Look at what they wear, cotton and silk, the kind only the nobles of the grasslands have; look at where they live...

A characteristic of the Ming Dynasty's economy was the prosperity of the urban economy. For example, along the canal, due to the constant flow of merchant ships, surrounding cities such as Jining, Huai'an, and Yangzhou were very developed and prosperous.

When the Ming Dynasty was first established, Beijing, the former capital, had a population of just over 14,000 households. Over a century later, during the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, Beijing was already "populous and abundant in goods."

At this time, the traditional urban area could no longer accommodate the population and could only expand outward, the so-called "outer city".

From then on, the "outer city" has been the gathering place for merchants from outside the capital, and a large number of commercial stores have sprung up.

When the Ming Dynasty conducted a survey during the Jiajing period, Beijing's permanent population had exceeded one million, and it exceeded 1.2 million during the Tianqi period.

The population density alone is enough to shock visitors from the sparsely populated grassland.

"Ice Flower Dew, the palace's secret recipe for Ice Flower Dew!"

"Fruit shaved ice, a royal secret recipe!"

"Popsicles, popsicles, specially made by the Royal Cold Drink Factory!"

The hawker was shouting loudly, with a bowl of ice cubes next to him. He shook it in his hand from time to time, making a crisp sound.

Nuke wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up at the scorching sun, his face filled with surprise. Is this really ice? Where did he get it in the middle of summer?

Hu Dawei and several military academy students came to Beijing with Nuke to report the battle process in detail to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Martial Arts. They stared at this new thing with wide eyes and swallowed their saliva.

Hu Dawei couldn't help himself and asked, "What kind of ice is this? Popsicles, ice flower dew, how much is it?"

Seeing that it was an officer, the vendor immediately put on a smile and replied, "Thank you for your hard work, officer. These popsicles are two cents each, the ice flower dew is four cents, and the fruit shaved ice is..."

"Take ten or twelve popsicles and try them first." When Hu Dawei heard the price, he immediately waved his hands generously, "Come on, come on, come and try them, I'll treat you."

Everyone gathered around with smiles, took the popsicles that the vendor took out from the box covered with a quilt and oilcloth, looked at them with curiosity, and then tried to put them in their mouths.

Hu Dawei took a bite and chewed it happily, nodding as he ate. "Damn... this is a popsicle. It's made of real ice. It's so cool and comfortable."

Nuke also ate it and secretly admired it. The Ming Dynasty was really magical. I wonder how they made this thing. I wish I could eat it on the grassland...