Courtyard House: He Yuzhu started in 1948

Tian Zhuang didn't agree, but after finishing the braised pork, he took He Yuzhu to the wrestling arena without saying a word.

He was satisfied after performing the Twenty-Four Forms of Beijing Wrestling for He Yuzhu.

"Kid, you're too weak."

Tian Zhuang looked at He Yuzhu, who was lying in the sandpit eating sand, and said, "If you want those things, come to the wrestling arena when you have time and practice hard!"

After saying that, he let He Yuzhu leave.

After He Yuzhu left, Tian Zhuang called over the person who had just come to call him and slapped him on the back of the head: "What are you calling me, Gangdan? Who are you to call me Gangdan? Call me Senior Brother!"

The man felt extremely wronged. Didn't he always call Gangdan "Senior Brother" before?

What's wrong with me today?

Tian Zhuang didn't explain, and went to the side to drink water and rest.

……

Little Steel Egg from the Overpass, I'll remember you.

He Yuzhu felt like his whole body was about to fall apart. That bastard hadn't held back at all when he threw him, clearly trying to kill him.

But this incident also reveals that Tian Zao's older brother is no ordinary person. When he hears about guns, he only cares about the price and doesn't ask where to buy them. He also doesn't take killing Han Qingkui seriously.

This is very problematic!

He Yuzhu kept his guesses to himself and decided to wait until Tian Zhuang got the gun first.

It's the weekend today, time to rest!

He Yuzhu was sleeping at home. Chunxi brought in the laundry she had just washed and saw He Yuzhu lying on the bed looking uncomfortable. She went over to him and asked with concern, "Yuzhu, what happened? Did you get into a fight?"

"no."

What's with the fight? All I get is to get beaten up.

He Yuzhu felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

A pair of hands pressed on his shoulders: "Let me give you a massage. I used to give massages to the madams at the shop often, and she said my strength was just right."

"No……"

He Yuzhu had barely said no when he gave up resisting; it felt so good.

Mmm, umm...

He Yuzhu's hands had nowhere to go. When he used to work on construction sites and in sales, his hands would always be touching the stockings until they were pilling.

But now it's Chunxi, and He Yuzhu doesn't dare.

But Chunxi seemed to be doing it on purpose... stirring up He Yuzhu's little flame, making him feel all uneasy.

Holy crap!

He Yuzhu really couldn't take it anymore!

You've used all the knowledge you've learned on me, haven't you?

Stop messing around, sis.

"Oh, is Young Master He enjoying himself?"

With the hand on his back gone, He Yuzhu felt a sudden sense of relief.

My savior!

Tian Zao teased He Yuzhu for a while, then said to Chunxi, "Sister Chunxi, don't let this guy enjoy himself too much."

"without."

Chunxi shook her head and explained, "Zhuzi came back looking like he was falling apart. I thought he wasn't feeling well, so I massaged his shoulders."

The gate isn't even closed, what can you do?

That is, to massage the shoulders.

Tian Zao chuckled, "Hey, he asked for it. Why did he have to wrestle with my brother for no reason? He's just asking for trouble, isn't he?"

Oh, it was Tian Zhuang who did it.

Chunxi didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

He Yuzhu sat up.

Tian Zao sat down next to him and said with a grin, "Want to wrestle? Come to me. I'm better than my brother."

"Little bean sprout, all you do is brag."

He Yuzhu didn't continue speaking, but instead asked, "Are all the items sold out?"

"Sold out."

Tian Zao was very proud, but then she brought up another problem: "However, it's getting hotter and hotter now, so our business isn't as easy to run."

"Business has its own pace in winter and summer."

He Yuzhu already had a plan, and said to Tian Zao, "We'll sell cold drinks."

"Selling cold drinks?"

Tian Zao became interested and clamored for He Yuzhu to reveal his idea.

it's actually really easy.

He Yuzhu said two words: "Ice! Make ice with saltpeter."

"This idea? It won't work."

Tian Zao thought He Yuzhu's idea was too far-fetched. "Ice made from saltpeter melts too easily. Someone in our alley tried to make it before, but failed."

He Yuzhu chuckled: "Their failure means they don't know how. I have a secret recipe for making ice."

Is there a secret recipe for making ice?

Tian Zao asked He Yuzhu to speak, but He Yuzhu just smiled and remained silent.

It's actually very simple; you just add salt to the water.

This is no secret in later generations; you can find tons of results online, with even the production method explained clearly.

Saltwater ice making is an upgraded version of saltpeter ice making, but He Yuzhu didn't have enough workers for saltwater ice making, and it took a long time, so he had to give it up.

However, adding salt to the water can prolong the time it takes for ice to melt.

Ice made from saltpeter is non-toxic. Li Shizhen once described the medicinal properties of saltpeter in detail, stating that it is pungent, bitter, very warm, and non-toxic.

It was precisely because of this that after the Republic of China era, ice was no longer exclusive to the nobility, and private ice cellars appeared, with many people making a living from it. Even so, cold drinks in the summer were still the exclusive domain of wealthy ordinary people.

He Yuzhu, however, did not think so. He believed that if he could make ice, ordinary people could also enjoy it.

For example, watermelon.

Put ice in a bucket, chill the watermelon, and then it's ready to sell.

As for throwing watermelons into wells to chill them... that's something only the wealthy can afford, since wells are usually occupied.

Even so, Tian Zao still shook her head: "Watermelons are expensive, two cents a pound, and a single watermelon weighs over ten pounds. Who would be willing to spend so much money on a watermelon?"

"If a family of five can't bear to buy a watermelon, could two or three families join together to buy one?"

He Yuzhu spread his hands and said to Tian Zao, "We carry watermelon knives with us. If ten or twenty people buy one watermelon, or one watermelon costs one cent, we can just sell them separately, right?"

He Yuzhu retorted, "We're putting the watermelon on ice to chill it, not throwing it into a well to cool it. Everyone can enjoy a delicious, cool watermelon, right?"

Of course, He Yuzhu could sell more than just these cold drinks; there was also chilled plum juice, watermelon juice and lemonade sold to the wealthy... all highly profitable businesses.

He Yuzhu acted on his idea immediately, dragging Tian Zao along to experiment with making cold drinks.

When He Daqing returned, he saw Tian Zao drinking iced water made from a paper cup and exclaiming how delicious it was. He asked curiously, "Zao'er, what are you drinking?"

"This is called chilled lemonade, made by Zhu Zi, it's delicious."

Tian Zao presented a bowl of food to He Daqing like a precious treasure, saying, "Uncle He, would you like to try some?"

"Huh? Sha Zhu made ice?"

He Daqing took a sip and immediately understood what it was. He also guessed that He Yuzhu was planning to sell it, and subconsciously asked, "How much is a cup?"

Tian Zao said, "One silver dollar equals four cups."

???

He Daqing was dumbfounded. How much money did I just gulp down in one go?

"Two cents for this piece of junk? Are you robbing me?"

He Daqing was immediately enraged, "So heartless?"

Is it dark?

He Yuzhu scoffed, "I also have Sheng Sheng Oolong, Fengxi Green Osmanthus, and Grape Succulent... This is two cups for one yuan."

"..."

He Daqing could clearly see that the cup contained only crushed grapes, and what was most infuriating was that even the grape seeds hadn't been removed.

When He Daqing pointed out the problem, He Yuzhu replied confidently: "If there were no grape seeds, how would they know that I used real grapes?"

???

How are fake grapes made?