Chapter 145: The Effect of Soap

On the sixteenth day of the eighth month, Jiao Yan and the others were practicing their martial arts in the open space outside the Miao family's courtyard. At the beginning of the Mao hour, after Gu Chengyun called for a halt, Jiao Yan ignored the sweat all over her body and head and dashed straight toward the spot where the soap was placed. She was far too impatient to see the results to care about anything else.

Stepping into the storeroom, she saw a dozen small boxes arranged on a wooden rack. Inside the boxes were pale yellow, block-shaped objects emitting a peculiar fragrance. Jiao Yan turned a box upside down and gave it a firm tap, causing the object inside to drop out. Jiao Yan held the self-made soap in her hand and examined it closely. The color seemed a bit lighter, but the feel in her hand was no different from what she remembered from her past life.

She just wondered what the actual cleansing effect of her creation would be. Armed with the soap, Jiao Yan left the storeroom and went indoors to find Miao Suwen. "Master, do you have any particularly dirty clothes? Let me help you wash them."

Miao Suwen was momentarily taken aback before smiling. "Jiaoniang, what are you saying? How could there be any particularly dirty clothes here? Besides, even if there were, I couldn't possibly let a little girl like you help me wash them. What is going on in that head of yours, child?" Miao Suwen reached out and stroked Jiao Yan's head. "Look at you, all sweaty. Why don't you go wipe yourself off right away? Be careful not to catch a cold."

Unable to dwell on that, Jiao Yan said anxiously, "Master, please help me look. Are there any clothes stained with grease or anything that are hard to wash?"

Hearing this, Ruyun also found it strange, but then she remembered that Axi had a few unwashed garments. "Jiaoniang, if you're looking for dirty clothes, you should ask Axi. He does heavy physical labor all day, so his clothes are the dirtiest. We've been so busy these past two days that I haven't had the time to wash them for him."

Jiao Yan's eyes lit up at these words. She hurried off to find Axi and, after much sweet-talking and nagging, managed to get his spare clothes. Bringing them to the courtyard, she drew a basin of water and tossed the garments into a large wooden tub, preparing to wash them.

"You child, if you're going to wash clothes, shouldn't you boil hot water and soak wood ash first? How can clear water get clothes clean?" Miao Suwen asked with a helpless sigh upon seeing Jiao Yan throw the garments straight into plain water.

Jiao Yan raised the item in her hand. "Master, look at what I have! With this, we don't need wood ash water at all. Just wait and see." As she spoke, her small hands scooped up a piece of clothing to rub it, then she smeared the soap over the fabric.

After all, Jiao Yan was still young and lacked sufficient strength. Seeing this, Miao Suwen quickly stepped in. "Alright, step aside. I'll do it. I want to see if this thing in your hand is really as useful as you claim." With that, Miao Suwen gently nudged Jiao Yan out of the way, sat down before the large wooden tub, and began scrubbing the garment herself.

The moment Miao Suwen started, she noticed the difference. With just a light rub, a rich lather of bubbles appeared. Astonished, Miao Suwen did not stop her hands, continuing to scrub vigorously.

Axi worked at the docks all day, perspiring heavily, which left his clothes deeply soiled. Once the garments were rubbed and scrubbed like this, black, murky water began to stream down the washboard.

Watching from the side, Jiao Yan felt a wave of joy. Not bad at all; judging by this appearance, the effect was remarkably good. "Master, you can swish the clothes in the water now and pull them out to take a look."

Miao Suwen finished scrubbing the clothes, swished them back and forth in the water, and then lifted them up to rub them once more. At that moment, she could see that the vast majority of the stains on the garments had genuinely been washed away. "Oh, it really is clean."

Squatting down, Jiao Yan examined the clothes closely. Earlier, she had simply smeared the soap haphazardly just to test it. Strictly speaking, she should have focused on the collar, cuffs, and front placket first. "Master, use this again to rub the collar, cuffs, and front placket thoroughly, and everything should come right out." Jiao Yan handed the yellow block back to Miao Suwen.

Following Jiao Yan's instructions, Miao Suwen applied the soap again to the remaining stained areas and scrubbed hard. Sure enough, those stubborn stains vanished completely. "Jiaoniang, what on earth did you make? It works so wonderfully. To me, it seems even more effective than honey locust pods." Miao Suwen had experience using honey locust pods, which was why she made the comparison.

Beaming with pride, Jiao Yan smiled and said, "Master, I made this myself! This thing is called soap. I made it using that almond oil I extracted. How is it? Not bad to use, right? You can use this not just for washing clothes, but also for washing hands, faces, and even bathing."

Miao Suwen gazed at Jiao Yan, feeling a profound sense of amazement. Who knew how her young disciple's mind could harbor so many marvelous and eccentric ideas? "How ever did you come up with this?" Miao Suwen couldn't help asking.

Jiao Yan chuckled. "Didn't I use to help my mother cook? One day, I accidentally dropped a lump of lard into the wood ash in front of the stove pit. Naturally, that piece of fat couldn't be used anymore. Fearing my mother would scold me, I hurriedly picked it up to throw it away, but ended up getting it all over my hands."

