great invention

Lin Wanrong was quite concerned about Qin Xian'er's words. Now, Xiao Qingxuan had become the most intimate person in his world, and he was unwilling to see any danger befall her.

He pondered on how to handle this matter. If all else failed, he could deal with Qin Xian'er during the chaos. He couldn't believe that this little girl, even with extraordinary skills, could withstand the might of his two golden spears. Heh heh.

Returning to the Xiao family's residence, he couldn't sleep for a long time. The image of Xiao Qingxuan lingered in his mind. It seemed that Xiao Qingxuan's family was undoubtedly wealthy. To reduce obstacles between them, he needed to further strengthen his own power.

His martial arts were impressive, combined with poison needles and firearms, he could even contend with Dongfang Unbeaten. The "Cultivating Immortality through Eating" business was thriving, bringing in substantial wealth. The Xiao family's innerwear and perfume business was also exceptionally smooth, especially the perfume business, which was practically a gold mine.

Unfortunately, due to production capacity issues, the perfume output had not yet reached its peak, and despite having silver on hand, he couldn't make the most of it. This situation made him anxious. Moreover, relying solely on the perfume business seemed a bit too thin. He should explore other related businesses, gradually improving the product line for more earning opportunities.

In fact, since the inception of perfumes, he had a plan in mind. If he could make perfumes, why not venture into other daily necessities? Soap, for instance.

Soap, a simple product with basic ingredients taught in high school chemistry textbooks. Lin Wanrong even conducted experiments during his school days. Mix fats with alkali, heat at high temperatures, and it's done. The process was not complex, conducive to mass production.

Soap could be divided into two types: laundry soap and scented soap. Laundry soap had a rougher process, using animal fats and alkali directly extracted. To save costs, a bit of rosin could be added. Scented soap followed a similar principle but was relatively more intricate. It required plant fats, alkali, purification, and the addition of fragrances.

Fragrances were not an issue, as the remnants from brewing perfumes could be repurposed.

With the experience gained from perfumes, Lin Wanrong's confidence was greatly boosted. Once the soap was produced, it would become another highly profitable product comparable to perfumes. With just a perfume and a restaurant, plus this soap industry, he would have three golden geese laying eggs. Two of them were exclusively his. It would be hard not to prosper.

With this idea in mind, he became excited. His skills were truly unique. If this era had a Chinese Academy of Sciences, he would probably be its director by now.

He also wanted to create shampoo, facial cleanser, and similar products. Unfortunately, he wasn't very knowledgeable about these things. What he regretted even more was not researching the ingredients of Viagra earlier. If he had the patent for Viagra, making hundreds of blue pills and selling them exclusively to emperors and high-ranking officials, he would be unstoppable.

That night, his mind was in turmoil, celebrating his great invention, and he couldn't sleep all night. Early the next morning, he rushed out.

Walking to the center of the courtyard, he saw Miss Xiao, who had returned from staying overnight at Qixia Temple with her younger sister. The two sisters had talked all night, and they had just returned this morning.

Seeing Lin San walking out with a carefree smile on his face, not even glancing at her, Miss Xiao stopped him and asked, "Lin San, where are you going?"

Lin Wanrong halted. Seeing the person clearly, he smiled and said, "Oh, it's Miss Xiao. I'm going to buy lard."

Miss Xiao looked at him curiously and asked, "You're not a cook. What do you need that stuff for?"

He grinned, "Some things are better kept secret."

Seeing his mysterious look, Miss Xiao thought, 'This guy must have some new idea again.' After experiencing the power of the perfume, she was curious about him. She said, "I have nothing to do this morning. I'll go with you."

Lin Wanrong wore a wry smile. "Miss, you can't accompany me to buy lard. You're a big shot; how can you mess around with me? By the way, how is the progress of promoting the perfume?"

Miss Xiao nodded, "The promotion is going well. By the way, the day after tomorrow, we're going to the Jinling Poetry Society. You come with me; it might be useful in the future."

Lin Wanrong understood. Miss Xiao was cultivating him, probably wanting to turn him into a white-collar backbone and elite of the Xiao family. It seemed interesting.

Rarely being modest, he said, "Since it's Miss's orders, I will naturally follow. But I wonder, what kind of place is the Jinling Poetry Society?"

Miss Xiao nodded and explained, "The Jinling Poetry Society is the largest literary gathering in Jinling. It brings together many famous talents, including Jinling's top scholar Hou Yuebai, Yangzhou's top scholar Yu Wenpo, and Jinling's top female talent Miss Luo Ning, along with many other distinguished ladies. If our perfume succeeds among them, it will be a great success in Jinling."

Miss Xiao seemed to be in a good mood today, changing her usual impatience. She was explaining the business enthusiastically, seemingly really wanting to cultivate him as a backbone of the Xiao family.

