Kunning Palace.
Ma Enhui held a new set of casual clothes, looked at Zhu Yunwen in the bathtub, shook his head slightly, and sighed: "The emperor is just leaving the palace, why do you always have to work personally? Several sets of clothes have been ruined in the past few days."
Zhu Yunwen stirred up the water with his hand and said with a smile: "Queen, I can't sit down all the time. It's good to move my muscles and bones occasionally. As for clothes, it doesn't matter if there are some marks that can't be removed. There is no need to always replace them with new ones."
"You are the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. If you are dirty, you will lose the face of the royal family, and you are not allowed to be a concubine."
Ma Enhui complained.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Ma Enhui who was walking over and said, "Are there few emperors who farmed in ancient times? Didn't the ancestors of the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty, including Taizu, also go to the fields to farm in spring and return tired?"
"That's spring plowing, leading by example and encouraging the people. It only lasts for a day or two. How can I be like the emperor? How many days has it been?" Ma Enhui put the clothes aside, then picked up the soap ball and said: "Huntang Si prepared it Why don't you go to the bathhouse? Isn't it nice there?"
Huntangsi is an institution that specializes in bathing the emperor and his concubines.
Zhu Yunwen stretched out his hand to take the soap ball and said: "I just want to take a bath and don't like so many people waiting on me."
Zhu Yunwen was always a little uncomfortable taking a shower and being watched by a group of people.
"Okay, I won't ask the other concubines. I just want to ask, why is it suddenly necessary to collect wool? Chengqian Palace was originally the most important place for weaving medical gauze, but it was suddenly abolished and the maids were asked to sort the wool. Is it? Isn't it inappropriate? If Concubine Shu comes back, how can we explain it?"
Ma Enhui asked doubtfully.
Zhu Yunwen smelled the soap ball and said, "The queen thinks wool is useless?"
Ma Enhui nodded slightly, stretched out his hand to test the water temperature, and said, "Isn't that true? The wool is dirty and dirty, but it is just balled up like this. What's the use of it?"
"Queen, what if wool can be woven into clothing?"
Zhu Yunwen asked gently.
Ma Enhui shook his head bitterly and said: "If the emperor has such thoughts, then he should take it back as soon as possible. Not to mention that the wool is too shredded to be made into thread, but we are Han people. Han people don't like this kind of smell, and only Hu people can. Wearing clothes that smell like this.”
Zhu Yunwen enjoyed Ma Enhui's service and said, "If we can solve the problem of wool becoming thread and remove the smell, wouldn't that be enough?"
Ma Enhui's eyes lit up and she asked, "Is it really possible?"
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said, "Of course."
"But even so, how much profit can there be?"
Ma Enhui asked softly.
Zhu Yunwen thought for a while and said: "Nowadays, ordinary people's homes can buy cotton-padded clothes for winter, even the imperial plateau and the wealthy gentry among the people. This is inappropriate."
"Why is it inappropriate?"
Ma Enhui was confused.
Zhu Yunwen smiled slightly and said: "When I say inappropriate, I don't mean that it is inappropriate to wear it. I mean that officials and wealthy gentry have money in their hands and can solve the problem of dressing with only a very small amount of money. This is not right. Appropriate. So, I plan to rob the rich and give to the poor..."
“Robbing the rich and giving to the poor?”
Ma Enhui blinked and said softly: "The medical gauze robbed the household department, and the Nanyang fleet robbed the merchants. How does the emperor plan to rob these officials and wealthy gentry this time?"
Zhu Yunwen motioned to Ma Enhui to bring a towel and said, "It's simple. Wouldn't it be better to sell woolen clothes more expensively?"
Ma Enhui thought it was a good idea, but when she heard that it actually increased the price, she couldn't help but shook her head and said: "If it's expensive, who will buy it?"
Zhu Yunwen shook his head slightly and said: "The queen doesn't know something. Sometimes this person likes expensive clothes. The higher price makes him stand out. In the future, he will weave woolen clothes and sell them. One piece will be sold. It is five taels or ten taels of silver, and buyers are indispensable."
"Why don't you believe me? Those officials and wealthy gentry are extremely smart, how could they suffer such a loss?"
Ma Enhui disagreed.
Zhu Yunwen said seriously: "Queen, do we want to take a gamble?"
Ma Enhui thought for a while and replied: "In any case, if the price is high, there will be few customers. This is the case in business all over the world. I can't believe how many people are buying it at such a high price, so let's take a gamble. What kind of bonus can I get?"
Since you want to gamble, you naturally need to win or lose something.
Zhu Yunwen has always believed in small gambling to please one's mood, but big gambling to harm one's health. The harem is so boring, so there is nothing wrong with having more pleasure.
"If I win, how about we take a bath together?"
Zhu Yunwen knocked on the tub, with a bit of longing in his eyes.
"emperor!"
Ma Enhui stamped her feet, ran out a few steps, turned back with a blush, and said, "Those are all tricks of the fox. I am a queen, how can I do that?"
Zhu Yunwen stepped on the wooden stool, walked out of the tub, picked up the clothes on the side, and said, "The queen can also say her lucky number."
Ma Enhui turned around, took a look, then turned back and said, "I will not talk such nonsense. If I win, the emperor will no longer be able to work on the concrete road himself."
"no problem."
As Zhu Yunwen spoke, he wanted to ask Ma Enhui to help him change his clothes, but he ran away.