"Master knows how hard grease is to wash off hands, so I rushed to wash mine. But to my surprise, it washed off remarkably easily this time, and even the dirt originally on my hands came off too. I pondered over it for many days and figured that grease mixed with wood ash must be very useful for cleaning away dirt. Look at how we usually wash our hands—don't we just grab a handful of ash and use it?" Jiao Yan had already prepared this cover story, and naturally, it sounded quite convincing.

Knowing that her little disciple possessed unusual ingenuity, Miao Suwen stopped probing further. "Jiaoniang, since you've concocted such a fine item, don't you plan to show some filial piety to your master?" Believing that this substance called soap was indeed exceptional, Miao Suwen felt no hesitation in exploiting her disciple.

Unbothered by this, Jiao Yan waved her hand. "Is it hard for Master to want some? I made a dozen or so blocks yesterday. I'll give half to Master first, and take the rest back for my mother." She made these precisely to be used; if her master wanted them, where could the problem be?

After a moment of thought, Miao Suwen set aside the clothes she was washing, stood up, and pulled Jiao Yan into the house. Entering the room, Miao Suwen put on a serious expression and asked, "Child, do you still remember how to make this soap?" She feared that Jiao Yan had merely stumbled upon it by chance and might not recall the exact recipe.

Jiao Yan nodded. "I remember. I kept track of the exact amount used for every single ingredient, even if I haven't written it down on paper yet. Master, why do you ask?"

"You should write down the formula, put it away carefully, and make sure no one else knows where it is kept. Jiaoniang, this thing has enormous potential; it might just earn you a tidy sum of money. Listen to your master, keep it securely locked away under all circumstances, and don't just pull it out casually. Do you understand?" Miao Suwen instructed with great solemnity.

Jiao Yan was well aware that soap like this probably hadn't been invented in this era yet. Initially, she hadn't counted on this to make money—she simply intended it for household convenience. After all, Jiao Yan had lived a life of material comfort since childhood, so she wasn't particularly driven by the pursuit of wealth. Of course, circumstances were different now; if this could bring in money, she certainly wouldn't object.

"Master, I'll remember your words. I'll be careful with this." In this era, possessing a secret formula was an extraordinary asset. Jiao Yan thought to herself that perhaps she really could use this to earn some money; supplementing the household income wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

After the master and disciple exchanged a few more words, they heard Wentao's voice from outside: "Jiaoniang, time to go home for dinner! Mother is looking for you."

"Master, I'm heading home to eat, but I'll come back later." With that, Jiao Yan bolted out of the room. "Second Brother, wait for me a moment, I need to grab something." As she spoke, Jiao Yan ran to the storeroom, retrieved all the soap she had made the day before, left five blocks for Miao Suwen's use, and packed the remaining seven or eight blocks into a pouch before leaving.

Back at home, Lady Feng had already arranged the dishes on the table. Seeing Jiao Yan's disheveled state, she told her to wash her hands and face immediately. "You girl, what were you tinkering with at your master's place today? It's time to eat, and you're only just returning. If you keep this up, you might as well just go live at your master's house permanently."

Unfazed, Jiao Yan replied, "Mother, if I lived at Master's house, it would make her overjoyed. But are you sure you wouldn't miss me? Without such an affectionate and obedient daughter at home, your heart would surely feel empty and ache."

Jiao Yan's remark brought smiles to everyone, and Lady Feng chuckled as well. "Alright, go wash your face quickly and change your clothes later—you're reeking of sweat. Afterward, I'll soak the laundry and take it down to the river to wash this noon. We've all been busy with the autumn harvest lately, and a whole pile of clothes has piled up."

"Mother, you don't need to soak the clothes. I have a wonderful thing here; right after eating, you can go straight to wash them. I'll show it to you in a minute. Let me go wash my face first." Just as she was heading off to wash, Jiao Yan called out upon hearing Lady Feng's words.

Finding it somewhat strange, Lady Feng wondered what marvelous item her daughter had conjured up this time. Shaking her head, she ladled out porridge for the children. "Eat quickly, Wentao; you still have to go to your studies. We won't wait for Jiaoer, she'll be right over."

Having washed her hands and face, Jiao Yan hurried over and sat down to eat. Breakfast consisted of porridge, flatbreads, and pickled vegetables. Thanks to Lady Feng's culinary skills, the flatbreads were made with fermented dough—soft and fluffy—making them quite palatable.

Everyone buried their heads in eating, falling silent. Jiao Yan picked up a flatbread, held her bowl of porridge, and polished off her breakfast in a few quick bites. "Alright, I'm full. You all eat slowly." With that, she went to fetch the soap she had brought back.

By now, everyone had finished eating. Lady Feng cleared the dishes and scooped out the pig feed from the pot. Wensxi carried the feed off to feed the pigs, while Lady Feng busied herself washing the pots and bowls.

"Mother, use this to wash the clothes later. I'll show you how," Jiao Yan said, walking over with the soap in hand.