A 1970s mom raises a cute baby, and a crazy boss spoils her

Gu Qinghuan used to make lard soap. To be honest, that pot of lard was worth a lot of money, which directly increased the cost.

If you really use lard to make soap and sell it, you will lose a lot of money.

Under current conditions and with limited costs, Gu Qinghuan gives priority to the cheapest rice bran oil.

Rice bran oil is a kind of oil made by pressing rice bran. It is rarely used for food, but is mostly used to make industrial raw materials such as feed, soap, hardened oil, glycerin, stearic acid, oleic acid, paint resin, etc.

This oil is neither good nor bad to use, but it is cheap and the soap made from it is very clean and feels very refreshing.

However, they cannot buy this kind of oil here, so they can only go to the province to look for it.

In addition to oil and fat, there is alkali. The alkali used here is sodium hydroxide, commonly known as: caustic soda.

Alkali can be bought everywhere, but you have to pay attention to the purity. It must be an alkali with a purity of more than 92%, otherwise there will be too many impurities and it will easily fail.

The two most important things in making soap are these two things, and the others are dispensable, such as pigments, essential oils, and various spices for fragrance enhancement.

Considering the cost issue, Gu Qinghuan simply ignored the option of essential oils.

If you can buy pigment, that would be the best; if not, forget it.

It was a rare trip out of the county town in Xu Huainian's life and he went to the provincial capital.

After asking around, he was able to buy cheap rice bran oil and pigment. He was also a smart man, so he left the manufacturer's contact information. Next time if he needed it, he could just call the manufacturer's office and have it mailed to him.

But he needs to pay for the postage himself, which is much cheaper than having him make a round trip.

As for caustic soda, it was everywhere. He also bought some, but was reluctant to mail it, so he carried everything back to Xujiatun by hand, which exhausted him.

In the big backpack, there was a huge white oil barrel, holding a hundred kilograms of oil.

"Fengqin, guess how much this oil costs per pound?" Xu Huainian said excitedly.

"How much?" Chen Fengqin was busy as she took the backpack from him and handed him a towel to wipe his sweat.

"Less than 20 cents a pound! There are 100 pounds of oil in total, plus this big oil pot, and I only paid 20 yuan in total! Isn't it cheap?

It’s a pity that this oil cannot be eaten and can only be used in industry.

I also bought the caustic soda that Qinghuan mentioned. It only cost me 0.48 yuan for ten kilograms, which is not expensive.

The pigment is just a little expensive, a small bottle like this costs two dollars, but the manufacturer says that this is concentrated pigment and only a small drop is needed to make a lot of things.

I bought two kinds, red and pink, they look bright. "

Xu Huainian took out all the things he bought on this trip and told Chen Fengqin about them like they were his treasures.

"So you only spent twenty-four dollars and fifty cents on this trip, and you bought everything?"

Chen Fengqin thought that the 50 yuan fund would not be enough! Unexpectedly, she only spent half of the money and almost got everything.

"Not only that, including the round trip fare, it cost more than twenty-nine dollars.

I have been running all day and I didn't even bother to buy anything to eat. Food in the city is too expensive. The biscuits I brought with me in the morning have long been digested. Please hurry up and get me some food. I have been carrying it all the way and I am starving."

It was only when Xu Huainian got home that he felt his stomach was empty.

Xu Huainian purchased all the materials, and Gu Qinghuan asked Carpenter Xu to make various custom-made molds, drying racks and other tools.

All is ready except for the opportunity.

Gu Qinghuan took time out to go back to Xujiatun to teach the couple how to make soap.

The first step is to prepare the materials and use a small scale to weigh out a certain amount of materials. It cannot be more or less, and must be in the corresponding proportion to be successful.

The second step is to dissolve the alkali and make sure that the sodium hydroxide is completely dissolved in the water until no particles are visible. This step is more dangerous and must be done with caution.

The third step is mixing. When the temperature of the lye and the oil is maintained at 20c-40c, pour the oil into the lye.

The fourth step is to make soap. This step requires more strength. Stir clockwise for about half an hour.

The saponification reaction will be slow at first, and will become thicker as the stirring time increases.

There are no electric mixers now, so there is no other way but to use manual labor.

Stir until it becomes as thick as soybean paste. If you draw a figure eight and it does not disappear immediately, the consistency is basically up to standard.

Next, you can add additives such as coloring and flavoring and mix well.

Step 5: Moulding. Gu Qinghuan had previously asked Xu Huainian to custom-make a batch of flower-shaped moulds, which were now ready for use.

Gu Qinghuan dripped in red pigment, stirred it evenly, and then poured it into a flower-shaped mold. The soaps cut out would then be in the shape of flowers, which looked very beautiful.

The soap liquid can be demolded after being placed in the mold for three days. After demolding, it can be naturally air-dried. When the surface is smooth and no longer sticky, you can cut the soap.

