CHAPTER 129: ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE, THE ICE MELTS INTO MY HEART

During the days when Jing Shu busied herself producing Dried Vegetables, the increasingly overwhelming eggs and milk in the Magic Cube Space had her worried.

It had to be admitted that Magic Cube Space was a very challenging ’game’ to manage, requiring careful balance. Otherwise, you would find yourself either lacking in something or having too much of another.

The last batch of salted duck eggs had almost been eaten. It was just the right time for Grandma Jing to pickle another batch. A cut-open salted duck egg in the morning could energize the day.

The abundance of quail eggs could also be braised and stored in vacuum-sealed packages to be eaten gradually. Chicken eggs, however, were already piled high in the villa. Jing Shu’s household prepared them daily in various ways: fried, steamed, and boiled.

However, with Hen Number One laying twenty eggs daily, and several other hens also laying, their family couldn’t possibly eat them all. They even delivered a hen and some eggs to the elder aunt’s house in between.

The fat chickens deserved special commendation; despite consuming all sorts of things, they laid so many eggs.

The cow, too, was remarkable. Fed on mixed leaves, it produced tens of kilograms of milk. Jing Shu had already used this to make two batches of Yogurt Shaved Ice and three batches of coconut milk.

Fortunately, this problem didn’t trouble Jing Shu for long before she found the perfect solution. In Wu City, the richest man Qian Duoduo’s foolish son clamored for ice cream because of the hot weather. His father then bartered oil with the government for pre-apocalypse ice cream from cold storage. Unfortunately, his son disliked the mixed flavors, found it unappetizing, and ended up letting his bodyguards have it.

One lucky bodyguard was Luo Hao, who lived in Jing Shu District. He was originally recruited by Zhu Fan alongside two others to work for Qian Duoduo because the job included two meals a day. Later, one of them was kidnapped and tortured to death by Zhetian. Zhu Fan was dismissed due to incompetence, leaving only Luo Hao.

"TSK TSK, you can’t imagine the life of rich people. Three hundred of us looked after their family of five.

"He would take a lick of his cone and then discard it, complaining about the mixed flavors. But I thought it tasted amazing! I’ll never forget that flavor, it...

"I heard his father is still searching the world for ice cream. The government flipped the cold storages inside out these past few days but never found any more. I heard he plans to make his own."

In the chat group, Luo Hao bragged about the taste of the ice cream he ate. The lurking Jing Shu’s eyes brightened.

Jing Shu didn’t know much about Qian Duoduo, but she knew his elder sister was the wife of a high-ranking official in the Imperial Capital and had a significant background. He had made his fortune in Wu City through oil and owned many oil wells. After becoming wealthy, he ’whitewashed’ his business by merging it into the state oil infrastructure, effectively nationalizing his private assets while retaining a substantial stake. After the apocalypse, thanks to his connections, he also acquired mining rights. So, while others were forced to surrender their supplies, Qian Duoduo expanded his operations yet again. While others were too poor to eat, he was famously oozing with wealth—truly living up to his name, Qian Duoduo.

Jing Shu happened to be short on diesel fuel. After acquiring a motorhome, considering the round-trip travel distance for the migration, she’d need at least ten tons.

"I’ve decided, I’ll make various flavors of ice cream!"

She had previously thought it too troublesome, but now, to make them valuable, trouble was out of the question. Jing Shu wouldn’t admit that half of her Haagen-Dazs ice cream was already gone; she wanted to make more for herself. After all, in the coming colder years, enjoying ice cream like this wouldn’t be possible.

The essence of making the initial ’cream’ involved vigorously whipping sugared egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy and stiff peaks formed. Then, milk, sugar, and oil were incorporated to complete this first step. Making the ’light cream’ component involved a similar amount of vigorous stirring. Milk had to be repeatedly heated and stirred until it thickened. Finally, egg yolks, the initial egg-white ’cream,’ this thickened milk ’light cream,’ and more milk were all combined and mixed into an ice cream slurry.

Jing Shu made various flavors, including strawberry, chocolate, matcha, and plain. She froze the ice cream slurry in the freezer, taking it out every hour to stir, repeating this five or six times. That was all it took. When she wanted to eat, a single scoop would last a long time. After several days of bustling activity, Jing Shu had used up all the milk and most of the eggs in the house, producing two cubic meters of ice cream.

The ice cream melted on the tongue, a coolness seeping into my heart. The flavor was both rich and sweet, not at all inferior to Haagen-Dazs. Eating a spoonful in the sweltering weather was simply soul-soothing. Jing Shu felt a profound sense of satisfaction.

Jing Shu stored the ice cream in 1-liter sealed jars with high-end lids, which immediately gave them an air of sophistication. Not selling each of these for a hundred times the cost would be an insult to a Magic Cube Space product!

Of course, she couldn’t just foolishly run up and say, "Hi, I’m here to sell ice cream," degrading herself like that.

It was best to have people begging at her doorstep, as that would really elevate her status.

It’s like the saying, "It takes many to carry a flowery sedan chair." When dealing with smart people, you don’t have to say much; they’ll know how to elevate the situation, and you. I have just such a person in mind.

「The next day, Jing Shu, carrying a fresh-keeping box, packed the ice cream into fist-sized glass jars and added a bag of strawberries for Niu Yanben, the little boy celebrating his birthday, as his birthday gift. The moment the little boy tasted the ice cream, his face lit up with a springtime smile.」

「On the third day, a Maybach appeared at the gates of the villa.」

Jing Shu, being a country bumpkin, naturally didn’t recognize it. It was only after looking it up online that she gasped: before the apocalypse, the starting price was six million!

Minister Niu did not disappoint. He got out of the car and immediately said, "Do you have any more of the ice cream you gave my son yesterday? It was delicious!"

Jing Shu’s lips curled up, and she nodded modestly, "They’re just something I whipped up myself."

"Right, hurry and bring some more. Come with me," he urged.

Minister Niu and Jing Shu met each other’s gaze, a tacit understanding passing between them.

And so, Jing Shu packed the 1-liter sealed jars into a thermal box and got into the car with Minister Niu.

The car was luxurious. The driver was clean-cut and dressed in a black suit. The air conditioning was on inside. Compared to ordinary citizens, the disparity was huge. Even the driver for the wealthiest man in the apocalypse lived much better than the common people.

During the drive, Jing Shu and Minister Niu didn’t speak, exchanging only a few glances. Mostly, Jing Shu was observing the luxurious car. It was really... damn different.

Jing Shu had initially thought they would go directly to see how large Qian Duoduo’s West Mountain Villa was, but the car instead drove into a research institute.

When Minister Niu brought Jing Shu to the location, she witnessed Qian Duoduo’s financial power for the first time. There were over thirty men guarding the gate alone, each looking fierce and formidable. They appeared to be Qian Duoduo’s personal bodyguards, a stark contrast to the five or six ordinary security guards stationed beside them.

Upon entering, she saw various experimental tools and equipment scattered about. It truly was a research institute.

Jing Shu saw a middle-aged man sitting in the center, wearing a Tang-style shirt, sporting a Fu Manchu mustache, and sweating profusely. Four bodyguards stood behind him.

The man with the Fu Manchu mustache frowned as he listened to someone in a white lab coat speak. Several other individuals stood around them, their faces etched with panic.

"Mr. Qian, we’ve arrived, and we’ve brought the ice cream," Minister Niu said cheerfully.