Making Ice Cream

"Brother Gen, what are you going to do with those stones? You can make food out of them?"

Hyuga Natsu watched as Hyuga Gen brought over the stones, looking curious.

After lunch, Hyuga Gen had said he was going to make something tasty, and then he'd started busily preparing. He found two basins, one large and one small, as well as some stones.

The stones were, of course, saltpeter. As luck would have it, he'd seen some at the blacksmith's shop earlier and borrowed it.

"Natsu, Zhihui, help me stir this. Keep stirring, and don't stop until I say so."

As he spoke, Hyuga Gen handed the small wooden bowl containing the egg whites to Hyuga Natsu.

He ground up the saltpeter scattered on the ground. It wasn't very hard, so it didn't take long to crush.

"Brother Gen, do we have to keep stirring? My arms are getting sore."

Stirring with chopsticks really was time-consuming. The equipment was just too basic.

Of course, this was only a trial run. If it worked, Hyuga Natsu planned to get a better set of equipment so it wouldn't be such a hassle.

"Yeah, don't stop. Let Zhihui help you stir. You need to keep going until it turns milky white."

"Egg whites can turn milky white?"

Hyuga Natsu looked doubtful and wasn't convinced. She glanced at Yu Zhihui, who shook her head to show 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 saw the three children fiddling with something and curiously came over. She didn't comment, though, and just quietly watched from the side.

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

When she'd heard it would turn milky white, Hyuga Natsu hadn't believed it, so she'd kept her eyes fixed on the egg whites in the bowl. Now that she saw they really had changed, she cried out excitedly.

"Let me take over."

Hyuga Natsu took the bowl from Yu Zhihui and happily started stirring.

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

"Give it a taste."

Hyuga Gen dipped a finger into the mixture and held it to Hyuga Natsu's mouth.

Hyuga Natsu didn't hesitate. She wrapped her lips around his finger, her eyes lighting up at once, then sucked on it a little harder.

"Brother Gen, what is this? It's sweet and tastes pretty good, too. I want more."

Hyuga Natsu said, her eyes sparkling, and opened her mouth.

"All right. You can have as much as you want later. We still need it for now."

Though he said that, Hyuga Gen dipped his finger in again and fed her another taste.

Seeing the expectant look on Yu Zhihui's face, Hyuga Gen dipped his finger in some for her, too. But when she took his finger into her mouth and licked it, he felt a little awkward.

"Don't overthink it. Don't overthink it."

Hyuga Gen kept reminding himself that he felt like he was committing a crime.

A little while later, Hyuga Gen poured in some milk and stirred it again. Then he placed the small bowl inside the large basin of water.

Next, Hyuga Gen tossed the saltpeter powder into a large bucket and began stirring continuously.

"Brother Gen, what are you doing?"

"Be patient. You'll see in a bit."

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

Before long, he'd used up all the saltpeter powder, so he stopped. He took the small bowl out of the large basin, then found a spoon and scooped up a spoonful for Hyuga Natsu to try.

"Wow! It's cold this time, and even tastier. I want more!"

Hyuga Natsu exclaimed as soon as she tasted it, as if she were afraid someone would snatch it away from her.

In the end, everyone shared it, while poor Hyuga Gen didn't get a single bite of what he'd made.

"Brother Gen, what's this called? It's so delicious!"

Hyuga Natsu said, still savoring the taste.

"It's called ice cream. We can make more whenever you want some, but don't eat too much or you'll get a stomachache."

"Brother Gen, you even came up with something like this. You're amazing!"

Hyuga Natsu gazed at Hyuga Gen in admiration, and Yu Zhihui looked at him the same way.

After tasting the ice cream, Shuishu Ling's eyes lit up, too. She saw a business opportunity in it: if she sold this, it would surely be popular.

She thought of her little noodle shop. Business wasn't very good, there were plenty of competitors, and its location was out of the way. She also knew her noodles weren't particularly special and didn't have much to draw people in.

If she could sell this in the shop, perhaps it could improve her family's circumstances. Thinking this, she couldn't help glancing at her daughter.

Her daughter was clever and sensible, and she'd suffered a lot alongside her mother. She was reluctant to eat much or buy pretty clothes. Shuishu Ling knew her daughter didn't want her to work so hard, which was why she scrimped and saved.

Even if it wasn't for herself, she had to try for her daughter's sake. Just as she was about to speak to Hyuga Gen, he spoke first.

"Aunt Ling, could you sell this in your shop? It'd earn us a little pocket money. I won't let you take the short end of the deal, either. How about we split it forty-sixty?"

"Forty-sixty?"

"Yeah. You take sixty percent of the profit and I take forty. I provide the know-how, and you've seen how it's made. The rest will be up to you, since I'm still in school."

Hyuga Gen didn't really need money. He barely spent any of the pocket money his grandfather gave him. There simply weren't many things in this world to spend money on.

He'd noticed Zhihui's family was struggling, so he wanted to lend them a hand and earn a little pocket money on the side.

"No, that's too much. How about thirty-seventy? You get seventy and I get thirty. That seems fairer."

Shuishu Ling hurriedly replied. She'd originally planned to suggest twenty-eighty, but thinking of her daughter, she'd settled on thirty-seventy.

She already felt a little embarrassed suggesting that split. After all, Hyuga Gen was their benefactor, and he could have let them sell the ice cream in the noodle shop for free.

Hearing Shuishu Ling say this, Hyuga Gen nodded to himself.

"Aunt Ling, let's stick with forty-sixty. You'll be paying for the ingredients and labor, and you'll be managing everything, too. I won't have to do a thing, so I can't let you get the short end of the deal."

They went back and forth before finally settling on a sixty-forty split: Hyuga Gen would get sixty percent, and Shuishu Ling forty.

Once they'd reached an agreement, Hyuga Gen went to commission a better set of tools. It wasn't difficult. He explained what he needed to the blacksmith and sketched out a rough design, making everything clear.

After that, Hyuga Gen gave Shuishu Ling some ideas for advertising, including offering free samples on the first day. Shuishu Ling was astonished and couldn't help admiring him. She didn't know exactly how well it would work, but she'd just have to wait and see.

"Brother Gen, I want more. Can we make some when we get home?"

On the walk back, Hyuga Natsu looked at Hyuga Gen expectantly.

"Maybe not. If you eat too much, you'll get a stomachache. Next time you want some, just go to Aunt Ling's shop. Isn't making it yourself a hassle?"

"Th-then, okay."

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

As the sun sank in the west, the boy and girls chatted as they walked. Before long, they disappeared around the bend at the end of the road.