Chapter 106: The Sled, the Ice Cellar, and the Competent Liu Dazhu

In the Capital City Hospital, Director Niu went to Director Gao’s office with the letter he had just received.

“Old Gao, it’s all settled! I’ll contact Old Sun right away to have the goods sent to the train!”

Director Gao was also pleased. With this, his promotion was almost certain. The resources Ming Dai had provided were not something ordinary people could access.

He had said it before—this girl was capable!

The couple made plans and decided to take the afternoon off. They called for a donkey cart to carry a load of items to the train station.

The train rumbled forward, carrying the couple’s hopes northward.

In Liujiawan, more heavy snow had fallen. Every household was staying indoors to escape the cold.

The small courtyard outside the house was adorned with icicles hanging from the eaves. In the sunlight, they sparkled, creating a beautiful sight.

Ming Dai was admiring them when Zhou Sinian suddenly reached up, plucked one, and placed it in his mouth with a crack.

The icicle made him shiver from the cold, and he quickly spat it out.

Ming Dai sighed. “You just eat it without thinking whether it’s dirty or not!”

Zhou Sinian stared at the shiny icicle in his hand and asked, “Ming Dai, why isn’t this rock candy sweet?”

Ming Dai pointed to the roof. “That’s ice formed from melted snow, not rock candy. Of course, it’s not sweet.”

Looking disappointed, Zhou Sinian tossed the melting icicle away.

As Ming Dai watched the ice glisten under the sun, she suddenly thought of the ice cellar in the basement.

Her space had a refrigerator, so she never lacked ice. Plus, she could easily adjust the temperature inside, making ice whenever she wanted. But those conveniences weren’t practical for summer use.

During the busy farming season, everyone—regardless of who they were—had to participate in planting rice or rushing to harvest. At that time, having an ice-cold drink would be a rare and refreshing luxury.

To make sure she could enjoy chilled drinks in the summer without arousing suspicion, Ming Dai decided to take advantage of the current cold weather to gather ice and store it in the ice cellar.

She cleaned out the ice cellar in the basement, then dragged along the troublesome little dog—Zhou Sinian—to borrow a flatbed cart from the village leader. Together, they would head to Yudai River to collect ice.

Hearing Ming Dai’s plan, the village leader was surprised. “I didn’t even know there was an ice cellar in that basement. Building one isn’t cheap, you know!”

Ming Dai nodded. “We discovered it by accident. Since there’s ice available now, we figured we’d store some and see if it holds up. By summer, it’ll be perfect for cooling down.”

The village leader nodded in approval. “That’s a good idea. A cart will be a hassle, though. Why not use a sled and bring the horse along?”

Ming Dai glanced at the horse, which had been hiding ever since their arrival. She nodded. “That works.”

At that, Liu Dazhu immediately stood up and called out to his sons inside the house. “Oldest, second, third! Get out here, hitch up the sled, and come with them to collect ice!”

Ming Dai couldn’t help but think to herself, Why do I get the feeling you’re a little too excited?

“Uncle Village Leader, you should come too. We won’t need that much ice!”

Liu Dazhu rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Well, Xiao Ming, if we collect more, we can save some for the village to use in the summer. How about that?”

Ming Dai considered it. The more ice they gathered, the better the ice cellar would function. Since she and Zhou Sinian had never done this before, having extra hands would be a big help. She nodded in agreement.

“Alright!”

The Liu brothers brought a large sled from the backyard, and after leading the horse out, they tied it to the front.

Zhou Sinian, curious, touched the sled, while the three brothers and the horse shivered in the cold.

Once everything was ready, Aunt Huang came outside, grumbling as she handed out cotton gloves. “Are you all children? You freeze up the moment you see ice! Do you think you’re still young? Watch your father’s back, hurry up, and don’t take forever!”

Liu Dazhu chuckled, completely unbothered by her scolding.

Then Aunt Huang turned to Ming Dai. “While the men are out collecting ice, you just stay put. Don’t try to help, understand? You’re a young girl—what if you fall in?”

Ming Dai quickly nodded. “Got it!”

Liu Dazhu climbed onto the sled, and the others followed suit. Zhou Sinian, too excited to sit still, fidgeted until Ming Dai held him down.

With a flick of the whip, the horse took off, and the sled glided smoothly across the snow.

Liu Dazhu’s skills were impressive, and the sled turned with great agility.

Once they left the village, the sled’s speed immediately picked up.

It was Ming Dai’s first time riding in one, and as she watched the scenery blur past, she called out to Liu Dazhu, “Uncle Village Leader, this is much faster than a horse-drawn carriage!”

