BXBX NOVEL Chapter 70: Cheers for Ice Cold Beer
Potassium nitrate dissolved in water absorbs a great amount of heat, which is the principle behind ice-making with saltpeter. Thanks to his past experience of reading novels, Liszt knew quite a bit of such common knowledge.
Moreover, he was aware that potassium nitrate could be reused.
“Saltpeter is a magical substance that dissolves in water and then chills the water until it freezes,” Liszt directed the servants to pour the white powder into a basin of water.
Then, they watched the powder gradually dissolve.
Tom dipped his fingers into the water and cried out in amazement, “My lord, my lord, the water, the water has really cooled down, it’s so cold!”
Goltai pushed Tom aside, curious yet hesitant, but eventually dipped his fingers into the water too, “It is indeed much cooler than before, Liszt. Is this a magician’s doing? I once saw a magician proficient in ice magic who would make a fortune by creating large quantities of ice blocks during summer.”
However, after a brief wait, the water had only cooled and had not frozen.
“Liszt, why hasn’t it turned to ice?”
“Teacher Goltai, making ice with saltpeter isn’t as simple as throwing in a bit of powder; what we’ve done now is just to prove that it is indeed saltpeter,” Liszt said with a light smile. “Now, gather all these pieces of saltpeter while breaking the rocks, and bring them all into the castle, without missing a single one.”
“Alright, I look forward to the moment you produce ice blocks. Having ice during the summer is the true mark of noble luxury.”
Tomorrow is the Sea Festival, and the castle will host a banquet.
Night fell.
Looking at the amount of saltpeter powder collected in a day, enough to fill a wooden barrel, an excited Liszt instructed the servants to begin the real process of making ice with saltpeter.
Saltpeter dissolved in water absorbs heat and turns the water to ice.
But the brine directly resulting from melting saltpeter is toxic, so it was necessary to prepare a large tub and a copper basin with good thermal conductivity. Water was put into both the tub and the basin, then the copper basin was placed inside the tub. They poured the saltpeter into the water of the tub, waiting for it to dissolve and absorb heat, turning the water into ice.
As there was a substantial amount of saltpeter powder prepared, the cooling effect of the dissolution was exceptionally strong.
In no time at all, the water in the tub slowly began to solidify, and eventually, even the water in the copper basin began to freeze.
“It’s frozen!”
“It really has frozen!”
“A miraculous scene; this is the method of legendary alchemists!”
Marcus, Goltai, Isaiah, and Blair, who were watching from the side, all marveled. In their minds, ice belonged only to winter, and nobles who built ice cellars could enjoy the refreshing effect of ice in the summer. But an ice cellar was a luxury, and only wealthy landlords could organize large teams to harvest ice blocks from rivers and lakes in the winter.
For fallen nobles like Goltai, they could only scrape a few ice blocks each year at Tulip Castle to get a taste.
Marcus, Blair, and Isaiah did not even have the privilege of tasting summer ice.
Liszt was just as thrilled, he had heard of ice-making with saltpeter before, but this was his first time undertaking the task. Seeing water turn to ice with his own eyes was indeed a stunning experience.
“My lord, it’s turned to ice,” Thomas said as he circled the large tub, his eyes sparkling.
“Cut the ice,” Liszt nodded with a reserved noble smile on his face, calm and composed as he commanded, “Cut the ice blocks into small pieces. Tonight, every gentleman and lady will be able to have a small piece of ice.”
Carter said softly, “My lord, ice is too precious, perhaps the servants don’t need any?”
“Not to worry, Mr. Carter, do as I say,” Liszt replied.
“Yes, my lord. Your generosity is deeply appreciated on behalf of all the servants,” Carter bowed deeply, recognizing the fortune of serving a generous noble master.
Having said that, he directed Thomas to bring the ice blocks in the copper basin to the kitchen to begin cutting them.