Lin Wanrong sneered inwardly, understanding that the Jinling Poetry Society was mainly held up by Luo Ning and her group. However, Miss Xiao's choice of the upper-class route was excellent. It was a gathering place for official's daughters with some talent. It should be the focus of their efforts.

After Miss Xiao spoke for a while, seeing him relaxed, she couldn't tell how much he had absorbed. She snorted secretly and waved her hand to let him go.

Lin Wanrong was known for being lazy. For such trivial matters like buying lard, he didn't need to personally intervene. He was already a high-ranking servant in the Xiao family, a highly favored figure in front of the ladies, even surpassing the two stewards. Now, with his rising status, if he didn't know how to make use of it, he wouldn't be the versatile Third Brother in the Xiao family.

He chose a lad named San De. This was the one who earned a couple of silver coins by flattering the young master during their visit to the brothel. He was quick to change his name to Si De.

"I say, Si De—" Lin Wanrong began.

The lad quickly saluted, "Third Brother, please don't kill me. You're Third Brother, how dare I use your name. From now on, I'll call myself Si De."

Lin Wanrong chuckled, appreciating his flattery. If you could flatter so well, you might have a future. Feeling the satisfaction of abusing authority, he nodded, "Si De, go quickly to the meat market and buy four catties of lard for me. Also, help me get some purer caustic soda. And call back Uncle Fu, saying I have something to discuss

 with him."

Delegating tasks was enjoyable. Lin Wanrong effortlessly issued three orders with just his mouth, and Si De efficiently handled them. When Uncle Fu returned, he saw Lin Wanrong directing Si De to build a strong fire in the stove. The boiling lard emitted a faint, fishy smell into the air.

"Uncle Fu, you're back at the right time." Seeing another helping hand, Lin Wanrong didn't hold back. Regardless of age, as long as you could get the job done, whether you were old or young, you could do it. 

He picked up a large piece of prepared fine sand cloth from the side. Organized, he instructed, "Uncle Fu, you are experienced. After Si De cleans the surface later, use this filter cloth to strain the fat, and then wash it."

Uncle Fu asked in surprise, "Lin San, what are you doing again?" Although Uncle Fu and Uncle Chang were both quite admiring of Lin San, this kid was indeed unusual. His half-baked knowledge of flower arrangement and machinery often brought surprises that amazed the two.

Lin Wanrong naturally wouldn't reveal his secrets. He laughed and said, "Uncle Fu, we've known each other for a long time. Don't you trust me? Besides, you're an old expert. Later, when Si De cleans the surface, use this filter cloth to strain the fat, then wash it again."

Uncle Fu snorted. "You, this kid, don't have any respect for the old or love for the young. But I still trust you." Seeing that he wasn't joking, Uncle Fu followed his instructions.

Lin Wanrong took his specially made pencil and continuously wrote symbols on paper, all of which were incomprehensible to the two. After a while, he threw down the pencil and exclaimed, "Dear chemistry teacher, I will love you forever."

Excited, he had Uncle Fu pour all the cleaned fat into the pot, then boiled it fiercely over high heat. After the temperature increased, Si De followed Lin Wanrong's instructions, continuously stirring. Lin Wanrong took about one-third of the weight of the fat, which was the caustic soda, and threw it into the pot.

Boiling for about half an hour, he let Si De pour a large amount of coarse salt into the pot, stirring evenly. Those who had studied chemistry knew that this was called "salting out."

After about half an hour, Uncle Fu and Si De were amazed to see that in the large pot boiling with pig lard, a layer of pale yellow ointment-like substance gradually floated on the water surface.

Lin Wanrong was overjoyed. This was soap. I'm a genius. Dear chemistry teacher, be proud of me. I will always remember your teachings: Mastering science and math makes you fearless in the world.

This was actually a very simple chemical experiment. Under high temperature conditions with the presence of alkali, fats would hydrolyze to form high-grade fatty acid salts and glycerol. Fatty acid salts were what we commonly used as soap, and glycerol, with the addition of nitric acid, could be turned into nitroglycerin, which was nitrocellulose, also known as nitroglycerin. Because soap did not dissolve in concentrated saline solution, and glycerol had a high solubility in saline solution, they could be separated by adding salt.

Lin Wanrong was excited for a while. Let Si De use a scraper to scrape the pale yellow ointment-like substance into a large wooden box. When it cooled slowly, it would become a large piece of soap.

Regarding glycerol as a byproduct, Lin Wanrong was still itchy in his heart. With this thing, he could make a few bombs for fun. But he also knew the danger. Nitroglycerin was highly unstable, and a slight vibration could cause an explosion. After hesitating for a long time, he temporarily gave up this plan. It was too dangerous; his little life was more important.

Lin Wanrong gazed at the large piece of soap, contemplating in his mind. What is the cost of making soap with this animal fat?

