Over the years, she had worked hard to disguise herself as a normal child. The most outrageous thing she had done was spend a great deal of money buying some chili peppers and persuade Madam Wang to have the tenant farmers cultivate them.
How could she pretend to discover, by accident, that saltpetre could be used to make ice?
She already had a plan in mind. She would put it into action tomorrow.
Early the next morning, after paying her respects to Madam Wang, Li Sushu took Eldest Young Master Li and Li Yueyue aside and said mysteriously, “I discovered something fun.”
“What fun thing?” The siblings were both intensely curious and asked in unison.
“Come with me.”
Li Sushu led them to the side of the latrine and pointed at the corner of the wall. “Do you see those white things? Let’s scrape them off, then set them alight. They’ll burst into pretty sparks.”
“Really? Let me try!” Eldest Young Master Li was full of enthusiasm. He was the sort who took action immediately. He found a small stick, then had his page fetch two broken teacups.
Master and servant bent over and began scraping the wall.
The servants passing by were utterly baffled. Why were several masters gathered around the latrine?
After Eldest Young Master Li and his servant had worked hard for a while, they obtained a tiny pinch of powder.
“Let’s set it on fire and see…” Having waited so long, Li Yueyue could hardly wait to see the pretty fireworks.
Eldest Young Master Li nodded and took out a fire striker.
The instant the powder came into contact with the spark, it began to burn, emitting dazzling, brilliant light.
“That was so much fun. There just wasn’t enough of it.” Eldest Young Master Li was somewhat reluctant to stop.
“How amazing! Why can the powder burn?” Li Yueyue transformed into a curious little scholar.
“Brother, can you find people to collect more of this powder?” Li Sushu took the opportunity to make her request.
“What’s so difficult about that? Leave it to me!” As a playful young man, how could Eldest Young Master Li not have a few friends who were just as fond of mischief?
That very day, he led several friends in skipping their lessons. Taking their respective servants with them, they went from street to street, scraping the corners of walls.
Afterward, of course, they could not escape a beating under the family discipline. The next day, his friends all went to school obediently, heads hanging and posteriors sore.
Li Sushu felt that her elder brother was not especially bright. What was most infuriating was that although he had collected the saltpetre, he had not brought it home. He had set it alight and played with it alongside his friends.
What exactly had she expected?
She had entrusted the matter to the wrong person.
Since asking Eldest Young Master Li for help was clearly not going to work, she had no choice but to think of another way.
She took out two taels of silver and summoned Nanny Zhang, instructing her to use the money to find people to collect the white powder scraped from the corners of walls.
“Miss, rest assured. This old servant will certainly take care of it.” Nanny Zhang had heard that Eldest Young Master Li had skipped school to play with saltpetre and been beaten. She assumed that Miss simply wanted to buy some saltpetre to cheer her brother up.
Her young mistress was truly so considerate.
“Collect as much of this as you can. The more, the better. If the money isn’t enough, come back and tell me.”
“How could it not be enough? This is something that costs nothing. If we find a few children and give them a few copper coins, they’ll be able to scrape every wall corner in all of Chang'an City for you.” Nanny Zhang smiled.
Two taels of silver could roughly be exchanged for two thousand copper coins, though the money changers’ exchange rate differed from day to day.
Giving each child a few wen would be enough to hire several hundred children.
Miss doted on the young master far too much. She was spending so much money merely to buy novel toys for him to play with.
Nanny Zhang had excellent professional ethics. Since Miss had said to collect as much saltpetre as two taels of silver could buy, she would not quietly pocket even a single coin from the money.
Once the task was completed, she would naturally receive her reward.
This was the survival rule of a minor figure, and it was also the rule of the Li Residence.
Several days later, Nanny Zhang brought Li Sushu several dozen jin of saltpetre. Apparently, the young child laborers had scraped every corner of every wall in the entire city.
When you found the right person, a small amount of money could truly accomplish a great deal.
If she had gone to Nanny Zhang from the beginning, Eldest Young Master Li would not have had to suffer that beating for nothing.
It couldn’t be blamed on her, Li Sushu thought guiltily.
She had not known that Eldest Young Master Li would drag his classmates into skipping school over this.
She gave Nanny Zhang half a qian’s worth of silver as a reward. Nanny Zhang was so delighted that her face broke into a broad smile, and she repeatedly said, “Thank you for the reward, Miss! If you have any instructions in the future, remember to call for this old servant. This old servant will certainly take care of them for you!”
This was the charm of money. By spending a few taels of silver, Li Sushu obtained what she needed, and she was very happy.
Nanny Zhang was also very happy to receive her reward.
The children in Chang'an City who had not yet started school earned some pocket money, and they were even happier.
This was what people called a win-win situation.
The only unhappy people were the families whose wall corners had been scraped.
For some reason, these past few days, several children had kept squatting by the corners of their walls, chattering away. They were so noisy and irritating.
After sending Nanny Zhang away, Li Sushu had the maid Cuier bring her a large basin and fill it halfway with water.
Then she had her bring another bowl, fill it halfway with water, and place it inside the basin.
After that, she added saltpetre powder to the large basin bit by bit. Cuier watched with a look of complete confusion.
What was Miss trying to do?
Hadn’t these bits of wall powder been collected for the young master to burn and play with?
Why was Miss throwing them into water? What a waste!
Nanny Zhang had said that this had cost Miss an entire month’s allowance!
If Cuier’s family had possessed this much money back then, her father would not have sold her.
If she had not been sold, her family would not have had enough food. She would often have gone hungry, and she would have been beaten as well.
