Chapter 176: A Roaring Success

Chapter 176: A Roaring Success

Lin Shu maintained a calm expression, though a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

She pressed a finger against Zhou Ye’s forehead, gently pushing him back. "Who wants to take a romantic bath with you? Have you no shame?"

Zhou Ye paused, then chuckled softly. "A Shu, I didn’t say we’d go *into* the river together; I said we’d go *to* the riverbank. But as for a romantic bath… if you wish, I could—"

Realizing her misunderstanding, Lin Shu abruptly covered his mouth with her hand, glaring fiercely to silence him.

Zhou Ye’s laughter rumbled from his chest, emerging as muffled chuckles.

Lin Shu: …

"A Ye, are you truly not drunk? Otherwise, how dare you tease me? Since when did you get so bold?"

Zhou Ye grinned. "I’ve always been bold; I just hid it well before. And no, I’m not drunk. My alcohol tolerance is excellent. Even a whole jar of wine wouldn’t get me drunk."

Lin Shu was dumbfounded: So you’re not pretending at all now?

Zhou Ye wasn’t usually pretending; he was simply accustomed to silence. There were things he didn’t say, but that didn’t mean he didn’t think them.

Thus, the uninhibited Zhou Ye ended up carrying Lin Shu over his shoulder to the riverbank this time.

Compared to previous occasions, he seemed especially excited, his affection for Lin Shu completely unrestrained. He covered every inch of her face and neck with deep kisses, and even instinctively learned to press against her and rub gently.

Lin Shu: !!!

By the end, the inside of Lin Shu’s thighs felt sore and tender.

Hold on, is A Ye really not drunk?

If he’s not drunk, how could he be so bold? Isn’t he afraid she’ll get angry?

Zhou Ye wasn’t afraid. Usually, A Shu teased him in ways far bolder than what he had in mind. He was merely rewarding himself a little, without going too far.

Lin Shu indeed didn’t get angry. Afterward, both of them were sticky all over. She had been leaning against a tree trunk, and after shaking out her numb legs, she turned to hug Zhou Ye, tilting her head up to look at him. "We’ve been so busy these past few days, I haven’t had a chance to ask you. A Ye, hunting that black bear must have been really dangerous, right? What were you thinking at the time?"

Zhou Ye took a moment to steady his heavy breathing, then gently stroked her cheek with his large hand. "Mm," he hummed, his voice still husky from their earlier passion. "At first, I was thinking the pelt would be worth more if it was intact, so I couldn’t damage the black bear’s chest or back. I had to hold back because of that and almost got clawed in the back. But I reacted quickly and didn’t let it succeed. Later, I seized the chance and split half its head open with an axe."

Lin Shu’s heart tightened as she listened. "A Ye, stop doing such dangerous things. There are plenty of ways to earn money. If nothing else, I can earn some and secretly give it to you, pretending it’s what you made. Let me tell you, all my little businesses are doing really well. It won’t be long before I become a little rich woman. It might not be as much as what you made from selling the black bear all at once, but it’s safe."

Zhou Ye laughed at her words. "A Shu, you’re not even married to me yet, and you’re already siding with outsiders."

Lin Shu blushed and punched him lightly. Who was she doing all this for?

Zhou Ye caught her fist, his expression turning serious. "A Shu, looking back now, I actually feel a little scared."

Lin Shu was taken aback and reached up to pat his head. "It’s good that you’re scared, you reckless fool. Nothing is more important than your own life. From now on, think more about your family, think more about me, okay?"

"Okay," Zhou Ye replied, smiling at her.

They took turns bathing and returned to the courtyard, though they had no idea what time it was.

…

The next day, Lin Shu thought she had woken up early, only to find out she was the last one up.

Zhou Ye had already gone deep into the mountains early in the morning to gather a basketful of Grass Jelly Plant. Xiao Pu and He Guixiang had already processed the pulp and were waiting for it to settle. Since the villagers had traded for pork the day before, the household had gained an extra wooden basin. Both basins were now filled with pulp, which would soon become two large basins of Guanyin Tofu.

Zhou Ye had also used Lin Shu’s wide-mouthed pottery jar to make ice. By the time she woke up, the water in the jar was almost frozen solid. Besides the jar, he had hung two small bamboo tubes. Zhou Ye could tell whether the ice had formed by gently shaking the tubes. Once the water in the bamboo tubes was completely frozen, the jar would be ready too.

