Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Thanks to everyone's concerted efforts, the picnic went very smoothly.

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

Left with no other choice, Jia Lian ordered the horse farm to provide some extra beef and mutton.

Perhaps it was the novelty of this hands-on experience that made even Daiyu eat more than usual.

However, she basically only ate dishes made by Jia Lian or Zijuan, and she never tried any of the numerous semi-disastrous dishes that Xiangyun prepared.

As May approached, the weather was already hot, and with about twenty people and seven or eight stoves of various sizes gathered under the small shady trees, the air was filled with a sweltering heat.

Before, everyone was scrambling and laughing as they competed in cooking, and it didn't feel so bad. But now that we're full and have some free time, it's actually a bit stuffy and unbearable.

Those like Baochai, who couldn't stand the heat, would stay away from the stove early on, sitting to the side and gently fanning themselves with a palm-leaf fan.

For Jia Lian, this bit of heat was nothing.

Putting aside the fact that it's far from the hottest time of the year, he comes from a military background and has endured scorching heat under the blazing sun while on marches, even while wearing heavy armor. So what about now?

Moreover, as a grown man surrounded by about twenty beautiful girls with good looks and light clothing, he felt relaxed and happy, and naturally did not feel hot.

I believe that Jia Erbao, who is by his side, feels the same way.

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

Just as they were pondering this, the sound of carriages and horses came from the other end of the road.

Jia Lian and the others turned around and saw several servants from the mansion leading a cart loaded with goods toward them.

Seeing this, Ping'er took the initiative to step forward and ask, then returned to report: "Second Master, it was Second Mistress who saw that the weather was hot and was afraid that the young ladies would suffer from heatstroke, so she specially asked Lin Zhixiao's wife to send some chilled fruit for the young ladies to enjoy."

"Iced fruit?"

Many people with keen ears were immediately surprised and excited upon hearing this crucial information.

There's no way around it; even for these wealthy young ladies, enjoying chilled fruit in the summer isn't an easy thing.

Even wealthy families like the Rong and Ning mansions didn't have ice cellars before. If they wanted to use ice in the summer, they could only wait for the palace to bestow it upon them or buy it from outside.

Jia Lian was not surprised, after all, the ice cellar was something he had insisted on adding 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 arrived, greeted everyone, and then said to Jia Lian, "Second Mistress was worried that Second Master and the young ladies would get too hot, so she ordered me to bring chilled drinks and fruit."

Jia Lian said, "She's so thoughtful, let's take it out."

Lin Zhixiao's wife, upon receiving the order, immediately joined forces with the people she brought to remove the layers of cotton quilts tied to the cart, revealing a large wooden box.

As the wooden box was opened, a blast of cold air immediately wafted out, dispelling the surrounding heat.

Xiangyun and the others immediately gathered around. At the bottom of the large wooden box was a thick layer of ice blocks of various sizes and shapes. On top of these ice blocks was a large bronze ice jar and a bronze pot.

"Wow, so many ice cubes, it's so refreshing!" Xiangyun couldn't help but reach out and pick up a piece of ice, feeling the icy chill emanating from it with both hands.

Lin Zhixiao's wife had several young wives set out the bowls and plates. She picked up the copper kettle herself, poured half a bowl into each bowl, and then said to Daiyu and the others, "Girls, please try this. This is freshly brewed plum juice that Second Mistress Lian specially ordered the kitchen to make. It's been chilled with ice all the way here, so it's very refreshing."

Xiangyun, Tanchun, and the other generous ones naturally didn't stand on ceremony and took the money themselves.

However, Xiangyun didn't rush to drink it. Instead, she quickly walked to Baochai's side and said in a flattering manner, "Sister Bao, you drink it first. I know you hate the heat the most."

Seeing Xiangyun doting on her like a little fangirl, Baochai felt embarrassed to refuse her kindness. She just sighed inwardly: From this day forward, she was afraid that her reputation for being plump and prone to heat would be even harder to shake off.

Tan Chun, who had been somewhat hesitant, saw Xiang Yun's actions and walked over to Jia Lian without saying a word, handing him the plum juice: "Second Brother, you drink it first."

Jia Lian did not refuse either, thanked him, and drank it all in one gulp.

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

He subconsciously glanced at Daiyu. However, after thinking about it, given Daiyu's temperament, he realized that he couldn't even get her to accept his kindness in private, let alone with so many people around. Moreover, Zijuan had already brought a bowl towards her at this moment, so he changed his mind and turned back towards the carriage that had come from.

Zhen Yuhuan had been out for a while, but as most of the group returned, mainly Daiyu and Baochai who had come back from fishing, she was afraid of being noticed, so she took the initiative to go back to the carriage to rest.

Although Jia Baoyu has lost his luster in comparison to Jia Lian over the years, he is still one of only two men present, and his every move still attracts a lot of attention.

Seeing that he actually took the initiative to bring Zhen Yuhuan plum juice, some people began to have ulterior motives.

Everyone present knew that Jia Baoyu loved Daiyu, and Zhen Yuhuan looked exactly like Daiyu. Could it be...?

Jia Lian, of course, also noticed Jia Baoyu's sycophantic behavior, but he only glanced at it and didn't care. He then turned around and asked Lin Zhixiao's wife to take out the various fruits from the ice cup and distribute them to everyone on plates.