Liszt then called for Tom, “Preserve this tub of ice water well. Tomorrow, when the sun comes up, take it out to evaporate, not a single drop should go to waste.”
Goltai was puzzled, “Liszt, what’s the rationale here, these ice blocks should just be used as they are, why do we need to let them melt?”
“The saltpeter directly melts the condensed ice; of course, it can be used, but it cannot be eaten. After drying out the water content, it becomes saltpeter again, and then it is repeatedly used to make ice.”
“Is saltpeter really that magical?”
“It’s much more magical than you think,” Liszt thought to himself—if he found sulfur, he would now dare to mix black gunpowder.
Perhaps compared to yellow gunpowder, black gunpowder strictly speaking isn’t even considered an explosive, but it’s still a flammable and explosive high-explosive material. Suitable for making some homemade bombs, its power wouldn’t be weaker than the magic released by low-level magical beasts. When used in low-level battles, it can still achieve an element of surprise.
Of course, in a world where dragons, elves, and magic power exist, black gunpowder doesn’t have any decisive advantage.
The dishes at the banquet weren’t very rich; Liszt couldn’t afford to treat Goltai and the others to a lavish meal every day, as the castle’s supplies ensured his own extravagant lifestyle.
Even the alcoholic drinks were poor, all of them sour beers without hops.
But the party atmosphere was buoyant because everyone’s cup contained a few pieces of ice. As the ice melted, it turned the beer in their cups ice cold. A gulp refreshing the drinker instantly, cooling the heart, an absolute delight in this increasingly hot weather.
“Liszt, I propose, for the sake of the iced beer, let’s toast!” Goltai happily raised his cup.
Liszt picked up his cup in response, “Then to the iced beer, cheers.”
“Cheers!”
Gulp gulp, the sound of gulping down beer resonated at the dining table.
The kitchen.
Above the dining table.
Eileen stirred the ice cubes in her plate with her spoon, making clattering noises.
Mrs. Abbie Spoon couldn’t help scolding, “Eileen, stop making that unpleasant noise, eat the ice cubes gifted to you by the master quickly!”
“Rather than eating the ice cubes, I prefer watching them melt. Mrs. Abbie, don’t you feel the temperature has dropped in the kitchen today?” Eileen Four Fingers continued to stir the ice, then looked towards the seat beside her at Lily Bath Touch, “Little Lily, do you feel it?”
“Of course, everyone’s plate has ice cubes.” As she spoke, Little Lily stuck out her tongue and licked the ice cube on her spoon; she didn’t want to eat it all at once.
The ice cubes didn’t have much taste, but they were cool and felt comfortable, making all the heatiness in the body fade away.
Abbie said angrily, “Little Lily, I won’t allow you to speak to Eileen during meals. Your clumsy hands and rude way of eating will only bring shame to our kitchen!”
“Cough cough.”
Butler Carter bit the ice cube in his mouth forcefully, even though he was already in his fifties, his teeth were still strong, “Mrs. Abbie, they are still children; let them have some slight indiscretions during meals.”
“Mr. Carter, it’s not that I don’t listen to you, but you shouldn’t indulge them, or they will become unruly. Being clumsy is disappointing enough, and if they can’t even learn a bit of etiquette, they will stay in the kitchen for a lifetime, unable to become maids upstairs,” Abbie said earnestly.
Carter and Morson exchanged glances; they both knew that Abbie was a kind-hearted person who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
But obviously, Eileen was not convinced, “Mrs. Abbie, I don’t even want to go upstairs. It’s not comfortable at all, you have to be so careful you can’t even leave a footprint. I want to be a cook in the future; I like working in the kitchen.”
“You can forget about it!” Abbie flared up immediately, “As long as I’m in the kitchen, you’ll never become a cook, little girl, remember not to offend me!”
“But you will get old one day.”
“Even if one day I’m so old that I can’t do my job, the cook is still me, and you have to listen to what I say!”