Chapter 192: New Product

Chapter 192: New Product

Zhang Lamei found Lin Shu's family unlucky, and Lin Shu felt the same about her.

If they were truly saddled with such a toxic relative, their home would likely never know peace.

This time, when her uncle's family came knocking, Lin Shu actually felt relieved. Otherwise, she'd constantly worry about when they might suddenly reappear to claim kinship.

Lin Dashan was deeply sentimental and easily swayed, while his mother was tougher but kind-hearted. This time, it was because Aunt's family was insatiably greedy and their sob story failed to hit the mark that Mother didn't fall for it.

So, let them make a scene—the bigger the better this time. After the commotion, everyone would know the two families had severed ties for good. Even if their family prospered in the future, Uncle's family wouldn't have a chance of latching on again.

However—A Ye seemed displeased that she used her health as an excuse to send them away.

Lin Shu hugged him and playfully clung to him, "It's fine. Even if all the villagers know I'm a delicate, sickly person, so what? We live our own lives; I don't care what others say."

Zhou Ye frowned, "A Shu, if you want to cut ties with Uncle's family completely, we can find another way. Don't curse yourself."

Lin Shu chuckled, "If saying I'm unwell makes it true, then if I say I'm strong and powerful like you, would I become that way too?"

Zhou Ye helplessly ruffled her hair, "I know you don't mind these things, but A Shu, I mind."

"Then shall I soothe your poor frightened heart tonight?" Lin Shu leaned close to his ear and whispered something that made Zhou Ye's ears instantly flush crimson.

Most villagers in Sweetwater Village were simple and honest; extreme cases like Aunt were rare. Lin Shu still enjoyed her days of eating, drinking, and playing in the village.

However, after this incident, Aunt spread word far and wide that Lin Shu was a delicate, sickly person. When walking through the village, people often looked at her with strange eyes—mostly pity and sighs, but a few taking pleasure in her misfortune.

Poor people couldn't afford to get sick; an illness cost a fortune. Everyone thought Lin Laoer's family was about to start living well, but then this happened. Those who had considered borrowing money from Lin Laoer's family dropped the idea and even avoided getting too close, afraid they might be asked for loans instead.

He Guixiang was glad for the peace and quiet. She had no desire to deal with villagers suddenly trying to get chummy. Sweetwater Village was small, and people could always find some relation to cozy up. But those who were truly close wouldn't distance themselves because of A Shu's health, like Zhang Qiaohua's family, Lin Zhaodi's family, and Li Chunmiao's family.

Even the families of Xiao Pu's young followers were more grateful and friendly than distant.

Actually, most villagers were good-hearted and would still exchange a few words with the young couple, Zhou Ye and Lin Shu, when they met.

Aside from this, life after marriage didn't change much for the couple, except Zhou Ye spent less time in the fields and more time with Lin Shu.

In their free time, they would go to the mountains to gather mushrooms and fruits. At noon, Zhou Ye would teach Lin Shu characters, though sometimes the lesson would lead to a nap in bed, during which his hands and mouth would wander, always leaving Lin Shu blushing and flustered.

The creeping figs in the mountains were ripening one after another, and the prickly pears were fully ripe. More wild fruits appeared—ground figs, mountain grapes, wild kiwis, sour jujubes—and the hawthorns in the hills began to turn red, though many fruits tasted sweeter after the first frost.

Zhou Ye held Lin Shu's hand openly as they walked on the village paths, no longer hiding like before.

Villagers who saw them holding hands would smile kindly, while sassier women might tease them. Lin Shu often acted the part of the bashful new wife, leaving the rest to A Ye.

The mountains were Zhou Ye's domain; he always knew where to find abundant mushrooms or fruits, and which spots villagers avoided. He'd pick the thickest, largest tree, press Lin Shu against it, and kiss her fiercely—not just kissing, but also tasting her sweet nectar, reducing her to a whimpering mess.

Once, Zhou Ye took Lin Shu far away to a secluded cave near a waterfall pool. The cave wasn't damp inside.

Zhou Ye blocked the entrance with a large rock, leaving only the two of them inside.

A crack in the ceiling let in light, so it wasn't pitch dark.

Lin Shu saw thick dry grass spread on the ground, as if someone had stayed there multiple times.

Before she could ponder further, Zhou Ye had already taken off his clothes to lay them down and, with a gasp from her, had her pinned beneath him.

Soon, the cave echoed with shameful smacking sounds, splashing, and impacts.

Lin Shu was driven to tears several times. Zhou Ye was like a wild beast in the mountains; the more she cried, the more excited he became.

