"Gentlemen, rise."
When the master and servant arrived at the accounting office, the accountants were all very respectful and dared not act arrogantly at all.
They clearly knew that Jiang Shuwan was different from other young mistresses; she was constantly cultivating talent in her courtyard, and if they didn't perform well, they would really be fired. Therefore, they dared not be disrespectful.
Moreover, when Madam Pei last checked the Wen family's accounts, her superb abacus skills and her keen eye for spotting fake accounts earned the utmost respect from the accountants.
In matters of the books, Jiang Shuwan was their ancestor; how could they dare to act arrogantly in front of her?
Seeing how obedient they were, Jiang Shuwan didn't make things difficult for them. She took the account book of the major gift lists from the manor over the past few years back to look at.
"Please wait a moment, young mistress, we will move it out right away."
While directing Chun Jiao and Mei Xue to take the ledger, Qing Xing asked curiously, "Miss, what's interesting to see in the gift lists from previous years?"
"Silly girl, there's an art to giving and receiving gifts, of course you have to know."
Jiang Shuwan walked forward, fanning herself. She planned to teach Qingxing the knowledge in the gift list properly when she got back. However, as soon as the mistress and servant came out of the accounting office and entered the garden, they met Pei Jing.
"Big sister."
Jiang Shuwan bowed to her again.
Pei Jing remained indifferent, leading a group of maids and servants away in a whirlwind, without even glancing at her.
"Grandma is so arrogant! She has no manners at all when she sees Miss." Qingxing angrily punched Pei Jing's back. "She has the nerve to call herself a member of the Marquis's family. I don't know how she married into the Liu State Duke's mansion."
"Good girl, let's not be angry. As long as we've been polite, there's no need to worry about anything else."
"Hmph! I just can't stand it!"
Jiang Shuwan just shook her head and smiled, not caring about Pei Jing at all.
In mid-June, the heat was unbearable.
She waved her fan and glanced at the blazing sun. She felt that the sun was dazzling and extremely hot, so she quickly sought out the shade of a tree.
"The weather is getting hotter and hotter. My clothes are soaked after just a few steps."
"Yes, it's so hot, and the price of ice changes every day."
While fanning her, Qingxing sighed, "Miss, ice is expensive these days, and our milk tea shop's business has declined a lot."
"Miss, what should we do? In May, the weather was cool, and our milk tea and fruit tea sold quite well."
"But as June arrived, the weather got hotter and hotter. The drinks in the shop had to be chilled with well water for a while before they could be cool and quench our thirst. Brother Nai said that chilling with well water was too slow, so the shop started selling ice. But now ice is expensive. Not only are we making less money, but the people also say that we are heartless and sell at high prices."
“Is that so?” Jiang Shuwan thought for a moment and said, “Then you can send someone to tell Brother Nai later that the drinks in our shop will be charged at the price with ice if they are served with ice, and the drinks without ice will be charged at the original price, so that the people can choose for themselves.”
"Wow, Miss, you are so clever! This is a great idea. Customers who can't afford ice can buy it and chill it with well water. That way, they can still have a refreshing and thirst-quenching drink. However, Miss, I'm afraid this is not a long-term solution. As the weather gets hotter and the price of ice gets more expensive, we may lose many customers."
Qingxing was very worried when she talked about this. "Moreover, it's only June now. The weather will be even hotter in July and August. I'm afraid our milk tea shop won't make any money in these three months."
Qingxing said dejectedly, "If only we had an ice cellar, we wouldn't have to buy ice from outside."
"Sister Qingxing is confused. Even if we have an ice cellar, the price of drinks will still come down."
“Yes, storing ice is so expensive. When we were at the Jiang residence, it cost a hundred taels of silver to build a tiny ice cellar. In winter, it takes a huge amount of manpower and resources to fetch and transport ice from the river. Not to mention, just the piece of ice the size of Miss’s desk takes four strong young servants a whole day to chisel.”
Hearing Chun Jiao and Mei Xue's words, Qing Xing turned to look at them and asked in surprise, "Four servants? How come four servants can only chisel one block of ice a day? Are they slacking off?"
"How could that be? Who is Madam? Who would dare to slack off under her nose!" Mei Xue pouted, clearly aware of Madam Song's methods.
Chun Jiao sighed, "Sister Qingxing, you don't know this, but ice chiseling in winter is very different from other jobs."
“Other jobs can be done quickly and well as long as you are strong and hardworking. But ice chiseling is different. In the dead of winter, you have to stop working on the ice for a while, otherwise your back will be sweating. When the cold wind blows, the sweat will freeze instantly. How cold that would be! Not to mention us women, even strong men would find it hard to bear. It's cold to the bone and they would fall ill immediately.”
"That's right. Moreover, Miss has nearly ten milk tea shops, and each shop sells hundreds of cups of iced drinks every day. With such a large consumption of ice, let alone one ice cellar, even ten ice cellars wouldn't be enough."
"Buying ice outside might be more expensive, but storing ice yourself is also very costly."
"So, from what you're saying, it's unlikely that the price of ice will come down?" Qingxing said with a long face. "It's over. I feel like business at our shop won't be good for the next three months."
"Ah, if only there were cheap ice, both cheap and plentiful..."
Upon hearing this, Chun Jiao and Mei Xue both laughed, thinking that she was daydreaming.
Jiang Shuwan was taken aback for a moment.
"..."
Cheap and plentiful ice, isn't that just ice made from saltpeter?
Glass requires a factory to be built and fired, which is a relatively complicated process. Making ice with saltpeter is much simpler; you just need to pour saltpeter into water and stir it a couple of times.
Saltpeter is easy to find and cheap, and Taoist priests like to use it to refine elixirs.
The problem is, she said the recipe on the blackboard was given to her by a Taoist priest. She's a young lady who rarely leaves her home; she can't possibly run into a Taoist priest every day, can she?
Moreover, making ice with saltpeter is so simple, it's practically free, yet ice is expensive.
The issue of rent on Donglai Street has already put her in the spotlight; making ice now would be too conspicuous.
After thinking it over, Jiang Shuwan decided to give up on the idea.
Making money is valuable, but life is more precious.
She should keep a low profile!
Meanwhile, the emperor, unable to bear the weather in the capital, packed his things and went to a summer palace to escape the heat.
The old Marquis accompanied the emperor on his journey, taking charge of safety along the way. After arranging for the imperial physician for the Wen family, he left.
Only a room full of servants and Pei Jing, who had just returned, remained in the Wen family courtyard.
Pei Jing stood by the bedside watching the imperial physician examine Lady Wen.
Wen lay listlessly on the bed, her appearance gaunt and pale, as if all the life force had been drained from her.
"My poor wife, how did you become like this!"
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