wasn't a eunuch, he would have been incredibly foolish.
"In that case, let this matter be handled by you, how about it?" the Empress said softly.
"I grant you the freedom to leave the palace at any time. Just ask for whatever you need."
"As long as you can bring me a million taels of silver after one year!"
"I will not fail my mission!" Chu Chen replied loudly.
"But I have one humble request, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"
"A humble request?" the Empress's brow furrowed slightly. "Speak freely."