Chapter 177: Dividing the Earnings

Chapter 177: Dividing the Earnings

Due to the limited ice supply, the ice jelly itself didn't have ice cubes added directly. Instead, ice was only used to chill the mountain spring water and sugar syrup, ensuring the finished ice jelly was refreshingly cool.

Even so, the number of people flocking to buy the ice jelly was overwhelming.

The mere use of ice water was a significant draw, and what's more, the initial customers who tasted the ice jelly all raved about its deliciousness. Some found one bowl insufficient and immediately ordered another. With word-of-mouth spreading rapidly, a long queue quickly formed outside the stall.

When Lin Zhaodi set up her stall, the sun had only just risen, and it wasn't yet hot. It was hard to imagine how many people would come to buy ice jelly during the peak heat of the day!

With so many customers, Lin Zhaodi couldn't manage alone. Old Man Liao, who had initially only agreed to keep an eye on things and not work, quickly stepped in to help.

Even with both of them, they were a bit flustered until Zhou Ye arrived, at which point the situation stabilized.

Lin Zhaodi served the ice jelly, Old Man Liao collected the money, and Zhou Ye assisted with tasks like carrying bowls and wiping tables. The three worked together with an orderly division of labor.

Seeing the ice jelly nearing its bottom, Lin Zhaodi made a swift decision, asking Zhou Ye to return to Tianshui Village for more. Hearing this, Old Man Liao volunteered to drive Zhou Ye back.

He had been collecting the money himself, watching the coin jar fill up, and he too was caught up in the excitement.

Such a prime money-making opportunity—it would be a shame not to seize it. He felt it would be a loss for Lin Zhaodi to miss out! Even if Zhou Ye walked quickly, he couldn't match the speed of his ox cart, so of course, he had to make the trip.

Lin Shu blinked in surprise upon hearing this. Ah, although she had anticipated the ice jelly's popularity, the people were even more enthusiastic than she had imagined.

However, the locals here had always been fond of good food, and if they had some spare money, they were more than willing to spend it on satisfying their appetites. Her ice jelly sold for twelve coins a bowl, which wasn't expensive, and most townspeople could afford it. Its booming sales were entirely understandable.

"A Ye, how much ice is left?" Lin Shu asked.

Zhou Ye replied, "Not much ice was used. When I left, nearly half was still there. Aunt Lin re-buried it in rice husks and straw after use, so it was well-preserved. The remaining ice should last until noon."

Lin Shu nodded. "If we need to add more ice, I can't make it right away. But if it's just about adding more ice jelly, I can prepare the mixture here, and it can settle during the journey. We'll just have to trouble Old Man Liao to drive steadily for the first half of the trip. Once the ice jelly has settled, it's fine to go faster for the latter half."

Old Man Liao quickly assured her it was no problem and then returned to his ox cart to wait, not entering the courtyard.

This was their money-making venture, and he knew to respectfully give them their space.

Without needing to be told, Zhou Ye grabbed a carrying basket and headed to the back hill to pick Grass Jelly Plant and prepare the mixture. The entire process took only half an hour.

A large basin of prepared ice jelly was loaded onto the ox cart, covered with a wooden lid to keep out dust, and secured with two stones to prevent it from shaking during the journey.

Since he had already retrieved the cooling mat and the ice jelly was selling well, Zhou Ye didn't go along this time. He simply entrusted Old Man Liao to deliver the items to Aunt Lin.

After Old Man Liao left, Lin Shu asked A Ye to describe the lively scene at the ice jelly stall again. She and He Guixiang listened, both beaming with smiles.

A short while later, Lin Shu returned to the main room to continue teaching Lin Yushu. Seeing him focused on practicing his calligraphy without distraction, she couldn't help but tease him, "It was so noisy in the courtyard earlier. Weren't you curious about what was happening?"

Lin Yushu replied earnestly, "A wise man doesn't stand under a shaky wall, nor does he eavesdrop on private conversations."

Lin Shu tsked. "With that mindset, you'll succeed at anything you do." Then she shared her good news with him.

