When the naughty kid was eating the candied haws, he was shaking his cheeks in anger and taking big bites of it, as if the candied haws in his mouth were his shameless fifth brother-in-law.
However, when Zhu Ping'an bought snacks for the little girl and gave him a few as well, the naughty kid's attitude changed 180 degrees. He kept calling him brother-in-law and had long forgotten about Zhu Ping'an's "bullying" him.
It’s true that whoever gives you milk is your mother.
Zhu Ping'an glanced at the naughty kid with a silly grin on his face, shook his head slightly and smiled.
Although there were no air conditioners or fans in the Ming imperial capital during the summer, there were still a wide variety of cold drinks. Roadside teahouses, taverns and even vendors provided a variety of iced cold drinks, including sugar mung beans, watermelon juice, pear juice, ginger honey juice, lychee juice, plum wine, etc., which were not much less than the variety of modern cold drinks.
In addition to cold drinks, there is also shaved ice for sale, mixed with sugar and spices for people to eat, which is the prototype of modern ice cream. However, even so, the price of shaved ice is much more expensive than cold drinks. It is very expensive. Even in the imperial capital, only some wealthy families and nobles can afford it.
Zhu Ping'an took the naughty kid and the little Loli into a tea stall selling shaved ice, ordered three servings of shaved ice, and prepared to try the difference between ancient ice cream and modern ice cream.
The shaved ice was served in a small porcelain bowl, mixed with fruit juice, sugar, milk and spices, and was served in the bowl like rice.
The appearance was far different from modern semi-solid ice cream, and the taste also disappointed Zhu Pingan.
But the naughty kid and the little girl were eating happily, especially the naughty kid, whose face was covered with food.
Looking at the other people sitting in the tea stall, they were also eating with great satisfaction, as if this was something that only heaven could offer and one could rarely get to taste it on earth.
They are so satisfied with this. What if they were to try modern Haagen-Dazs... Zhu Ping'an touched his chin.
It’s not very difficult.
Although Zhu Ping'an did not understand chemistry, he was well aware of the method of making ice by dissolving saltpeter in water to absorb heat.
Although the ancients had long mastered the method of collecting ice in winter and storing it in ice cellars for use in the summer, storing ice in this way was expensive, and only the wealthy could afford it.
In addition to the ice stored in this way, there is only ice made from saltpeter. This was in the late Tang Dynasty, when people mined saltpeter during the production of gunpowder and accidentally discovered that saltpeter dissolved in water would absorb a large amount of heat, which could condense water into ice.
However, through Zhu Ping'an's observation of the prices of shaved ice and cold drinks in the market, it is estimated that not many people have mastered the method of making ice with saltpeter, otherwise it would be so expensive. The price is much more expensive than modern ice cream. Even if they have mastered it, it is estimated that it is relatively crude.
With the saltpeter ice making method, and as a senior foodie, Zhu Ping'an has some knowledge of modern ice cream making methods, which are basically mixing ice, milk, jam, starch and eggs together, and forming semi-solidified ice cream in about half an hour, and then using a thin crispy egg pancake as a cone. Although there is no DIY method in modern times, Zhu Ping'an believes that with a few more attempts, he should be able to make ice cream, which will at least be much better than the shaved ice in his hands.
If modern ice cream appeared in Ming Dynasty, it would be more competitive than Ming Dynasty's shaved ice...
Of course, it's just an alternative option.
"Brother-in-law, I want to eat more."
In a blink of an eye, the naughty kid's bowl of shaved ice was empty, but little Loli Niuniu still had half a bowl left.
The naughty kid looked at Zhu Pingan eagerly.
Children can't eat so much shaved ice, it will upset their stomachs. Zhu Pingan glanced at the naughty child and smiled slightly, "There are so many delicious foods on this street. Save some space, I'll take you to try something else later."
Although he couldn't eat another bowl of shaved ice, the naughty kid happily licked the bowl when he heard that Zhu Ping'an wanted to take him to eat something else.
After eating shaved ice, Zhu Ping'an took the naughty kid and the little loli to continue strolling.
Because of the snacks, the two little ones didn’t feel tired at all, especially the naughty kid, who ran happily.
We slowly walked to Dongcheng District.
The area around Qihuamen in Dongcheng District is also a prosperous economic zone in the imperial capital. Apart from the "front three gates" in the imperial capital, the area around Qihuamen is the most prosperous and lively.
Zhu Ping'an led the naughty kid and the little loli carefully to avoid the hustle and bustle of traffic, standing under the shade of the trees and looking at this bustling area.
Zhu Ping'an stood under the shade of a tree and looked at the Qihua Gate from afar. He found that the flow of people and vehicles in and out of the Qihua Gate never stopped. There was an endless stream of grain carts. Officials leaving Beijing to see off their friends, officials coming to Beijing to pay homage, merchants going from the imperial capital to the south, and merchants returning to the imperial capital from the south all went in and out of the Qihua Gate.
It feels a bit like the front of a modern train station, with people coming and going constantly.
Zhu Ping'an knew that the prosperity of the Qihuamen area benefited from the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal, opened in the Sui Dynasty, connected the north and the south and was the economic lifeline of the entire empire. All the grain used in the entire capital was transported via the Grand Canal.
During the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Shoujing presided over the excavation of the Tonghui River, which was called the Yuhe River in the Ming Dynasty and connected the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
In this way, grain transport ships from the south could travel along the Grand Canal to Zhangjiawan in Tongzhou, and then continue westward along the Tonghui River to the Qihuamen Wharf in Beijing.
Qihua Gate was the only gate through which grain entered the capital. After being unloaded from the grain ships at the Qihua Gate wharf, the grain was loaded onto trucks and brought into the city through Qihua Gate. It was then stored in the city's major granaries and then delivered to the tables of thousands of households through shops. Every grain of food for the people of the capital was transported in through this gate.
With so much foot traffic, this is where the business opportunities are.
Zhu Ping'an looked around. Well, as expected, what he could think of, the ancients could also think of. There were a lot of shops in this area.
"Let's go and take a look ahead."
Zhu Ping'an held the little Loli in one hand and led the naughty kid in the other, and walked slowly towards Qihua Gate along the shade of the trees.
As he walked forward, Zhu Ping'an observed that among the flow of people here, porters unloading goods at the dock accounted for a considerable proportion.
Yes, whether it was business exchanges, grain transport, or contributions from all directions, as long as it passed through the Grand Canal, Qihuamen was a must-go place. The amount of goods that arrived at the Qihuamen wharf through the Grand Canal was huge, and they all needed to be carried off the ship by manpower and then loaded onto carriages.
Before he approached Qihuamen, Zhu Ping'an heard the uniform calls of the trackers at the Qihuamen wharf and the voices of the porters shouting "Come and move the cargo."
There are many food shops near the Qihuamen Wharf, selling steamed buns, steamed bread, side dishes, fried rice and noodles, meat soup, tofu soup, rice cakes, cut meat, etc. After unloading the cargo, porters, boatmen and other laborers put towels on their shoulders and went in groups to look for food. For them who do hard labor, replenishing their energy is very important.
The naughty child stared at the various foods in the stalls and shops, drooling all over the floor...