In a small room in the Finance Department, He Shougui faced an unprecedented challenge. His usually hunched back straightened as he frantically typed on the keyboard, determined to calculate the amount with all the speed he could muster. The computer screen's light illuminated his tense face, causing beads of sweat to form on his temples.
Xin Yunmao and Hu Chenrui stood on either side of He Shougui like guardian deities, closely monitoring the financial officer's work.
"Divine Lord," Hu Chenrui gently persuaded, "you could return to the Economic Development Section first. There's no need to wait here in the Finance Department."
This marked Xin Yunmao's second new destination of the day, following his earlier visit to the Director's office.
Xin Yunmao stood lazily with his hands in his pockets, his cold eyes narrowing as he sneered, "Heh, so you can deceive me?"
Hu Chenrui: "..."
Indeed, romance might soften supernatural beings slightly, but it couldn't change their inherently sarcastic nature.
"Divine Lord, Director Hu, I've calculated the amount..." He Shougui exhaled deeply, wiping his sweat. "Please take a look."
Xin Yunmao examined the figures expressionlessly, pondering for several seconds before abruptly asking, "Whose salary scale did you use to calculate mine?"
He Shougui felt uneasy: "Well..."
"Money from fifty years ago and money from fifty years later aren't exactly the same. They buy different things."
"That's..."
"I previously just couldn't be bothered with your little tricks, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid," Xin Yunmao frowned, coldly countering, "Why do you all assume I lack common sense?"
Chu Zhishui always thought he couldn't take care of himself, but while he might be unfamiliar with modern equipment, Chinese people's history with accounting was as long as their history with poetry and literature.
Previously, due to his wariness of the supernatural beings in the Observation Bureau, he had been reluctant to engage with them, and he despised the fawning supernatural beings from outside, so he hadn't bothered to recruit followers. But unwillingness and inability were two different things. That dragon had once wielded immense power with temples everywhere, and he considered himself no less capable.
Hu Chenrui coughed lightly, trying to mediate: "Divine Lord, this is our first time calculating such a salary, so some oversights are inevitable. Please return to your office first, and we'll confirm the final amount with you after we've properly determined it."
"Your constant presence here is putting pressure on Old He, naturally making him distracted."
As an upright and noble bamboo spirit, Xin Yunmao gave him a sidelong glance, warning, "Don't try to be clever."
"...Of course, of course."
After Xin Yunmao left, Hu Chenrui clutched the ancient coins in his hand and, looking at the computer screen, sighed, "Calculate his salary based on the Bureau Director's pay, and then look into the interest and such."
He Shougui looked troubled: "Director Hu, this doesn't comply with bureau regulations..."
"Well, it's only because he's not interested in taking action. Otherwise, he could easily overturn all four Observation Bureaus. What bureau regulations would matter then?" Hu Chenrui consoled himself, "At least he's not promoting superstition or building temples. Consider it paying for peace of mind."
"..." He Shougui whispered, "Then I'll wait for the Economic Development Section's new funds to arrive before calculating."
After all, it was all money earned by Director Chu, just moving from one pocket to another. They could definitely wait until she finished her current busy period.
In the Economic Development Section, the pearl assistance project between Huaijiang Bureau and Qiwu Bureau officially began. Qiwu Bureau soon delivered their first batch of pearls, which included both expensive pearls formed from mermaid tears and ordinary pearls from sea shells.
It was said that many exiled merpeople could cultivate pearls, just like their water-weaving silk technique, mainly for temple construction. The underwater dragon temples were decorated with water-woven silk and pearls. As the campaign against organized crime deepened and temples were gradually demolished, they naturally collected a large batch of building materials.
Mermaid pearls had bright, sharp luster, perfect spherical shapes, and natural accompanying colors and iridescence that changed with emotions, though their production was low. Construction pearls were sea-cultured pearls, similar to those cultivated by humans along the coast, with varying quality.
Lan Quan had also informed Chu Zhishui that when merpeople were injured in the past, they would grind a mermaid pearl into powder, mix it with ordinary pearl powder, and apply it to wounds to help healing.
The logic was quite straightforward - merpeople cry pearls when in pain, then use pearl powder for treatment.
