Travel to ancient times and become rich women with your bestie

Chapter 39: Ice that only Mr. Zhang can afford

Zheng Yuan woke up with the sound of roosters crowing.

Just when she was about to wake Duan Minmin up, Xu Huiniang knocked on the door: "Mom! Mom! It's time to get up!"

"Hey! I'm up." Zheng Yuan responded.

Duan Minmin was also awakened by the knock on the door. She stretched out comfortably on the bed and sat up dazedly: "It's good to have no mobile phone or computer. I slept so soundly."

After they finished packing, they carefully put the remaining 467 copper coins into Zheng Yuan's inner purse. It would be safer if he needed to buy something.

Put the saltpeter in the water to melt, let the ice slowly condense, and then the two began to wash. After washing, they called Erhe to wash up. Everything was almost ready, and the ice was ready. After loading the ice, the three of them took the packed things and walked towards the village entrance.

Zhao Youwang was dozing off in the ox cart, with only a few other people sitting on it.

The three of them put their things in place and got on the cart. Zhao Youwang also opened his eyes. Looking at the few people, he sighed. The ox cart business was not easy to do. The village had no harvest at the moment, and no one was willing to go to the city to spend money. The business of these trips was actually supported by the Zhao and Chen families.

After waiting for a long time and seeing no one coming, Zhao Youwang flicked the whip and set off.

"Dashu Niang, are you selling ice jelly again?" Zhao Youwang chatted casually with Zheng Yuan while driving the ox cart.

"Yes, there are many children in the family, so we have to find a way to get by."

Zheng Yuan didn't hide it. Life was getting better and better, and the villagers would know it sooner or later. However, only two people knew the ice-making technology, and even if someone imitated it, they could only make ordinary ice powder. Those big merchants who knew how to make ice didn't bother to compete for this business. The core competitiveness of the sinking market was still firmly in the hands of the two of them.

It’s not that they haven’t thought about selling ice cream, but that might affect the cakes in the hands of some powerful people, and they don’t dare to take the risk.

Zhao Youwang didn't say anything after hearing that. The villagers went to the city to sell things to make a living, and he made a living by paying for the villagers' travel expenses to the city. It was all about making a living, so why did he ask so many questions?

There was no conversation along the way, and the ox cart slowly moved towards Zhonghe Town.

Just as the sun was rising above the horizon, the group arrived at Zhonghe Town.

With the experience from last time, the three of them were not in a hurry and just found a shaded place to put down their things. Anyway, they were not selling anything at this time and it was hard to grab a stall, so they might as well wait until someone else sold out before occupying a stall.

Zheng Yuan took out a five-cent copper coin and asked Erhe to go buy three meat buns and three vegetable buns. Erhe took the money and went there happily, not at all worried like he did when he first went to Yongding County.

After a while, Erhe came back with three meat buns and four vegetable buns. They both took one, and the extra vegetable bun was given to Erhe.

After eating the buns, the three of them squatted beside the bucket with nothing to do, watching the crowds on the street. You pushed me, and I stepped on your foot. There were shouts and curses at the same time, and the three of them watched with great interest.

As the sun gradually rose higher, some people started to pack up their stalls. Zheng Yuan hurriedly asked Erhe to grab a good stall, and the three of them moved their goods to the stall.

Sisters Ice Jelly Stand is finally open!

With the experience from last time, they were ready to shout. The two men stood in front of the stall with smiles on their faces and shouted loudly.

"Come, come, come, sell ice jelly! Go through the streets and alleys, our ice jelly is different; take a look and taste it, the sister ice jelly is famous; the sun shines on the incense burner and produces purple smoke, come here if you want to eat ice jelly; the water is flowing and the fish are swimming, the cool ice jelly can relieve your worries!"

......

Erhe admired his mother and Aunt Duan's way of selling things so much that he fetched some clean water early in the morning and stood by, ready to wash the dishes at any time.

After the two of them tried their best to attract people, they finally saw the old woman standing in the front. The two of them looked over and realized that this woman was an old acquaintance. Last time, because this woman bought their eggs first, their eggs were sold out.

