Xu Shi, seeing Lu Dahai actually pulling her to leave, panicked. She struggled fiercely, trying to sit down on the ground, wailing, "Lu Dahai, you heartless coward! I gave birth to your children, and you want to divorce me!"
Lu Yang angrily said, "Mother, can't you be quiet?! If Father really divorces you, you'll be homeless. Your elder brother's wife definitely won't let you into her family home!"
Hearing this, Xu Shi instantly regained some sense. Her eldest son was right; she absolutely could not be divorced, or she would be homeless. Life had just started to get better, and she couldn't be driven out of the house like this.
Xu Shi stopped her wailing, and Lu Dahai gritted his teeth and stomped his feet in frustration.
Lu Xing, seeing the crying Xiao Si unable to control herself, sent her back to the room. At this moment, he truly considered separating the household.
Although he was only 14 years old, he could establish his own household and live with his younger sister.
Lu Yang, annoyed by Xu Shi's commotion, said sternly, "Mother, don't cause trouble anymore. If life is good, live it well. Otherwise, I will also move out. If Father truly divorces you, no one will care for you, and you might end up like Grandma."
Xu Shi's back chilled at Lu Yang's words, and her crying instantly lessened. She did not want to die miserably like Granny Chen, with people gossiping about her even after death.
Forget it, she wouldn't bother with that dead girl named Di anymore. If someone from the Wang family came looking for the child, she would directly tell them to find Lu Ye and Lu Ye's wife. Since Lu Ye and his wife liked to play the boss, let them handle it.
From then on, Xu Shi truly restrained herself. She worked diligently every day and never spoke carelessly again.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed.
Du Min, Yang Shi, Liu Shi, Bai Jing, and Lu Hao arrived at the conference room on time. They had all memorized the content of the ledgers distributed by Bai Sheng.
Lu Hao had also learned many characters. Although she couldn't read the ledgers fluently yet, she had memorized most of the content through sheer memorization.
Once seated, the five of them sat upright like schoolchildren, nervously awaiting Bai Sheng's assessment.
Bai Sheng casually asked a few questions, and all five answered fluently.
Bai Sheng was very satisfied, especially casting an appreciative glance at Lu Hao. The other four could read, but Lu Hao, being illiterate and having the weakest foundation, managed to close the gap with them, which was a result of her hard work.
Next, Bai Sheng would guide them through the entire process of each product, from raw materials to warehousing, and then let them practice until they mastered it.
Bai Sheng always believed that in business, one didn't need to do everything personally. As long as one could recruit and train good people, one could be a leisurely CEO.
She had specifically built a larger laboratory in the workshop area, equipped with distillation and extraction, steaming and drying, crushing and grinding, mixing and stirring equipment.
In the future, new products would be developed in this laboratory.
The first task Bai Sheng brought them to practice was the production of lipstick.
The raw material for lipstick was cochineal insects parasitic on cacti.
Bai Sheng specifically assigned the cultivation, collection, and processing of cochineal insects to Auntie Ge Mei and other women.
The women had all mastered proficient techniques, and a considerable amount of cochineal insects had already been stored in the raw material warehouse.
The production of skincare products, cosmetics, and sanitary napkins required special attention to hygiene. Before going to the capital, Bai Sheng had already commissioned the Plain Cloth Shop to make a batch of cotton cloth protective clothing and masks.
In the future, workers in the workshop would have to wear protective clothing and masks. With limited conditions, this was the best they could do.
Bai Sheng led the five women to thoroughly wash their hands, then put on protective clothing and masks before entering the laboratory.
The laboratory floor was paved with smooth stone, the walls were also stone, and every corner was scrubbed spotlessly clean.
Bai Sheng walked to the equipment and began the operation, with Du Min and the other four following closely, learning diligently.
On the lab bench were cochineal insects that had been dried in bamboo roasting baskets. Bai Sheng scooped a few spoonfuls into a stone mortar and crushed them with a stone pestle, grinding them into powder.
Then, she heated a small ceramic pot with water to about 60 degrees Celsius, added the ground cochineal insect powder, stirred well, and filtered out the cochineal water using a funnel.
The filtered cochineal water was heated again to evaporate the moisture, forming a pigment paste. The pigment paste was then spread on paper to dry further. After drying, it was ground into powder again in a stone mortar.
Next, a small piece of natural beeswax was taken and heated in a porcelain bowl until melted. Then, an appropriate amount of lard (preferably olive oil, but lard could be substituted if olive oil was unavailable) and natural essential oil extracted from fresh flowers were added and stirred well.
Finally, the pigment paste powder was added, stirred into a paste, and poured into exquisite small white porcelain bottles to cool.
The natural lipstick was then made.
Du Min and the other four were amazed and couldn't wait to try the newly made lipstick.
Bai Sheng applied it to each of them according to their lip shape. Looking in the bronze mirror, each of them felt incredibly beautiful.
Lu Hao touched her thin face and felt that under the enhancement of the lipstick, her originally gaunt and sallow complexion had gained a touch of liveliness.
She had been treated like livestock since she was young. After being sold to the man named Wang, her life was worse than that of livestock. She struggled for survival every day. The concept of dressing up had never entered her mind. She had lived a rougher life than any man for 20 years.
For the first time, she applied lipstick that only noble ladies in the capital could afford. Her heart trembled with excitement. For the rest of her life, even if she had to risk everything, she would live beautifully. Her younger sibling had given her many beautiful dresses, and she would wear them tomorrow!
Yang Shi and Liu Shi had never used lipstick before either. They looked at themselves in the mirror, their eyes shining with delight.
Bai Jing had used a lot of lip rouge before, but in terms of color, smoothness, fragrance, and longevity, it was far inferior to what her mistress had made. She was confident that this lipstick would sell very well in the capital.
Du Min was lost in thought, remembering the past years and the scenes of her mother and sisters applying makeup in front of the mirror.
Bai Sheng also applied lipstick to her own lips. Her already fair and delicate face gained an additional touch of pure charm and bright radiance, captivating the five women.
"Miss, you are truly beautiful," Liu Shi exclaimed, clicking her tongue.
"Yes, I'm mesmerized," Bai Jing said, rubbing her face.
Bai Sheng smiled generously, "You are all very beautiful too! We women are flowers, and there's no need to ignore our gender and live like men. We should dress ourselves up beautifully every day."
"Yes, we should indeed dress up. Men, after all, love beautiful women," Yang Shi said with a smile.
Bai Sheng nodded with a smile, "Sister Yang is right. Women adorn themselves for those who appreciate them. However, I believe that besides adorning ourselves for others, we women should adorn ourselves more for ourselves, cherish ourselves, and please ourselves. Even if there's no man to appreciate us, we can still admire ourselves."
"Haha, Mistress is absolutely right!" Bai Jing said with a hearty laugh.
Du Min, Yang Shi, and Liu Shi had also heard the idea of women dressing up for themselves for the first time, and all three felt their perspectives had broadened considerably.
Bai Jing and Lu Hao believed Bai Sheng's words even more.