Chapter 130: Ice on My Tongue, Chilling My Heart

As Jing Shu busied herself with preparing dried vegetables over the past few days, the increasing surplus of eggs and milk in her magical cube space became a source of frustration.

She had to admit, managing the cube space was like playing an intricate farming "game." A slight imbalance could cause trouble—sometimes there would be a shortage of something, and other times, there’d be an overwhelming surplus.

The previous batch of salted duck eggs had nearly been consumed, so Grandma Jing took the opportunity to cure another batch. A salted duck egg with breakfast always boosted their energy for the day.

As for the excess quail eggs, they could be marinated and vacuum-packed for long-term storage.

The real problem was the excess chicken eggs, which had piled up in the villa. The family was eating eggs in every way imaginable—scrambled, steamed, boiled—but they couldn't keep up. Even after sending some chickens and eggs to her aunt's house, the eggs from No. 1 and the other laying hens were still in abundance.

Jing Shu couldn't help but praise the miracle of "The Fat Chicken," which consumed all sorts of bizarre things yet continued laying eggs prolifically.

The dairy cows were also producing an astonishing amount of milk—tens of kilograms every day—thanks to their modest diet of leaves. Jing Shu had already made several batches of yogurt ice and coconut milk from the surplus.

Fortunately, the solution to this problem presented itself before Jing Shu had to worry too much.

In Wucheng, the son of the city's wealthiest man, Qian Duo Duo , was throwing a tantrum in the sweltering heat, demanding ice cream. His father, Qian Duo Duo , used his influence and connections to trade oil with the government in exchange for a stockpile of pre-apocalypse ice cream. Unfortunately, the ice cream had absorbed some strange flavors from the cold storage and tasted off. His son refused to eat it, so Qian Duo Duo gave it away to his bodyguards instead.

One of those lucky bodyguards happened to be Luo Hao, a resident of Jing Shu's neighborhood. Luo Hao had previously been recruited by Zhu Fan to work as a bodyguard for Qian Duo Duo in exchange for two meals a day.

Later, one of their colleagues was kidnapped and tortured to death by the "遮天" (Shrouded Sky) gang, and Zhu Fan, lacking the necessary skills, was dismissed, leaving only Luo Hao behind.

"You can't even imagine the lifestyle of the rich," Luo Hao boasted in the neighborhood group chat. "Their family of five is being served by three hundred of us. The kid took one bite of a perfectly good ice cream cone and just tossed it aside, complaining that it tasted funny. But man, that was the best thing I've ever tasted in my life. I’ll never forget the flavor..."

He continued, "I heard Qian Duo Duo is scouring the world for more ice cream now. The government has flipped through every cold storage facility and hasn’t found any more. Rumor has it he's looking for someone to make fresh ice cream."

Jing Shu, who had been quietly lurking in the chat, suddenly had an idea. Her eyes gleamed.

She didn't know much about Qian Duo Duo , only that his sister was married to a high-ranking official in the capital. Qian had made his fortune through oil in Wucheng, eventually becoming a major shareholder in the national oil industry.

In the post-apocalyptic world, while others were having their assets seized, Qian Duo Duo managed to expand his influence further. He was swimming in wealth, even as most people were struggling to afford a meal.

Jing Shu needed diesel for her upcoming road trip in the RV. Based on her calculations, she’d need at least ten tons of fuel for the trip back and forth.

"That settles it. I’ll make all kinds of ice cream!" she declared.

It had seemed like too much effort before, but now that she could turn it into something valuable, it was worth it. Jing Shu wouldn’t admit it to herself, but she had a craving for Häagen-Dazs ice cream and wanted to make her own, knowing it might be years before she’d have another chance.

The key to making ice cream was whipping egg whites with sugar until they became frothy, then adding milk, sugar, and oil to form the base. It required relentless whipping, along with repeated heating and cooling of the milk until it thickened. Finally, she combined the whipped cream, egg yolks, and milk to create a silky ice cream mixture.

Jing Shu made several flavors—strawberry, chocolate, matcha, and classic vanilla. She poured the mixture into the freezer, stirring it every hour for five to six rounds. Once done, it could be scooped and enjoyed for days.

After days of work, Jing Shu had used up all her surplus milk and most of her eggs, but she had produced a full two cubic meters of ice cream.

With each bite, the ice melted on her tongue and cooled her soul.

The rich, creamy flavors were as good as Häagen-Dazs, and in the sweltering heat, a single spoonful was pure bliss. Jing Shu felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

She packed the ice cream into one-liter airtight containers with high-end lids, elevating its presentation. "I’d better charge a hundred times more for these—space-produced goods don’t come cheap," she thought with a smirk.

Of course, she wasn’t about to show up at Qian Duo Duo ’s doorstep and offer to sell ice cream. That would be undignified.

Instead, she needed to let the product speak for itself and wait for the wealthy to come knocking at her door, raising its value. She knew just the person to help with that.

The next day, Jing Shu prepared a small box of ice cream in glass jars, along with a packet of strawberries, and sent them to Niu Yuniu, who was celebrating his birthday. It was her gift to him. When the boy took his first bite of the ice cream, a radiant smile spread across his face.

On the third day, a Maybach pulled up in front of the villa. Jing Shu, unfamiliar with luxury cars, looked it up online and gasped—starting price, six million yuan.

Minister Niu Yuniu did not disappoint. Stepping out of the car, his first words were, "Got any more of that ice cream you gave my son yesterday? It was amazing!"

Jing Shu smiled modestly, nodding. "I just whipped it up for fun."

"Great, pack up more of it and come with me," Niu Yuniu said, a knowing look in his eyes as they exchanged glances.

And so, Jing Shu packed the one-liter containers into a cooler and accompanied Niu Yuniu in the car.

The luxury of the car was astounding—air conditioning, a spotless, well-dressed driver in a black suit, and all the comforts that set it worlds apart from the struggles of ordinary citizens. Even the drivers of the rich lived far better than most people in the apocalypse.

As they drove, Jing Shu and Niu Yuniu communicated through brief exchanges of glances, though Jing Shu spent most of the trip marveling at the sheer opulence of the car.

She thought they were headed to Qian Duo Duo ’s massive villa in the western hills, but the car instead pulled into a research institute.

When they arrived, Jing Shu finally saw the extent of Qian Duo Duo ’s wealth. The entrance was guarded by over thirty intimidating men—his personal bodyguards—who starkly contrasted the five or six regular security guards nearby.

Inside, the facility was cluttered with various experimental tools and equipment. It was clearly a working laboratory.

At the center of it all sat a middle-aged man in a traditional Tang suit, with a distinct inverted “八” mustache, dripping with sweat. Four bodyguards stood behind him.

The mustached man frowned as he listened to a man in a white lab coat explain something. Around them, several anxious-looking individuals fidgeted nervously.

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