The old man poured a big bowl of baogu wine into his stomach with joy, and then took his little son and grandchildren who were so sleepy that they couldn't open their eyes to sleep. Leaving Wang Lu and Du Juan behind, they didn't dare to go back to their own house, and they squeezed under the old lady's window and rested hastily on the wooden collapse.

The couple was very tired from running back and forth all day, and they slept very deeply, and when they woke up, it was already bright. The two were afraid of delaying their business, so they hurriedly trotted back to the small courtyard outside the city after visiting the old lady who was in good health.

Today's weather is fine, the sun that has rested for two days ran out early to report, and before the hour came, the sun was so hot that the earth was about to smoke, and the flowers and trees on the roadside were also wilting and drooping their heads. Seeing this, Dong Rong took Dong Ping and Silly Zhu to prepare seven or eight more boxes of ice cubes, preparing in case any of the customers increased their share. Sure enough, when a few restaurant stewards came to the door, they shouted to double the amount of ice.

It happened that Wang Lu and Du Juan rushed back and were busy directly loading and delivering goods to the door. Before they sent away the housekeepers, Sister-in-law Liu and others also came to work, and everyone was really crowded together.

Dong Ping just got a set of four treasures of the study room that fit his heart yesterday, and today he gave the original set of half-used ones to Xizi, and then taught him to write by hand. Xizi is used to branches and sand tables, and she is not used to "real knives and real guns" for a while, for fear of ruining the snow-white paper, so she is extremely careful with every stroke. He never thought that he would be so cautious, but he grasped the essence of practicing calligraphy, and made rapid progress. Three big characters, one is better than the other, which made Dong Ping stare at him, and secretly decided that he must practice calligraphy more hard in the future, otherwise it will be really shameless to be compared to a scholar.

Dong Rong was very happy to see that the master and servant were so close, and sat under the tree with a smile to sort out Dong Ping's luggage, thinking about what gifts to prepare for Mr. tomorrow morning. Although Dong Ping said that the gentlemen of the academy are highly respected, they value talent more than wealth. But she thinks that it is not strange for many people to be li, and Mr. is not an immortal, and he also needs to eat, drink, and sleep, so how can he get rid of the offerings of these mundane things. She didn't expect them to look at Dong Ping differently after receiving the gift, but as long as she could help say a few good words when she had something, it would be okay.

She was thinking like this, and Wang Lu and Du Juan also delivered back. Dong Rong poured tea and invited them to sit under the shade of the tree, and after the three of them gossiped for a long time, Dong Rong said with a straight face, "Cousin and sister-in-law, I have always wanted to tell you something, but there is always no chance. ”

Wang Lu didn't have that delicate mind, he couldn't guess what his cousin-in-law was going to say, and he was so frightened that he thought that there was something wrong with their husband and wife doing work, so he turned his head to look at the stupid pillar standing at the table and watching Dong Ping write, and said in a low voice, "Brother and sister, if there is anything wrong with me and your cousin-in-law, you just say..."

Dong Rong hurriedly waved her hand and smiled, "My cousin misunderstood, you and your cousin-in-law have helped me a lot these days, it's too late for me to thank you, how dare you complain." She thought about it and didn't go around the bend anymore, and said directly, "Cousin and sister-in-law, I used to hide it from you." This ice business is mine, and there is no owner. There is no ice cellar in the backyard, and this ice cube is made by me, Dong Ping, and Zhuzi every day. ”

"No main house? Ice cube... Can it still be made? Wang Lu was a little dumbfounded when he heard this, but the cuckoo pondered carefully for a moment, and his face showed a look of sudden realization. At the end, he whispered, "I say, why don't you never see the owner coming?" And the ice cubes seem to sell as much as they want, and I wonder how big the ice cellar is! ”

Dong Rong smiled and added tea for them, and praised casually, "It's still my sister-in-law who is careful, I read an ice-making recipe in an ancient book, but when I didn't get married, I was controlled by my stepmother, and I didn't have the heart to think about anything." Later, marrying the pillar gained some freedom, so I had the courage to try, but I never thought that it would be done, and the business was still booming. ”

Du Juan and Wang Lu glanced at each other, both envious of Dong Rong's good luck, and wondered what her intention was in telling them such a heavy secret.

Silly Zhu Xu was tired of standing, and walked over and sat next to Dong Rong. Dong Rong moved the dim sum plate in front of him and told him to eat two less pieces to save him from having lunch, and then said, "Don't hide it from my cousin and sister-in-law, I bought the Chen family's orchard yesterday, and I will run at both ends of the village and this side in the future." Brother Ping is going to study at the academy again, and I'm really too busy. So I want to ask my cousin and sister-in-law to take care of the business here more in the future, the method of making ice is very easy, I plan to teach you, but my cousin and sister-in-law must keep it secret. ”

Du Juan and Wang Lu nodded in unison, and promised in unison, "Brother and sister, don't worry, we won't talk about it." ”

The couple realized that Dong Rong had taught them such an important ice-making secret recipe and entrusted the entire business, but they didn't treat them as outsiders at all. It can be said that there are thousands of trusts and thousands of dependences, and the two of them looked very excited, and their chests were thumping.