After cutting, you need to put it in a ventilated place and wait for a while. After it is completely saponified, it can be used.

It takes at least one month from the time it is ready for use.

After Gu Qinghuan demonstrated it to them once, he guided them to do it again.

This is not difficult. In fact, it is mostly physical work. The most important thing is the first step, the ratio of materials. The slightest mistake will lead to failure.

Also, you have to pay attention to safety when dissolving alkali, and the rest is purely physical work.

The couple carefully wrote down Gu Qinghuan's recipe and followed it strictly, and they succeeded on the first try. However, the specific condition of the soap would have to wait until it was completely saponified to know.

Gu Qinghuan supervised them doing it a few more times and found that there were no problems. From then on, practice makes perfect and he no longer needed to watch them do it.

The couple spent two days, along with their son, turning all the oil into soap.

There were not enough molds during that period, so a batch of molds were made temporarily. Because this was a collective factory, there was no cost for this part, and Carpenter Xu did not charge any money.

Five days later, the first batch of soap products came out.

Gu Qinghuan personally took Xu Huainian and his wife and Xu Wenping to cut the demolded soap into blocks of equal thickness, and then used a mold to knock the words "Yujie" on them.

The production of soap is basically completed, and the rest is just a matter of time and waiting for them to be completely saponified successfully.

The first batch of soaps were all made in the shape of red flowers, and they were added with dried osmanthus flowers collected by Chen Fengqin from the village. They had a light fragrance and smelled very good.

You can see small yellow stamens inside the red soap. The color combination is amazing and has a classic beauty. It doesn't look cheap.

Who would have known that it actually cost only three cents each.

Chen Fengqin did some calculations and found that the materials and various expenses totaled about 30 yuan, and the final product was about 1,000 yuan, not including some scraps.

By this calculation, the cost of a bar of soap is only three cents. Moreover, materials like essence can be used for a long time after being bought once, and the cost of making soap next time may be only a little over two cents per bar.

It's so cost-effective to do it yourself.

However, Gu Qinghuan raised a new question, which was also a question they had forgotten before: packaging!

Clothes make the man, Buddhas rely on gold ornaments. Without good-looking packaging, it won’t work. Xu Huainian knows nothing about this.

Gu Qinghuan decided to take some time to go to the provincial capital, find a packaging factory, and customize a batch of cartons to test the waters.

She did not choose high-quality packaging for the first batch of soaps. After all, it was just a test, so it was fine as long as the quality was acceptable.

There was a magnolia flower printed on the paper box with two big words on it: Jade Purity.

A line of slightly smaller words in the lower right corner: Give the best love to your family.

The whole packaging is simple and elegant.

The cost is one cent each, so one thousand is ten dollars.

Plus reimbursement of travel expenses.

The initial start-up capital of the small workshop has basically been consumed.

Whether you can make money next time depends on this shake.

Chen Fengqin and Xu Huainian have been under tremendous pressure since they took the lead in opening this factory.

I have been ridiculed by many people in the village.

Some people said that they took the opportunity to make money, wasting the brigade's collective money and doing nothing practical.

Some people asked them where the soap was. Why did they say they were producing it every day, but I didn't see where the soap was?

Xu Mingshan, the old fox, was also instigating members to cause trouble behind the scenes.

In short, no one was optimistic about their small workshop.

Only they themselves know the value of these soaps. Once they are successfully saponified and sold, it will be a lot of money. Who will dare to say anything then?

The couple is determined to do it despite the pressure!

But someone is secretly causing trouble again.

Xu Laoer heard from someone that these soaps were useful, so he secretly ran to the processing workshop in the middle of the night to steal things.

Fortunately, Xu Huainian was prepared and let his eldest son Xu Wenping sleep in the processing workshop every day, for fear that the soaps would be destroyed.

Xu Wenping caught Xu Laoer red-handed. Xu Wenping was tall and strong, so Xu Laoer was no match for him and was subdued in two or three moves.

This matter made Xu Huainian very angry. If Xu Laoer really succeeded, all their efforts would be wasted.

He was determined not to tolerate evil and directly sent Xu Laoer to the commune for punishment on the charge of stealing village collective property.

This time Xu Laoer really hit a wall. He was taken away and severely criticized for several days. He was then forced to vomit feces and do the dirtiest and most tiring work.

This tactic of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys made the thieves in the village no longer dare to act rampantly.

Xu Huainian also became more vigilant. He slept in the processing workshop himself and had someone guard it every day, for fear that a bar of soap would be missing.

It seems that it can be taken out for sale soon, but how to set the price becomes a problem.

Gu Qinghuan learned that the soaps on the market are basically around 30 cents a piece.

Their soap business is just starting out, so they can sell it at a lower price and open up the market first.