Even in Yingtian City, there are more rumors about the Hu Mansion.
"Hey, have you heard? It is said that Master Hu has a unique taste and actually grows a plant full of spikes in his yard?"
"What, the whole body is covered with spikes? There are such weird plants in this world?"
"Yes, there is. I saw it with my own eyes when I went to the Hu Mansion last time. It was so ugly!"
"Oh my God, this is too scary. I don't know what Master Hu is thinking."
As soon as the news spread, the literati in Yingtian City wanted to go around the Hu family.
In ancient times, scribes paid great attention to elegance. When taking care of their own courtyards, elegance was of course the main priority.
For things like plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos and chrysanthemums, the more the better.
You can put a little rockery or something like that.
But no one has ever grown such weird and ugly things at home like Hu Changan.
Hu Changan suddenly became a debris flow in Yingtian City.
But Hu Changan himself didn't feel anything at all.
Anyway, he has been very busy recently and has no time to attend those boring gatherings of literati.
He didn't care at all what others thought of Hu Mansion.
Seeing that the cactus was almost full, Hu Changan exchanged some cochineal insects from the system and put them on the cactus.
It's late autumn now, and the weather outside is still quite cold.
In order to better allow the cochineal insects to develop, Hu Changan also built a greenhouse in the courtyard and put the cactus in it to cultivate.
Now, Hu Mansion is even uglier.
The courtyards of other houses are full of small bridges and flowing water, which are very beautiful. The Hu family's courtyard is not only full of cacti, but also has an ugly greenhouse in the middle.
When I walked in, I saw that there were no crops at all in the greenhouse, but huge cacti.
The cactus is also covered with dots of white bugs, which is like a benker.
Now, even the officials from the Ministry of Industry who were close friends with Hu Changan refused to step into Hu's house.
However, Hu Changan didn't take it seriously and just carefully prepared these precious cochineal insects every day.
Finally, Hu Changan compared the contents in the breeding manual and nodded with satisfaction.
It’s time to harvest!
Hu Changan called a group of maids to the greenhouse and ordered them to scrape the cochineal insects off the cactus and put them in porcelain cups.
Hu Changan also specifically asked that these cochineal insects must be carefully collected.
In fact, Hu Changan also considered asking a servant to do the scraping, but considering that girls are more delicate in doing things, and in order not to damage the precious cochineal insect, Hu Changan decided to ask a maid to do the job.
The maids didn't take it seriously at first.
This cactus should be ugly, but it won't eat people.
Scraping off the impurities on it is a piece of cake, just be careful.
But I don’t know what the young master wants these things for.
But when one of the maids accidentally saw what she scraped off, she suddenly lost her composure: "This...this gray-white thing looks like a bug!"
What?
Everyone was shocked and quickly observed the gray spots on the cactus carefully.
Unexpectedly, the continuous gray spots turned out to be densely packed insects!
Everyone was stunned immediately.
They thought the young master was asking them to scrape dust off the plants, but they didn't expect it was bugs?
It's okay if you don't look carefully, but when you look carefully, everyone is a little shocked.
This is simply a mental attack on trypophobia patients!
Some timid maids even turned pale with fright, and the small lamps in their hands fell to the ground with a clang.
Upon seeing this, Hu Changan shouted loudly: "It's okay, it's just a bug. Don't panic! Hold the cup carefully and don't drop it!"
Under Hu Changan's shouting, everyone reluctantly calmed down and continued to scrape the cactus.
After all, they are just bugs, and they are just a little disgusting. If you don’t take a closer look, it won’t be a big deal.
They are the maids of the Hu family, and they still have to complete the young master’s mission first!
Everyone worked hard all afternoon before carefully scraping off all the cochineal insects on the cacti.
Everyone gathered the cochineal insects in their small cups together and barely filled a small jar.
Hu Changan looked at the small jar and was extremely moved.
It took him more than a month to cultivate it! It is very precious.
Next, we need to make these cochineal insects into lipstick.
Hu Changan quickly ordered Manager Chen to bring the rouge craftsman he had invited earlier.
After a while, the rouge craftsman was taken to Hu Mansion.
This person's name is Li Ming, he is the most famous rouge craftsman in Yingtian City and the owner of the largest rouge shop in the capital.
It is said that even the empress in the palace loved the rouge he made.
This time he was invited by Hu Mansion because he heard that Hu Mansion had a new type of rouge.
When a person reaches Li Ming's level, money is already an external possession.
Li Ming was just curious about what this new type of rouge looked like.
After all, Hu Changan's miraculous skills have now spread among the craftsmen in Yingtian City.
Almost all craftsmen regard Hu Changan as the reincarnated golden immortal and worship him.
Li Ming was very curious.
I don’t know who this Hu Changan is, who can have such great charm?
As soon as he entered the door, Li Ming was completely shocked.
I saw that in front of and behind the house, there were pots full of spiky and strange-shaped plants.
Li Ming also often visited Xungui's mansion. This was the first time he saw someone put some strange things like plums, orchids, bamboos and chrysanthemums in the courtyard instead.
However, as a small craftsman, he cannot judge the owner casually.
Li Ming followed Manager Chen to the main hall.
In the hall, Hu Changan was sipping tea and waiting for someone.
Seeing Li Ming coming, Hu Changan quickly and enthusiastically said to Li Ming: "Mr. Li, please take a seat and drink a cup of tea first to moisten your throat."
Li Ming ignored Hu Changan's words and sat down, taking a gentle sip of tea.
It tastes mellow and fragrant, it is really a good tea.
Li Ming couldn't help but be moved.
No matter how much money he makes, deep down, everyone still regards him as an ordinary craftsman.
After entering the gate of the aristocratic family, the nobles often shouted at Li Ming without saying a word, let alone offering him a cup of tea.
This was the first time Li Ming drank tea in someone else's mansion.
This is not just a cup of tea, but respect and equality.
Li Ming was moved and took a few sips of tea, then put down the tea cup and said to Hu Changan: "Servant Hu, I wonder what kind of new rouge you have this time? What kind of flower petals are you using? If you don't mind,
Please let me take a look."
Facing Li Ming's expectant eyes, Hu Changan smiled slightly and pushed back a small cup on the table: "Here, this is the raw material for my new rouge."