"I heard you!"
Everyone looked serious and dared not slack off in the slightest.
Although seeing Sun Jian made them excited and happy, each of them also knew the responsibilities and burdens on their shoulders.
Once everything was ready, Sun Jian began operating the equipment in front of everyone.
First of all, you need a lot of seashells!
Some people might think that since the Jingzhao region is deep inland, and most shellfish are produced in coastal areas, which are thousands of miles apart, it's difficult to find them.
That's a big misconception. Seashells are actually very easy to find. They're everywhere, not just in the Jingzhao region, but even in desolate areas like Liangzhou.
Moreover, the cheapest raw materials are almost unwanted, and the raw materials are bought in large quantities. Even ordinary people can afford a sack or a truckload.
The quantity is so large it's overflowing!
Why are there so many seashells?
That's because in the ocean, anything resembling the shells of clams, mussels, or oysters is considered a type of shellfish.
You can raise this thing in your own pond. It's not just found in the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, which stretch for tens of thousands of miles; you can even find it in other lakes. It's not just found in coastal areas as some people think.
After Sun Jian lit the charcoal in the furnace, he put the seashells in directly and began the roasting process.
Seeing that a lord like Sun Jian was personally helping out, the other laborers quickly offered their assistance, some tending the fire, others throwing seashells.
In short, Sun Jian did most of the work, and the rest was done by the others.
"Let me explain to you that the first step is to bake the shellfish. The heat should not be too long or too short; just bake it until it's cooked through!"
"Come on everyone, come closer and take a look..."
Sun Jian meticulously explained the details of the first step to everyone, explaining under what circumstances the heat was considered suitable and under what circumstances it was considered cooked through. There were specific techniques involved in each step.
Because every detail in each step affects the quality of the final soap!
To save time, while the shells were being fired, Sun Jian also had others busy themselves, such as rendering lard, burning wood ash, and grinding spices.
There are also soapberries, mint, pollen, and so on!
Everyone should just do what they're supposed to do, and if they speed things up a bit, they won't waste too much time.
Before long, the first batch of seashells had been fired. Sun Jian explained again some methods for identifying the fired shells, and then began the second step.
Everyone watched very carefully, and even Gou Sheng was diligently taking notes with a calligraphy brush.
The second step is to carefully remove the cooked seashells with tongs, then crush them in a stone mill and grind them into a fine powder.
Sun Jian added, "After the seashells are burned, they turn into calcium oxide, which is the quicklime we often use!"
"oh oh……"
Most people probably don't understand what calcium oxide is, but they can understand the words "quicklime".
"After grinding the seashells into extremely fine powder, they are then filtered a second time to ensure the fineness of the powder particles."
"Then next we'll be using wood ash..."
As Sun Jian spoke, he took the prepared wood ash from the craftsman next to him.
Add the burned wood ash to clean water and filter it again.
You can then obtain alkaline water rich in alkaline substances!
This alkaline solution plays a crucial role!
Because it can trigger a saponification reaction!
Stir the alkaline water and the ground seashell powder, filter, stir again, and filter again.
Then it needs to be left to stand!
Having reached this point, Sun Jian turned and asked, "Where's the lard?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, the lard has been rendered!"
Upon hearing Sun Jian's instructions, the young craftsman hurriedly brought over a basin of rendered lard.
He has now prepared the oil as instructed by Sun Jian, and has also added an equal amount of spring water as instructed by Sun Jian.
The reason for adding spring water is to make the lard render clear enough!
When the lard has cooled to about 40 degrees Celsius (warm but not hot to the touch), you can mix it with the previously prepared alkaline water. You will also need to add fine salt while mixing.
The purpose is to allow the two to better blend and be extracted through salting out.
Then comes the fourth step: stirring!
During the mixing process, ground pollen, dried soapberry powder, peppermint powder, and other ingredients also need to be added.
Stir continuously in one direction!
Mix the lye and lard thoroughly with the other substances to produce a saponification reaction until it becomes an extremely viscous consistency!
At this point, add some flavoring!
As for the fragrance, it was actually a combination of sweet dew and jasmine that Sun Jian had already had them distill and refine.
The process is the same as that of high-proof distilled spirits, except that the ingredients are morning dew and jasmine flowers.
"Of course, you can also use other flowers as fragrance ingredients; it's up to you."
While directing the young craftsmen to stir the mixture, Sun Jian reminded everyone that flexibility is needed in doing things, and there is no such thing as a fixed process.
Don't change the parts of the overall design that can't be changed. Adjust the parts that can be changed according to the specific circumstances. Only in this way can you truly create something good!
Once the mixture is thoroughly stirred until it becomes a thick paste that cannot be easily broken up, it can be placed into a bamboo tube for shaping.
When placing the contents into the bamboo tube, it is important to remember to use certain techniques to reduce the generation of internal gas, which could affect the aesthetic appearance of the sample.
"Alright, I can't teach you anymore at this point!"
"Because this plastic needs to be left to dry in a cool, dry place for at least three days."
"Today I can only give you a general overview of the next steps in the process!"
"But you don't need to worry, the following techniques can basically be done by women on the street!"
After hearing Sun Jian's words, everyone showed their delight. At least they now understood the entire detailed process of making soap!
"My lord, what... what will be the next step in the process?"
Old Jiang took the initiative to ask questions.
Although the Lord had already explained that even women on the street could do the next steps, they still wanted to listen carefully so that the soap they made would be even more perfect!
Sun Jian rolled his eyes at Old Jiang, too lazy to even complain about him.
Didn't I already write and draw the process flow very clearly in the process flow I gave them before?
After successful shaping, the next steps are segmentation, impurity removal and trimming, shaping with molds, and saponification for over a month!
Why do you still need to ask?
These people really don't like to use their brains.
Thinking of this, Sun Jian suddenly had an idea: why not have a Q&A session?
He then turned to everyone and asked, "Gentlemen, normally this soap should be left to set for at least a week to solidify, but I only asked you to set it for three days. Why is that?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
