Chapter 260 Because that kind of fancy stuff looks good, you know?

Sang Zhixia kept thinking about how to make good handmade soap.

But apart from her, the rest of them, big and small, were only thinking about how delicious the oil residue was.

Xu Yuzhen made a bowl of rice with lard for Sang Zhixia.

Lard with a rich meaty aroma and delicate texture, plus hot rice just out of the pot, sprinkled with a few drops of brown soy sauce.

Add another spoonful of fried golden and crispy fried food, chopped into small pieces, to the surface of the rice, and finally add a handful of chopped green onions picked from the greenhouse vegetable garden.

Nothing needs to be added, just a simple bowl of rice mixed with lard, with pickled radish strips picked from the jar to relieve the greasiness. A boy like Xu Mingyang can eat three bowls at a time.

It wasn't time for dinner yet, but everyone had two bowls of rice mixed with lard. After they were full, the old men leaned over to see what handmade soap was.

Sang Zhixia mysteriously brought out a small box, opened the lid, and inside were various shells that Xu Yu had specially brought back from the south.

There are no such things as shells in the northwest, and they are not common in Kyoto, which is located in the Central Plains.

When Sang Zhixia first said that she wanted some shells, Xu Yu thought she was just curious and wanted to use them as decorations, so he went out of his way to look for them. He collected a box of shells of various shapes and colors, and then carefully selected them according to their quality before sending them back all at once.

Who knew that when Sang Zhixia opened the box, he threw the shells he had carefully selected into the charcoal brazier.

He threw it without any hesitation.

Sang Zhixia didn't even take a close look at what the shell in her hand looked like!

Xu Yu pushed Xu Mingyang, who was pouting with a big greasy mouth, to the side with an expressionless face, and took the tongs to turn over the shells in the charcoal basin as Sang Zhixia said.

"Yes, yes, that's how it's burned."

As Sang Zhixia pointed, she muttered, "The shells vary greatly in size. The thicker ones are snail shells, so they're hard to cook!"

Xu Yu squatted beside the red-hot charcoal basin, watching the shells crackling under the charcoal, his face expressionless: "Zhizhi, don't you think they look good?"

"Why should I look good?"

Sangzhi Xia threw in some more shells, his tone calm and indifferent: "It's hard to burn those that are of different sizes, and it's hard to pound them into small pieces after burning them."

Xu Yu: “…”

Sang Zhixia sighed: "What's the point of looking good? No matter how beautiful it is, it still can't be burned and used."

Xu Yu was completely silent.

Sang Zhixia said to herself, "Next time, I want these thin, small ones. It's best if they're all about the same size so it's easier to control the heat. Got it?"

Xu Yu said with a wooden face, "I understand."

Sang Zhixia nodded regretfully: "Just remember it."

"Don't order this kind of thing next time. How long will it take to burn? Smaller ones are better."

Xu Yu grabbed the fire tongs and glanced at them, and found that the small shells that Sang Zhixia had repeatedly praised were the ones he almost threw away on the way because he thought they were ugly.

Xu Yu didn't want to talk anymore.

The shells roasted in the charcoal fire were taken out while they were still hot, and the task of hammering them naturally fell on Xu Yu.

Xu Yu worked very hard.

The fired shells are beaten into powder, and wood ash water that has been allowed to settle for a meal is poured into it while stirring with a long stick. Stir evenly and filter through gauze several times. Let it stand aside to separate the upper and lower layers, and scoop out the alkaline water separated from the upper layer.

Sang Zhixia tried several times to make sure that the boiled lard had cooled down. She slowly poured the scooped out alkaline water into the cooled lard, added some fine salt, and stirred it continuously in one direction with a long-handled wooden spoon.

Stirring seems easy, but it is really a waste of time to operate.

The curious little ones took turns trying it out, and Sang Zhixia also tried it herself. Finally, the long-handled wooden spoon that had never stopped moving returned to Xu Yu's hand.

Xu Yu was so upset that his heart was as calm as water.

As the wooden spoon kept turning, the originally turbid lard and alkaline water in the wooden basin gradually merged into one, became viscous and slightly white in color after being stirred.

Sang Zhixia sat on a small stool and stared, saying, "Can't stop, we have to keep stirring."

