Making Soap

Shen Yuan sat at the edge of the camp, staring out at the distant horizon. His siblings were scattered about, some resting, others busy with their own tasks, but his mind was elsewhere. The idea that had been growing in his mind since his conversation with Shen Zhen and Shen Fang was beginning to take shape.

He turned and glanced at Shen Zhen, who was nearby, fiddling with a piece of rope, clearly bored. That was it—Shen Yuan had made up his mind.

"Zhen," Shen Yuan called, getting up and dusting off his hands. "Come here for a second."

Shen Zhen perked up, his eyes wide with curiosity. "What is it, Brother Yuan?"

"We're going to start a business."

Shen Zhen blinked, surprised, but then his face broke into a grin. "Really? What are we selling?"

"Soap," Shen Yuan said confidently.

"Soap?" Shen Zhen tilted his head in confusion.

Shen Yuan told him that it will make their bodies clean and nice. It will leave a sweet scent.

Shen Zhen gulped.

"Brother, There is no such thing..."

Shen Yuan chuckled. "That's why we're going to make it. There's a merchant caravan passing by in two weeks. We'll make a large batch of soap, and then I'll give the first batch for free. Once they see how good it is, they'll come back and buy more, at a higher price."

Shen Zhen looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded slowly. "That's clever. But… how do we make soap?"

Shen Yuan grinned. "That's the fun part. Gather everyone, and I'll show you."

--

Once all eight of his younger siblings had gathered around him in the open area near the tents, Shen Yuan started explaining the plan. Shen Xiaomei, Shen Yaqing, Shen Fang, Shen Xiaoling, Shen Yue, Shen Feng, Shen Yan, and Shen Zhen listened with a mix of curiosity and skepticism.

"Soap is something everyone needs," Shen Yuan began. "It keeps you clean and healthy, and people are willing to pay good money for it. But the key to making soap is getting the right ingredients."

Shen Zhi raised his hand, already skeptical. "Where are we going to get those? We're in the middle of nowhere."

Shen Yuan smiled. "We have everything we need right here. What we need to make soap are three basic things: animal fat, water, and lye, which is made from wood ash."

"Wood ash?" Shen Xiaomei repeated, frowning. "The stuff left over from the fire?"

"Exactly," Shen Yuan said. "When you mix water with the ash, it creates lye. And when you combine that with animal fat, it turns into soap."

The group exchanged glances, some nodding, others still trying to wrap their heads around the idea.

"Is it really that simple?" Shen Yue asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shen Yuan shrugged. "Simple in theory, but we'll need to get the right balance. If we use too much lye, the soap will be too harsh and could burn your skin. Too little, and it won't clean properly. That's why we're going to practice until we get it right."

Shen Zhen, now fully intrigued, stepped forward. "Let's do it, then! Where do we start?"

"First, we need to collect ash from the firepit and strain it to get the lye," Shen Yuan said, already moving toward the campfire. "Everyone grab a pot or a bucket, and let's get to work."

--

The group got to work, collecting ashes from the fire and placing them in large pots of water. Shen Yuan showed them how to strain the ash mixture using cloth to filter out the bigger chunks, leaving them with a cloudy, lye-rich water.

"This lye water is what we'll mix with the animal fat," Shen Yuan explained, as he stirred the mixture with a stick. "It'll be our base."

"But where do we get the fat?" Shen Fang asked, looking around. "We don't exactly have a lot of animals here."

Shen Yuan nodded. "That's where the deer from the hunt comes in. We saved the fat from the last hunt, remember?"

Shen Tianzhu, who had been quietly listening, nodded. "We still have some stored. I'll go get it."

Shen Tianzhu didn't go hunting today and looked at his younger siblings.

While Shen Tianzhu fetched the animal fat, Shen Yuan gathered the group around. "We'll melt the fat slowly over the fire, and then we'll mix it with the lye. Once it cools, it'll harden into soap."

"So we're making it all from scratch?" Shen Feng asked, still a little unsure.

"Exactly," Shen Yuan said with a nod. "It takes time, but it's worth it. Once the soap is ready, we can cut it into bars and wrap them up to sell."

By the time Shen Tianzhu returned with the animal fat, Shen Yuan had the lye water ready. He placed the fat in a large pot over the fire, watching carefully as it melted into a smooth, oily liquid.

"Now comes the tricky part," Shen Yuan said, glancing at his siblings. "We have to mix the melted fat with the lye slowly and carefully. If we do it too fast, it could ruin the whole batch."

The younger ones gathered around, watching intently as Shen Yuan slowly poured the lye water into the pot of melted fat. He stirred it gently with a long wooden spoon, keeping a close eye on the consistency.

As the mixture began to thicken, Shen Xiaomei leaned in closer. "It's starting to look… kind of gross."

Shen Yuan chuckled. "It'll get better. This is just the beginning."

Once the mixture reached the right consistency, Shen Yuan removed the pot from the fire and let it cool. "We'll leave this to set overnight. Tomorrow, we'll check if it's hardened enough to cut into bars."

Shen Zhen was practically bouncing with excitement. "I can't wait to see how it turns out!"

"We'll make a lot more," Shen Yuan added. "This is just the first batch. We have two weeks before the merchant caravan comes through, so we'll need to make enough to impress them."

The days passed in a blur of hard work. Shen Yuan and his siblings fell into a rhythm—collecting ash, melting fat, mixing, and setting the soap. They worked together like a well-oiled machine, each of them finding their role in the process. Shen Xiaomei and Shen Yaqing took charge of straining the lye, while Shen Tianzhu and Shen Zhi handled melting the fat and stirring the mixture.

By the end of the first week, they had managed to create a decent batch of soap, which hardened into rough bars. The second week was spent refining the process, and by the time the caravan was expected to arrive, they had made 400 bars of soap.

The camp was filled with the faint smell of fresh soap, and the siblings couldn't hide their pride in what they had accomplished.

Shen Zhen ran his fingers over one of the bars, grinning from ear to ear. "We really did it. This soap actually looks… good."

"It's not just about how it looks," Shen Yuan said, picking up a bar and sniffing it. "It's about how well it works. This is our first product, and if we can convince the merchants to take it, we'll be on our way."

"What if they don't want it?" Shen Yue asked, a bit of doubt creeping into her voice.

Shen Yuan smiled. "That's why I'm going to give the first batch away for free. Once they see how good it is, they'll come back for more, and that's when we'll charge them."

Shen Zhi raised an eyebrow. "We're giving it away? Doesn't that seem risky?"

"It's a calculated risk," Shen Yuan explained. "Once they try it, they'll want more. And by then, we'll have a good stock to sell at a higher price. People always pay for quality, especially for something as useful as soap."

Shen Fang nodded, his adventurous spirit showing as he spoke up. "Plus, if they like our soap, they'll spread the word. More people will come to us for trade."

Shen Yuan grinned, proud of his siblings. They were beginning to understand the strategy behind the business.

"We've got two weeks' worth of work here, and I know it'll pay off," Shen Yuan said confidently. "Now, we just have to wait for the caravan to arrive."