“Yu Yan and Ke Ren are in the sauna?”

　　”Yes, young master, would you like to go directly there?” Mei Jian respectfully took off the young master’s outer coat and cloak.

　　Winters in the capital are very cold. It’s already November, almost winter. This is the lunar calendar, not the Gregorian calendar, which is December in later times. It’s already starting to snow.

　　Although it’s not the end of the Ming Dynasty yet, and there are still decades before the Little Ice Age, the winters at this time are truly cold, with biting winds that chill to the bone. Every winter, many people freeze to death, even in a place like the capital.

　　So people at that time, especially those with better conditions, would wear special coats and cloaks whenever they went out, just like Mei Changsu in “Nirvana in Fire”. These coats were made of animal fur, and the collars were often made of fox tails or tails of other furry animals. This provided excellent warmth. The most valuable and sought-after coat was the fire fox cloak (made of a fiery red fox).

　　It is said to be a rare species, because its fur has a natural warming effect and excellent insulation properties, making it ideal for making the collar of a cape. Therefore, like the equally rare spirit fox and Arctic fox, it has been designated as a protected animal.

　　A complete fox pelt can now be worth a thousand gold pieces, and even ten thousand gold pieces depending on its size and age.

　　Wan Sanqian had a very large tiger skin, which Zhang Weihao had peeled off and attached to his tiger skin cloak. It was a whole white tiger skin, very valuable and high-class.

　　Zhang Weihao wasn’t afraid of the cold, but he didn’t want to appear unusual. He preferred to keep a low profile and play the fool. Otherwise, in the dead of winter, with snow falling outside, if you were wearing only thin clothes, even a fool would know that you had profound inner strength and were unfathomable. People would easily spot you and be wary of you, which would be disadvantageous for navigating the martial arts world.

　　Back then, there was no internet. No matter how famous Zhang Weihao was, how many people actually knew him or had seen him? Not to mention, he had the ability to transform and disguise himself. So, he naturally preferred to keep a low profile, so that when the time was right, he could simply frown and retreat behind the crowd.

　　Mei Jian naturally knew how precious the young master’s cloak was, so she quickly cleaned and tidied it up before hanging it up on a special hanger for him.

　　Meanwhile, Lan Jian continued to help Zhang Weihao change his clothes. Although there was no heating now, wealthy families did not lack heating equipment, and the house was still much warmer than the outside. Therefore, those who had the means would usually change their clothes when they returned to the house, rather than wearing the same clothes all the time.

　　Since Jiang Yuyan and the others were currently using the sauna in the inner courtyard to ward off the cold, Zhang Weihao naturally changed into a special bathrobe and went over, intending to join the girls in the sauna.

　　Saunas, also known as sauna rooms, originated in Finland. They include dry saunas and wet saunas, but the saunas people usually refer to are dry saunas, while the steam rooms are wet saunas.

　　Traditional saunas use heated mineral stones, on which water is poured to generate steam. Modern saunas, however, utilize far-infrared rays and negative ions to achieve their effects. Sauna rooms offer various benefits such as weight loss, detoxification, and relief from rheumatism, making them popular among consumers.

　　In ancient times, due to limitations in technology and science, many modern bathing facilities could not be replicated. Even hot springs could only be accessed at proper hot springs; one could not expect them at home (spring, summer, and early autumn were fine, but winter was impossible; even the emperor had to go to a special hot spring pool to bathe). There were no boiler rooms as powerful as those in later generations.

　　However, there were still bathhouses, which were heated by firewood and honeycomb briquettes. The space was small and they were enclosed rooms, not open-air. This was a very important business for the Zhang family and the Sun Moon Cult. They monopolized the honeycomb briquettes, bathhouses, and boilers (the small kind, which was the type of bathhouse used to be) business in the entire northern market.

　　There are such places in Beijing, but they are mostly men’s bathhouses. They offer some special services, but women don’t come to these places. Those who can afford it wouldn’t come, and those who would come don’t have the means.

　　Moreover, the bathhouses are not large, with only about ten people bathing at the same time, and the prices are very expensive, making it a kind of upper-class lifestyle enjoyed by the wealthy.

　　Sauna rooms are becoming increasingly popular, and can be found in some wealthy households. The main reason is that this thing is a creative idea with low technical requirements. After experiencing it, many people can set one up in their own yards, making it difficult to monopolize. At most, the energy monopoly is limited to honeycomb briquettes, firewood, and volcanic rocks.

　　The sauna here is a typical dry sauna, where water is periodically poured onto specially heated volcanic rocks, and the steam generated by the combustion creates a sauna effect.

　　Due to technological limitations, it relies more on self-temperature regulation and physiological perception. If you feel cold, add firewood or water; if you feel hot, reduce the amount of firewood.

　　It’s quite troublesome, so most of the time there are dedicated maids and servants to take care of them.

　　Because these maids and servants were very close to the brazier (they had to stay there and couldn’t leave, and had to heat it up if the master told them to), and they might serve many people at the same time, they often suffered from overheating and dehydration, or heatstroke and fainting. Every year, quite a few people die from this.

　　Especially Zhu Houzhao’s Leopard Chamber, which had similar facilities but was much larger, so the palace maids suffered a lot and often died from the heat (the sudden change from cold to heat could cause a severe cold, which could be fatal in those days).

　　”You guys really know how to enjoy yourself. It’s so comfortable all of a sudden.” Jiang Yuyan is from the South, and Yihua Palace is also in the South, where it’s spring all year round. She’s never really enjoyed this before. Today has really broadened her horizons.

　　”It’s alright, Yu Yan, do you want to come and try it?” Xue Qianxun, who was adding special volcanic rock, directly tried to persuade Jiang Yu Yan to switch with her.

　　Jiang Yuyan was no fool; she was known for her intelligence in the martial arts world, so she politely declined with a smile.

　　However, he was still curious and picked up the volcanic rock to examine it.

　　This was the first time she had ever seen this thing, and it was a resource unique to the Zhang family and the Sun Moon Cult, which was said to be very profitable.

　　”Was this rock really formed by a volcanic eruption?”

　　”That’s right. It was originally an exclusive business, but unfortunately, many people were secretly doing shipping business, and soon people found out where these stones came from. The price and profit immediately dropped a lot. But fortunately, we are strong enough, and we are still doing the overall business. We have control over these channels and resources.” Xue Qianxun was also helpless about this. Compared to the beginning, the profit is less than one-fifth of what it used to be. Although it is still profitable, it is no longer considered a huge profit.