Making Ice Cream

"Brother Dongyi, what are you doing? Can you actually make food out of stones?"

Watching Hyuga Gen bring over stones, Hyuga Natsu was quite curious.

After lunch, Hyuga Gen had announced he was going to make something delicious, and he immediately began to busy himself. He fetched two basins—one large and one small—along with a pile of stones.

Those stones were, naturally, saltpeter. As luck would have it, he had spotted some at the blacksmith's shop earlier and had simply borrowed them.

"Xia, you and Zhihui help me stir this. Keep stirring constantly; don't stop until I tell you to."

With that, Hyuga Gen handed the small wooden basin containing egg whites to Hyuga Natsu.

As for the saltpeter on the ground, he set about crushing it himself. The saltpeter wasn't very hard, so grinding it down wasn't difficult; it only took a short while.

"Brother Dongyi, do we still have to stir? My arms are getting sore."

Stirring with chopsticks was indeed time-consuming; the equipment was still too primitive.

Of course, this was just a trial run. If it proved feasible, Hyuga Natsu planned to get some better equipment so it wouldn't be so troublesome.

"Mm, don't stop. Let Zhihui help you stir. It needs to be whipped until it turns milky white."

"Egg whites can turn milky white?"

Hyuga Natsu was skeptical. She didn't quite believe it and looked at Yu Zhihui, who only shook her head to indicate she didn't know either.

"When have I ever lied to you? Keep stirring and you'll see."

After washing the dishes and tidying up, Shuishu Ling noticed the three little ones tinkering with something and curiously wandered over. However, she didn't offer any opinions, choosing instead to watch quietly from the side.

"It's changing! It's changing!"

Having heard it would turn milky white, Hyuga Natsu had been staring intently at the egg whites in the basin. When she saw that it had indeed changed, she shouted excitedly.

"Let me have a turn!"

With that, Hyuga Natsu snatched the basin from Yu Zhihui and began to stir happily.

Before long, all the egg whites in the basin had turned a milky white.

"Give it a taste."

Hyuga Gen dipped his finger in and held it out to Hyuga Natsu's lips.

Hyuga Natsu didn't hesitate; she latched onto Hyuga Gen's finger. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she gave it another vigorous suck.

"Brother Dongyi, what is this? It's sweet and the texture is great! I want more!"

Hyuga Natsu said this with sparkling eyes, her mouth still open in anticipation.

"Alright, you can have as much as you want later. We still need to use it for now."

Despite saying that, Hyuga Gen still dipped his finger in again to feed her.

Seeing the expectant look on Yu Zhihui's face, Hyuga Gen dipped his finger in for her as well. However, when she latched onto his finger to lick it, he felt a bit unnatural.

Don't overthink it, don't overthink it.

Hyuga Gen kept warning himself; he felt as though he were committing a crime.

After a while, Hyuga Gen poured in some milk, stirred it for a bit longer, and then placed the small basin into the large one filled with clean water.

Next, Hyuga Gen tossed the saltpeter powder into the large basin and began to stir continuously.

"Brother Dongyi, what are you doing now?"

"Don't be impatient, you'll see in a moment."

Hyuga Gen kept adding saltpeter powder to the water and stirring, repeating the process over and over.

Soon, the saltpeter powder was gone. Hyuga Gen stopped, took the small basin out of the large one, and grabbed a spoon to scoop some out for Hyuga Natsu to taste.

"Wow! This time it's icy cold and even better! I want more!"

After tasting it, Hyuga Natsu spoke up quickly, as if afraid someone else might snatch it away.

In the end, the group finished it off together. Poor Hyuga Gen didn't even get a single bite of what he had made.

"Brother Dongyi, what is this called? It's truly delicious."

Hyuga Natsu said, looking like she still wanted more.

"This is called ice cream. If you want more, we can just make it again. But you can't eat too much of this; it's easy to get a stomachache."

"Brother Dongyi, you're so amazing to be able to come up with something like this."

Hyuga Natsu looked at Hyuga Gen with pure adoration, and Yu Zhihui looked at him with the same expression.

After eating the ice cream, Shuishu Ling's eyes also lit up. She saw a business opportunity; if this were sold, it would surely be a huge hit.

Thinking of her own small noodle shop, business wasn't great, there were many competitors, and the location was out of the way. She knew her noodles didn't have much of a unique character and weren't particularly attractive to customers.

If she could sell this in her shop, perhaps it could improve their family's situation. Thinking this, she couldn't help but glance at her daughter.

Her daughter was excellent and very sensible, having suffered quite a bit alongside her. The girl never wanted to eat anything expensive or buy pretty clothes because she knew her mother worked hard and wanted to save money.

Even if not for herself, she had to strive for her daughter's sake. Just as she was about to speak to Hyuga Gen, she heard him say:

"Aunt Ling, could we sell this at your shop? To earn a little pocket money? Of course, I won't let you lose out—how about a sixty-forty split?"

"Forty-sixty split?"

"That's right. I take forty percent of the profits, and you take sixty, Auntie Ling. How does that sound? I provide the technique—you saw it yourself just now—and everything else will have to rely on you, Auntie Ling, since I'm still in school."

Hyuga Gen wasn't actually short on money; he barely touched the allowance his grandfather gave him. The world simply wasn't rich enough in goods for there to be many places to spend it.

He had noticed the dire straits of Zhihui's family, so he wanted to lend a hand while earning some pocket money on the side.

"No, that's too much. Let's do thirty-seventy. You take seventy, and I'll take thirty; that would be better."

Shuishu Ling spoke quickly. She had originally intended to suggest twenty-eighty, but thinking of her daughter, she settled on thirty-seventy.

Even suggesting thirty-seventy made her feel a bit embarrassed. After all, Hyuga Gen was their benefactor; it wouldn't have been excessive for him to help them sell the ice cream at the noodle shop for free.

Hearing Shuishu Ling say this, Hyuga Gen couldn't help but nod to himself.

"Auntie Ling, let's stick with forty-sixty. The materials and labor are yours, and you'll be the one managing it. I won't be handling anything, so I can't let you take a loss."

After some back-and-forth, both sides finally reached an agreement on a sixty-forty split, with Hyuga Gen taking sixty percent and Shuishu Ling taking forty.

With the matter settled, Hyuga Gen went to commission some better tools. It was simple enough; he explained his requirements to the blacksmith and drew a few sketches, making everything clear and concise.

Afterward, Hyuga Gen shared some promotional strategies and ideas, such as a free tasting on the first day, with Shuishu Ling. These suggestions left her greatly astonished, and she couldn't help but admire him in secret. Although she didn't know how effective they would be, she was eager to wait and see.

"Brother Dongyi, I want more. Let's make some more when we get home."

Walking on the road back home, Hyuga Natsu looked at Hyuga Gen with a face full of anticipation.

"Better not. You'll get a stomachache if you eat too much. Next time you want some, can't you just go to Auntie Ling's? Why go through the trouble of making it yourself?"

"Oh, alright then."

"Xia, school starts the day after tomorrow. We need to get everything ready tomorrow."

As the sun set, the boy and girl chatted idly, and before long, they disappeared around the corner at the end of the road.