Chapter 400: Chapter 400 Start

Yang PeiMin had specially made a new batch of face cream for Gao Lingfeng’s mother, adding anti-aging botanical ingredients. That’s why he had dived into the lab early and used that as an excuse to have Gao Lingfeng delay his own time in the lab.

He also took the opportunity to work on Qiao Ying’s order. He had been dragging his feet on her batch of twenty for quite some time.

Qiao Ying had been an incredibly supportive colleague, promoting his skincare set within her network until almost everyone had one, with the number still on the rise.

He remembered the frustration of producing those initial rough batches with limited raw materials and primitive equipment. He went out of his way to utilize Shen Yiguang’s connections to help source materials, and also planned to change the packaging bottles, which needed to be custom ordered. After several trips back and forth, he finally managed to gather everything, moving a little at a time and storing the items in the lab’s storage cabinet. He bought a lock for it and would bring out the items only when needed.

Some classmates noticed he spent a lot of time in the lab and one asked him, “Yang, are you researching something?”

Yang PeiMin replied, “I can never seem to do the teacher’s assignments well, so I thought I’d practice a few more times.”

Sometimes there were a couple of other students in the lab, too, who said they wanted to practice some more, just like him.

At this point, Yang PeiMin could no longer say it was for a teacher’s assignment; he only mentioned it was a task he had set for himself.

A classmate named Tang Zhao craned his neck to look over at Yang PeiMin’s bench. Seeing his struggle, Yang PeiMin couldn’t help but say, “If you want to have a look, just come over.”

The guy immediately scurried over, eyeing the various bottles and jars on Yang PeiMin’s bench, and couldn’t help asking, “Yang, what are these?”

“This is skincare product.”

“You’re actually making skincare products?” Tang was surprised, and his voice rose, drawing the attention of two other classmates.

“Yeah, I’m making it to use for myself.”

“This, this, how did you research and figure all this out? I remember we haven’t learned any of this stuff yet. And did you buy all this equipment yourself?”

Yang PeiMin saw him pointing at the plethora of glass measuring cylinders, funnels, droppers, and the like on his desk and nodded, “I bought them myself. I’ve worked in a cosmetics factory before and have thought up some things on my own…”

After saying this, he immediately received several admiring gazes, and he felt a bit embarrassed since it wasn’t his own research, just experience he had learned while working in his mother’s factory in a previous life.

Several people gathered around.

Yang PeiMin knew they were the truly talented and high-achieving students.

They were passionate and committed to their work.

He was getting ready to launch these products, and he needed help.

And his classmates were all potential talents.

“…Analyzing the properties of the plants… then conducting quantity analysis… reinforcing and combining…”

Yang PeiMin shared his own experience.

“This is an acne cream, all the ingredients are from traditional Chinese medicine, and acne mostly appears on the face. But as we know, most herbs turn out black, and this is something you put on your face. If it’s all black, wouldn’t that affect your appearance? So, I extracted the anti-inflammation and acne-treating agents and mixed them with other ingredients. The final product is a milky-white cream. Would any of you like to try it?”

Tang Zhao was the first to take it, “I often get these things on my face staying up late reading. I’ll try this tonight, thanks, Yang.”

Gao Lingfeng strolled in from outside, “What are you discussing?”

Yang PeiMin felt a bit guilty; she had lured these classmates away from their homework.

Sure enough, Gao Lingfeng immediately looked towards her, “Pei Min, what are you concocting now?”

Tang Zhao had already excitedly blown Yang PeiMin’s cover.

Gao Lingfeng glanced at Yang PeiMin again, “What are you making? Tell me about it. If it’s really useful, you can count it as an achievement.”

Yang PeiMin then went into more detail.

Gao Lingfeng took it, opened the lid, sniffed the scent, and observed its shape.

Yang PeiMin explained from the side, “Even if it can’t cure acne, it won’t have side effects. These are all safe, plant-based ingredients. Take the aloe for instance, it has anti-inflammatory and repair functions; it’s the main component, plus I added…”

Gao Lingfeng nodded with a serious expression.

After class, Gao Lingfeng took Yang PeiMin to the office for a chat, asking about her plans.

Yang PeiMin blinked, “Teacher, I mentioned it to you before. I want to research skincare and cosmetics, and then hopefully start my own factory to bring these products to market.”

Gao Lingfeng pondered for a moment, “Should we report this to the school and try to get you some recognition?”

Yang PeiMin shook her head. Forget it, there wasn’t a dedicated organization for this right now; reporting it would be pointless.

“Teacher, this is your mother-in-law’s face cream. Please take a look first.”

“I specifically added He Shouwu for its anti-aging properties. It took a lot of effort to bleach out the color…”

“Please let her use it as soon as you get home. The anti-aging effects won’t be apparent right away, but you can see how it feels. It’s also moisturizing, and you’ll know right away. After application, the face feels hydrated but not oily… It’s especially suitable for older women whose skin needs hydration… I’ve arranged the packaging for you. After all, it’s a gift, so it has to look like a gift box. Does this look all right to you?” Essentially, she was pitching all the selling points she could.

After looking it over, Gao Lingfeng nodded, “Hm, yes, I’ll mail it back home after school. Your packaging looks quite interesting. How much is it? I’ll reimburse you.”

Yang PeiMin quickly waved her hands, “How can I take your money for this? It’s my homework.”

Gao Lingfeng insisted, “Your handiwork is homework, so I won’t pay for that, but give me the cost of the materials, and I’ll pay for that.”

Fine, Yang PeiMin mentioned a figure.

Gao Lingfeng then took out three yuan.

“By the way, the equipment, where did you get some of that?”

He was referring to the help from Shen Yiguang’s comrade-in-arms.

Yang PeiMin was aware that funding for their obscure major was so pitifully limited that the lab was lacking in many instruments. She had gathered only a small amount of odds and ends, but even so, the school had very few. So she said, “I plan to bring the equipment back and share it with my classmates… progress together…”

Gao Lingfeng laughed, “Is that really what you want?”

Yang PeiMin gestured, “Don’t ask me about money again, I can afford this. I’ve already made these products, and I’ve got repeat customers placing orders…”

Gao Lingfeng listened with wide eyes.