In the thatched cottage, there were too many restraints, and Zhou Ye disliked it when she suppressed her sounds. Outside was different; he always found ways to make her cry out, and the sound was so enchanting it felt like his soul was floating.

After working her over, he'd hold and comfort her, kissing her until she was drenched, then cleaning her up completely.

Lin Shu thought Zhou Ye shouldn't be called Zhou Ye; he should be called Zhou the Beast. In front of others, he acted like an honest man, but with her, he was anything but proper!

...

"A Ye, look! There are so many creeping figs here!" Lin Shu and Zhou Ye each carried a basket, but after half a day, they were only half-full, mainly because Zhou Ye was a scoundrel who was always distracted.

Zhou Ye set down his basket, leaped up lightly, and pulled down the creeping fig vines from the old tree, deftly picking the ripe fruits.

Creeping figs could be dried and stored, so they gathered as many as possible. Prickly pears could be made into prickly pear paste, and they didn't mind having extra.

They also picked various wild fruits, especially those with natural pigments, perfect for coloring the ice jelly made from creeping figs.

The two returned home laden with goods, finding only He Guixiang mending clothes.

"A Shu, this wild fruit doesn't seem edible. Why did you pick so much?" He Guixiang looked at the creeping figs in the basket.

Lin Shu explained with a smile, "A-niang, this is a treasure no less valuable than Grass Jelly Plant. It can also be used to make ice jelly. It's called creeping fig, also known as wooden lotus, so the ice jelly made from it is called wooden lotus tofu.

We've been selling ice jelly made from Grass Jelly Plant every day, and we've nearly picked the mountains clean of it. Just two days ago, Aunt Lin was worried that our supply was running low. But now the creeping figs are ripe, perfect timing to switch to!

The ice jelly made from creeping fig is pale, so we can use wild fruit juices to dye it various colors. You'll understand once I make it."

He Guixiang got excited and quickly put down her work to help Lin Shu process the creeping figs.

Zhou Ye, seeing no help was needed here, decided to go to the fields. He worked quickly; even an hour there would allow him to help Lin Dashan with plenty of tasks.

"Go ahead then. I'll save helpings for you and Dad!"

Zhou Ye looked at her smiling face, his expression softening as he straightened up the items in her basket before leaving.

Lin Shu crouched beside him, watching him work like a little mushroom sprouted by a tree stump.

He Guixiang watched the couple's lovey-dovey behavior and chuckled inwardly—newlyweds indeed, still in that newlywed bubble.

"A Ye, drink some water before you go," Lin Shu reminded him.

Zhou Ye had already stepped out but turned back to drink a bowl of water.

After Zhou Ye finally left, Lin Shu stretched to watch him go, then turned back to see A-niang's knowing smile.

"If you really don't want to be apart from A Ye, just tell him not to go to the fields. He listens to you."

Lin Shu quickly shook her head, "What's the fun in sticking together all the time? We'd get sick of each other."

He Guixiang smiled at her, not calling her on it.

"A-niang, no distractions now; let's continue making ice jelly."

"Alright, alright, I won't talk about A Ye anymore."

Making ice jelly with creeping fig fruit mainly uses the seeds inside the fruit, but creeping fig fruits are divided into male and female. Male fruits don't have seeds inside; you need to use the female fruits.

Cut the female fruits in half; inside, there are plenty of small seeds like sesame seeds. These seeds are rich in pectin, similar to the leaves of the Grass Jelly Plant.

However, making ice jelly with the seeds of creeping fig fruit is even simpler than using the Grass Jelly Plant. It doesn't require using plant ash as a coagulant; it solidifies directly after rubbing.

Following Lin Shu's instructions, He Guixiang cut all the collected creeping fig fruits in half. She discarded the male fruits and scooped out the seeds from the female fruits. She set aside what they would eat that day and laid out the remaining seeds with their shells on a large bamboo sieve, placing it in a shady spot to dry.

Drying with the shells on in the shade best preserves the pectin in the seeds. If stored properly, they can last for a year or so. Of course, they'd likely be eaten up long before that.

The extracted fine seeds were wrapped in gauze and rubbed repeatedly in mountain spring water. This process produced a large amount of thick, viscous liquid.

While He Guixiang was rubbing the seeds to extract the liquid, Lin Shu wasn't just sitting around either. She separately mashed the wild fruits they had picked to extract their juices, which she then used to make colored fruit juices.

The ground fig, also known as "fragrant ground berry," is sweet, juicy, and yields a purplish-red juice.