Thinking about it that way, being sold had actually been better. Not only could she eat her fill every day, she no longer had to be beaten.
And the work she did now was not even as demanding as the work at home.
Xiaocui’s thoughts wandered aimlessly. Suddenly, she noticed that a thin layer of ice had formed over the water in the bowl.
Her eyes widened. Pointing at the bowl in disbelief, she stammered, “M-Miss, this… this… what is… what is going on?”
Why had the water in the bowl turned into thin ice?
It had worked!
Li Sushu was delighted. With ice, she could make delicious fruit drinks.
“Oh, I was thinking that this powder is very mysterious. Since it can ignite when it comes into contact with fire, what would happen if it came into contact with water?”
Li Sushu casually found an excuse to brush her off. Cuier was a bonded maid of the Li household, so Li Sushu was not worried that she would spread the ice-making method.
“No one is allowed to know about this.”
Cuier covered her mouth and nodded.
Then Li Sushu took Cuier and carried a small amount of saltpetre to find Madam Wang.
She naturally knew how profitable making ice could be in ancient times.
She felt that she did not currently have the ability to maximize the profits from the ice-making method. She could not even ensure that the servants would keep the secret.
Matters she could not handle could simply be handed over to Madam Wang.
Thus, she brought Cuier to Madam Wang’s courtyard.
She mysteriously ordered the maids and older servants to withdraw and forbade them from peeking, leaving only Cuier behind to attend to her.
She also had Cuier prepare the large basin, small bowl, and water needed to make ice. Madam Wang merely smiled and allowed her to indulge in her antics.
“Mother, I’ll show you something amazing.” Li Sushu began her performance.
She slowly added saltpetre powder to the large basin. Smoke began to rise from it, accompanied by a sizzling sound.
Before long, a thin layer of ice actually appeared over the water in the small bowl placed inside the large basin.
“This is…!” Madam Wang was greatly surprised. How had this been done?
There was actually such miraculous powder that could turn water into ice?
Madam Wang had already heard about Nanny Zhang helping Li Sushu collect saltpetre.
She had originally assumed that the children had merely collected it for the novelty of burning it like fireworks. She had never imagined that it had this use as well.
“Did you discover this method yourself? And how many people know about it?” Madam Wang grew serious and asked cautiously.
“I discovered it by accident. At present, only the three of us know.” Li Sushu answered honestly.
It could be considered something she had discovered by accident. In any case, she ought to be the only person in this world who knew how to do it.
“Cuier will be transferred to my side from now on. I’ll send Haitang to serve in your courtyard.” After thinking for a while, Madam Wang put forward her idea.
“All right, Mother. Can I make this ice for my own use?” Her purpose in producing ice was precisely to use it herself.
“There are too many people in our household, and information travels too easily. It’s better not to make this ice at home. It isn’t safe. Precious treasures bring calamity. What if a servant accidentally let it slip and the news spread…”
This was a hen that could lay golden eggs. One only had to consider how much ice Chang'an City alone would consume over the course of a summer.
At present, ice was stored in winter for use in summer. It was extremely precious. Even their household would only buy some during the hottest period, and it cost a considerable amount of silver.
She would have to discuss with the master of the household how they should make use of this ice-making formula.
Li Sushu was a sensible child. After hearing Madam Wang say this, she also understood the importance of the matter.
It seemed that she would not be able to use the ice she made herself for the time being.
“All right…” Li Sushu sighed. The world was too complicated. Fortunately, even if the sky collapsed, her parents would hold it up for her.
Li Sushu treasured the time when she was protected beneath their wings, and she was quite willing to be an obedient child.
Madam Wang did not let the child remain disappointed for long. The next day, she ordered the steward to buy two large cartloads of ice and distribute them among the various branches of the household.
Apart from Li Sushu, everyone was puzzled. Why had the principal wife suddenly become so generous that she was still buying ice when autumn was nearly here?
Before long, Li Sushu put the matter of making ice completely out of her mind and forgot all about it.
Li Weidong was an intelligent man who was not greedy. He presented the ice-making method to His Majesty the Emperor, explicitly stating that the method had been discovered by accident while his daughter was playing around.
He felt that having enough surplus wealth for the family’s needs was sufficient. There was no need to spend his energy on trade; using this method himself would only bring him trouble.
Given his position, he would need to find a powerful backer to cooperate with in order to safely make and sell ice.
What backer could possibly be greater than His Majesty the Emperor?
His Majesty the Emperor was a dignified middle-aged man. After receiving this unexpected gift, he viewed this fifth-rank Chaosan Dafu in a new light.
What an upright and selfless subject! He had presented His Majesty with a business capable of bringing in a steady stream of wealth. Could he have some ulterior motive?
If he did not want wealth, could he be seeking a promotion?
Very well, he would make a note of it and find an opportunity to promote him a little.
After considering the matter from every angle, the Emperor felt that something was not right.
Was Li Weidong trying to bribe him openly?
No, he could not allow such a precedent to be set.
No wonder there were so many corrupt officials in the world. Even he had nearly fallen into the trap.
But he could not simply take a subject’s formula for nothing, either. It would sound terrible if word got out.
What was he to do…
He had it!
Hadn’t Li Weidong said that the formula had been accidentally discovered by his daughter while she was playing?
Then he would grant the reward to his daughter. A title of Commandery Princess Fule would also fulfill the proper bond between ruler and subject.
Li Sushu would never have imagined that after all the twists and turns, the benefits would ultimately fall into her own hands.