Chapter 137: Saltpeter

Chapter 137: Saltpeter

Lin Shu also liked money, but she was easily contented.

In her previous life, driven by survival, she constantly ventured out to battle and scavenge. Defending the settlement sounded noble, but her primary motivation was to accumulate enough points to exchange for food. There was no other way—she had a large appetite; if she didn’t work, she would starve.

In this life, she was just an ordinary young woman with a normal appetite, easily satisfied. She no longer had to risk her life fighting zombies just to fill her stomach. As for money, of course, the more the better, but if she could earn it effortlessly, who would choose hardship?

Her previous life had been too arduous and exhausting; in this life, she desired an easier existence. So, when she sold Termitomyces sauce, she went straight to the noodle shop. When selling bamboo reclining chairs, she collaborated with Grandpa Gao’s family. Now, with the idea of selling ice jelly, she also intended to entrust it to a reliable person, allowing her to earn money while simply sitting or reclining.

Noticing Lin Zhaodi’s eagerness, Lin Shu patiently explained, “Any business venture requires thorough preparation. The fruit ice jelly we make uses naturally cool mountain spring water, but Sweetwater Village is too far from Jingxi Town. Even if we take Old Man Liao’s ox cart to town, the cool spring water would heat up under the sun along the way. Without that coolness, the fruit ice jelly would lose much of its appeal. Aunt Lin could go early in the morning, but that would only be a temporary solution.”

The mountain spring water in the kitchen remained cool because it was stored in a water urn, shielded from the sun. Transporting it to town in the same manner would certainly not work.

After considering this, Lin Zhaodi also recognized it as a problem. Although she believed the ice jelly would still taste good even if not cold, it wouldn't be as refreshing as when chilled. In the sweltering heat, wasn't the whole point to crave that icy coolness?

But she quickly suggested, “There’s a well in town. The freshly drawn well water is also very cool. We can use it to keep the ice jelly chilled. When the well water warms up, I’ll just fetch more.”

That’s how the vendors selling cold noodles and drinks in town operated—drawing well water as needed. However, the public well in town was for the townsfolk, and with many people using it, fetching water would require waiting in line, which would take extra effort.

Lin Zhaodi wasn’t afraid of the extra effort; her mind was now consumed with thoughts of making money.

She didn’t even need to worry about whether it would sell. The fruit ice jelly was so delicious that people would buy it even if it were more expensive, let alone at just ten coppers a bowl.

“Does Aunt Lin have any other ideas? Please share them all,” Lin Shu asked.

Lin Zhaodi thought for a moment and said, “It’s not easy for us to go to town, so I think we should make more ice jelly. We can fill one bucket with the green ice jelly, put the syrup in a clay pot, and bring another bucket of mountain spring water. The clay pot with syrup can be chilled in the spring water. When the spring water warms up, I’ll fetch water from the town well. We should also bring a table and stools—the table for serving the ice jelly and the stools for customers. We need to bring enough clay bowls and spoons so we don’t run short if there are many buyers.”

“As for the fruits for toppings, we can bring them whole. I’ll also bring the cutting board and kitchen knife from home. We can cut the fruits fresh when selling the ice jelly—that way, they’ll be fresher.”

“Oh, and just using muskmelons and cucumbers isn’t enough. There are many selling peaches and apricots now. We can buy some—avoid the sour ones and pick the sweet ones. These fruits won’t cost much…”

Lin Zhaodi went on and on, much to Lin Shu’s surprise.

Aunt Lin wasn’t just thoughtful but also came up with improvements without needing reminders. She truly had a natural talent for business.

“Alright, we’ll do as Aunt Lin says.”

Lin Zhaodi: “Do as I say?”

Lin Zhaodi felt a touch of disappointment. “A Shu, do we really have to wait until I move here to start? Although Uncle Zhao San and I are still staying at the Zhao family, we only go back to sleep at night. As you can see, we’re out all day and hardly have any ties with the Zhao family now.”

Lin Shu smiled. “Aunt Lin, it’s not because of that. I want to take these few days to produce some saltpeter. With saltpeter, we can make ice ourselves. With ice, why worry about the ice jelly not being cold enough? We can even crush the ice into shavings and add a scoop to the ice jelly for extra coolness.”

