Xiaoyue had just delivered ice and milk tea ingredients and was sweating profusely when she suddenly saw Jiayin come in. She quickly bowed.
Then, she stepped forward and said happily, "Princess, our fruit drinks are selling like hotcakes! The other day, the Third Young Master sent over so many purple fruits. I followed your instructions and dug out the pulp. I put it with honey and ice, and it's absolutely delicious."
"We sold over sixty pots yesterday, each pot costing thirty coins, which is two taels of silver! And milk tea too. After dinner, the young students all wanted to take a cup home, saying they could drink it while attending their evening lessons. It was filling and refreshing, much better than tea."
"Our young lady was just doing the accounts the other day; she sold..."
Xiaoyue was a lively person who couldn't keep a secret, and she was so eager to share the good news with Jiayin that she became even more unrestrained with her words.
Jiayin glanced at the two busy boys behind her and interrupted her, saying, "Oh dear, let's settle the accounts later. Sister Xiaoyue, give me a fruit drink first, I haven't tasted it yet!"
"Hey, hey, Princess, wait a moment, I'll make you a cup right away!" Xiaoyue hurriedly went to find passion fruit and called two half-grown boys to break up the ice.
The two boys, both teenagers, lived in this town and were related to the junior administrator of the academy.
I heard that the cafeteria is selling "new tea" and I need someone to help me out, so the manager came over to ask for a favor.
Li Laosan and Zhao Yuru decided on behalf of Wenjuan to keep her on the job for a few days.
As a result, the two boys were very diligent, quiet, and eager to learn.
They come to work every afternoon, and can go home after the college's evening classes begin.
But they always came over before lunch to help Dazhu and the others with chores, wiping tables and chairs, washing dishes and chopsticks, never slacking off.
Then in the afternoon, I started selling fruit drinks and milk tea with Xiaoyue in the small thatched shed, and occasionally I had to run errands to deliver them to the school dormitory.
Whenever they had a spare moment, they would flip through a primer, ask Xiaoyue or the students who came to buy fruit drinks for help, and practice writing by drawing a few strokes on the ground with a twig.
Who wouldn't like such a diligent and ambitious child?
Therefore, in addition to their wages, Li Laosan gave them an extra ten coins a day as a subsidy, plus lunch and dinner.
Before we knew it, the two boys had been coming to the cafeteria for two months.
At this moment, the two men carried over the wooden bucket wrapped in old cotton. After uncovering the cotton, a small earthenware basin was placed on the lid of the bucket. Opening the earthenware basin revealed a hole about the size of a bowl.
A young man took an iron rod, stuck it into the hole, and poked it a few times.
The other boy opened the lid, quickly scraped out a bowl of crushed ice, and handed it to Xiaoyue.
Xiaoyue deftly took out a white porcelain mug, added a spoonful of passion fruit pulp, two spoonfuls of honey, half a cup of cooled boiled water, and finally poured in crushed ice. After stirring it well, she inserted a thin bamboo tube.
Jiayin took it, took a sip, and carefully savored the taste.
Although it still can't compare to the drinks I had in my previous life, it's refreshing and sweet. In this hot weather, a sip of it makes me feel incredibly comfortable from head to toe.
"Mmm, delicious!" she praised with a smile, which made Xiaoyue and the two boys smile brightly.
Xiaoyue pressed on, "Princess, is this purple fruit called passion fruit? It definitely tastes so much better than wild berries and sour fruits!"
Jiayin nodded, "This fruit drink can be called Honey Mixed Fruit Drink. When apples and pears are in season and the weather gets cold, we can also make fruit tea and stewed rock sugar pear soup. As long as we think about it carefully, there will be many delicious things to drink in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and business will not be bad!"
Xiaoyue listened excitedly, "Princess, don't worry, this servant will definitely try her best to figure it out!"
Soon, she quickly made several more fruit drinks, then carried them on a tray and followed Jiayin into the private room of the cafeteria.
As Grandma Li was talking to her son and daughter-in-law, she saw her granddaughter carrying a white porcelain cup, drinking as she walked. She scolded her, "This child has become much more sensible lately. She's serious about learning manners and needlework, but she just can't get rid of her gluttony! I'm really worried that she'll gain too much weight and hinder her growth!"
Zhao Yuru pulled her little niece into her arms, fanning her with a fan, "Mom is just greedy. Our Fu Niu is so good! There's no child more considerate and smarter than her! Our family isn't as poor as it used to be. What do we lack? Can we lack food and drink for the child? Being able to eat is a good thing, being able to eat is a blessing!"
Li Laosan chuckled and chimed in, "Fu Niu'er hasn't reached the age to grow taller yet!"
"Fine, you can spoil her all you want!" Old Mrs. Li said, both amused and exasperated. "I've become a bad grandma! Even at home, your second brother, Mr. Wen, Jinrou, and even the village chief all tell me not to be too strict with Fu Niu'er every time they see me."
“My child reads books every day, learns manners, and learns needlework. Every few days, she runs to Dr. Zhang’s place. We’re all worried that she’ll get tired, but I’m innocent!”
“It’s not that I’m forcing my child to be diligent, it’s just that she suddenly had a breakthrough! She’s busy like a little top every day, and it breaks my heart to see her like that. I only brought her here to play for a few days so she could rest and I could have some peace and quiet.”
Both Li Laosan and Zhao Yuru were surprised. Zhao Yuru held her little niece in her arms and looked her over for a long time. Only after confirming that she was still the same niece did she quietly feel relieved.
But she still couldn't help but say, "Fu Niu'er, studying is a good thing, but you're still young, don't overwork yourself. Listen to your aunt, play when you should play, there's no rush to learn skills."
"You're our only precious child. Even if something happens, your uncles and brothers are here... So, eat what you want, play what you want, okay?"
"Okay, Auntie!" Jiayin smiled, her big eyes curving into crescent moons, and handed over the fruit drink in her hand. "Auntie, drink this, it's especially sweet."
Zhao Yuru lowered her head, pretending to take a sip, but her lips didn't actually touch the bamboo tube. Then she smiled and bumped foreheads with her little niece. "It really tastes good. Our Fu Niu'er is so clever. How did she find out in a book that Quanzhou has such a magical fruit? Scoop out the pulp and soak it in water, and the taste is simply amazing!"
Jiayin smiled and ran to bring the fruit drink to her third uncle.
Li Laosan opened his mouth to bite the bamboo tube, but Zhao Yuru slapped him aside and scolded, "Adults' mouths are dirty, don't touch children's things."
Li Laosan scratched the back of his head, smiled, took a cup from the tray and gave it to his mother, then took one for himself, drank it in a big gulp, and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's so refreshing!"
Grandma Li nodded in agreement. "In the sweltering summer, a cup of this is so refreshing. Did Jiayi bring back a lot of fruit? We can take some when we go back and make a few more cups to quench everyone's thirst in the village. The fields are short of water lately, and everyone is carrying water to irrigate their melon vines. It's really tough for them."
“Lots, lots!” Li Laosan said quickly, “Jiayi brought back half a boatload, filling up the cellar in the small courtyard. When Mother goes back, she can take as much as she wants!”
After exchanging a few more words, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the school term.
The students, stifled and drenched in sweat in their dormitories, almost immediately rushed to the cafeteria...?
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