After hearing it, Lin Yushu congratulated her and then added, "Sister A Shu, Mother told me you offered her a business opportunity, one that doesn't require hard labor, just talking. I want to thank you."

"Who says talking isn't hard work? But, is Third Aunt really discussing things outside of studies with you?" Lin Shu was slightly surprised. She had assumed Third Aunt only wanted Lin Yushu to focus on his studies, paying no attention to worldly matters.

Lin Yushu said, "My mother praises Sister A Shu every day, reminding me to never forget your kindness once I make something of myself. Even without her constant reminders, I understand. Sister A Shu, without you, I'd still be working in the fields."

"Not quite—you still have to work in the fields even now that you're studying. When you become an official in the future, you mustn't forget your roots."

Lin Yushu scratched his head and smiled. "Sister A Shu is right."

Sister A Shu was certain he would become an official someday, but he hadn't even passed the child scholar exam yet.

In the courtyard, Zhou Ye rinsed the newly bought cooling mat with water and set it out to dry. A Shu would be able to use it by evening.

Finally, he sat in a shady spot in the courtyard, using a small knife to make lidded bamboo containers. After finishing three bamboo containers, he rested for a bit and then went to the fields to help Lin Dashan weed the paddies.

...

The ice jelly sold out completely before noon. However, because the weather was hot, Lin Zhaodi and Old Man Liao didn't return immediately. Instead, they waited out the hottest part of the day and returned to Tianshui Village around dinnertime.

Lin Zhaodi was beaming with joy. She quickly unloaded the items from the ox cart into the courtyard, then grabbed the money jar and hurried straight to Lin Shu's house across the way.

"Sister-in-law He! A Shu!"

He Guixiang had just started cooking the rice porridge when she heard Lin Zhaodi's excited call from the courtyard. It was clear she was there to share good news.

Lin Xiaopu had been out playing with Wang Yingen and the other children all morning and was now being kept indoors by Lin Shu to do homework.

Her handwriting had become very neat now, with clear strokes and well-formed characters.

When Lin Zhaodi arrived, Lin Xiaopu had just finished her last practice. After completing her lessons, she quickly put away her writing tools to clear the table.

Seeing that aside from He Guixiang and her two children, there were no outsiders around, Lin Zhaodi didn't need to hold back. She placed the money jar on the table and invited everyone to count the money.

"Sister-in-law He, A Shu, Xiao Pu, guess how much money I made today?!"

After this round of selling ice jelly, all of Lin Zhaodi's earlier worries and anxieties had vanished, replaced by sheer delight.

Lin Xiaopu had been looking forward to this and urged, "Aunt Lin, don't keep us in suspense! How much did you make today? Big Sister said she'd give me a share—there's money in there for me too!"

Lin Zhaodi chuckled. "I'm not sure exactly. Things were so busy there was no time to keep careful records. Brother Liao helped collect the money, so I brought the whole jar here. Well, all today's earnings are inside!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's pour it out and count it together," Lin Shu said, rubbing her hands.

She loved the sound of coins pouring out of the jar—it was much more satisfying than the clinking of a few coins dropping in.

At her word, Lin Zhaodi immediately poured out the money.

Unlike A Ye's casual method, she quickly upturned the money jar and then slowly lifted it, so the coins formed a neat little pile instead of scattering everywhere.

Lin Xiaopu gasped, her eyes shining.

So many!

Including Lin Xiaopu, the three adults and one child each took a small pile to count separately.

"I have 328 coins here," He Guixiang said first. She was experienced at counting money and finished quickly.

Lin Zhaodi had 353 coins, Lin Xiaopu had 309, and Lin Shu had 320.

To make the final tally easier, each person grouped their coins into piles of 100, with the leftovers set aside.

"Xiao Pu, you add it up," Lin Shu said, giving Lin Xiaopu a math problem on the spot.

Lin Xiaopu started with the whole piles: each person had three hundreds, so that was 1,200 coins. Then she added the leftovers. Using the two-digit addition method her big sister had taught her, she worked it out on paper and soon had the total. "Big Sister, the leftovers add up to exactly 120 coins. Plus the 1,200, that's 1,320 coins in total!"