When Lin Shu mentioned selling ice jelly, He Guixiang hadn’t been stunned—she was only surprised that Lin Shu had entrusted the business to Lin Zhaodi. But now, hearing Lin Shu say she wanted to make ice herself, both she and Lin Zhaodi were utterly shocked.

“A Shu, wh-what did you say? We can make our own ice?” Lin Zhaodi asked.

It was no wonder Lin Zhaodi and He Guixiang were so surprised. In their lives, they had rarely seen ice. Even in winter, Sweetwater Village only saw a thin layer of ice on the water during particularly cold winters. Most years, they didn’t see any ice at all.

If winters were like that, let alone summers.

They knew that in larger cities and towns, not only could wealthy families use ice, but there were also ice vendors and stalls selling ice drinks in the streets. But those were big places!

In their area, not to mention Jingxi Town, even the county above Jingxi Town might not have ice vendors. Most drink sellers in town just used well water to keep their drinks slightly cool.

And now A Shu said she could make ice herself?

Lin Shu, however, remained calm and explained, “The technology for storing and making ice in our Da Yan Dynasty is already very advanced. Ice is made using saltpeter. In the capital, many small vendors make their own ice to sell at the bridge market. It’s nothing special.”

Natural saltpeter was controlled by the government, but it could also be refined through a process—it was just more troublesome.

Wealthy families in the capital used a lot of ice. Officials received ice allocations from the court every year, while rich merchants built ice cellars to store natural ice collected in winter for use in summer.

Building ice cellars was expensive. Ice vendors could only rent or buy storage space, which cost a lot. Thus, small workshops making ice, called saltpeter ice workshops, emerged among the people.

The saltpeter used wasn’t natural but manually processed. The ice produced by these workshops was usually supplied to high-end drink shops. However, these workshops were also monitored by the government to ensure the saltpeter was only used for making ice.

Further down were the small vendors who obtained small amounts of saltpeter to make and sell ice. But with little ice, they couldn’t earn much.

“A Shu, can you really make ice?” Lin Zhaodi’s eyes lit up, already thinking of bigger business opportunities.

Lin Shu guessed what she was thinking and waved her hand with a smile. “Producing saltpeter requires collecting soil containing saltpeter, and the process is troublesome. It’s not as easy as Aunt Lin thinks. Besides, we can’t make too much saltpeter—doing so might cause trouble.”

Hearing this, Lin Zhaodi’s bold ideas were forced back, and she even became hesitant. “If it might cause trouble, should we not do it?”

“The trouble I’m talking about isn’t what Aunt Lin thinks. It might attract other vendors who want a share or want my method of producing saltpeter and making ice.” As Lin Shu spoke, she also grew somewhat hesitant.

But then she smiled again. “Let’s take things as they come. We’ll deal with the future when it arrives.”

If someone wanted to buy her method for producing saltpeter and making ice, she could sell it to them. If there were ice makers in town, the common people would benefit too.

“A Shu, ice is expensive. If we add ice shavings, should we raise the price of a bowl of ice jelly?” Lin Zhaodi asked.

Lin Shu paused and sighed. “Forget it, let’s not add ice shavings. We’ll just put two ice cubes in the syrup. In that case, we’ll sell a bowl of ice jelly for twelve coppers.”

Lin Zhaodi immediately grinned. “Good, twelve coppers a bowl! So, A Shu, what do we need to prepare for producing saltpeter? Auntie will help you get everything ready!”

Lin Shu didn’t stand on ceremony. “Aunt Lin, can you ask around if anyone has an old clay pot they don’t need? I’ll buy it cheaply with a few coppers. We can use the old clay pot to produce the saltpeter.”

Actually, an iron pot would be best, but the family only had one precious iron pot, and Lin Shu couldn’t bear to ruin it.

“Sure, leave it to me!” Although Lin Zhaodi was only close to Li Chunmiao, that didn’t mean she had no contact with other village women. She was certain she could handle this small task for A Shu.

“A Shu, is there anything else?”

Lin Shu shook her head. “Just help me find a pot.” For the rest, she had more suitable people in mind.

Lin Shu’s gaze drifted to the group of children in the courtyard, and she smiled.

Ah, the children’s help was so convenient. Since the kids had nothing to do, they might as well help her with the work.

Lin Shu covered her mouth as she yawned, a tear forming at the corner of her eye. “Mom, Aunt Lin, I get so sleepy after eating and drinking. I can’t hold on any longer—I need to take a nap.”