Lin Shu was stunned. "You’ve already done everything? Then what did I wake up so early for?"

Lin Xiaopu said, "Sis, I just woke up a little while ago too. It’s A Ye who got up super early. And he didn’t even pick the Grass Jelly Plant from the back hills—he went deep into the mountains because he was afraid there wouldn’t be any left for you if he picked it all from the back hills. And this ice-making method—I only explained it to A Ye once, and he already knew how to do it!"

Lin Xiaopu thought she was quite energetic, but she was nowhere near as capable as A Ye. After waking up, A Ye had to fetch spring water from the back hills, chop firewood, go into the mountains to pick Grass Jelly Plant for her sister, and on his way back, he even picked a handful of wildflowers for her.

No wonder A Ye deserved to marry a fairy like her sister!

Lin Xiaopu was utterly impressed.

By the time Lin Zhaodi and Old Man Liao arrived to pick up the items, the two large basins of "ice jelly" had solidified, and the ice in the pottery jar and bamboo tubes had frozen completely.

"A Shu, Old Man Liao is already waiting at the door. I’ll grab the things and go," Lin Zhaodi said.

She had brought two buckets, a basin, and a large pottery jar. She had deliberately bought a large basin—if filled to the brim, it could hold a lot of ice jelly. The ice jelly Lin Shu had made that day only took up half the basin. After placing the ice jelly in the wooden basin, she poured in some spring water to submerge it, adding a few chunks of ice to keep it cool.

As for the syrup, she followed Lin Shu’s advice and planned to make it on the spot in front of the customers. She would drop rock sugar into the pottery jar along with ice cubes, making the syrup both sweet and chilled.

One of the buckets was mostly filled with rice husks, topped with a thick layer of straw. The wide-mouthed pottery jar containing the ice would be nestled inside the rice husks to slow down the melting. The other bucket was filled with clean spring water, to be used to refill the syrup jar when it ran low.

"Aunt Lin, I’ve got everything ready on my end. A Ye has some business in town today, so I’ll have him lend you a hand," Lin Shu said. As she spoke, Zhou Ye had already helped carry the items outside to the oxcart.

Besides the buckets and basins, the oxcart also carried a wooden table, four long benches, and a backpack filled with miscellaneous items—likely a cutting board, pottery bowls, and other supplies.

The table and benches were tied together securely, and the buckets and basins were fastened with hemp rope. Zhou Ye had tied them himself, ensuring they were stable and wouldn’t tip over even on a bumpy road.

By the time Lin Zhaodi found a spot to squeeze onto the oxcart, it was packed to the brim, with no room for anything else.

"Aunt Lin, you go ahead first. I’ll catch up shortly," Zhou Ye said.

Lin Zhaodi quickly agreed and thanked him.

With A Ye around, she felt much more assured.

Zhou Ye tidied up briefly and then followed Old Man Liao’s oxcart.

After they had gone, Lin Shu glanced at the sky, which was just beginning to lighten, and decided to go back inside for a nap.

Lin Xiaopu had also woken up earlier than usual, but she was too excited to feel sleepy. "Sis, how much ice jelly do you think Aunt Lin will sell? I helped He Guixiang process the Grass Jelly Plant, so do I get a share of the earnings too?"

Lin Shu raised an eyebrow. "Sure, you can have ten percent of the profits."

Lin Xiaopu’s eyes lit up immediately.

Ten percent was still a decent amount! If Aunt Lin sold ten bowls of ice jelly, she would get twelve coins—enough to buy several pieces of sugary cake!

He Guixiang teased her for being a little money-grubber, but she was also curious about how much Lin Zhaodi would earn from selling ice jelly that day.

Lin Shu yawned and said to Lin Xiaopu, "Aunt Lin brought plenty of rock sugar, so there’s enough syrup. It depends on how many bowls we can get from those two large blocks of Guanyin Tofu you and He Guixiang made. After cutting the Guanyin Tofu into chunks, each large spoonful is roughly one bowl’s worth, especially since we’ll add some fruit bits on top and pour a ladle of icy syrup over it. How many spoonfuls do you think those two blocks can make?"

