Chapter 137

Chapter 137

The shop's business was booming, with demand far exceeding supply, especially for the bamboo tube popsicles, which had become a summer sensation.

Ice was a rare commodity in summer, making it highly coveted by the common folk. While an ice drink costing dozens of coins might be considered a luxury, a ten-coin popsicle for an occasional treat was an expense most were willing to bear.

However, surging sales brought a new challenge: a shortage of bamboo tubes.

During the day, Uncle Chen and Chen Fang would saw bamboo tubes and brand them with characters at home. They could only produce a few hundred a day, and the additional task of smoothing out burrs made the process quite cumbersome. Uncle Chen, despite his age, never complained, but a full day's work left him with an aching back.

Wang Ying decided to send Ma Qianzi to the city's carpentry workshop to inquire about custom-making such bamboo tubes and their cost.

The quote came back at one wen and five li per tube, with the workshop supplying the bamboo. This price was quite reasonable, so Wang Ying placed an order for a thousand bamboo tubes daily, to continue until July.

As professionals, the carpenters produced bamboo cups of uniform size, with smoothly polished rims and clearer branded characters than Wang Ying and her team could manage. The money was certainly well spent!

Early in the morning, before dawn, Wang Ying began moving popsicles and shaved ice from the experimental field.

Yuanbao, roused by the noise, rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Papa..."

"Be good, sleep a little longer. It’s still dark outside."

"Mm." The little one agreed, but sleep eluded him. He fiddled with a small wooden horse by his side, his big, dark eyes watching Wang Ying busily work.

The bamboo tube popsicles were neatly packed in boxes, forty per box, each weighing about twenty *jin* (approximately 22 pounds). Moving them all out was no easy task.

This physical labor was nothing compared to his previous life. During his college days, Wang Ying had worked part-time as a loader, moving several tons of goods for eighty coins in three hours, a job that left his arms too sore to lift afterward.

However, his current body was different from his previous one, likely due to gender. Despite his daily exertions, his muscles weren't as developed as those of Chen Qingyan, the scholar. When they "sparred," he couldn't muster any strength and always ended up pinned down.

Soon, Wang Ying was sweating profusely. Yuanbao quickly got up and fanned him with a palm-leaf fan.

Wang Ying adored his little one’s thoughtful gesture. "No need to fan Papa. Go play on the bed."

"Papa is sweating from the heat. Yuanbao isn’t hot. Yuanbao will fan Papa."

Wang Ying couldn’t help but kiss his little cheek. "So good."

He wondered whom the child took after; he certainly hadn’t been this adorable in his own childhood.

As the rooster crowed outside, Wang Ying moved the last batches of ice. The room had cooled down significantly, with dozens of ice boxes providing a refrigeration effect akin to a cold storage.

Wang Ying quickly helped Yuanbao into his outer garment. "Go play at your grandmother’s. Papa has to get to work."

"Okay." Yuanbao put on his shoes and scampered toward Li Shi’s room.

Wang Ying took a quick rainwater shower in the experimental field, changed into clean clothes, and called the servants to move the ice.

The popsicles had to be transported to the shop immediately for storage; otherwise, they would start melting once the sun rose and the weather turned hot.

With many hands, the work was done quickly. Soon, over thirty boxes were neatly loaded onto the cart. Tian Ju and Ma Zhandong delivered the ice to the shop and stored it properly.

Starting this month, Wang Ying raised everyone’s wages. When they first arrived, money was tight, and he could only pay two hundred coins per month.

Now, with more financial flexibility and the business on track, Wang Ying increased their pay to one tael of silver each. Silver was easier to store, whereas copper coins tended to be spent piecemeal.

By the time they finished, the sky was fully lit, and smoke rose from the kitchen chimney. The family washed up and gathered in the main room for breakfast.

Breakfast was simple: millet porridge, whole wheat steamed buns, a plate of oil-braised pickles, a plate of cold shredded tofu, and a few boiled eggs.

Yuanbao sat on his small stool, holding a bowl and drinking porridge, while Li Shi occasionally wiped the millet soup from his chin with a handkerchief.

Fang Ling remarked, "Yuanbao is so capable. He can already eat by himself at such a young age. Qing Lan still needed to be fed at his age."

Li Shi glanced at Wang Ying. Originally, Yuanbao had been fed by servants, but Wang Ying forbade it, saying it would spoil the child. She didn’t dare argue.

However, since the child started eating on his own, he had indeed been eating more than before.

Wang Ying had little appetite in the morning and only drank a bowl of porridge. After breakfast, he reminded his son to behave at home and left for the shop.

The morning was relatively relaxed, with few customers for popsicles and shaved ice. After 9 a.m., customers started arriving.

"Boss, give me ten bamboo tube popsicles!"

"Coming right up!" Lin Sui quickly fetched ten bamboo tubes from the box. "How would you like to carry them?"

"Just carry them in my shirt."

Lin Sui placed the tubes into the customer’s garment. "That’ll be one hundred coins in total."

The man untied a string of copper coins from his waist—exactly one string of one hundred coins.

Selling popsicles wasn’t difficult, but counting money was tedious. Without modern paper currency, everything was done with individual copper coins. For larger purchases, it took half the day just to count them.

Lin Sui put the money away and said, "Take care, sir."

No sooner had one customer left than another big spender arrived. "Thirty bamboo tube popsicles, put them in my basket."

"Sure thing!" Lin Sui hurriedly gathered them.

