The fertile land is quite large; it took several thousand people to cultivate and plant it back then, and the harvest is the same now.

Ningjialiangtian has become bustling again, with thousands of workers toiling away every day.

Similarly, Ning Yao had thought of many ways to cool off and relieve the heat.

First, there's the issue of food in hot weather. When it's hot, cooked food simply can't be stored properly. Food that isn't finished in the morning will have an unpleasant smell by noon.

Even though this slight anomaly is almost negligible to ordinary people.

But in Ning Yao's opinion, spoiled food is inedible.

The good thing is that it's hot, so I don't have to worry about eating cold food.

Two meals a day, at noon and in the afternoon, with meat and vegetables, until you are full.

In addition, there was a medicinal decoction to relieve heatstroke. Dozens of pots were boiled, and everyone had to drink at least one bowl a day.

Finally, there's the matter of daily prevention. To this end, Ning Yao even found a way to make ice. The edible ice cubes she made were added to the cooked mung bean soup and kept on hand so that the workers could drink it anytime.

The workers were so well-fed that they worked with great enthusiasm. Rumors even circulated in and around Licheng that the manor owner used tens of thousands of kilograms of ice just to help the workers cool off in the summer.

If a worker happens to overhear this, he will simply say calmly, "I work there too. Let me clarify, this isn't a rumor, it's true."

For a time, everyone envied them.

Last year's drought meant that many wealthy households did not have enough ice to store, making this summer difficult.

Some people even inquired whether the ice block could be sold.

"Is that really true?" Ning Yao was surprised, and she quickly began to think about it.

The method for making ice is very simple; anyone could do it if you told them.

But now that we have this in our own hands, we have the upper hand.

These people don't lack money, they lack variety.

Thinking of this, Ning Yao quickly wrote something down on the paper.

"I remember there were two teahouses in town?"

"Miss, there are two teahouses not far from Pinglan Tower."

"Let's make some simple renovations to these two teahouses and start selling ice! Here are the blueprints."

"Also, find a few clever and quick-witted people from your family. I have some things to tell them starting tomorrow."

Zhilan said, "This servant understands!"

The next morning, Zhilan selected six servants, three men and three women.

"Greetings, Third Miss."

"Get up, what are your names?"

"My servants are fragrant clouds, fragrant jade, and fragrant wisdom. My servants are wood cang, wood bamboo, and wood mountain."

Ning Yao nodded: "Who among you can cook?"

The three maids said they knew a little bit of each skill.

"Alright, then you'll stay with me for the next few days."

Time flew by, and the ten-day period was over.

Of the ten days, Ning Yao spent five training sessions for Xiang Yun and the others.

It took another five days to send them to Pinglan Tower for practical training.

From ice making to beverage preparation, Ning Yao personally oversees every step.

The drinks produced during those five days of training alone almost made everyone in my family throw up.

Only two people kept drinking despite their efforts. One was Ning Yiyi, who was small and had poor self-control. Ning Qiong restricted her to only drink half a cup a day.

The other person is Hua Yan.

Hua Yan seems to be particularly afraid of the heat. Once summer arrives, she spends almost the entire day hiding in her room, except for morning training.

Everyone else had gotten a shade darker, but his skin remained fair.

After learning that Ning Yao had such good things, he spent almost all his time at Qin Yao Pavilion.

He arrived before sunrise and left after sunset.

When Ning Yao's cold drinks were launched at Pinglanlou, they instantly became a sensation throughout Licheng.

This brought Pinglanlou's business to a new level.

Meanwhile, Ning Yao was overwhelmed with orders, almost all of which were for ice.

The two teahouses didn't undergo major changes; they simply replaced the tables and chairs and changed the interior decoration to cool colors, making them look a bit more refreshing.

One teahouse became a cold drink shop, and another teahouse became an ice cream shop.

The reputation of the cold drinks had already spread, and the restaurant was packed with guests on opening day.

Xiangyun and her six companions were so busy they barely had time to breathe.

In less than half a day, all the prepared materials were sold out.

Those who couldn't buy cold drinks flocked to the shop next door.

The ice shop had already started making ice day and night when Ning Yao was training Xiangyun and the other six.

By the time the store opened, it had accumulated hundreds of thousands of kilograms of ice. However, even with so much ice, it would run out in just three or four days.

Ning Yao did not limit the quantity, but instead increased the speed of ice production to at least meet the needs of Licheng.

Ice costs five coins per pound, minimum order is one hundred pounds.

In Ning Yao's view, even if it's only one penny per pound, she's still making a profit.

But since you're in business, how could you not make money?

Putting everything else aside, at the very least, the workers should be paid their wages!

I did a quick calculation and found that 100,000 catties of ice sold for 500 taels of silver.

The workers were all servants from the household, and they all received a monthly allowance. With a little extra for each of them, it didn't cost much.

Ning Yao's ice cubes received unanimous praise as soon as they were put on sale.

Five coins a pound is considered cheap.

In the past, every household had the habit of storing ice, but unfortunately, there were limited ways to preserve it.

If you store ten pounds of ice in winter, you're lucky if you can keep half of it by the following summer.

Most of the time, they have no choice but to buy ice, which is not cheap.

Families who can afford ice are generally well-off.

Since I've chosen to buy ice, I won't be stingy with the money.

Therefore, in previous years, Licheng, or rather most cities, had vendors who sold ice, and the prices were ridiculously high.

It was reserved for the masters, and only the maids and servants who served them closely could feel the coolness brought by the ice.

Things are different now. Ice costs five coins a pound, and you can easily take three or four hundred pounds at a time, costing only a few taels of silver.

A few taels of silver can buy three or four hundred catties of ice, enough to enjoy for a whole day.

No matter which room you're in, put a bowl of ice in it, and you'll feel cool wherever you go.

The ice shop's business was at its peak for the first three days. After that, business gradually got on track, and each shop signed a contract with the ice shop, agreeing to come and take away a certain amount of ice every day.

Inside the Ning family manor, Ning Yao remained very busy.

Two months ago, restaurants and inns opened one after another, and now Jishetang, ice shops, and cold drink shops are also on the right track.

The next thing to prepare for the opening of the grain shop is to start harvesting the grain from the fields.

After being hulled and dried, they can be sold in grain shops.

There were three grain shops, but they were scattered and not together.

I remember last time I looked through the property deeds, I found that she also owned three grain shops, three clothing shops, one pharmacy, two cloth shops, and five general stores.

Excluding the pharmacy, there are actually thirteen other shops.

There seem to be a lot of them, but they're all too scattered.

It is precisely for this reason that these shops did not reopen immediately like Shuiyunjian.