Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Around noon, the first oxcart carrying watermelons stopped in the open space in front of Zhang Youtie's courtyard. As one oxcart after another returned, the people working in the fields gradually returned as well. Besides the Zhang family, there were actually eight or nine men from the village who had come to help. Looking at the helpers, Liu felt that the pancakes she was making seemed a bit tight. After discussing it with Li Xiaomiao and Tian Guihua, they decided to quickly knead the dough and continue making pancakes. Xia Yu also brought out a large winter melon from the storage room for Chunyu to cut, while she took out five catties of meat and sliced ​​it on another chopping board. Finally, before the eighth oxcart returned, Xia Yu made another pot of stir-fried winter melon and meat, while Liu and the others were still working hard to make pancakes.

Uncle Ma was outside fetching water for people returning from work, greeting them to wash their hands and faces. Next to him was a bucket of cool boiled water, which they drank to quench their thirst.

Once Steward Qin and his men returned, it would be time for a proper meal. The servants and coachman Steward Qin brought this time were all familiar faces from the previous visit. Seeing the baskets and vegetable bowls in the courtyard, they all wondered what the meal would be. The servants were Shen's household servants; although they ate well, they didn't have meat every day. Knowing that Steward Qin had brought a pig, they were even more excited about the lunch Zhang Youtie's family would prepare for them. The coachman wasn't a Shen household servant; he only worked for a day or two driving the oxcart when there was work for the Shen family. When there was no work, he found his own, so his daily life was even poorer. Having learned of the family's kindness from their previous visit, some of the more resourceful ones brought small earthenware pots from home, hoping to bring back some of the good food their masters had prepared for their families.

After Zhang Youtie delivered a thank-you speech to everyone present, the meal was officially served. When the steaming cloth covering the dishes was lifted to reveal the food underneath, everyone present gasped in surprise.

"It's all meat!"

"Look, look, there are three dishes! More than last time!"

"I see, all three are meat dishes."

The people from the Shen family were fine, but the few men from the village who had come to help felt a little embarrassed seeing such good food. They genuinely wanted to help Third Brother's family, but seeing the delicious meal they had prepared, they felt too ashamed to even eat anything they had done. So, taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, they discussed it and went home.

"Everyone, line up here and get two bowls each. Then come over here to get your food. After you get your food, turn left; there are fried dough sticks over there," Uncle Ma shouted to the people in the courtyard from a stool, making sure no one bumped into each other while carrying their bowls. Everyone here had been here before; it was the same arrangement last time, so they were all experienced. Following Uncle Ma's instructions, they lined up to get bowls and then went to get their food. When the first person saw the braised pork in the basin, their mouth almost watered. Looking at that huge basin of meat, they thought it must be half a pig! Li Xiaomiao was in charge of the braised pork and braised eggs. Her ladle moved with perfect precision, serving a large spoonful of braised pork and winter melon, then adding two eggs with chopsticks. Tian Guihua was in charge of stir-fried winter melon with dried shrimp and stewed vegetables. She put the stir-fried winter melon with dried shrimp and braised pork in one bowl, and a full bowl of stewed vegetables in another. The servants carrying the food were swallowing their saliva frantically; this was comparable to the New Year's Eve dinner at the mansion. As Uncle Ma instructed, after getting the food, he turned left and was confronted by Liu, who placed two fried dough sticks directly on top of his bowl. He even heard Liu laughing as she said this to him.

"There's still plenty of vegetables and pancakes. Come back for more if you're still hungry."

"Yes, yes, I know, I know," the servant said, looking at the fragrant dishes and the golden-brown fried dough. He could only nod in agreement, not knowing what else to say.

"It's so delicious!" A servant took a big bite of braised pork, and the soft, savory taste made him exclaim involuntarily.

"Hey, let me tell you, from now on I'll come to Brother Zhang's house for any work. The work isn't tiring, and Sister-in-law Zhang is very kind; she doesn't complain about how much we eat. Look at this food, even my mother wouldn't normally let me eat like this," one of the servants said to the others.

"Even if you want to come, you'll have to be selected. Last time we had about twenty people, and several of them weren't chosen this time. They wanted to come, but Manager Qin didn't select them." He then looked around before continuing to speak to the group.

"If you ask me, we should still try to build a good relationship with Manager Qin. Do you know why those other people didn't come?"

"What?"

"why?"

