Guo Dong raised a pretty critical issue.
Nowadays, everyone’s requirements for hand cream have changed, prevention of freezing and cracking is no longer the hot-selling point, but rather whether the scent is pleasant and the design attractive—that’s key to drawing in the girls.
After all, living standards are getting better, and freezing and cracking barely happen to city dwellers anymore.
And for those prone to it, a few bucks of Snake Oil or urea cream would satisfy their needs just fine. A hand cream for 188? That’s really just money to burn.
But precisely because the formula has been changed , a fully oil-based composition leaves no skin feel to speak of, applying it is no different from slathering on a layer of oil. It melts when it’s hot and solidifies when it’s cold, making it inconvenient to carry, and even the container it’s in requires attention.
Yet Song Tan was unconcerned about it: "Just tell me if this formula works well or not?"
Come on! The look Guo Dong gave her was utterly unreasonable: "With this formula, even ordinary ingredients are moisturizing enough, let alone using the good stuff from your place, so you tell me, is the effect good or not?"
As for the skin feel? What even is that? Every day before bed, she’d slather it on her hands and feet, and despite looking dark, her skin was delicate!
She stretched out her hand:
"I have to boil medicines and roll pills every day, not to mention harvesting and processing herbs, these hands have never had a day off."
"From autumn, every night, I apply a layer of Golden Sakura flower oil, massage it for absorption for a while, and then put on gloves—look at my hands and face, then tell me if it’s effective or not?"
It’s inconvenient to roll down the socks to look at her feet, but looking at her hands will do.
Song Tan stared for a while—Zhang Yanping had reminded her to only photograph her hands, and that was because Doctor Xiaoguo’s hands were really beautiful!
Her fingernails were round and shiny, and though she dealt with herbs daily, there was no such dark, ingrained dirt typically found on laborers’ hands.
Instead, the edges were smooth and rosy, looking very healthy.
Looking at her fingers, they were long, fair, with delicate skin, and the faint blue veins on the back of her hands were particularly noticeable.
Flipping over to the palm, the fingertips were rosy; there were calluses, indeed, but they made her palms seem even softer and tenderer, like a soft mound of snow.
Frankly, Song Tan’s own hands weren’t much different when she spread them out.
She couldn’t help but blurt out a soul-searching question: "With all the time you put into caring for your hands, how come you aren’t willing to give your face some attention?"
Guo Dong: ...That hurts.
"That flower oil hasn’t been refined, putting it directly on the face easily clogs the pores. Anything will make the hands appear to have good skin, but if I have problems with my face, I have to put in more effort..."
Anyway, it’s winter; she’s not going out much to bask in the sun. When she’s idle and warms herself by the fire, she can just make a few herbal face masks to slowly nurture her skin!
Zhang Yanping listened and nodded involuntarily: "That’s true, there are not many people in the village to see it, and no matter how well you groom your face, wouldn’t it be just ’draped in brocade at night’ like Tantan?"
"No need, let the skin be dark; I tell you, if you produce a bit of oil, it’ll reflect in the sun, shining bright haha..."
Guo Dong tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Song Tan looked at Zhang Yanping—this silly cousin seemed hopeful about getting out of singlehood last summer, but now it looks like...
And Zhang Yanping added: "As for your face, as long as it’s healthy, that’s enough. Don’t chase after this and that like people online. You’d be better off eating something good... Speaking of which, have you recovered from your hypoglycemia?"
He was referring to when Guo Dong fainted from low blood sugar before even stepping into the house, and it took a big bowl of sugar and salt water to revive her!
The impression was too vivid.
Guo Dong was taken aback, her anger dissipating unknowingly.
She broke into a laugh and then twirled around, "Notice anything? I’ve gained weight! I’ve gotten nice and plump living here, it doesn’t get any healthier than this!"
"That’s the way to go!" Song Tan sighed, "Quality, quality... Quality is the most important thing."
After all, the level of trust customers have when they see products available and rush to buy them can’t be lost.
She stared at Doctor Xiaoguo, "When Taotao Treasure hits the shelves, you’ll be our hand model!"
It was just showing a hand, so Guo Dong didn’t mind. She just muttered, "Do you even need to put up a picture to sell your stuff? Nobody really pays attention to that."
"There are some who do," Zhang Yanping said solemnly. "Those who can’t buy it will think about it later with regret and will click into the shop to seriously check the details, reading them over and over—it can result in an effect similar to enhancing customer loyalty."
Song Tan thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Next year, if I grow more loofah and collect loofah water, could you make something like a body lotion?"
Loofah water can be used to wash the face, but like aloe, if not handled properly, it can easily cause allergies. Thus, body lotion is a safer option.
Doctor Xiaoguo was very interested, "We could even pick flowers to distill pure dew—it’s just that extracting essential oils is too costly and unnecessary."
Song Tan uttered, "Oh," then added, "Let’s talk about it next year. I’m planning to plant so much next year that I just can’t afford to fit it in yet—Professor Song also mentioned intercropping apple trees with cardamom, but the premium cardamom nowadays grows so tall it can’t be grown under the trees."
These old apple tree varieties are tall enough on their own, but to increase yield, there’s also no shortage of branches and forks in between the trees.
The designated dwarf cardamom varieties had both been tried by Seventh Uncle and Master Qian, who mentioned something was slightly off...
So in that case, flavor should take priority.
Therefore, the originally planned cardamom could only be planted in the spacious intersections between trees, and the yield would probably just be enough for personal consumption and some extra for Boss Chang.
This was a classic example of plans not keeping up with changes.
Now, next year’s plan includes Ai Cao, sunflowers, wheat, assorted grains... At first, when Bags Mountain was acquired, 300 acres seemed so vast—impossibly large to work with.
But now, why does it suddenly feel too small?
Then there are two cliff portions at Riverside Beach. Since some of the land involves the neighboring village, and they heard about her spending money and wanted to raise the price... Here we are, Secretary Xiaozu is still negotiating!
According to her, "Those two cliffs can’t grow trees or be used for farming, they’re just rocks and grass. They want more than the price of fertile land and are asking for way too much. No way!"
Normally, this kind of negotiation should be handled by a well-connected local, but don’t all the locals have relatives in the village?
Everyone wanted a slice of the money, and if they couldn’t get it, they didn’t want others to spend less either. After all the commotion, the main negotiator turned out to be Secretary Xiaozu...
Song Tan was deeply moved!
"If we can’t secure the land, then so be it. I’m not lacking those two spots. In rural areas, if there’s anything we have plenty of, it’s land and mountains."
And she, by next year, is likely to have plenty of money.
Song Tan boldly promised:
"If you go back to Imperial City for the New Year, I’ve got to prepare a couple of ribs for you to take with you."
Secretary Xiaozu pondered for a moment, "I’ll pay for whatever you give me, and I won’t be picky about the fat meat. But... you have to sell me another pot of Pork Lard Residue."
Slurp! Rural big iron pots fried up to render lard and fry Pork Lard Residue - that’s delicious!