Chapter 1025: Warm Darling
Zu An had originally wanted to directly ask about Chen Zhou’s matter. But seeing how polite she was, he instead felt a bit nervous, so he decided to ask about Wuyang Jade instead.
Wuyang Jade was one of the essential ingredients for Daji’s breakthrough. He had asked the imperial hospital back when he was in the capital, but not even those experienced physicians had known about that item. They had said that if that item existed in this world, no one would know more about its existence than Yu Yanluo. After all, the Yu clan was in control of the world’s precious stone business, and Yu Yanluo was the clan head.
“Wuyang Jade?” Yu Yanluo was stunned. Then, her face turned a bit red as she said, “Please wait a moment.”
Zu An thought to himself, Why would her face turn red? Yu Yanluo turned around, and some rustling followed. Judging from her movements, she was either adjusting her jacket or dress; but as it turned out, she had actually taken out an object from near her abdomen.
Yu Yanluo turned back around again. Her usually dignified and composed air was replaced with slight shyness as she asked, “Is this what you’re talking about?”
She reached out her hand and spread it open. In the center of her palm was a thin piece of jade. It was entirely snow white, and there seemed to be a red flame moving around inside. That white color with a tinge of rosiness looked just like her own skin.
Zu An took it and looked it over. He could feel the body heat that was left on it, as well as a scent that resembled both the smell of orchids and another natural scent. He didn’t know if it was Yu Yanluo’s smell or the smell of the piece of jade itself.
“I’ve never seen it before. I only know that Wuyang Jade is of the fire attribute, and that it’s a rare and precious stone…” Zu An’s eyes subconsciously drifted toward the other party’s underbelly. She hid this piece of jade over there?
Apart from still blushing a bit, Yu Yanluo had already recovered her usual composure. She replied, “Then this should be it. This jade carries the essence of fire and is rare and precious. I usually carry this piece of jade on me because I fear the cold. It can continuously give off warmth…”
“Huh?” Zu An felt disappointed. His attention shifted to the case off to the side. He said, “Then it seems like I’ve done something unnecessary.”
“What do you mean?” Yu Yanluo looked at the case in puzzlement.
Zu An took out a rectangular pouch and said, “The last time I met madam, I learned that the madam feared the cold, so I ended up getting my hands on this thing. This item is called a ‘Warm Darling’. As the name implies, when worn, it can continuously produce heat. Each piece will retain its heat for twelve hours.”
“Warm Darling? That name is quite adorable.” Yu Yanluo received it. She reached out a finger and touched it, exclaiming, “Hm? I don’t feel any heat.”
“You’ll soon feel it once you apply it to your body,” Zu An explained. Yu Yanluo hesitated, then turned back around.
Zu An quickly reminded her, “You can’t apply this directly to your skin, or else you might end up burning yourself. It’s best if you keep a layer of personal clothing in between.”
Yu Yanluo’s movements became rigid, as if she had to change something. Only after a while did she turn around. There was a bit of a captivating redness on her face as she said, “Oh, I really do feel the heat. You really are clever; you ended up creating this kind of female personal item.”
“Uh… Actually, it isn’t only for women. Men can use it as well,” Zu An explained. He didn’t want to be treated as some pervert.
“This Warm… Warm Darling only lasts for twelve hours?” Yu Yanluo turned away, as if trying to sense the heat all around her.
Zu An handed over the case, saying, “Yes. It won’t work anymore after twelve hours. Once the time passes, you can switch to a new one. There are twenty sheets here. Because I only had so much time, I could only produce this small amount. Make sure to keep the case closed, or else air and water vapors will make the Warm Darlings inside lose their effectiveness.”
“Thank you. I like this gift a lot. It’s the best gift I’ve received all these years.” Yu Yanluo appeared to be in high spirits, as if she were a little girl who had found a beloved toy.
Zu An had a forced smile on his face as he said, “Madam doesn’t need to try to console me. Your Wuyang Jade would be much more convenient than the Warm Darlings. It even has long term effectiveness.”
“Even though the Wuyang Jade lasts longer, as time goes on, the fire element inside gradually leaves.” Yu Yanluo thought for a bit,then asked, “What are your Warm Darlings made out of? How much is the cost of the materials? If you can’t tell me, this question might indeed be a bit rude.”
“Madam is overthinking. This isn’t anything I can’t talk about.” Zu An explained. “The things inside are made of iron powder, vermiculite, activated carbon, salt, etcetera. The outside is made from waterproof and airtight cloth. All of the ingredients are rather easy to obtain; the most difficult part instead lies in the cloth used to wrap around the contents.”
“Iron powder, vermiculite, activated carbon…” Yu Yanluo nodded. “These are indeed not too difficult to acquire. But it seems like the proportion they’re mixed in is the key part. As for the cloth, there are so many cloth shops in this world; I’m sure there are some people who are capable of this level of craftsmanship.”