The wild grapes have small, sparse clusters and are deep purplish-black. They have a strong sweet and sour taste, and the extracted juice is purplish-black.

The wild kiwifruits are only about the size of quail eggs. When ripe, they are fragrant with a sweet and sour taste, and the extracted juice is yellowish-green.

The prickly pears are golden in color, tart with a sweet aftertaste, and the extracted juice is orange-yellow.

The liquid obtained from rubbing the creeping fig seeds was divided into four portions. Each portion was mixed with one of the four colored fruit juices and stirred. The not-yet-solidified ice jelly quickly took on the colors of the juices, looking really pretty! Not only did it gain color, but it also carried a faint, pleasant aroma of the fruits, some sweet and sour, some just sweet.

The liquid contained some residue, so it needed to be filtered. After filtering, it was left to solidify.

Ice jelly made from rubbed creeping fig seeds solidifies relatively slowly. At room temperature, it might take one to two hours, but because the mountain spring water was cool, it only took about an hour and a half to solidify.

By the time Lin Zhaodi came to settle accounts after selling the ice jelly, the ice jelly made from creeping fig seeds had almost solidified.

Lin Zhaodi was pleasantly surprised when she saw it. "A Shu, what's this? So many colors, as clear as amber! It looks delicious just by appearance!"

Lin Shu laughed, "Aunt Lin, you've probably guessed it. We're running low on ice jelly made from Grass Jelly Plant, so it's perfect timing to launch a new product."

As they chatted, Lin Shu had already prepared three bowls of the ice jelly, scooping two spoonfuls of each color into each bowl.

She didn't add any fruits or beans this time, only drizzled a spoonful of rock sugar syrup over each.

Lin Zhaodi ate very slowly, savoring each color of ice jelly carefully. The more she tasted, the more excited she became. "A Shu, did you add wild fruits to this? What a great idea! I have a feeling that once this new ice jelly is launched, even more people will buy it!"

He Guixiang was also full of praise. "It has a refreshing fragrance of wild fruits, and the texture is smoother, more tender, and refreshing than our previous version."

Lin Shu ate hers with a spoon, looking very satisfied. The ice jelly made from Grass Jelly Plant was more like tofu, while the one made from creeping fig seeds had a texture more like jelly, undoubtedly smoother and more tender.

And this was without even being chilled! It would taste even better if chilled.

The creeping fig fruits on the mountain weren't as plentiful as the Grass Jelly Plant, so they could sell this new ice jelly for a higher price.

"Aunt Lin, the raw material for this new ice jelly is hard to find. Let's sell it for fifteen coins per bowl. We don't need to make too much each day, thirty or forty portions will be enough. It'll be first come, first served for the customers."

"Sure thing!" Lin Zhaodi responded enthusiastically.

Now, her ice jelly stall was already popular. A Shu had suggested she give it a name. Since both she and A Shu shared the surname Lin, she decided to call it "Lin Family Ice Jelly."

Many ladies and young misses in the town enjoyed eating her ice jelly and even specifically sent their maids or servants to wait in line to buy it.

Of course, the process of selling the ice jelly wasn't entirely smooth sailing. At one point, someone approached her, wanting to buy the recipe for making ice. There were plenty who used pressure or enticements. Lin Zhaodi was really annoyed. Later, A Shu came up with an idea: they signed a contract with a prominent and influential family in Jingxi Town.

That family was a local powerful clan that managed many shops. They saw the business opportunity in ice-making. Because their attitude was friendly, Lin Shu agreed to meet with them.

After discussions, Lin Shu agreed to sell the ice-making method to them, but only after three months. By three months later, the hot weather would be over, and there wouldn't be much use for ice afterwards. This essentially meant letting the other party enter the ice business only after the next summer started. That family was quite reasonable and agreed to all the conditions Lin Shu proposed.

Under the protection of this local powerful family, no one dared to cause trouble for Lin Zhaodi's ice jelly stall anymore.

Initially, Lin Zhaodi worried needlessly that her stall's business might suffer next year. But later, she thought it through.

Without protection, her stall would likely encounter many troubles. Earning a bit less money was a small price to pay for peace and stability. It wasn't a loss.

Thinking about the colorful new ice jelly she would launch tomorrow, Lin Zhaodi left feeling very happy.

With A Shu around, even if she lost the advantage of having chilled ice next year, she wasn't worried about the business of her ice jelly stall!

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Author's Note: Ahem~ Regarding that mention of "wild fun in a cave" in this chapter, I'll write a detailed extra chapter about it after the main story is finished.