However, in such hot weather, it would be much more convenient if there were ice cubes.
Baiyunxi rubbed her chin with a twinkle in her eye. Ice was the best cooling helper during this period, but most people couldn't afford it. It was too expensive.
But for her, rapid ice formation is just a simple physical change, and the cost is lower than eating pastries.
Isn't it just making ice? She learned about it in the textbook.
With this thought in his mind, Bai Yunxi walked to the corridor waving the cattail leaf fan, looked at the still scorching sun, squinted his eyes and laughed.
After all, he is also a strange spirit. Take action when it is time to do it, otherwise you will have read more than ten years of books in vain.
I had known I would have stopped by the town when I came back from Xiaowangzhuang.
Making ice requires saltpeter, which is quick and easy. You only need to buy it once and it can be used repeatedly.
Thinking of this, Baiyunxi directly called the second son over, "Go to Dr. Yang's place and see if there is any saltpeter for sale. If so, buy some back. Mom can use it."
Saltpeter during this period was a medicinal material that could only be obtained by medical doctors.
"Hey~, I'll go right away." Bai Anyan had just taken a shower and her hair was still wet.
Baiyunxi took the Cattail Fan and asked Du to sort out a few basins and buckets, scrub them clean and set them aside.
When Bai Anyan came in with half a bag of saltpeter, "Mom, this is all Doctor Yang has left. I brought them all."
"Okay, let's clear out another cellar and lay it with thick straw." Fortunately, when she was storing sweet potatoes and vegetables in the past, she was worried that one cellar would not be enough, so she dug an extra cellar.
Baiyunxi looked at the saltpeter in the bag. It was gray-white in color. Although it was not pure, it was enough to make ice.
They are all ready-made and will be ready in no time.
"Okay, take the saltpeter to the corridor, prepare a large bathtub, put some saltpeter in the bag and melt it, then prepare a few small basins, fill them with water, and put them in the bathtub..."
Several people didn't know what Bai Yunxi was doing, and they were very curious. Especially Li, who held her waist and asked several times, but Bai Yunxi smiled and asked her to wait.
Although everyone was curious, they held back and did whatever they were told.
Half an hour later, several pairs of eyes were wide open. If there were no eye sockets blocking them, they would probably fall out of the window.
Wenyou leaned on the corridor pillar, looking from casual to surprised, and reached out to touch the crystals in the basin.
"This is ice."
"That's right, these are ice cubes, isn't it simple?"
The other people had not yet recovered from the shock. Wenyou touched it, looked at the white crystal, and nodded.
"If I hadn't watched the whole process, I wouldn't have believed it was so simple."
Not everyone can afford ice cubes in summer.
Wealthy families, officials and dignitaries all have their own ice cellars to store snow and ice cubes in winter and use them to cool down the next summer. However, some families do not have such good conditions. If they want to cool down in summer, they have to pay for them.
The disadvantage of ice cubes is that they are expensive.
Although she was not involved in general affairs, she had heard a lot that the price of ice cubes was ridiculously high in the summer.
The hot weather is not very friendly to the elderly. Whenever possible, you must buy some ice cubes to help the elderly survive the heat safely.
When she stayed with her former master, she heard her master's stepmother complain more than once that ice was consumed a lot in the summer and the expenses were too high, so the government could not make ends meet.
But when she saw it today, she was a little surprised. Aunt Bai could make ice cubes so easily. The profits of those ice-making workshops can be imagined.
Rest three seasons a year, make one season, and eat for one year. This is a good deal.
"What are you doing? Take the basins out, change a few basins, and put a basin of freshly made ice into the house. It can cool down and relieve the heat, and have a good sleep at night."
Bai Yunxi curled her lips and waved her hands to bring the others back to their senses.
"My mother, it's really ice. How did it turn into ice on such a hot day?" Ms. Li held her belly with one hand and covered her mouth with the other, her eyes widening all the time.
Bai Anyan rubbed his eyes, and before he could speak, he let out a cry and turned to look at Mr. Li,
"Why are you pinching me?"
"Hey...it hurts. It's really not a dream."
Mrs. Li chuckled, walked in front of Bai Yunxi, circled her arm,
"Mom, you are so amazing. You can actually create ice cubes on a hot day. If you put this in the house, it will definitely be very cool."
"What changed? We all did it together."
Bai Yunxi reached out and pinched her chubby cheeks, chuckled lightly, and asked her second son to move the ice basin out and put a few more basins into the tub.
Fortunately, the tub is big enough to hold three basins at a time.
There is a lot of saltpeter and the ice making speed is fast. One person can make ice in an hour.
For the ice that was made later, Baiyunxi directly asked Wenyou to help and sent it to the cellar with Lao Er for storage.
Until it got dark, Bai Anyan stood in the cellar, stacking the last piece of ice on top, feeling very calm.
His mother-in-law really thinks about things all the time. I really don’t know why she has so many novel things in her head.
The weather has been hot for a few days now. Today I suddenly had the idea of making ice cream, and in the blink of an eye I made a cellar.
He asked his mother how she knew how to make ice?
Since you can make it, why didn’t you make it before?
Unexpectedly, I just gave him a faint look and said that I always knew it, but I didn't think of it before, but now I suddenly remembered it again.
What can he do?
Bai Yunxi sat on the Luohan bed, leaning on the soft cushions, and there was an ice basin in the room. It was really comfortable.
When Wenyou came in, she saw such a lazy little old lady, and the corner of her mouth trembled.
"Aunt Bai, all the ice cubes have been stored in the cellar."
"Well, take out the saltpeter from the bathtub and you can continue to use it in the future."
While waiting for dinner, Xiao Si came back and felt the slightest bit of coolness in the room. After being surprised, he jumped up with a cry.
"Mom, you are biased. Why don't you think about your son when you have such a good thing? I get up and take a shower twice every night when it's hot. If I hadn't come back for dinner today, I wouldn't have known you were so moisturized."
Seeing the resentful look in Xiao Si's eyes, Bai Yunxi glared at him, "I just made it today. I'm preparing it for you to take away after dinner. How can I forget you?"
"That's pretty much it."
Xiao Si had eaten and drank enough, and brought a basin of ice with Shuren, and returned to the duck factory with satisfaction.
Thinking of the elderly Third Auntie, Bai Yunxi called the second one again, "Bring two pieces of ice, one for your Third Grandma, and one for your Aunt Song, so that they can have a good sleep at night. Don't forget to tell your uncle."
Mom, put the ice cubes farther away."
After all, ice is a cold thing, so the young man is fine, but the third aunt is not in good health, so she won't inhale the cold air.
"By the way, let me tell them by the way, we can't tell others about the ice in our house, otherwise, everyone will come to ask for it and we will be exhausted and unable to pay."
Except for the third uncle and the Song Wang family who had protected her at the beginning, she was not prepared to get involved with the rest of the people.