Parallel Ming Dynasty: The more he compared, the more devastated Zhu Yuanzhang became.

{Original World: My God! Is Zhu Duo a deity descended to earth? That thing that appeared out of thin air, isn't that ice?!}

{Original World: Judging from the scene, everyone is wearing thin shirts and short sleeves; it's clearly the height of summer. How could ice possibly appear out of thin air?!}

{Original World: Freezing ice out of thin air! This is clearly a divine power only immortals can perform! Could Zhu Duo really be an immortal descended from the heavens?! Otherwise, how could he possess such an unbelievable ability?!}

{Original World: Perhaps Zhu Duo's ability to create ice in the summer is related to the pile of saltpeter he just bought.}

{New World: In your world, you don't even have ice in the summer? Here, we've had shops that specialize in selling iced drinks for ages!}

At this moment, not only did the live stream chat explode, but even Zhu Yuanzhang and others who were sitting on the dragon throne in the original world were all wide-eyed with disbelief on their faces!

The changing of the seasons is an unchanging law of nature. Spring brings a hundred flowers, autumn a bright moon, summer a cool breeze, and winter snow—these are all rules ordained by Heaven.

Therefore, unless you are in the frigid borderlands of the far north, it is impossible to see even a single snowflake or a piece of ice during the sweltering summer.

[But Zhu Duo's skill in making ice in the summer is practically divine. If one could learn this method, there would never be a shortage of ice in the summer, and one would never have to suffer from the sweltering heat again.]

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart pounded, and he was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.

Every year in the depths of winter, the palace would send people to chisel out blocks of ice and carefully bury them in ice cellars hundreds of meters deep, waiting to take them out and use them when the weather warmed up the following year.

Even if they dug an ice cellar a hundred meters deep and stored enough ice to fill five large rooms, they would be lucky if they could still have enough left to fill a table by the time summer came.

That's why only he, the emperor, truly knew how precious ice was in the summer.

But Zhu Duo used some ingenious method to create ice out of thin air during the hottest days of summer. If they could learn this skill, wouldn't they no longer have to suffer from this scorching heat in the summer?

With this method of making ice in the summer, all the summer resorts and cool palaces become meaningless!

【Sanhu, did you see clearly what Zhu Duo used just now? Take some men down there immediately and try it out using his method to see if you can make ice!】

Sanhu was Zhu Yuanzhang's personal bodyguard and his most trusted confidant in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Sanhu immediately clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, replying in a loud voice, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

While the people of the original world were still in awe of the miracle of making ice in the summer, the people of the new world seemed much calmer.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang of the new world still had a hint of surprise on his face. He was not surprised that ice could be made in the summer, but that this magical method actually came from Zhu Duo.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a hint of uncertainty, "Duo'er, that magical thing on the market, you created that too, didn't you?"

Zhu Duo smiled slightly and asked, "I wonder which item Your Majesty is referring to?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed helplessly and said, "Don't play dumb in front of me. It's that thing sold in the market called ice cream. I love it very much."

"What?! Zhu Duo made the ice cream?"

Upon hearing this, even the princes standing to the side were stunned, their faces filled with astonishment.

It turns out that there is a chain of iced drink shops in Beijing and even across the country, specializing in selling all kinds of cold and refreshing snacks.

This shop has branches in major cities, and there are rumors that a mysterious big shot is in charge behind the scenes.

And the name of this shop is—Mixue Ice Orange!

Every summer, the princes, nobles, and officials of the capital would visit the place almost every day.

The store not only has regular ice cubes, but also ice cream with a smooth texture and a sweet aroma.

The taste of that ice cream is unforgettable once you've tasted it! All the princes present are loyal customers of Mixue Ice Cream!

In the video footage, Zhu Duo used lard, flour, sugar and other ingredients to make delicious ice cream. He then had his men rent a shop on the street and officially start selling it.

Unexpectedly, the ice cream was sold out as soon as it was put on the counter. In less than half an hour, the whole cart of ice cream was sold out.

Since then, Zhu Duo has assigned more people to make ice cream. As the business became more and more prosperous, he simply officially established the "Mixue Ice Orange" brand.

Just one year later, Mixue Ice Orange opened stores in major cities of the Ming Dynasty and its business was booming.

It was also in this year that, as Mixue Ice Cream continued to expand, members of the royal family tasted ice cream for the first time, and from then on, they were hooked and have been eating it ever since.

Later, the palace even set up a special supply point for Mixue Ice Orange, delivering the freshest iced drinks to the palace every day.

It wasn't until they watched the video that everyone realized that the mysterious boss behind Mixue Ice Orange was actually Zhu Duo, who was standing right in front of them!

A hint of jealousy flashed in Qin King Zhu Shuang's eyes, and he couldn't help but say, "Mixue Ice Orange's summer revenue is probably not much less than that of those big salt merchants!"

It is important to understand that food is the most important thing for the people, and the salt and iron monopoly was one of the most important sources of tax revenue for the imperial court. Salt tax accounted for a huge proportion of the national treasury revenue.