He Guixiang waved her hand with a smile. “Go ahead, I knew you wouldn’t last.”

Now that she had finished her textile work, she took out the fabric she had bought earlier to make clothes for Lin Dashan and Zhou Ye. She knew their measurements since the homespun clothes they wore were all sewn by her.

After moving out, Lin Zhaodi no longer had much work to do, so she helped He Guixiang cut the fabric.

“San Lang also needs new clothes. Once the ice jelly business takes off, I’ll make a set for San Lang too!” Lin Zhaodi’s eyes were full of laughter.

But as she smiled, her eyes gradually welled up with tears.

He Guixiang was startled and quickly asked, “Zhao Di, why are you crying?”

Lin Zhaodi hurriedly wiped away the tears that hadn’t yet fallen. “I’m making a fool of myself in front of Sister-in-law He. I’m just happy. Sister-in-law He, to be honest, I liked A Shu from the moment I first saw her and really wanted to get close to her. And look, getting close to her was the right thing to do—A Shu thinks of me whenever there’s a benefit!”

He Guixiang's expression softened. "That's just how A Shu is. If someone treats her well, she senses it and treats them well in return. However, the reason she’s involving you in selling ice jelly isn’t just because she trusts you—it’s also because she's looking to take it easy herself. Don't read too much into it. A Shu has plenty of ideas, but she doesn’t want to do everything herself, so she has to rope others in."

As the two chatted while cutting the fabric, Lin Xiaopu noticed that her older sister had gone to take a nap. To avoid disturbing her, she took Wang Yingen and the other kids to play outside the courtyard.

"Sister Xiao Pu, what’s for dinner at your house tonight? We're not having wild vegetable dumplings?" Wang Yingen asked.

He always got straight to the point and never beat around the bush. He was still craving the wild vegetable dumplings from the day before.

Lin Xiaopu was speechless. She loved food too, but she wouldn’t openly talk about food like that. Wang Yingen’s obvious craving for food was just embarrassing.

"I don’t know. My sister didn’t say."

Wang Yingen pressed, "Why did Sister A Shu ask us to catch shrimp today? Isn’t it to make something delicious?"

"I’ve already put the shrimp out to dry. We’re definitely not eating them today. What are you thinking?"

Wang Yingen felt disappointed.

"Tell you what, when my sister wakes up from her nap, it’ll be almost time to prepare dinner. I’ll go ask her then to see if she needs your help. If she does, you’ll do whatever she says. If she doesn’t need you, you’re not allowed to come to my house asking for food."

Hearing this, Wang Yingen and the others immediately brightened up, calling her "Sister Xiao Pu" eagerly.

A triumphant smile flashed in Lin Xiaopu’s eyes. Her sister had taught her this—it was called "winning people over gradually."

Over time, even Wang Yingen and the others got used to following her lead. Without even realizing it, her position as the leader was firmly established.

After playing outside for a while, Lin Xiaopu estimated that it was about time and headed back to the courtyard. Wang Yingen and the others followed but stopped at the courtyard entrance, waiting outside for news.

They had assumed Sister A Shu wouldn’t have any tasks for them this time, but to their surprise, Lin Xiaopu soon returned, waving them over. "Big task ahead, big task! Come in quickly and listen to my sister’s instructions!"

The children immediately piled in like excited monkeys.

"Sister A Shu, Sister Xiao Pu said you have something for us to do?!" Wang Yingen asked with a grin.

Lin Shu had just woken up and still looked sleepy. Leaning lazily on a bamboo stool, she smiled as she surveyed the energetic group of children. "I need to collect some soil. It’s a bit of a hassle, so I’ll need your help."

Wang Yingen and the others quickly insisted they didn’t mind and were willing to do anything.

But when Lin Shu finished explaining, the whole group was dumbfounded.

Huh?

Soil from the base of walls? Soil from old house foundations? And soil from around the outhouse and the chicken and duck pens?

The first two were fine, but the last one—that one smells awful. What did Sister A Shu need that for?

Lin Shu, of course, needed it to extract saltpeter. The soil in these places was rich in nitrates, which could be processed to extract saltpeter.

With saltpeter, she could make ice. And the ice wasn’t just for cold drinks—she also wanted to put a basin of ice in the room to keep it cool.