Chapter 43

In the warehouse, a large pot bubbled, and a foul smell filled the entire space. If an uninformed person saw this, they might think a witch was performing some evil ritual.

However, it was just soap-making.

"I hope it works..."

After preparing the sodium hydroxide solution, Tang En began to attempt the saponification reaction. He watched the liquid in the pot gradually become viscous and prayed with all his heart.

Although he knew the basic theory, this was a different world. The fundamental physics might be similar, but if the basic chemical rules were different, things could get complicated.

"It should be about done."

Tang En looked at the viscous liquid in the pot, felt it was ready, and stopped heating it, starting to pour the mixture into molds.

He divided this batch of soap into two types: one was ordinary soap, and the other was scented with peppermint essential oil, hoping to produce a type of scented soap.

Actually, soap and scented soap were the same thing, but scented soap contained many softening agents, making it more gentle on the skin. However, Tang En couldn't make those things now, so he used peppermint essential oil as a substitute. The fragrance was enough for use.

The steps after pouring the molds were simple. Using convenient magic, he dried the soap, and then used a wind blade to cut the large blocks of soap into smaller pieces. In no time, over a hundred pieces of soap were ready.

Of course, it was still unknown whether the soap had been successfully made. It needed to be tested.

Tang En took the soap to Tina.

"Tina, these are the soaps I made. Take them to the maid responsible for washing clothes today and have her test the soap's cleaning ability."

"Ah? Lord? What is soap? Can it clean?"

Tina clearly didn't know what Tang En had brought. In Plandar, the leaves of a plant called Kanae were used for cleaning, similar to soap pods on Earth. Before anything else could replace it, those leaves were the best cleaning agent.

"Just have her try it... Never mind, I'll go with you to see."

Tang En was very concerned about whether the soap would work. If Fiona's people really came and formed a guild, they wouldn't just sell candy. Soap, a daily necessity, had a very broad market, needed by both nobles and commoners.

Tang En felt that if a merchant had been transported to Plandar, they would probably be so excited by this blank market that they might have a stroke.

Tina led Tang En to the backyard, where the servants lived and did their laundry.

"Marine is in charge of the laundry today."

Tina introduced her friend to Tang En. Marine had never been so close to Tang En before and was clearly nervous, not knowing where to put her wet hands.

"Don't be nervous."

Tang En smiled and said, "This is the soap I made. It should clean well. Try it out."

"O-Okay!"

Despite being skeptical about the soap's purpose, Marine didn't dare to question Tang En. She reached for the soap, but because her hands were wet, the soap slipped and fell to the ground.

"S-Sorry!"

Marine immediately panicked and tried to pick up the soap.

Oh no! It's over!

Marine felt desperate as she picked up the soap. The lord must have made something valuable, and now it had fallen to the ground. The lord would surely be angry!

The more nervous she was, the harder it was for her to pick up the soap with her wet hands. The soap seemed to be a mischievous little sprite, always slipping out of her grasp.

"Uh, let me help."

Tang En bent down to grab the soap, and at that moment, Marine also grabbed it. Their hands touched.

Marine was stunned, and so was Tina. The next moment, Marine's face turned red, and she was extremely nervous.

W-Why did the lord grab my hand?

D-Does this mean... the lord wants to...

Marine's mind was a mess. If Tang En knew, he would probably be stunned by the girls' wild imagination.

Just touching hands, and they could think so much?

Tang En didn't have such thoughts. After helping Marine grab the soap, he smiled and said, "It's hard to hold when your hands are wet. Be careful, or you'll keep picking up the soap, which can be dangerous."

Marine nervously replied, "Y-Yes, I'll try not to pick it up..."

Tang En let go and gestured, "Now, try washing some clothes with it."

Marine took a dirty piece of clothing. As soon as she did, Tina exclaimed and rushed in front of Tang En to block his view, "Marine! Change it!"

"Huh?"

Marine was confused and looked closely, realizing she had picked up Tina's undergarment.

Tina's face turned red, feeling both embarrassed and anxious, afraid Tang En would see. She kept giving Marine signals.

