Wei Yuyan gestured out the location and dimensions in the backyard.
"Sure, no problem. The workers can dig it out in a day. What else is there to do?"
Master Huang continued to press for answers.
"If there are any bricks left over after the house is built, you can help me build a chicken coop and a dog kennel."
Wei Yuyan thought that the bricks would never be exactly the right amount, there would always be a little bit left over, which would be perfect for making a doghouse and a chicken coop.
"Oh, wouldn't that be such a waste?"
This was the first time Master Huang had ever heard of using bricks to make chicken coops and dog kennels.
"It won't be a waste, just do as I say."
Wei Yuyan waved her hand, "That's fine then."
"Okay, you're the boss, I'll listen to you."
Master Huang nodded.
November
Wei Yuyan was on her way to town to buy pork fat to render lard when she passed a rouge shop. The rouge smelled wonderful, so she decided to go in and see if there were any business opportunities.
"My lady, what do you need to buy? We have the finest goose egg powder, as well as tissues, rouge, and scented soap."
The proprietress walked over to Wei Yuyan and introduced the items.
"Is this scented soap?"
Wei Yuyan picked up a pretty, soap-like object and asked a question.
"Yes, this one smells like jasmine, this one smells like plum blossom, and this one smells like osmanthus."
The proprietress introduced several types of scented soap that sell well in the store.
"Excuse me, how much does one piece cost?"
Wei Yuyan asked.
"Not expensive, twenty coins."
The proprietress smiled.
"That's great, I'll have one with jasmine scent."
Wei Yuyan took out twenty coins and handed them to the proprietress.
"good".
When the proprietress heard that Wei Yuyan wanted to buy it, her eyes crinkled with laughter. She took the money and carefully wrapped the soap in paper.
Wei Yuyan thought that since she was going to render lard today, she might as well try making fragrant lard.
Back home, Wei Yuyan didn't rush to render lard, as she hadn't yet found flowers to extract their fragrance.
With little time left in the morning, Wei Yuyan immediately started making lunch. After lunch, they prepared to go up the mountain.
As for the children, they have their keys, so they can just open the door and eat when they get home.
For lunch, I made a simple dish of stir-fried lean pork with garlic sprouts and stir-fried shepherd's purse.
After finishing her meal, Wei Yuyan carried a basket on her back and went up the mountain to look for flowers. It would have been even better if she had studied them last month.
Last month, the osmanthus flowers were in full bloom, but I didn't think about this at the time. Now, almost all the osmanthus flowers have fallen.
"Hmm, gardenias, that should work too, right?"
As soon as Wei Yuyan arrived on the mountain, she discovered gardenias, which smelled quite sweet.
So they started picking, not too many, just enough for one experiment.
After picking them, I went up again, hoping to find two more types of flowers.
When they got to the mountain, they didn't find any good flowers. There were some Bauhinia and Camellia flowers, but they weren't very fragrant, so Wei Yuyan didn't pick them.
Since it wasn't the peak season for flowers, and there wasn't much fragrance, Wei Yuyan had no choice but to head back home.
When we got home, the children had already eaten and were resting in their rooms.
"Sister-in-law, where were you just now?"
When Qianqian heard that her sister-in-law had returned, she quickly got up.
"Go pick flowers, prepare to become a fragrant aunt."
Wei Yuyan patted Qianqian's little head.
"Fragrant soap?"
Qianqian didn't know what scented soap was.
"It can be used for showering, washing hair, and washing clothes. It leaves you smelling nice after washing."
Wei Yuyan gave a brief explanation.
Wow!
Qianqian started to look forward to it; this was amazing!
"Then sister-in-law will go ahead and get busy. Maybe it will be ready when you get back from school."
Wei Yuyan decided to hurry up and figure it out today.
First, wash the gardenia petals clean, then start steaming them in a pot. The distillation method requires appropriate equipment.
Wei Yuyan didn't have time to do any of that; she just mixed the flower petals and water together and boiled them over high heat.
Then you start rendering lard. You must add water when rendering lard, otherwise the color won't be nice.
Then take the ashes from burning wood and weeds and add water that exceeds the weight of the ashes.
Or add just enough water to cover the wood ash slightly more, then stir.
The mixture is then filtered through gauze to obtain the filtered liquid, which is an important medium for making soap.
The filtered alkaline solution is concentrated by heating it to remove water and increase the concentration of alkali.
Traditional methods for determining concentration include the egg float test.
Add the rendered lard to the concentrated alkaline solution, heat the oil and alkali and stir.
Saponification continues until it is complete. Saponification is similar to honey; it is considered complete when it is cooked until it becomes very thick.
The flower petals had been boiled for so long that there wasn't much water left, but it still smelled quite nice, so Wei Yuyan poured some of it in.
But then Wei Yuyan realized she hadn't made a mold, so where should she pour the soap liquid?
Wei Yuyan searched the kitchen and found a few sections of bamboo that looked good, so she quickly wiped them clean with a cloth and set them aside.
Pour in the soap solution; one bamboo section is enough to fill it perfectly.
All that's left is for it to cool and solidify. The weather isn't hot, but it probably won't be completely hard until tomorrow.
After tidying up the kitchen, Wei Yuyan began to think.
If I were to sell scented soap in the future, should I make rectangular or round molds?
Actually, I think a round shape is prettier, and it would be best if it had a pattern.
Wei Yuyan took out paper and charcoal sticks and began to design; the pattern was the shape of a rose.
The mold is round, the same length as bamboo, and there's another tool for cutting it into different sizes after it dries.
If we don't use the prescribed molds to cut it, wouldn't the soap pills be a bit too big and a bit too small?
After finishing the drawing, Wei Yuyan didn't immediately go to find the carpenter, still unsure if her scented soap would be successful.
We can't invest too much money too early; if we can't make it look the way we want, we won't sell it.
"Sister-in-law, is the soap ready?"
Qianqian came back skipping and hopping, just wanting to see Xiangyizi as soon as possible.
"Auntie~".
Xiaoya also came; she probably heard Qianqian mention that there was scented soap and came to check it out.
"The soap your sister-in-law made isn't dry yet; it'll be ready tomorrow. But she bought a piece today. How about you two use it to wash your hands?"
Wei Yuyan thought to herself how lucky she was that she had bought one, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to explain herself.
"good"
Qianqian quickly turned on the warm water.
"First, wet your hands, then rub the soap together a few times."
Wei Yuyan instructed them on how to use the scented soap, and the two girls carefully washed their hands.
"Wow, it smells so good."
Qianqian washed her hands and smelled them.
"Yes, I'm going to let my godmother smell it."
Xiaoya wanted to share with her godmother that she had washed her hands with scented soap today.
"I'll go with you."
Qianqian wanted to go out and play with Xiaoya for a while longer.
"Hey, where's your brother?"
Wei Yuyan wondered why Xiao Lei hadn't gone home to put down his book bag.
"I forgot to tell you, he went to check out the new house."
Qianqian walked to the door but then turned back to reply to Wei Yuyan.
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