The woman obviously recognized them and said, "It's you? Why aren't you selling eggs anymore?"

"Well, eggs are not so easy to come by in this village. We saved up for a long time to get that many last time. Now, we have started a business selling ice jelly."

The old woman stared at the contents of their buckets and said hesitantly, "I'm afraid you can't make much money from this ice jelly. It's not something rare. Who would be willing to spend money on it?"

Knowing that the woman had no ill intentions, Zheng Yuan still smiled and said, "Sister, although ice jelly is common, ice jelly with ice and brown sugar is not common. The weather is so hot, eating a bite of ice jelly with ice is so refreshing!"

Zheng Yuan opened the ice bucket and lifted the straw covering it, revealing the ice inside.

What? Ice!

The old woman leaned over to take a look and saw that it was true.

"Oh my, this ice is a precious thing, how much do you sell it for a bowl?"

"Three cents." Zheng Yuan held up three fingers.

"You...you...I won't hide it from you. I work for Mr. Zhang's family. The masters also use ice in their rooms. Ice is very precious in this hot summer. Your bucket of ice should cost at least two taels of silver. Yet you only sell it for three cents a bowl after adding it to ice jelly." The old woman looked heartbroken, as if she was wasting resources given by nature.

When the people around heard this, they knew ice was expensive before, but they didn't know it was so valuable. Now they can eat ice for three cents, so they must go back and brag for a few days that they eat ice that only Mr. Zhang can afford.

"Give me a bowl!" a woman spoke first.

"Give me a bowl too!"

"Let's have three bowls! Here's the money!"

......

The two of them stared in amazement at the enthusiastic customers lining up to give them money. If one didn't know better, they would have thought that this old woman was hired by them.

Thanks to the old woman's words, a large number of people were attracted without much effort. Zheng Yuan and Duan Minmin knew how to be grateful, so they quickly made a bowl of ice jelly, cut it into fine ice chips, scooped a full bowl of brown sugar, and handed it to the old woman first.

"Sister, you eat one bowl first."

Then he turned to the other customers and said, "Hey guys, this sister got here first. I'll call her first and she'll call you right back."

The others were all motivated to buy after hearing what the old woman said, so they were not in a hurry to hand it to the old woman. They took the money and watched the reaction of the old woman after drinking it. The maids in Mr. Zhang's family all said it was good after drinking it, so they could buy it with confidence.

The woman picked up the bowl and took a sip tentatively at first. As the ice powder slid into her mouth, she instantly felt a coolness sliding down her throat into her stomach. The sweat she had squeezed out from shopping in the morning seemed to disappear in an instant.

Then she took one mouthful after another, and soon the bowl of ice jelly was empty. She also drank the last bit of soup with her head tilted back.

Passing the bowl to Zheng Yuan, she licked her lips with satisfaction: "This ice jelly is really a good thing. It has ice and so much brown sugar. You two really won't lose out, right?"

As she was about to hand over the three cents, Zheng Yuan refused to take her money: "Oh, sister, you are willing to eat this, which is a living sign for me. You took care of our business last time, and you took care of us again this time, which shows that we are destined to meet. This bowl is my treat, do you want another bowl?"

The old woman was delighted by her praise. Who doesn't like to hear nice words? "You are a good talker, so I won't be polite to you. But I want to take a few bowls back to ask for a reward from my master. Your ice jelly is very beautiful. Can I take this bowl?"

"I'm sorry, sister. I only brought five bowls. If you take them away, we won't be able to do business. How about this? I'll keep as many as you need. Just tell me where your house is and I'll deliver it to your door. Besides, my bowls are very rough, I'm afraid you won't like them. You can take them back and put them in the exquisite porcelain. Only when you see them will you be willing to eat them."

The old woman nodded and said, "Then leave about 20 bowls for me and I will deliver them directly to Mr. Zhang's house. You can just ask on the way. It will be easy to find. My surname is Zhang, just like my master. When you get to the gatehouse, tell them that the shopping woman Zhang sent it, and they will come to call me."

After the old woman finished speaking, she turned and left.