"Well, I bought it from an old man. He said his watermelons ripen early."
Xue Huan's mother believed what she said.
After all, it is not uncommon for watermelons to mature early.
Xue Jun glanced at the basin where the watermelon had been frozen and found a thin layer of ice on it. "Sister, why is the water in this basin frozen?"
Xue Huan took out a few pieces of saltpeter and showed them to her, "Do you recognize this?"
"Salt?"
"That's right. Put this in water. When the saltpeter dissolves in the water, it will lower the water temperature. When it drops to a certain level, a layer of ice will form on the surface."
Saltpeter will absorb a lot of heat when dissolved in water, but Xue Jun probably wouldn't understand what Xue Huan said, so she just explained it in a simpler way.
In fact, as early as the end of the Tang Dynasty, people discovered this and began to artificially make ice in the summer. Some businessmen saw the business opportunity and added sugar to ice to make cold drinks to attract customers.
By the Song Dynasty, there were more varieties of cold dishes on the market, and merchants also added fruits or fruit juices to them.
However, the efficiency of making ice with saltpeter is not very high, so the government is still accustomed to storing large amounts of ice in winter and then using it in summer.
Among the people, the method of making ice with saltpeter was lost due to the wars in the late Song Dynasty. After all, this was an era without the Internet and paper books were more easily lost. In addition, people tended to treasure their own things. Even if someone still knew the method of making ice with saltpeter, they would not spread it everywhere, but would keep it in their own collection.
Therefore, this has led to the fact that most people in Daqi today, especially ordinary people living at the bottom of society, do not know that saltpeter can be used to make ice.
Not to mention ordinary people, even Xue's mother, a former aristocrat, didn't know about it.
After hearing Xue Huan's explanation, she was very surprised, "Huan'er, how do you know this?"
Xue Huan calmly used Ye Diao as a shield, "This is what the Ye family's young master told me."
Xue's mother had heard of the Ye family. As an imperial merchant family, the Ye family must be knowledgeable and well-connected. It was reasonable for them to know the method of making ice from saltpeter.
But how could anyone tell Huan'er?
Looking at her daughter's radiant little face, she suddenly felt panicky. Could it be that the young master of the Ye family had some bad intentions towards Huan'er?
However, in front of her little daughter and "son-in-law", Xue's mother didn't dare to ask too directly. She could only suppress her worries and prepare to find an opportunity to ask after she returned home.
Because of the hidden worries in her heart, Xue's mother felt that the watermelon in her mouth had no taste.
Xue Huan never thought that Xue's mother would think of going to that place, and was still joking with Pei Ji.
“Is the watermelon sweet?”
She ate what was on the plate and looked at what was in Pei Ji's hand.
"Sweet." Pei Ji scooped a spoonful and fed it to her mouth.
Xue Huan took a gulp and ate the watermelon.
After eating the watermelon, the sun went down a little and the temperature was not so high. Xue Huan joined the team picking peppers.
Xue's mother put on her gloves and helped her tie the straps of her veil. "Okay, go ahead."
Xue Huan tied a bamboo basket around her waist and put the picked peppers into it. At first, she felt it was quite easy, but no matter how simple the work was, if you did it for a long time, your back would ache.
Fortunately, her physical condition is now different from before. After standing up and resting for a while, she feels refreshed and full of energy again.
In the evening, Xue Yao came over after school to help pick peppers.
Xue Huan went home to cook first.
She was making knife-cut noodles, which required a lot of effort to knead and let the dough rest. While the noodles were resting, she prepared all kinds of toppings.
The table was filled with shredded pork with mushrooms, spicy diced chicken, fried eggs, chili sauce, green vegetables, and crispy fried soybeans.
When Xue's mother and the others came back, they saw all kinds of toppings and seasonings on the table. They were already hungry from busy working, and now their mouths were watering even more.
Xue Huan said, "Wait a moment, the noodles will be ready soon."
She held the dough on her arm, and holding a kitchen knife in her right hand, she peeled off the thin dough. The dough fell into the pot of boiling water in front of her, floating up and down.
Soon, a large bowl of knife-cut noodles was ready. Xue Huan called out, "Come, bring it out."
Bowl after bowl, in the end each family held a large bowl of knife-cut noodles, poured their favorite toppings on it, and then covered it with a fried egg and some vegetables, and it was done.
If you like spicy food, you can add a spoonful of chili.
There was a bucket of water in each corner of the room, with saltpeter in the water. The frozen water released wisps of cool air, dissipating a lot of heat in the room.
Even so, the family at the table were still sweating while eating.
One large bowl was enough for Xue Huan, Xue's mother and Xue Jun, but for Pei Ji and Xue Yao, one had the appetite of an adult man, so one large bowl was not enough at all, while Xue Yao was a big eater, so one large bowl was just enough to fill his stomach.
So Xue Huan went to the kitchen to cut noodles for the two of them. Pei Ji ate three bowls before stopping, while Xue Yao ate a full five bowls!
Xue Huan now has a clear understanding of her brother's appetite, so she is not surprised at all. The dough she prepared is enough to definitely make him full.
Watching him slurp the noodles, Xue Huan couldn't help but think of the little maid Ah Man whom she had just taken in two days ago. The little girl looked normal in build, but she was also a big eater.
She thought that if the two of them got together one day, she would let them compete to see who had a bigger appetite.
That scene must be very exciting.
At the same time, in the city, at Zhao Mansion.
It was time for dinner, but Ah Man still hadn't seen the girl come out of the house. He couldn't help but call out twice: "Girl? Girl?"
I shouted several times, but there was no response from inside.
Ah Man was anxious, thinking that maybe something happened to the girl in the house.
However, thinking of the girl's previous instructions that no one was allowed to enter her room without her permission, Ah Man did not dare to break in directly, so he could only run to call the housekeeper over.
Chen Tian walked over quickly and called out twice, but got no response. He simply pushed the door open and walked in. The room was empty.
"Where is the girl?" Ah Man was dumbfounded.
Chen Tian found the note pressed by the teacup on the table. After reading it, he felt relieved. It turned out that the girl was not in trouble, but left on her own for something.
Ah Man couldn't read, so he asked hurriedly, "What's written on it?"
Chen Tian repeated Xue Huan's message.
Ah Man's eyes suddenly lit up. "I felt that this girl was no ordinary person. I didn't expect that she really was. I was waiting outside the house the whole time, but she left quietly without a trace. I didn't notice at all! Butler, do you think this girl is one of those flying female heroes in the martial arts world?"
Chen Tian was at a loss for words. His first reaction when he saw the note was that the girl might have been kidnapped by criminals. He didn't expect that Ah Man actually thought so.
I have to say that young people have imagination, but her guess is not unreasonable.
Now we can only wait and see if the girl will come back.
Otherwise, he would have no choice but to report the case to the authorities.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
