Chapter 88.1

Translated by Aviana

Xia Dacheng and Yang Tiezhu made the rounds of several medical halls in town, asking about saltpeter using different names. Despite their efforts, none of the halls stocked the item. Eventually, one hall recognized the name but had no stock due to its rarity in demand. Though saltpeter had medicinal value, it was seldom sought after.

Discerning their urgency for the product, a physician suggested they try looking for them in the county. After all, Luoyun town was but a small town, however HuaiHe county was a slightly different matter. With no other options, upon brief thought , Xia Dacheng decided to send Yang Tiezhu back home to assist with their family matters while he ventured to the county first and, if necessary, Yangcheng.

Now, Xia Dacheng was also desperate for a feasible alternate solution, as the situation with his preserved meats business had reached a point where it couldn’t continue. While he could afford to pause production for a couple of months, missing just one month would mean losing at least a hundred or so taels of silver. What did a hundred or so taels mean? A hundred or so taels could easily fetch them another big house with tree room or acquiring ten acres of prime farmland.

Having learned that some medical halls stocked the item they needed, they decided to broaden their search to larger towns. Now that they had a cart, a long distance travel, though a bit tiring, made things easier. Unable to go himself, Yang Tiezhu could only let Xia Dacheng go to the county alone, and then walk back himself.

Upon his return, Lin Qingwan eagerly inquired about the outcome. Hearing that a medicinal hall had recognised it and Xia Dacheng had gone to the county to look for it she felt relieved. Since it was known, it must be available for purchase, it was just that Luoyun Town was too remote and small.

Lin Qingwan patiently awaited Xia Dacheng’s return, which finally came after two days. After enduring a period of strenuous travel, Xia Dacheng’s countenance had darkened considerably, much more than his last trip. Passing the items to Lin Qingwan, he turned homeward, eager for rest. The past days had been a whirlwind of errands, leaving him breathless; now, he longed for nothing but a proper rest.

Noticing Xia Dacheng not mentioning anything about cost, Lin Qingwan deduced that the items were likely affordable.

She instructed Yang Tiezhu to fetch a small basin and jug filled with water.

Once he had done so, she opened the small cloth bag Xia Dacheng had given her.

The bag was small, holding several crystalline white substances, roughly equivalent to a large bowl of soup. Lin Qingwan didn’t recognize the substance, but its resemblance to descriptions in the time-travel novels she had read prompted her to give it a try.

She placed the jug in the basin filled with water and grabbed a small handful of saltpeter, dropping it into the water. The saltpeter dissolved quickly upon contact with the water.

Yang Tiezhu stood dumbfounded, watching his wife experiment. Seeing Lin Qingwan’s serious demeanor, he didn’t dare to ask why she was doing this.

After adding the saltpeter to the water, Lin Qingwan sat beside it, waiting. After a while, she noticed that the water in the basin hadn’t frozen.

Could it be that the time-travel novels had misled her due to her lack of reading? Or perhaps this crystalline substance wasn’t the saltpeter she thought it was?

She cautiously touched the water in the basin and the jug with her fingers. It did feel cooler than before; she had touched the water when she first brought it in, and it was indeed cooler now.

Could it be that she had added too little saltpeter?

Lin Qingwan grabbed another small handful of saltpeter and tossed it in.

After adding more, she kept her eyes fixed on the water. Yang Tiezhu, observing her intense focus on the water, also stared at the small basin, equally captivated.

Then he saw a sight that astonished him—

A thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the water in the jug.

Yang Tiezhu held his breath, and so did Lin Qingwan. After a while, the water in the jug had completely frozen.

Yang Tiezhu could hardly believe his eyes. He looked at his wife, and Lin Qingwan smiled happily at him. He then reached out to touch the ice in the jug.

Was it really ice?!

He was so excited that he was speechless. “Wife, how is this possible? How would water turn into ice?”

Lin Qingwan couldn’t tell him that saltpetre dissolving in water causes a rapid drop in temperature, leading to freezing. Could she tell him that she had read about it in a novel? Definitely not, and even if she did, it would be beyond his comprehension.

So she had to come up with a cover story. “I don’t understand it either. In the wealthy household where I used to live, this is how they made ice.”

Yang Tiezhu nodded excitedly after hearing this, eager to inform others.

Lin Qingwan stopped him, asking him not to rush and instead to boil the water in the basin on the stove.

Worried that Yang Tiezhu might not know how to do it, she went with him.

Although Yang Tiezhu didn’t understand why his wife was doing this, he believed she must have her reasons, so he obediently lit the fire to boil the water. There wasn’t much water in the basin, so it boiled quickly. Soon, a layer of powdery crystalline substance appeared at the bottom of the pot.

The appearance of the crystals was similar to the saltpeter Xia Dacheng had given her, just more finely ground.

Lin Qingwan was relieved and instructed him to scrape off the crystals into a bowl. She then refilled the basin with water, replaced the jug with a new one filled with water, and transferred the scraped crystals back into the basin.

Saltpeter could be reused, but it required distillation to evaporate the water content, leaving behind the crystals for reuse. Of course, it couldn’t be reused indefinitely, as there was some loss each time, but it was negligible.

It wasn’t until the second successful attempt at making ice that Lin Qingwan completely relaxed, allowing Yang Tiezhu to inform Xia Dacheng to come over.

Xia Dacheng had just returned and lay down in the house when Yang Tiezhu called him. Seeing his biao younger brother’s excited expression, Xia Dacheng knew something was up.

On the way, Yang Tiezhu quietly told Xia Dacheng about what his wife had done to make ice, prompting Xia Dacheng to immediately start dashing. Upon arriving at Yang Tiezhu’s house, Lin Qingwan was still sitting at the table waiting for them, with the small basin and the jug of water still on the table.

Xia Dacheng immediately noticed the ice inside and excitedly reached out to touch it.

“It’s really ice! My goodness!”

Xia Dacheng composed himself and sat down at the table.

“Did dimei call me over to talk about the ice?” His voice was a bit unsteady.

Lin Qingwan nodded, still looking somewhat dazed. She had been lost in thought before they arrived and hadn’t fully snapped out of it yet.

Tapping her forehead with her fingertips, she asked, “Elder Brother Dacheng, where did you buy these saltpetre stones? Were they easy to find? And were they expensive?”

Smart people can make conversations easy. Xia Dacheng immediately understood Lin Qingwan’s concern.

After a moment of thought, he slowly replied, “I bought these saltpeter stones from a large pharmacy in the county, not from a medical hall but from a place that supplies medicine to various medical halls. It was thanks to a friend of mine that I was able to buy them there, as they don’t sell to the public. They weren’t expensive; I spent about two taels of silver in total. As for their availability, I asked the shopkeeper. He said that since this substance is used in small quantities, they have very little stock. The amount I brought back is almost all of their inventory. So—”

So, using this method to make money through ice production wasn’t feasible. Even though Xia Dacheng didn’t finish his sentence, Lin Qingwan understood his meaning.

She sighed softly and said, “It’s okay. After this lesson, let’s dig an ice cellar in winter to store ice for future use. This method can only be used in emergencies.”

Xia Dacheng nodded, as he had the same idea.

But—

“But dimei, can this ice support us in storing the preserved meats?” As he said this, Xia Dacheng’s heart raced.

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