Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After leaving the flower hall, Manager Qin felt a chill run down his spine; it seemed he still had a lot to learn.

Although outsiders all said that Master Shen was a shrewd businessman, the servants in the Shen household knew in their hearts that while he was indeed capable in business, Madam Shen was even more so. Master Shen was aware of this, but because he loved Madam Shen dearly, he didn't feel that she had damaged his masculine pride; on the contrary, he was proud of it. When teased by friends at dinner parties, he wasn't ashamed or angry but rather pleased, feeling that he had found a virtuous and capable wife. His friends, seeing that the more they teased him about this, the more pleased he became, grew tired of it and stopped bringing it up much.

The last batch of watermelons—the large ones—were taken by the old man and presented to His Majesty the Emperor. The next day, after the Emperor bestowed the watermelons as rewards upon ministers in the capital who had rendered meritorious service to the government, the Shen family's watermelons went on sale in the capital. Within a day, all the watermelons were sold out at 500 coins per pound. Those who arrived late couldn't buy any even with money; they could only watch as others managed to buy watermelons, stamping their feet and sighing, hoping not to be punished by their masters when they returned home. Everyone in the Shen household admired Madam Shen's decisive and ruthless actions; she was a formidable businesswoman.

If Xia Yu were here, she would surely sigh in admiration, never expecting that Madam Shen understood the power of celebrity even in this era. She actually used the emperor to promote the watermelons in her shop. However, Madam Shen was also cautious; the watermelons sold in her shop were far smaller than those presented to the palace. Even if someone wanted to find fault and accuse her of disrespect, they would have no grounds. The Shen family hadn't asked for a single penny for the watermelons presented to the palace, and they were the best. They couldn't very well stop the imperial merchants from selling the rest after the nobles had eaten them all. Otherwise, all the imperial merchants would starve.

Therefore, the watermelons from last time made the Shen family a fortune.

By the time Steward Qin emerged from the side gate of the Shen residence, the sun was already high in the sky.

As soon as he stepped out of the side gate, he clasped his hands in apology to Zhang Youtie and said, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Brother Zhang. I have already informed the master and madam, but I don't know the price of this batch of watermelons."

"These watermelons are a bit small this time, so we've set the price at forty wen per jin. Manager Qin, is that alright?" Zhang Youtie announced the price his family had agreed on.

"Alright, Brother Zhang is an honest businessman. Let's go with your price, forty coins a pound. How many more days until we can pick it up?"

"It will take another seven or eight days for the product to mature in large quantities. I'll come over in advance to inform Manager Qin." Zhang Youtie thought for a moment and only gave an approximate time.

"Alright, then I'll wait for Brother Zhang's news." Remembering another matter his wife had arranged, he unconsciously cleared his throat before continuing.

"I wonder how many restaurants Brother Zhang's shrimp are currently supplying?" Actually, according to business etiquette, he shouldn't be asking this question. But since Madam had instructed Zhang Youtie to supply only their family, he still had to inquire.

Zhang Youtie wasn't exactly a pure businessman, so he didn't find the question offensive and answered honestly.

"In our town, there are two large restaurants, and a few small eateries. In Ming'an County, only your esteemed Zuixiaolou is worth mentioning."

Hearing that Ming'an County was only supplying shrimp to Zuixiaolou Restaurant, Manager Qin felt a sense of relief. "Ahem...ahem...it's like this, our lady's intention is that Brother Zhang's shrimp should only be supplied to us in the county. If other restaurants approach Brother Zhang wanting to buy shrimp, we hope that Brother Zhang can refuse."

Zhang Youtie hadn't expected that this was the very thing that made Steward Qin hesitant to bring up. So he lowered his head and calculated how many shrimp his family had to supply to Zuixiaolou every day. Zuixiaolou in Ming'an County used to supply 60 jin a day, and the one in the prefectural city used to supply 150 jin every three days, which would amount to more than 3,000 jin of shrimp a month. His family only had three shrimp ponds; it seemed unreasonable to supply any more.

However, Zhang Youtie's bowed head and silence appeared troubled to Steward Qin, who also felt the request was somewhat unreasonable. So he immediately relayed the most important point raised by Madam Shen.

"Of course, this request is indeed a bit unreasonable, but our lady said that if other restaurants come to us, we will increase the quantity according to their daily order. In any case, we will not let Brother Zhang's family suffer a loss."

"Ah?" Zhang Youtie hadn't expected Madam Shen to offer such generous terms. In fact, even if Madam Shen hadn't mentioned it, he hadn't planned to increase shrimp sales. So he nodded and replied, "That won't be necessary. The Shen family has been kind and supportive to my family. Since Madam Shen has offered, my family can certainly fulfill her request. Steward Qin, please inform Madam that my family's shrimp will only be sold to the Shen family's restaurants. The Shen family doesn't need to pay any more money."

Hearing Zhang Youtie's words, Steward Qin secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he had fulfilled his wife's request.

"Brother Zhang, you don't let money cloud your judgment, I admire you." The two exchanged pleasantries for a while before Zhang Youtie drove his mule cart out of Ming'an County, heading towards Zhangjia Village. Along the way, Steward Qin tried to pay Zhang Youtie for the day's watermelons, but he refused. He now earned nearly a hundred taels of silver a month selling shrimp, all thanks to the Shen family; asking for money for a few watermelons seemed rather stingy.

Inside the Shen residence, after Steward Qin left, Master Shen asked his wife, puzzled, why she had made such a request.

"Madam, you are always kind to others, why do you speak like this today? Has something happened?"

"We recently lost a kitchen helper at Zuixiaolou," said Madam Shen.

"If the kitchen helper leaves, we can just hire another one. Is Madam angry about this?" Master Shen still couldn't figure out what was wrong with Madam's anger.

"That young man only worked there for two months before he made an excuse to leave, saying his elderly mother was seriously ill and he needed to go home to take care of her. Manager Liu of the restaurant not only paid him his wages but also gave him an extra five hundred coins. Does the master know about this?" Madam Shen asked Master Shen.

"I don't know, but Manager Liu did a good job. Although he's only been there a short time, he has worked in our restaurant, so we should take care of him. But what does this have to do with the shrimp?"

“Uncle Niu, the coachman in our household, was seen working at Hongbin Restaurant yesterday. He should have been back in his hometown to take care of his parents. Moreover, the owner of Hongbin Restaurant has been sending people around to buy shrimp these past two days. Master, do you think I can't be angry?” Madam Shen was still very angry when she thought about this.

“I think someone will come to the Zhang family in a couple of days. If they don’t do this, everyone who runs a restaurant can rely on their own abilities. But since they dared to send people here to steal our recipes, I’ll make sure they can’t buy any ingredients. If they can do this once, they can’t blame us for doing it again.”