Liu Dazhu cracked the whip and let out a hearty laugh. “That’s right! When the weather worsens, carriages won’t move as easily. From now on, we’ll use sleds to travel. You’ll be able to reach the county much faster this way!”

Ming Dai nodded in agreement. It was certainly more efficient, but the biting cold was undeniable. Without another word, she pulled her coat tighter and remained silent.

Meanwhile, Zhou Sinian, feeling the wind rush past him, was practically buzzing with excitement. Closing his eyes, he imagined himself racing through the frozen landscape.

He opened his eyes and said to Ming Dai, “Ming Dai, let’s make our own sled. I’ll pull you!”

Ming Dai shook her head, amused. “We can’t make one, and by the time we manage it, the snow season will be over!”

Zhou Sinian frowned, a bit disappointed.

The Liu brothers looked at each other, and finally, Liu Laifu spoke up. “Well, we’ve got a small sled at home. You can borrow it if you want.”

Zhou Sinian immediately looked at him, his eyes bright with interest.

Ming Dai tugged at his sleeve. “But don’t you guys still need it?”

Liu Laifu avoided Zhou Sinian’s eager gaze. “It’s a dog sled. My grandfather made it back in the day, but since we don’t have a dog anymore, it’s just been sitting there.”

Ming Dai turned to Zhou Sinian. “You heard that, right? We don’t have a dog either, so there’s no way to pull it.”

But Zhou Sinian’s excitement only grew. His eyes sparkled as he declared, “But we do have one now. I want it!”

Ming Dai felt a headache coming on. Where are we going to get a dog? This is getting harder to manage!

Zhou Sinian directly looked at Liu Laifu. “I want that sled!”

Ming Dai thought to herself, What kind of bandit talk is this?!

The three Liu brothers eagerly nodded. “Sure! Take it! It’s all yours!”

Ming Dai: …

Well, as long as they’re happy.

Zhou Sinian, delighted, adjusted his red scarf, which had been blown askew by the wind.

The Liu brothers also let out a sigh of relief. Ever since Zhou Sinian had, in front of them, shaved the horse’s tail fur, the Liu brothers had been more than a little intimidated by him.

Anything he wanted, they had to give it to him!

The sled was indeed fast, and before long, they arrived at Yudai River.

The river branched off from the Songjiang main stream, winding through Yudai County toward Daqing Mountain. When it reached Liujiawan, it curved, forming a natural bend.

Here, the river was at its widest.

The ice along the riverbank had already frozen solid, but the center of the river hadn’t yet, and it wouldn’t be safe for people or carts to cross until just before the New Year.

Liu Dazhu picked a spot to collect ice and parked the sled. He signaled everyone to get out.

The tools were also brought by Liu Dazhu—special tools for ice harvesting.

“Xiao Ming, you might think we’re poor now, but in the past, during this season, every household would collect ice to make ice lanterns. The ones who made the best lanterns were said to have prosperous homes! Now, only the fishing farms still collect ice during the winter.”

Ming Dai smiled and said, “Then we’ll trouble you today, Uncle Village Leader.”

Liu Dazhu grinned. “No trouble at all! I’ve been helping my father collect ice since I was little. With the right tools, it’s very convenient! We have to choose a spot with slow-moving water to collect the ice, so we’ll need to move a bit further ahead.”

He then called for the Liu brothers to follow him down.

Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian also followed, both very curious about this manual method of ice harvesting.

The ice along the riverbank was already quite thick. Walking on it wasn’t uncomfortable, though it was a little slippery.

Liu Dazhu chose a spot and began marking the area with his sons, drawing crisscrossing lines, much like a chessboard.

The four of them took chisels and carefully carved along the lines, separating the top layer of ice, leaving the bottom layers intact.

After a long period of carving, the ice surface was divided into large square sections.

Liu Dazhu took a short break before guiding his sons to insert their chisels along the carved lines, and then all four of them simultaneously struck the ice with hammers.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The sound of the hammers hitting the ice rang out, and the cracking sound of the ice layer beneath their feet echoed as the large blocks detached and began floating on the surface.

Zhou Sinian watched for a while, then eagerly grabbed the hammer from Liu Laifu’s hand.

Liu Laifu looked at his father with a distressed expression, but Liu Dazhu was so focused on the task that he didn’t have time to pay attention.

Ming Dai walked over to take a look.

Zhou Sinian, following Liu Dazhu’s example, positioned the chisel and began striking down along with the others.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!!”

“Crack! Crack! Crack!”