These four catties of pig fat probably cost about eight silver coins. The soap produced can make around thirty to forty small fist-sized soaps. Each soap is worth at least eight silver coins, yielding a profit of about thirty to forty taels of silver. That is quite substantial. Moreover, this pig fat is just an experimental product. The cost is high, but other animal or vegetable oils can be used to further reduce costs.

After waiting for an hour, the soap finally cooled down. Lin Si De brought a basin of clear water to clean the clothes that had been soiled for several days. He threw them into the basin and soaked them for a while. Then, he took a small piece of soap, gently brushed it on the clothes, and after a dip in the clean water, the stains disappeared without a trace.

Uncle Fu stared in amazement, "Lin San, what is this magical thing?"

Lin Wanrong grinned, "Uncle Fu, you are in for a treat today. This thing is called soap. I invented it myself."

Uncle Fu sighed, "Lin San, with this thing, those young ladies and wives can save a lot of effort. They should really thank you."

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, "Uncle Fu, look at what you're saying. In fact, I have always considered it my duty to benefit countless women and promote new social norms. It's just that every time I think about this goal being far from achieved, I feel guilty."

Ignoring his words, Uncle Fu continued to rub the just-formed soap, smooth and fine. He was puzzled about how this thing could be so magical.

This soap is still the roughest kind of laundry soap. To make scented soap, the principle is entirely the same, just replacing the animal fat with vegetable oil, such as coconut oil, tung oil, purifying it further, and adding some color and fragrance. The remnants of flower braids from making perfumes, which Lin Wanrong had always felt were a waste, could finally be put to good use.

Following this method, he conducted another experiment, this time using tung oil and sprinkling more crushed flower braids that had been pressed. Lin Wanrong paid more attention to this scented soap. He didn't let Si De handle it; he personally put the ointment-like substance into another box.

When the scented soap slowly cooled down, Uncle Fu and Si De's eyes widened. The soap had a light yellow tint, a beautiful color, and a faint fragrance of crushed flowers scattered in the air. Just a whiff made people fall in love with it.

Success, finally success! Lin Wanrong felt exhilarated. Beautiful women of the world, wait to be adorned with the great invention of my Third Brother. I will definitely make you more beautiful, fragrant, and attractive.

These two experiments took a full two days but were much easier and simpler than brewing perfume that day. Uncle Fu and Si De followed Lin Wanrong closely, witnessing the birth of a miracle.

If perfume was something Lin Wanrong unintentionally ventured into, then soap was deliberately done by him. Benefiting the common people? Lin Wanrong didn't have such thoughts. He was ruthless about making money; this was the real deal.

Soap was a new product, and it also needed an upper-class route. The price would start high, and the profit would certainly not be lower than perfume. With these undergarments, perfumes, and soaps, especially the latter two's monopolistic position, wouldn't the silver in this world come rolling in? In the future, when making medicinal soap, I'll set up a complete chemical industry. Damn, let's see who dares to compete with me. At this moment, he had the feeling of overlooking the world after achieving success.

It was already the time for lamps to be lit. Uncle Fu had truly opened his eyes these past two days. He sighed for a long time before saying, "Lin San, do you think we should let Miss come and see this thing?"

Lin Wanrong was also considering this question. Handing over the management of the perfume to the Xiao family, on the one hand, was because of Xiao Yu Shuang's face, and on the other hand, because the Xiao family had a very complete marketing network. Although Lin Wanrong had the technology and the product, marketing was what he lacked the most. If he had to rebuild it himself, he didn't have that much silver, nor did he have the energy. Allowing the Xiao family exclusive agency rights was also a good way. This model was seen a lot in his past life.

After thinking for a while, he said to Uncle Fu, "It's possible to let Miss come and see. Ah, I'm too much of a failure. I always end up being exploited by her."

The footsteps of Miss approaching were much faster than Lin Wanrong had imagined. Perhaps in her eyes, Uncle Fu was an honest person who wouldn't lie. So, she believed the facts witnessed by Uncle Fu without any hesitation. If Lin San had reported it, she would have believed one out of ten sentences, which was already pretty good.

Xiao Yu Ruo entered the room, saw Lin Wanrong smiling at her, blushed, and said, "You, always with this indecent look?"

Lin Wanrong laughed, "Miss, I have never been so serious before."

Miss glanced at him, snorted lightly, and her gaze fell on the things behind him.

Is this the thing called soap? Xiao Yu Ruo looked curiously at the two large pieces of soap in front of her. The workmanship was not very delicate, and it had a bit of roughness, but it felt smooth to the touch. Especially the scented soap, with a faint pink color and a pleasant fragrance, made her like it at first sight.

"Lin San, did you really make all of these?" Miss asked, her excited voice trembling a bit.