Chen Danian looked at the ice in the basin, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, and in his heart he cursed that little bitch Gan Li to the bone.
If she had told him how to make ice earlier, he wouldn't have had to figure it out on his own and end up making ice that he didn't even know if it was edible, thus shooting himself in the foot!
"Uncle Zhao, this, this..." he stammered, his eyes darting around.
"What? You haven't tried this ice yourself?" Master Zhao glanced at him sideways, his tone tinged with coldness.
Cold sweat poured down Chen Danian's forehead. He steeled himself and walked shakily to the basin of ice, grabbed a handful, and shivered at the icy touch.
He looked at the somewhat cloudy ice in his hand, swallowed hard, and was torn between his inner thoughts and his own.
To eat or not to eat?
He originally thought that since that little bitch Ganli had been selling popsicles for so long without any problems, it shouldn't matter if he ate a little less.
But looking at the white ice cubes in his hand, he felt a chill run down his spine. If he ate something bad, he might lose his life!
After a long internal struggle, Chen Danian ultimately decided against risking his life. Just before the ice cube was about to enter his mouth, he dropped it, collapsed to his knees with a thud, and wailed:
"Uncle Zhao, please, please spare me!"
Seeing his cowardly appearance, Master Zhao became even angrier and scolded, "Useless thing! Didn't you swear that this ice was edible? How come you're acting like a coward now!"
Seeing this, Steward Zhao, who had been standing behind Master Zhao, stepped forward, bowed, and said:
“Master, this Mr. Chen is a scholar, after all, with official rank. If he eats this ice and something happens to him in our household, we won’t be able to explain ourselves. In my opinion, whether this ice is safe to eat or not, we don’t necessarily have to have someone test it. Perhaps…”
He paused, then lowered his voice and said, "How about we try with some cats and dogs?"
After listening, Master Zhao's brows relaxed, and he nodded, saying, "Hmm, what you say makes sense. We'll do it your way!"
Steward Zhao turned around and ordered the servants, "Go and bring Big Yellow and Little White from the yard over here."
Before long, two dogs with glossy fur came running over, wagging their tails and fawning over Butler Zhao.
Butler Zhao took out a few pieces of ice from the basin and handed them to the two dogs.
The weather was hot, and the two dogs were also quite hot. Feeling the coolness from the ice, they didn't hesitate to pick up the ice cubes and lick them with relish.
Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the two dogs, observing their reactions.
At first, Dahuang and Xiaobai ate with relish, but after a while, the two dogs suddenly started convulsing, foaming at the mouth, and rolling around on the ground in pain.
"Woof woof woof—"
"Awooo—"
The piercing barks of the dogs echoed in the yard, sending chills down everyone's spines.
Chen Danian's face turned deathly pale. He never imagined that the ice was actually poisonous! If he had actually eaten it, he would be lying on the ground dead right now!
Seeing this scene, Master Zhao trembled with rage. He pointed at Chen Danian and roared:
"You bastard Chen Danian! How dare you try to harm me with something like this! What are you up to?! Tell me, didn't you already collude with them all along?"
Chen Danian was terrified. He fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy: "Uncle Zhao, I'm innocent! I didn't know the ice was poisonous! I..."
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and as if grasping at a lifeline, he quickly said:
“Uncle Zhao, I suddenly remembered something! Making ice with saltpeter is definitely feasible, otherwise that little bitch Gan Li wouldn’t have bought so much saltpeter! But if you want this ice to be edible, there must be other secret recipes!”
He suppressed his fear, raised his head, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes:
"Uncle Zhao, since we've already guessed half of it, why don't we turn the tables and come up with a way to get our hands on their secret formula completely!"
...
The dock was bustling with people.
Although Gan Li was not there, Gan Mingli had been helping her set up the stall there before, and the customers were all familiar with him. Therefore, Gan Li's departure did not affect the stall's business, and there were still as many customers as ever.
Upon learning that the dessert stall would no longer sell taro balls, everyone expressed their dissatisfaction. However, following Gan Li's instructions, Gan Mingli took the opportunity to tell everyone that if they wanted to eat taro balls in the future, they should go to Baifulai Restaurant, where they would supply the goods and they could eat as many as they wanted without having to queue.
Upon hearing this, those who wanted to eat taro balls naturally went to Baifulai, while those who wanted to eat popsicles stayed behind. Overall, business was not greatly affected.
While collecting money and handing out popsicles, Gan Mingli didn't forget to shout, "Icy and refreshing popsicles! They'll keep you cool from head to toe!"
Just as Gan Mingli was busy with work, a series of heart-wrenching wails suddenly came from outside the crowd, growing louder and louder, instantly drowning out all the surrounding noise.
"Gan Family Sweet Soup, give me back my life as the head of the household!"
The sound was like a bucket of cold water poured onto the steaming dock, and everyone turned to look in the direction from which it came.
A group of people were seen carrying a man with a dark complexion and stiff limbs, rushing menacingly toward Gan's dessert stall.
In no time at all, the group of people had rushed to the stall and slammed the dead man to the ground.
With a muffled thud, the crowd of onlookers recoiled in fright, fearing they might get into trouble.
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