Some time ago, Zhao Xian converted three rooms into a soap workshop, which was the first time he had made soap in the workshop.
He strictly followed the procedure, and after a series of operations, the process entered the saponification reaction stage. He strictly controlled the temperature and finally obtained half a bucket of unformed soap solution.
At this time, the carpenter had already delivered the soap molds, and Zhao Xian added an appropriate amount of hardener, preservative and foaming agent to the soap liquid which was still at a certain temperature.
After mixing well, the soap solution was poured into soap molds, using a total of one hundred molds.
The first time I made it, it took quite a while. I started at noon and didn't finish until evening.
Seeing many people standing around, very curious about this product they had never seen before, Zhao Xian forgot about having dinner.
"The main steps in making the soap are now complete, but we won't see the finished product until tomorrow morning. It's time to go eat now," Zhao Xian said.
Zhao Xian calculated that rendering fifty catties of fatty meat into lard cost one tael and five mace of silver, which was the main cost of making soap. Adding the cost of other materials, the cost of making one bar of soap should be around twenty wen.
Of course, if you buy a large quantity of pork fat to render lard, you can further reduce costs, potentially lowering the cost of a bar of soap to below fifteen coins.
In ancient times, people mainly used soapberries to wash clothes. Natural soapberries could not be used directly for washing clothes; they had to be processed before use. The processed product was somewhat similar to today's laundry detergent and was effective for washing clothes.
Later, after further improvements, an even more effective soap paste was developed. Using soap paste to wash clothes was more effective, but it was too expensive. One pound of soap paste cost one tael of silver, which was unaffordable for ordinary families.
If the price of soap is set at fifty coins, it will be about the same as the price of soapberry, but soap is very durable and its cleaning effect is incomparable to that of soapberry.
It is conceivable that once soap is launched on the market, it will quickly replace soap beans and soap paste, becoming an essential item for ordinary households.
The next morning, Zhao Xian began to check the condition of the soap in the mold. By this time, the soap had completely hardened and looked similar to modern soap. He wondered how well it would work.
Since everyone in the family washes their own clothes, they weren't in a hurry to do so; they were all waiting for the soap to be produced.
Zhao Xian took the soap out of the mold, gave one to each person, and asked them to wash clothes to see how effective it was.
Soon, a lot of people gathered around the well and started washing clothes. Zhao Xian stood by and watched, feeling a little nervous.
Soon, people exclaimed in surprise, "Soap is amazing! Its stain removal effect is incredible! Stains that are usually hard to wash off clothes are easily removed after using soap!"
Zhao Xian nodded. It seemed the soap had been successfully made; the next step was mass production.
There is still an important task to be done, which is to promote the soap.
Zhao Xian asked Qin Shiyu if she had any good ideas, and Qin Shiyu, while hanging up the laundry, replied:
"There is a river next to Dawan Town, and almost all the women in the town go to the river to wash clothes every morning. If we bring soap and give it to them for free, it will definitely have a great promotional effect."
This is indeed a good idea. Housewives are the best judges of whether soap is good or not. There are so many women washing clothes by the river. If they think the soap is good, they will spread the word and it will soon become a household name.
It's too late to go to the riverbank in Dawan Town to promote the soap now; we'll have to wait until tomorrow. What we need to do now is mass production and increase inventory. You can imagine that once the soap starts selling, even the largest inventory will be snapped up.
Zhao Xian then went to the village carpenter and asked him to make another eight hundred soap molds for him.
Next, he arranged for people to go to town to buy fatty meat, render it into lard, and begin mass production of soap.
Early the next morning, Zhao Xian took out some soap, cut each bar into four or five pieces, and had the girls in his family take them to the riverbank in Dawan Town to promote the soap.
By this time, quite a few women had come to the river to wash clothes, and the number of people washing clothes was increasing.
Chen Xiaoxiao and Qin Shiyu went to the riverbank and handed small pieces of soap to some older women so they could use them and see how effective they were at removing dirt.
"Aunties, this is a stain removal product we've developed called soap. It's much better than soapberry, and one bar of soap can last a long time. Try it out; it's free for you to use."
One of the most important tasks for these women every day is washing clothes. Although soapberries can be used to wash clothes, it is very laborious. They have to keep beating the clothes to remove the stains. Washing clothes is very tiring.
A pretty girl handed them a pale yellow soap, saying it could be used to wash clothes, so they reached out and took the soap, but they didn't know how to use it.
Qin Shiyu and the others began to instruct them to apply soap to the stains and then scrub.
The women started trying it and found that it was incredibly effective at removing dirt, much better than using soap.
Several women began to exclaim in surprise, attracting other women to come and watch. Qin Shiyu then handed out soaps to them and told them to try them out themselves.
This experiment was a huge success; word spread quickly, and many people came to ask them for soap. The soap they brought was quickly distributed.
It was a great pity that he didn't get to meet any women; he could only watch helplessly as others happily washed their clothes.
"Aunt Wang, could I use the soap in your hand? I only have two pieces of clothing that I haven't washed yet, so I won't use up all the soap you have."
"No, I haven't washed my blankets yet, and I need to use this soap to wash them. I really can't give it to you."
With such good things, who would be willing to let others use them? Unless their clothes are particularly dirty, they are reluctant to wash them with soap.
"Miss, where can I buy this soap? I want to buy a bar to wash my clothes."
"Me too! I want to buy several!" The crowd started shouting all at once.
"The soap has just been produced and has not yet been put on the market. It is not expensive; you can buy it for just a few dozen copper coins. A bar of soap can be used for a long time."
The soaps I just gave you were cut from a large bar into small pieces, mainly to let you experience the effect of washing clothes with soap.
"So that's how it is. It seems that soap is indeed not expensive and is even better than soapberry paste. You know, soapberry paste costs one tael of silver per pound, which is something that ordinary people like us simply cannot afford."
"I hope soap will be available soon so that washing clothes will be easier for us. I feel like crying every day when I see a huge pile of clothes."
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