When Chu Zhishui researched, she found that the "Compendium of Materia Medica" actually recorded: Pearl has a salty, sweet, and cold nature, without toxicity. It calms the heart and brightens the eyes. Applied to the face, it makes the complexion moist and beautiful. Applied to hands and feet, it removes rough skin, eliminates facial spots, and treats pox and toxins.
The two bureaus decisively settled on a plan: since the dragon temples were illegally built by exiled merpeople, they would have the reformed criminals personally demolish the temples and grind pearl powder. Perhaps seeing this scene would move them to tears, producing more mermaid pearls.
The bureau would find ways to sell high-quality mermaid pearls to pearl collectors; average-quality mermaid pearls and dismantled ordinary pearls would all be ground into powder as raw materials.
In the office, Chu Zhishui had been considering turning the pearl powder into face masks or hand cream, but Qiwu and Huaijiang were far apart, and their familiar factories were all in Huaijiang, making new factory cooperation problematic.
During the holiday period, Chen Zhuhui happened to be working in the Economic Development Section. Upon hearing about this, she casually asked, "Can't we just sell the pearl powder directly?"
Chu Zhishui was startled: "We can sell pearl powder directly?"
"In our village, there are some folk remedies where people buy pearls, grind them into powder, then mix them with honey or aloe vera to make their own concoctions for skin care or scar removal," Chen Zhuhui smiled sheepishly. "I have a birthmark on my back, and a village elder taught me this. I tried it but it didn't work for me, though some people say it does."
"Maybe it just doesn't work for natural marks like mine, but it might be effective for scars."
Chen Zhuhui had a birthmark on her back, which Chu Zhishui had inadvertently seen before.
Chen Zhuhui dressed conservatively and never showed it, but from her words, it was clear she wanted to remove it.
Chu Zhishui spoke gently: "If it bothers you, I can take you to a city hospital sometime. I think laser treatment might remove it."
Chen Zhuhui touched her back, saying softly: "Let me think about it. I'm a bit afraid of pain."
Chu Zhishui didn't push the matter. Following Chen Zhuhui's suggestion, she searched for pearl powder on her phone and indeed found many shops, showing that others had already discovered this business opportunity.
Generally, pearl powder was made from freshwater pearls because ordinary seawater pearls had nuclei that needed to be removed after grinding, increasing costs. However, merpeople didn't use nuclei to cultivate sea pearls, which resulted in their dragon temple pearls having varied shapes and inconsistent quality, making them unsuitable for collection and only useful as raw material for powder.
Chu Zhishui decided to mix mermaid pearls and sea pearls in proportion to make powder, enhancing the effectiveness of the Bureau's pearl powder. If they ran out of dragon temple pearls in the future, they could switch to purchased freshwater pearls as replacement raw materials. After all, sea and freshwater pearls had the same composition when ground, and the key to removing marks and scars lay in the mermaid pearls.
Soon after, a batch of bottled pearl powder quietly appeared on the shelves of the Observation Bureau Direct Store in Yinhai City, available for customers to try.
"Is this powder?" someone pinched a bit of pearl powder, asking the store clerk, "Is this for eating or what?"
The clerk smiled and explained: "This is pearl powder, and we recommend external application. You can read the suggestions on the small sign beside it to DIY according to different needs. This is pure pearl powder, basically free of impurities."
The customer looked to the side and indeed saw an instruction sign listing suggested uses for pearl powder, such as honey method, milk method, aloe vera method, etc. Below were friendly reminders advising against internal consumption, long-term external use due to potential nutrient excess (recommending only 1-2 times per week), and use by those with sensitive skin.
It was simply a jar of pure pearl powder - what to do with it after purchase was entirely up to the customer.
The new product launch sparked a DIY trend online, with many people sharing unique usage experiences across various platforms.
Du Ruoxiang even made a special video introduction, holding a jar of pearl powder while saying, "Lately, many sisters have been urging me to review this. I was planning to wait until it was available nationwide before buying, but I couldn't help getting someone to purchase this new product early to give everyone an advance review and evaluation."
