Chen Danian was puzzled and disagreed with what he said—what kind of brain could that old hag have?
However, he couldn't refuse his future father-in-law, so he smiled and nodded, agreeing perfunctorily, "What you said makes sense."
Seeing that he still didn't understand, Master Zhao gave him further guidance:
"Moreover, I heard that her sweet soup is quite special; it actually contains ice. In such hot weather, even in the capital, ice is a rare sight. Where did she, a country girl, get so much ice?"
Perhaps there's some special method for making ice? But what method could it be, that's so miraculous?
Chen Danian was originally quite clever, but he had been so focused on calming Master Zhao down that he hadn't quite grasped the situation. Now that he had come to his senses, he looked at Master Zhao's meaningful expression and immediately understood what he meant.
It turns out that his summons today was not a pretense to annul the engagement, but rather a pretext for something else!
What Master Zhao was after was naturally the old woman's ice-making method.
Thinking of this, Chen Danian, in order to verify his conjecture, tentatively asked:
"I heard Juan'er say before that the weather is hot now, and the kitchen is like an oven. Many ingredients spoil after being left out for a while, which is a lot of waste. If we had these ice blocks, we could save a lot of money."
Master Zhao's eyes flashed, and he laughed heartily, "You call yourself a scholar? How could you not know? The claim that ice is more valuable than gold is an exaggeration, but buying such a small piece of ice..."
He gestured with his hand, then said, "It's only this big, but that amount of money could buy a day's worth of vegetables! If we use ice to keep it fresh, not only will we not save any money, we'll lose money!"
"Buying ice is obviously not cost-effective. But if we knew how to make ice..."
"Oh? You mean you have a way to get your hands on the ice-making method? Well, you and she were once husband and wife. But..." Master Zhao feigned hesitation, "But you're divorced now. Would she really tell you the method?"
Chen Danian smiled slightly: "Uncle Zhao, don't worry. Even though she divorced me, it was out of desperation. In reality, she still has feelings for me. As long as I use a little trick, she will definitely hand over the ice-making method obediently!"
Seeing his confidence, Master Zhao finally felt relieved: "Then I'll wait for your good news, my dear son-in-law!"
Chen Danian knew he had temporarily passed this hurdle and finally breathed a sigh of relief before daring to ask to see Zhao Juan.
Unexpectedly, Master Zhao used the excuse that important business was at hand to serve tea and see the guest out.
Helpless, Chen Danian had no choice but to take his leave. But as soon as he stepped out of the Zhao residence, the timid expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a gloomy look in his eyes.
After returning home, Chen Danian called his son Chen Yaozu over and carefully inquired about what had happened at the dock that day.
"What did you say? That old hag's dessert stall can actually earn more than ten taels of silver a day?" Chen Danian's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets after hearing his son's words.
He had initially thought that even if that bitch set up a stall, she would barely earn enough to make ends meet. Who would have thought she would earn more in a day than he did in a year!
"You didn't miscalculate, did you!"
He thought his son was exaggerating, so he confirmed with him repeatedly, forcing Chen Yaozu to swear to heaven and earth: "If my son couldn't even do such a small number after studying for so many days, his teacher would have beaten me to death long ago!"
"Her 'Fairy Round' drink, ten coins a bowl, I heard from the customers she sells over a thousand bowls a day! And those popsicles, even though they're only three coins each, there must be hundreds of them, right? My son is underestimating how much he makes a day—"
He held up two short, chubby fingers and waved them in front of his father and grandmother.
"My goodness! They earn so much in a day! How much silver would that be in a year?!" Granny Lü exclaimed.
She counted on her fingers for a long time, but still couldn't figure out exactly how much it was. However, she became even more excited—there was so much silver that she couldn't count it all!
"That damned, short-lived woman! Why didn't she bring up such a lucrative scheme sooner? Now that we're divorced, she pulls it out! I told you long ago, this bitch doesn't treat us like family. Look at that now! She's been keeping her distance from us!"
Granny Lü slapped her thigh in exasperation and cursed viciously.
Not only that, she also pulled Chen Yaozu over, hugged him tightly, and cried out:
"Yaozu, it's one thing for her to be wary of us, but you were born from her womb! How come she doesn't even care about you? What a tragedy, my grandson! You have such a hard life, even your own mother isn't on your side!"
Chen Yaozu already harbored resentment towards Gan Li because of what happened at the docks. Now, with Granny Lü's instigation, both old and new grudges resurfaced, making him hate Gan Li even more.
"She's not my mother! I don't have such a vicious mother!" he said viciously, his fat face flushed red with anger, waving his fists forcefully as if Gan Li were right in front of him.
Granny Lü successfully provoked her grandson's anger towards that vile woman, but she didn't feel as happy as she had imagined. Instead, she felt like she had a pent-up anger, and the more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt.
It's all that bitch's fault for hiding such a lucrative recipe. If she had revealed it sooner, all this money would be theirs now.
"No way!!" Granny Lü slammed her hand on the table, gritting her teeth, "She completely fooled us, we can't let this go so easily!"
This matter won't be over until we've taken a huge chunk of flesh from that bitch!
In Granny Lü's opinion, the money that Gan Li earned should rightfully belong to the Chen family!
Chen Yaozu always listened to Granny Lü, and upon hearing this, he nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking at rice.
That's right! They—especially Chen Pan'er, a little girl, a money-loser, how could she have the fortune to spend so much money?
"But how do we get that silver from them? Should we just rob them?" Chen Yaozu's eyes lit up, as if he could already see the gleaming silver flying towards him.
How could she get the silver? Granny Lü was also stumped. She then noticed her son, who had been silent all along, and gave him a shove in an annoyed tone.
"Da Nian, say something! How can we get the money back from that slut? You're an educated man, you must have a better idea than us!"
Chen Danian snapped out of his reverie, already having made up his mind. Hearing his mother's words, he chuckled and said:
"Rob? What's the use of a little silver if we rob it? If we could get the recipe, how much silver wouldn't we have in the future?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yaozu also thought it was a good idea: "That's right! Dad, let's get our hands on the recipe and then give it to Aunt Zhao. If Aunt Zhao is happy, then your marriage with her will definitely be settled!"
"You silly son!"
Chen Danian shook his head, looked at his son, his eyes gleaming with greed.
He's not stupid! Just as Master Zhao said, ice in summer is more valuable than gold. If he really got the recipe, couldn't he use it himself? Why should he let the Zhao family benefit from it!
By then, he can spend the money he earns himself, and no one can control him!
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