In the afternoon three days later, the shop next to the Sedona City pizza parlor had opened for business. Nicole, Annie, and the others were heading over to inspect it; this was the newly opened iced beverage shop.
The interior decoration was done exactly according to the design blueprints provided by Lucas. The decorative paintings on the walls were all snowflake patterns, the floor tiles had been specially delivered from the workshops, and the tables were all made of bamboo.
Walking inside gave off an overall feeling of a cool, refreshing summer day. As soon as Nicole and the others entered, they saw that the place was already packed with people.
The shop manager and the clerks inside were all reliable maids Nicole had handpicked from the castle. The main purpose of this was to prevent the secret of making ice with saltpeter from leaking out.
"So many people came on the very first day of opening. The newspaper's promotional power really is incredible," Annie sighed emotionally, noting that the shop was already full.
"Yes, the Master's newspaper is also a great miracle," Nicole said softly.
"Miss Nicole, Miss Annie." Seeing Nicole and Annie arrive, the shop employees greeted them in unison.
"Take us to the back kitchen," Nicole said gently.
"Yes." The shop manager immediately led the way.
The door to the back kitchen was locked, and the iced beverages were all passed in and out through a window. The purpose of this was to prevent anyone from entering.
Nicole, Annie, and the others turned and walked toward the back kitchen. Opening the door, they saw several people bustling about, and inside were rows upon rows of freezers.
These massive iron freezers were all nested iron boxes shaped like the concentric squares. The outer layer was stuffed with saltpeter, while the center held ice blocks, freezing all sorts of beverages inside, as well as many popsicles.
The castle had already been testing this nested refrigerator for two days. Feeling that this was a business opportunity and wanting to let the commoners enjoy it as well, Lucas specially opened this iced beverage shop.
"How are the popsicles selling?" Nicole turned her head and asked.
"They're selling incredibly well; many people are coming to buy them," The shop manager reported.
"How many popsicles are left right now? Do we have enough to sell?" Nicole asked.
"We only have about half left," The shop manager exclaimed in amazement. The back kitchen had over a thousand popsicles, yet in less than two hours since opening, they had already sold more than five hundred.
"I'll have the Ice Workshop continue producing popsicles. When you sell out, just go there to pick up more goods," Nicole instructed.
"Understood," The shop manager replied.
The Ice Workshop was established two days ago. The vast majority of the mined saltpeter was taken there to be processed into ice-making saltpeter, which could be extracted and reused repeatedly.
Ice had far too many uses. In particular, with the nested freezers, they could store perishable foods like cow's milk, raw meat, and so on.
Specifically for certain workshops—like the steelmaking workshops and pottery workshops—the Ice Workshop would produce massive amounts of ice and send it over to help the workers cool off. This was considered one of the welfare benefits provided by Lucas.
Furthermore, the popsicles produced by the Ice Workshop were very cheap, with incredibly low cost prices. After all, fruit was extremely abundant this season. Juicing a portion of wild fruits to make popsicles meant they were completely additive-free and pollution-free.
...
At this moment, long queues had formed outside the iced beverage shop. These were all people who had read the newspaper and wanted to try out this miraculous iced beverage shop.
"The city lord is truly amazing."
"Yeah, exactly! To think there's actually ice in the middle of summer."
"That's right! I heard there are also slushies, and those... what do they call them, popsicles!"
"Being able to drink a cup of iced beverage in the middle of summer is absolute bliss."
"..."
The commoners waiting in the long lines outside the iced beverage shop constantly buzzed with amazed discussions. Interspersed in the queue were also some merchants and nobles.
The nobles weren't surprised by ice itself; after all, they had ice cellars. However, the presence of such a massive quantity of ice—and the creation of iced beverages—made them want to see exactly what was going on.
"Why are there still so many people?!" Parkin said in annoyance.
Ever since he recovered from his illness, Parkin had stayed in Sedona City, intending to develop a following of believers here. Who knew that everyone in Sedona City was well-fed and warmly dressed, remaining completely unmoved by everything he preached...
Consequently, he wrote a letter describing some of the novelties in Sedona City and had a knight carry it back to the Yadian Kingdom.
After waiting in line for nearly twenty minutes, it was finally Parkin's turn. Upon entering, he saw a signboard that read: One cup of slushie - two steel coins. One wild fruit popsicle - one steel coin. One cup of iced beverage - one steel coin... and so on.
"So cheap?" Parkin froze for a moment. He now knew that a steel coin was a currency even smaller than a copper coin.
"What would you like to order?" The shop staff member introduced politely. "We have slushies, iced beverages, and popsicles. All of these are great for clearing heat and relieving summer heat."
"Oh? If it isn't Bishop Parkin!" Obi happened to be walking out of the shop at this moment, a popsicle dangling from his mouth.
"Your Excellency Obi is also here to enjoy an iced beverage," Parkin replied.
"You could try the slushie," Obi suggested casually. He had just eaten a slushie drizzled with a mildly tart fruit juice, and it was incredibly refreshing to the core.
"Alright, give me a cup of slushie then." After saying that, Parkin pulled two steel coins from his pocket and handed them to the clerk.
Obi left with Nancy; the two of them still wanted to stroll around and learn a bit more. Over these past few days, they had come to realize the flaws of Bella's territory and both wanted to stay in Sedona City for a few days to study and learn.
"..."
Currently, many nobles were visiting the shop. Especially in this scorching weather, numerous nobles came to give it a try.
Parkin took a bite of the slushie, shivered from the cold, and shouted excitedly, "This is far too delicious!"
This slushie was something he had never tasted in the Yadian Kingdom, giving him a sense of sheer contentment. After all, being able to take a bite of ice in the middle of summer was better than anything else.
He promptly finished the cup of slushie in just a few mouthfuls, then turned around and ran straight back to the end of the line. He planned to try every single item on the menu.
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