Chapter 81

81. Chapter 81: Ordering Ice Cream and Snow Cakes at a High Price

The horse carriage arrived home first, and Jiang Xiaoxiao was carried down from the carriage by Jiang Yu with light, careful steps.

Once her feet touched the solid ground, Jiang Xiaoxiao's heart, which had been pounding in her chest, finally settled down. She turned her head to look behind her, where Jiang Wei was slowly catching up on an ox cart.

She simply walked forward to push open the courtyard gate and invited the guest in first: "Please, Young Master Jiang."

As she spoke, she strode forward, but she froze the moment she entered the courtyard.

The courtyard had been swept spotlessly clean, the family's chickens, sheep, and rabbits had all been fed, and a tall stack of freshly chopped firewood was piled up beside the kitchen.

Jiang Xiaoxiao turned her head and saw the sisters Chunmiao and Chunya weeding and watering the vegetable patch...

"Oh? So this is your home?"

Jiang Yu walked into the courtyard, scanned the area, and looked quite surprised.

He had assumed that a rural household would inevitably be dirty, messy, and poor, but this courtyard was arranged in an orderly fashion, with a chicken coop, a sheep pen, and a rabbit hutch...

Logically speaking, with so much poultry and livestock, the ground should be covered in droppings, but the ground had been swept clean. Upon entering, there was even a small path paved with gravel, and chopped hay was stacked neatly to one side, giving it quite a pastoral charm.

Behind the house were two old trees with canopies that towered into the clouds, blocking out the sky. Standing in their shade was very cool, and most of the heat Jiang Yu had endured on the journey dissipated. If only there were a bowl of creamy ice cream to go with it...

As Jiang Yu thought this, he walked over to the rabbit hutch and took a special look at the rabbits, which were being raised to be white and plump. He nodded with satisfaction, "It seems your family's food is quite good. Those rabbits were half-dead when they were locked in the cage a few days ago; I didn't expect them to have grown so large in just a few days at your place."

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "..."

With her serving them a dose of ability water every day, it would be a miracle if they didn't grow fast.

At the time, those rabbits had been locked in a chicken coop. Jiang Yu's original intention was for everyone to solve the difficult problem, so he hadn't paid much attention to the rabbits and chickens, just telling people to feed them a few times to ensure they didn't die.

"Sister Xiaoxiao, you're back..." The sisters Chunmiao and Chunya stood in the vegetable patch, looking timid and afraid to approach Jiang Yu, who was dressed in fine silk robes.

By now, Jiang Wei had also arrived home. Seeing the clean courtyard, she was slightly surprised as well. She turned and said to the sisters, "Chunmiao, take your sister to wash your hands first. I bought some meat back, and we'll eat together in a while."

Chunmiao had wanted to refuse, but seeing the noble guest standing with Jiang Xiaoxiao, she quickly agreed.

Da Sao Jiang must have bought this meat to entertain that noble guest; she couldn't say anything to dampen the mood.

Chunmiao took Chunya to wash their hands and then went to help move the items from the ox cart.

Several large pots, several ice cabinets, three jin of pork, and a roasted chicken... there were quite a lot of things. Fearing the two young girls couldn't carry them, Shopkeeper Zhou also stepped forward to help.

It took several trips for them to move everything into the courtyard. Jiang Wei paid Old Man Zhao before returning to the courtyard.

As soon as she entered, she didn't go to the kitchen to prepare food first, but instead had Jiang Xiaoxiao bring out several stools, inviting Jiang Yu and Shopkeeper Zhou to sit and discuss business.

"Young Master Jiang, what quantity of snow cakes and ice cream do you intend to buy from me to transport to the Capital?" Jiang Wei asked straight to the point.

"Naturally, as much as you have, I will buy. This young master is not short of that bit of money." Jiang Yu sat in the shade, waving his folding fan quite comfortably. "However, Little Lady Jiang, have you thought of a way to transport the snow cakes and ice cream to the Capital completely intact?"

Jiang Wei pondered and said, "There is a way... but the price will be much higher than it is now."

Jiang Xiaoxiao, sitting to the side, silently pricked up her ears to listen. She wanted to hear how her mother planned to solve this transportation problem.

"The Capital is a long distance from our Yuhe Village. Even by river transport, it would take over half a month. Coupled with the hot weather, this ice cream and snow cake would melt very easily, so..."

As Jiang Wei spoke, she grabbed a handful of ice cubes from the ice cabinet beside her and said, "I have decided to use these ice cubes to make a large ice cabinet to load the ice cream and snow cakes."

"A large ice cabinet?!" Jiang Yu looked at the ice cubes in Jiang Wei's hand in surprise and couldn't help but say, "That would require quite a lot of ice, Little Lady Jiang. Where are you going to get so much ice?"

"You don't need to worry about that; I have my own ways," Jiang Wei said. "Let's discuss the price of the snow cakes and ice cream."

Jiang Yu nodded and said, "Fine, then you set the price."

"Young Master Jiang, the production of my ice cubes requires a lot of time and effort, so the price of this batch of snow cakes and ice cream transported to the Capital will be a bit more expensive than usual," Jiang Xiao said, tossing the ice cubes in her hand. "Fifty wen for one portion of ice cream, twenty-five wen for one portion of snow cake... what do you think?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao, standing to the side, gasped when she heard this price.

This price had soared fivefold!!

At fifty wen per portion of ice cream, would anyone still buy it??

"Fine, then we'll go with the price you stated." Jiang Yu agreed very readily. "However, this time I want to purchase five thousand portions of snow cakes and ten thousand portions of ice cream, and I need the goods within half a month. What do you think?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "... How many?!"

She suspected she had misheard.

Even Jiang Wei couldn't help but speak up: "Young Master Jiang, ordering so much goods at once, aren't you afraid you won't be able to sell them when they reach the Capital?"

"Rest assured, this bit of money is nothing to this young master." Jiang Yu waved his folding fan nonchalantly. "Besides, this young master trusts his own judgment; these snow cakes and ice cream will definitely sell well throughout the entire Capital!"

Although he was young, his judgment was sharp, and he had never been wrong in the past few years.

Moreover, these snow cakes and ice cream were indeed rare items; not only were they delicious, but they also relieved the heat. Based on his understanding of the nobles in the Capital, these things would definitely catch their eyes.

Furthermore, these snow cakes and ice cream, costing only a few dozen wen per portion, were even more delicious than the pastries in the Capital shops that cost several taels of silver. He believed that once he reached the Capital, even if he doubled the price of the snow cakes and ice cream, people would still scramble to buy them!

The only thing to note was that these snow cakes and ice cream should be transported to the Capital before autumn as much as possible; otherwise, once the weather cooled down, there would be fewer buyers...

Looking at Jiang Yu's ambitious face, Jiang Wei didn't say anything more. "Since that is the case, I will try my best to have the goods you want ready in half a month and send them to Yuelai Restaurant."

Jiang Yu waved his hands repeatedly: "No need for such trouble. I will send someone to your house to pick them up when the time comes."

Five thousand snow cakes and ten thousand ice creams were no small amount; he would have to send several more carts to haul them then...