Chapter 834 - 831 Horn

Chapter 834: Chapter 831 Horn

After inspecting the white sugar workshop, Lucas led Mina and Annie to inspect the other workshops.

They first visited the canned food workshop, followed by the brewery and the instant noodle factory. Just now, they had finished inspecting the linen workshop.

"Master, the oil pressing you mentioned last time... is that also within this workshop district?" Annie flipped through her notebook and turned to ask.

Annie was extremely curious about oil. The ability to enjoy so many delicacies in the castle was inextricably linked to oil.

In this world, the only source of oil was extracting it from wild boars. The quantity was extremely small, and only nobles could afford to use it. The price of oil was exorbitant—several times more expensive than salt.

Nobles used oil to make certain dishes, not for stir-frying dishes. Stir-frying hadn’t even been invented in this era yet; most people cooked their food by boiling it.

The oil Lucas spoke of, however, was peanut oil, extracted from peanuts. It was also the primary oil they were currently using.

Of course, there was also a type of plant-based nut oil, a product native to this era, but the quantity was quite low. Lucas had used it to make rouge and cosmetic creams... As for places like Drunken Night and the various food shops, they were currently all using peanut oil. However, due to limited quantities, it wasn’t being sold to the public just yet.

As for the peanuts, a large batch of seeds had been saved when they first planted the greenhouse vegetables. During the land reclamation, they had been planted alongside the potatoes.

"Since we’re already here, let’s go take a look," Lucas said softly.

"Okay!" Annie responded happily, following Lucas deeper into the workshop district.

When they arrived in front of the oil-pressing workshop, eight soldiers were standing guard at the entrance to prevent unauthorized personnel from barging in. After all, Lucas didn’t plan on letting outsiders know about something like oil just yet.

In the future, this peanut oil would become an indispensable daily necessity for commoners. It could be said to be on the same level as salt. After all, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea were the daily essentials.

"My Lord," The eight soldiers hurriedly saluted upon seeing Lucas arrive.

Lucas nodded and led Mina and Annie into the workshop.

Rumble, rumble...Buzz, buzz, buzz...

Even before they stepped through the door, the sound of steam engines could be heard. Inside the workshop, three oil presses driven by steam engines were currently in operation.

The oil press was built by the Research Department based on blueprints provided by Lucas. It was shaped like a vertical barrel, and the pressure power source was driven by a steam engine.

Pressing peanut oil relied on physical pressure to directly separate the oils from the raw materials. The entire process was free of any chemical additives.

Before the advent of steam engines, pressing peanut oil relied on manual labor—the most primitive method of oil extraction—and the amount of oil produced was only enough to supply a few shops.

Now that steam engines had appeared, the volume of peanut oil had increased, but currently, they were restricted by the raw material itself: peanuts.

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

Upon entering the workshop, Lucas and his companions frowned at the deafening noise before taking a proper look around.

"Wow, there are so many people shelling peanuts," Annie marveled, looking at a large group of people peeling peanut shells.

She knew what peanuts were. Back when the first batch of peanuts was harvested, Lucas had brought some to the castle and had Nicole roast them into savory, salted peanuts, which they ate as a casual snack.

"Let’s go further in to have a look," Lucas stepped forward, walking deeper into the workshop.

Rumble, rumble...

The further they went, the louder the sound of the steam engines became.

Lucas guided Mina and Annie to observe the roasting process. Before being pressed, peanuts needed to have some of their moisture removed. They had to be roasted until they were sixty to eighty percent cooked before they could undergo oil extraction.

"Smells so good," Annie held a handful of roasted peanuts, popping them into her mouth.

"It is quite fragrant, just lacking a bit of saltiness," Mina also commented. They lacked the salty flavor of the peanuts Nicole roasted.

"..." Lucas rolled his eyes and led the two into the pressing room.

The roasted peanuts were sent into the pressing room and poured into a funnel-shaped feed inlet. Then, the pressing began, squeezing out the peanut oil. Following further processes like filtration and sedimentation, the production of peanut oil was complete.

"Wow, so this is how oil is made," Annie exclaimed in awe. She circled the oil press twice, her eyes filled with stars.

Mina, on the other hand, had already witnessed this with Lucas a long time ago. She had been just as surprised when she first learned that oil could also be obtained from peanuts.

It was hard to imagine that these tiny peanuts could produce oil. This also taught Mina that oil didn’t just come from animals; it could also be extracted from plants.

"Master, you are amazing. The crops you grow have so many uses," Annie said with adoration. The sugarcane they planted could make sugar, and now the peanuts could be pressed for oil.

Tap, tap, tap...

Lucas smiled, turning his head to look at the workshop manager hurrying over.

"City Lord," The manager responsible for the oil-pressing workshop walked over briskly. He was one of the military veterans.

"Can the current oil production keep up with consumption?" Lucas asked casually.

"Yes, it can. There is even a large surplus, which has all been stored in the warehouse," The manager replied.

"In a while, I’ll have the Research Department send another oil press over for you," Lucas stated calmly.

"Yes, my lord," The manager quickly agreed.

"Open flames are strictly forbidden inside the workshop. This must be strictly enforced," Lucas said with a stern face.

There was oil everywhere in here. If a fire started, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Yes, we will definitely pay attention to it," The manager responded respectfully. He understood the severity of this and didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless.

After Lucas completed a round of inspection and found no issues, he left with Mina and Annie. After all, smelling the odor inside the oil-pressing workshop for too long was genuinely unpleasant.

"Master, we were only inside for a little while, but my whole body feels a bit greasy," Annie touched her hair and pouted.

"It was the same for me last time I came here. We’ll just take a bath with soap when we get back," Mina gently brushed off the debris on Lucas’s clothes. She had just washed her hair last night, and now she would have to wash it again today.

She didn’t know why, but in the past, washing her hair once in a long while felt troublesome. Now, even if she washed it every day, she didn’t find it bothersome at all.

Every time she washed her hair, she felt so refreshed. Her hair was no longer greasy, nor did it itch.

"Master, we are running out of soap," Annie whispered.

The first time she bathed with soap, she realized how incredibly clean it made her feel, leaving a faint fragrance behind. Now, not using soap felt completely uncomfortable.

Especially now during the summer, when sweating left the body feeling sticky and gross, taking a bath with soap was even more essential.

"Out of soap?" Lucas raised an eyebrow. It had indeed been quite a while since he last brought soap over.

"Mhm. A portion of the soap was given away as gifts. We gave some to Camilla, Perry, and Florence," Annie explained softly.

"By the way, before we had soap, how did you all bathe?" Lucas asked curiously. He hadn’t really paid attention to this before.

Annie used to be a princess, after all. Did she also just rinse herself with clear water when she bathed?

"We used Len Horn. But it doesn’t clean as well as soap; there’s no comparison at all," Annie answered.

"Len Horn? What is that?" Lucas was stunned; this was his first time hearing of such a thing.

"It’s the fruit of a plant. It’s about the length of a finger and looks like a goat’s horn," Mina explained softly.

"Oh?" Lucas nodded in realization. He guessed internally that this might be the alternate world’s equivalent of a soap pod.

He felt that he could actually manufacture soap himself. Among the books he had brought over, there were methods for making soap. It seemed he needed to dig them out when he got back.

"Master, are we continuing the inspections?" Annie asked, touching her hair.

"Let’s head back. Nicole should already be cooking," Lucas smiled.

Following this, the three left the workshop and boarded the carriage, heading back to the castle under the escort of the war wolves squad.

While Lucas was preoccupied with the idea of making soap, the two beast-eared girls were eager to hurry back and take a bath.

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