Chapter 23: Listen to advice and eat well

Who could hate the original host like this? Nothing more than the jealousy of peddlers, the resentment of the Tian family, and the unwillingness of the Qiao family.

Let them be. Soldiers come to block, water comes to cover. She is not the original host and will not fear these petty people.

The cool shed was very useful, blocking the scorching sun.

Qiao Mai sat comfortably underneath, seriously doing embroidery. When customers came to buy melons, she stood up to sell melons. When there were no customers, she did work.

It was quite comfortable. Since she had her melons, the small town seemed to be a bit more lively.

Everyone wanted to eat a piece of the watermelon she sold. Not only was it sandy and sweet, juicy, but the key was that it was particularly icy and particularly refreshing. Qiao Mai indicated that she could sell some ice.

Tianshui Town and the county town combined didn't have many families that could eat ice in the summer. If she sold ice, she didn't know if it would work?

Why not freeze a few pieces in the freezer tonight and sell them tomorrow to see?

In the afternoon, Qiao Mai closed the stall and went home. She calculated the accounts. Today she sold twelve watermelons, two more than yesterday.

Coming to the melon land, looking at the watermelons that were already the size of a fist in nearly one mu, thinking that in two days, customers would be able to achieve watermelon freedom.

She smiled and came to the shelf, found a few square plastic boxes, filled them with mineral water, and froze them in the freezer.

Up to now, she had earned eight taels yesterday and over nine taels today. She separated the copper coins and silver, and threw them into the toolbox.

Earning money through her own labor is also a kind of happiness, she likes it very much.

Coming to the room, seeing Ling'er still sleeping, she lay down beside her and smiled contentedly.

Just from watermelons alone, she could earn over two hundred taels of silver a month. Excluding windy and rainy days, there were still two hundred taels.

If she added ice tomorrow, would there be more? After all, ice is scarcer than watermelons, right?

The next day, she went to the carpenter's shop and bought a handcart and two wooden boxes.

She put the iced watermelon in one wooden box and put the ice in another wooden box.

Using the handcart, she pushed the two wooden boxes to the official road.

Every day, on time and on schedule, Shopkeeper Lu had the two servant girls set up the table and chairs, and the cool shed was set up. Those who didn't know thought it was really Shopkeeper Lu's stall. Even the tax collectors would skip this stall, which saved Qiao Mai silver and trouble.

She pushed the handcart behind the chair and moved the two wooden boxes under the cool shed.

Both wooden boxes were wrapped in quilts, just to prevent the coolness from overflowing and running away.

The peddlers around had been so jealous these days that they were dying. Seeing her add a new box today, they were all very curious.

"I say, little lady, did you add new goods today?"

"Yes, our shopkeeper said it's too hot, and there's a lot of ice in her ice cellar, so she thought about selling some to everyone to cool off."

"Ice?"

"Right,"

"Who would buy ice?"

"Why wouldn't anyone buy it? If you boil green bean soup and it's still not refreshing enough after it cools down, you can put a few pieces of crushed ice in it. Cold tea is also fine. Who doesn't like it cool and refreshing?"

"Can that ice be eaten?"

"Yes, our shopkeeper freezes it with well water in winter and then stockpiles it, it's not river water."

"So that's it, that's great. How do you plan to sell it?"

"I don't know, and I don't know the price of ice."

"Let me tell you, ice in the prefecture city, a piece the size of a washbasin, costs one tael of silver."

"Is it cheaper or more expensive than watermelon?"

"Watermelon is naturally expensive. Watermelon still needs to be planted and sold, and it only comes out in a batch every three or four months. But ice, as long as you have the equipment, you can store it in winter, and water isn't worth anything."

Qiao Mai thought to herself, water isn't worth anything?

That's the south, right? If the north has a drought, every drop of water is worth gold, how could it not be worth anything? It's really indifferent.

She took out a piece of ice from the wooden box and asked, "How much silver for a piece this size?"

"Selling it for one hundred wen wouldn't be bad."

