Cheng Su belonged to the sort of person who would act upon an idea as soon as it struck her. For instance, when she wanted to make some ice desserts with jam, she bought a whole basket of pineapples and also prepared clean glass jars for later use.
While Qi Taiguo hadn’t yet returned, Cheng Su, like a bird freed from its cage, was hardly absent from the small courtyard. She now had a new idea and started fiddling with the pineapple jam once again.
A basket of pineapples didn’t cost much; peeling, chopping, and soaking them was tiring work, her hands aching with the effort. But the scent of the jam cooking in the air, sweet and tart, brought her joy. Especially when she saw the silky jam being poured into the clear glass jars, the sense of satisfaction was immense.
This jam was alright; the making of it was, after all, quite simple. However, making crushed ice was giving Cheng Su a real headache. Ice could be made, but crushing it was just too difficult. What a hassle! She thought, the twenty-first century is much better, for the ice slush in cold drinks there could be easily made with slush powder.
Another thing was that Cheng Su couldn’t guarantee that these ice desserts would sell well. After giving it much thought, she decided to buy some small plastic ice cubes, which she then put in bags and smashed with a hammer. She packed the crushed ice in boxes and chilled them in a foam cooler during lunch for sale.
But the ice turned out too coarse, and in a moment of inattention, it had all melted, unable to achieve the same sandy texture as a machine could.
"Oh my, what’s all this?" During lunchtime, the diners who came to eat noticed the silky jam and the bowl of crushed ice, which looked so pleasing to the eye and mouthwatering, that they couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.
"They are sweet treats I dreamt up during my free time," Cheng Su said with a smile. "This is pineapple jam; you can spread it on bread, or just eat it like this."
As she spoke, she deftly scooped a bowl of sugared ice slush from the sealed box, added two spoonfuls of softly cooked red beans, topped it with two spoonfuls of pineapple jam, and handed it over, saying, "It’s great for cooling off. I call it ’ice slush.’ It’s twenty cents a bowl, but during the opening period, I’m only charging ten cents. Try it, brother."
When the man heard that a bowl of ice was to sell for twenty cents, he was taken aback; after all, a meat dish only cost twenty cents as well. How could they afford such a thing?
But he soon heard her say that she would only charge ten cents if bought together with a meal, and he was intrigued. After all, Cheng Su’s culinary skills were obvious, and this ice slush was unheard of; he wanted to try it.
"Alright, I’ll have a bowl to try something new," the man accepted it.
By now, a crowd had gathered around to watch him taste it, eagerly asking what it was like.
After a few bites, the man’s entire face relaxed and he said, "You might as well buy a bowl and try it yourself. It’s really good, but..." he looked at Cheng Su and gave a wry smile, "I can’t let my daughter see this, or she’ll be nagging me for it every day."
The crowd, upon hearing this, was somewhat puzzled.
Cheng Su laughed and said, "These treats are particularly favored by children and young ladies. If you say so, I feel assured."
Since he said it, it proved that these sweets would be even more popular with children and girls, which were indeed the target customer groups Cheng Su had in mind for her products.
After all, sweet treats like this are mostly liked by that demographic.
"I want to try a bowl too. I’ve never seen this before!" After hearing Cheng Su’s explanation, the crowd began to clamor.
Cheng Su crisply acknowledged them and swiftly proceeded to serve the ice slush with red beans and jam while Qiulan was busy selling the meals; both of them were so busy that they scarcely had time to collect the money.