Building the First Industrial Empire in Another World

A day later, in Hollen’s forge. The time was almost evening as the sun’s orange glow cast down on the openings of the forge.

And while everyone was preparing to leave, Ernest stood at the balcony of the office which had the view of the entire workshop.

"Everyone!"

He called and everyone’s attention turned towards him.

"I have an announcement," he declared and continued. "But first, I would like to thank, Mr. Hollen for sanctioning my product advertisement. The product that will make you feel cleaner than ever before!"

Silence briefly filled the forge.

Below the balcony, dozens of exhausted workers stared upward toward Ernest with mixed confusion and curiosity.

"What’s the boy talking about now?"

Meanwhile above them, Ernest carefully lifted one rectangular brown bar from the wooden box beside him.

Soap.

The improved mint batch.

The bars still looked crude compared to anything from modern Earth, but after another week of refinement, they no longer resembled random lumps of burned fat.

Now they had proper shape.

Flat surfaces.

Cleaner edges.

And most importantly, a noticeably better scent.

A faint minty herbal smell drifted lightly through the air even from the balcony.

Hollen himself stood nearby with crossed arms while watching silently.

At first, the forge owner doubted the entire idea.

Selling cleaning bars to exhausted laborers sounded ridiculous.

But after personally testing the soap himself several nights earlier, even Hollen admitted the difference was obvious.

The grease came off easier.

The smell disappeared faster.

Even his hands felt less filthy afterward.

So eventually, he allowed Ernest to demonstrate the product directly to the workers.

Mostly out of curiosity.

Partly because Hollen already learned one important lesson over the past month.

Whenever Ernest proposed something strange...

It somehow worked.

Ernest raised the soap bar slightly afterward.

"This," he announced, "is soap."

Immediately several workers frowned.

Some clearly recognized the word vaguely while others looked completely unfamiliar with it.

One older worker scratched his beard.

"...That’s soap?"

Honestly, their reactions made sense.

Proper soap existed in parts of the world historically, especially among wealthier classes, but ordinary laborers rarely had regular access to quality cleaning products.

Most commoners simply washed using water, rough cloth, or ash.

Ernest continued.

"Not ash scrubbing."

"Not plain water."

"This actually removes grease and soot properly."

Now that immediately caught more attention.

Because every single worker here dealt daily with soot, coal dust, furnace ash, grease, and sweat.

They constantly smelled like smoke no matter how much they washed.

One worker loudly snorted.

"Water already cleans."

Ernest nodded calmly.

"It removes loose dirt."

Then he raised the soap again.

"This removes oil too."

That made several workers pause slightly.

Because they understood grease very well.

Forge workers constantly struggled removing black oily residue from their skin after work.

Some workers permanently carried dark stains around their fingernails and palms no matter how much they scrubbed.

Ernest quickly looked toward Victor afterward.

"Father."

Victor frowned slightly.

"...What?"

"Come here for a moment."

Immediately several workers started chuckling lightly seeing Victor’s annoyed expression.

Still, after a few seconds, the exhausted blacksmith slowly walked forward beneath the balcony.

"What now?"

Ernest grabbed a small bucket of water placed nearby beforehand along with one dirty metal tool coated heavily in grease and soot.

Preparation mattered.

Back on Earth, product demonstrations existed for a reason.

Seeing created belief faster than explanations.

He handed the dirty tool downward toward Victor.

"Wash that with plain water."

Victor looked confused but obeyed anyway.

He dipped cloth into the bucket before scrubbing the metal surface several times.

Some soot came off.

But oily residue remained visible.

Exactly as expected.

Then Ernest tossed down one soap bar carefully.

"Now try that." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Victor caught it awkwardly before staring at the brown block suspiciously.

"...You want me to clean metal using this?"

"Just try it."

Several workers nearby leaned closer curiously now.

Even Hollen silently observed from the balcony side.

Victor eventually rubbed the soap against the damp cloth before scrubbing the tool again.

This time the difference appeared almost immediately.

The greasy layer loosened properly while dark residue came away faster across the cloth.

Several nearby workers blinked.

"...What?"

Victor himself frowned slightly while continuing to scrub.

Then after rinsing the tool briefly, he paused.

The metal surface actually looked noticeably cleaner.

Not perfectly polished.

But significantly less greasy.

Then Ernest spoke again from above.

"Now wash your hands."

Victor looked mildly irritated at becoming demonstration assistant in front of the entire forge.

Still, he obeyed again.

He rubbed the soap carefully between wet hands.

Thin foam slowly formed.

Several workers stared openly now.

One muttered—

"Bubbles?"

Victor rinsed his hands afterward.

Then paused.

His expression shifted slightly.

But noticeable enough for Ernest to catch immediately.

Because once again, the embedded grease across Victor’s rough hands loosened properly.

Even the lingering charcoal smell weakened.

Victor slowly flexed his fingers afterward.

"...Feels cleaner."

There it was.

The workers immediately started murmuring among themselves afterward.

Questions spread quickly.

"How much?"

"Can it remove furnace soot?"

"What’s inside it?"

"Does it work on clothes?"

Actually, hearing those questions instantly excited Ernest internally.

Because that meant interest already existed.

And interest meant demand.

Ernest raised his voice again slightly.

"It works on hands, tools, skin, and even cloth washing."

Well technically primitive soap could clean fabric too.

Not efficiently like modern detergent.

But still useful.

Then he continued.

"I’m going to be generous to you all, you will each have one of your own for free and in return, I want you to share your stories after using it to your neighbors, friends, and families. And also, since you are my fellow workers, I’m going to give you a discount in the future!"

Hearing that, the workers grew enthusiastic and one by one, Ernest handed them soap.