Doctor Jiang had returned to the town first; Meng Zhuqing only planned to head back to town after everything was settled with An Jing and Xiao Changyi and he was sure he wasn’t needed anymore.
But before returning to the town, Meng Zhuqing carefully asked An Jing, "Madam, it’s even hotter in the county, and I’d like to share the method of making ice with my elder brother so he can also use it to cool off. Is that alright?"
"Of course," An Jing agreed without any hesitation. At the same time, she thought to herself that although Meng Zhuqing was always bullied by Meng Lanqing, he still cared a great deal about his elder brother.
"Thank you, Madam!" Meng Zhuqing was very pleased.
After leaving An Jing and Xiao Changyi, Meng Zhuqing returned to TipLiu Town. However, he did not stay there long as he mounted a fast horse and headed for Hecheng County.
By the time Meng Zhuqing arrived in the county, it was already dark, and An’s Rice Shop had closed for the night.
Meng Zhuqing didn’t scale the wall but instead knocked loudly on the door of the rice shop, excitedly shouting, "Brother! Brother! Hurry up and open the door! I have great news to tell you!"
Soon, the Store Manager of the rice shop—Meng Lanqing—opened the door.
As the door opened, Meng Lanqing, with his noble and cool demeanor, looked at his brother’s exceedingly ordinary face and said, "If you don’t have good news, I’ll beat you even harder than last time."
Meng Zhuqing: "..." Would it still be too late to avoid telling his brother about the ice-making now?
Not wanting to get beaten up, Meng Zhuqing could only enter the rice shop while saying, "I’ve learned a method for making ice from Madam, so you can make your own and not suffer from the heat."
The moment Meng Zhuqing said this, Meng Lanqing, who had been walking away, immediately turned around, his smile exceptionally captivating, and circled his brother’s shoulders with a very brotherly embrace, "What method?"
Meng Zhuqing was taken aback for a moment before he quickly replied, "It involves using saltpeter. I tried it today following Madam’s instructions, and I actually managed to make ice. Truly, it was ice, and I even ate two bowls of it."
Then, Meng Zhuqing held up a bag in his hand: "I’ve already bought you some saltpeter. I’ll tell you the steps, and you can start making ice."
Meng Lanqing did not inquire about the procedure for making ice, instead he called out to Meng Zhuqing with a smile: "Zhuqing."
Meng Zhuqing’s scalp tingled for no reason, but still habitually responded, "Hmm?"
Suddenly, Meng Lanqing pinched Meng Zhuqing’s chin, examined his brother’s exceptionally ordinary face from left to right, and said with profound grief, "We were born from the same pregnancy. Back when you were in our mother’s womb, couldn’t you have taken on some of this face for me? If you had, even just a little, I wouldn’t feel so humiliated now. How can you be such a brother? You didn’t share at all. Everyone mocks me; who has ever mocked you, hm?"
Meng Zhuqing immediately felt guilty, terribly so: "Brother, I..."
"Alright, I don’t need that from you. Just make sure you do a good job with the ice. Go on!" Meng Lanqing even gave him a push. "I’m about to die from the heat in this wretched weather!"
Meng Zhuqing: "...!!!" So that was his real intention!
Seeing Meng Zhuqing standing still, Meng Lanqing suddenly stepped closer again, "Zhuqing, touch your conscience, look at my face—"
Meng Zhuqing didn’t wait for Meng Lanqing to finish speaking and interrupted, "I’m going! I’ll make the ice for you right now!"
Damn it, he didn’t know how their mother did it, making their faces so utterly different from heaven to earth!
No wonder his brother always aimed for his face when beating him!