Su Yueling was talking to the Queen Mother about the method of making ice from saltpeter. The Queen Mother immediately asked someone to open the warehouse and take out the saltpeter.
There was a large basin of water in the iron basin, and a small basin filled with water was placed inside.
Quickly, the waiter brought the saltpeter over, placed it in the water, and stirred it with chopsticks to dissolve it.
However, making ice with saltpeter cannot be successful immediately, and it also takes time.
Before that, Su Yueling ate with the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother showed off to Su Yueling: "The cake recipe you gave me before was successfully made by the royal chef. It is more delicious than the one in your house."
"The skills of the royal chef are definitely better than those of my chefs." Su Yueling naturally wouldn't be harsh, after all, this is a fact.
The Queen Mother felt a little embarrassed and said, "When you leave later, go to the imperial kitchen and pick two to take back to your home, and let them serve you and Shaoqing."
Shaoqing is the nickname of Yuan Suijun. Compared with the name Suijun, the Queen Mother obviously prefers to call him by the nickname.
Of course, Su Yueling would not miss such benefits.
"Okay, I won't be polite. Maybe I will even take away the royal cook you are used to, the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother waved her hand, "It's up to you."
"Speaking of which, why did you grow honeydew melons and grapes yourself?"
Su Yueling said: "I happened to have seeds in my hand, so I planted them."
In fact, the Queen Mother was not very interested in the honeydew melons and grapes she sent. They also kept and planted these two fruits sent by Fan Bang, but the ones they grew were not as delicious as those provided by others.
However, this was Su Yueling's wish, and the Queen Mother was still willing to give her face. After Su Yueling delivered it, she asked someone to cut a cantaloupe and wash a bunch of grapes.
The hands and feet of the palace maids were very quick, and the cantaloupe cut into pieces was quickly brought up with skewers next to it. And the grapes were extremely juicy, like deep purple gems, exuding a rich grape aroma.
It’s even more fascinating.
The Queen Mother was a little surprised. She tried the cantaloupe first, and her expression changed immediately.
The juice was extremely watery and the melon was extremely sweet. It was actually more delicious than the one offered above.
Eating the grapes again gave her a pleasant surprise.
The Queen Mother immediately asked: "How many grapes and cantaloupe were brought in?"
Su Yueling said: "There are five kilograms of grapes and ten cantaloupes."
The Queen Mother said: "Send a cantaloupe and a pound of grapes to the emperor, Xiang'er. By the way, the queen and Minmin will also send one each."
Now she only has Minmin as her granddaughter, so she naturally feels sorry for her, and would not forget to give her a share of any good things. As for the other concubines, they are not within her scope of consideration.
The Queen Mother calculated that it was just cantaloupe. She gave away four, and there were six left to eat. But as for grapes, she only had one pound left to eat.
Su Yueling wanted to laugh when she saw the Queen Mother's expression.
The character of the Queen Mother is really similar to her grandmother.
She suppressed a smile and said, "I haven't finished picking the grapes and cantaloupe melons grown in Lushan Village. There are quite a few. Or did the Queen Mother send people to pick them herself?"
Baoshu and the others wouldn't be able to finish it if they left it there anyway. If Su Yueling were to transport it to Beijing by herself, the workload would be too much and it would be troublesome.
But to the Queen Mother, this was nothing.
The light in the Queen Mother's eyes was lit up again, "It's better for you, my child, to be filial."
She loved Su Yueling at first because Su Yueling felt comfortable in front of her, which made her feel comfortable. Secondly, because Su Yueling was her grandson-in-law, but now she loves Su Yueling more because Su Yueling treated her sincerely and filially.
She immediately called her confidant over and asked him to leave for Lushan Village today.
Su Yueling said: "Wait for me to write a letter, and then take the letter to my sister-in-law Yuan Baoshu."
"Or you can go to the county store Qingcheng Se Zhong and find the proprietress Wu Shu."
Both of them can make the decision.
After getting pen and paper, Su Yueling wrote a letter quickly.
The chamberlain led a team and was about to leave the capital. He was very capable of action.
The Queen Mother breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't get enough of the tribute every year, but now she could enjoy it.
The Queen Mother ate a lot of grapes and cantaloupe, but Su Yueling was afraid that she would catch a cold after eating too much, so she stopped her.