In an instant, everyone on the ice froze in place, all eyes on Zhou Sinian, who was lifting the heavy hammer.

How much strength does he have?!

“Don’t move!”

Ming Dai quickly stopped Zhou Sinian from continuing to strike, turning to Liu Dazhu. “Uncle Village Leader, should we stop?”

Liu Dazhu swallowed nervously, looking down at the ice beneath his feet. “It’s fine, no cracks. But we can’t hammer any more like this.”

Ming Dai quickly nodded and gestured for Zhou Sinian to return the hammer to Liu Laifu.

Zhou Sinian, reluctantly, handed the hammer back, showing his teeth at Liu Laifu.

Liu Laifu hurried to take the hammer and ran off, keeping his distance before continuing with the work.

Ming Dai pulled Zhou Sinian aside and stood watching from the side. She listened to Liu Dazhu singing the traditional ice-harvesting song while the Liu brothers echoed his words, making the whole scene much more entertaining than any folk performance she’d seen in her past life.

Once all the ice blocks had been loosened, Liu Dazhu took out several long hooks, one for each person.

Zhou Sinian’s immense strength came into play as he threw the long hook, sinking it into the top of an ice block. Liu Dazhu and the others hooked onto the other corners, and together they exerted force, pulling the block up.

Once the ice block was above the ice surface, it was much easier to handle. They could simply push it toward the shore. Ming Dai held the wooden board steady as they pushed the ice blocks onto it.

They could only carry three blocks at a time.

Liu Dazhu led them back, and they opened the cellar at Ming Dai’s house. The ice cellar had already been prepared and was ready to store the ice.

The cellar had a wooden slide, which they hadn’t known the purpose of before. It had just been sitting there unused, but now it was perfect for their needs.

The ice blocks slid down the ramp and were then pried onto the ice cellar’s floor with the wooden board.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the time when the ice was at its thickest; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to move the blocks.

It took them the whole day to move all the ice, about a dozen blocks, into the ice cellar.

The Village Leader was exhausted, sitting down in Ming Dai’s yard.

Ming Dai made ginger tea to help everyone warm up.

Liu Dazhu looked at the entrance to the ice cellar and asked Ming Dai, “Xiao Ming, you know medicine. Do you know about the snake venom antiserum? Now that our village has an ice cellar, can we apply for it?”

Ming Dai was taken aback. “You mean the anti-snake venom serum? That’s pretty hard to apply for. Even large hospitals don’t always have it.”

Liu Dazhu looked disappointed. “I see.”

Ming Dai was curious. The anti-snake venom serum hadn’t been fully distributed yet, so how did he know about it?

Liu Dazhu took a puff from his pipe and sighed. “Last year, two kids in our village were bitten by snakes while playing in the mountains. They took snake medicine, but it didn’t work. We rushed them to the county hospital. One of the kids didn’t make it before we got there. The other one was treated, but the hospital said they couldn’t do anything. They didn’t have the serum, and they passed away too.”

He paused, his voice heavy. “It’s not easy raising a child, and losing two like that is heartbreaking.”

“The snakes aren’t many in our mountains, just one or two now and then. But the kids like to run up there in the summer. I was thinking, if we could apply for some of that serum, it would be a huge help.”

Ming Dai looked at Liu Dazhu, surrounded by smoke from his pipe, and thought that Liujiawan was quite lucky to have such a village leader.

“I can’t get that antivenom for you, but I do have a good recipe for snake medicine. I can make it before spring comes. It should work pretty well,” she said.

Liu Dazhu brightened up, looking at Ming Dai. “I knew I had a sharp eye! I picked you out of all the educated youth without hesitation!”

Ming Dai smiled but didn’t point out that at the time, the village leader had been rather dismissive of her.

That evening, Zhou Sinian took a piece of ice from the ice cellar and handed it to Ming Dai. “Ming Dai, I want some rock candy, the icy kind.”

Ming Dai raised an eyebrow. “You have quite an imagination.”

She motioned for him to put the ice down. “You’re still on medicine and soaking in medicinal baths. You shouldn’t be handling such cold things. Rock candy isn’t made from ice. When I have some free time, I’ll make you some candied hawthorn skewers instead.”

Zhou Sinian immediately put the ice in the sink, his eyes sparkling as he followed Ming Dai around, unable to stop himself.

“Candied hawthorn skewers!? What are candied hawthorn skewers?! Are they delicious?! When will you have time?! Can’t you make them when you’re busy?! Ming Dai, I really want to eat candied hawthorn skewers…”

Ming Dai was internally screaming, “I really want to silence him, I swear!”