Looking at the dusty thing in the porcelain cup, Li Ming was silent.

Immediately, Li Ming laughed: "Master Hu, why did you make such a strange joke with me when we just met?" ”

"The rouge is all red, what are you doing with this gray fluttering thing?"

"Besides, this rouge is made of flower petals, what is this, is this also a petal?"

However, Li Ming did not wait for Hu Changan's humorous echo.

Hu Changan just looked at Li Ming seriously and said, "Mr. Li, I didn't lie to you, this is the raw material of the new rouge I said." ”

At this moment, Li Ming was completely stunned.

Li Ming looked at the things in the lamp, and then looked at Hu Changan, his face full of disbelief.

Isn't this Hu Gongzi crazy, can even this kind of thing be called rouge?

It's obviously gray, and it's not the red that Rouge needs at all.

Li Ming's eyes widened.

Could it be that Hu Gongzi's eyes are broken?

Li Ming didn't believe in evil and stretched out his hand to Hu Changan's eyes and shook it.

Hey, these eyeballs follow the fingers.

Looking at Li Ming's appearance, Hu Changan also smiled: "Mr. Li, my eyes are not broken, and I can still see things clearly." ”

At this time, Li Ming was even more confused: "Master Hu, do you want to promote gray rouge in Yingtian City?" ”

Thinking of the pictures of the nobles of the high-ranking families with gray rouge on their mouths, Li Ming quickly shook his head and threw this picture out of his mind.

This art is too advanced to be appreciated, not appreciated.

It seems that this Hu Gongzi is talented in other aspects, but he is still a pure layman in the production of rouge.

Li Ming couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

With his many years of experience in making rouge, no one will want rouge of this color no matter what.

Looking at Li Ming's complicated eyes, Hu Changan also smiled slightly, and handed a small mortar to Li Ming: "Mr. Li, don't worry, just crush this thing and take a look." ”

Li Ming took the mortar suspiciously and grinded up this small pinch of gray powder.

At first, Li Ming didn't feel anything, but after Li Ming pounded it a few times, he found something unusual.

I saw that among the pile of gray powder, there was a faint hint of bright red?!

At this time, Li Ming came to his senses and hurriedly continued to grind.

As Li Ming continued to grind, there was more and more red in the gray.

In the end, the powder in the whole small pot turned bright red!

At this moment, Li Ming was completely shocked.

I didn't expect this gray thing to become so bright after grinding!

If you add this powder to rouge, it will definitely be a big seller!

At this time, Li Ming also admired Hu Changan's five-body throw.

It is worthy of everyone who should be praised in the heavenly city, but it is different!

Li Ming couldn't help but ask Hu Changan curiously: "Master Hu, I don't know what this gray powder is, how can it grind such a bright powder?" ”

Hu Changan smiled slightly and replied, "Mr. Li, this gray powder is a special kind of insect. ”

"This insect is called cochineal, and the female of this insect contains a lot of natural dyes in her blood."

"Compared to traditional petals, this dye not only has a bright color, but also stays longer, which is an excellent rouge raw material."

What?

This gray powder, it turned out to be a bug?

Li Ming couldn't help but be shocked.

He didn't pay attention to it just now, and he didn't even notice that it was a bug.

Why is there such a bug in the world, why doesn't he know?

Looking at Li Ming's surprised appearance, Hu Changan smiled slightly: "Mr. Li, let's go to the greenhouse to have a look." ”

With that, Hu Changan took Li Ming to the greenhouse.

At this time, although the greenhouse has been harvested, there are still many immature cochineal insects still living on the cactus.

At Hu Changan's suggestion, Li Ming squatted on the side of the cactus and watched carefully.

At first, Li Ming didn't see it, but under the careful close look, Li Ming really saw something moving on the cactus.

This gray appearance is what Hu Changan showed him in the small bowl before!

Li Ming couldn't help but sigh with heartfelt emotion: "It seems that the world is so big, it's really strange!" The old man is limited. ”

"The old man only knows that there are colors in the petals, but he doesn't know that insects also have such bright colors in their bodies, what a shame!"

Seeing this, Hu Changan also said modestly: "Old man, it's normal that you don't know. This is also something I got by accident from a merchant in Fanbang. ”

"According to them, this little bug is also very rare with them, and it's normal that you don't know."

When Li Ming heard this, he was somewhat relieved.

Suddenly, Li Ming seemed to think of something, and teased at Hu Changan with a smile: "Master Hu, it turned out that I wanted to plant this strange plant in the mansion, it turned out to be to raise cochineal!" ”

"The old man thought it was Hu Gongzi's special hobby before, but it seems that the old man was afraid that he was misled before."

Hu Changan was also embarrassed when he heard Li Ming's words.

If it was just for viewing, he wouldn't have planted so many cacti, okay?

However, Li Ming's words woke up Hu Changan.

It seems that in the future, he will have to open up a separate experimental site.

Otherwise, it's not a matter to grow things in the house all the time.

After visiting the cochineal breeding area, Hu Changan and Li Ming returned to the front hall and sat down.

At this time, Li Ming also felt that it was almost over.

This new rouge material has also been seen, and the next step is to talk about how to cooperate.

Hu Changan invited Li Ming to come, mainly to discuss the production of this new type of rouge.

After all, rouge is not like alcohol and soap, and the production process is very cumbersome.

Not only that, but there are also conventional rules for the packaging of rouge.

When those noble ladies choose rouge, they not only look at the color, but also look at whether the outer packaging is exquisite.

As a modern person, Hu Changan thinks that he is still a little out of touch with the mainstream aesthetics of the Ming Dynasty.

What's more, Hu Changan is a big old and straight man, and he doesn't understand what styles women like at all.

So the best way to do it right now is to cooperate.

Hu Changan contributed key technologies, and Li Ming contributed manpower and material resources.

This was also discussed between Steward Chen and Li Ming before.

So when Li Ming finished reading this magical raw material, Li Ming naturally thought of continuing to discuss the specific process of cooperation.

However, Hu Changan interrupted Li Ming's train of thought: "Mr. Li, where is this, I haven't shown you the most important part yet." ”

What?

Li Ming was stunned.

What's next?

Isn't it just a paste to make something and put it in a rouge box, and that's it, how can there be other steps?