Tian Ju was responsible for making shaved ice. He was strong and could crush a bowl of shaved ice in just a few strokes.

Wang Ying wasn’t idle either. He peeled and diced fruits, placing them into pottery bowls for easy use when customers ordered shaved ice.

As more and more people came to buy popsicles, a long queue formed at the door. Wang Ying wiped his hands and began maintaining order.

Around noon, two women brought a child wearing gauze clothing to buy shaved ice.

Since most people were there for popsicles, the shaved ice section had no queue. The three walked past the crowd and entered the shop.

Those waiting in line grew upset. "What’s going on with your shop? We’ve been waiting outside for so long, yet you let them in first!"

"Yeah, under this scorching sun, we’ve been standing here for half an hour. Our heads are about to burn."

Wang Ying quickly explained, "Please don’t worry, esteemed guests. Those people are here for shaved ice. Since fewer people buy shaved ice, they don’t need to queue."

However, those who had been waiting impatiently weren’t having it. "You’re just favoring big spenders! They pay more, so you let them in first. We pay less, so we have to wait outside."

"Exactly! Is our money as poor people not money?!"

With dozens of people causing a commotion, Wang Ying felt overwhelmed. That wasn’t the case at all...

Some turned to leave, while others tried to push their way in to buy popsicles faster.

With just him alone, he couldn’t hold back the crowd. Dozens of people surged into the shop, frightening the child into wailing. The two servant women holding the child looked furious.

"What are you doing?! If anything happens to our young master, none of you will get away with it today!"

Wang Ying was sweating buckets, frantically trying to calm the important guests while helping Lin Sui sell popsicles. In the end, he stopped counting the money altogether, simply tossing it into a box, handing over the popsicles, and rushing customers out.

They were busy for almost an hour before the crowd in the shop finally thinned out. Wang Ying told Tian Ju to quickly lock up the main door.

"Sister-in-law, there are still seven boxes of popsicles left. Aren't we selling them anymore?"

Wang Ying, exhausted, slumped on a stool and waved her hand. "No, we're not selling anymore. We'll have Ma Qianzi sell them in the afternoon."

This way of selling won't work. Not only would they lose money, but the crowded conditions also made it impossible to sell shaved ice. What wealthy lady or young gentleman would squeeze in among a crowd of men to buy snacks?

Even if they sent their servants to buy, after seeing such an environment once or twice, they wouldn’t come back.

Wang Ying had plans to develop new flavors, but if she did, who would she sell them to?

Although Lin Sui didn’t understand business intricacies, she knew this way of selling wouldn’t work. Earlier, someone had tried to pass four coins as ten, and the difference was so obvious that he caught it and refused the transaction.

"Sister-in-law, what should we do then?"

Wang Ying thought for a while before saying, "We need to rent another shop and sell ice drinks and popsicles separately."

The popsicles would target commoners, while the ice drinks and shaved ice would cater to the high-end market, much like modern boba shops or cafes. This way, the popsicle business wouldn’t be affected, and they could attract a new group of high-end customers.

As for winter, that would be workable too—they could simply switch from cold drinks to hot drinks. Most teahouses in the city served men, so she would focus on women, young gentlemen, and children.

Wang Ying was a woman of action. Once she had a plan, she started looking for a new shop.

*

Meanwhile, in a teahouse located in the northwest of Zhengyang Street, two middle-aged men were playing chess.

One of them was small and thin but with a scowling face. His eyes were beady and rat-like, and his nose was slightly upturned—his appearance was far from pleasing. This was Wei Linshui, the largest ice merchant in Jizhou Prefecture.

He had the nickname "Water Rat," though no one dared call him that to his face. Most used it behind his back, as he not only looked like a rat but also had a sinister character. In earlier years, to monopolize the city’s ice-selling business, his ruthless methods had shocked everyone.

Sitting across from him was the teahouse’s manager, also one of Wei Linshui’s few close friends. The two often played chess together.

"I give up. Old Wei, your chess skills are getting stronger," Manager Bi said as he collected the pieces.

"Were you going easy on me again?"

"You win and still act modest."

Wei Linshui grinned, revealing uneven teeth that made him look even more like a sinister, terrifying rat.

"By the way, that shop you mentioned last time—did you find out anything about their background?"

Wei Linshui took a sip of tea. "I did. Their family is from hundreds of miles away from Deputy Prefect Wang’s hometown, so there’s no relation. They do have an uncle who’s an official, but he’s far away in Shanzhou—not even worth considering."

"So, are you going to take action against them?"

"I already sent someone to test them yesterday. Heh, a little commotion was enough to scare them badly. They didn’t even dare open the shop today."

It turned out the disturbance yesterday was no coincidence—Wei Linshui had sent people to cause trouble, aiming to ruin Wang Ying’s popsicle business.

In the same trade, rivals are enemies. Although Wang Ying hadn’t started selling large blocks of ice yet, it was better to prevent trouble early. This business of hers had to be stopped.

Manager Bi said, "I tried their popsicles too. They sell them for only ten coins each. I really don’t know how they make any money."

Harvesting ice was difficult, and storing it was even harder, so the price of ice in the city had always been high.

Wei Linshui sneered. "What crap is this 'Mixue Smoothie'? Driving ice prices down so low—how am I supposed to do business in the future? Besides, should common folks even be allowed to enjoy ice? If ordinary people can afford ice in the summer, what will the officials and nobles use?"

"Brother Wei makes a good point. So, what do you plan to do?"

"They’re just a small operation. Cause a few disturbances, and their business will fold."