"You know, so tell me!"

The people around him, seeing him deliberately stalling for justice, couldn't help but urge him on. The man, having had his fill of smugness, glanced around and then said slyly...

"When Steward Qin first came up, those few were unconvinced. Relying on their seniority in the manor, they caused him a lot of trouble. If you ask me, they were just foolish. Look, they didn't even get such a good job."

"Yes, Xiao Niu is right. We should stick with Manager Qin. Otherwise, we won't get a chance to have good opportunities next time. If you ask me, we should stay away from those idiots in the future. Otherwise, Manager Qin might think we're on good terms with them and we'll get into trouble."

"Yeah, that's right."

"That makes sense, isn't that exactly the point?"

The story that unfolded among the servants here was unknown to others. The cart drivers ate their meals sitting in their own oxcarts, and one of them, taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking, carefully transferred the food from his bowl into an earthenware pot, then tore the fried dough into small pieces and soaked them in the broth. Feeling still not full after two pieces, he went to the winnowing basket for another. Tian Guihua, seeing his empty bowl, offered to give him more food, but he refused, blushing, and only served him a bowl of mung bean porridge, which he then took away.

Sitting in the main room, Manager Qin looked at the table laden with dishes, his heart filled with emotion. Last time he came, he could only eat communal food with the outsiders. Back then, Brother Zhang and his wife were kind enough to prepare two separate dishes for him in the kitchen. In just three months, he was being treated like a guest of honor in the main room. Although he didn't show it outwardly, he was inwardly filled with感慨 (a complex feeling of mixed emotions, including nostalgia and regret). His good fortune, and Manager Ding's good fortune, seemed to have suddenly arrived after they met Zhang Youtie. Thinking of this, Manager Qin became even more humble when facing Zhang Youtie's family.

At the dinner table, the village chief expressed his desire for other villagers to grow watermelons next year, and asked Steward Qin if the Shen family would still accept them. Steward Qin dared not make any promises. He only humbly said that he needed to report this to his wife and ask her to make a decision.

Although somewhat disappointed, the village chief understood that this was not a matter he, as a mere steward, could easily agree to. His willingness to return and report to his superior was already the best outcome. At least he would have some news, regardless of whether it succeeded or not.

The meal didn't last long, as the people from the Shen family needed to hurry to load the watermelons onto the ship for direct transport to the capital. Steward Qin had hinted at this during the meal: Madam Shen planned to deliver these watermelons to the capital before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Remembering Lord Shen's warning, Xia Yu didn't dare give him any more well water this time. She silently wished that the watermelons would arrive in the capital unharmed.

After seeing everyone off, Zhang Youtie handed several silver notes to Liu Shi. Liu Shi opened them and saw that there was a 100-tael note, a 50-tael note, and a 10-tael note. This time, selling melons earned a total of 160 taels of silver.

“Mother, this time the watermelon should cost 161 taels and 200 cash, but I took it upon myself to round down the extra tael or so.”

"Yes, of course. Xiaxia, you can keep these silver notes with you." He said, handing the silver notes in his hand back to his daughter.

"When you were picking melons in the field today, do you remember who came to help?" Liu asked Zhang Youtie.

"I think I saw a few people coming back with the oxcart today. I saw them when I was washing my face, but I didn't see any of them when it was time to eat." Liu was so busy today that it was Tian Guihua who reminded her that there seemed to be a few men in the village who had helped out but hadn't come to eat. Only then did she remember those men.

"Yes, there were a few. They saw us go to the fields this morning and went with us. They worked all morning. Didn't they eat lunch here?" Zhang Youtie said after thinking for a moment.

"No, I'm sure they didn't eat here. I was handing out pancakes over there. If they came, I wouldn't forget. Do you remember who they were?"

“I remember…” Zhang Youtie then mentioned several names. Liu Shi memorized them. Seeing that Zhang Youtie's face was flushed from drinking, she told him to go to sleep. She and her daughter, each carrying a basket, went to each of the workers' homes, delivering two bowls of food: one bowl of braised pork and one bowl of stewed vegetables. They also had some leftover fried dough sticks from lunch; besides giving Li Xiaomiao and Tian Guihua five each, they had over a dozen left. They counted and gave three to each family, delivering them along with the food. At each house, they were warmly welcomed, and after some polite exchanges and polite refusals, half an hour had passed by the time they had delivered to all the homes.