Chapter 146: Pearl Brand Soap

The huge explosion also startled the birds in the mountain forest, causing a large flock of them to instantly take flight and head far away with a loud fluttering sound.

Xu Mo couldn't help thinking to himself: Holy crap, is black powder really this powerful? Or did I perhaps use too much in that jar?

These questions were temporarily beyond Xu Mo's understanding, and he would need to conduct continuous experiments in the future to determine the answers.

"Husband... Husband..."

Xu Mo suddenly heard Chen Miaoyi's voice.

Turning his head, he saw Chen Miaoyi with a pale face, looking at him with lingering fear, unable to even speak coherently.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, everything is fine now, everything is fine..."

Xu Mo quickly grabbed her hand to comfort her.

Xu Hui and Qin Mutou were also wearing expressions of absolute shock at this moment. Although Xu Mo had repeatedly told them about the immense power of black powder while climbing the mountain, they hadn't taken it seriously at the time, thinking that no matter how powerful it was, there was a limit.

Chen Miaoyi's hand trembled slightly as she looked toward the boulder and said with a trembling voice, "Husband, the black powder you made is... is just too terrifying..."

After offering a few more words of comfort, Xu Mo said, "Come, let's go take a look."

With that, Xu Mo took Chen Miaoyi by the hand and walked toward the boulder.

When the four of them arrived in front of the boulder and looked closely, they immediately gasped in admiration.

The bottom of the half-man-high boulder had been blasted into a watermelon-sized hole, and numerous cracks had also appeared across the rock.

The muddy ground beneath the boulder had likewise been blown into a small crater, from which gunpowder smoke was still rising.

Xu Mo was extremely satisfied with the power of this improvised bomb and immediately asked, "Mutou, do you still dare to underestimate the power of black powder?"

"I don't dare anymore, Master." Qin Mutou immediately shook his head while gently touching the cracks on the rock with his hand.

Xu Hui then asked, "Cousin, what on earth are you planning to do by making such a terrifying thing?"

Chen Miaoyi hurriedly nodded as she looked at Xu Mo, sharing the exact same question.

Xu Mo blurted out, "To protect our village, of course!"

Pausing for a moment, Xu Mo said very seriously, "You saw how many refugees are outside right now. Nearly half of our village consists of the elderly, women, and children. If the refugees suddenly rush in to loot one day, how can we possibly deal with them without some high-damage weapons?"

After hearing this, the three of them felt it made complete sense and immediately nodded in agreement.

Xu Mo suddenly said, "Mutou, I have a task for you!"

"What task, Master?" Qin Mutou asked.

Xu Mo stated, "Starting today, you are responsible for gathering nitre earth, the more the better! Without nitre, we cannot make bombs. This is an extremely, extremely important task!"

Before Qin Mutou could say anything, Xu Hui became displeased: "Cousin, are you asking Mutou to dig up fecal soil? No, I disagree, absolutely not!"

Xu Mo smiled and asked, "Huihui, Mutou hasn't even said he's unwilling yet, why are you in such a rush?"

With that, Xu Mo looked over at Qin Mutou.

Qin Mutou immediately nodded and said, "Master, don't you worry, leave this matter to me! I know where every latrine in the village is; I'll definitely dig all that soil back!"

Upon hearing these words, Xu Hui's mind instantly conjured up the horrifying image of fecal soil piled as high as a mountain.

Unable to stomach it any longer, Xu Hui rolled her eyes and said, "Stop talking, just stopping to think about it makes me feel sick enough!"

Xu Mo smiled and instructed, "Mutou, you must remember, what I want is the soil containing white matter. Don't just dig up anything!"

"I know, Master," Qin Mutou nodded.

Xu Mo added, "Also, those corners where people frequently urinate will also have a layer of white nitre soil. If you see any, remember to collect those as well."

Qin Mutou immediately replied, "Understood, Master! I'll go door-to-door looking for it and bring every bit of it back without missing a speck!"

