"Last year, at this very door, human faces and peach blossoms reflected each other’s blushes."
On stage, the singing voice twirled gracefully, clear and lovely, while from the audience, cheers erupted from time to time.
The Jianyue Theater Troupe, although still performing the intricate love story of a wealthy daughter and a scholar, was indeed professional. To showcase mountains and gardens, they used colored plaster to make hollow fake hills, placed on rails to be pushed towards the stage. To depict an Immortal descending to rescue the unfortunate lovers, they employed black-painted ropes that blended with the stage and harnesses connected to the actors.
They also used talismans to create effects of smoke, rain, and flames, among others. Audience members sitting in the front could directly feel the mist from the stage. It felt like watching a 4D movie.
A normal performance lasted two hours, with three intermissions for the audience and actors to rest. Finally, the scholar on stage became the top scorer. Under the Emperor’s and the Immortal’s blessings, he married the wealthy daughter, bringing the play to a perfect closure. The audience then erupted in enthusiastic applause, continually throwing fresh flowers and money onto the stage.
The actors collectively appeared to express their gratitude. As the curtain slowly descended, the play officially ended. The young servants of the Jianyue Theater Troupe drew back the theater window curtains, allowing the evening sunset to shine in. Audience members began to leave their seats, still quietly discussing the plot as they exited the theater.
"How did it feel?" Li Ang noticed the excited expression on Chai Cuiqiao’s face and casually asked.
Chai Cuiqiao thought for a moment and nodded earnestly, "Hmm... it was quite spectacular. But just when the wealthy daughter returned to life and met the scholar again, she was still wearing that same dress—shouldn’t her body have decayed in the grave for two years? Wouldn’t it have maggots or something?"
"Uh, maybe she was embalmed with preservatives after death? Or perhaps the Bodhisattva not only resurrected her but also repaired her body. Of course, it’s more likely just a shortcoming in the stage effects."
It wasn’t like the biology classes from his Otherworldly memories, where silkworms and maggots could be interchanged.
Li Ang and Chai Cuiqiao chatted as they left the theater, but suddenly, Li Ang halted in his tracks.
Chai Cuiqiao asked curiously, "What’s the matter?"
Li Ang slightly furrowed his brow and glanced back at the theater stage beyond the door. He couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but as they stepped out the door, he felt a chilling sensation down his spine.
It was probably just the Cooling Wind Charm inside the theater.
Li Ang gestured dismissively and joined Chai Cuiqiao in a carriage ride back home.
"Grandma, what are you doing here?"
The young servant cleaning the stage was surprised to see an old woman in gray clothes, who appeared behind the thick curtains, holding a broom and dustpan, peering through the curtain gap at the departing audience.
"Hey, weren’t you supposed to stay backstage? How did you get to the stage? Good thing you didn’t go out during the performance, or it would have been an accident."
The servant prattled on, taking the broom and dustpan from the old woman and helping her off the stage, "Let’s go now. Don’t let the theater troupe leader see you, or he’ll scold again..."
The gray-clothed old woman followed the young servant to the backstage, gently and quietly. Her withered palms trembled slightly, the backs mystically cracked with several fine fissures, hidden beneath layers of wrinkled skin, like porcelain on the verge of shattering.
The brief two-day holiday passed quickly. Upon returning to the Academic Palace, Li Ang went to the patent office to register patents for soap, De-fat cotton balls, and degreasing cotton fabric with Dr. Su Feng.
As a Doctor of Science at the Academic Palace, Dr. Su Feng naturally knew about Li Ang’s invention of the forceps, and his aid to the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Industry in devising strategies to prevent malaria. He himself was an inventor. After briefly showing surprise at the stack of blueprints and finished products that Li Ang brought him, he accepted them.
He first went to consult past records to ensure that there were no highly similar inventions. Then, he swiftly completed the patent registration process.
"Dr. Su," Li Ang received the patent certificate and inquired, "How long will it take for this patent to sell?"
Dr. Su Feng asked with a smile, "What’s wrong? Are you in urgent need of money?"
Li Ang nodded. To his knowledge, Su Feng, who had many patent inventions, was a hidden tycoon. Even Xi Yangyu, the best at scheming, with his lavish mansion and beauties in Chang’an, might not be richer than him.
"It depends on the profit outlook of the patent, to see if there are any merchants willing to buy or lease it," Dr. Su Feng said. "Generally, to get the money, it takes as short as half a year and as long as several years. However, your soap and degreasing cotton are used quite frequently in daily life. The prospects are very good, and you shouldn’t worry about not being able to sell them.
"I will collaborate with the Doctor of Science from the Academic Palace publication to experiment based on your blueprints. If we can manufacture the product, we will publish the information in the Academic Palace Journal of Natural Science—those big merchants also subscribe to the journal.
"When they see a new invention, they will come to the Academic Palace to inquire about the price."
"Then, thank you very much, Dr. Su."
Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief. The Academic Palace was always meticulous, and some interesting patent inventions had to be experimentally verified before being published in their publications. They wouldn’t be in awe of just the process diagrams for products like soap—after all, there was already ’soap,’ a cleaning product with an equally complicated production process. Whether a patent could sell depended ultimately on the product’s performance, cost, production threshold, and profit outlook.
However, judging by Chai Cuiqiao’s endless praise and satisfaction with the soap and degreasing cotton fabric, there was no need to worry about these items lacking a market.
Li Ang asked Dr. Su Feng to conceal the name of the degreasing cotton fabric inventor in the publication, then he returned to continue his classes.
The efficiency of Dr. Su Feng and the others far exceeded his expectations. By evening, the Academic Palace Instructors, using the abundant resources of the patent office and the abilities of Cultivators, had replicated the product line for soap and degreasing cotton, producing several dozen samples.
And Dr. Su Feng understood why Li Ang had inquired about the selling time of the patent—the new soap completely outperformed the traditional ’soap’ in all aspects.
Pig pancreas smelled pleasant, but it was gray-brown and ugly, formed in lumps, and after prolonged use, it became sticky and somewhat disgusting.
The new soap not only smelled good but was also clean in color, rectangular in shape, and produced foam when used, with cleaning capabilities on par with or even exceeding that of the traditional ’soap’.
And there was no need to mention the degreasing cotton. It was white and did not yellow, soft to the touch, and with excellent water absorption properties, it could even be used to make clothing and quilts without any problems.
More importantly, Li Ang had specifically marked all potential hazards in the production process on the blueprints. And any merchant who wanted to produce these products must provide workers and temporary laborers with protective gear such as gloves and masks; otherwise, the patent would be forcibly revoked.
"Not only did he invent the product, but he also preemptively considered that some merchants might go to any lengths for profit."
"A young man so meticulous and thoughtful. Truly impressive."
"It’s rare that he also has a kind heart. Truly befitting his Medical Family background. By the way, I’ll take these few pieces of soap home first to test them out for everyone in advance."
"Shameless! This is property of the Academic Palace; how can you take it home? Whoever provided the raw material gets to keep it, so this degreasing cotton cloth that I brought—well, it belongs to me first—"
Li Ang was unaware of the chatter among the Instructors at the patent office. After finishing a busy day of studies, he returned home in Golden City Square, washed up, and fell asleep exhausted.
The next time he opened his eyes, he did not see the familiar ceiling of his bedroom, but a blood-red sky.