Chapter 198: Another Bubble Tea Shop, Perhaps?
When Old Madam Luo was invited over, she was also startled by the massive pile of items.
“Rongrong, what are you doing? Why so many things—are you moving house? Are you done living with that man surnamed Xie?” The moment Old Madam Luo arrived, she sized up Qiu Rongrong’s plain and simple attire, and directly blurted out exactly what she was thinking.
Hearing these words, Qiu Rongrong burst out laughing without the slightest restraint.
“Grandma, no, how could I just stop living with him over nothing? He is still of some use to me. It’s just that Anyi wants to come live at your house.” Linking her arm with the old lady’s from the other side, Qiu Rongrong explained the whole situation to her.
Looking at this pile of items and the people who were gradually moving into the house, and then looking at the large house, Old Madam Luo felt a myriad of emotions welling up in her heart.
Fortunately, they had built the house large back then; even if a few more came, they would still fit.
However, they absolutely could not accept these gifts.
“We cannot take these gifts. Showing gratitude to the benefactor is our family’s business. If gratitude is to be shown, we should be the ones doing it. How can we use your gifts to repay our debt of gratitude? Take them back; we must not do this.” Old Madam Luo refused repeatedly.
Qiu Rongrong would not brook her refusal. “Oh, Grandma, don’t treat me like an outsider. Yao’er and I are just like real sisters. Besides, the things have already been carried here; how can we possibly carry them back? Let me tell you, this time the fabric shop below sent a few bolts of material. I saw that they are exceptionally suitable for making a few outfits for you, so I brought them along too. Qiaoyan, hurry and bring the fabric over for the old lady to look at.”
As she spoke, she linked her arm with Old Madam Luo’s and led her off to the side, not forgetting to wink at Wen Yao.
Watching Old Madam Luo being forcibly dragged away by Qiu Rongrong, Wen Yao smiled helplessly. This sister truly was… her banknote ability was so formidable that one couldn’t help but love it.
Sure enough, no woman could resist the temptation of beautiful clothes. Very quickly, the old lady’s attention was entirely captured by those lovely clothing fabrics.
Only after leaving Qiaoyan to keep Old Madam Luo company did Qiu Rongrong return to Wen Yao’s side, raising her eyebrows triumphantly. “How about that?”
Wen Yao silently gave her a big thumbs-up.
Qiu Rongrong smiled.
“By the way, when Anyi returned home the other day, he told me that you made some kind of shaved ice for him to eat. What exactly is that? Where did you get ice in this scorching weather? Anyi said you made it yourself? You actually know how to make ice?” A barrage of questions came crashing down from Qiu Rongrong, leaving Wen Yao at a loss as to which one to answer first.
“Sister, you’re asking so many questions at once, which one should I answer first?” Wen Yao burst out laughing.
“One by one. You know how to make ice? How come I’ve never heard you mention it?” Qiu Rongrong pulled her down to sit so they could talk slowly.
Wen Yao pursed her lips. “Well, it was discovered by pure coincidence.”
Hearing that she truly knew how, the expression on Qiu Rongrong’s face instantly turned ecstatic. “Do you have any idea how much money this coincidence of yours can make you?”
Initially, Wen Yao had just thought about producing a bit of ice. Had milk not been so difficult to come by, she would have wanted to make some ice cream too; she hadn’t expected it to turn out like this by a twist of fate.
She heard Qiu Rongrong continue, “Our Annan Kingdom isn’t considered a very cold country. Every winter, only the towns and cities close to the north can store ice, which is dug out from rivers and lakes and then stored in ice cellars to be kept and sold in the summer of the following year.
“You should know that during the scorching summer, this ice is exceptionally popular among the nobility and wealthy families. Every year, they spend large sums of money to buy ice in the winter, storing it to beat the heat in the summer. If you truly know how to make ice, then even in the summer, we will have a continuous stream of ice to use. Wouldn’t you say that can make money?”
Wen Yao’s eyes grew brighter the more she listened. No wonder this sister suited her taste so well; both of them had their eyes entirely fixed on making money.
“If you can trust me, hand this method of making ice over to me. My father and my eldest brother run a massive business that spans across the country, and they have the channels too. It will be far more convenient for them to market it than for us. Rest assured, I won’t take your recipe for nothing; I definitely won’t treat you unfairly. You name a price.” Qiu Rongrong spoke with complete solemnity, which was also another purpose of her visit today.
