Eyebrow Pencil and Nail Polish

"Sis, don't rush to ask the price, there are still two things you haven't looked at yet."

As Shen Jingchuan spoke, he pulled out two small items that hadn't been shown before from deep inside his makeup bag.

He first removed the cap from one of the pens, and Xiao Mingshu understood at a glance:

"Is this an eyebrow pencil?"

"Sister has a good eye." Shen Jingchuan said with a smile, handing it over.

Xiao Mingshu looked in the makeup mirror and gently traced two lines on her eyebrows with the pen. The pen lead was of medium softness and hardness, and the strokes were even. It was much more convenient than the stone ink she usually used, as she didn't need to grind or mix it herself; she could just pick it up and use it.

"The items are convenient, but not particularly rare. There are ready-made ink brushes in the market, though they are of rough quality."

She put down her pen and commented casually, "It's not bad to sell it as part of a set."

She pointed to another small, round bottle, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What's this one?"

"This is called nail polish, it's used to color nails."

Shen Jingchuan picked up the bottle and unscrewed the cap. A faint, slightly pungent smell of paint wafted out. He didn't explain much, only saying:

"Sister, give me your hand."

Xiao Mingshu hesitated for a moment, then extended her right hand.

Shen Jingchuan held the small brush that came with the bottle cap, dipped it in the bright red cream, and carefully applied it to her nails.

His movements were very light; the brush swept across the nail surface with remarkable stability, not even touching the edges. After applying one layer, he leaned over and gently blew on it, his breath carrying a faint warmth as it brushed against his fingertips.

Xiao Mingshu looked down at his serious profile, and her heart stirred slightly.

She usually dealt with slick merchants and Aristocratic Clan scions of wealthy families, all calculating their own interests and engaging in polite exchanges. No man had ever been willing to be so patient as to lower himself and apply such a small, delicate product for her.

This young man may be young, but he's quite perceptive.

Once the ointment had completely solidified, Shen Jingchuan straightened up. "Sis, what do you think?"

Xiao Mingshu held her hand up to the light, revealing that her fingernails were evenly covered with a bright, vibrant red, a rich and translucent color that far surpassed the vibrant red dyes produced by pounding balsam flowers in the market.

"The colors are certainly vibrant enough." She nodded.

"Try rubbing it a couple of times," Shen Jingchuan said with a smile.

Xiao Mingshu suspiciously rubbed the nail with her fingertip, then rubbed it vigorously a couple of times, but the red color on the nail didn't budge at all.

"It doesn't fade at all?" she asked, somewhat surprised.

"Washing your hands and doing other things normally is fine. As long as you don't use hard objects to deliberately scrape your skin, it should last for five or six days without any problem."

Shen Jingchuan said, "If the color really fades, we can just apply another layer."

Xiao Mingshu stared at the bright and even red nail polish, her eyes filled with amazement. This stuff was much more powerful than she had expected.

"The nail polish and henna juice sold in the market either require mashing and mixing the ingredients to apply for half a day before the color takes effect, or they smudge as soon as they're touched, and come off in patches with just a little water; they simply don't last."

She gently stroked her nails with her fingertips, her tone filled with admiration:

"It's so rare that you can't even rub it off."

She immediately started making plans in her mind:

This thing is so novel and practical that ordinary rich young ladies can use it, and lower-level female cultivators are even more willing to spend money for beauty. Even higher-level female cultivators will buy it. In the end, whether it will be a bestseller depends entirely on its price.

Shen Jingchuan cut to the chase, zipped up his makeup bag, and pushed it toward her. "Sister, this set, including the mirror and these odds and ends, I'll charge you two Spirit Stones per set. I won't interfere with how much you sell it for wholesale; any extra sales are yours."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingshu raised an eyebrow and immediately smiled:

"Are you making a loss-making deal? This single glass makeup mirror costs me one Spirit Stone from you, while I sell it to shops in the market for two Spirit Stones, and they can retail it for three or four. Now you're charging me only two Spirit Stones for the whole set, including the mirror, lipstick, perfume, eyebrow pencil, and nail polish?"

"These are goods produced by my Shen Household. I'm giving them to you at cost price; I won't lose money."

Shen Jingchuan smiled casually, "It was just something I picked up incidentally, not worth calculating so much. Sister, you're helping me ship it out, I can't let you come all this way for nothing."

Xiao Mingshu quickly did the math in her mind: With this design and quality, a set sold to a rouge shop or general store in the market could fetch at least four Spirit Stones, and the shop could even sell it for seven or eight Spirit Stones per set, which is twice the profit I made from selling mirrors.

"No way, I wouldn't take advantage of you like that."

She shook her head, her tone very firm:

"Here's the deal: I'll wholesale them, with a minimum of four Spirit Stones per set. If the market's good, I might be able to get five. We'll split any extra Spirit Stones we sell."

"No way!" Shen Jingchuan quickly waved his hand. "We agreed I'd only take two, and any extra profit is your business acumen and connections, not mine. Just take it without hesitation."

The more readily he refused, the more pleased Xiao Mingshu felt.

Having traveled all over the country and done business for so many years, she has seen far too many people haggling and blushing over half a Spirit Stone. People like Shen Jingchuan, who hold an exclusive source of goods but voluntarily give up the lion's share of the profits, are extremely rare.

This man looked young, but he was open-minded and kind, without a trace of mercenary air. The more Shen Jingchuan looked at him, the more pleasing he became. Could it be that he had taken a liking to him?

She cursed herself inwardly, shook her head, and dared not think any further.

"Just do as I say, split it in half."

She tossed her makeup bag to her side, her tone leaving no room for argument:

"If you keep making excuses, I won't help you sell this."

Seeing this, Shen Jingchuan deliberately dragged out his tone to tease her:

"Sis, if you won't help me sell them, I'll sell them myself?"

You dare!

Xiao Mingshu raised her hand and lightly tapped the table, raising an eyebrow and glaring at her with a hint of feigned anger:

"You've grown bolder, haven't you? You even want to start your own business behind your sister's back?"

Shen Jingchuan immediately burst out laughing:

"Look at you, sis, you won't let me sell them on your behalf, and you won't even let me sell them myself. Isn't that unreasonable?"

Xiao Mingshu was amused by his words, but knowing he was joking, she quickly stopped laughing and her tone became serious:

"Alright, stop being silly. We're practically siblings now, how could your older sister take advantage of you like this? Just listen to your older sister, we'll split the profits 50/50, it's settled then."

Seeing her resolute attitude, Shen Jingchuan stopped refusing and agreed with a smile:

"Okay, whatever you say, sister. We'll decide."

"That's more like it." Xiao Mingshu's brows relaxed, and her complexion improved considerably.

She subconsciously glanced at Shen Jingchuan again. The young man was tall and straight, with bright eyes and a straightforward and honest demeanor, without the petty calculations typical of businessmen. The longer she spent with him, the more pleasing he became to her.

The thought had just crossed her mind when a sudden realization struck her. She quickly lowered her eyes, picked up her teacup, and chuckled to herself: What was wrong with her? Could it be that she had actually developed feelings for this boy who was a few years younger than her?