Zhuo'er was very happy when she heard that brother Zhou Zhong finally thought of preparing a return gift for her, and said: "Great, I have been thinking about how to give sister Lingyun a return gift these past two days. I thought you would prepare this gift for me, brother."

I forgot about it, but I didn’t expect you to still remember it.”

Seeing Zhuo'er's happy look, Zhou Zhong pinched Zhuo'er's small nose dotingly and said: "How could my brother forget to promise Zhuo'er? I'm going to buy all the materials this afternoon. I should be able to get it soon.

Make it, and the process of making this gift is very interesting, and you can watch it with Duoer!"

Duo'er saw her brother and sister talking, so she lay down on the table and played with Zhou Zhong's pen and ink. However, when she finally heard her brother mention her name, and then heard the word "gift", she immediately asked

He said reflexively: "I know, I know, my brother hid my sister's gift under the bed!"

"Pfft~" Zhou Zhong almost spit out a mouthful of old blood, thinking that children are just unreliable. With just a little effort, she forgot about her previous agreement.

"Gift, what gift? Brother, why are you hiding under the quilt?" Zhuo'er was also very surprised when he heard Duo'er's words. After saying that, he walked to the bed and pulled the quilt that was in a mess.

Seeing that Jin Pingmei's manuscript was about to be discovered, Zhou Zhong flew onto the bed, turned to Huo'er and said with a smile: "There is no gift, don't listen to Duo'er's nonsense!" After Zhou Zhong said this, he turned and glared.

Duo'er, Duo'er also discovered her mistake at this time, so she stuck out her cute little tongue and ran out to play with the white ball with a smile.

Seeing Zhou Zhong's performance, Zhuo'er's curiosity was aroused even more. He stepped forward and tore the quilt with Zhou Zhong, insisting on seeing what was hidden under the quilt. Zhou Zhong naturally couldn't let her succeed, so he insisted on using it.

With their bodies pressed against the quilt, the two of them refused to give in and remained in a stalemate for a long time.

After all, Zhuo'er was only a fourteen-year-old girl. She soon became tired and panted, and the strength in her hands also loosened. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhou Zhong grabbed Zhuo'er's little hand, and then she walked out and said

: "My aunt should have already prepared lunch, let's go eat quickly!"

Although Zhuo'er's face was full of reluctance, he really didn't have the strength to struggle at this time, so he had to pout and was pulled out of the courtyard by Zhou Zhong. In order to dispel Zhuo'er's thoughts of returning secretly, Zhou Zhong locked up the courtyard for the first time.

Got it, and the result made Zhuo'er even more unhappy.

After lunch, Zhou Zhong and Butler Xu pushed the cart out. Originally, he only needed to go alone to buy some flour, but Zhou Zhong didn't know the location of the grain and oil store. Although Butler Xu knew it, he was older.

In addition, Wu Shan was in bed recovering from his injuries and could not help Butler Xu. In addition, Zhou Zhong also had to prepare materials for making gifts, which one person might not be able to carry, so they went out together.

Soon Zhou Zhong followed Butler Xu to the grain and oil store and bought half a bag of flour. Just this amount of flour cost nearly two cents. If it were replaced with the same weight of rice, it would only cost one-third.

It costs one, so we can see how expensive flour is in the south.

In addition to flour, Zhou Zhong also bought a large can of oil. There are many types of oil in grain and oil stores, including animal oil and vegetable oil. Among them, Zhou Zhong bought rapeseed oil, which is the most common and cheapest in the Yangtze River Basin, which is enough.

More than fifty kilograms, which made Butler Xu keep complaining. Firstly, there was still some oil at home. Secondly, he also thought that Zhou Zhong bought too much oil, and his family might not be able to eat so much oil for a while. But Zhou Zhong

But he smiled and didn't explain that he didn't buy the oil for eating.

After buying flour and vegetable oil, Zhou Zhong was surprised to find that the grain and oil store also sold alkaline noodles, which is sodium carbonate. In fact, it is not surprising when you think about it. When making pasta, alkaline noodles are used, so grain and oil

It’s normal for a store to also sell alkaline noodles. This saves you a lot of time to look for. Unfortunately, alkaline noodles are not used much when making pasta, so the grain and oil store doesn’t buy too much. There are more than 20 in total.

Zhou Zhong packed up all the kilograms of alkaline noodles and took them away.

After putting all the things he bought in the car, Zhou Zhong asked Butler Xu to take him to the place where lime was sold, bought a large bag of quicklime, and then returned home with a full load. Butler Xu also saw something was wrong at this time, and along the way

I asked Zhou Zhong about the purpose of selling these things, but Zhou Zhong was mysterious and had no explanation.

After returning home, Zhou Zhong pushed the car all the way to his yard. Except for the flour, which he asked Butler Xu to deliver to the kitchen, Zhou Zhong left all the other things behind. Then he went to the kitchen in front and pulled a large pot and a few

A water vat, and a porcelain vase with a narrow mouth and a big belly.

Just when Zhou Zhong was transporting these things to his yard, Zhuo'er and Duo'er happened to run over. Among them, Zhuo'er finally saw these things that Zhou Zhong had pulled, as well as the oil cans and limes placed randomly in the yard.

I couldn't help but ask: "Brother, are these the materials you are planning to make as a gift?"

