The Second Master of the Red Chamber

With everyone's concerted efforts, the picnic went smoothly.

The only drawback was that Baochai and Daiyu only caught three or four small fish, barely enough to make a bowl of soup.

Jia Lian had no choice but to order the stable to provide some extra beef and mutton.

Perhaps it was because the experience of doing it by herself was so fresh that even Daiyu ate a little more.

However, she basically only ate food produced by Jia Lian or Zijuan. She had never tried any of the semi-dark dishes made by Xiangyun.

It was near May and the weather was already hot. In addition, there were about twenty people and seven or eight stoves of different sizes gathered under the small shady trees, making the air filled with a hot and dry smell.

Before, everyone was competing with each other and laughing in the cooking competition, so I didn’t feel it. But now that we have eaten and drunk our fill and have some free time, I feel a little stuffy and unbearable.

People like Baochai, who are intolerant of heat, would move away from the stove early and sit beside it, fanning themselves with a palm-leaf fan.

To Jia Lian, this little bit of heat was nothing.

Not to mention that the season was far from the hottest, he came from a military background and had endured the scorching heat during marches, even while wearing heavy armor and standing under the scorching sun, let alone now.

Moreover, as a grown man, he was surrounded by more than twenty beautiful girls with good looks and thin clothes. He just felt relaxed and happy and naturally was not afraid of the heat.

I believe this, and so does Jia Erbao who is beside him.

However, seeing that their little faces were all red, Jia Lian also felt that he should think of a way to cool them down, otherwise it would be bad if these delicate girls got heatstroke.

While he was thinking about it, the sound of carriages and horses was heard from the other end of the road.

Jia Lian and others looked back and saw several maids in the mansion, driving a loaded cart towards them.

Ping Erh took the initiative to ask, then came back to report: "Second Master, Second Madam saw that the weather was hot and was afraid that the girls would get heat stroke, so she specially asked Lin Zhixiao's wife to send some iced fruits for the girls to enjoy."

"Iced fruit?"

Many people with sharp ears were immediately surprised and excited when they heard this key information.

There is no way. Even for these rich ladies, it is not easy to eat chilled fruits in summer.

Take the wealthy Rong and Ning mansions for example. They didn’t have ice cellars in the past. If they wanted to use ice in the summer, they could only wait for rewards from the palace or buy it outside.

Jia Lian certainly would not be surprised. After all, he had been the one who had insisted on adding the ice cellar when the Grand View Garden was first built. So he nodded and said to Ping'er, "Let them come over."

Soon, Lin Zhixiao's wife came over and greeted everyone. Then she said to Jia Lian, "Second Madam was worried that Second Master and the girls would get too hot, so she asked the servants to bring some iced drinks and some fruit."

Jia Lian said, "She has a heart for it, so take it out."

Lin Zhixiao's family received the order and immediately worked with the people she brought to remove the layers of quilts tied to the car, revealing a large wooden box.

As the wooden box opened, a chill suddenly spread out, dispelling the surrounding heat waves.

Xiangyun and others immediately gathered around and saw that the bottom of the large wooden box was filled with a thick layer of ice cubes of various sizes and shapes. On top of these ice cubes was a large copper ice jar and a copper kettle.

"Wow, so many ice cubes, so cool." Xiangyun couldn't help but reach out and pick up a piece of ice, using both hands to feel the cold air coming from her body.

Lin Zhixiao's wife asked several young wives to set the dishes. She took the copper kettle and poured half a bowl into each bowl. Then she said to Daiyu and others, "Girls, please have a taste. This is the sour plum soup that Second Madam Lian specially ordered the kitchen to make. It has been cooled by ice cubes all the way. It is very cool."

Xiangyun, Tanchun and other generous people were naturally not polite at all and took the gifts on their own initiative.

However, Xiangyun took it but did not drink it in a hurry. Instead, she walked quickly to Baochai and said flatteringly, "Sister Bao, you drink first. I know you are most afraid of heat."

Seeing Xiangyun pampering her like a little fan girl, Baochai felt embarrassed to reject her kindness, but she sighed in her heart: From today on, I'm afraid that my reputation of being fat and afraid of heat will become harder to get rid of.

Tanchun, who was still a little hesitant at first, saw Xiangyun's actions and walked to Jia Lian without saying a word, and handed him the sour plum soup in her hand: "Second brother, you drink it first."

Jia Lian also did not refuse. He thanked him and took the drink and drank it all.

At this time, Jia Baoyu also picked up a bowl of sour plum soup. Seeing the actions of Xiangyun and the other two, he held back his saliva and looked around, trying to find a target to please.

He subconsciously looked at Daiyu. But after thinking about it, with Daiyu's temper, it was impossible for her to accept his kindness in private, let alone with so many people here? And Zijuan was already holding a bowl and walking towards her, so he turned around and walked towards the carriage.

Zhen Yuhuan had come out for a while, but as most of the people returned, especially Daiyu and Chai who came back from fishing, she was afraid of being discovered, so she took the initiative to go back to the carriage to rest.

Although Jia Baoyu has lost his luster due to Jia Lian's contrast in recent years, he is after all the only male present, and many people still pay attention to his every move.

Seeing that he actually took the initiative to send sour plum soup to Zhen Yuhuan, some people began to have some thoughts in their minds.

Everyone present knew that Jia Baoyu liked Daiyu, and Zhen Yuhuan looked like Daiyu, so could it be...

