During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Li Chunyan covered her nose, looking disgusted and complaining.

"Second Girl, what are you making? This smell is too strong!"

Ye Qingqing ignored her and waited until the lard had thoroughly soaked the wood ash before slowly pouring in the clear lime water.

"Splash..."

As soon as the lime water was put into the pot, the originally dark mixture of oil and lime began to undergo a miraculous transformation.

Ye Qingqing kept stirring the food with a spatula, controlling the heat perfectly.

The people in the room gathered around, and even Ye Dazhuang stared wide-eyed at the small iron pot.

"This...this can really be used for washing clothes?"

Li Chunyan still didn't believe it; she thought Ye Qingqing was just making a fuss.

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, the best is yet to come."

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ye Qingqing's forehead as she intently watched the changes in the pot.

As the moisture evaporated, the mixture in the pot began to thicken, and its color changed from dark gray to a deep yellowish-brown.

When it was almost done, Ye Qingqing turned off the fire and poured the paste from the pot into a wooden mold that had been prepared beforehand.

"Alright, it'll be ready to use once it cools down and sets."

Ye Qingqing patted the dust off her hands and let out a long sigh of relief.

"this one?"

Li Chunyan looked at the dark, mud-like substance and her lips twitched. "Second Girl, did you make a bar of soap? But this color... it looks even dirtier than soap!"

In ancient times, the "pancreas" used by wealthy families was made from pig pancreas, bean flour, and spices. Although it was also used for cleaning, its effectiveness was mediocre, and it was troublesome to make.

Strictly speaking, the soap Ye Qingqing made is a primary soap produced after the saponification reaction.

"Similar to bath beans, but this is much more powerful; it's called soap."

Ye Qingqing corrected, "It's specially designed to remove grease."

"Soap?" Li Chunyan leaned closer to examine it, then took a step back in disgust, pouting, "If this dark stuff works, my one or two taels of silver would have been a complete waste!"

"Just wait and see tomorrow morning."

Ye Qingqing chuckled and said confidently, "Sister-in-law, change out of these clothes first. Wash them with this soap tomorrow morning, and I guarantee you'll have a brand new outfit."

Li Chunyan handed the dirty dress to Ye Qingqing with some skepticism, muttering, "If it's not clean, don't try to get away with it. I still remember what happened with the Su satin!"

That's Suzhou silk worn by empresses!

In the past, she would never have dared to dream of such a thing.

"Don't worry, we can't back out."

Ye Qingqing casually hung the clothes on the rack and went back to her room to sleep.

That night, Li Chunyan didn't sleep well. She tossed and turned, sometimes worrying about ruining her clothes, and sometimes thinking about winning that piece of Suzhou satin.

Ye Youliang and Ye Dali were wondering why this second girl had been getting into all sorts of strange things lately. Wild vegetables could fetch exorbitant prices, and now she was making up some black mud that she claimed could wash away oil. Could it be that she had been possessed by some evil spirit?

Only Ye Dazhuang remained steadfast in his belief that Ye Qingqing would never speak without reason!

That's how much he trusted her!

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Ye Qingqing got up, washed up, and went straight to the yard, picking up the bar of soap that had already set.

The soap feels hard to the touch, with a somewhat rough surface, but it smells faintly of wood ash, with a slight fishy odor, and no foul smell.

"Sister-in-law, come out and do the laundry!"

Ye Qingqing shouted at the top of her lungs.

Li Chunyan rushed out of the house with dark circles under her eyes. The first thing she saw was the soap in Ye Qingqing's hand and the dirty clothes hanging on the shelf next to her.

"Hurry! Try it now!"

Li Chunyan was even more anxious than Ye Qingqing.

The entire Ye family gathered around the washing stone in the courtyard.

Ye Qingqing found a large wooden basin, poured in hot water, soaked the dirty clothes in it, picked up the dark soap, and rubbed it vigorously on the greasy areas.

The moment the soap comes into contact with hot water, it immediately produces a layer of fine, slightly yellow foam.

The foam wasn't sparse like soapberry foam, but rather thick and white, like snow.

Ye Qingqing picked up the clothes, placed them on the washboard, and began to scrub them vigorously with both hands.

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

Li Chunyan stared wide-eyed at Ye Qingqing's hand.

As Ye Qingqing rubbed it, the stubborn black oil stain gradually faded and disappeared in the foam!

"My goodness!"

Li Chunyan screamed, almost jumping up, "It's gone! It's really gone!"

Ye Dazhuang gasped and quickly stepped forward to examine the clothes closely.

Those shiny black oil stains were really washed away! And the fabric in the washed area was noticeably lighter in color than the surrounding area, making it look exceptionally clean!

"This...this..." Ye Dashan dropped his pipe on the ground, stammering and unable to speak.

Ye Qingqing lathered the entire garment with soap, scrubbed it again, and then rinsed it in clean water.

When the wet clothes were wrung out and laid out in front of everyone, everyone gasped.

The front of that indigo-blue coarse cloth jacket was spotless, without a trace of oil.

Although the fabric turned slightly white due to the high alkalinity of the soap, it was a world of difference compared to its previous appalling state!

"Amazing! Hey, fucking amazing!"

Li Chunyan snatched the clothes, touching and examining them repeatedly, tears welling up in her eyes. "Second Girl, you're truly my ancestor! These clothes are saved! What was that again... it's amazing!"

Her gaze towards Ye Qingqing changed. "Second girl, why did you only make this one piece? This isn't nearly enough!"

Ye Qingqing was amused by her rapid change of expression.

"Sister-in-law, we only have this one bar of soap right now. I still need to figure out how to mass-produce it."

Besides, I was just experimenting casually. If I make a lot later, I can sell them, which would be a good thing, wouldn't it?

Li Chunyan then realized what was happening. She grabbed Ye Qingqing's hand and said excitedly,

"Yes, yes, yes, let's sell it! Second Sister, if we take this to town, it'll be a sensation! It might even be more sought after than wild vegetables!"

Ye Cuicui nodded vigorously, saying...

"Yes, yes, yes! Second sister, this is a way to make a fortune!"

The family went from doubt to fervor in an instant.

Only Ye Dazhuang remained standing behind Ye Qingqing, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He knew Ye Qingqing could do it.

"Cui Cui, sister-in-law, don't be so happy yet."

Ye Qingqing cleared her throat and said slowly,

"Although this soap is very effective at removing dirt, it still has quite a few problems. Look at its color, it's not only pitch black, but it also has a smell of wood ash, it doesn't smell very good."

"And it's too alkaline; washing my hands with it too often will make them dry and rough. Let me think of a way to improve it before I can sell it."

With the heavy snow these past two days, it's been difficult to pick wild vegetables in the caves. I'm taking this opportunity to think about other ways to make money.

Anyway, she didn't want to be idle; she just ate and slept.

Li Chunyan nodded repeatedly and said,

"Yes, yes, I'll listen to Er Yatou! Er Yatou, just do whatever you want, and tell me what you need. I'll support you no matter what!"