"That's right!" Zhou Zhong put down a large vat in his arms, wiped his sweat and said with a smile, "Today, my brother will perform a trick for you. Using these seemingly unrelated materials, he will create something you can never imagine.

of good stuff!”

"Okay, okay~, Duo'er likes to watch tricks the most!" Xiao Duo'er has always believed in Zhou Zhong's words. After hearing this, she jumped up and clapped her hands and cheered. However, Zhuo'er was a little skeptical. She really couldn't think of these things.

What good gifts can be made from seemingly ordinary things?

Zhou Zhong also saw that Zhuo'er didn't believe it, but he didn't explain it. Facts speak louder than words. When he made the thing, Zhuo'er would understand that his brother was not bragging. Zhou Zhong first put the quicklime on the

After pouring water into the tank, the inside soon started to gurgling and steaming.

Quicklime is actually calcium oxide, which forms calcium hydroxide when water is added. Zhou Zhong waited until the chemical reaction in the tank was completed, then poured the alkali noodles in, and then stirred gently to allow the calcium hydroxide and sodium carbonate to fully react

.Hua'er ran up to help, but Zhou Zhong did not dare to let Hua'er stir, because the sodium hydroxide generated is also called caustic soda, which is a highly corrosive alkali. If it accidentally splashes on your hands, it will be

Even the flesh of the belt will be corroded.

As Zhou Zhong stirred, the reaction in the solution accelerated again. Calcium carbonate, which was not easily soluble in water, precipitated, and what was above was the sodium hydroxide solution. However, sodium hydroxide easily absorbed carbon dioxide in the air and turned into sodium carbonate, so Zhou Zhong

Pour the obtained sodium hydroxide solution into a large porcelain bottle, and then seal it tightly with a lid and cotton cloth. Although this cannot completely prevent carbon dioxide from entering, it is still much better than leaving it with a wide mouth.

Seeing how careful Zhou Zhong was with the caustic soda solution, Duo'er, who had been tilting her head and saying nothing, finally couldn't help but ask: "Brother, what did you put in the bottle? Does it taste good?"

After hearing this, Zhou Chong laughed out loud and said: "This is called caustic soda solution. It is an extremely poisonous thing. Let alone drinking it, even if it splashes a little on the skin, it may burn the skin."

, so you must not touch Duoer and Zhuoer!"

Hearing what Zhou Zhong said was so terrifying, Zhuo'er was startled at first, and then said with some worry: "Brother, since this caustic soda is so dangerous, you should stop touching it. What if you hurt yourself?

ah?"

"It's okay, brother is not a child, and although caustic soda may hurt people, it is a very useful thing. Brother will use this thing to perform a trick on you soon!" Zhou Zhong said nonchalantly.

With caustic soda and oil, he was able to make soap in the Ming Dynasty. Zhou Zhong's uses needless to say, and he was the only one in the Ming Dynasty who could make soap. Giving it as a gift would definitely be no worse than Xie Lingyun's rouge.

Speaking of ancient times, when people washed their hands, faces and clothes, ordinary households usually used saponins. There are also businesses that grind saponins into powder and sell them as saponin powder. However, saponins do not have strong cleaning properties. For example, it is difficult to clean oil stains.

clean.

In addition to soap locust, there are also pancreas made from pig pancreas and various spices, but these are expensive and the raw materials are limited, so they are generally only used by wealthy people when washing their faces and taking a bath. Zhou Zhong's family

There is some unused soap, which looks dark and ugly, but its ability to remove stains is really strong, not worse than soap. Unfortunately, it is too expensive. A small piece costs more than ten taels of silver. It is completely

It was a luxury product in ancient society.

After preparing the caustic soda solution, Zhou Zhong used a shovel to dig a stove on the ground. After placing a large iron pot on it, he pulled several bundles of firewood from the kitchen and lit it under the stove. After cleaning the pot, he put out the fire.

The alkali solution and oil were poured in separately, but because there was a lot of oil, Zhou Zhong only poured a part of it, and then he kept stirring with a stick.

Originally, the caustic soda solution and the oil were divided into two very clear layers, but with the heating and constant stirring, the oil layer slowly decreased, and finally the oil layer completely disappeared. Seeing this magical phenomenon, Bracelet and Duo

The children's eyes were wide open, with expressions of disbelief on their faces. No matter how hard they thought about it, they probably couldn't figure out how the oil in the pot disappeared.

In fact, this saponification reaction is not magical at all. It is nothing more than a chemical reaction between strong alkali and oil. It can be learned in middle school textbooks in later generations, and most people can DIY soap at home.

However, Zhou Zhong did not stop at this time because he was worried that the caustic soda in the solution had not completely reacted, so he continued to add oil little by little until the added oil stopped disappearing, then he stopped and turned the pot over.

Pull out the firewood below and extinguish it.

At this time, Zhou Zhong took out the salt he had just brought from the kitchen, then turned to Zhuo'er and Duo'er who were in a daze and said, "You two girls, pay attention, brother is about to do a trick!"

After hearing Zhou Zhong's words, Huo'er and Duo'er, who had been conquered by Zhou Zhong's series of 'magical' skills, widened their eyes and stared at the steaming 'clear soup' in the iron pot without blinking.
Chapter completed!