Chapter 71: Bamboo Slips (Part 1)

“Fragrant Soap!”

Yan Lao’er immediately thought of the pitch-black round balls they used long ago.

They weren’t much to look at, and the scent was hard to describe, but they were excellent at removing grease and grime.

Yan Yu blinked. “I know what fragrant soap is. If I have that, why would I trade for medicinal soap…

Ah! My mosquito repellent floral water! Ah! My sunscreen cream!”

Li Xuemei scolded, “Keep your voice down! Do you want to wake up the whole village?”

Yan Yu deflated. “These mosquito bites are so itchy.” As soon as the cat came back, the first thing she would look for was mugwort.

Yan Lao’er, feeling sorry for her, scraped some medicinal soap with his fingernail and gently applied it to her skin, blowing on it constantly.

Whether it was psychological or truly effective, Yan Yu felt the itchiness lessen.

Li Xuemei said, “The simplest method only requires pig pancreas and plant ash.”

“A better version adds pig fat, plant ash, soap pods, sugar, and fragrance.”

Yan Yu counted on her fingers. “We have all of that! We just slaughtered three wild boars, so we have the pig pancreas and pig fat—pig fat is just lard, right?

We also have beans—grinding them makes bean powder, doesn’t it?

As for sugar, can we substitute rock sugar? We can grind it too.

Fragrance… we really don’t have that, but it doesn’t matter if it isn’t scented.”

She was quite excited about making her own cleaning products. Given the current conditions, fragrance wasn’t a priority.

Yan Lao’er grinned. “Alright, I’ll find Old Third Luo first thing in the morning and ask if he still has any pig pancreas left.”

Not important if it’s scented? Girl, you’ll know the difference once it’s made.

—

Early in the morning, Yan Lao’er brought back the pig pancreas while his wife and daughter were still sleeping.

He cooked a pot of pig’s blood porridge and sprinkled in some wild garlic leaves.

Then he called his older brother, eldest nephew, and eldest niece over for breakfast.

After gulping down a big bowl himself, he got to work.

First, he cleaned the pig pancreas thoroughly, removing all the white fat and connective tissue before cutting it into small pieces and placing them in a wooden basin.

Then, using a pestle, he pounded them into a paste bit by bit.

With pancreas from three wild boars, there was quite a lot. After thinking for a moment, he decided to test a small batch first.

He transferred some into a small jar and, after mashing for a while, called his eldest nephew over to continue pounding.

Meanwhile, he went around the village collecting plant ash from different earthen stoves, soon gathering a whole basketful.

He had never seen the soap-making process before, but having used it himself, he knew this ash wasn’t fine enough.

So, he borrowed a sieve and carefully sifted it.

—

Yan Yu was woken up by her older cousin, Da Ya.

She was still incredibly sleepy. Other than her parents, no one else understood her struggles.

Reluctantly, she groggily climbed out of bed.

She sat there blankly for a moment before regaining her senses.

Looking down, she saw her father pounding a small jar of something dark and mushy, while her mother was roasting mung beans.

Looking further away, the entire village was busy fetching and boiling water.

Hmm…

Another day of battling dirt and grime.

Everyone was full of enthusiasm.

Old Yan and his eldest nephew went into the makeshift “bathhouse” Yan Lao’er had set up with some cloth partitions, helping each other with water and heating.

Da Ya was preparing the soap pod water for them.

Taking advantage of the moment, Yan Lao’er sneakily added some ground rock sugar and pounded it in.

Then he grabbed a handful of soap pods and pounded them in too.

Li Xuemei judged that the mung beans were sufficiently roasted, with most of the moisture dried out, so she poured them out of the pan.

Yan Lao’er continued pounding.

Sweat dripped continuously from his forehead.

Da Ya kept peeking curiously, unsure what her second uncle was trying to make.

—

One by one, all the powders were mixed into the pig pancreas paste…

Yan Lao’er looked at the mass, decided it was good enough, and closed his eyes, relying purely on touch to mix it all together.

By the time he was done, Old Yan and his son had already finished bathing.

Yan Yu hesitantly poked at the mixture with her finger.

The texture… was strange.

“This is finished?” she looked up and asked her father.

Yan Lao’er shook his head. “Still missing lard. I’ll add it now.”

They still had some leftover lard from previous renderings, but with the hot weather, it had started to turn a bit rancid—perfect for mixing in rather than wasting.

Once the yellowish solid lard was added, the sticky mass gained a smooth, oily sheen.

Yan Lao’er gritted his teeth and began shaping the mixture into round balls, setting them aside to dry.

He didn’t waste what was left in the jar either. Smearing some on his hands, he added water and rubbed it together.

It wasn’t very fine, feeling rather coarse and grainy, but it lathered well.

After rinsing with water, Yan Lao’er raised his hands for a closer look.

Surprisingly, they were quite clean.

Li Xuemei asked, “So… this is a success?”

Yan Yu no longer minded the sticky texture and eagerly tried washing her hands with it.

“Mom, look!” She rubbed her hands together excitedly—the foam was even more than her father’s.

Yan Huaiwen walked over, his long hair draped over his shoulders.

He ran a finger over one of the shaped soap balls and, though phrased as a question, his tone was confident. “Fragrant soap?”

“Big Brother, I made it. What do you think?” Yan Lao’er asked, somewhat nervously.

Yan Huaiwen reacted calmly, nodding in approval. “Not bad. Adding dried floral powders, sandalwood powder, or even white atractylodes, angelica dahurica, largehead atractylodes, dried silkworm, and white elm bark would improve it further…”

He paused before adding, “But as it is, it’s already quite good. Using pig fat was a clever idea.”

Yan Lao’er grinned. “Haha! I figured lard was smooth and slippery, so I gave it a try. Wasn’t sure if it would work, so I didn’t make much.

So, I got lucky and did it right?” he asked tentatively.

Yan Huaiwen nodded. “Different households have different recipes. A minor variation in ingredients changes the texture and price. Pig fat is one of those key differences—it adds a smoother, richer feel. Those who know won’t talk about it, and those who don’t wouldn’t think of it. Yet, in the end, it’s a simple thing.”

He glanced at the wooden basin full of pig pancreas, rolled up his sleeves, and said, “This stuff doesn’t keep for long. I’ll help you.”

And with that, he picked up the pestle and began pounding.

Yan Lao’er: No! I want a break! I don’t want to pound anymore!

But what could he do?

Old Yan was already so enthusiastic, even starting to work himself.

So, they kept going!

The two brothers worked without looking up, and soon, some curious villagers came over to see what they were up to.

Qi Da saw the scholarly brothers doing hard labor and called his younger brother over to help.

With the Qi brothers involved, the pig pancreas, mung beans, and soap pods all obediently turned into paste or powder as needed.

Yan Lao’er saw they were running low on lard and rendered more.

By the time all the ingredients were shaped into soap balls, their long-awaited cat finally made its grand entrance.

It hobbled over, one paw bent, barely touching the ground.

As it neared, it let out a pitiful “meow”—

Then collapsed dramatically onto the ground.

Its big, round eyes stared up at them, full of pitiful appeal.

The whole family: …

Is it… acting?

As supporting characters, they had to play along.

Yan Yu gasped dramatically, her little legs scampering over.

But as she got closer, she didn’t reach out immediately.

Instead, she observed the “poor little thing” from a safe distance.