Chapter 6, The Issue of Dining

Moreover, even if the toothbrush is manufactured, the issue of marketability remains significant. After all, people in the Ming Dynasty were accustomed to using their fingers or willow branches to clean their teeth. Those in better circumstances would at most dip a bit of tooth powder or green salt. As for a new product like the toothbrush, who knows how many people would be willing to spend money on it

Speaking of the knowledge in his mind, Zhou Zhong also made a rather unexpected discovery: ever since he traversed to the Ming Dynasty, he found that the memories of his past life were like a detailed and vast movie. Every person he knew in his previous life, every event he experienced, and even every book he had read could be found recorded in great detail in this movie

Zhou Chong took the cotton-padded jacket handed over by Butler Xu and examined it. The outer fabric of this jacket was indeed made of silk, and the craftsmanship was quite good. Although it was somewhat old, it had been well preserved and was also thick. However, if taken to a unscrupulous pawnshop, it would probably not fetch much money. As for the silk garments, including the large red underpants beside it, they likely wouldn't be worth more than this cotton-padded jacket combined.

"How much food is left at home? Will it last through this year?" Zhou Zhong suddenly asked. As a person from a later generation, Zhou Zhong believed that it was quite easy for him to create something profitable. However, now that winter had arrived, it was very difficult to find ways to make money in the cold weather, so he thought it best to wait until spring next year to discuss everything.

What is this? Zhou Zhong pointed to the boxes and cabinets on the ground, where the clothes, quilts, and other items were in disarray, giving the impression that someone was preparing to pack up and leave.

"Xu Guanjia, what are you doing? You don't intend to leave the Zhou residence, do you?" Zhou Chong said with a hint of joy upon seeing the situation in the room. This plump old man, despite his age, had an astonishing appetite. The combined food intake of Zhou Chong and Concubine Wang was at most equal to that of the plump old man. If the other party was willing to leave the Zhou residence, Zhou Chong's burdens would be significantly lightened.

Seeing Zhou Chong's misunderstanding, Steward Xu hurriedly explained: "Young Master, you are overthinking it. Upon seeing the situation at home, I thought of finding something valuable to take to the pawnshop, at least to exchange for some money to help us get through this winter. Look at this cotton-padded jacket; it was given to me by the master back in the day. The outer layer is smooth silk, and the cotton inside is thick. I have never been willing to wear it. Additionally, there are some silk garments that should fetch a decent amount at the pawnshop."

Compared to the previous two methods, soap is considered a more practical approach. Zhou Zhong is aware of the method for producing soap in the laboratory. Although scaling up this method for mass production would be challenging, the appearance and utility of soap mean that even small-scale production could yield significant income. Unfortunately, like toothbrushes, soap also requires a considerable initial investment; at the very least, various raw materials need to be purchased, and money is what he currently lacks the most.

In addition to the aforementioned items, Zhou Chong also thought of some other things. Unfortunately, they were all constrained by various conditions, and at least in the short term, they could not bring in a fortune to support the family. The thought of having a vast treasure trove in his mind, yet being unable to realize it due to the constraints of reality, left Zhou Chong feeling somewhat despondent. However, in order to prevent his family from going hungry, he could only muster his spirits and consider everything around him that could be utilized. Finally, he managed to come up with a feasible solution.

Since Butler Xu can sell his big shorts for the sake of this family, he cannot dampen others' enthusiasm. However, apart from this cotton-padded jacket, which is worth a bit, everything else is practically worthless. Therefore, Zhou Chong decided to sell his own clothes as well, after all, as the eldest young master of the Zhou family, his clothes are certainly of better quality than Butler Xu's.

Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang, in order to leave a solid foundation for his descendants, established detailed regulations concerning various aspects of the Ming Dynasty. He even specified what clothing was to be worn in different professions; for instance, merchants were prohibited from wearing silk, and servants and entertainers were not allowed to wear mink fur. These regulations were inherently unreasonable and difficult to enforce. Consequently, they were only implemented for a short period in the early Ming period, after which even the court itself paid little attention to them.

