After his wager with Daisuke, Uchiha Rìtiān became something of a minor celebrity in the clan.
Most people only listened for amusement, though, thinking he had simply exploited a loophole.
Uchiha Rìtiān did not care. Quietly making a fortune was the way to go.
He had mastered the Basic Three Body Technique long ago, so his daily training with Itachi was just going through the motions.
While Itachi earnestly practiced his hand seals nearby, Uchiha Rìtiān squatted beside him and stared into space, his head full of ice cream.
That was right-his grand ice cream venture.
Although Clan Head Fugaku had forbidden him from making bizarre inventions, was he supposed to stop just because he was told to? Where would that leave my dignity?
Chakra was a marvelous thing. Water-nature chakra could make ice, so could he use that ice to make ice cream?
It worked in theory, but ingredients like cream, sugar, and milk were not cheap in the Shinobi World.
Where would a five-year-old brat like Uchiha Rìtiān get any money? So he set his sights on the other children in the clan.
After training that day, Uchiha Rìtiān gathered a few friends he got along well with.
"Guys, want something delicious? Ten taels of silver each."
Ten taels of silver! That was almost half a month's allowance.
"What could possibly cost that much?" Uchiha Kenta asked.
"It's absolutely worth every penny! If it doesn't taste good, you don't pay!" Uchiha Rìtiān thumped his chest in assurance.
The children exchanged looks, but in the end, curiosity won out over reason.
"Fine! Ten taels it is! But if it tastes bad, you have to pay us back!"
"No problem! Wait here. I'll go get it!" Uchiha Rìtiān wore the grin of a crooked merchant.
With that, he dashed off.
Before long, Uchiha Rìtiān came running back with a large wooden bucket in his arms and lifted the lid.
A waft of cold air rose from the bucket, carrying a sweet, milky fragrance.
The children stared, dumbfounded-the bucket was filled with something white and soft that made their mouths water just from the smell.
"This is called ice cream! Eating this in summer is, in a word-amazing!"
Uchiha Rìtiān scooped out a spoonful for each of them. The children dubiously took a taste-
Their eyes all lit up at once.
"Wow! It's cold and sweet, and it tastes like milk!"
"It's so good! The best thing I've ever eaten!"
The children wolfed it down, then licked their spoons, still wanting more.
"Uchiha Rìtiān, is there any left? I want more..." Kenta gazed longingly at the bucket.
"If you want more, you have to pay again. Ten taels a spoonful." Uchiha Rìtiān chuckled.
"We have to pay again?"
"Obviously. Do you think the ingredients are free? Take it or leave it."
"I'll take it! Give me two more spoonfuls!"
"Me too!"
Uchiha Rìtiān smiled until his eyes narrowed to slits-his first pot of gold was in the bag.
He did the math: a bucket of ice cream cost about fifty taels to make and yielded twenty spoonfuls. At ten taels a spoonful, that was a net profit of one hundred and fifty taels.
With a profit margin like that, he could make money much faster than a ninja taking missions, without having to risk his life.
Uchiha Rìtiān thought he was nothing short of a business genius.
Within just a few days, nearly every child in the Uchiha Clan knew Uchiha Rìtiān was selling something delicious called ice cream, and the line of customers kept growing.
Of course, the truth could not stay hidden forever.
One day, while Uchiha Rìtiān was selling ice cream at his usual spot, an authoritative voice thundered:
"Uchiha Rìtiān! What are you doing?!"
Uchiha Rìtiān jolted and looked up-his father, Uchiha Retsu, stood a short distance away, his face livid.
I'm done for. Caught red-handed!
The children buying ice cream realized something was wrong and scattered.
"D-Dad, what brings you here?" Uchiha Rìtiān laughed awkwardly.
"If I hadn't come, were you planning to turn the Clan Grounds into a marketplace?!" Retsu stormed over and pointed at the wooden bucket. "I told you to focus on training, and you're making this nonsense and charging money for it?!"
"It's called ice cream. It's my new product! I'm running a proper business and earning money legally. How is that nonsense?"
"You dare talk back? You're asking for a beating!" Retsu rolled up his sleeves, ready to hit him.
Seeing things take a bad turn, Uchiha Rìtiān took to his heels.
"You little brat, get back here!"
"No way! Do you think I'm stupid?" Uchiha Rìtiān shouted as he ran.
And so a peculiar sight unfolded in the Uchiha Clan Compound: a burly man chasing a five-year-old brat around the compound, lap after lap.
The clan members along the way stared in astonishment.
"Isn't that Retsu? Is he chasing his son?"
"I suppose the kid's gotten into trouble again."
"That kid beat Daisuke last time. What trouble has he caused now?"
Uchiha Rìtiān eventually ran out of stamina and was caught.
"I told you to focus on training, but you spend all day on shady nonsense. Are you doing right by the Uchiha Clan?" Retsu panted.
"How is selling ice cream letting the Uchiha down? I haven't neglected my training either. Don't I train with Itachi every day?"
Retsu was momentarily at a loss for words-that did seem to be true.
"No! It's wrong, no matter what! How can an Uchiha go into trade? It's disgraceful!"
"What's disgraceful about earning money through your own work? There's something wrong with your thinking, Dad!"
As father and son remained at an impasse, a voice rang out:
"What's going on? What's all the commotion?"
Uchiha Fugaku and Itachi walked over.
Retsu hurriedly bowed. "Clan Head! Sorry you had to see this. This brat won't focus on his training and spends all day making nonsense."
Fugaku looked at Uchiha Rìtiān. "Is what your father said true?"
"It's true, but I haven't done anything wrong. Uncle Fugaku, I invented ice cream. It tastes good and helps beat the heat. What's wrong with selling it to my friends for pocket money?"
Fugaku paused-ice cream? What was that?
He looked at Itachi, who nodded. "The children in the clan have all been talking about it these past few days. Apparently, it's delicious."
Uchiha Rìtiān's eyes lit up. "Uncle Fugaku, try it if you don't believe me! If it doesn't taste good, you don't pay!"
Fugaku hesitated. He was the head of a clan. How could he casually accept food from a child?
But once curiosity took hold, it was hard to suppress. Besides... ice cream? In his forty years of life, he had never heard that name.
"...Then I'll try some."
Delighted, Uchiha Rìtiān hurriedly scooped a spoonful from the wooden bucket and respectfully offered it to him.
Fugaku took the spoon, hesitated for a moment, then tasted it.
An icy texture, sweetness, a rich, milky flavor-
His eyes widened slightly.
As a clan head who had weathered countless storms, Fugaku had always possessed tremendous self-control.
But at that moment, his expression betrayed him.
Retsu and Itachi watched him nervously, waiting for his verdict.
Fugaku was silent for a few seconds, then-
"One more spoonful."
Retsu: "..."
Itachi: "..."
Uchiha Rìtiān: "...Hehe, coming right up!"
And just like that, the head of the Uchiha Clan became the first loyal customer of Uchiha Rìtiān's ice cream business.
And Uchiha Rìtiān's business empire began with that one little wooden bucket.
Just then, a system notification sounded:
Ding! Host's first business innovation detected. Reward: Business Talent · beginner, showing-off points +50.
The corners of Uchiha Rìtiān's mouth lifted.
I get rewards for making money too? This is the life.
Before you continue