Salt trading is arguably one of the most profitable businesses in the world.

But now Zhu Shuang feels that Mixue Ice Oranges is just as profitable as salt trading, which shows how envious he is of Zhu Duo's business.

After all, almost everyone in the Ming Dynasty knows about Mixue Ice Orange, and its price is becoming more and more affordable, so even ordinary people can occasionally buy a serving to try.

The store not only sells ice cream, but also various freshly squeezed fruit drinks and sweet desserts, all of which are very profitable.

Before today, almost no one knew how ice was made in the summer. Even if a few people knew the method, the cost was frighteningly high, making it impossible to compete with Mixue Ice Cream.

Moreover, even now, only Mixue Ice Cream can make ice cream in the entire Ming Dynasty!

It's no exaggeration to say that Mixue Ice Orange has completely monopolized the summer iced drink market in the entire Ming Dynasty!

Previously, several princes had privately speculated that the Emperor might be secretly supporting Mixue Ice Orange.

But no one expected that the mastermind would expose them today!

And it turned out to be someone from the Zhu family, their own nephew Zhu Duo!

"Oh no, I think I still owe Mixue Ice Orange a lot of money..."

Prince Yan, Zhu Di, suddenly changed his expression and muttered something under his breath.

"I owe it too..." Prince Zhu of Jin also whispered.

King Zhu Shuang of Qin nodded awkwardly.

Zhu Yunwen's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he stammered, "Actually... I also owe a lot of money to Mixue Ice Orange."

It turns out that when he went out of the palace to travel before, he often spent money extravagantly.

Sometimes when I don't have enough money on me, I just buy Mixue Ice Orange on credit.

He originally thought that the boss was trying to curry favor with him because of his status as the Crown Prince, so he felt at ease and never intended to pay back the money.

But now—

After learning that the owner of Mixue Ice Orange was Zhu Duo, he understood why the other party had been so willing to let him buy on credit.

It turns out that Zhu Duo had been secretly covering for him out of consideration for their blood ties!

So it's true that he owes Zhu Duo this money, and he can't deny it!

A full twenty thousand taels of silver!

The thought of this astronomical figure made Zhu Yunwen's face turn as white as paper.

Although Zhu Duo hasn't said anything yet, if he were to reveal to his grandfather that he owes 20,000 taels of silver, his grandfather would skin him alive!

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen's face became even more pale, completely devoid of color.

His life is now in Zhu Duo's hands!

but--

Zhu Duo did not expose him on the spot.

The second prince, Zhu Shuang, owed three thousand taels of silver; the third prince, Zhu?, owed two thousand taels; and the fourth prince, Zhu Di, owed six thousand taels.

Zhu Yunwen, in particular, owed a full 20,000 taels of silver!

In fact, the reason why these princes and Zhu Yunwen had so many debts was all the result of Zhu Duo's deliberate manipulation. He wanted to seize their weaknesses and slowly bring them under his control.

This was also a crucial part of his later uprising plan.

Even if the uprising fails in the future, he can still bring all these people onto his own ship and tie them to the same rope. Zhu Yuanzhang can't possibly exterminate the entire Zhu family bloodline, can he?

Preparation is key to success; lack of preparation leads to failure. Only by making thorough preparations can we move forward steadily.

This is Zhu Duo, a meticulous and shrewd strategist!

As Zhu Yuanzhang listened to their conversation, his brows furrowed, sensing something amiss. He demanded sharply, "What's going on with you guys owing money outside?!"

"You are all princes, yet you're running up debts outside! What kind of behavior is this?!"

Under the tense gazes of the princes and Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Duo slowly spoke, "That was Mixue Bingcheng's way of making things convenient for the uncles and Yunwen."

They knew the people in the store well, and sometimes when they forgot to bring money when they went out, but still wanted to eat ice cream, they would just temporarily buy a few ice creams on credit.

"It's just that I didn't show up, so the store followed the rules and recorded it as a credit. If they knew I was family, let alone eating ice cream every day, there's no reason to charge me."

Zhu Duo casually covered up the matter without exposing them on the spot, which relieved the princes and Zhu Yunwen. They looked at Zhu Duo with more gratitude.

Zhu Yunwen, in particular, finally felt relieved, and his attitude towards Zhu Duo underwent a complete change.

"Such a big thing happened today, and Zhu Duo not only didn't take the opportunity to kick me when I was down, but he also helped me cover it up. I was just resenting him in my heart. He really judged me with the mind of a petty person."

"But once this is over, I need to pay back the money I owe as soon as possible. This feeling of having someone hold something against me is really unbearable."

"But then I thought, the entire Mixue Ice Orange restaurant belongs to Zhu Duo, so just how rich must he be!"

The more Zhu Yunwen thought about it, the more terrified he became. Just thinking about Zhu Duo's unfathomable wealth made him shudder.