Jia Lian certainly noticed Jia Baoyu's dog-licking behavior, but he just glanced at it and didn't care. He turned around and asked Lin Zhixiao's family to take out the various fruits in the ice jar and distribute them to everyone on plates. In fact, in this weather, a bowl of cold sour plum soup can relieve the heat in the heart. Not to mention someone like Daiyu, half a bowl of iced sour plum soup has become a flood beast, and there is a nagging Zijuan beside her to remind her to drink slowly and drink less...

However, they had all eaten some greasy or hot food before, so it was naturally very comfortable to enjoy some cool and sweet fruits at this time.

So Xiangyun showed off the fruit while asking Lin Zhixiao's family, "Where did you get so much ice?"

Xiangyun is actually afraid of heat, but it has nothing to do with her physical condition, it's just that she likes to be active. For example, today, she and Xiuyan ran the most distance, worked the most when cooking, wasted the most ingredients, and made the most food.

If there weren't a few maids who didn't despise her and took the initiative to help her share a lot of the food, the amount of food left over by her alone would have exceeded that of everyone else.

Therefore, Xiangyun knew that it was difficult to buy ice cubes at this time of year. Those who were engaged in this business would wait until the hottest weather before selling the stored ice cubes.

And there seemed to be no ice cellar in Rongguo Mansion, because she had never heard of it when she came here to play before.

Lin Zhixiao's wife seemed to understand Xiangyun and the others' confusion, and took the initiative to explain: "These ice cubes are taken from the ice cellar in the garden. Miss Yun may not know that when the garden was built, our second master had foresight and dug a large and deep cellar under the main mountain.

When it was the coldest last year, I ordered my husband to collect dozens of truckloads of solid ice from the northern glacier and store them all in the cave. "

When everyone heard that it was another Jia Lian's masterpiece, they became numb and felt that any "benevolent government" or "good governance" in the family was probably related to Jia Lian.

It can be imagined that this ice cellar will bring them a lot of coolness throughout the summer.

"Oh, by the way, Second Mistress also asked me to apologize to Second Master, saying that I opened the ice cellar without Master's permission..."

Lin Zhixiao's wife suddenly said, but was interrupted by Jia Lian's wave of his hand, and then asked: "You opened the ice cellar, have you gone in to take a look?"

"My Lord, it was indeed I who opened it on your orders. I also went in to take a look."

"How is the ice brick inside preserved? How much has it melted?"

Lin Zhixiao's family laughed, "It is said that the Second Master is a god from heaven who has come down to earth. Everything he does is perfect!

Don't worry, the ice in the ice cellar is well preserved and almost none of it has melted. It's just that it's very cold inside, so we didn't dare to stay there for long. We just followed the Second Madam's order and broke off half an ice brick. In addition to sending some to the old lady and the two ladies, the rest were packed in boxes and sent to the Second Madam and the girls. "

Jia Lian said nothing more after hearing this.

There are many wealthy families in Beijing, but few of them dig ice cellars at home. Besides the cost, the main reason is feng shui.

Jia Lian didn't care about Feng Shui, and he wasn't afraid to spend money. Hundreds of thousands of silver coins had been invested in the construction of the Grand View Garden, and he wasn't afraid to spend a little more to dig a big ice cellar.

Moreover, it is not just an ice cellar...

"Go back and tell Second Grandma that I said that and thank her for her trouble.

As for the ice in the ice cellar, let her use it. Give it to the people in the two mansions first, and if there is any left, distribute some to the members of each clan."

Lin Zhixiao's family and others left, and everyone showed off their fruits while asking about the ice cellar.

Upon learning that the ice cellar was located in the Great Main Mountain, at the foot of Hengwu Courtyard, Tanchun could not help but laugh and said, "Could it be that Second Brother Lian knew that Sister Bao was afraid of heat, so he dug this ice cellar for her on purpose to please Sister Bao?"

They were just talking about the ice cellar, but who knew Tanchun would come up with such a brilliant idea?

Many people couldn't help laughing. Xiangyun was so excited that she wanted to join in the fun, but a mouthful of fruit pulp got stuck in her throat. She was so anxious that she coughed repeatedly and tears came out.

No matter how much Jia Lian liked this quirky third sister, he couldn't help but feel a little angry at this moment.

Isn't this girl afraid that his harem will be harmonious?

If Daiyu heard this, given her stubborn personality, she might not use the ice in the ice cellar anymore.

He wanted to hit her on the head as a punishment, but she seemed to have expected it and hid a little far away, so Jia Lian just pretended to be displeased and said, "Yes, this ice cellar is prepared for your sister Bao. If you have the ability, don't use the ice in it in the future."

Jia Lian knew Daiyu's suspicious nature very well. If he denied it, she might even become suspicious.

But he directly admitted that no matter whether Daiyu had doubts or not, for her face, she would not make a fuss about this matter anymore, because that would be too obvious of jealousy and she disdained to do it.

Similarly, if he were facing Daiyu, he would definitely not say something like "If you have the ability, don't use ice", because he knew that the other party would really not use it out of spite.

But it was different with Tanchun. This girl was obviously testing his bottom line again and again, and every time her bottom line was touched, she would shrink back.

Sure enough, when Tanchun saw that Jia Lian seemed a little angry, she immediately stuck out her tongue and retracted her head obediently.

When the others saw this, they just laughed it off and didn't really take Tanchun's words to heart.

After all, the ice cellar was designed more than two years ago, and Baochai's decision to move into Hengwuyuan was only last year, so there is no way they are related. (End of this chapter)