It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Hmm... Is the word "admiration" really appropriate to describe someone who's only 1.5 meters tall?

After Li Cheng finished his attempt to make conversation, he continued to daydream, while Freya continued to observe the earthenware pot that interested her.

Just then, the sound of footsteps came from outside, and then a golden figure about 1.5 meters tall darted in.

"Freya, what are you doing here? I've been looking for you for ages..." Newton suddenly noticed Li Cheng sitting on a small stool and exclaimed in shock, "What are you doing here too? What do you intend to do to my maid?"

Li Cheng: ? ? ?

What happened? I thought my credit score was already very high!

Freya forced herself to turn away from the earthenware pot, reluctantly turning around: "Miss, Mr. Li didn't do anything to me... He asked me to assist him with, uh, chemistry or something?"

"A chemical reaction," Li Cheng added.

“Yes, it’s a chemical reaction.” Freya responded, then turned and betrayed Li Cheng, “This chemical reaction really looks like witchcraft, it can turn water into stone.”

Newton displayed a thirst for knowledge befitting her character, and she approached the stove to examine the earthenware pot: "What's in here? It looks like water... Li Cheng, what did you pour into this water?"

Li Cheng's head suddenly started to ache.

Newton was not someone to be easily fooled; once she started asking questions, she would never stop until she was completely satisfied.

"No rush, you can keep an eye on it first, and I'll explain it to you slowly later."

Li Cheng changed the subject, "What do you want with us?"

Newton snapped out of his reverie and looked anxious: "Freya, I heard from some of the maids that there are rats in the castle recently. Go and bring some cats home."

Chapter Nine: Not for Sale

Newton asked the same question that Li Cheng had asked earlier.

Freya looked puzzled: "Miss, where did you get this information from?"

“When I came out of Li Cheng’s room earlier, I bumped into someone catching a mouse in the hallway.”

Newton counted the names of the three maids on his fingers: "Harris, White, and Hill."

Those three people are probably lying to Miss... Freya's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. She nodded and said, "I understand. Leave this to me."

Li Cheng noticed the change in her expression.

This maid gave me a strange feeling from the beginning... After she left, Li Cheng immediately tattled, "Freya seems to be hiding something from you. Her expression was very strange just now."

Newton glanced at him: "Freya has been with me for many years, she wouldn't hide anything from me."

Li Cheng had no choice but to continue the soap-making process.

Newton, standing nearby, also couldn't understand it. After pretending to study the earthenware pot for a while, he urged, "What's this for? Tell me."

"I'm building something, and this is the preliminary step," Li Cheng said. "Don't rush me, I'm busy right now. I'll tell you slowly after it's built."

......

After about fifteen minutes, the water in the earthenware pot gradually evaporated, and white crystals appeared inside.

"What is this?" Newton asked, reaching out to touch it.

Li Chenghan stepped forward and stopped Newton's reckless behavior: "Don't touch it. It's an alkali, very corrosive. Your hand will rot if you touch it."

"What are you trying to do by making something so dangerous?" Newton asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"it works."

Li Cheng casually brushed it off, saying, "This is a unique skill in our family, taught to me by my dad. You can see for yourself."

In the 17th and 18th centuries, shortly after Boyle proposed phlogiston chemistry, modern chemistry was still in its nascent stage. With the accumulation of experience in the metallurgical industry and laboratories, people summarized their sensory knowledge and conducted theoretical research on chemical changes, making chemistry a branch of natural science.

Therefore, although Newton could roughly understand what Li Cheng was doing, he did not understand the underlying reasons and seemed very confused.

The caustic soda is ready; the next step will be easy.

Li Cheng took another wooden bucket, put the chopped lard in it, added some water until the lard was completely submerged, and then poured in half a can of soda ash.

Oil will undergo a saponification reaction when it comes into contact with alkali.

However, making soap with lard cannot involve direct saponification; pretreatment is required to remove impurities from the oil, otherwise the quality will be affected. There are many methods, including hydration, alkali refining, and acid refining. Li Cheng chose the simplest method, alkali refining.

