At twenty-eight, the grand endeavor of purchasing lipstick has finally found its proper course.

The old master began preparing Su Wan’s dowry and arranging for her new house.

Once Su Wan finished drying the cochineal insects and roselle flowers, she headed downtown to commission a factory to manufacture her lipstick tubes and molds. The molds were simple, but the lipstick tubes required some thought. She drew the design herself and came up with a name for her lipstick brand: “Wanmei.” The name sounded just like “Perfect” and was both pleasant and memorable.

The factory had never received such an order before, but with professionalism and efficiency, they quickly produced several samples for Su Wan. She selected a design that was simple and elegant. “Master, please use this as the template and make me one hundred,” she requested. “I’ll try them out first, and if the business goes well, I intend to keep making this product and continue our partnership.”

The manager who received Su Wan nodded in agreement, though his expression remained indifferent. Had she been a man, he would have been thrilled; unfortunately, Su Wan was merely a young girl.

The factory worked swiftly, and soon the one hundred lipstick tubes and molds were ready. Su Wan paid for them and took them home.

In her room, she set up a makeshift worktable. She took out some of the dried roselle flowers and cochineal insects and had Su Chen grind them into powder, resulting in two piles of red pigment. Together, they patiently ground the insects and flowers until they were reduced to fine powder. The red powder was mixed with water, releasing the pigments. She filtered the two buckets of red water, then transferred them into a clay pot to simmer over a gentle flame.

Once the mixture thickened, she left it to dry in a well-ventilated area. By the third day, the dried pigment could be ground again into powder. She placed camellia oil and a measured amount of beeswax in the clay pot, added the pigment powder, and simmered the mixture further.

When the blend was ready, she poured it into the molds and set them in a cool place to harden. Without a refrigerator, Su Wan had to fan the lipstick repeatedly. Fortunately, the weather was mild, and after about half an hour of fanning with her brother, the lipstick solidified.

Once they filled the tubes with the finished lipsticks, their task was complete. Su Wan boxed all the lipsticks and, unable to contain her excitement, rode her bicycle to the department store to find the young woman she had met before.

Su Wan pedaled without pause until she reached the store.

Today, the person on duty was not the young woman she remembered, but a young man who looked even younger.

“Hello, I had spoken with your colleague before about providing some lipstick—” Su Wan began, but the young man cut her off impatiently, “Just leave. We don’t need it.”

Su Wan tried to explain, “But the lady agreed to take them, and I rushed to get the goods from the capital.”

The young man, visibly irritated, stood up. “Are you done? I told you we don’t need them!”

Even if this deal fell through, Su Wan could always find other partners or sell the lipsticks herself. But the young man's disrespectful behavior was infuriating.

Her smile faded as she stared coldly at him. “Did your parents never teach you how to respect others?”

The young man exploded at her words, slamming his belongings onto the counter and jabbing his finger at Su Wan. “Are you deaf? I said no, and I mean no. What business do you think you’re doing? Selling to prostitutes and dancers?”

“This is a proper city. We don’t have trashy women here to buy your junk!”

Did buying lipstick really mean one was a prostitute or dancer?

Su Wan was stunned, unable to believe the filth pouring from his mouth. “Your mindset is truly disgusting.”

“Can’t women dress beautifully and face life with confidence?”

The young man sneered, “What else do you dress up for? To please men, to trick them out of their money.”

Su Wan was about to retort when a familiar voice rang out from the doorway, “Hu Ziyao, this is my store. Stop causing trouble here!”

Su Wan turned to see the young woman from before, storming in angrily.

Her demeanor softened as she invited Su Wan to sit aside, then turned to argue with the young man. “Father and I have already agreed—I’m running this shop!”

The young man flopped onto a chair, arrogantly propping his feet on the counter, showing no respect. “Ha! Dad said everything in the family belongs to me!”

The young woman trembled with fury. “What’s yours? Are you planning to bury Dad already?”

“Come on, let’s go ask Dad right now. Let’s settle this.”

She tried to grab him, but he shook her off, suddenly nervous. “You think I’ll just go because you say so? I refuse.” With that, he strode out of the store.

Once he left, the young woman took a cloth to wipe down the counter, then invited Su Wan to sit in front of it.

“Is he your brother?” Su Wan asked curiously.

The young woman nodded, “Don’t mind him. He’s just upset that Father put me in charge of the shop and comes here to make trouble.”

She glanced at the box in Su Wan’s hands. “Is that the lipstick you mentioned?”

Su Wan nodded, opening the box and taking out her lipsticks.

The young woman accepted the lipstick Su Wan handed her. “I’ve never seen lipstick in this shape before.”

She opened the cap and tested the color on her hand. The vibrant red spread evenly across the back of her hand, and her eyes sparkled instantly.

“Wow, this is nothing like the junk sold on the street!”

Su Wan smiled, “This is called Roselle Red, made from roselle flowers.”

She handed over another lipstick. “Try this one. It’s the Royal Shade, made from cochineal insects.”

“Insects?” The young woman’s eyes widened in surprise as she drew a line with the lipstick across her hand.

The color was elegant and noble, carrying a unique, mysterious charm that was utterly captivating.

The young woman was delighted, “This really is a royal shade. I’m sure everyone will love it.”

Su Wan was about to suggest she try selling it first, but the young woman made a quick decision. “How much are you asking for these?”

Su Wan had already decided on the price. “Five yuan for the roselle shade, fifteen for the royal shade.”

At this, the young woman’s hopeful expression turned uncertain. “That’s quite high for the wholesale price. What should I set as the retail price?”

Su Wan smiled, “You can add five yuan to that.”

The young woman’s eyes widened again. “That’s so expensive. Will people actually buy it?”

Su Wan shook her head. “Think carefully—who is our target customer?”

Without hesitation, the young woman replied, “Of course, ladies from good families.”

No one in the world understood these ladies' desires better than Su Wan.

“They don’t fear high prices. They only worry about low-quality products that will embarrass them in public.”

Su Wan placed the box on the counter. “How about this: I won’t take your money now. You sell them first. But the sales method is up to me. Besides the cost of goods, you pay me fifty cents commission for each lipstick sold. If they don’t sell, you don’t owe me anything, and I’ll take them back.”

Little stove.