nycdaug Chapter 12 Making Soap
Chapter 12 Making Soap
Xiao family
It was already evening when the group returned home.
Old Mrs. Xiao and Zhao Yindi wanted to go to the village chief's house before it got dark to pick up the gifts for Aunt Fang and also to talk about arranging a marriage for Xiao Siqi.
The task of making dinner fell to Liu Cui and Lin Qin.
Seeing that everyone else was busy with their own things, Xiao Siyue decided to go to her room to sort out the soap-making process.
The sky was slightly dark. Xiao Siyue sat at Xiao Qinian's desk, pondering what to do next.
The main ingredient in soap is lard, but lard is quite expensive and scarce these days, so my family probably won't let her use it.
Thinking of this, Xiao Siyue felt a little melancholy again, and besides, she figured no one would believe her if she said she was going to make soap.
Or, tomorrow I can ask my aunt for some oil and make a small batch first. Once we have the finished product, it will be more convincing.
Let's do it this way.
The next day, Xiao Siyue peeked into the kitchen and saw Zhao Yindi and Old Lady Xiao cooking. She ran to Zhao Yindi's side and tugged at her clothes, acting coquettishly.
"Auntie, could you give me some oil?"
"Yue'er, what do you need the oil for?" Zhao Yindi asked, somewhat puzzled. Was the child planning to cook?
“You’re still too young. When you’re a little older, your aunt will teach you how to cook.”
"Auntie, no, I'm going to use the oil to make scented soap," Xiao Siyue quickly explained. She wasn't even as tall as the stove yet, so she couldn't cook.
"Fragrant soap!" Zhao Yindi exclaimed in surprise.
She had seen precious soap before, but had never used it.
"Yue'er, you just said you were going to make scented soap. How do you know how to make such a thing?" Although she knew that Siyue wouldn't lie, she still couldn't quite believe it.
Zhao Yindi's exclamation had just caught Old Lady Xiao's attention.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, what did you just shout?"
“Mother, Yue’er just told me she’s going to make scented soap,” Zhao Yindi repeated what Siyue had just told her.
“Yes, Grandma, I want some oil to make scented soap,” Siyue said.
"Yue'er, tell Grandma, how did you come up with the idea of making scented soap, especially since we don't know how?"
"Grandma, I know how, I know what to do," Xiao Siyue said quickly.
"If Grandma agrees, everyone else will agree too," she continued.
"Grandma, yesterday Mom and I went to Liuyue Pavilion in town. They sell scented soap there, and I asked out of curiosity. The shopkeeper saw that I was cute, so he told me how to make it." Xiao Siyue shamelessly told a lie.
I was thinking to myself, I can't not lie, I can't exactly say I knew it in my past life, but Grandma probably won't believe such a lame excuse.
If Grandma doesn't believe me, I'll just act cute and charming.
"Oh, I see."
Oh, Grandma believed it? That's a bit unbelievable.
Zhao Yindi was speechless upon hearing this. This mother-in-law believed it? What merchant would tell outsiders their money-making formula?
Old Mrs. Xiao wasn't entirely convinced, but considering her granddaughter's intelligence and beauty, perhaps it was true.
All I can say is that Old Lady Xiao's filter is really too thick.
"Okay, then have your aunt get you some oil."
Zhao Yindi filled half a bowl with snow-white lard and gave it to Xiao Siyue with a pained expression.
Xiao Siyue, holding the oil, went to her second uncle, Xiao Qili, with a happy expression and asked for a section of bamboo tube.
“Alright, now all that’s left is the lye water,” Xiao Siyue said to herself as she stood in the yard.
This is easy to deal with. I happen to have some dried mugwort at home, so I just need to burn some.
Actually, it can also be used to make mugwort soap, but we'll talk about that later.
Xiao Siyue found a somewhat worn ceramic basin in the yard, put some dry grass in it, and burned it to make some ash. Then she found a clean basin, poured in the ash that had been filtered several times, and let it settle with water.
The next morning, Xiao Siyue cleared out the settled alkaline water. The color was much better than the day before, but it was still not clear enough. If only she had some ready-made alkali.
Then he poured the melted lard into the alkaline water and stirred it.
The stirring process was too tiring; her little arms were sore. She looked around and went to find Xiao Qili.
"Second Uncle, could you please do me a favor?"
Xiao Qili saw the basin that Siyue was carrying. Was this the fragrant soap that Siyue was going to make yesterday?
"Okay, then Yue'er, how do you do this?" Of course, he couldn't refuse Si Yue's little request.
"The second step is to stir the oil and water in the basin until it becomes thick." This step is actually the saponification reaction.
Sure enough, her second uncle was much stronger than her, and he was done in less than half an hour.
After stirring well, pour the solution into a bamboo tube and seal it with gauze.
Xiao Siyue also made a point of placing the bamboo tube in a well-ventilated area to dry it faster.
-
Two days later, Xiao Qinian and his children returned from school and were very curious to learn that Xiao Siyue had made scented soap.
Today was the perfect day to unmold them, and everyone gathered around to watch.
When Siyue split open the bamboo tube and took out the soap, she was incredibly excited. She had succeeded! Although it wasn't very good—the color was a bit dull and it didn't have much of a scent—it was still a success.
"Is this the scented soap?" Xiao Siyu was overjoyed and a little proud; this was his sister.
"Mmm, brother, quickly get the knife and cut it open."
The cut soaps were put into a basket, which looked a bit like a dessert, soft and chewy.
"Grandma, my scented soap is a success!" Xiao Siyue carried the basket into the main room and couldn't wait to share it with her grandmother.
The Xiao family members were chatting in the main room when they heard Xiao Siyue's voice and all looked over at the same time.
"Grandpa, Grandma, look." Xiao Siyue handed the soap in her hand to Xiao Yong.
"This is the scented soap. It looks just like the ones sold in the shop." Zhao Yindi thought to herself with some surprise when she heard that her little niece was going to make scented soap. She thought it was just children playing house and didn't take it seriously. Who knew that she would actually make it for her?
"Yue'er, did you really make this?" Xiao Qinian also showed a shocked expression. His daughter was only five years old, yet she could make scented soap. It was simply unbelievable. Then he thought to himself, "No wonder she's my daughter; she's just as capable as me."
"Yes, Daddy, I'm amazing, right?" Xiao Siyue was incredibly proud as she looked at everyone's astonished expressions.
I thought to myself, "Now you're in trouble! Hurry up and praise me! Come on, don't hold back, say all the compliments you can think of, I can handle it."
Xiao Qinian almost burst out laughing when he saw his daughter's proud little expression.
"Yes, yes, our Yue'er is really amazing!"
That's it, that's all. No, aren't you a scholar? Is your language so limited?
She pulled her head back down, looked at her father, and saw his teasing smile.
Ahem, well, okay, she went a bit too far.
Quickly change the subject.
"Mother, let's fetch some water and try it."
Everyone burst into laughter at Xiao Siyue's various little actions and expressions.
Seeing this, Xiao Siyue felt a little embarrassed and ran out of the yard first.
The others exchanged smiles and followed suit.