Marine quickly changed the clothing, and Tina sighed in relief.

"What's wrong?"

Tang En was puzzled.

"N-Nothing..."

Tina moved aside.

Marine soaked the clothing and rubbed it with the soap. Immediately, fine bubbles appeared on the fabric.

"Wow!"

Marine exclaimed. The soap produced bubbles much faster than Kanae leaves!

Marine rubbed the soap on the stain and started to scrub. In no time, the stain disappeared.

"T-This... This..."

Marine was both surprised and delighted, "Lord! This soap is amazing! Such a stubborn stain is gone with just a little rubbing!"

"Really? How does it compare to Kanae leaves?"

"Much better!"

Marine was overjoyed, "With this soap, the time needed for laundry will be greatly reduced, and the clothes will be much cleaner!"

"So, if this were for sale, as a housewife who does laundry, you would definitely need it and buy it, right?"

"Absolutely!"

Marine said without hesitation, "If the soap is available and not too expensive, I would definitely buy it instead of using Kanae leaves."

"Good."

Tang En smiled, "From now on, the lord's house will use this soap for laundry."

"Ah?"

Marine exclaimed, "Lord, this soap is so good. What if it runs out? Maybe it should be reserved for the lord's use."

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of it. You can continue your work. I'll go back now."

Tang En left, thinking as he walked.

The soap-making was successful, which meant the basic chemistry in Plandar was not much different from Earth's. As for more advanced things... who cares!

Tang En wasn't a chemist. Even if he could recite the periodic table, he couldn't understand how each element was formed, let alone when he could only remember the first twenty elements...

For him, the knowledge he had was enough to make his life more comfortable in this world.

"Let's try the peppermint soap."

Tang En hadn't bathed for days and was eager to test the peppermint soap he had made.

The lord's house had only one bathroom, but hot water was supplied continuously, with someone always tending the fire to heat the water.

However, there was no water circulation system, and the hot water had to be carried by hand, a task done by the maids. This made Tang En sigh, indeed, power was a breeding ground for decadence.

After dismissing the maids who wanted to serve him, Tang En stripped and jumped into the bath, letting out a contented sigh.

Although magic could make bathing convenient, soaking in a tub was the most comfortable.

"However, it would be even better with a sauna... Hmm?"

Tang En had a sudden idea. The principle of a sauna was simple, and he could easily build one himself!

With such a large space in the bathroom, turning it into a steam room would be a breeze.

"Alright, I'll work on it when I have time. The feeling of sweating it out sounds great!"

Tang En quickly made up his mind.

Then he started to use the peppermint soap.

The peppermint soap looked better than ordinary soap, thanks to the addition of peppermint essential oil, which made it smell better. Tang En felt that if soap was a mass consumer product, peppermint soap could be a luxury item for the nobles.

If he added some special molds to make the soap look more beautiful, the nobles would surely love it and be willing to pay gold coins for it.

After wetting his skin, Tang En rubbed the soap on his body. Fine bubbles appeared, accompanied by a refreshing peppermint scent, which made him feel very relaxed.

"I never realized how happy it is to have soap to use..."

...

"Exhausted, the lord is really cunning, not doing anything!"

Fiona stretched and walked towards the bathroom.

"It's so hot, let's take a bath to relax."

Fiona arrived at the bathroom and was a bit annoyed, "Where are the maids? Why is no one here?"

She wanted the maids to bring her some petals.

"Never mind, I'll make do."

Fiona, feeling helpless, took off her clothes and went in.

A moment later, a few maids arrived.

"Hey? Isn't this Miss Fiona's clothes?"

"Ah? Isn't the lord bathing inside? If Miss Fiona goes in like this..."

"What are you saying? Miss Fiona is the lord's lover. Maybe the lord called her in to serve him."

"Oh! I see, that's why he asked us to leave... I envy Miss Fiona..."

"Let's go quickly. If we hear something we shouldn't, it would be bad."

"Right! Right!"

So, the maids tiptoed away...

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PS: Please believe me, it's really innocent (serious face)