The charcoal fire was burning brightly under the stove, and steam was bubbling out of the pot. Li Yi put the thinly sliced mutton into the pot. After it was scalded by the soup, it quickly flipped over. Just as he was about to reach out his chopsticks to pick it up, a shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes and snatched away the mutton that he had just placed in the pot …
Li Yi glanced at Liu Ruyi. In terms of hand speed, he was still not comparable to Miss.Liu.
Seeing that she was the one who cut the mutton today, he would not argue with her over such a small matter.
He picked up another piece of mutton that was as thin as a piece of paper and dipped it in the seasoning bowl that he had prepared beforehand. It melted in his mouth. To be able to cut the mutton into such thin pieces, Miss.Liu's knife skills were indeed worthy of her reputation.
Of course, hot pot could not be eaten without spicy food. He did not find a place that sold chili in the market, but fortunately, there were all kinds of seasonings here, so he found a substitute. Although the spiciness was still not comparable to chili, he could only make do with it.
"Xiao Huan, add some tofu. Oh right, add some vegetables too, and also mushrooms, carrots …" Li Yi instructed the maidservant while taking a sip of fruit wine. Although eating hot pot in autumn was not as enjoyable as eating in winter, Li Yi, who had been itching for it for a long time, could not wait that long.
"Husband, eat slowly. No one is going to fight with you." Liu Ruyi said in amusement as she watched Li Yi pick up a piece of tofu from the pot and put it into his mouth. He was so hot that he sucked in air and did not want to spit it out.
"Why is no one fighting with you …" Li Yi glanced at Miss.Liu who was sitting opposite him. His hands did not stop moving and he scooped up the mutton that he had just placed in the pot.
It would be winter in two months, and there would be many opportunities to eat hot pot in the future. It was necessary to instill in Miss.Liu the etiquette of eating hot pot. It was very impolite to take away something that was deliberately placed in the pot …
Eating hotpot was actually about the atmosphere. The whole family gathered around the small stove and chatted while eating. The young maidservant had not been with Li Yi recently. It was not easy for her to have a chance. Once she opened her mouth, she could not close it again.
Fang came over because of the smell. As soon as he pushed the door open, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
His eyes were glued to the hotpot in the middle of the room.
"Fang is here. Xiao Huan, go add a pair of chopsticks for Uncle Fang," Li Yi said to Xiao Huan.
"How can I accept this …"
Fang's face revealed his signature silly smile again, with a face full of embarrassment, he moved a small chair and sat beside Li Yi, waiting for Xiao Huan to bring him a pair of chopsticks. After fishing in the pot, nothing came out, his smile froze on his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry, the dishes are all gone … If only you had come earlier." Li Yi looked up at Fang and asked tentatively, "Would you like to drink some soup?"
… …
There was still a bit of mutton left, and the dishes were not finished. Seeing Li Yi add soup into the pot, and the meat and vegetables were all in the pot, Fang's face revealed a happy expression again.
While waiting for the dishes to be cooked, Fang took out a translucent object from his bosom and handed it to Li Yi, saying, "Son-in-law, the soap you mentioned last time seems to be done. Take a look and see if it works."
Looking at the square object in Fang's hand, Li Yi's eyes couldn't help but light up.
In this era where the poor commonly used honey locust beans to bathe, to have a piece of soap was a very happy thing.
Some time ago, Fang bought some alkaline flour and lime, and used saponification to make a batch of soap. The cold made soap needed nearly a month to mature before it could be used. During this time, Li Yi was busy with Ruyi's dew, so he asked Fang to count the days and inform him when the time was right.
Having just finished eating the hotpot, it was inevitable that his hands were a little greasy. He couldn't wait to get some water, and after rubbing the soap in the water, a layer of rich foam appeared on his hands.
This was the advantage of handmade soap. There was a lot of foam, strong decontamination ability, and at the same time, it had an amazing cleaning ability without causing any damage to the skin.
When Li Yi made the first batch of soap, he didn't add any messy things in it. Although it didn't look good, it was very practical.
After rubbing the foam on his hands for a while, and then rinsing it with water, there was no longer any greasy feeling on his hands.
"Son-in-law, what is this?" Xiao Huan blinked her curious eyes and looked at the soap in Li Yi's hands. She was very curious about this thing that could produce foam.
"En, this is called soap. It's used to wash your hands and bathe. It's much better than bath beans."
"So it's pancreas." The servant girl nodded as if she understood.
"What pancreas? Can pancreas be compared to my soap?" Li Yi pinched her little face and said, "I just finished eating the hotpot. There's a smell on my body. Go and take a bath."
"Xiao Huan doesn't have a smell …" The servant girl stretched out her sleeve and smelled it. She muttered and ran to the kitchen to boil water.
When Li Yi turned around, he found that Miss.Liu was playing with bubbles. She seemed to be very interested in the soap.
Then … Li Yi's first piece of soap was mercilessly confiscated by her.
She would bathe every day after she came back from cultivation. This soap was obviously better than bath beans.
Seeing that he couldn't beat her, Li Yi didn't argue with her. The first batch of soap was about ten pieces. He kept some at home and gave the rest to Fang and the others to divide.
The soap he made didn't add any chemical stabilizers, preservatives, or preservatives. Of course, even if Li Yi wanted to, he didn't add any. Under normal circumstances, it could only be used for about a year.
According to the tutorial in the book, he actually made it in one go. Next, he would make some in small batches, improve the process, and add some essential oils and spices to it. Then, it would be the real soap. As for the current product, it could only be called soap. If he added some sulfur, it would be sulfur soap. It had a certain effect of killing germs and pests, and could prevent diseases. In this era where hygiene awareness was still very low, it had a higher practical value.
Ruyi Soap had been retired for a long time. It was time to introduce a new product.
This time, Li Yi planned to take the low-end and high-end routes. The ordinary soap would be sold at a lower price, and the scented soap would be slightly more expensive, going the route of the aristocracy. Of course, the fragrance could also be customized, but the price would be higher.
Covering both the low-end and high-end markets, the profits would probably be higher than Ruyi Soap.
However, because the production period was too long, it would probably be next year before the soap could be officially sold.
…
With the help of the other shops, the business of Ruyi Soap gradually decreased after two days. There were a few girls and Fang in the shop to take care of it, so he didn't need to worry. He hadn't left the mountain for two days.
When he had nothing to do, he practiced martial arts, told a few adapted fairy tales to the little maidservants, or found some interesting books in the library to recharge himself. His days were very leisurely.
It was late at night, and the Willow Leaf Village was very quiet. Hundreds of miles away, in the imperial palace of Jingdu, in a magnificent palace, it was also quiet.
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