“Alright, enough messing around. Run Niang, get me some lard,” Jin Feng said with a smile, pulling Guan Xiao Rou back and stating his purpose.
“Feng Ge, what do you need lard for?” Run Niang asked curiously.
Jin Feng rarely cooked.
Still blushing, she went to the oil jar. “How much do you need?”
“All of it,” Jin Feng said without explaining. “And a jar of rapeseed oil too.”
“Here,” Run Niang obediently handed over the jars.
Jin Feng took them and left, with Guan Xiao Rou following.
Not just Run Niang, but Guan Xiao Rou was also curious about what Jin Feng was up to.
In a secluded spot, Guan Xiao Rou grabbed his arm. “Darling, what are you doing with the oil jars?”
“Making soap,” Jin Feng said with a smile.
Soon after arriving in this world, Jin Feng noticed Da Kang people used soapberries for washing clothes and hair.
They worked decently for clothes with hard scrubbing, but for hair, their oil-removing ability was limited, leaving hair greasy and smelly.
Wealthy households could use rice water to wash hair, which helped with the smell somewhat.
But who among ordinary folk could afford rice?
So, shortly after their marriage, Jin Feng made two soap bars for Guan Xiao Rou: one for bathing and hair, one for clothes.
“Soap is made from lard?” Guan Xiao Rou’s eyes widened.
As the first in Da Kang, besides Jin Feng, to use soap, she knew its benefits well.
Since getting soap, she felt clean and fresh daily, no longer worrying about smelly hair.
Now Jin Feng was saying that soap, with its strong oil-removing power, was made from oil?
It seemed as unbelievable to her as saying fire in a stove came from water.
But Jin Feng nodded with a smile.
Soap-making was simple; historically, its discovery was accidental.
Legend had it an apprentice blacksmith spilled oil into a recently extinguished fire. Fearing a blaze, he scooped it out with ashes.
Oil was hard to wash off with water, but while cleaning his hands, the apprentice noticed white foam forming, and the oil washed away completely.
The hardened mixture of oil and ash proved highly effective at cleaning.
Soap was born.
Though it sounded incredible, Guan Xiao Rou fully trusted Jin Feng.
If he said lard could make soap, it could.
“Darling, the soap you made last time isn’t used up yet. No need to make more, right?” she said.
“Last time was rushed, not great quality. This time I’ll do it properly. You can toss the old ones,” Jin Feng replied.
“How could I? Such good stuff, what a waste to throw away!” Guan Xiao Rou treasured those bars. Only she, Tang Dong Dong, Xiao E, and Run Niang used them.
Third Aunt had begged to borrow them several times, but she couldn’t bear to part with them.
“It’s just soap, not some treasure,” Jin Feng said, laughing. “Once I make the new batch, you’ll want to toss the old ones yourself.”
Last time, without caustic soda, he used ash to make lye, resulting in mediocre soap.
Now, with caustic soda, plant oil, and fragrances, he could make proper scented soap, far superior to the last batch.
“I won’t throw them. I’ll give them to Third Aunt and the others,” Guan Xiao Rou said firmly.
“This time, I’ll make plenty. Every household in the village can have a bar to try,” Jin Feng said, smiling. “Then Third Aunt won’t need yours.”
In Da Kang, filial piety meant preserving one’s body, including hair, as a gift from parents, so most never cut it.
At the brick kiln, Jin Feng often wanted to cover his nose; the men’s body odour was overpowering.
After a day’s work, their sweat was unimaginable.
Yet they rarely washed their hair.
He’d seen bugs crawling in their hair, giving him goosebumps.
Now, he avoided looking at people’s heads when talking.
Two jars of oil should make enough soap for every household.
Soap and scented soap were too alkaline for hair, causing dryness and damage. Jin Feng had considered making shampoo and had Zhang Liang buy herbs like soapnuts and fleeceflower root from the county.
But shampoo, unlike soap, wasn’t common knowledge. Its production was complex, and Jin Feng, a mechanics expert in his past life, had limited chemistry knowledge and hadn’t succeeded.
Then, with Qing Huai, he went to Wei Zhou, shelving the shampoo project.
Now, with time, he could try again.
“Every household gets one?” Guan Xiao Rou asked, a bit pained. “That’s a lot of lard.”
“Don’t worry, we have enough oil,” Jin Feng said. “I plan to sell soap later. Letting villagers try it is like market research for feedback.”
Guan Xiao Rou didn’t understand market research but trusted Jin Feng’s words.
He carried the jars to the blacksmith’s shop, where Man Cang had prepared a small pot and furnace.
Two hours later, Jin Feng poured the liquid soap into pre-made moulds, finishing the initial process. Now, they waited.
Once saponification was complete and the liquid solidified, the soap would be ready.
Looking at three full trays of scented soap, Jin Feng’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
Textiles were profitable but slow.
And you couldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.
The market for daily necessities was vast, especially with no competition.
Greasy hair plagued nearly all Da Kang people. If handled right, soap could outpace textiles in profits.
But textiles couldn’t be abandoned.
After all, in clothing, food, shelter, and transport, clothing came first.
People could cook their own food and live in their own houses, but few could turn hemp into clothes.
Everyone could skip washing their hair, but no one could go without clothes.
So textiles had great prospects, just with more competition.
Jin Feng and Man Cang moved the soap to a ventilated spot. Zhang Liang and his burly friend returned, followed by two gaunt men in tattered clothes.
“Xiao Feng, these are Tie Lin Army brothers, Da Zhuang and Tie Chui,” the burly friend introduced, then pointed to Jin Feng. “This is Mr. Jin.”
“Brother Tie Niu, is this the gentleman who led our Tie Lin Army brothers to defeat the Dang Xiang in Qing Shui Valley?” The two men glanced at Jin Feng, then turned to the burly friend.
