Chapter 56

Once everyone had completely left, Zhong Zijun finally emerged.

Seeing the courtyard in complete disarray, she felt distressed as she picked up the grain sacks scattered on the ground.  

The wild vegetables and potato-egg pancakes were no longer edible—all had been trampled beyond recognition.  

Such good food, wasted.  

With her injured hand making it difficult to move, Da Bao and Bei Bei obediently helped clean up the dirt and debris on the ground.  

Although they had lost some food today, that old witch had taken a severe beating. She probably wouldn’t dare to cause trouble again. Because of this, Gu Qinghuan felt rather satisfied.  

However, the wound on Gu Qinghuan’s shoulder had cracked open again.

Secretly, without letting the others see, Gu Qinghuan applied some healing ointment to the injury.  

Even though it was already quite late, breakfast was still necessary. Gu Qinghuan took out some eggs and white flour, then made a few more batches of egg pancakes. With the vegetable soup simmering in the pot, the family ate until their stomachs were full.  

After the meal, Xu Huai’an acted as if nothing had happened and went back outside to dig the soil and plant vegetables.

Da Bao and Bei Bei followed closely behind him like little shadows, trailing his every step.  

Meanwhile, Zhong Zijun gathered the clothes that the family had changed out of over the past two days, preparing to do the laundry.  

The villagers usually went to the big river to wash clothes, but she had no way of going out.  

Fortunately, there was a well at home, so she could still manage.  

When Gu Qinghuan had just arrived, the first few days’ worth of clothes had been secretly washed in the villa’s washing machine.

At that time, Xu Huai’an had yet to regain consciousness, and Zhong Zijun hadn’t moved in yet.  

Now, there was no room for laziness.  

“Mom, leave it to me. How can you wash clothes with your hand like that?” Gu Qinghuan rolled up his sleeves, ready to start washing.  

Zhong Zijun didn’t insist and let Gu Qinghuan take over while she helped from the side.  

She found a broken wooden shovel and scooped up a generous amount of plant ash, pouring it into the large wooden basin.  

Gu Qinghuan soaked the clothes in the plant ash water. After letting them sit for a while, they would be ready for scrubbing and pounding.  

Life in the countryside during these times was truly harsh. Well-off families could afford to use soap pods for washing clothes, while less fortunate ones relied on plant ash.

Those with even fewer resources simply pounded the clothes with a wooden mallet to remove surface dirt.  

Washing clothes with actual soap was entirely out of the question—no one’s clothes were that precious.  

The bar of scented soap that Gu Qinghuan had taken out earlier was treated like a treasure by the whole family, only used sparingly during baths and hair washes.  

It might seem surprising, but that was just how things were. Being able to use store-bought soap for bathing was already considered a luxury.  

Only families with some means would buy a five-cent bar of soap for bathing.  

Made from pig pancreas, it was functional enough, but the smell was truly unpleasant.

Thinking of this, Gu Qinghuan suddenly had an idea—she could make handmade soap herself.  

As long as she prepared the right materials, it would be incredibly simple. She had even made a batch of traditional soap in one of her past lifestyle videos and still remembered the recipe.  

But for now, she needed to finish washing the clothes first.  

Both mother and daughter were injured, so it took them nearly two hours to wash and hang up the large pile of laundry.  

Of course, undergarments were washed separately—each person handled their own—while the adults took care of the children’s clothes together.  

Since they had eaten breakfast late, lunch was kept simple. Each person had a bowl of lard noodles.  

A spoonful of lard was added to each bowl, along with soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings. Surprisingly, the taste turned out to be quite good.

They even finished every last drop of soup.  

As usual, Xu Huai’an was in charge of washing the dishes after the meal.

He had spent the entire morning digging up four plots of land and was finally exhausted, so he took a short break.  

Meanwhile, Gu Qinghuan and Zhong Zijun began researching how to make traditional handmade soap.  

