She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 88 Salted Vegetables...

Chapter 88: Chapter 88 Salted Vegetables...

Jinrong asked directly, and Qi Younian answered cheerfully, "To answer Sixth Master’s question, this old man wouldn’t dare to deceive Brother Hongzhi. Shopkeeper Hao from Great Crane House is also aware of this matter; the ice cream is indeed frozen using blocks of ice. The ice we are using now was also procured with the help of Shopkeeper Hao."

Qi Younian thought since he hadn’t told Hongzhi everything just now, it wasn’t right to spill the beans completely at this moment. He could only tell Jinrong this much.

"Take me to see it."

This time Qi Younian simply took out a neatly packaged wooden barrel, lifted the lid. There was the insulating cotton cover on the outside, followed by the wooden barrel, an intermediate layer, a small tin barrel, and the milky-hued ice cream inside—all clearly visible at a glance.

After examining it for a moment, Jinrong exchanged a glance with Jiang Yifan, and pointing to the layer of melting ice water, he asked, "The ice in this intermediate layer has melted into water, yet the ice cream remains solidly frozen. How is this possible?"

Qi Younian replied calmly, "To Sixth Master, we added salt inside."

Jinrong didn’t show any signs of confusion; in fact, the moment Qi Younian mentioned adding salt, Jinrong thought of the key factor.

A few years earlier, during a harsh winter season, he had followed a delegation to the Northern Barbarian Territories and saw a lake there. Although the Northern Barbarian Territories were covered in snow and swept by biting winds, the lake did not freeze over.

At that time, Jinrong also had questions, and an official from the Northern Barbarians explained that it was a Salt Lake, which, even in the extreme low temperatures of winter, would only form a thin layer of ice crystals but would not solidify completely.

Glancing again at Jiang Yifan, Jinrong asked Qi Younian, "From the elder’s meaning, is this also a method thought of by the elder’s granddaughter? How did she come up with the idea that this method could freeze food?"

It wasn’t that he was trying to be difficult and dig to the bottom of it to trouble the father-in-law of the Qi family and Ye Xinyan, but there were too many unexpected coincidences, and that wasn’t just chance or luck.

Looking into Jinrong’s eyes filled with strong skepticism, Qi Younian felt a jolt in his heart and cautiously replied, "The common folks in our countryside all know that the brine used for pickling vegetables never freezes, no matter how cold the weather. But the one who thought of applying this principle to making ice cream was my granddaughter alone. It’s this old man’s good fortune to have such a bright and clever granddaughter."

Pickled vegetables...? Could it be that simple? Jinrong bore into Qi Younian with a look of disbelief for a long while, making Qi Younian sweat profusely until Jinrong, very reluctantly and with displeasure, averted his gaze.

It was just that simple, such a simple reason, and yet it allowed that girl from the Ye Family to create a frozen treat in the heat of summer. And this girl was known throughout the capital for her recklessness and thoughtlessness. How would the intelligent and clever ladies of the capital feel about this?

Jiang Yifan, standing to one side, didn’t understand the details, especially after Jinrong gave him a meaningful glance. All the more, he didn’t understand. He asked, "What’s going on? Does this ice cream have something to do with pickled vegetables?"

Jinrong’s suspicions had just begun to emerge when they were crushed mercilessly by Qi Younian, leaving him in a state of frustration.

Upon hearing Jiang Yifan’s question, an irritable Jinrong replied, "I don’t know if it has anything to do with pickled vegetables. I’ve only seen the salt lake in the heartland of the Northern Barbarians during the depths of winter, where despite the frozen landscape, the lake with its high salt content never freezes."

Jiang Yifan still didn’t quite understand, so he turned his gaze to Qi Younian.

Qi Younian explained, "Ordinary ice blocks placed between the layers of two buckets will melt, but such melting just turns into the water we commonly see, which definitely can’t be used to make ice cream. If salt is added, the melting speed of the ice blocks increases, but the resulting brine has a much lower temperature than ordinary ice water. If you keep adding ice and salt without stopping, and if you have good insulation, this flowing, low-temperature brine will freeze the ice cream mixture."

This was the explanation Ye Xinyan had given Qi Younian. Although it wasn’t comprehensive, it was the only way to explain it. Ye Xinyan herself didn’t possess authoritative theoretical knowledge about the subject, so she really wasn’t capable of explaining this physical process to people from ancient times in an easy-to-understand way. Moreover, even if she had a profound theoretical knowledge, it was likely that Qi Younian and the others would not understand it.

Luckily, Jiang Yifan basically understood, and even if there were details he couldn’t comprehend, now was not the time to ask further.

Jinrong, who enjoyed seeing Jiang Yifan make a fool of himself, snickered and asked, "Have you never seen people pickle vegetables?"

Jiang Yifan rolled his eyes at Jinrong, "Who among those trained from childhood to be scholars learns how to pickle vegetables? Would the Sixth Master like yourself have ever pickled vegetables?"

"Hmph, at least I, the Sixth Master, have seen a salt lake. Have you?" Jinrong boasted defiantly with a retort, looking around at the cramped space. When he thought of the shop being run by the once mighty and boastful young lady from Duke An’s Mansion, and then related it to the pitiable reputation of the young lady from the Ye Family in the capital, a new idea suddenly struck him.

"Old Master Qi, I personally think, your family’s business is indeed not easy to bring to this level. Initially, it’s all fine food, and your little shop’s exterior decoration is unique, with a decent name too. But look at what you’ve made it into."

With a casual gesture, Jinrong swept around, "The shop is so small, which noble would want to dine crowded together with others? Also, the decorations in your shop, especially those painting works... they are paintings, right? I think they are only fit for the eyes of a three-year-old child, having some childish charm but not a hint of elegant connotation."

Qi Younian couldn’t help but smile bitterly. These matters had already been deeply reflected upon by Ye Zi. She had inadvertently turned what she thought would be a high-end establishment into a snack shop catering to teenagers and children, only realizing later that she had underestimated the consumption level and cultural literacy of the wealthy.

Her fabric art and dry branch arrangements indeed weren’t recognized by the wealthy in Clear Water County. Just as Jinrong mentioned, these things only showed childish charm, likely only to be appreciated by children.

And the adults raised in ancient families, due to their own upbringing, would not take an interest in these frivolous objects. Furthermore, facing the harsh competition between family members and among siblings, they definitely would not openly reminisce about childhood nor show an interest in childish amusements.

And the shop was indeed cramped, hard-pressed to accommodate distinguished people.

"Well... we originally started with a small-scale business and simply didn’t have the capacity to achieve the scale you mentioned. The current situation is already quite good, and the shop’s business is not bad, with substantial profits. Although the customers are mostly children, they all come from wealthy and lavish families, spending generously. Our family is quite satisfied with the shop’s earnings," he said.

Jinrong understood Qi Younian’s point, but he didn’t agree with it.

If it were just Qi Younian himself, it would have been okay for him to think this way, having faced many difficulties in life without much luxury. However, for the Legitimate Granddaughter who fled from the capital and had once experienced a lavish lifestyle, the phrase "content with poverty" would not be part of her vocabulary.

Jinrong shifted his gaze toward the direction of the shop, and judging from the shop’s decoration and the variety and price of the food, Xinyan’s initial intent was certainly to do business with the rich. It’s just that things didn’t develop in the direction she had hoped.