Dong Rong is not a stingy person, and has been nurtured in modern times for many years, and her heart is like a mirror, no matter how deep the friendship is, it needs interests as a glue to become more reliable. So, she took out the contract she wrote last night from her arms and pushed it in front of Wang Lu, and said with a smile, "In the future, the monthly profit will be divided into 30% of you, and you must also promise not to leak the ice-making recipe to anyone, if there is no problem, my cousin will make a contract according to the handprint." ”

Wang Lu didn't want to get up and go to Dong Ping to get the inkstone, and then pressed the fingerprint. Du Juan hesitated slightly, but thought that Dong Rong's past actions and temper would definitely not treat them badly, so he also pressed his handprint.

Dong Rong divided the two contracts, instructed Du Juan to put it away, and then put her share back in the house. At the end, I talked carefully about the trivial matters and monthly income of the ice business with Wang Lu and his wife.

As a result, Dong Ping and Xizi, who were writing on the side, were not at peace, and they were often frightened by exclamations before they could be dropped. In the end, the master and servant simply accepted the four treasures of the study, pulled the pillar and ran outside the door to see the street scene.

Wang Lu and Du Juan knew how much money the thirty percent bonus in Dong Rong's mouth represented, and the couple were completely confused, they didn't know how to eat their stomachs for lunch, and they were floating around on their heels all afternoon. It wasn't until lying on the kang at night that the two of them looked at the beams of the room for half a night before they came to their senses.

The cuckoo's tears of joy and excitement flowed non-stop, and she wiped handfuls after handfuls, and then simply ignored them. Wang Lu also replayed the embarrassment of the family over the years, fantasizing about how to build a new yard in the future, for his son to study, and to marry a daughter-in-law for his younger brother, grinning for a while and not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The couple held hands tightly, and finally calmed down and discussed not to live up to the trust of their cousins. Needless to say, in the future, we must work harder and take care of business. Even my father and mother have to keep it secret, and the hundreds of clerks and workers I get back every month are enough for the family's expenses, and the large dividends at the end of the year are saved first. After two or three years, it's not too late to take out the stone to build a house before marrying. If you tell the family early, in case the news leaks out, the Niu family and Cao Pozi, the two wealth fans, don't know how to make trouble.

Du Juan felt very sorry for Dong Rong, and sighed, "Sister Rong is really a hard life, she was mistreated by her stepmother when she was a child, and she was embarrassed by her uncle when she married into her uncle's family, and it was not easy to live this life." ”

Although Wang Lu didn't like his aunt's temper, he didn't want to gossip about the old man, so he said, "In the future, Sister Rong and Zhuzi will have trouble, let's help more, they are both good-minded." ”

Du Juan was amused, and responded, "Sister Rong is a capable person, and she made a lot of money by casually finding Zhang Fangzi in the book, what can we help her with?" ”

Wang Lu glared and said angrily, "If you can't help, you have to help, not to mention that she entrusted us with the business today, even if she hadn't instructed her to wipe the wine last night, our mother's illness would have to be at risk." This is a grace, we must repay it! ”

"Good, good, I will definitely repay you!" When Du Juan saw that her husband was in a hurry, she quickly apologized softly and coaxed. Wang Lu glared at her, and then said, "Sleep, get up early tomorrow to learn to make ice, you must not be lazy, that's a big deal." After saying this, he rolled over and fell asleep, and the cuckoo pulled an old coat over his body, and counted the sheep and forced himself to sleep.

Dong Rong was worried about sending Dong Ping to the academy, and she didn't sleep peacefully all night, so she got up lightly and prepared to make breakfast as soon as it was dark outside, not wanting to see Wang Lu and his wife sitting in the courtyard as soon as she opened the door. She hurriedly walked up to the two of them and asked, "Cousin and sister-in-law, but you have something to go out, why do you get up so early?" ”

Wang Lu rubbed his hands, looking silent, but Du Juan glared at his husband and said with a smile, "It's not your cousin yet, I'm afraid that I won't be able to learn the craft of making ice, so I urged me to come over in the middle of the night, thinking that I could become familiar with it by practicing a few more times." ”

Dong Rong saw that most of the clothes of the two were wet with dew, and it was obvious that they had been waiting for a long time. She was really funny and moved in her heart, so she didn't rush to make breakfast, and led the two of them directly to the backyard. It's just sprinkling saltpeter, packing a box, and draining the wastewater, such a simple ice-making process, the diligent and capable Wang Lu couple quickly learned.

Wang Lu went to his heart, and his face was full of joy. He relied on his strength to play the copper box around, which made Du Juan and Dong Rong laugh.

Soon, Dong Ping and Silly Zhu got up and rushed over. As the old saying goes, it is better to work when there are more people, and it is better to eat when there are fewer people. What usually takes more than an hour is done, but it is all done in a matter of moments. Dong Rong looked up at the sun and realized that it was not early, so she urged Dong Ping to wash, and then went back to the room to change into a new dress.

Silly Zhu sat in the shade of a tree with a tea bowl and drank water, and the corner of his eyes swept the door of the wing room from time to time, but he didn't see the door open until he waited left and right. Finally, as if it had been a year, the two doors were pushed open with a creak. Dong Rong wore an ivory-colored muslin shirt cut into a stand-up collar, with a water-green pleated skirt underneath, her long hair loosely rolled into a double screw bun, and a magpie hairpin diagonally inserted. On the face that is becoming fairer, the red lips are not red, the eyebrows are not stained like ink, and the eyes are clear. ZM