Cheng Wanwan took in everything before her.

She didn’t say anything, allowing Chunhua and Donghua to each carry away two bowls.

Now, all four people in the third household had a bowl of ice jelly in their hands.

She picked up two bowls, handing one to the elderly lady and the other to the old man.

There were only two bowls left when Zhao Er’s wife, Wen Shi, spoke up:
“Dawang and Erwang, you two share one bowl. Xiahua and Qiuhua, you two share the other.”

Cheng Wanwan smiled.

In just these few short minutes, she had already figured out who was easy to get along with and who had a more calculating mind.

She said, “Dawang, you’re quick on your feet. Go to Aunt’s house and bring back a few more bowls of ice jelly. There’s plenty, so take as much as you need.”

Zhao Erwang immediately raised his hand, “I’ll go too! I’ll go too!”

The two boys dashed off at full speed.

Old Zhao stared at the slippery, jelly-like substance in his bowl hesitantly.
“Dashan’s wife, you said this is… ice jelly?”

Old Lady Zhao was also uneasy.
“I’ve lived for sixty years and never seen such a thing before. It doesn’t look like something edible to me.”

Zhao Er laughed heartily.
“Sister-in-law wouldn’t bring something we couldn’t eat. Just take a bite and find out.”

He lifted the bowl and took a big gulp, then froze in shock.
“No wonder it’s called ice jelly! The moment you eat it, you feel completely refreshed! Sister-in-law, is this really made from lantern grass? How do you make it?”

Zhao San quickly took a sip and swallowed it down.
“Why does it taste like hawthorn? This stuff is really sour! I usually avoid it, but in this jelly, it actually tastes pretty good…”

The youngest, Donghua, drank hers in one go, wiped her mouth, and said eagerly,
“Aunt, this is so good! It’s so sweet! I didn’t have enough. Is there more?”

Old Lady Zhao shot her a cold glare.
“Opening your mouth and asking for more—where are your manners? This is something your Aunt plans to sell for money. I’d say it’s worth at least one coin per bowl. If you want more, you’d better pay up!”

Cheng Wanwan found this old lady rather amusing.

Without realizing it, she had just helped her solve a big problem.

Smiling, she said,
“I plan to sell this ice jelly for two coins per bowl. Mother, do you think that’s reasonable?”

Sun Shi gasped. Selling this for two coins per bowl?

That’s crazy! You could buy a meat bun for that price! Even though meat buns were more expensive now—costing four coins each—you could still get a plain steamed bun for two coins.

Why would anyone spend that much on a snack that doesn’t even fill the stomach?

But she wasn’t about to give a kind reminder.

She wanted to see her sister-in-law fail miserably and make no money at all.

Then, let’s see how the old lady keeps favoring her!

She smiled and said, “I actually think two coins is too cheap. This thing is unique to Dahe Village and Ping’an Town. Selling it for three coins wouldn’t be unreasonable.”

Cheng Wanwan had originally planned to price it at three coins, but considering the famine, many families had little to no savings.

Three coins might be too expensive and scare away buyers.

Two coins per bowl wasn’t too cheap, but it was still an acceptable price for most people. She could still make a good profit.

She observed the reactions and noticed that the ice jelly with brown sugar syrup was more popular. However, those who liked sour flavors also enjoyed the hawthorn version. Both flavors worked.

After everyone finished eating, she finally spoke,
“I’ll start with two coins per bowl and see how it goes. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading to town, so I’ll go back and prepare now.”

On her way home with her basket, she saw that Zhao Dawang and Zhao Erwang had already eaten two more bowls each.

They rubbed their stomachs and sighed in satisfaction—it was simply too refreshing!

This summer had been unbearably hot, and no matter how hard they fanned themselves, they couldn’t get rid of the heat.

But just now, for the first time, they had felt truly cool, from the soles of their feet all the way to their heads.

Cheng Wanwan couldn’t help but laugh.
“There’s a whole big basin of ice jelly here. You two carry it back and let the whole Zhao family eat to their hearts’ content.”

This batch was made from white flour starch, which took longer to solidify and wasn’t as smooth.

The appearance wasn’t great, so rather than waste it, it was better to let the family eat it.

Zhao Dawang and Zhao Erwang leaped up, grabbed the basin, and ran off as if afraid she would change her mind.

When they arrived home, Old Lady Zhao was stunned.
“You two brats! Why don’t you just move into your Aunt’s house while you’re at it? This is her business! Take it back right now!”

Zhao Dawang quickly explained,
“Aunt told us to bring it back! She said we could eat as much as we wanted today, but after this, we’ll have to pay.”

Before the old lady could respond, Donghua had already pounced toward the basin, nearly drooling into it.

“Alright, each of you can have one more bowl,” the old lady said helplessly.
“Keep the rest chilled. We’ll eat it tomorrow. You kids have no self-control…”

She went inside and said to Old Zhao,
“The eldest daughter-in-law has become much more generous. She’s really changed.”

Old Zhao took a puff of his tobacco pipe and said,
“She used to rely on her family’s connections for help, but now that she’s cut ties with them, she has no choice but to be more sensible. I just wonder if this ice jelly will actually sell.”

Old Lady Zhao shook her head.
“We’re simple farmers. We’ve never done business and can’t teach her anything. She’ll have to figure it out herself.”

Meanwhile, Cheng Wanwan was busy doing calculations.

Half a jin of stone flower seeds could produce a large basin of ice jelly, weighing about twenty jin in total.

If she divided it into small portions, she could get at least eighty bowls.

At two coins per bowl, the remaining four jin of stone flower seeds would earn her around 1,200 coins—equivalent to one tael and two qian of silver.

After deducting minimal costs, her net profit would still be at least one tael.

For a farming household in this era, an entire year’s income was only about two taels of silver—and that was assuming good weather and a good harvest.

If she managed to sell all of her ice jelly, she’d be making nearly half a year’s income in just a short time! That was a fortune.

But first, she had to make sure it would actually sell.

She had Wu Huiniang and Zhao Dashan prepare another half jin of stone flower seeds for more ice jelly.

Combined with the leftover trial batch, they would have about 130 bowls ready for tomorrow’s test sale.

That night, Cheng Wanwan and the children stayed up late preparing.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring Osmanthus Village, torches burned all night.

That afternoon, many from Osmanthus Village had secretly gone to Dahe Village and witnessed a canal bringing water down from the mountains into their once-dry rice fields. Many were envious.

After careful deliberation, the village leader decided to follow Dahe Village’s example and gather everyone to dig a canal.

The decision was unanimously approved, but when it came time to assign workers, chaos erupted.

“Village leader, my family’s field is closest to the mountain. Shouldn’t we be exempt from extra labor?”

“Leader, my husband is strong and can do the work of two men. We should only have to send one person.”

“Enough!” The village leader’s beard bristled with anger.
“Dahe Village sent over 400 workers, and we’re further away. We need at least 600 workers to finish in three days! Instead of trying to slack off, you should be working harder…”

But the arguments continued.

“My land is closer! I shouldn’t have to send more people.”

“My land is farther, but we’re one village. We shouldn’t be so petty.”

“If your land is farther, send more people! If there are no adults, send children! My family won’t take a loss!”

“You bastard! You wanna fight?!”

Osmanthus Village was in chaos, and by morning, no decision had been made.