Lin Xiaopu immediately replied, "If one spoonful makes one bowl, it should be around seventy or eighty bowls! If we’re lucky enough to sell them all, at twelve coins per bowl, seventy bowls would be… He Guixiang, help me calculate!"

While Lin Xiaopu and He Guixiang were busy calculating, Lin Shu could no longer stay awake and went back to catch up on sleep.

She slept straight until breakfast time.

Lin Shu suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked He Guixiang, "He Guixiang, did A Ye take any food with him when he left?"

"Of course, of course. Would I ever let him go hungry?" He Guixiang gave her a playful look.

Lin Shu giggled and hugged her, changing the subject. "Oh, that wooden hairpin you're wearing is really pretty. I wonder who bought it for you."

He Guixiang was amused—she was indeed wearing the very pin A Shu had given her.

"Once we make some money from the ice jelly today, I’ll get you an even nicer one. And Pa loves tea—I’ll buy him some good tea leaves too."

He Guixiang replied, "Don’t bother. One hairpin is plenty—more would just be wasteful. And as for your pa, he enjoys the floral and herbal teas you brew just fine. No need to make him picky with fancy teas."

Lin Shu giggled behind her hand. It wasn’t her imagination—her mother had indeed become much feistier than when they first met. And it was Lin Shu who had given her that confidence. Gradually, she was influencing her mother: a man wasn’t her whole world; she could rely on herself and her children.

After breakfast, Lin Yushu arrived with his textbooks for his lesson. Uncle Zhao San and Aunt Lin’s thatched cottage had been finished just a couple of days prior, and Lin Yushu had taken the initiative to come over, saving Lin Shu the trouble of going back and forth.

But today, halfway through the lesson, the familiar call of an oxcart driver echoed from outside the courtyard.

Zhou Ye had returned early, hitching a ride on Old Man Liao’s oxcart. He was carrying a roll of finely woven cooling mat.

Old Man Liao, sweating buckets from driving, took off his straw hat and fanned himself with it.

Both Lin Shu and He Guixiang were surprised to see them.

He Guixiang asked in astonishment, "A Ye returning at this hour is one thing, but Brother Liao, why are you back too?"

Lin Shu went to the kitchen and brought out two bowls of mountain spring water for Zhou Ye and Old Man Liao to drink.

After catching his breath, Old Man Liao grinned and said, "We've got news for you! A Shu, your ice jelly is selling like hotcakes! By the time A Ye and I left, Aunt Lin’s basin was almost empty!"

"She's a stubborn one, begged A Ye to come back and ask if you could make more to send over. I thought, on a hot day like this, how could I let A Ye walk back alone? Since I had nothing else to do, I gave him a ride. Once you’ve prepared more ice jelly, I can haul it over with the oxcart."

Old Man Liao usually liked to take it easy—in the past, he’d only make one round trip a day, grumbling about any extra effort, especially in such heat. But today, he’d seen for himself how bustling Lin Zhaodi’s ice jelly stall was!

When Lin Zhaodi first set up the tables and chairs, being a new face, she only drew curious glances from passersby and nearby vendors wondering what she was selling. Then she publicly prepared the sugar water, displaying a beautiful chunk of orange-yellow rock sugar, breaking off a piece with the back of a kitchen knife, and dropping it into a pottery jar of spring water.

Next, she freshly cut melons and peaches into small pieces, placing them in a bowl for all to see.

Then came the main event!

While hawking the ice jelly, she pulled the ice-filled pottery jar from the rice husks, tipped it over, and out slid a whole, crystal-clear block of ice, drawing a crowd of onlookers who gasped in amazement.

"Is that… ice?"

"It can’t be ice! How could there be ice in this heat?"

"Shows what you know! Wealthy families in big towns drink iced beverages and use ice containers in summer. This is ice!"

When someone reached out to touch it, Old Man Liao shooed them away and seized the moment to promote the ice jelly, telling the crowd that if they wanted ice, they’d have to pay twelve coins for a bowl.

Old Man Liao, being strong, helped Lin Zhaodi break the large ice block into pieces. Lin Zhaodi then took the smallest piece and let the curious crowd touch it.

One touch confirmed it—it was genuine ice!

And then… then Old Man Liao and Lin Zhaodi were so busy they didn't have a moment to spare!