But since his sister-in-law had already spoken, he could only nod helplessly, "Okay, sister-in-law, I'll go arrange it right away."
After dinner, An Shuyi and Xia Hua began teaching the tribespeople how to make ice. Fortunately, it wasn't difficult, and soon many basins were piled up on the ground, filled with ice from anything that could be held. Only then did everyone rest.
The next day, before dawn, An Shuyi had her people put the ice blocks on a cart, and those that couldn't fit on the cart were carried in baskets. They went to Jinnan City to sell the ice blocks. This time, she brought more than 30 people with her, pulling the cart and each person carrying ice blocks on their backs.
When they arrived, it was just dawn, and there were already vendors hawking their wares in Jinnan City. They could also see villagers carrying goods to buy along the way, and even some refugees dressed in rags. As soon as they entered the city, the ice blocks on their carts immediately attracted the attention of many people.
An Shuyi didn't hesitate either; she had her people find an open space and started hawking her wares.
"Ice for sale, cold ice, edible ice."
Her shout stunned the thirty tribesmen following behind. They never expected their sister-in-law to be so powerful, daring to even hawk her wares.
Of course, the call wasn't without effect; soon a woman came over and asked, "Are your ice blocks really edible? How much are they?"
An Shuyi cut a piece off the cart with a machete and popped it into her mouth. "It's edible. We make it with clean water. It's this big, worth 500 coins." As she spoke, she took over a block of ice the size of a large bowl.
"It's so expensive, you're robbing me."
The woman wasn't the only one who thought it was expensive; Lin Changnian and the others behind her also thought so, but they didn't dare to speak and could only watch from behind.
"Hmph!" Xia Hua sneered, "If we're going to steal, we won't offer an extra block of ice. We'll just steal it directly. Those who want to buy, buy; those who don't want to sell, don't block the way."
"Tch, if you don't want to buy it, then don't buy it. Who cares?" the woman said, turning and leaving.
"How much is this ice?" A woman next to her asked, pointing to an ice block the size of a vegetable basin. Her husband was most afraid of the heat, and the weather had been so hot these past few days that he couldn't eat. Now that she saw ice for sale, she wanted to buy one to take home.
“Those big ones cost three taels of silver each, no bargaining, buy them if you want,” Xia Hua said.
Lin Changnian and the others thought that this woman would leave like the previous woman, but to their surprise, the woman not only did not leave, but also took out three taels of silver.
"Could you please give me a piece of silver?"
Xia Hua took the silver and tossed it to Shu Shu. She then took a basin of ice off the cart, took out the ice, and said, "Can I put it in your basket?"
"Yes, yes!" The woman hurriedly took the things out of the basket.
Put the ice inside. "Hurry up, or the ice will melt and we won't refund your money."
"Don't worry, boss, I only have some ice at home, it won't melt." After saying that, he hurriedly left with the ice on his back.
After the woman left, people started coming to buy.
"Give me one of these too."
"Give me one too."
Before Xia Hua could collect the money and move the ice, a somewhat chubby man ran over with two shop assistants behind him. "Madams, how many ice blocks do you have left? I'll take them all."
He is the owner of Shikelou Restaurant. The weather has been too hot these past few days, and there are far fewer people eating there. Juquanzhai Restaurant across the street has somehow gotten some ice and put it in its store, and its business has started to improve. He just heard that they were selling ice, so he brought his staff to buy some.
Looking at the ice blocks, he was relieved that he hadn't arrived too late and that the ice was still there. He was overjoyed at the thought that the ice would improve his business and bring him a steady stream of money.
Xia Hua glanced at An Shuyi and raised an eyebrow. "Since the boss wants them all, should we give them to him or should he move them himself?"
"Since both of you have so many people, why don't you help me move them to the restaurant? I'll give you money in return. I'd also like to discuss some business with you two."
"Alright, boss, lead the way." Xia Hua turned around and looked at the tribesmen who were still not moving, and shouted, "Hurry up and carry the ice blocks on your backs and take them to the boss."
"We'll carry them right away!" Lin Changnian and the others hadn't expected that all the ice blocks would be sold out in such a short time; it was even better than they had imagined.
Afterwards, everyone delivered the ice to the owner. On the way, some people came over and asked if the ice was for sale. Before they could even speak, the owner of the restaurant advertised that the ice had been bought by the restaurant and that customers who went to the restaurant could take a piece of ice home.
This stunned An Shuyi and Xia Hua. They were amazed that someone could do business like this; they had to admit, they were really smart.
After having the waiter and Lin Changnian count the ice, the owner invited An Shuyi and Lin Changnian into the inn. After each of them had a cup of tea, the owner said directly, "Greetings, ladies. I am the owner of this restaurant, surnamed Chen. You can call me Old Chen. I wonder if you ladies only have this much ice, or if you have other kinds?"
An Shuyi said, "Hello, Mr. Chen. You can just call us An's and Xia's. We still have ice. As long as you can afford it, we can deliver it to you every day. Of course, it would be even better if you could pick it up yourself."
Upon hearing that there was still some, Boss Chen rubbed his hands together with joy. "That's good! Madams, I wonder if you could send a hundred pieces of ice to our shop every day, the kind that weighs three ounces each?"
"Sure, but..."
Mr. Chen was initially overjoyed to hear that it was possible, but as soon as the conversation turned, his mind changed, and he hurriedly asked, "But what? Do you ladies think that my shop is not offering enough, or that the price is not appropriate?"
“No, not at all,” An Shuyi said. “We can supply ice to your customers, but you’ll have to fetch it yourself. Also, if someone comes to your restaurant and asks about ice and wants to buy more, you can ask them to buy it from our village.”
"Of course, you can sell ice to them if you want, but if you need a lot, you have to tell us in advance."
Mr. Chen nodded, "No problem, I'll send people to pick it up myself. If someone buys a small amount, I'll sell it to them. If they need a lot, I'll have them buy it from you."
As for telling them not to sell ice to others, that's impossible. He doesn't buy much, and with the weather so hot, he, a restaurant owner, can't just switch to selling ice.
"By the way, I haven't yet asked where the two ladies are staying?"
An Shuyi said, "We live in Taoyuan Village. We just registered our household yesterday. The village is still under construction, so you can't get in. Tomorrow, send someone to wait at the entrance of the village, and I'll have someone bring ice over."
Mr. Chen stood up. “Then it’s settled. Ladies, please have some tea. I’ll go check how much the ice costs today and bring it to you.”
An Shuyi and Xia Hua stood up. "Let's go together!"
"Please, ladies!" Boss Chen led them to the backyard, and after learning from the waiter how much ice there was, he gave them the money.
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