"As everyone knows, this brand produces affordable products. You can tell from the trademark information on the back - the pearl powder is labeled as a primary agricultural product, so it's not actually considered a cosmetic, it's just raw material..." Du Ruoxiang set out small bowls and brushes, and began mixing ingredients while explaining, "We need to be creative and make our own face masks. Depending on whether you want whitening or spot removal, we'll add different ingredients. Sisters who are allergic to protein should avoid using this."
"This is pure pearl powder. Everyone should check the pearl composition chart, or test it behind your ear first, since everyone's skin type is different."
"Now it's ready to apply to your face. Spread it on slowly, leave it for a while and then wash it off, just like a regular face mask." After washing, Du Ruoxiang patted her cheeks, revealing glowing skin. "It feels quite nice."
[I'm lazy, I just dip dry face masks in it and stick them on - no need to even spread it!]
[This works great! I've tried other brands of pearl powder before, but this one is better at removing spots. The scars on my hands are gone!]
[This was my grandmother's skincare method back in the day. History really does come full circle, returning to the basics.]
[If it's pure pearl powder, can't we take it orally?]
[Those with cold constitution shouldn't take it internally! Although pearl powder can be used medicinally, you should still get it from a traditional Chinese medicine shop!]
[The medicine shops might have worse supply chains than this one - the quality of pearl powder really depends on the seller's integrity.]
[Learned something interesting today, I'll try it tonight.]
The Observation Bureau had always sold affordable, low-tech products, mainly competing with similar products through genuine materials and quality. As soon as the pearl powder hit the shelves at their direct store, before any major promotion, people were already coming to place orders.
These weren't regular retail customers, but factory owners who were impressed by the Bureau's pearl powder quality and wanted to use it as raw material for their own products.
While new product development takes time, wholesale supply of raw materials moved quickly, especially since the Bureau had mermaid pearl technology that dominated the pearl powder industry.
The Qiwu Bureau's supernatural division had been working overtime catching merpeople lately, while Chu Zhishui was also looking for human pearl factories. If they ran out of dragon temple sea pearls, they could still maintain supply by mixing mermaid pearls with human freshwater pearls.
The money-making venture took off rapidly. The Huaijiang Bureau had initially lent about a million yuan, but once the factory orders were fulfilled, the Qiwu Bureau's debt was quickly cleared!
These factory orders far exceeded individual customer sales, with high demand and large total amounts - just one or two orders brought in huge sums. When Director Sha heard the news, he was overjoyed and contacted Hu Chenrui and Chu Zhishui about establishing long-term supply arrangements to benefit the Bureau's employees.
After all, the Qiwu Observation Bureau was already tasked with capturing fugitive merpeople - now they just had a side business going, working both angles.
On the weekend, in the bamboo-filled courtyard, after the intense busy period of pearl powder sales, Chu Zhishui finally had time to rest and plan the future of the Economic Development Department. Now that operations were running smoothly, the store would continue to develop steadily as long as it maintained normal operations.
Going forward, making money wasn't the main issue - spending it was. They needed to figure out how to use the money in their accounts.
Chu Zhishui lay relaxing in a rocking chair, sunbathing, when she heard movement at the door and knew Xin Yunmao had returned.
Xin Yunmao set down a teapot on the small table and sat on a stool next to the rocking chair, suddenly giving a light cough.
The outdoor breeze was pleasant, and Chu Zhishui had her eyes half-closed, nearly dozing off.
Xin Yunmao stole a glance at her, and seeing no reaction, couldn't help but cough twice more.
"Want some water?" Chu Zhishui lifted her eyelids, looking at him puzzled. "Don't you keep better track of your water schedule than I do?"
Drinking water was one of the pleasures of being bamboo.
Xin Yunmao raised his eyebrows slightly, scanning the courtyard's rocking chair with meaning: "Seeing this scene, shouldn't you be reminded of something?"
Chu Zhishui looked completely bewildered: "Reminded of what?"
Xin Yunmao's lips tightened slightly, his tone rather resentful: "Don't you feel like you've forgotten something lately?"
Chu Zhishui grew even more confused, saying in a fog: "What have I forgotten?"
She thought hard and looked around the courtyard again, completely unable to recall what she might have forgotten.
Seeing she still didn't get it, Xin Yunmao finally darkened his expression and declared indignantly: "You've been so busy lately, you haven't kissed me."
"..."