It is precisely for this reason that among some wealthy merchants, not only do the merchants wear silk, but even the servants are able to don garments made of silk. Given Xu's position as the steward in the Zhou residence, it is quite normal for him to produce a silk-lined cotton jacket, and even the large red shorts beside him are made of silk.

"This month we can't even last?" Zhou Zhong said in shock, feeling a bit moved at the same time. He had not expected that the food they had been eating these days was bought with the personal savings of Steward Xu. Moreover, it was already mid-October, and there were only a few days' worth of food left at home, and they could only drink porridge. This was undoubtedly a huge blow for Zhou Zhong, who was accustomed to having meat every day. Additionally, with two months left until the New Year, where would the family get more food?

Sometimes Zhou Chong also doubts whether it was the original Zhou Chong who absorbed the memories of his past life, or whether the memories of his past life have invaded Zhou Chong's thoughts. This is a very serious philosophical question, and Zhou Chong feels that with his intelligence, he probably will never understand it in his lifetime. So he simply stops thinking about it; he is Zhou Chong, and Zhou Chong is himself. Why bother with so much?

Zhou Chong finally recalled the reason for seeking out Steward Xu. He urged the other party to sit down and hurriedly expressed his thoughts. However, upon hearing Zhou Chong's idea of renting out the courtyard, Steward Xu displayed a look of skepticism on his face.

The money to repay the debt has already been prepared, which made Zhou Chong feel an unprecedented sense of ease. This feeling was akin to having settled the mortgage from a previous life. As the ancient saying goes, 'A life without debt is a light one'; this phrase is most suitable to describe Zhou Chong's current sentiment.

In comparison, the technological content of toothbrushes is much lower, and the manufacturing cost is also not high. For instance, the handle of a toothbrush can be made from bone or bamboo, and the bristles can be made from pig hair. The production process is not very complicated; however, to achieve scale, a large amount of manpower and raw materials is required. Given that he is currently in a situation where he can barely afford food and books, it is simply impossible to realize this.

Although Butler Xu still doubted Zhou Chong's abilities, Zhou Chong was now the head of the family, and the responsibility of providing for the family naturally fell upon him. Thus, Butler Xu let out a sigh and turned to leave the back garden

While searching for something, Steward Xu heard someone behind him and quickly turned around. Upon seeing it was Zhou Chong, he let out a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his face, and gasped for breath, saying: "Young Master, I have long said that one is a member of the Zhou residence in life and a ghost of the Zhou residence in death. How could I leave you at such a time?"

Butler Xu is highly respected in the Zhou residence and previously enjoyed a very high status. For instance, he did not have to live with the other servants but instead resided alone in a separate courtyard. Zhou Chongjin did not knock on the door but directly walked into the room where Butler Xu lived.

After Steward Xu left, Zhou Chong did not linger in the garden but returned to his room, lying on a simple bed lost in thought. Originally, Zhou Chong slept on a carved wooden bed, but he later sold it to pay off debts, along with some books and antiques in the room, which were also not spared. Now, the bed he sleeps on was moved from the servant's quarters. Aside from this bed, there is no other furniture in the house, giving it a rather bare and desolate appearance.

Upon realizing this, Zhou Chong suddenly jumped up from the bed, hastily put on his clothes, and ran to a courtyard in front. This was the residence of Steward Xu, who was most familiar with the situation of the Zhou residence. Since Zhou Chong wanted to rent out the house, he naturally needed to consult his opinion first.

This method is unrelated to the knowledge he brought from his previous life; the main factor is still the large residence of the Zhou family. Although this residence has long been mortgaged to Zhou Chong's prospective father-in-law, Mr. Wang, the latter has consistently claimed, for reasons unknown—perhaps out of a sense of face—that he will not reclaim the property. Therefore, in name, this residence still belongs to Zhou Chong.