In truth, Qiu Rongrong was genuinely good to them. This sister had a sharp mind and was very loyal, so Wen Yao naturally trusted her. Furthermore, what Qiu Rongrong said was also correct; during this era, there were specialized ice merchants, but they merely made a hefty sum in the winter, earning only once a year.
However, with this method of making ice, this business wasn’t something that could only be done in the winter; ice in the summer might even be sold at a higher price than ice in the winter.
Moreover, once they had ice, there were simply too many things they could do.
“Sister is treating me like an outsider by saying that. I’ll write down the method for making ice for you right now.” As Wen Yao spoke, she led Qiu Rongrong back to her room.
After writing down the method for making ice and the exact measurements for the saltpeter, she handed it directly to Qiu Rongrong.
To avoid suspicion, after entering the room, Qiu Rongrong had gone off on her own to look at the decorations and ornaments in Wen Yao’s room, not casting a single glance toward the writing desk.
Now that Wen Yao was handing the method directly to her, Qiu Rongrong didn’t take it immediately.
“Sister, you haven’t said how much money you want yet,” Qiu Rongrong said.
Wen Yao stuffed the paper into her hand. “What money? Just take it and use it. However, Sister, although we can’t make big fortunes with this, do you want to make a bit of pocket change using ice?”
Holding the piece of paper, Qiu Rongrong stood completely motionless.
“Sister, you really don’t want money? Do you know that this method of making ice is truly hard to obtain even for a thousand pieces of gold?” Qiu Rongrong said.
Wen Yao waved her hand. “If it were anyone else, I would definitely demand a high price, but since it’s you, Sister, I’m giving it to you.”
Qiu Rongrong was incredibly moved. She stepped forward and wrapped Wen Yao in a full embrace. “You truly are my own sister.”
Wen Yao was utterly dumbfounded by this sister’s uninhibited gesture. How is this a bashful and reserved ancient woman? She’s just a step away from pouncing and kissing me directly.
Only after putting the method away carefully did Qiu Rongrong say, “You mentioned making a bit of pocket change just now. What pocket change? Tell me.” As for the favor regarding the ice-making method, Qiu Rongrong kept it in her heart, and she wouldn’t treat Wen Yao unfairly either.
Wen Yao’s idea was simple. In the height of summer, if one could have a refreshing cup of an ice-cold drink, wouldn’t that be absolutely delightful?
Wen Yao explained it to Qiu Rongrong this way and that way, until Qiu Rongrong’s eyes shone so brightly they seemed about to catch fire.
“Sister, how exactly is that little head of yours wired? Each of your ideas is better than the last! Tell me what needs to be done, and I will follow all your arrangements.”
Wen Yao pulled her closer, and the two whispered and muttered in the room for a couple of hours, only pausing the topic when Old Madam Luo called out to them from outside.
“Once I return, I will immediately have people look for a shop. Sister, don’t rush either; you refine our plan for opening the shop a bit more. As for the drinks and whatnot sold inside, I’ll be counting on you. I don’t even know which way the kitchen door opens, so I won’t waste my mental energy on that; it’s more practical for me to just honestly fork out the silver.” Qiu Rongrong had a very clear understanding of her own position.
Wen Yao was thoroughly amused by her, promising that she would have everything ready to go find her very soon, and only then did the two go out.
Qiu Rongrong stayed until the afternoon before heading back, lest that old woman at home stir up trouble again. Once she left, Wen Yao finally told Wen Xiuyi about the matter they had discussed.
“What? You didn’t drink enough bubble tea in your past life, so you’re going to open a bubble tea shop here yourself?” Wen Xiuyi was completely speechless. To people of his generation, the bubble tea young people loved to drink was just junk food filled with a bunch of additives—not nearly as practical as a cup of plain boiled water. But there was nothing to be done about it; young people just liked it.
However, what left him even more speechless was this endless string of projects his daughter kept digging up. With great difficulty, the duck sheds and fish ponds were finally starting to see returns, the barren mountains had just been cleared, and the winery wasn’t even built yet—and now she was going to open a bubble tea shop.
Day in and day out, he might as well just go tend to his fields.