Chengqian Palace.
The palace maid frowned and couldn't help frowning as she looked at the pile of wool that was full of smell.
Concubine Ning and Concubine Xian were also a little embarrassed and at a loss. They arranged for someone to get clean water, but no matter how they washed it, they couldn't get rid of the smell of the sheep. When they saw Zhu Yunwen and Ma Enhui arriving, they led everyone to salute.
Concubine Ning raised her hand holding the handkerchief, covered her nose, and frowned: "Your Majesty, there is no way to deal with the smell of this wool, and it cannot be turned into thread, let alone weaved."
Zhu Yunwen picked up some wool from the basin, smelled it carefully, and found that the smell was still a bit strong, and then said: "If you want to remove the smell of wool, you need to wash it like washing clothes."
"The emperor said to use soap balls? I've used it, but it still smells good."
Concubine Ning said bitterly.
Zhu Yunwen shook his head slightly and said: "The soap balls are good, but they are not the soap I want. Let's do this, Shuangxi, let someone get some plant ash, pig fat, wine, and salt."
"Your Majesty, are you going to make something new again?"
Ma Enhui asked curiously.
Zhu Yunwen smiled and said: "It's nothing new, it's just another kind of soap."
"Another soap?"
Ma Enhui is looking forward to it.
Zhu Yunwen just smiled and arranged to get some distilled water. There was a distillery place not far away, so it was easy to get some distilled water.
Many people are curious, how did they wash clothes and take a bath in ancient times when there was no soap?
To say that there was no soap in ancient times is because you don’t know enough.
The ancients were very smart. They had their own methods and methods. They did not just take all the laundry to the river and smash it around with a stick, or make a washboard and rub it around.
The earliest soap was definitely plant ashes. Get some branches, grass, straw, etc., and make a barbecue or have a bonfire dance. You can also use the ashes as detergent to wash clothes and go crazy last night.
"Book of Rites Nei Ze Chapter" records: The crown is stained, and the ashes are rinsed off.
Ash, that is plant ash.
In addition to plant ashes, the ancients also developed "bleaching agents". In order to make silk softer and whiter, they found that burning shells into ashes had a bleaching effect...
In later generations, people in North China and other places still had a habit of calling soap "pancreas".
What is pancreas?
Pig pancreas.
In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao's "Qian Jin Yao Prescription" recorded "Pig's Spicy Soap", and even wrote the specific manufacturing process clearly, and called it "Bath Bean".
This kind of bath beans can be said to be the most versatile toiletries in ancient times. Bath beans can solve all stains and oil stains on your hands, face, hair, bath, and clothes.
This is a product for everyone, ranging from the royal family to the common people. It can be said to be a must-have item at home.
Many people thought that by the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties, they could make money by making "soap" for later generations. In fact, they took it for granted and were ignorant. People had pig soap soap, which was not much better than your later soap. You might be able to sell it if you made it. Making a fortune is pure nonsense.
Do not believe?
Take a look at the effect of pig soap. Not only does it have a delicate texture and strong detergency, it is also gentle and does not hurt the skin. Most importantly, it can also prevent and treat cold, cracked hands and dry skin. It also has miraculous effects in moisturizing and skin care. .
Purely natural, pure green, pure high-quality, if you engage in market competition, how can you win?
Bath beans monopolize the market, which is the norm in ancient life.
In the Song Dynasty, some people discovered that natural soap locust has a cleansing effect, so they mashed it, added spices, etc., and made it into orange-sized balls, called soap balls.
This kind of soap balls were specially used for washing the face and bathing. They were equivalent to soaps in later generations. However, because of the fragrance and high price, ordinary families could not enjoy them.
Later, when Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty wrote "Compendium of Materia Medica", he did not forget to clearly record the preparation method of soap balls:
In October, pluck the pods, boil them and mash them, mix them with white flour and various incense to make pills, and bathe your body and face to remove dirt and make them greasy and moisturized, which is better than acacia...
However, neither these soap balls nor bath beans can remove the smell of sheep. Only the soapy water of later generations can have a good effect. If you want to make wool sweaters, wool scarves, and wool down jackets, the first step is All you need is soapy water…
Although Zhu Yunwen doesn't know the principle of how to make soap, he has benefited from countless movies and TV shows. The basic method is still clear. It is nothing more than mixing animal fat and plant ash, then heating them together, adding appropriate alcohol, stirring, raising the temperature, and saponification reaction occurs. , then add some distilled water until the saponification reaction is completed.
The liquid obtained by the saponification reaction is poured into salt-saturated hot water. As the temperature decreases, solid matter precipitates. It is picked up and shaped. After solidification, it becomes soap in later generations.
Through this soapy water, the wool can be cleaned better and grease and impurities can be removed. After cleaning, put it on a towel and let it dry naturally. Then create a batch of needle combs and arrange for people to comb the wool. After it is sorted into fluffy form, it can be twisted. into lines, which can be spun into threads through a spinning wheel.
Except for the thread ends, these threads can be used for weaving. The subsequent process is not much different from daily weaving, and there are no technical problems.
While Ma Enhui was supervising wool spinning, Yu Xin in Kaifeng City disguised himself as a peddler and walked into a dilapidated courtyard while no one was paying attention. Looking at Tang Buping who was saluting, he asked in a deep voice: "Wang Wentao can we recruit?" ?”