Unable to listen any longer, Xu Hui turned around and started to leave.

Seeing this, Qin Mutou immediately asked, "Huihui, where are you going?"

A bit angry, Xu Hui turned her head and retorted, "Don't talk to me, go dig your feces! I'm completely redundant here anyway!"

With that, Xu Hui strode away.

Qin Mutou immediately gave chase, asking her why she had suddenly gotten angry.

However, Xu Hui remained tight-lipped and walked angrily down the mountain.

Watching the backs of the two bickering figures, Xu Mo and Chen Miaoyi couldn't help laughing.

Afterward, Xu Mo reached out his hand and said to Chen Miaoyi, "Let's head back too."

Chen Miaoyi nodded, took Xu Mo's hand, and the two happily walked down the mountain.

Upon returning home, the four of them unexpectedly discovered that the Ning family's carriage was parked right outside the courtyard.

Chen Miaoyi immediately asked, "Husband, is Miss Ning here?"

Not entirely sure, Xu Mo walked toward the carriage.

Before he had taken more than a few steps, someone got down from the carriage—not Ning Yaxin, but Ning Yongqiang.

"Mr. Xu!" Ning Yongqiang cupped his fists in greeting, his expression rather solemn.

Seeing the look on Ning Yongqiang's face, Xu Mo immediately had a bad premonition, suspecting that something might have happened.

"Young Master Ning, what brings you here?" Xu Mo returned the greeting with a cupped fist.

Ning Yongqiang pulled something out from his sleeve and handed it toward Xu Mo: "Mr. Xu, take a look at this first..."

Taking it and having a look, Xu Mo immediately knitted his brows, and his expression instantly turned serious.

What Ning Yongqiang handed to Xu Mo was a brand-new bar of soap, but it was not the "Peony Brand," but rather the "Pearl Brand," with packaging styles and colors vastly different from their own.

Seeing that Xu Mo's expression was off, Xu Hui immediately leaned in to take a look, and then cried out in astonishment, "Pearl Brand soap? What kind of thing is this?"

Chen Miaoyi quickly spotted the soap in Xu Mo's hands as well, and asked with surprise, "Husband, how can there be soap of another brand?"

Without rushing to speak, Xu Mo had Chen Miaoyi fetch a basin of clear water, then tore open the packaging, took out the soap, and began to wash his hands.

Ning Yongqiang watched from the side for a moment before saying, "Mr. Xu, my sister and I have both tried it. The cleaning effect of this Pearl Brand soap is identical to our Peony Brand!"

After washing his hands, drying them off, rubbing them together, and sniffing them, Xu Mo knitted his brows and said with dismay, "Our technology has been leaked!"

"What?" Xu Hui cried out in shock.

Immediately afterward, Xu Hui declared, "No, I have to go tell my dad!"

With that, Xu Hui ran off toward the soap workshop.

The expressions of Chen Miaoyi and Qin Mutou also turned heavy at this moment.

Xu Mo asked Ning Yongqiang, "Young Master Ning, when did this happen?"

Ning Yongqiang replied, "It happened just this morning..."

Ning Yongqiang told Xu Mo that early this morning, right after Ning Yaxin arrived at the fragrant skin specialty store, several merchants came and told her that a new brand of soap called Pearl Brand had appeared on the market.

Not only was its cleaning effect identical to the Peony Brand, but its price was also cheaper than the Peony Brand.

At first, Ning Yaxin didn't believe it, but soon someone placed a physical bar of Pearl Brand soap right in front of her, leaving her with no choice but to believe it.

The merchants also told Ning Yaxin that the Peony Brand soap was too expensive, hoping she would lower the price immediately, at least down to the same price point as the Pearl Brand.

However, the authority to price the soap rested entirely in Xu Mo's hands, so Ning Yaxin had found Ning Yongqiang and asked him to immediately come and invite Xu Mo into the city to discuss the matter.

Without a second word, Xu Mo got into Ning Yongqiang's carriage and rushed at full speed toward Xinzhou City...