Chapter 53

As the salt grains were sprinkled into the iron pot, a miraculous scene unfolded. Clumps of thread-like substances appeared in the previously clear water, quickly coagulating into a white, slightly yellow, ointment-like substance, resembling cheese.

"Wow~ Something is growing in the water!" Seeing the clear water actually sprout something, the innocent Duo'er thought it was a magic trick, and she jumped up and down in excitement. Zhuo'er, however, wore a more puzzled expression. She had read many books, but the knowledge in them was insufficient to explain what was happening before her eyes.

Compared to the two excited girls, Zhou Chong remained calm. He had seen this saponification reaction in his chemistry class, and he had recalled the process several times, following each step from memory. The results were all within his expectations, so there was nothing surprising about it.

As the salting process continued, a layer of white, slightly yellow soap base floated in the iron pot. Note that this was soap base, not yet soap or scented soap, as there was one final step to be done. However, the final step required some additional materials, which could not be completed today.

Zhou Chong scooped the soap base out of the pot and placed it on a clean white cloth. He did not discard the remaining solution in the pot but filtered it several times with gauze and poured it into a clean porcelain bottle. The remaining solution was a mixture of glycerin and water, which could be used as a facial moisturizer, making it a perfect complement to the scented soap as a gift.

"Brother, is this the gift you prepared?" Zhuo'er finally recovered from her shock, but when she saw the oddly shaped soap base on the white cloth, her face showed a hint of difficulty. Although she did not know what these things were for, they looked too ugly to be given as gifts.

Zhou Chong immediately saw through Zhuo'er's thoughts and smiled, "Zhuo'er, don't worry. This is just a semi-finished product. When it's completed, you'll find that it's not only not ugly but also very practical. However, it will take some time to complete, and I'll need your help!"

"Me? What can I help with?" Zhuo'er was somewhat surprised. Although Zhou Chong had said they would complete it together, after seeing the series of magical changes, she had lost all confidence in herself.

"Of course, you can help. I plan to make something called scented soap. It has similar functions to the soap we use, but it looks and works better. I've already made the soap base, and now I need to add a fragrance. I'm not very familiar with fragrances, so I need your help!" Zhou Chong said seriously.

As a girl, Zhuo'er had always enjoyed making sachets and was familiar with fragrances. She immediately smiled and said, "So you need a fragrance? That's easy. I can mix a few fragrances myself. I'll write down the ingredients you need, and you can buy them for me."

"Great, I knew you could help a lot!" Zhou Chong laughed. He had known that Zhuo'er could mix fragrances, so he had already planned to involve her in making the scented soap.

After dinner, Zhou Chong found the steward, Xu, and asked him to order a few items, such as molds for the scented soap and boxes to store them. He also entrusted Xu with the task of buying the fragrance ingredients for Zhuo'er, as Xu was the most familiar with the area and was best suited for the job.

A few days later, the fragrances and molds were ready. Zhou Chong boiled a pot of water and placed the soap base in an iron basin, which he then placed in the pot to melt. Once the soap base melted, he added the fragrance Zhuo'er had prepared, stirred it quickly, and poured it into the molds to cool.

"Clap!" When the soap in the molds cooled, Zhou Chong flipped the molds over and tapped them on the table. Immediately, six plum-shaped soaps appeared on the table. These soaps were exquisitely shaped, light yellow in color, and emitted a faint plum fragrance. At first glance, they looked like real blooming plums.

"Such beautiful flowers! Brother, are these the soaps you're going to give to Lingyun sister?" Zhuo'er's eyes widened in disbelief. She could hardly imagine that the oddly shaped soap base from a few days ago could be transformed into such exquisite soaps by her brother.

"That's right, these are the gifts I prepared for you!" Zhou Chong said proudly, seeing Zhuo'er's delight. "However, we can't give all of them to Xie Lingyun. I think one piece is enough. The remaining five will be shared among us. This soap is much better than the regular soap!"

"Only one piece?" Zhuo'er frowned. "Brother, isn't one piece too little? How about I don't take mine, and we give two pieces to Lingyun sister?"

Zhuo'er had been involved in the entire process of making the soap. She knew that the cost of the soap was not high, only a few dozen coins per piece. Although her brother had praised the soap's effectiveness and appearance, and she herself liked it, she felt that giving a gift worth a few dozen coins was not appropriate.

Zhou Chong, of course, understood Zhuo'er's thoughts. He patted her head and said, "Silly girl, the production cost of the soap is only a few dozen coins, but rarity makes things valuable. I'm the only one in the entire Ming Dynasty who can make soap. The soap is as effective as regular soap but looks much better. If I price the soap the same as or even slightly lower than regular soap, it will definitely attract buyers. So don't underestimate this one piece of soap. If sold, it wouldn't be cheaper than the rouge Xie Lingyun gave you!"

"But... but the cost of the soap is so low. If you sell it at such a high price, wouldn't you be... be..." Zhuo'er almost said 'a profiteer' but couldn't bring herself to say it.

Seeing her innocent sister, Zhou Chong sighed inwardly but smiled, "Zhuo'er, you're so naive. The production cost of the soap is indeed low, but you forgot to consider one thing. I spent a lot of time thinking of this idea, and each piece of soap embodies my hard work. So, even if the cost is only a few dozen coins, adding the effort I put in, selling one piece for a dozen taels of silver is already very cheap!"

Hearing Zhou Chong's explanation, the simple Zhuo'er nodded, though she still felt something was off, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Seeing that Zhuo'er was no longer fixated on the price of the soap, Zhou Chong took out twelve small flat porcelain bottles and placed them on the table. He then poured the glycerin solution from the large bottle into each porcelain bottle and sealed them with corks. Each piece of soap was paired with two small bottles of glycerin for facial use.

"Mission accomplished!" Zhou Chong looked at his hard work with satisfaction. He then turned to Zhuo'er and asked, "Zhuo'er, do you want to try it out?"

Without waiting for Zhuo'er's response, Zhou Chong jumped up and brought a basin of hot water, urging her to try the soap. Initially, Zhuo'er was a bit embarrassed, but she couldn't resist Zhou Chong's encouragement. Finally, she bent down and washed her face with the soap, then dried it and applied the glycerin from the bottle.

"How does it feel? Is it much fresher?" Zhou Chong asked eagerly.

Zhuo'er gently touched her cheeks with her delicate hands and, after a while, said excitedly, "It does feel much fresher, similar to using regular soap. After applying the liquid from the bottle, my skin feels very smooth and tender, and the wind doesn't dry it out. It's really great!"

"Haha, of course! The liquid in the bottle is glycerin, which is for skin protection. Our Zhuo'er is already beautiful, and if you use this regularly, you'll surely become a stunning beauty!" Zhou Chong laughed. He had already tested the glycerin's effects secretly the day before, so he was confident in its results.

Next, Zhou Chong took out a gift box and placed the soap and glycerin bottles inside. This was the gift for Xie Lingyun. The remaining five sets were kept by Zhou Chong, with one each for Zhuo'er, Duo'er, Aunt Wang, and Su Niang, ensuring that all the women in the household received a gift.

With the gifts ready, Zhou Chong planned to visit Xie Lingyun and give her the soap as a return gift. However, to his surprise, Xie Lingyun came to the Zhou residence for the second time, not to receive a gift but to check on the progress of his second book.

During this time, although Zhou Chong had been busy making soap, he had not neglected writing "The Golden Lotus." Now that Xie Lingyun had come to see "The Golden Lotus," Zhou Chong couldn't help but smile slyly. He was eager to see how the usually calm and rational Miss Xie would react to this extraordinary book.