Chapter 149: Expansion Completed

A few days later, almost all the nitre-rich soil in the village had been dug up by Xu Mo and Qin Toutou.

The villagers found Xu Mo's bizarre behavior of scouring the entire village for manure and filth completely incomprehensible.

However, out of respect for Xu Mo's status as their master employer, no one dared to ask or speak to him directly. Instead, they began whispering behind his back, claiming that Xu Mo had a peculiar fetish and enjoyed the smell of feces.

Some rumors became even more absurd, alleging that Xu Mo loved to drink water brewed from manure-soaked soil.

When Xu Mo heard these tales, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Yet, he neither grew angry nor paid any attention to the gossip, continuing on his merry way each day, enthusiastically crafting his claypot mines.

A few days later, the expansion of the soap workshop was finally completed.

The expanded workshop was more than twice its previous size.

At Xu Mo's request, the workshop was divided into distinct functional zones according to the soap-making process.

This meant each step had its own dedicated area, allowing workers to move immediately to the next stage once a step was finished.

Consequently, Xu Mo announced that they would no longer purchase plant ash from the villagers; instead, the soap workshop would handle the burning uniformly.

Naturally, as a modern man, Xu Mo placed great emphasis on production safety.

Day or night, patrollers were assigned to watch over the soap workshop to prevent fires and thefts.

As for the newly recruited villagers, after a period of training, they quickly mastered their tasks, causing the daily output of both regular soap and scented soap to increase steadily.

Due to the rapid surge in production, more and more people traveled to and from Gushan Village.

Every day, suppliers delivered lard, spices, flower petals, and materials needed for soap packaging to the village.

Additionally, a new batch of soap molds had been introduced.

These new molds were slightly larger than the old ones, increasing the weight of each bar of soap by nearly twenty percent.

Furthermore, Xu Mo incorporated a waisted contour design into the new molds, making the soap much easier and steadier to grip.

During this period, Xu Mo made a trip to Xinzhou City, primarily to check on the sales of the special value gift sets.

Unfortunately, Ning Yaxin was not at the shop that day, having reportedly gone on a distant journey.

However, from Manager Xie, he learned that their newly launched value gift sets were selling exceptionally well.

Not only were they a massive hit locally in Xinzhou County, but numerous regular and new out-of-town merchants had also come upon their reputation, creating a bustling stream of carriages and pedestrians outside the Fragrant Skin Specialty Store every day.

It was hardly surprising. First of all, the price of the gift set was affordable: for twelve strings of coins, one could get three bars of soap, a bar of scented soap, and a whole heap of other items. Anyone accustomed to using soap could not help but be tempted.

Secondly, the soap was now larger. This strategy of giving more without raising the price won the hearts of the people, and by now, everyone knew which brand of soap they ought to buy.

Another reason for Xu Mo's trip to the city was his desire to purchase some saltpeter ore.

The nitre soil in the village was nearly exhausted, yet the nitre Xu Mo had extracted was only enough to make just over forty claypot mines.

It wasn't that forty-odd mines were too few, but rather that Xu Mo did not want to face a situation where his supplies ran out and could not be replenished.

Therefore, he wanted to stock up on raw materials so he could draw upon them at any time and feel secure.

Yet, after asking all over Xinzhou City, Xu Mo failed to find any saltpeter ore for sale. Left with little choice, he had to ponder alternative solutions.

One morning, Xu Mo, Chen Miaoyi, Xu Hui, and Qin Toutou were having breakfast and chatting idly at home.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the courtyard.

Before long, an elderly woman dragged a man into the house.

Xu Mo did not recognize the old woman, but the man she dragged along looked familiar. He knew the fellow was a worker in the workshop, though he could not recall his name.

As soon as they entered, the old woman barked at the man, "Kneel down!"

The man was obedient; he immediately dropped to his knees, lowering his head without uttering a sound.

The four of them were stunned on the spot, exchanging glances as they wondered what on earth was happening.

Following this, the old woman also fell to her knees and said with profound remorse, "Master Xu, we have failed you!"

Seeing the elderly woman kneel, Xu Mo quickly set down his bowl and chopsticks, stepped forward to lift her up, and asked, "Aunty, what are you doing? What on earth has happened? Take your time and tell me......"

Pointing at the man beside her, the old woman said with burning indignation, "Master Xu, it is this unfilial son of mine! He leaked the soap formula to Li Sanshui!"

Xu Mo was startled and immediately cast his gaze upon the man kneeling on the floor.

Xu Hui understood the situation instantly and blurted out angrily, "So it really was Li Sanshui! That despicable scoundrel!"

The man dragged here by his mother was none other than Shen Hao.

Ever since Shen Hao was hoodwinked by Li Sanshui, he had spent every waking moment obsessing over that one hundred taels of silver, imagining that he would soon be able to take a wife and live a life of ease.

Yet things turned out contrary to his wishes; after disappearing, Li Sanshui never returned to the village.

This left Shen Hao in a state of extreme anxiety. Although deep down he knew he had been scammed by Li Sanshui, every few days he would still wander over to Li Sanshui's house to take a look, simply praying for a miracle.

Because of this, Shen Hao wore a preoccupied expression every single day. Not only was he constantly absent-minded, but even his appetite and sleep had deteriorated.

These abnormal signs were soon noticed by Shen Hao's mother, but no matter how she questioned her son, he refused to talk, resorting only to evasion.

It was not until Shen Hao's mother was tidying up her son's room that she accidentally discovered the half-block of silver ingots, making her realize the matter was far from simple.

After a round of rigorous interrogation, Shen Hao finally spilled the entire truth.

Thus led to the scene of a mother dragging her son over to make amends.

Although Xu Mo was angry, he did not fly into a rage immediately. Instead, he patiently asked Shen Hao why he had done such a thing.

Upon learning that Shen Hao had done it merely to raise ten strings of cash for a bride price, Xu Mo was left utterly speechless.

Ten mere strings of cash! Stealing a few bars of soap to sell would have yielded more than that!

Unable to fathom what was going through Shen Hao's mind, Xu Mo voiced his confusion.

Shen Hao's reply was that the number of bars of soap in the workshop was strictly tallied; if he were to steal them, there was a high probability he would be caught, which was why he chose to sell the formula instead.

The more Xu Hui listened, the angrier she became, and she immediately declared, "Cousin, there is nothing more to discuss! Send him to the authorities right away!"

Hearing this, Shen Hao's mother panicked, dropped heavily to her knees once more, and wept as she begged, "Please, I beg of you, don't! His father passed away when he was young, and he is my only son. If he goes to prison, I won't have any reason to go on living......"

Right after that, remembering something, Shen Hao's mother hurriedly drew the half-silver ingot from her bosom and placed it on the floor.

"Master Xu, this...... this is the money Li Sanshui gave my son. He didn't dare to spend it, and he already knows he was wrong!"

Shen Hao's mother continued, "Master Xu, it is entirely my son's fault. You can beat him or scold him however you like, just please don't report him to the authorities, don't have him arrested. I beg of you, take pity on this old woman......"

With that, Shen Hao's mother began kowtowing, weeping uncontrollably all the while, looking utterly pitiful.

By this time, Shen Hao was also prostrate on the ground, sobbing bitterly as he repeatedly muttered how he should never have listened to Li Sanshui's words and how profoundly regretful he was.

The noise of their crying irritated Xu Mo deeply, so he frowned and said in a deep voice, "If you cry another sound, I'll send you to the authorities this instant!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the room fell dead silent, and the mother and son choked back their tears.