Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Seeing Qinghe's actions, Liu didn't say anything, letting her count the copper coins in the bag. Wang and Li had already strung the coins together, a hundred at a time.

"Mother, there are a thousand coins here!" Qinghe exclaimed softly in surprise.

"Don't make a fuss. I'll pack it all up and keep it safe so I can prepare your dowry when you get married."

Liu took the money bag from her daughter's hand, and took out two exquisite copper keys, one large and one small, from her bosom. She first unlocked the camphor wood chest locked on the kang (a heated brick bed), and then took out a wooden box with a small copper lock on it. Inside were Liu's private savings.

Only Qinghe knew about these private matters; even the old man had never seen them. Seeing her mother put all the copper coins into the box, Qinghe felt relieved. Her mother had told her before that the things in the box were only for her and her fourth brother; no one else would get a share.

When the old man returned, he saw Liu and her youngest daughter doing chores on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Did the two wives come by just now?" Old Master Zhang asked.

"Yes, they've arrived. They handed over some money, saying they're doing this because they run around selling braised dishes every day, and I've been working hard at home taking care of everything. They want to give me some money as a token of their respect." Liu kept her head down, continuing to mend the clothes in her hands, without even looking up.

"Hmm, is Fourth Brother back soon?" Old Master Zhang suddenly said, puffing on his pipe.

"It should be soon, probably in the next few days."

"Prepare a few red envelopes and keep them handy these next few days, so that when the good news comes, you won't have anything to give as a reward and people will laugh at you."

"How much should be sealed?" Liu finally looked up at the old man, something she didn't understand.

"Fifty coins per package is enough," Old Master Zhang said after thinking for a while.

"Yes," Liu agreed without any doubt. In their hearts, their son passing the imperial examination was a sure thing.

As the wheat in the fields began to turn yellow, the rural families started their busy work. That day, Zhang Youtie pulled an oxcart carrying his elder brother and sister-in-law from the old house, along with Liu and her daughter, heading towards town. One basket on the cart contained over a dozen sickles, while the other two smaller baskets held the groceries Wang and Liu needed to buy. The sickles were to be taken to the blacksmith in town to be sharpened for easier harvesting. They also needed to purchase some grain on this trip.

Upon arriving in town, they parked the oxcart and split up. Zhang Youtie and his elder brother took their sickles to the blacksmith to have them sharpened. Wang and Liu went to buy grain. Xia Yu's family still had plenty of grain from their last purchase, so they didn't need to buy any more for now. The old house needed to buy eighty catties of wheat flour and fifty catties of rice. The two sisters-in-law took Xia Yu to the grain shop where they usually sold their grain. It was crowded with people, all there to buy grain for the wheat harvest.

This was how it was for farming families at that time. They could usually fill their stomachs with wild vegetable porridge, but during the busy farming season, they had to make sure they were well-fed. Especially during the wheat harvest, they worked very hard. Only when the wheat was in the granary as soon as possible could the farmers feel at ease. Otherwise, if the weather turned bad and rain came, all their hard work for the year would be for nothing.

They waited a long time before a waiter finally had time to serve them.

"Ladies, what grains are we going to write down today?" The shop assistant must have talked a lot today, as his lips were covered in white patches.

"We want eighty catties of wheat flour and fifty catties of white rice," Wang proudly announced the quantities she wanted.

"Alright, flour is five coins a pound, and rice is six coins a pound. This way, ladies, please. I'll weigh it for you."

"Sister-in-law, I'll go over there. You and Xiaxia stay outside; it's too crowded inside," Wang said to Liu.

"That's fine then. I'll wait for you at the door with Xiaxia."

"Yes, I know, I'll find you in a bit." After saying that, Wang squeezed her way to the grain weighing area, which was truly packed with people. However, many families who were not well-off could only afford to buy some brown rice and cornmeal. For families like Wang's, who only needed white rice and white flour, they were already considered to be living a good life in the village.

Liu and Xia Yu waited at the door for Wang to come out, and then they went to the pork stall and bought another ten catties of pork.

"Auntie, it's so hot now, won't this meat keep well?" Xia Yu asked with some concern.

“It’s alright, just make it into soy sauce pork when you get home, and seal the jar with a layer of sesame oil, and it won’t spoil,” Wang explained to Xia Yu. Then she said to the pork stall owner, “Butcher Zhou, we’re not selling braised offal for the next few days, so you don’t need to reserve any for us. I’ll let you know in advance when we start selling it again.”

"Alright, but do you still want to go into the water today?"

"Yes, I'll take it all with me today. I'll take it home and braise it for my family. How much will it cost in total? I'll give you the breakdown."

"The pork is fourteen coins a catty, and the offal is twenty coins a set. This is two sets of offal. That's one hundred and eighty coins in total."

"Alright!" Wang took out two strings of coins from her money bag, then took out twenty coins from one of the strings and handed them to Butcher Zhou.

"I'll have someone deliver this to you in a bit. Don't carry it around; the smell isn't pleasant." Wang had been a frequent patron of his business lately, and seeing that they seemed to be going to buy other things, she made this suggestion.

"That's great, thank you so much. After the wheat harvest, I'll treat you to my family's braised dishes."

"You know what, your braised food is really delicious. I crave it after a few days without it. It's even more satisfying than eating fatty meat."

"Of course! How could a family recipe not be delicious?" Wang was naturally happy to hear others praise her braised food. Xia Yu, listening nearby, thought her aunt was really talking nonsense, even bringing up a family recipe.

The two sisters-in-law left the meat stall and bought quite a few other things. They then carried their baskets to the cattle shop to meet Zhang Youtie and the others; it was already close to noon.

After discussing it, the group decided to go to a noodle shop for a bowl of noodles before heading back. Zhang Youtie had been to town quite often recently and had taken Changyun to several restaurants, so he knew which ones offered good value and delicious food. Zhang Youtie led the group to a noodle shop, where each person ordered a bowl of cold noodles topped with eggplant sauce. Garlic was also provided on the table for those who wanted to peel it themselves. The noodles were chewy and smooth, and although the sauce was vegetarian, it tasted very good.

As the saying goes, "Eating noodles without garlic diminishes the flavor by half." Xia Yu peeled a few cloves of garlic and ate them with his noodles. Zhang Youjin and Zhang Youtie each ordered another bowl after finishing their noodles. When it came time to pay the bill, the two brothers started arguing, each vying to pay.

Finally, Wang pulled Zhang Youtie down to a seat. "Third brother, let your eldest brother pay. We've made a lot of money using the recipe your Xiaxia gave us. It's too much of a fuss if you argue with us over a bowl of noodles." Hearing this, Liu patted Zhang Youtie and said with a smile, "Just listen to your sister-in-law and sit down quietly."

After Zhang Youjin paid, the group sat and rested in the noodle shop for a while before getting up to leave. Zhang Youtie drove the oxcart, while Zhang Youjin sat on the other side chatting with his brothers.