This number stunned everyone.

One thousand, three hundred and twenty coins!

And this was just one day's earnings. My god, that's so much!

After the shock came overwhelming joy.

Who would have thought selling ice jelly could be so profitable? No wonder there were so many drink stalls on the street!

But Lin Shu said, "The ice was a novelty on the first day, a good gimmick. No one had tried it before, so everyone was willing to give it a taste. It's normal to earn more on the first day. The daily income will likely decline gradually in the days to come and eventually stabilize at a certain amount."

She had just calculated that Aunt Lin sold one hundred and ten bowls of ice jelly today. All of these had to be sold before the ice melted.

Her words did not dampen Lin Zhaodi's excitement. Even if the sales dropped later, how low could they go? Initially, she had thought selling thirty or forty bowls would be considered good, but today she sold over a hundred! Even if sales dropped later, they surely wouldn't fall below thirty bowls!

Lin Shu began dividing the money, first handing over ten percent to Lin Xiaopu. "One hundred and thirty-two coins. Keep this safe—this is your pocket money."

Xiao Pu happily took them and strung them together with a thin hemp rope.

Unbelievable—she now had her own little treasury! And from now on, the money in her little treasury would only grow!

"Mom, you get a share too, same as Xiao Pu—ten percent."

He Guixiang was stunned at first, then burst into joyful laughter. "A Shu, I get a share too?"

"Of course! Even brothers keep accounts clear. If you put in the work, you deserve to be paid. Not just you and Xiao Pu—A Ye gets a share too. Based on his labor, I'm giving him twenty percent. The remaining thirty percent is mine."

He Guixiang didn't refuse upon hearing this. Smiling, she accepted her share, holding the coins with a sense of novelty.

She didn't have any standout skills—just spinning hemp better than most. But despite her hard work spinning hemp, at the end of last month, the hemp collector only paid her seven coins per *jin*. For over fifty *jin* of hemp, she earned less than four hundred coins in total. And those fifty-plus *jin* of hemp—from cutting, soaking, washing, spinning, to twisting into thread and bundling—had cost her untold time and effort.

But this morning, all she did was help A Shu scrub and wash the pulp, and A Shu gave her over a hundred coins!

Comparing the two, He Guixiang couldn't help but sigh, doing business really is much more profitable than honestly spinning hemp or farming. No wonder so many families in town are engaged in trade.

Finally, it was Lin Zhaodi's turn.

The thirty percent Lin Shu had promised earlier amounted to three hundred ninety-six coins. Considering Aunt Lin had purchased many items for the ice jelly business herself, and the complimentary fruits were also prepared by Aunt Lin, Lin Shu added another two hundred coins, then rounded it up by four more coins, making six hundred coins in total.

Lin Zhaodi refused, firmly and resolutely. "A Shu, the things I bought were also for household use—you really don't need to give extra. The melons and peaches were bought cheaply in Sweetwater Village and the neighboring village—they didn't cost much."

Lin Shu smiled. "If it were for household use, would you need to buy four extra stools? And what about the many extra clay bowls and spoons? Not to mention the wooden buckets and basins—weren't those all additional purchases?"

Lin Zhaodi still refused. Not only did she refuse, she pushed half of the three hundred ninety-six coins back. "A Shu, the other day I troubled you and Sister-in-law He, using a lot of your firewood, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and eggs. I also still owe you for the wild duck I bought from you last time, and you've helped me so much. Two hundred coins should cover it, so today I'll only take half."

Lin Shu didn't accept. "If that's the case, then let's call it even. I won't give extra, and you don't need to repay what you owe. Just take what you deserve today."

After hesitating, Lin Zhaodi agreed.

She knew A Shu's temperament—there was no point arguing further.

Lin Xiaopu helped string together the three hundred ninety-six coins. Lin Zhaodi took the string of coins that belonged to her and stared at them, lost in thought.

Just today, she had earned nearly four hundred coins. Was she really not dreaming?