Technically, pig pancreas soap would have been easier to make, but Gu Qinghuan simply couldn’t stand the smell. Plus, they would need to find pig pancreas, which was an extra hassle—so she decided against it.  

Zhong Zijun was quite interested in Gu Qinghuan’s soap-making idea. This recipe was worth trying. If it worked, they would have their own soap for laundry and bathing in the future.  

The basic formula for traditional soap-making involved mixing various fats with an alkaline substance to trigger saponification.  

Gu Qinghuan adjusted the recipe to use materials they could easily obtain. The ingredients they needed included shellfish shells, plant ash, lard, bamboo tubes, and fragrant herbs.  

Da Bao listened intently. So, the soap sold in stores could actually be made at home?  

“Mom wasn’t lying. Educated people really are amazing at everything.” he thought.  

Next, they began gathering the necessary ingredients. They already had plant ash and lard at home.  

As for the fragrance, the osmanthus tree in their courtyard was perfect. A few days ago, Zhong Zijun had already dried some osmanthus flowers, which would be enough.  

Now, they only needed shellfish shells and bamboo tubes for molding.  

Da Bao eagerly volunteered to go to the big river and collect mussel shells, saying they were scattered all over the riverbank.  

Bei Bei quickly chimed in, insisting on going along to help.  

Xu Huai’an was also interested in their project and offered to take care of the bamboo tubes.  

Gu Qinghuan gladly agreed but reminded the children to be careful and stay away from the water.  

With everyone assigned a task, the family got to work preparing everything.

Gu Qinghuan was responsible for burning the plant ash and filtering it through a cloth to extract lye for later use.  

Zhong Zijun handled the lard preparation. The lard from the previous day had already solidified, so she had to reheat it into a liquid state.  

Before long, Da Bao and Bei Bei returned with a basket full of mussel shells.  

Gu Qinghuan cleaned the shells thoroughly, then placed them in the stove’s fire pit, roasting them until they became brittle. Once crisp, she ground them into fine powder.  

Next, she poured the shell powder into the lye, stirred it well, filtered it a second time, and let it settle.  

Once the sedimentation process was complete, she mixed the lye solution into the melted lard, added a pinch of salt to increase hardness, and incorporated dried osmanthus flowers for fragrance. Then, she stirred the mixture in a single direction, allowing it to undergo saponification and turn into a thick paste.  

The final step required the bamboo tubes that Xu Huai’an had gathered.  

Gu Qinghuan poured the thick soap mixture into the bamboo molds to set.  

In total, she made five large bamboo tubes of soap. Once stored properly, they would be ready for unmolding in three days and could then be sliced into thick bars for use. Of course, if left to cure for a month, the soap’s quality would improve even further.  

Looking at the results of their afternoon’s hard work, the entire family smiled with satisfaction.  

“When these soaps are ready, we can use them for washing clothes, bathing, shampooing, and even washing our hands.” Gu Qinghuan said.  

Da Bao hesitated for a moment before speaking shyly: “Mom, when the soap is ready, can I give a piece to Er Dan? Just a small one.”  

“Why only give it to Er Dan? Is he your best friend?”  

Gu Qinghuan wasn’t worried about wasting soap but was simply curious. This wasn’t the first time she had heard the name Er Dan.  

Da Bao hesitated briefly before deciding to tell the truth.  

“This afternoon, when we were collecting mussel shells by the river, we ran into Da Cheng. We didn’t provoke him, but when he saw us picking up shells, he started cursing at us, calling us bringers of bad luck, wild bastards, and saying we were so poor we even ate shells.  

I got angry and fought him, but then his friends ganged up on us and started bullying my sister. They almost pushed her into the river. Luckily, Er Dan stepped in to help, and that’s the only reason my sister didn’t fall in.  

Dad always said we should repay kindness, so I want to give him a piece of soap. Is that okay?”

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Pig Pancreas Soap

T/N: Hi, just a survey, do you want me to include pictures of food mentioned in the chapters?

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