Night falls, and the alley is deserted.
Dog Egg was already waiting here.
Seeing Fatty Ball and Pillar approaching, Dog Egg felt refreshed.
"Have you obtained the method for making ice?"
The pillar nodded repeatedly.
Dog Egg looked at Fatty Ball, who then casually explained the method of making ice to him.
After hearing this, Gou Dan was a little confused: "This... quicklime and water can make ice?"
If someone had said that to him before, he would have slapped them across the face, but not this time.
He felt that if he slapped Fatty, the other might cripple him in retaliation, so he decided to avoid it. More importantly, Pillar kept nodding at him.
Zhu Zi is one of our own, so he shouldn't lie to him.
"Just ask him if he can make ice! He did the whole thing today and witnessed it firsthand!"
Zhu Zi nodded and said, "Brother Gou Dan, that's absolutely right. At first, I didn't believe that quicklime could make ice, but after trying it myself—it's simply amazing!"
"Oh, I also secretly brought out a bag of quicklime. If you're worried, you can try it when we get back tonight!"
Fatty took the bag off his back and handed it over, while reaching out his hand and saying, "Shouldn't you settle the final payment by now?"
Since Zhu Zi didn't say anything, Gou Dan didn't suspect anything either. He took out 190 taels of silver and handed it over, not forgetting to remind him.
"Here's the silver, and we'll have nothing to do with each other from now on! Our boss is the son of the prefect, and even if Qingliang Yixia finds out we did it, he won't dare cause trouble. But you're different. My advice is, take the silver and get out of the city as soon as possible!"
Fatty Ball grinned from ear to ear, clutching the silver: "Absolutely! With these two hundred taels of silver, where can't I go? I'll leave the city first thing tomorrow morning and live like a god!"
Dog Egg glanced at him, said nothing, and left with Pillar.
...
"Making ice with quicklime and water?"
Upon hearing Gou Dan's report, Lin Tong was equally surprised.
Dog Egg assured him there would be no problem, but Lin Tong had brought this ice-making method to show Lin Wenyao, who had a bad temper and wouldn't tolerate the slightest carelessness.
Since it was already evening and the report wouldn't be until tomorrow anyway, he ordered Zhu Zi to demonstrate it once.
Having worked as a laborer for a day during the cool summer, Zhu Zi was already very familiar with the ice-making method. In front of Lin Tong and Gou Dan, he solemnly demonstrated how to do it.
Of course, it used quicklime that the "kind" fat ball had deliberately left behind when it left.
As Zhu Zi demonstrated, he explained the process. When Lin Tong and Zhu Zi heard that even the addition of water had a specific order and proportion, they were both amazed and exclaimed how professional he was.
Night had already fallen, and Cheng Bing could only wait until tomorrow.
Lin Tong told Gou Dan and Zhu Zi to go back to rest, and had someone carefully move the small vat containing "quicklime" to his room.
The next morning, while everyone else was still asleep, Lin Tong got up and the first thing he did was check if the small vat had frozen.
When he saw the ice in the interlayer, he was overjoyed. He took the ice out, put it in a small porcelain jar, wrapped it in a blanket, and ran back to the Lin residence.
This kind of hard and laborious work is enough for Lin Wenyao to know that he did it. As for Gou Dan and Zhu Zi, well…
Lin Wenyao was a playboy who was unmarried but a bride every night. Before dawn, he was still deep in his dreams.
Lin Tong knew his master's personality; waking him at this time would be pointless, so he held the porcelain jar and stood guard outside.
This vigil lasted for more than an hour. Lin Tong's arms were sore and his legs were numb, but when he heard the rustling sound of clothes being put on in the room, he regained his energy.
Ouch!
"What the hell are you doing standing here?"
"Not uttering a single word, scared the crap out of me!"
Lin Wenyao, who had just opened the door, bumped into Lin Tong, who had been waiting for a long time. Startled, he immediately cursed.
"hey-hey."
Lin Tong didn't mind, and bowed with a smile, saying, "Young Master, the matter is settled!"
"What's up?"
Lin Wenyao asked.
"That... it's about making ice! That 'Cool Summer' shop that opened diagonally across from us has ruined the watermelon stall's business. I've been racking my brains, thinking that if we could make ice too, wouldn't our business be better than theirs?"
"Oh, I've also heard about the 'Cool Summer with Popsicles' thing these past few days. Making ice in the middle of summer, is that true?"
Lin Tong nodded hurriedly, then lifted the blanket off the porcelain jar and opened it in front of Lin Wenyao: "Young Master, look, what is this?"
Upon seeing the ice in the porcelain jar, Lin Wenyao's eyes widened, and then he gave Lin Tong a thumbs up.
"That was handled beautifully!"
Lin Wenyao, as the son of a prefect, was neither good at literature nor martial arts, which was truly an awkward situation.
He opened a watermelon stall in order to gain some recognition from his father, but the business was not good, which was really embarrassing.
If I can do this ice-selling business well, I'll definitely be able to hold my head high in front of my father!
Lin Wenyao grew increasingly pleased with himself: "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Lin Tong immediately said, "Young Master, although we've stolen this ice-making method, it's still not entirely legitimate. Especially if 'Cool Summer' continues to operate, those people might not recognize us. So it's best—"
"Shut them down?"
Lin Tong nodded, "That's exactly what I mean!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Wenyao sneered, "Alright, leave this trivial matter to me! By the way, my father has been busy with the government lately and hasn't had time to come home to rest. It's been very hot lately, so why don't you prepare a few large vats and send them to the government office? Put a few in the side hall of his room at night to make some ice for cooling off, what do you say?"
"No problem! I'll send someone to do it right away! Oh, and young master, should I also put a few in your room?"
Lin Wenyao shook his head, "Such a good thing should naturally be given to Father first, otherwise how can I show that I am a filial son?"
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"
Lin Tong flattered him.
"Oh, by the way, here, take this as a token of my appreciation for your hard work!"
Lin Wenyao's father had been a corrupt official for so many years, so the Lin family was not short of money. He casually took out one hundred taels of silver and threw it at Lin Tong.
"Oh dear, doing things for the young master is just my duty, how could I possibly ask for a kickback?"
He said that, but his body betrayed him, and he lay down on the ground, picking up the silver and putting it on his person…
————
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