Zu An was stunned. It seemed he had missed out on a key fact himself. He had been thinking about non-woven fabrics, but even though there weren’t any technology trees in this world, there were many fields where results similar to those of industrial technology could be produced.
Yu Yanluo continued, “As for what you said about the Wuyang Jade being more convenient, I actually beg to differ. Wuyang Jade is extremely rare, and I was only able to find a few pieces myself. It doesn’t have any extensive uses at all.
“But your Warm… Warm Darling is different. As long as the craftsmanship reaches a certain level, the production costs can go down even further. Eventually, it can become something even ordinary people can use. Apart from blocking the cold, it can be used for rheumatism and other lower back and joint pains…” Yu Yanluo’s eyes were shining as she spoke. “This is a huge business in itself!”
She got up and paced around the room, thinking to herself for a bit. Then, she looked excitedly at Zu An, asking, “Can you hand this business over to me? Then, after separating the production costs, we’ll divide the profits seventy-thirty, with you being seventy and me thirty.”
She seemed to have immediately become a different person when she began talking about business. Her previously gentle and weak side was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced with a competent and powerful woman.
Zu An said with a smile, “This was a gift to the madam anyway. I’ll give you the prescription later, and madam can do whatever you want to do with it. You don’t need to give me any of the profits.”
“That won’t do! Business is business. Even though our relationship is good, I can’t take advantage of you,” Yu Yanluo said with a serious expression. “If you do that, I guess there’s no choice but to give up on this business. Sigh, but what about all of the unfortunate poverty-stricken common people who suffer from the cold…”
Zu An was speechless. What else could he say when the other party had already gone so far? He said, “Um, if madam puts it like this, then I can only agree. But seventy-thirty is a bit unreasonable. I’m not doing anything myself, so it’s enough if you just give me thirty percent. Why would I need seventy percent?”
“You silly child, you have no idea how big of a business opportunity this is!” Yu Yanluo gave him a look. “How about this? We’ll just split it fifty-fifty. I won’t take any more than that! Otherwise, I would rather not engage in this business.” She did have to use a lot of manpower and resources, so fifty-fifty was still fair.
Zu An thought about how much money he needed for his own pill refinement, cultivation, and valkyrie breakthrough materials, and how he was in dire need of money at the moment. As such, he didn’t argue anymore and just agreed.
“Then, let’s celebrate the future success of our cooperation!” Yu Yanluo leisurely walked over to the table and poured two cups of wine, giving one to Zu An. Zu An wasn’t worried that she’d poison his drink. After lightly touching cups to hers, he drained it in one gulp.
This wine was brewed with honey, a local specialty of Cloudcenter Commandery. The alcohol content was high and it was sweet, making it extremely suitable for women.
Yu Yanluo covered her lips with her sleeves, then drank the cup of alcohol. Her skin flushed red immediately. She rarely drank normally, and whenever she did, her entire body would turn red. She pursed her lips and said, “Everyone always haggles over every last cent when doing business. This is the first time I’ve experienced something like this, where you push interests in the other party’s favor.”
“I only came to give you a gift today anyway, and yet I ended up starting a business. This is also a first for me.” Zu An was also quite moved.
“Wait here for a bit,” Yu Yanluo said before going into the inner room. A while later, she came out with a small case, saying, “Apart from that piece, there are two pieces of Wuyang Jade here. I’ll just give them to you together. Either way, with your Warm Darlings, I won’t be needing them anymore.”
“How can I take something this precious?!” Zu An exclaimed. He had already learned how precious these items were from their chat. He obviously wouldn’t have the nerve to take them.
“Didn’t you give me something incredibly precious too? Those Warm Darlings of yours are even more precious than these pieces of Wuyang Jade.” Yu Yanluo didn’t allow him to say anything else and pushed them into his arms.
“Then I’ll have to thank the madam.” Zu An put away the pieces of Wuyang Jade. He felt something stir within him when he smelled their faint fragrance.
Yu Yanluo also shifted her gaze unnaturally. She did feel a bit of regret. She should have only given him the other two pieces, because she had worn that third piece on her very body! But it was already too late to talk about that now. She could only tacitly allow it out of helplessness.
Zu An put the case away and asked, “May I ask where the madam found this Wuyang Jade?”
“Are these not enough?” Yu Yanluo was intelligent. She immediately sensed that something was strange.
Zu An nodded, saying, “I need them for pill refinement, so I’m still missing a few pieces…”
Daji needed five pieces of Wuyang Jade to break through from the sixth to the seventh rank. Later on, she would need even more for each breakthrough.
Yu Yanluo’s brow furrowed. She said, “This is indeed a bit troublesome.”