At this time, the water in the basin had reacted for a period of time and had turned into ice cubes, exuding a cold air.
Grandma Shi said to the Queen Mother with excitement: "Madam, that water has really turned into ice!"
The Queen Mother immediately stood up and said, "The Ai family should also go and have a look!"
When she walked to the basin and looked at the condensed ice, the Queen Mother was stunned. Like a child, she stretched out her hand to touch the ice, then quickly retracted it, her eyes widened, "It's really ice."
piece!"
The voice was full of surprise.
In the eyes of the Queen Mother, it was like a magic spell. It was extremely magical. Putting saltpeter in water could actually freeze the water. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have dared to imagine it.
Speaking of which, although the royal family hoards ice cubes every winter, those who share it with so many people, whose status is not high enough, or who are not favored, will receive relatively less ice cubes. Naturally, the Queen Mother herself does not have this trouble, but
It would be a good thing if there were more ice cubes.
The Queen Mother reacted and immediately told Nanny Shi, "Don't spread the saltpeter issue today."
After she was happy, she asked Su Yueling, "Whatever you want, just go to the warehouse and get it."
This year's summer has come earlier than in previous years, and the ice must be consumed more.
Su Yueling said: "Can I change the reward?" She also started to bargain with the Queen Mother.
"When the time comes, give me more saltpeter so that I can make ice at home."
Saltpeter itself can also be used repeatedly.
The Queen Mother nodded and said, "The Ai family can make the decision, no problem."
In her opinion, Su Yueling's request was too low.
When she has time, she will open the warehouse and select some jewelry suitable for young girls.
For Su Yueling, this was just a small idea. Having successfully achieved her goal, she happily went to the imperial kitchen and asked each of the imperial chefs to make their own special dishes, and finally chose the two that best suited her taste.
One is good at cooking hard dishes, and the other is good at making pasta. These two imperial chefs were favored by Su Yueling, and they didn’t feel that they were at a loss. Although they were highly skilled in cooking, there were no chefs in the imperial dining room with low standards.
It’s also difficult to get ahead.
But when they arrived at the county head's mansion, they were the real ones in charge of the kitchen. Although Su Yueling was picky, she had plenty of money and would not punish people easily. She was really a good master. Therefore, the two royal chefs were very happy to go there.
After making the choice, Su Yueling returned home happily.
The Queen Mother invited the emperor over to express her merits to Su Yueling in front of the emperor.
"There is no one who is more filial and less demanding than this child Yue Ling. He gave me such a good idea, but only asked for a little saltpeter back."
"She always thinks about me when she has something delicious to eat. For someone who is so afraid of heat, she even comes to the palace to bring me good things. Unlike you, you never think of me at all!"
Emperor Rong Ji felt that he had died unjustly. He clearly sent any tributes to his own mother first. Isn't this unfilial?
"It's better that Suijun has the foresight to find such a good grandson-in-law for me, otherwise your wings will become stiff and none of you will care about me."
Rong Ji felt that since Su Yueling came, his biological son has almost become a found one.
After the Queen Mother talked for a while, she changed the subject and said, "Yue Ling, can this idea make you money?"
Rong Ji nodded, no wonder the Queen Mother liked Su Yueling so much. With her face in front of the Queen Mother, even if she asked for saltpeter, the Queen Mother would not refuse. She could make a lot of money using this recipe, but she
But he took it out without hesitation.
With this method of making ice from saltpeter, he can increase the proportion of ice cubes for each official this year and sell the ice cubes. I think the rich people in the capital are willing to pay for it, which can also increase the national treasury.
of money.
It can be said that Su Yueling directly delivered a hen that laid golden eggs to him.
The Queen Mother said: "She is sensible not to ask for rewards, but as juniors, we cannot really let her suffer."
"She is now the head of the county. She must have the style of the head of the county in daily necessities, food, clothing, housing and transportation, otherwise she will make people laugh. After this year, the expenses are much higher than when she was the head of the township, especially here.
Capital City.”
"How can she spend enough of her salary?"
"I think it would be better for you to reward her with another royal estate and subsidize her so that the child will not suffer."
Rong Ji was immediately speechless and choked up: Is it his fault that he made Su Yueling the county head?
He once again doubted life, who is his biological child?