Chapter 602 - 596_1
"Indeed, Master Xue has worked hard these days, and such progress is truly regrettable. It seems that producing a batch of glass before the old master sets sail is not just a pipe dream of mine. Maybe we can really make it happen. When that time comes, as the person responsible for this achievement, the old master and I will certainly reward you handsomely. Also, are the pieces of glass I requested ready? If they are, hand them over to me now; I have a use for them."
What would Lin Yue do with the glass? She had long thought of making a few mirrors, but since the glass had not yet been produced, let alone made into mirrors, she considered it a matter of time. When Zhao Erhu brought back Master Xue and his team, she had already prepared the materials and was just waiting for the glass to be ready to proceed to the next step. However, making mirrors would not be done in the Glaze Workshop. For one, Lin Yue did not fully trust Master Xue yet—confidentiality was essential—and as long as the glass was produced, the following steps did not relate to the production of glass. Moreover, the Glaze Workshop was also busy, so she had arranged for a few trusted confidants to set up separate rooms for this task.
Everything was busy and orderly, and time hurried by. Two months quickly passed, and even though Lin Yue was reluctant to part, Zhao Erhu had to set sail according to the original plan. By the time Zhao Erhu departed, Lin Yue had indeed made all of the things she wanted, as she had anticipated. The first item that surprised and astonished Zhao Erhu was that Lin Yue had actually made mirrors—gazing at the mirrors with smooth surfaces and clear reflections, where even a wrinkle at the corner of the eye could be seen—surpassing in design, craftsmanship, and technique the mirrors they had bought from the Foreign Tribe in the west.
The Foreign Tribe also had its noble rich men and wealth, and in fact, just like many officials and nobles in Dazhou spend a lot of money on western goods brought by the Foreign Tribe, the psychology behind the purchases was the same. Furthermore, encountering the magnanimous, as long as the goods were suitable, it did not matter if a fortune was thrown away. However, the prerequisite was that the goods had to be high quality and presentable, otherwise spending a lot of money on something not worthwhile would not be showing off wealth but losing face.
With this in mind, Lin Yue put much thought into creating several specially designed gift box sets, containing the best products they could make, suitable for women’s cosmetic use. The sets were rich in contents, including twelve colored fragrant soaps with different scents and effects, as well as various essential oils contained in glass bottles.
Since both the essential oils and the glass were only recently developed, they were not yet perfect. There were only five kinds of essential oils, and the glass bottles were not as clear as modern glass. Combining the technique of producing colored glass made them look more beautiful and mysteriously attractive. Lin Yue initially chose not to use colored glass due to the high cost, but being able to combine both technologies to develop new products was an unexpected surprise.