That night, Yan Xia hid in her room and used her last points to buy a one-time transformation talisman and a small packet of instant ice jelly powder.

They went up the mountain and picked a lot of poisonous mushrooms.

These poisonous mushrooms are not the kind with red caps and white stems.

It was just a regular brown mushroom.

It won't be fatal if you eat it, but it will cause severe stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, and the symptoms will not improve until three days later.

After drying and grinding the mushrooms into powder, she mixed the mushroom powder with ice jelly powder in a 1:3 ratio and put it into a jar.

Stir well until the color is roughly the same.

Difficult to distinguish.

The remaining ice jelly powder was then used to cover the top of the jar, making a full three-centimeter-thick layer.

When tasting, only the top layer is scooped out, making it difficult to detect problems with the ice jelly.

Even if you accidentally ingest some, the dosage will be too small to have much effect.

"Mom, why are you drying these mushrooms? They give me a stomachache."

Wang Jingshui frequently went into the mountains and knew about medicinal herbs, so he could naturally distinguish whether a fungus was poisonous.

"Oh, there are rats in the shop. I heard from the neighbor that if you dry these mushrooms, grind them into powder, and mix them into the grain, you can kill the rats. That way, you can save money on rat poison."

The younger daughter-in-law is rather naive; she was easily fooled with just a few words.

After Yan Xia finished everything, she quietly put the jar into her spatial storage.

Silently waiting until noon on the seventh day, she and her children, under the pretext of buying melons and fruits, hid in the alley that Zheng Yangliu often walked, lit the talisman, and in less than a second.

She went from a beautiful woman to an old woman.

Even her long, black hair had turned completely white.

There wasn't a single flaw to be found.

After waiting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, I finally saw him.

Yan Xia sat on the ground, lowered her voice, and made an unpleasant, broken gong sound as she quietly called out her wares.

"Take a look, everyone! Fresh ice jelly, just add water and you can eat it. It's the same as the one from Yan's Pastry Shop, only two strings of cash, take the whole jar home!"

One sentence was enough to make Zheng Yangliu stop in her tracks.

He's been really annoyed lately. It's been seven days, and he hasn't seen Guihua at all. He doesn't know what's wrong with Guihua; she's hiding in the shop and won't come out no matter what. So he pretended to buy some pastries and sneaked off to Yan's Pastry Shop, only to find that all the pastries there were ridiculously expensive.

He couldn't afford any of them; he had already spent most of the half tael of silver that Brother Zhou had given him.

They all went to brothels to play with.

These past two days, he hasn't dared to wander around Brother Zhou's shop.

She was afraid he would see her.

People would sneak into Yan's Pastry Shop by hiding in the crowd.

Unable to afford the pastries, they naturally fled in disarray.

What to do? Zheng Yangliu was extremely annoyed.

He was just about to walk through this alley to a tavern on another street for a drink.

Then I heard an old woman hawking ice jelly.

Ice jelly?

Isn't this the same ice jelly sold at Yan's Pastry Shop? A cup costs half a tael of silver.

What Brother Zhou wants is the secret recipe of Yan's Pastry Shop.

Heaven itself came to his aid.

"Grandma, is this ice jelly real? You're not selling a fake, are you?"

Zheng Yangliu was somewhat suspicious. The price was too cheap, and if she was going to sell something, why wasn't she selling it on a busy street? What was she selling in this alley? Was she selling it to ghosts?

"Of course it's true. You think Yan's ice jelly is homemade? She bought it. It's a specialty of our hometown, Wuhuan County. I've been married to Shuangqiao Town for many years, so of course I know how to make it. I just didn't expect that my local specialty would be sold at such a high price by that unscrupulous shop. I originally sold it in Shuangqiao, but I was scolded by the waiter of Yan's pastry shop, so I had to hide here to sell it. Although there aren't many people in the alley, some shopkeepers occasionally pass by on their way home. I've already sold one jar. The man said he runs a pastry shop in the next county. Here, there's one last jar left. Do you want it? Come on, try it."

Yan Xia took out a bowl and a pot of warm water from beside her.

I scooped a spoonful of ice jelly from the jar into a bowl, poured in most of the water, and then rinsed it.

It only lasted a dozen seconds.

The ice jelly then solidified.

As expected of a product from Space, it's awesome.

"The ice jelly is still warm. Put it in the well to cool it down, then add some sugar water, fruits, and other ingredients. It will taste delicious, and the flavor will be exactly the same as the one sold at Yan's Pastry Shop."

Yan Xia handed the bowl and spoon containing the ice jelly to Zheng Yangliu in front of her.

The latter picked up a spoon and took a bite. Although it didn't have much flavor, the texture was exactly the same as the ice jelly he had seen at Yan's Pastry Shop.

It's just not as crystal clear.

It's a bit cloudy.

However, it only costs two strings of cash to buy such a large jar, and a small spoonful is enough to make a large bowl of soup.

It's already very cheap.

Zheng Yangliu suppressed her joy.

He spoke without any expression.

"This ice jelly doesn't look as good as the one from Yan's shop. There are quite a few impurities. Two strings of cash is too expensive. However, I'm always kind-hearted. Although it's autumn, the late summer heat is still quite intimidating. Look how hot you are, I can't bear to see you like this. How about this, 150 coins, I'll buy it. What do you say?"

Zheng Yangliu only had 180 coins left.

With the remaining 30 coins, he could still afford a cup of the cheapest sake.

"That won't do. You're offering a discount of fifty coins. You're too good at bargaining. Young master, you look like a rich man. Don't try to haggle with an old woman like me. Here's what we'll do: I'll sell it to you for 180 coins, since you're a regular customer. If you eat well and sell well, remember to come to this alley to find me on the 8th and 15th of each month. I only sell for two days a month."

Yan Xia had no idea how much money he had left.

It was all just a coincidence.

"Alright."

Zheng Yangliu thought that once she handed the ice jelly to Brother Zhou, she could get the remaining four and a half ounces. It was expensive, so she thought.

Once the money is in hand, why bother drinking sake?

Go straight to the Drunken Red Mansion for wine and women, and find the most beautiful prostitutes to keep you company.

Feels so good and refreshed.

The money was exchanged for the goods, and Zheng Yangliu left.

Yan Xia quickly flashed into the space and waited for the talisman's duration to expire.

She just came out.

Meanwhile, at Zhouji's shop...

Zhou Laocai looked at the jar of ice jelly in front of him with unusual excitement.

He came up with this idea thanks to the beatings Yan had given him and his son some time ago, as well as his cousin's year-end audit.

This year's turnover is less than 30% of last year's.

If my cousin finds out, he'll definitely shut this shop down.

So where does he go to make his money?

If things get even worse, his cousin might discover problems with the previous years' account books and realize that he had embezzled money.

Then his whole family would be finished.

Although he wouldn't go to jail, he would definitely be expelled from the clan.

What face will they have left to stay in Shuangqiao Town then?

Zhou Laocai had the pastry chef make ice jelly according to the steps Zheng Yangliu had described.

Half an hour later, the ice jelly had cooled down and was filled with brown sugar syrup, as well as chopped pears and orange segments.

The father and son picked up their bowls and each took a big bite.

It has a perfect balance of sweet and sour.

The heat on my body instantly disappeared by more than half.