Chapter 133: I Need to See Her

“Sister-in-law, I know what the bamboo cups are for, but what’s the deal with these reed straws?”

Li Mo considered himself well-informed, but the things Ye Xin Ran came up with always seemed unusual and inventive.

“They’re straws! For drinking,” Ye Xin Ran explained.

She placed a reed straw into a bamboo cup and mimicked the motion of sipping through it.

“You can do that?” Li Mo exclaimed in surprise.

“Of course,” Ye Xin Ran replied matter of factly.

Soon, she demonstrated the proper use of the bamboo cups to everyone. Meanwhile, the freshly brewed cooling tea had already been cooled and was ready to serve.

Under Ye Xin Ran’s direction, the shop assistants filled twenty cups and placed them on a table near the entrance.

“Cooling tea! Cooling tea! A refreshing drink that beats the summer heat! One sip will clear your mind, one cup will leave you wanting more.

Just ten coins a cup, no regrets, no rip-offs. Ten coins a cup to keep you refreshed all day long!”

The shop assistant enthusiastically recited the advertising slogan Ye Xin Ran had written. After just two repetitions, he had it down perfectly.

The lively shouts caught the attention of passers by, who crowded around the entrance to ask, “Shopkeeper, what’s this?”

“This is our special cooling tea! It helps beat the heat, boosts appetite, and revitalizes you. Would you like a cup?” The shop assistant warmly greeted the potential customers.

“Ten coins a cup? That’s too expensive! The tea at the corner stand is just three coins a bowl!” Some waved their hands dismissively.

“It’s not the same!” Li Qiao interjected immediately.

“That tea is just made with tea leaves, but this cooling tea contains medicinal herbs that cool and invigorate the body, relieve heat, and improve overall health.

And it’s convenient to drink! You can carry this cup around and sip as you go.

Worried about convenience? No problem! We’ve even prepared these straws. Just insert one into the hole in the lid, and with a simple sip, you’ll enjoy the refreshing tea right away.”

The onlookers were captivated by Li Qiao’s demonstration, particularly the use of the reed straw.

“Wow, you can use it like that?”

“Who came up with this idea?”

“I’ve seen bamboo and reeds before, but I never thought they could be used like this.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll give it a try. It’s just ten coins. Shopkeeper, give me a cup.”

Curiosity got the better of some, and they began to take out their money.

When they finally had a cup of cooling tea in hand, they were genuinely impressed by its flavor.

“This actually tastes great!”

“It’s tasty, but so what? Sugar water tastes good too, and ten coins is still too expensive!”

“This isn’t sugar water. It tastes pretty similar to the Double Star Tea I’ve had before.”

“Can it really compare to Double Star Tea?”

“Not much of a difference, I’d say.”

“Shopkeeper, give me a cup too then.”

…

For a while, quite a few people paid to try the cooling tea. Li Qiao was thrilled, thinking that Yong Le Hall had created another miracle product.

He even discussed with Ye Xin Ran about preparing more cups, but two days later, the number of buyers dropped significantly.

“At first, people were just curious and joined the crowd,” Ye Xin Ran explained. “After a few days, the novelty wore off, and fewer people came to buy it.”

“What should we do then?” Li Qiao scratched his head. “We’ve already explained the medicinal benefits of the cooling tea to the customers. If we keep repeating it, they’ll just lose interest.”

Ye Xin Ran thought for a moment and said, “Maybe the problem is the target audience. Most passers by on the street are in a hurry. After trying it once, they might not come back for a second. We need to find a fixed group of people, let them experience the benefits of the cooling tea, and then they’ll spread the word for us.”

“What kind of group?” Li Qiao asked.

It wasn’t like this was medicine, what kind of people would drink the same thing every day?

“Let’s try the gate of Qing Shan Academy!” Ye Xin Ran suggested.

Li Qiao’s eyes lit up at the idea.

“You’re right! Those scholars stay at the academy every day. Even if they go out, they don’t stray far. Plus, they all have money on hand, so doing business with them shouldn’t be too hard.”

They acted quickly. By noon, Li Qiao personally led the team to sell cooling tea at the academy gate.

As the head of a medical hall, Li Qiao didn’t have to involve himself in such tasks. But after years of sitting in the clinic, he found that running this kind of innovative business was far more exhilarating. It was just too much fun exploring new ideas like this.

The results did not disappoint.

During their lunch break, the scholars came out in small groups to stroll. Once one person bought a cup, the others followed suit.

The thirty servings of cooling tea they brought were quickly sold out.

By the end, five scholars who missed out even made arrangements to have tea delivered the next day.

“They were all praising you!” Li Qiao reported the day’s sales and then added to Ye Xin Ran, “They were complimenting you!”

“Praising me? For what?”

“Those scholars said anyone who could come up with such a clever idea must be an incredibly intelligent person.”

“You’re too kind,” Ye Xin Ran said with a smile.

“Not at all! If anything, I think they didn’t praise you enough. Lady Ye, you’re not just intelligent, but also skilled in medicine and adept at business. Truly, you’re one in a million.”

“You’re quite the flatterer. Does your boss know about this?” Ye Xin Ran teased Li Qiao. “Go prepare the ingredients for tomorrow’s cooling tea.”

“Right away!” Li Qiao cheerfully went off to make the arrangements.

Ye Xin Ran wasn’t being overly modest. These ideas weren’t entirely her own. They were inspired by the glimpses of the advanced world she had seen in her previous life. She had simply adapted them to fit the current time.

The recipe for the cooling tea was Ye Xin Ran’s gift to Yong Le Hall. The success of the Snow Beauty Cream had brought in substantial profits, and this recipe was her way of giving an extra dividend.

As for the bamboo cups and reed straws, Ye Xin Ran had arranged for the villagers to craft them through the village head.

Each bamboo cup with a straw cost Li Mo only two coins. The materials were easy to source, and the production process wasn’t labor-intensive, so the village head was delighted.

For the villagers, this was a stroke of good fortune. It didn’t interfere with their farm work and provided additional household income. If they could scale up production, it would be even better.

Everything was progressing smoothly and heading in a positive direction.

Meanwhile, in the capital, Leng Qing Yu finally received a letter from her sister.

She read the letter from beginning to end, then carefully examined the signature at the bottom. After confirming the handwriting, she finally believed that the letter was truly written by her sister, Qing Xin.

Lady Leng felt a mix of confusion and unease. Could her sister’s health have declined so much that she was hallucinating? How could there possibly be another daughter in Yun Tong County, given that her own children had been raised by her side?

Yet, the letter clearly stated that her sister’s health was improving.

Could it be possible that there was someone in the world who resembled her daughter so closely?

Lady Leng read the letter again, her hands trembling slightly as she finished.

The letter mentioned that Chang Qing wanted that girl to stay by his side.

From childhood to now, Chang Qing had never expressed such a fond attachment to anyone, not even to his own sister.

“I must see this girl,” Leng Qing Yu decided.