The video feed switched again, showing Zhu Duo intently cooking something in front of a pile of earthenware pots and a stove.

{Original World: What delicious stuff is Zhu Duo brewing this time?}

{Original World: Who knows? It'll probably be something new and exciting again. Like the ice cream from that other world, it looked absolutely delicious.}

{New World: What does it mean to look delicious? Ice cream is an absolute delicacy! If you've never tasted it in your life, you've truly wasted your life!}

{Original World: Is it really that exaggerated? It's just being able to eat something cold in the summer, right? How different is it from swimming in the river to cool off?}

New World: That's not the same thing at all! Just imagine, when the sun is blazing and the heat is unbearable, a bite of ice-cold ice cream goes down your throat and into your stomach, and that refreshing coolness slides down your lips and into your stomach.

It can instantly dispel all the heat and irritation from your body!

{Original World: Stop talking! Stop talking! I can't take it anymore! It's summer here! I want some ice cream right now!}

{Original World: I want some cool, refreshing ice cream too!}

Although the video feed had long since switched to other content, the comments in both worlds were still entirely about ice cream and summer ice-making methods.

In the original world without Zhu Duo, everyone was practically driven mad with jealousy!

However, some quick-thinking people secretly noted down the steps when they saw Zhu Duo making ice with saltpeter, planning to try it themselves when they got back.

If they could also learn how to make ice in the summer, they would definitely make a fortune!

Moreover, compared to Zhu Duo, they have an advantage: now everyone in the Ming Dynasty knows that ice can be made in the summer, which means Zhu Duo has already helped them win for free.

However, not all the comments were about ice cream. Seeing Zhu Duo fiddling with those bottles and jars again, someone finally recognized what he was doing.

{Original World: That...that's not like they're boiling salt, is it?!}

{Original World: Salt? Does Zhu Duo want to refine refined salt?}

{Original World: In another world, isn't smuggling salt a capital offense? Do they allow the illegal production and sale of salt there?}

New World: No, our laws are similar to yours. The Ming Dynasty law clearly stipulates that it is forbidden to hoard salt. Anyone who hoards salt for more than a month will be executed!

At the same time, price gouging on salt is strictly prohibited, and violators will be executed immediately!

However, the law also allowed merchants to act as intermediaries, obtaining salt permits from the government and then selling salt, thus enabling the salt to reach the people more quickly.

{Original World: So, it seems there's not much difference between our two worlds in terms of salt laws.}

{New World: I just don't understand why Prince Zhu Duo insisted on personally boiling salt. He should know very well how dangerous smuggled salt is.}

Just as the comments section was buzzing with discussion, Zhu Duo in the video finally finished his work and stretched out a big yawn.

Zhu Duo breathed a long sigh of relief and said with ease, "It's finally successfully refined!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his subordinates immediately surrounded him. Looking at the snow-white refined salt that Zhu Duo had boiled, they were all so excited that tears welled up in their eyes.

Zhu Duo, however, remained calm and slowly explained, "The sea salt we usually eat is crystallized by directly boiling and drying seawater. But the sea salt sold on the market now has too many impurities, which is bad for your health if you eat it for a long time, and the price is ridiculously expensive."

With this new salt-making method, we can increase the purity of sea salt by three to four times, and we can still sell it at the price of official salt.

We'll sell better refined salt to people at the price of ordinary coarse salt, so everyone can eat healthier and with more peace of mind!

"The boss is brilliant! The boss is incredibly righteous! The boss is truly a reincarnation of a Bodhisattva!"

The surrounding men all shouted excitedly.

After hearing Zhu Duo's explanation, the people from both worlds finally understood what a remarkable thing Zhu Duo had done.

{Original World: Three or four times purer than official salt?! Doesn't that mean you can buy better salt for the same amount of money, and use less salt each time you cook?!}

Doesn't this effectively drive down the price of salt?

{Original World: And he's talking about refined salt! That's a luxury only royalty and high-ranking officials can afford; it's dozens of times more expensive than ordinary coarse salt!}

{Original World: But Zhu Duo actually sold refined salt at the price of coarse salt! My God! Zhu Duo is truly a great sage who cares deeply for the people!}

{In the original world: He accomplished with ease what even the imperial court couldn't!}

{New World: What you should be more concerned about is that His Highness Zhu Duo uses seawater to refine salt, not lake salt or rock salt, which means the raw materials are inexhaustible!}

{New World: No matter the dynasty, salt is an extremely profitable industry because people cannot live without salt for their daily meals.}

But Prince Zhu Duo's move completely solved the salt problem that had plagued the people for centuries!

{New World: No wonder the price of salt in our Great Ming Dynasty has remained stable for the past few years, and there has never been a salt shortage.}

I used to think it was due to the government's effective control, but now I realize it's all thanks to Prince Zhu Duo!

{New World: Prince Zhu Duo must be canonized! His contributions to the people are even greater than those of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism!}

We can go a lifetime without reading, but we absolutely cannot go a day without salt!