I Transmigrated Into A Fantasy World To Farm And Build Houses!-Chapter 218: Making Soap

Having finished these tasks, Eric took out the wild chicken and wild duck down that Sam had collected recently, preparing to wash it clean before storing it away. He intended to accumulate a lot to sew quilts or make warm clothes later.

Since knowing that poultry down had this use, besides those caught in traps, Kevin and Sam intentionally caught a few more. The meat was left for the communal cafeteria, while all the down was sent to Eric.

Before he hadn’t felt anything, but after using the blanket made from Winged Tiger and Marble bird feathers, he realized chicken and duck feathers had a characteristic fishy smell that couldn’t be completely removed even after washing with hot water several times.

Eric’s sense of smell was now too keen.

Without comparison, there is no pain; once covered with an odorless down blanket, he no longer wanted to use the smelly kind.

Later, when down was accumulated in large quantities and everyone used it for clothing or blankets, the keen-nosed Snow Wolf people would definitely smell this.

Dwarves and Horned Goat people probably wouldn’t encounter this problem.

After all, wild chickens were just ordinary animals, and wild ducks were only elementary magic beasts. Meanwhile, Winged Tigers and Marble birds were of quite high rank; mid and high-level magic beasts had self-cleaning abilities, so the quality of their down was also a level higher.

But magic beasts that were both high-level and possessed such soft fur weren’t numerous, and Snow Wolf people were inherently disadvantaged in hunting poultry. Therefore, Eric could only think of ways to improve the fishy smell problem of chicken and duck feathers.

At this moment, he began to miss the laundry detergent, scent beads, and washing powder of the old world immensely. Any of them could remove bad odors easily. At worst, soap would do...

A thought flashed in Eric’s mind. Right, he could make soap himself!

Perfumed soap might be too complex, but the old-style bar soap, also known as lye soap, had a simple method and was completely feasible to try. He had all the necessary ingredients.

He remembered when he was small, when cleaning products weren’t as diverse and fancy as later, washing clothes or hands and feet at home used the yellowish-brown bar soap sold by street vendors.

Eric remembered that kind of soap shouldn’t be used too much because it easily dried and irritated the skin. After all, technology back then was primitive, the method simple, so it couldn’t be as safe as later products.

But this soap had very strong cleaning power. He had seen it appear in many transmigration novels, so he still remembered how to make it.

Just happened to have lard at home.

Handmade soap usually used animal fat; vegetable oil was also fine, with olive oil being the best.

But olive oil in this world was very expensive, and could only be traded with human merchant caravans, very inconvenient, so Eric decided to use lard.

Melted lard would have alkaline lye water added, gradually causing a saponification reaction. After solidifying, that was soap.

The principle sounded simple enough, only Eric didn’t remember the exact ratio. There were no scales here either, so he could only test while making, slowly adjusting the amount of lye water.

Wasting several bowls of lard, sweat beading on his forehead, Eric continued tinkering with the ratio with a frown.

This time, he could finally feel the mood of Joseph and Bruno when making gunpowder.

Just a slight error in ratio meant failure. The method for making soap was relatively simple; he dared not imagine if he had to make gunpowder, how many brain cells would die.

Just like that, after many trials, until the lard in the bowl finally turned into a pale yellow thick mixture, Eric let out a long sigh of relief.

It wasn’t easy at all! While he hadn’t forgotten the ratio, Eric took a large basin and made a big batch of soap at once. Wait for it to solidify then cut it; after all, he wouldn’t be the only one using it.

After finishing, he took paper and pen, carefully recording the soap-making process, in case he forgot next time he needed to make it and had to fumble from the beginning again; too tiring.

"This technical work should really be given to the Dwarves," he wiped a streak of sweat from his forehead, complaining silently.

If only this land didn’t have those two powerful forces lurking like tigers. He could pull all the Dwarves to his tribe; that way he wouldn’t always feel short of manpower...

But without those two forces, scattered beastman tribes would also be harassed by humans. The threat of magic beasts to humans couldn’t compare to the Elves and the Golden Kingdom.

Everything had two sides; Eric could only sigh a little.

The Dwarves of the Hadu tribe, after finishing the cellar digging, recently started forging farming tools needed for next year’s crop.

Although Dwarves were short, everyone’s arms bulged with muscles; they were natural blacksmiths. However, the farming tools the Snow Wolf people needed, it was their first time making.

Previously, they made them according to the Ox-Head tribe’s size.

When living in the human world, Dwarves never bothered forging farming tools; their products were weapons and armor. Items from their hands were all exquisite goods.

Coming to the Illusion Dream Continent, besides forging weapons and various items for the two major forces, the work they did most turned into farming tools. Yet the Dwarves were willing, because besides exchanging for food, this was also their way of repaying the Ox-Head tribe.

Now, the Dwarves of the Hadu tribe had the additional task of forging farming tools for the Snow Wolf people. These past few days, Dwarves were constantly climbing up and down, measuring sizes on the giant snow wolves transformed into beast form.

The farming tools Snow Wolf people used not only differed in size from the Ox-Head tribe’s, but the Ox-Head tribe’s plow needed to be hung on the neck to apply force, while Snow Wolf people would easily suffocate doing so.

Therefore, the Dwarves improved on the original basis, making it into a harness strap over the shoulders, more suitable for Snow Wolf people.

This was also why Eric found it inconvenient to ask them to help make soap. The originally nice wintering life became so busy; it was already good that the Dwarves didn’t hate him for being an exploitative boss.

Joseph recently was obsessed with making gunpowder. He and Bruno, the two were in a messy state every day, sometimes not even returning home, staying up all night at the mine to tinker.

Eric had to send a Snow Wolf warrior to guard them; otherwise, being attacked by magic beasts would be terrible.

Their progress could be said to be astonishing.

After Joseph returned from the Ox-Head tribe, he asked Thomas to lead him to the nearest extinct volcano to fetch a pile of sulfur. And Bruno also temporarily put aside his favorite sweater knitting career; all energy was poured into making gunpowder.

They also knew their limits. Ingredients were researched at home, but when officially starting to test gunpowder, they found a desolate place with no people.

Knowing this news, Eric felt testing anywhere was testing, so he suggested they go to the coal mine. Conveniently, it could help blast rocks, saving effort for the tribesmen.

This opinion received unanimous agreement from the two.

Thus, they camped at the coal mine for a period. These past few days, coal transported back to the tribe didn’t need processing anymore; dragged back were already fitting small lumps.

Indeed, once knowing the principle, when excellent craftsmen like Dwarves started making gunpowder, the progress was truly lightning fast.

Modern bombs had huge destructive power, but Eric didn’t know the formula. He only remembered the old black gunpowder, whose damage wasn’t too great.

If Dwarves could improve it to increase its destructive power, that would be another story, and the method wasn’t too difficult.