In this weather, a bowl of chilled plum juice would easily relieve the stuffiness in one's heart. Not to mention someone like Daiyu, for whom even half a bowl of chilled plum juice is a monstrous flood, with a nagging Zijuan beside her reminding her to drink slowly and in small sips…

However, since they had all eaten some greasy or hot foods beforehand, enjoying some cool and sweet fruits at this time was naturally the most comfortable thing to do.

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

Xiangyun is actually also afraid of the heat, but it has nothing to do with her constitution; it's just that she's very active. For example, today, she and Xiuyan ran the most distance together, put in the most effort while cooking, wasted the most ingredients, and made the most food.

If it weren't for the fact that several maids didn't mind her and took the initiative to help her with a lot of the food, the food she left behind would have exceeded that of everyone else.

Therefore, Xiangyun knew that even if she wanted to buy ice at this time of year, it wouldn't be easy. Those who made a living in this trade would only bring out their stored ice to sell when the weather was at its hottest.

As for the Rongguo Mansion, it seems there is no ice cellar, because she had never heard of it when she came to visit before.

Lin Zhixiao's wife seemed to understand Xiangyun and the others' confusion, and took the initiative to explain: "These ice blocks were all taken from the ice cellar in the garden. Miss Yun may not know that when the garden was being built, our second master had the foresight to dig a very large and deep cellar at the foot of the main mountain."

Last year, during the coldest period, I ordered my husband to collect dozens of truckloads of solid ice from the glaciers in the north and store it all there.

When everyone heard that it was Jia Lian's doing again, they were all somewhat numb, feeling that any "benevolent governance" or "good governance" in the family was probably inseparable from Jia Lian.

It's easy to imagine that this ice cellar will bring them a lot of coolness throughout the summer.

"Oh, right, Second Madam also asked me to apologize to Second Master, saying that the ice cellar was opened without his permission..."

Lin Zhixiao's wife suddenly spoke, but Jia Lian waved his hand to interrupt her, then asked, "You opened the ice cellar, did you go inside to check it out?"

"Yes, Second Master, it was indeed opened on my orders, and I went inside to take a look."

"How are the ice cubes inside? How much have melted?"

Lin Zhixiao's wife laughed, "No wonder they say Second Master is a god descended from heaven, everything he does is perfect!"

Second Master, rest assured, the ice in the ice cellar is perfectly preserved; it's hardly melted at all. It's just very cold and damp in there, so we servants didn't dare stay long. We only followed Second Madam's orders, breaking off half a block of ice. We sent some to the Old Madam and the two Madams, and the rest we packed in boxes and brought to Second Master and the young ladies.”

Jia Lian did not say anything more upon hearing this.

In Beijing, many wealthy families rarely built ice cellars in their homes. Besides the expense, the main reason was feng shui.

Jia Lian didn't care about feng shui, nor was he afraid to spend money. The construction of the Grand View Garden had already cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and he wasn't afraid to spend even more to dig a huge ice cellar.

Moreover, it wasn't just an ice cellar...

"Go back now. Tell Second Grandma that I said so, and thank her for her trouble."

As for the ice in the ice cellar, let her take as much as she wants. Prioritize the people in the two households first; if there's any left over, distribute some more to the other branches of the clan.”

After Lin Zhixiao's family and others left, everyone showed off the fruit while pressing him about the ice cellar.

Upon learning that the ice cellar was located within the Great Main Mountain, beneath the Hengwu Garden, Tan Chun couldn't help but laugh, "Could it be that Second Brother Lian knew all along that Sister Bao was sensitive to heat, and therefore specially dug this ice cellar for her to please her?"

They were talking about the ice cellar when Tan Chun suddenly pulled a fast one.

Many people couldn't help but laugh, and Xiangyun was so excited that she wanted to play the straight man, but a piece of fruit got stuck in her throat. She coughed repeatedly and tears streamed down her face.

Even though Jia Lian liked his clever and mischievous third sister very much, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at this moment.

Is this girl afraid that his harem will be harmonious?

If Daiyu were to overhear this, given her stubborn nature, she might very well refuse to use the ice from the ice cellar in the future.

He intended to tap her on the head as punishment, but she seemed to have anticipated this and dodged a little too far away. Therefore, Jia Lian only pretended to be displeased and said, "Yes, this ice cellar was prepared for your Bao-jie. If you're so capable, then don't use the ice in here in the future."

Jia Lian knew Daiyu's suspicious nature well; if he denied it, she might still be suspicious.

However, he directly admitted that regardless of whether Daiyu had any doubts, she would not make a fuss about it again for the sake of her pride, because that would be too obvious as to show jealousy, and she would not stoop to doing so.

Similarly, if he were facing Daiyu, he would certainly not say anything like "If you're so capable, then don't use ice," because he knew that she would really refuse to use it out of spite.

But Tan Chun was different. This girl was clearly testing his bottom line time and time again, and each time she touched it, she would back down.

Sure enough, when Tan Chun saw that Jia Lian seemed a little angry, she immediately stuck out her tongue and obediently pulled her head back.

Seeing this, the others just laughed it off and didn't really take Tan Chun's words to heart.

After all, the ice cellar was designed more than two years ago, while Baochai's decision to move into Hengwu Garden was only last year, so they couldn't possibly be related.