"Hmm, this island seems to be rich in gemstones. I'm sure collectors will be flocking here in droves when they find out."
Jin replied seriously to Saki's half-joking comment.
"Maybe, but they won't be able to come this far.
"Well, that's true, but..."
Then, as if to cover his words, Goose showed him more minerals he had found.
"Finally, here it is."
A white lump.
"It's very soft. You can scratch it with your fingernails."
Goose scratches at it, and it has several marks on it.
"Pebbles. ...... That's good!"
Jin's eyes light up.
For some reason, no known mines have produced talc.
"Hmm? What's the use of such a soft mineral?"
"It's sweatless."
Sweatshop?
Sweatshop is what the director called it when he was at the facility, and it was originally the name of a product.
It is generally called talcum powder. Ciccarol, Tampafun, and baby powder are also in the same family.
Talc is made by adding starch, boric acid, and fragrance to talc powder.
It is powdered and put on the baby's bottom, which is prone to heat rash. Oh, and adults can put it on their armpits and nape of the neck, too."
"Wow. I've never heard of ...... before. Is that how they do it in Jin's place? In the village of Kaina, we sometimes use a powder made by grinding and soaking the roots of the pulsed pea in water.
Martha, who had heard Jin's explanation, mentioned a custom in her village.
"Alemame? But I don't think I've ever heard of it.
Jin questioned Martha's words.
"Of course you haven't. Ever since the hot springs were built, we don't have to worry about heat rash anymore.
"Oh, I see."
The high altitude and low humidity of Kaina Village originally made it difficult for rashes to form, and the hot springs keep the surface of the body clean, so rashes and other skin diseases have been drastically reduced.
Furthermore, because of the presence of a healer named Sally, not only adults, but also children and babies were no longer suffering from rashes.
"But it's good to make them.
"Yes, yes, Jin, it's hot and sticky at my place, so it would be nice to have some.
Saki and Marcia said yes.
"Okay. I'll tell them to mine for talc later. I'll tell them to dig for slipstone later, and I'd also like to collect the roots of the heirloom bean.
Actually, this alemame is what we call kuzu in modern Japan.
The starch extracted from the root becomes kuzu kuzu ko (kuzu flour), which is used to make high-quality Japanese confectionaries.
Kuzu is a highly transparent jelly-like substance, and unlike gelatin or agar, its hardness and elasticity can be adjusted with the amount of water used.
Kuzuyu is also said to be effective when one catches a cold.
It will be a little while before a new confectionery is born using kuzu bean powder, which is extracted from the roots of the bean.
"Hopefully, it will be a new product.
"Oh, I heard that there are some of these beans around the village of Toka. I heard it's a rescue plant.
"That's good. When you get back, I'd appreciate it if you could dig it up for me.
"Yes, I'll do that."
Licia answered Jin's suggestion. Now there is one more product from Toka Village.