Chapter 4: Brother's Kingdom
Seeing Chongzhen looked confused.

Wang An immediately realized that he had misunderstood.

I didn't care why he suddenly praised me. Maybe he was just being polite?
Wang An simply grabbed Chongzhen's wrist and walked to the backyard, saying excitedly: "Come here, cousin, let me show you the kingdom I have built for our Wang family."

After these words were spoken, not only did Chongzhen not resist at all, even Wang Chengen and other attendants subconsciously did not try to stop him. After seeing that fat woman, they all wanted to see what Wang An's backyard looked like.

Aren’t they all old, ugly and fat women?
I heard that some people have unique tastes and like women with strange looks.

No wonder the girl of thirteen or fourteen was only used as an assistant, it turns out that she was looked down upon!
The crowd marched into the backyard, and Chongzhen couldn't wait to look around.

There was a well in the middle of the yard, with seven or eight women sitting around it. They didn't look strange at all, as I had imagined.

Instead, there were people of all ages, fat and thin, with a wooden basin in front of each of them and a washboard in the basin, and they were happily washing clothes.

The scene was similar to the laundry department in the palace, except that in the corner of the yard there were three strange-shaped stoves, the same as those in the shop, each with a large iron pot on top.

From time to time, a woman would scoop a few spoonfuls of hot water from the iron pot and add it into the wooden basin in front of her.

Wang Chengen was a palace eunuch. Seeing this, he could not help but exclaimed in amazement: "Washing clothes with hot water, what a luxurious practice!"

In ancient times, there were only two ways to obtain heat: burning firewood or burning coal. Moreover, due to the defects of the stoves and fuel themselves, the energy efficiency was greatly lost.

Moreover, both firewood and coal have to be purchased, and they are not cheap.

Especially for those living in the city, even firewood has to be purchased from nearby woodcutters who carry it into the city.

Among the necessities of life, firewood ranks first not just because it tastes good.

Therefore, the ancients seldom took hot baths. Except for the wealthy families, they usually took cold baths directly at the riverside, or boiled a basin of hot water and wiped their bodies.

Chongzhen nodded when he heard this. Every winter, almost all the palace maids in the laundry department had chapped hands due to washing clothes with cold water.

Sometimes, while washing, a basin of clean water turns into blood.

Wang An pointed at the women workers and said proudly, "Everyone thinks the profit from washing clothes is too low, but I don't think so. As the saying goes, a little bit of money adds up to a lot. Even if I can only make two cents from washing one piece of clothing, what about a hundred or a thousand pieces?"

"Besides, there are many wealthy families in the capital. What do they need most? Clean clothes! If you can wash clothes like new, the profit can increase tenfold! Cousin, this is a good business. For the sake of our blood relationship, how about letting you invest?"

As he spoke, Wang An looked at Chongzhen and rubbed his hands, and said cheerfully: "My uncle said in the letter that you are going to buy land and property when you return to Beijing this time? These days, there are constant natural disasters and man-made disasters. Even if you buy land, it is not reliable! Listen to my advice, invest the money in me, and I will give you a share! Let's grow bigger and stronger together, and create greater glory!"

Wang Chengen sneered, "You talk nonsense, but how many clothes can you wash in a day? Besides, all clothes are washed the same way in the world, just adding some soap nuts to the water. Rich families have their own laundry maids, and they don't lack soap nuts and water. Why would they look for you?"

Wang An was about to explain his business blueprint when he was interrupted by Wang Chengen. He was immediately annoyed and said, "The master hasn't spoken yet, what are you, a servant, yelling about?"

Although Wang Chengen was a eunuch, after Chongzhen ascended the throne, he acted like the best eunuch in the palace. Apart from the emperor, few people dared to speak to him like that.

However, although he was angry, he could not refute it. After all, he was really the emperor's slave.

Wang An snorted, pointed at a lady who was washing clothes enthusiastically and said, "See? I dare to open a fine laundry shop, so I have my competitive advantages!"

Everyone looked down and saw that the lady was holding a gray lump in her hand and smearing it on clothes from time to time.

The originally greasy clothes, after being applied with this thing, became clean after just a few rubs. It was truly magical.

"What is this?" Chongzhen didn't understand, but Wang Chengen was very surprised.

Wang An said proudly: "Okay, this is soap! With this thing, there will be no clothes in the world that cannot be washed clean, and this thing is unique to me, do you think I can do a good job of washing?" "Besides, we are short of funds now. If you are willing to invest, we can open a chain of laundry stores and open Wang's signboards all over Ming Dynasty!"

After that, seeing that Chongzhen was somewhat surprised but not excited, Wang An took out a porcelain bottle and asked, "Cousin, do you know what this is?"

Chongzhen recognized the glycerin that the people at the gate had bought and smiled slightly, "Maybe it's the powder that women put on?"

Now that he knew that Wang An was not a dissolute person, Chongzhen calmed down.

It seems that Wang An has some strange and clever ideas, so it is interesting to chat with him casually.

Wang An smiled mysteriously, "It's good to think so, cousin, but you would never dream that if I wanted to, this small bottle of stuff could blow up You'anmen!"

Chongzhen was nervous for a moment after hearing this, and then he sneered, "The door of You'an Gate is three feet thick, and it is covered with iron rivets. Even the French cannon can't blow it open in a moment. Stop talking nonsense, shopkeeper."

Everyone burst into laughter when they heard this, even the female workers didn't believe it.

Wang An sighed slightly, thinking that these people still didn't know the power of technology, so he didn't argue.

Just when I was feeling a little discouraged, someone started talking in the shop again.

"Is the little doctor here?"

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen then remembered that it seemed that these people had always called Wang An a miracle doctor. Why was that?
Without waiting for him to ask, Wang An pulled him back to the shop.

A hunchbacked old man, leaning on a crutch, stood in the shop and gave Wang An a flattering smile.

"Uncle Zhang, where do you feel uncomfortable?" Wang An asked.

The old man laughed and said, "I have an abscess on my back. It has not healed in more than half a month. The pain is excruciating."

Wang An didn't waste any words. He pulled open the clothes on Zhang Bo's back and saw a whole area of ​​red and swollen abscesses that were already oozing pus and erosion.

"Back carbuncle!" Wang Chengen exclaimed, and wanted to leave as soon as Chongzhen came.

Rumor has it that this thing is contagious. During the reign of Emperor Taizu, Crown Prince Zhu Biao was tortured to death by a back abscess.

However, Chongzhen remained motionless and just nodded at Wang An.

Wang An was not surprised at all. He asked Zhang Bo to lie on the table and take out a porcelain bottle, and then applied it to the old man's affected area with cotton wool, but it was not the glycerin he had used before.

A strong smell of alcohol suddenly filled the air.

Even the imperial physician in the palace would retreat if he saw this back carbuncle, but the man in front of him looked indifferent, and Chongzhen couldn't help but feel curious.

Is this really a skill, or is it that he doesn't even know the name of the old man's illness and is simply ignorant and fearless?
But looking at Ye Xuan's actions, it seemed like he was used to it.

Chongzhen couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you afraid, shopkeeper?"

Wang An kept moving while replying, "It's just a back abscess. It's not like I haven't treated it before. What's so scary about it?"

There was a sudden sound of people gasping for air behind me.

It turns out this guy knew it was a back carbuncle!
(End of this chapter)