Creating Something New
After thinking for a while, Jiang Yimian still couldn’t figure out what Xie Yu was thinking, and only planned to ask her carefully next time she saw her.
Aunt Yun looked at the several people in the house and asked strangely, “Where’s Xiao Chun?”
She hadn’t seen her for the past few days every time she came. She originally thought she had gone to rest, but now she felt something was wrong. It wasn’t possible that Xiao Chun went to rest every time she came, was it?
This girl is not the type to be lazy.
Several girls looked at each other. After a while, one of the girls with a delicate appearance pointed to the inner room and whispered, “She’s making incense in the small room.”
Aunt Yun frowned and immediately understood, “She’s making Chun Jiang Yue again?”
The other girls just lowered their heads and didn’t speak, looking like frostbitten eggplants.
Aunt Yun could only sigh helplessly and asked, “How long has that girl been in there?”
The delicate-looking girl hesitated for a while before saying, “These past few days, except for eating and sleeping, she’s been inside. Aunt Yun, Xiao Chun just wants to help the shop, she doesn’t want the shop’s business to get worse, don’t blame her.”
Ever since Qiu Niang took away the best incense maker in the shop, they have deeply regretted not learning more incense-making techniques from Qiu Niang.
They also regretted not discovering Qiu Niang’s intentions to leave at the beginning. Otherwise, they would never have let Bao Xiang Shop fall into such a situation.
Aunt Yun looked at the girls in front of her, and for a moment didn’t know what to say, only helplessly said, “Forget it, let’s talk when Xiao Chun comes out.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a deliberately lowered exclamation came from the inner room, “Ah!”
Aunt Yun was startled and hurried towards the inner room.
Jiang Yimian followed closely behind.
As soon as the door was opened, thick white smoke billowed from the room, and various scents mixed together came rushing towards them. There was no refreshing fragrance, but instead, it made people want to frown.
Jiang Yimian waved the white smoke in front of her, and after a while, she could finally see the person squatting on the ground beside Aunt Yun.
She looked seventeen or eighteen years old, delicate and lovely. Like the others in Bao Xiang Shop, she was wearing a light green dress, but her clothes were stained with various colors, and some parts were unrecognizable.
Xiao Chun was clearly also startled by the two of them. After a while, she stammered with red eyes, “Aunt Yun, I, I can’t make Chun Jiang Yue, there won’t be any more Chun Jiang Yue in the shop.”
At present, there is not much stock in the warehouse. In a few days, when Chun Jiang Yue is gone, Bao Xiang Shop’s business will probably be even worse.
She had followed Aunt Yun since she was young, and she didn’t want to see Bao Xiang Shop, which Aunt Yun cared about, eventually having no business.
She also didn’t want people in the Capital to only sigh when they mentioned Bao Xiang Shop.
Aunt Yun only reached out and touched Xiao Chun’s head, comforting her, “It’s okay, you’ve been tired these days. Go back and change your clothes and rest. Don’t worry about Bao Xiang Shop’s business; I have a way.”
Xiao Chun just shook her head with red eyes, “No, I’ll try again. I’ll definitely be able to make it. I watched Qiu Niang make it so many times, I’ll definitely succeed.”
She usually learned things quickly, but it was precisely this Chun Jiang Yue that failed repeatedly, never succeeding once, and even she didn’t know why.
This scented powder is not like other scented powders. If it fails, you can notice if it’s the heat or the materials that went wrong.
Once the scented powder fails, it doesn’t have the original fragrance of Chun Jiang Yue at all, but instead has an indescribable strange smell.
She has tried all kinds of heat, and the recipe is confirmed to be from Qiu Niang, but she just can’t make Chun Jiang Yue.
In the past few days, she has been trying to light Chun Jiang Yue in the workshop to see what’s different about this scented powder, but she still hasn’t succeeded in making it.
Aunt Yun watched Xiao Chun cry and unconsciously reddened her eyes, but quickly suppressed it, smiling, “Yes, Aunt Yun believes you can do it. Now the most important thing is for you to rest first. Don’t let your health collapse before you make the incense.”
These days, the people in Bao Xiang Shop have been in a bad mood, especially the few incense makers. She wanted to comfort them, but everyone can see the situation of the shop, and her comfort is useless.
Now seeing Xiao Chun cry, she couldn’t help feeling sad.
Bao Xiang Shop has become like this, and she actually has some responsibility.
Seeing that everyone’s mood was a little low, Jiang Yimian hesitated for a while before saying, “Actually, it’s not necessary to make Chun Jiang Yue.
Even if you make it now, it’s no match for Yan Yue Pavilion. Since Qiu Niang’s incense making is so good, she certainly won’t only know how to make Chun Jiang Yue.
Bao Xiang Shop has Chun Jiang Yue, so it can have Qiu Jiang Yue, Xia Jiang Yue, and Dong Jiang Yue.
But if you only know how to make Chun Jiang Yue, it’s useless; Bao Xiang Shop still won’t return to its original state.”
Xiao Chun’s body swayed slightly, and the determined expression on her face gradually disappeared. She lowered her head dejectedly, “You’re right, I’m so useless. I’ve been learning incense making from Qiu Niang for so many years, and I still only know how to make ordinary scented powders.
I can’t make any of those that are popular with the ladies in the Capital.”
She also knew that even if she made Chun Jiang Yue, it wouldn’t be of use, but she didn’t want to give up like this, and she didn’t want to be ridiculed by the person who left.
Jiang Yimian felt a little helpless, and continued, “That’s not what I mean. I just want to tell you that if Bao Xiang Shop wants to return to its former glory, it’s not enough to rely on the old things.
You are only imitating Qiu Niang now, and no matter how well you imitate, it’s impossible to surpass the original.”
Everyone in Bao Xiang Shop wants to return to the state where business was booming, but their solution is still to find someone who is good at making incense, or someone who can barely catch up with Qiu Niang.
How could such a method make Bao Xiang Shop’s business better?
Moreover, since Chun Jiang Yue is Qiu Niang’s signature skill, it is naturally impossible for others to easily learn it. Even if Xiao Chun tries hundreds or thousands of times, she cannot make the same Chun Jiang Yue as Qiu Niang.
As soon as these words came out, not only Xiao Chun and Aunt Yun were stunned, but also the few who followed were stunned.
They had never thought of other methods. Because Bao Xiang Shop relied on scented powders to gain a foothold in the Capital, they naturally thought that to make Bao Xiang Shop’s business prosperous again, they should use the same scented powders as before.
After a while, Aunt Yun said, “What are your ideas?”
Jiang Yimian said, “I don’t know about incense, but you do.
Since someone’s incense making is already very good, why force it? Why not try something new?
Can you add various medicinal herbs to the scented powder without damaging the medicinal properties while maintaining the fragrance?”
Instead of making the same old incense, why not make scented powders that can cure diseases? This kind of incense will certainly appeal to some people.
Xiao Chun was stunned for a while before nodding, “I can try.”
After making incense for so many years, she only knew that some medicinal herbs could also extract fragrance, but she had never thought of actually adding medicinal herbs to the scented powder without destroying their medicinal properties.