"Don't make any noise for now. Come back after dinner and keep watch. When the girl comes back, tell me the first time, okay?"
"Yes, I understand, butler."
Xue family.
After the family finished their meal, they sat in the yard to enjoy the cool air for a while, then took a shower and went to bed.
The order is as follows: Xue Jun, Xue Yao, Pei Ji, then Xue's mother, and Xue Huan is the last one.
With a family of five, the demand for hot water was high, so the wood stove in the kitchen was constantly burning. After washing their hair, they could sit directly in front of the fire and let the flames dry their hair—a simple and environmentally friendly solution.
It's just a little hot.
However, there was a basin of water with saltpeter next to it, and cool air kept coming out of it, which could bring some coolness.
After washing her hair, Xue's mother sat in front of the stove to dry her hair. As soon as Xue Huan came out, she called her to the kitchen.
"Huan'er, mother has something to ask you."
Xue Huan also washed her hair, so she moved a small stool over and sat down. While drying her hair, she asked, "What's going on?"
Mother Xue hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "How could Young Master Ye tell you how to make ice from saltpeter?"
You have to know that ice is a rare thing in summer. The poor can't even think about it. If they want to cool down, they can only use well water to cool some things. If they can't sleep at night because of the heat, they can only sleep with a winter melon.
It was not so easy for the rich to get ice. After all, the amount of ice stored in the government ice storage was limited. If they wanted to buy ice, they had to use ice tickets.
When ice is in short supply, ice tickets can even be used directly as money!
So the ice in summer is really like silver.
Saltpeter is available in pharmacies and is not expensive. You can buy a pound of it for just a few dozen coins. How much ice can be made from a pound? If you resell it, the profit is simply terrifying.
Young Master Ye told his daughter this way of making money?
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If there is, it must be a trap.
Xue Huan also noticed her mother's worry at this time, and explained to her: "Mom, look at the ice in this basin. After such a long time, there is only a thin layer. This thin layer can only reduce the temperature and cool things.
"To make ice in chunks like that, you'd first have to build a cellar as deep as the ones the government uses to store ice. You'd also need to constantly add large quantities of saltpeter. And the process isn't just a matter of throwing saltpeter into water. It would require a significant workforce. Just think about it: even if the average person knew how to make ice from saltpeter, what would they really do?"
"Also, even if we invested a lot of manpower and resources to make ice, ice is controlled by the government, and we can't use it to make money. So, even if ordinary people like us learn how to make ice with saltpeter, it's useless. We can only use it to cool down at home.
"There's one thing you might not know, but the ice made from saltpeter is not edible. If you use it to make food, you'll get sick.
"Young Master Ye naturally knows all this, so he told me this method just to do me a favor."
After Xue Huan's explanation, she couldn't help but believe it a little.
However, except for the fact that "the method of making ice from saltpeter comes from Young Master Ye", all these words are true. It is precisely because there are many limitations in making ice from saltpeter that she did not regard it as a way to make money. However, she can sell this method to Ye Diao someday and make some money.
Of course, the premise is that people don’t know.
After all, the method of making ice from saltpeter was discovered and widely used hundreds of years ago. There is no reason why people today don’t know it, right?
But it's not impossible. Maybe this method has really been lost now?
Time is a ruthless killer.
After listening to Xue Huan's explanation, Xue's mother realized that she had oversimplified the matter. "I see. Now I'm relieved. But Huan'er, you are a girl after all. When you interact with people outside, you must be more careful, understand? With your appearance..."
She sighed, "It really attracts attention."
Xue Huan chuckled, her fair and delicate face appearing even more beautiful in the firelight. "Mother, didn't I tell you before that I was dealing with Young Master Ye under a different identity? I even painted myself ugly. If you don't believe me, I'll show you now."
She did what she said, and pulled Xue's mother into the house. She took out her pile of cosmetics and placed them on the table. She started to put on makeup in front of Xue's mother and Xue Yao and others who came out after hearing the news.
After the makeup was completed, Xue's mother and the others were stunned. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that a person's appearance could change so much after putting on makeup.
Otherwise, why do people say that makeup is a "witchcraft"?
Looking at Xue Huan's ordinary makeup, Xue's mother finally felt relieved.
It must be safe to go out like this.
As a straight man, Xue Yao just marveled at the magic of Xue Huan's makeup skills, but he didn't have any further thoughts.
When Pei Ji saw this, he couldn't help but think of the masters of disguise in the storybooks he had secretly read.
Xue Jun was very interested in this makeup technique and took Xue Huan's hand to ask her to teach her.
So Xue Huan started teaching on the spot. Although Xue's mother didn't say anything, from her shining eyes, it could be seen that she also wanted to learn.
The night was long and there was nothing to do to pass the time. It was still early and it was not time to go to bed.
Xue Yao watched for a while and then started yawning. He couldn't hold it in any longer and went back to his room to sleep.
Pei Ji sat beside her and worked tirelessly, serving as Xue Huan's assistant.
On the other side, in Zhao Mansion.
Except for the night watchman, everyone else went to bed.
Just then, a terrified scream resounded through the night sky, waking everyone up.
What's going on? Is it haunted?
Under Chen Tian's organization, the servants slowly walked towards the garden. Before they entered, they saw a man running out with his pants wet and his face terrified, shouting "Don't eat me, don't eat me."
Ah Man chased him out from behind, kicked him to the ground, and stepped on his back.
After interrogation, Chen Tian found out that this man was a thief. He heard that a famous haunted house had been bought, but the people inside lived well and there was no ghost story, so he wanted to come and take a look.
The result is obvious, he encountered a ghost.
Seeing the man's crazy look, Chen Tian winked at Ah Man, who knocked the man unconscious with a knife. "Tie him up and throw him into the woodshed."
Ah Man picked up the tied-up thief with one hand and threw him into the woodshed.
At the spot, Chen Tian and several servants looked at each other in confusion, because they looked around and didn't find anything unusual, let alone ghosts.
"Okay, let's go back to sleep." Chen Tian waved his hand and said.
Everyone left, and a gust of wind blew, and the magical fruit tree in the garden made a rustling sound.
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