Chapter 496 - Thorny Case (1/2)
Many of the capital's wealthy and noble matrons and maidens were polite and courteous on the surface to each other but they privately put in a lot of effort to think up every possible method they could to defeat each other! This was also the reason why everyone pursued Jiang Siniang’s custom made clothing.
For example, if a friend of yours could only register for a silver membership card but you were able to get a gold membership card, wouldn’t you have a lot of face when spending money at the resort? As for diamond membership cards, that was just a dream. It was rumored that those cards were a legend.
What? The empress herself had two diamond cards on hand? She was planning on awarding them to the wives of prominent officials who had contributed much to the court? All of the wives of the fifth-ranked officials and above began acting virtuous when they got home. That way, their husbands wouldn’t need to fret about anything at home and would be able to do their best at work!
What? Lady Fang had a diamond membership card that was personally given to her by her goddaughter? Suddenly, the gates of Count Zhongqin’s estate, which used to be desolate and empty, were now filled with sedans and carriages. It wasn’t because someone was as shameless to ask for the diamond membership card from Lady Fang. Instead, everyone wanted to see what a diamond membership card actually looked like. It was rumored that it was made out of a very rare material. This material could be used to make weaponry and could destroy other weapons made of other, less rare material. The imperial court was very interested in this material and they are currently in the process of secretly manufacturing more…
What? Miss Yuan and Miss He, who were good friends with the owner of ‘Blossoming Beauty’, also had diamond membership cards? The other young maidens in the capital, who previously had their noses up in the air, were filled completely with regret now. They wished now that they were the ones who had jumped out to help Yu Xiaocao when Li Meirou was making things difficult for her during the flower war banquet. That way, they could become her close friends and would also obtain a spot in the quota for the legendary diamond cards that everyone wanted to get ahold of.
Regardless, the ‘Blossoming Beauty’ cosmetics and spa resort was now blazingly popular throughout the whole capital. On the opening day, they had made over five hundred thousand taels in income. Furthermore, there was a promotion going on during the opening day. Every product was ten percent off and they also offered free facials and physiotherapy.
At the cosmetics counter, the most popular product were the different types of handmade soap. After an entire winter, Hechun and the other maidservants under her command had already manufactured more than twenty types of handmade soaps. They could whiten, moisturize, and renew a person’s skin...there were all types of beneficial effects available.
The raging popularity of the handmade soaps was due to the living advertisement, He Wanning. Last autumn, her skin was extremely dry, had enlarged pores, and seemed quite dark and dull. During the flower war banquet, Yu Xiaocao gifted her some handmade soaps and also gave her some usable prototypes later. After using them for a whole winter, her skin was now tender and glowy and felt as soft as a baby’s skin. Her skin was also brighter and less dull and it made her seem more lively and youthful.
The sales of the watery lotion and moisturizing cream were closely behind the soaps, and following that was the rouge powder. The lip color that Li Mengru instructed her maidservants to make was also quite popular. Yu Xiaocao suggested that she should use the wealth of spring flowers available to make more lip colors. Thus, the lip colors currently had the following options: rouge red, peachy red, rose red, coral red, light almond blossom pink, pomegranate red, violet red, ruby red, etc...all in all, there were around a dozen or so colors available. No matter the age of the customer, whether they were elderly or a young maiden, there was a suitable color available.
Every customer who came in was able to buy the exact products that fit their needs. Naturally, when they got back home, their purses were also much lighter compared to before. However, after using these products, they discovered that these cosmetics and supplements were well worth the cost.
Those who bought skincare items found that their skin had an improved texture, brightened, and had fewer wrinkles. The young maidens looked more delicately pretty while the married women looked more youthful. Those who bought flower teas discovered that their complexions were more rosy and not as dull. Furthermore, their bowel movements became regular and their figures became more graceful while all of their small ailments seemed to disappear. Those who bought health supplements found out that they were no longer short of breath, their bodies felt lighter and healthier...in conclusion, in one word——worth! Two words——worth it!! Three words——extremely worth it!!
‘Blossoming Beauty’ had exploded onto the scene at the capital and all of their customers consisted of the noble matrons and maidens in the area. Almost everyone in the upper classes was buzzing excitedly about the efficacy of the products from ‘Blossoming Beauty’. In one month, over twenty people had registered for gold membership cards and almost a hundred people had registered for silver membership cards. As for bronze membership cards, it was obvious that the number was not small!
‘Blossoming Beauty’ cosmetic and spa resort also provided facilities for women to bathe in medicinal baths as well as other services to improve one’s health and beauty. Perhaps the women in ancient times were a bit more reticent, but in the first month, there weren’t many people who tried the body massage services and other treatments. However, there were a decent amount of customers who tried the skin facial treatments. The medicinal baths were offered privately on a one-on-one basis in the spa rooms, and the customer’s own maidservant could serve them there, so there were also a decent number of women who tried that.
Although the body massages and other body treatments were not very popular currently, Xiaocao was convinced that the guests who had tried them would come back again to be a repeat customer after seeing the effects. Furthermore, the number of guests would increase over time as she believed that as the first customers let out word of mouth about their treatments, other women would also become curious and try. That was their marketing strategy!
On one particular day, Xiaocao was currently in her own private room enjoying a leisurely swim in the hot springs. Wutong, who was serving her outside, came in to let her know that Hechun was asking to see her, so Xiaocao rinsed off her body and bundled up in a bathrobe before she saw her maid.
“What’s going on?” Yu Xiaocao calmly asked after she saw the embarrassed expression on Hechun’s face.
Hechun gave her a greeting and said, “There’s a customer that’s arrived at the spa today and this servant thinks her situation is a bit thorny. Master, can you go take a look?”