First, add a small amount of alkali to induce a saponification reaction, producing flocculent alkali groups that can remove pigments and impurities from the oil. However, do not add too much, otherwise it will be wasteful.

Speaking of lard, one must mention the Curly-haired pig, a specialty of Lincolnshire, where Li Cheng is currently located. This is a peculiar animal in England; it looks like a sheep but is actually a pig, hence its nickname "sheep-pig." Like sheep, it is even sheared annually, and the wool can be used to make pigskin sweaters.

Because of her cuteness (according to Newton himself, it was for research purposes), Newton also kept a few of them on his estate, and the wool he shorn each year was used to make clothes for her.

After waiting for a while, a lot of flocculent material appeared in the bucket and floated on the surface of the water.

"what is this?"

"Useless thing... You lend a hand, it's inconvenient for me to do it alone."

As Li Cheng spoke, he picked up the prepared hand sieve, stood beside the wooden basin, and had Newton help him slowly pour the oil and water through the sieve. This filtering method was very fast, and he finished filtering in no time. At this point, the previously clean hand sieve had a layer of impurities and some slightly whitish fried oil. The oil and water, however, were as clear as ever, and the original turbidity had disappeared.

The next step was simple: put the oil and water in a pot, light a fire, and boil it directly. Then, add a caustic soda solution to induce a saponification reaction. Because oil is not easily soluble in lye water, Li Cheng picked up the stick and stirred it around to speed up the reaction.

This would normally be a long process. But Li Cheng's work this time was mainly experimental, so he prepared a small amount of oil and water, and it was done in a few minutes.

When the oil in the pot was almost completely evaporated, Li Cheng grabbed a handful of salt and sprinkled it into the pot.

This step is salting out. After salting out, the resulting soap base is finally separated from the water.

So, under Newton's watchful eye, as salt was sprinkled in, some ointment-like pale yellow substance appeared in the pot.

"What is this?" the Newton repeater asked.

"Soap particles are precipitated out by salt."

As Li Cheng spoke, he kept sprinkling salt into the pot. More and more pale yellow soap granules appeared, eventually forming a whole layer floating on top, like potatoes floating on the surface.

The next steps were simple: Li Cheng scooped up the soap pellets and then poured the remaining pot of wastewater out of the yard without hesitation.

The wastewater is rich in glycerol, which has a wide range of uses, including medicinal purposes and explosives. However, Li Cheng neither knows how to refine it nor intends to; it's not part of his plan.

Besides, talking about making explosives with glycerin is too hardcore and not suitable for a keyboard warrior like him.

After getting the soap pellets, Li Cheng performed a series of operations that even Newton couldn't understand, and a pale yellow, irregularly shaped object, somewhat like a dog-gnawed piece, appeared in his hand.

"Success!"

Looking at the palm-sized, pale yellow bar of soap in his hand, Li Cheng felt an unparalleled sense of accomplishment, as if he were holding not a bar of soap but a lottery ticket that had confirmed he had won the first prize.

"What is this?" came the repeated voice.

This is one small step for me, but one giant leap for a time traveler... Li Cheng was so engrossed in his fantasy that he could not extricate himself.

"What is this?" the voice repeated again.

Unfortunately, the precious pearl is covered in dust and cannot be mass-produced for the time being, or even sold anywhere... Li Cheng continued to ponder in his heart, unaware that the tone of the repeater's voice was gradually becoming lower.

"What exactly is this?"

The sound of repeated readings rang in his ears again, but this time Li Cheng sensed a hidden danger in them.

Miss Newton was clearly extremely dissatisfied with Li Cheng's ignoring attitude. Her pouting lips were full of displeasure. She hadn't bothered him before because he was busy, but now that the product was obviously finished, she was naturally about to lose her temper.

Seeing that Miss Newton was already grinding her teeth and seemed ready to pounce at any moment, Li Cheng quickly said, "An improved version of soap. Simple to make, fragrant, and with strong cleaning power."