"Fine, then I'll listen to advice and eat well, I'll sell it for one hundred wen."

"Don't you need to ask Shopkeeper Lu?"

"The owner said to let me make the decision."

"Your owner is really too good, you really met a noble person."

"Of course, our owner is not only a noble person, but also a good person, a kind person."

She hurriedly put the ice back into the wooden box. If she left it out, it would melt quickly.

Qiao Mai thought about it, and later she would make a sign and set it up in front of the table. This way, whatever she sold in the future, she would write it on it, clear at a glance, without having to shout anymore. Her throat had been hurting for these two days.

She didn't recognize the fonts here. If not, she would find a wooden board, ask someone to write the words "watermelon" and "ice" on it, and then stick it on the wooden board.

She cut the watermelon, covered it with the gauze net, and stopped shouting. The small town was only so big, everyone knew she was selling melons, and if they wanted to eat, they would come.

Passersby, seeing it, would also stop to eat a few pieces if they wanted to eat.

She sat down and did embroidery with peace of mind.

Lu Sanniang had nothing to do today, moved a chair, and sat down next to her.

"How's business?"

"It hasn't opened yet today."

"I see you got two boxes, one is watermelon, and the other is?"

"Ice!"

"Yo, you even got ice?"

"Isn't there some in our town? I'm selling what's in short supply."

"One tael of silver for a piece in the prefecture city, let me see yours." As she spoke, Lu Sanniang lifted the quilt and took a look.

"Such a small piece?"

"It's not small, this piece can be used for many things."

"Then how much do you plan to sell it for?"

"Others said to sell it for one hundred wen, so I'll sell it for one hundred wen."

"That's already quite a lot."

Lu Sanniang trusted her quite a bit and didn't doubt at all how this ice came about, thinking it was a large piece of ice cut into such small pieces.

Just as they were talking, someone came to buy melon. As soon as Lu Sanniang saw someone coming, she immediately stood up, lifted the gauze net, took a piece for the customer, collected the copper coins, and put them in the purse for her.

"I calculated an account for you when I had nothing to do, and found that your small stall really earns quite a lot."

"Yes, isn't it good to earn more? With more income every month, isn't it one step closer to a large house?"

Lu Sanniang rolled her eyes, "If you were good, and patiently embroidered a large piece, wouldn't that be better than anything?"

"Embroidery ruins the eyes, doing business is just a rest."

Lu Sanniang sat there for a while, and several customers bought several pieces of melon, which made her really envious.

"How about I close the embroidery workshop and set up a stall with you?"

"Forget it, you'd better run your shop well. I'm just earning some small money, and you're envious."

"Hehe."

Qiao Mai took out a piece of watermelon and stuffed it into her hand. "Eat if you want, and Ruxin and the others too. Don't be embarrassed, and don't make me send it. I'm selling melons just to pass the time and earn some small money by the way, I don't take these few watermelons seriously, don't save them for me."

"Got it. This year, thanks to you, I've eaten a lot of such expensive things. With your skills, naturally, you don't take it seriously."

After a while, it got hot. Lu Sanniang couldn't stand the heat on the roadside and the peddlers' shouting, so she returned to the shop.

At this time, Qiao Mai shouted once in a while, "Watermelon, ice, come and buy if you want to cool off!"

"Little lady, do you really have ice here?"

"I really do, do you want to buy it?"

Qiao Mai put down her embroidery, looked up, and saw a middle-aged man with a small mustache. His appearance made people feel very comfortable. He was wearing refreshing silk clothes and was of medium height, looking at her with a smile.

"Can I take a look?"

"Sure."

Qiao Mai bent down and took out a piece from the box. The middle-aged man looked at it and asked.

"Is this river ice or well water ice?"

"Well water ice."

"How much for a piece?"

"One hundred wen."

"A bit expensive, can it be cheaper?"

"How many do you want?"

"How many do you have?"

Qiao Mai opened the box and counted, "Including this piece in my hand, there are twenty pieces."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 24 =====