Ye Xinyan returned to the snack shop with the two hundred taels silver note in her hand, thinking that she wasn’t sure how Jinrong’s inquiry had turned out. If he insisted on getting to the bottom of this and couldn’t find an answer at Great Crane House, he would surely come to the snack shop. At that time, she would have to reveal the method for creating the treat.
Qi Younian saw Ye Xinyan return and hand the silver note to him. He sat on the side, tilting his head in thought, oblivious even to Qi Jia walking by. He asked, "Ye Zi, what’s wrong? Did Shopkeeper He become upset when you asked for an advance on the silver?"
Ye Xinyan came back to her senses and smiled, "Not at all; Shopkeeper He is easy to speak with. It was the Sixth Master, dining in a private room on the second floor of Great Crane House, who asked the waiter where the Ice Cream came from. He even insisted on knowing if it was stored in an ice cellar during winter."
"Oh, that." Qi Younian wasn’t worried about this particular matter. Having interacted with this prince a few times, Qi Younian held great respect for him.
The Sixth Prince was not as haughty or arrogant as he imagined but was open-minded and amiable. As for his inquiry about the Ice Cream, it was probably just out of curiosity about a food not typically found in the summer heat; he wouldn’t go to the lengths of forcibly seizing it.
At that moment, the well-behaved Qi Jia brought Ye Xinyan a cup of cool tea and snuggled beside her to listen to the adults talk.
"Our Qi Jia is so good," Ye Xinyan said as she took the tea and patted his head, continuing to Qi Younian, "Shopkeeper He suggested that I go and explain to Sixth Master myself. I thought it would be inconvenient to speak at Great Crane House. Even if I could answer Sixth Master’s questions, it wouldn’t be appropriate to disclose the exact method for making Ice Cream in front of the staff there, so I declined. I was just thinking, perhaps Sixth Master might come to our shop to inquire, and we need to prepare for the esteemed deity’s visit."
Qi Younian, an astute elder, was quite open-minded, "Sixth Master is a person worthy of respect. If Sixth Master inquires, naturally we shall respond to however much he asks. With his status, not to mention he would not contrive to harm our business, even if Sixth Master were of ill-intent, we couldn’t afford to provoke him, could we? We must speak openly and honestly, after all, ensuring the safety of our family is of the utmost importance."
Ye Xinyan laughed, somewhat self-deprecatingly, "Grandfather is more insightful; it’s me who’s overthinking it. Sixth Master is likely just momentarily curious, curious about how the Ice Cream is frozen. As for the process and ingredients of Ice Cream, he probably won’t take it to heart."
Sure enough, when Jinrong heard that the Ice Cream and double-layered milk custard served at Great Crane House were provided by the snack shop next door, he immediately sent a servant over.
Hongzhi was surprised when he stepped into the shop, which had three tables of customers. Upon entry, seeing the bustling Qi family’s father-in-law and Ye family’s young lady behind the counter, his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.
Wait, and the little guy who made a show of writing at the short table next to the counter, wasn’t that the young brother of the Ye family’s young lady? That somewhat shy little fellow, sitting boldly in the shop where people came and went?
This... the frequency of their encounters was too high, wasn’t it? He wondered why he hadn’t seen the Ye family’s young lady at the Rice tofu stall the last two times. So it turned out she was here, starting another business.
As soon as Qi Younian saw the visitor arrive, he quickly handed over the food delivery to Ye Xinyan and went to greet him.
"What gust of wind brings you here, young sir? Please, come in. What will you have? We have snacks and soups here, both sweet and savoury. Why don’t you try something?" Qi Younian offered.
Hongzhi hurriedly waved his hand, "Old sir, no need for such courtesy. I’m here on an errand, sent by someone else; I dare not delay my task by eating."
He glanced at the three tables of customers in the shop and then at Ye Xinyan, who seemed not to notice him, and gestured, "Old sir, shall we talk in the back room?"
Qi Younian could guess why Hongzhi had come and didn’t say much, leading him towards the small private room at the back of the shop.
Both men were deferential to each other as they moved to the back of the shop.
Qi Younian said, "Young man, please have a seat. This old man will bring you a sweet soup that’s quite refreshing." As he spoke, he was about to head to the kitchen.
Hongzhi hurriedly stood up to stop him, "Old sir, that won’t do. I am here on an errand for the Sixth Master, and he is waiting for a reply. Please sit down and let’s talk, I have something to inquire about."
After another round of courteous refusals, they finally seated themselves on two high stools.
Hongzhi said, "Old sir, forgive my intrusion, here’s the thing. Our Sixth Master tried your family’s Ice Cream at the Great Crane House next door and was very interested in this frozen treat. He specially sent me to ask whether this Ice Cream was stored in the Ice Cellar since winter?"
"To answer your question, young man, this Ice Cream is made fresh," replied Qi Younian with a smile.
Hongzhi made a look of understanding, thinking to himself that if the Ice Cream had been stored since the winter, the Ice Cellar would have to be enormous, filled with a vast amount of ice.
He still had some doubts, but now, seeing the Qi family’s grandfather and grandson in the little food shop, and considering the current shrewd condition of Miss Ye of the Ye Family, he wouldn’t be surprised by anything happening in her household.
With a smile on his face, Hongzhi asked, "So, this means that the Ice Cream is made by your family? It’s now the peak of summer, may I ask, old sir, how do you freeze the Ice Cream?"
No wonder Hongzhi was so eagerly inquiring; getting information from the Qi family was all too easy, and the information led to effortless rewards. Last time he asked a few extra questions, and just for those few words, he made quite a sum—twenty taels of silver.
Faced with Hongzhi’s expectant and eager little expression, Qi Younian was somewhat baffled. It’s just a question, young man, do you need to be so earnest?
Subconsciously, he replied, "The Ice Cream was thought up and made by my granddaughter. The equipment is over in the corner, young man, you can come over and take a look."
Nowadays, besides supplying the Great Crane House, his own little shop sold Ice Cream as well, so there was no small stockpile. To slow down the melting, they deliberately isolated a section, wrapped it with cotton padding, and placed the wooden tubs for making Ice Cream there.
Hongzhi followed Qi Younian over, and Qi Younian lifted the cotton padding to let Hongzhi see the wooden tubs, "It’s these. Inside this wooden tub, there’s a smaller tub, and that’s where the Ice Cream everyone eats is. Between the big tub and the small tub, we put ice blocks. The ice blocks are purchased."
While speaking, he opened one of the wooden tub lids, revealing the two tubs and the interstitial space between them. The ice in the interstice was hard to make out, but the Ice Cream in the small iron tub was exuding a cold chill.
"Oh, so it’s the ice blocks surrounding the outside that freeze the Ice Cream in the small tub," remarked Hongzhi.
Hongzhi was still a bit puzzled, but he didn’t feel it was appropriate to inquire further. After all, this was the family’s livelihood. If he persisted in asking for details, the father-in-law of the Qi family would likely have no choice but to tell him. However, then they might feel he was abusing the power of Prince Yu, and who knows if Miss Ye would get infuriated by that?
Although there’s a saying in the world that "a fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken", there’s also a following explanation that goes: someday when the feathers are full again, the phoenix is still a phoenix, and the chicken is still a chicken. Miss Ye’s family has a good background, and now she is exceptionally intelligent—who knows what the future holds? It’s better to be cautious.