Chapter 10 Business (Tears of Blood Seeking Recommendation Votes)

  After school, Wu Qing returned home and found that his mother had already prepared everything. He said to her: "Mother, from now on, you'll be in charge of the household chores, and I'll take care of things outside. First, let me teach you how to make shaved ice and popsicles, and then our family will never have to worry about food and clothing again."

  Wu Daigne's eyes seemed to have some hidden worries, Wu Qing understood that in this era, the common people would rather be farmers than merchants, and the status of merchants was really too low.

  "Wu Qing smiled and said, 'Mother, although merchants have a low social status, they live the most comfortable lives. Moreover, this world cannot do without merchants. Relying on one's own skills to make a living is not shameful.'"

  Wu Qing's words finally made Wu Dang Nian feel much more at ease, and she didn't doubt at all when Wu Qing would have so many abilities. In Wu Dang Nian's mind, perhaps it was just that these few years the children from home had read a lot of books.

  Seeing the worry fade from Madame Wu's eyes, Wu Qing didn't bother with anything else and took the things to the backyard. He had to conduct some experiments first. Although in theory saltpeter ice was feasible, it still needed testing - only practice could verify the truth. (The following experiment is not recommended; there are better methods in later chapters on inventions, so this section can be skipped.)

  Wu Qing took out the saltpeter and ground it into a powder in a mortar, then set it aside for later use. Next, he took out a wooden box about three feet long, opened it, and was very pleased to see that it had over ten rows of neatly arranged cells, each cell being about three inches long, one inch wide, and one and a half inches high. Wu Qing fetched some clean water and slowly filled each cell with it. Then he found a small ladle and used it to scoop up a tiny amount of the ground saltpeter powder and put it into one of the cells. The saltpeter quickly dissolved in the water, and within seconds, the water in the entire cell gradually turned white, eventually turning completely into ice. Wu Qing was overjoyed - it had worked so easily!

  Wu's wife stood beside him, her eyes wide with amazement, the whole person in a state of shock, she did not expect that this saltpeter powder could be so magical, she really couldn't think that the one who could do such a thing was actually her own son, her own son was indeed a prodigy.

  Wu Qing's face was still stern, and the ice had formed so quickly that it seemed like too much saltpeter had been added. After waiting for a moment, he took out the block of ice and shaped it into an ice stick. Wu Qing licked it with his tongue, and amidst the bitterness, there was also a spicy flavor.

  How could this be? Wu Qing first reduced the amount of saltpeter powder, then put it in another grid, and soon froze again. Wu Qing took it out to taste, still bitter and pungent, but seemingly slightly lighter. Thus, Wu Qing had no choice but to gradually reduce the amount of saltpeter, conducting experiments one by one.

  The amount of saltpeter powder was reduced, affecting the freezing time, ultimately resulting in a mixture of ice and water. Therefore, Wuqing's experiment was to slowly adjust the dosage of saltpeter, the amount of water used, the temperature and humidity at that time, as well as the quality of the saltpeter, before coming up with a complete experimental formula, which took a considerable amount of time. Of course, for temperature and humidity, Wuqing had no way to measure them, only through some rough descriptive words.

  Wu Daigne was a literate person, which surprised Wu Qing greatly, as it was rare for women to be literate in this era, and even fewer commoner women could read. It seemed that Wu Daigne also had a story in her past.

  Wu Qing wrote and painted, although the text was written in Tang Dynasty font, but added some chemical symbols, counting completely used Arabic numerals. Watching Wu Qing write strange symbols on Xuan paper with a brush, Wu Dangniang had to look carefully for a long time without interrupting Wu Qing.

  Statistics is a great subject, in my previous life, Wuqing was very interested in statistics, I remember that at that time the math was not good, but probability and statistics were absolutely top-notch. And this subject is really useful for a lifetime.

  The test requires forty-eight hours, which is two days. Use one day to do the test and record it, then use another day to repeat the same steps as a comparison test for the first day. Then, by comparing the changes in the test data within the same time frame, the best test data can be obtained through differences, and this data will become the working data, and the popsicle and shaved ice business can start.

  He reported to Wang Fu and, after two days of continuous experimentation without rest, finally came up with the best formula through comparison. Wu Qing finally had a long sleep and also had a very long dream. In his dream, he became the CEO of the entire Tang Dynasty.

  When Wu Qing woke up, Wu Dang was already making more than a dozen ice sticks in the workshop. According to Wu Qing's request, bamboo skewers were added for easy eating. The ice sticks were all placed in wooden boxes wrapped tightly with white cloth. Wu Qing opened one and tasted it, the bitter and spicy flavors were very faint.

  Seeing his son smile, he knew he had done a good job. He then took out a dark red popsicle and said: "Try this one, I added a bit of honey according to your idea."

  After taking it over, he licked his tongue and indeed had the taste of honey. It seems that Wu Dangniang really has this kind of talent.

  "When it comes down to it, you've done a great job, but this honey seems a bit expensive and not worth it. I think adding sugar water and some colored fruit juice would be just as good."

  Upon hearing her son's words, Wu Dangnu seemed to be deep in thought, and then brought out a bowl of mulberries. These were picked from the mulberry tree in the backyard, which Wu Qing had originally intended to use for brewing wine, but hadn't expected Wu Dangnu to have already picked them.

  Wu Qing understood Wu Dang's meaning and nodded, saying: "Still, mother is clever, thinking of it at once. Soon the mulberries were crushed and added to the grid, then honey was added, and a bamboo chopstick was used to stir evenly, after which saltpeter powder was added. Before long, a black-red ice block had formed.

  Wu Qing smiled and said, "Please try some first, Mother."

  "Wu Dang's daughter smiled and said: 'My son is so clever, let's eat together with his mother.' After finishing speaking, she used a handkerchief to wrap the ice block and handed it to Wu Qing. Wu Qing took a bite, biting off a piece, and Wu Qing's eyebrows furrowed instantly."

  "Doesn't it taste good?"

  "Wu Qing jumped up and said: 'Mother, we succeeded, it's this flavor.'"

  “......”

  "I mean it tastes just like I thought it would originally." Wu Qing corrected himself immediately.

  Wu Daigne lightly bit on Wu Qing's tooth mark, then revealed a smile and said: "It's just too cold, it makes people's heads ache."

  Wu Qing smiled and said, "This is just the thing to dispel the summer heat. Our family doesn't have to worry about business being bad." Seemingly remembering something, she added, "Right, it's just right for making shaved ice. Mother, come take a look."

  Wu Qing took out an ice stick from the storage box, then put it in a bowl and crushed it. He added a few mulberries and a spoonful of honey, stirring quickly to mix well. Then he scooped up a spoonful with a spoon and handed it to Wu Damao's mouth, saying: "Mother, try the taste first."

  The big girl woke up from her daze and put it in her mouth, with a satisfied expression on her face, saying: "To say that this shaved ice is still better than that popsicle."

  "So, in the future, we'll mainly focus on making shaved ice. As for the method of making shaved ice, it's nothing more than adding sugar water and other ingredients to crushed ice. At a higher level, you can add chopped fruit or milk, such as cow's milk or sheep's milk. In short, there are many variations, which will depend on your cleverness.

  Wu Qing seemed to be lost in endless reverie, imagining that if he could really make the shaved ice business successful, wouldn't it be possible to open many chain stores? If you want to open chain stores, then you'll have to come up with some new and fresh ideas."

  Wu Dang's mother has become accustomed to her son's strange ideas and no longer looks at him like a freak.

  Wu Qing didn't know that he had already become famous in Wenshui County.