Ernie took a bite of the bun and hurriedly said, "I'll go with you. Your hand is still injured, you know. My mother told me to keep an eye on you.
"If there are clothes or shoes that need washing, or things that need carrying, let me do it."
Su Qiao quickly stopped her. "No. You walk too slowly, and you're not strong enough to keep up with me. You'll only slow me down.
"Besides, I'm not going far. I'll just dig up some ordinary medicinal herbs halfway up the mountain and come right back."
"Then be careful."
Ernie could only watch helplessly as she strode out of the courtyard.
Lowering her head, she spotted the small white cloth pouch in her hand and slapped her forehead in frustration. "Oh no, I forgot to give her this pouch."
"Never mind. The tooth powder won't be put in it until three days from now anyway."
*
This time, Su Qiao did not go to the mountain in the north. Instead, she went to the mountain in the south.
Her purpose this time was not merely to dig up medicinal herbs. She also wanted to look for the stand of pine trees she had discovered in the southern woods when she was eight or nine years old.
Resin had many uses. It was one of the raw materials for making resin soap. Boiled together with alkaline wood ash, it made the resulting resin soap less likely to crack during washing.
It could also be used as sizing when making paper, helping the fibers bind together.
The paper it produced was highly water-resistant, preventing ink from seeping through while also improving the paper's strength and smoothness.
Resin could also be used in the ink-printing industry as a carrier, increasing the ink's adhesion to