Hearing the words of Steward Xu, Zhou Chong couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache. In this world, one inevitably has to eat and drink. Currently, the Zhou family has no income at all, and there is hardly anything of value left in the house. However, there are still three adults and two children to support. Among them, Aunt Wang is a woman, and Steward Zhou is already quite old. As for Zhuo'er and Duo'er, there is no need to mention them. Therefore, the heavy responsibility of providing for the family now falls on Zhou Chong's shoulders.

Young Master, you may not be aware that there were originally some provisions at home. However, when dismissing the servants, some of them were not honest and stole almost all the food from the estate. Fortunately, I still have a little savings, which has allowed us to get by until now. However, the rice and grains I purchased are running low, and even if we only have porridge for every meal, I fear we won't last through this month

However, Zhou Zhong quickly became disheartened upon realizing that although the common items he thought of were quite good, they were all unachievable due to various limitations. For instance, he only knew that monosodium glutamate, a seasoning, was derived from microbial fermentation in his previous life, but he had no idea which type of microorganism was involved or what conditions were necessary. In fact, he was completely ignorant of the process, let alone how to manufacture it

Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Steward Xu cast a worried glance at him. After all, Zhou Chong had grown up under his watch, and he knew that apart from studying, Zhou had no other skills. Although ever since the family experienced a change in circumstances, the young master seemed like a different person, handling everything in an orderly manner, Steward Xu did not believe that Zhou Chong truly possessed any means of making a living.

However, upon entering, Zhou Zhong discovered that the entire room was in disarray. Several large boxes were overturned on the floor, with clothes scattered everywhere, including a large red pair of underpants draped over the open lid of one box, fluttering in the gentle breeze. As for Steward Xu, he was only wearing a single garment, his body bulging with excess fat, rummaging through the boxes in search of something. Due to his corpulent physique, his movements were not very agile, and he was already drenched in sweat, resembling someone taking a sauna.

The knowledge from his past life is undoubtedly a tremendous treasure for Zhou Chong, akin to a library. Without mentioning anything else, simply bringing forth a few new inventions from later generations should be sufficient to ensure that his family of five does not have to worry about food and drink. This invigorated Zhou Chong, prompting him to review the memories in his mind to see if there was anything that could bring him profit. In the end, he indeed thought of a few items, such as soap, toothbrushes, and monosodium glutamate.

However, after a moment of relaxation, Zhou Chong was once again troubled by the issue of earning a living to support his family. He reviewed all the resources at his disposal and realized that he currently owned a large residence, along with a few elderly dependents, including Aunt Wang and Steward Xu. Additionally, as a person from a later era, he possessed a wealth of advanced knowledge in his mind. Although Zhou Chong was not entirely certain, he believed that this knowledge should be considered his greatest asset. Whether he could lead a good life in the future would entirely depend on his ability to apply the knowledge in his mind effectively.

Since this large mansion belongs to him, Zhou Chong has found a source of income: dividing the mansion into several courtyards and renting them out separately. After all, the Zhou residence is so vast that Zhou Chong and Concubine Wang cannot possibly occupy it all. Moreover, there are currently no servants or maids to manage the place. If it remains uninhabited, the entire estate is likely to fall into disrepair. More importantly, renting out the property incurs almost no costs, and rent can be collected in advance, which is the aspect Zhou Chong values the most.

Speaking of clothes, I just remembered that there are several large boxes in the guest room of my courtyard, containing quite a few of my garments. Steward Xu, you should also pick out some valuable ones later, and then buy some grain. We must ensure that the household does not run out of food!

Alright, I understand this matter. For now, do not inform Auntie and the others; I will find a way!" Zhou Chong sighed. Although he still had over 400 taels of silver in hand, among which 90 taels were Aunt Wang's private funds, this money was meant for repaying debts. Moreover, Zhou Chong had already promised to deliver it tomorrow, so it certainly could not be touched. It seems that his plan to earn money must be expedited.