Xu Yu sighed silently and quietly switched his right hand to his left hand.

The long and boring stirring lasted for an hour, and the contents of the wooden basin looked very different from the original time.

Sang Zhixia had already prepared molds of various sizes, and took out a smaller wooden spoon to start packaging.

One spoonful is just the size of a mold.

The craftsman that Aunt Xu had found before has been idle at home in recent months, and mainly relies on making various molds for the Xu family to exchange for food to survive.

The craftsman worked very hard for that bite of food.

Round, square, long, flat, fashionable flower shapes, various auspicious designs, and various molds were filled in several large baskets and laid out for you to choose from.

As Sang Zhixia filled the mold, she said, "It's not the right time. Wait until spring when the flowers bloom. You can grind up the juice of various flowers and mix it in, and add some different scented powders. When it's done, pour it out and you'll see a difference in color and fragrance."

Even though they are essentially the same soap, don't they look different?

Just change the color, the pattern, give it a different name, and ask for a certain price. Isn't it all done with a few words?

Sang Zhixia said arrogantly, "I'll sell it for whatever I want."

"No bargaining, absolutely no bargaining."

"You can't bargain."

The old man suppressed his laughter and said, "Freshly boiled lard is such a good thing. A big pot can make so many small things. If you bargain for a lower price, you might end up losing money."

A big pot of lard, shells brought all the way from the south, and fine salt powder, these are all good things.

Not to mention the manpower and material resources spent in the process, the capital invested alone is quite a lot.

Sang Zhixia agreed with this and nodded continuously while carefully taking the assembled mold and putting it aside.

Aunt Xu, who was filled with curiosity, said, "Xia Xia, is this all right?"

After all this messing around, the result is some kind of handmade soap?

"It's more than half done."

Sang Zhixia thought for a moment and said, "Put it in a cool, dry place away from sunlight for a month. When the time comes, take out a mold and test the effect. Then you will know if it is successful."

"I think it's almost there, but it's a pity there's not much we can do this year."

Second Aunt Xu sighed, "In peaceful times, we could buy plenty of lard during the New Year, and we could easily find suitable ones at the market. But not this year."

The famine was so severe that nothing edible was left. Even when the famine was temporarily alleviated, there was very little that could be bought outside.

As for those on the farm...

That's even more impossible.

The originally plump little pig has been starving for several months without the lees to eat, and has survived until now. There won't be much oil or fat left after it is slaughtered, so killing the chicken to get the eggs is not something we can do.

Sang Zhixia obviously thought of this, which is why she delayed making handmade soap until now, but it’s actually not a big deal.

Sang Zhixia clapped her hands and said, "Let's try it first."

"The recipe is in our own hands. It doesn't matter when we do it."

It was just the right time for spring thaw, so she put more of her attention on the fields and couldn't take care of the handmade soap for the time being.

After a busy day, all the finished products were collected and neatly arranged.

Thanks to those bowls of rice cooked with lard, no one was hungry in the evening, so they simply skipped dinner and packed up to go back to their rooms.

Sang Zhixia was led back to the North Courtyard by Xu Yu, still muttering, "When we start making handmade soap in large quantities, shells are indispensable. Can you give me more of this stuff? The more the better?"

"able."

Xu Yu turned aside and closed the courtyard door, saying as he walked away, "You can have as many as you like."

Sang Zhixia was not satisfied when she heard this: "Why is it so little this time?"

"Those thick and large ones are hard to cook and difficult to pound into powder, and this time there are just that many."

"Because the fancy ones look good, you know?"

Xu Yu endured for half a day but finally couldn't bear it anymore.

Xu Yu could see that Sang Zhixia's mind was now completely occupied with handmade soap, and she had no idea about anything else.

If he hadn't told him, this person would have no idea why the shells were in such strange shapes and were so difficult to burn.

Sang Zhixia still couldn't figure it out and looked confused.

Unable to bear it any longer, Xu Yu lowered his head and opened his mouth. The moment their lips and teeth touched, all of Sang Zhixia's protests were blocked.

Sang Zhixia wanted to hide in pain, but a big hand came from behind her and pressed down the back of her restless head, forcefully and naturally prying open her lips and teeth.

The scorching hot breaths blended with the chilly wind.

Wherever the thin lips pass, sparks appear.