Then he tossed the soap to Newton: "Try it. If you like it, I'll give it to you. Use this to wash your hands before meals from now on."

Newton was skeptical. She took the soap, wet her hands, rubbed it on, and squatted down in front of the wooden basin to rub her hands.

"If he's useless, I'll bite him. How dare he ignore me like that..." Miss Newton secretly vowed in her heart.

After rubbing for only a few times, she was surprised to see foam appear on her hands, sparkling and reflecting colorful light under the sun.

Not only was the color beautiful, but the soap's lather also had a lubricating effect. Newton felt her hands were soft and smooth, exceptionally comfortable, as if she were being gently caressed. To enjoy this wonderful feeling, she rubbed it a few more times before putting it in clean water to wash.

As the foam washed away, Newton's hands, which had been greasy from contact with oil and water, became extremely clean. The refreshing feeling was something she had never experienced before; she had never felt so clean, even when taking a bath.

Looking at his regenerated hands, Newton couldn't help but ask, "Did you put this together?"

In a sense, that doesn't seem wrong, does it?

Li Cheng nodded: "Yes."

Newton rubbed his hands together, savoring the new tactile sensation, and exclaimed, "It's really useful... Li Cheng, are you planning to make this and sell it? I think it will sell very well!"

To her surprise, after shaking his head and waving his head, Li Cheng refused, saying, "I won't sell."

Newton stared in astonishment, his eyes wide: "Why?"

My favorite thing to do, Li Cheng, is to say no to those who think they're right... Li Cheng thought to himself, then rolled his eyes: "Tell me, how do you plan to sell it? Do you have supply channels? Do you have a large-scale workshop? Do you have market experience? Do you have start-up capital? Yes..."

Newton was speechless, but still retorted defiantly, "I can have Freya inquire about it; she can learn it gradually."

"What I've mentioned are just the most basic things, and they can indeed be overcome."

Li Cheng continued to shake his head, saying, "But if someone tries to rob or steal, who can protect us? Even a mere professor like Hope can prevent you from graduating. What if a duke or earl personally threatens us? Would we dare not pay?"

Newton also figured out the crux of the matter, but she was still very unwilling and gritted her teeth in resentment: "Is there really no way? This should be able to sell for a lot of money."

Chapter Ten: A Letter from London

Li Cheng's words were somewhat alarmist, but most of them were true.

Soap making isn't a high-tech industry; even a keyboard warrior like him could easily replicate it once he knew the process. Bribing one or two craftsmen with a large sum of money would be a piece of cake—and what awaited Li Cheng after that was all sorts of malicious competition.

"Don't worry, there will be opportunities, it's just not the right time yet." Li Cheng also rubbed his hands with soap and washed away the grease. "See, the things are still in our hands for now, aren't they?"

Is there really a chance?

"Yes, I promise. Have I ever lied to you?"

Sunlight streamed into the kitchen through the cracks in the window, illuminating the dust floating in the air and also Newton's face, which, though still unwilling, had improved considerably.

Making a small bar of soap took a long time. By then, the kitchen servants had come in to prepare dinner. When they saw Newton and Li Cheng inside, with pots and pans scattered everywhere, they were embarrassed and didn't know whether to go in or back out.

"You guys go ahead with your work, please put the things on the ground in the backyard for me."

After giving a brief instruction, Li Cheng pulled Newton by the sleeve and left the room.

......

Even at dinner, Newton remained uninterested, whether preoccupied with the soap or reminded of her own helplessness when facing Hope by Li Cheng's description. In any case, the situation seemed quite serious, as she even refused Li Cheng's attempt to play chess with her.

The situation took a turn for the better at dinner time when an unknown maid delivered a letter.

This is a letter written on high-quality letter paper, with a light gold sealing wax seal on the surface. However, the writer's handwriting is rather ugly, crooked and twisted, and at first glance, it looks like a dog with a broken leg.