Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After Uncle Ma left, Xia Yu asked Zhang Youtie, "Dad, how much silver did it cost for several cartloads of charcoal?"

"That's thirty-one taels of silver and five hundred copper coins in total." Zhang Youtie, head down, picked up a few pieces of charcoal and threw them into the charcoal brazier, then continued, "When you use it tonight, open the window a crack, otherwise you'll feel dizzy."

"Dad, how do you know all this?"

"I heard what the old man who sells charcoal said earlier, but I don't know if it's true or not."

“What he said is true. Burning charcoal in a confined space can kill people, so Dad, we must listen to what he says,” Xia Yu said seriously.

Upon hearing her daughter's words, Madam Liu knew that her daughter had learned the technique from another place while she was unconscious. Although she didn't say it aloud, she had memorized it firmly in her heart.

The snow fell intermittently. The next day, Zhang Youtie and Uncle Ma braved the snow to go to the county town and bring back the sheep. They agreed to go again in half a month and ask Pork Dragon to help them get some sheep tripe and liver.

Changyun brought back news during his break: one hundred copper pots were ready, and Xia Yu could pick them up at any time.

That evening, Xia Yu prepared a hot pot. This time, the broth was made with pork bone soup base, seasoned with spices such as mutton fat, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, galangal, and angelica root. Many of these spices had to be purchased from spice shops and pharmacies. Therefore, the broth she made today was quite expensive.

This was the first time Changyun had ever seen this way of eating. Seeing the dazzling array of dishes on the table and the bubbling hot soup in the copper pot, his mouth was already watering from the aroma of the soup before he even took a bite.

Swallowing hard, Changyun asked Xia Yu.

"Xiaxia, is this the pot you had made at the blacksmith's, the one you call a hot pot?"

"Yes, brother, this is hot pot. You put raw vegetables and meat into the soup and cook them, then dip them in this sauce. My parents and I had it a few days ago, and it was so delicious. It left us feeling warm all over. You should try it."

Changyun looked at his parents beside him and saw that they were smiling at him with encouraging eyes. So he picked up his chopsticks, put a slice of mutton into the pot, and watched the meat slice roll up and down in the pot.

"It's ready, brother, it's cooked. Take it out and dip it in sesame sauce," Xia Yu said, watching the meat slices slowly turn white. Chang Yun did as his sister instructed, picking up a slice of meat from the pot, dipping it in the sesame sauce, and then taking a bite. The aroma of sesame sauce mixed with the fragrance of garlic and mutton exploded in his mouth. Chang Yun's eyes lit up.

"It's delicious, Dad, Mom, Xiaxia, this is delicious." After saying that, she picked up a few more slices of mutton and put them into the pot. She said to Xia Yu, "Our copper pot will definitely sell well in restaurants. It's snowing outside, and we can light this copper pot inside, invite a few friends, and eat and chat around the steaming pot. Just thinking about it is a wonderful thing."

Changyun had attended school for several months, and his speech was somewhat different now. The scene he just described was quite enchanting to even contemplate.

"Father, the day after tomorrow, let's take my brother to school together. After we get the pot back, we'll take it straight to the county town. We'll go to Zuixiaolou first, and if they can't take it all, we'll ask around at other restaurants. I'll also make some more hot pot base tomorrow, and sell it to them then." Hearing Changyun's words, Xia Yu's confidence soared. After saying that, she turned to Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi and said...

"Mom and Dad, you should try it too. How does the broth taste compared to last time?"

Hearing their daughter's invitation, the group didn't stand on ceremony, knowing she planned to make money from hot pot broth, so they all sat down and savored the food. He hadn't had a chance to try Changyun's hot pot last time, but he could offer his opinions this time.

The result was that everyone had no complaints. This time, the carefully prepared hot pot broth was even better than the last one. If you asked them if there was anything lacking, no one could say anything. After all, this was the best hot pot they had ever eaten, and they had never eaten any others, so how could they offer any opinions?

After dinner, the family sat around the charcoal brazier, warming their hands and chatting. "Dad, Mom, my aunt's braised food is now sold in the kitchen of our school. It's not just offal anymore; the best-selling items in our school are braised pork, braised bean curd sheets, and braised eggs, which are also very popular. My two roommates recognized the taste from the first bite as the same as the ones I brought, and asked if it was from our family. I said no, but they didn't believe me. Then I told them that the person selling the braised food is from our village, and the ones I usually bring are bought from home. Guess what they said when they heard that?" Changyun looked at his parents and sister with bright, smiling eyes.

"What are you saying? Don't you believe me?" Liu asked, guessing.

"No, guess again," Changyun said, shaking his head.

"Did they ask you to bring some over? They think it'll be cheaper for you to buy from the whole village than from the school?" Xia Yu said.

"How do you know what they said?" Changyun looked at his sister in surprise, wondering if he had already told her about it.

"I guessed." Xia Yu made up the most flimsy excuse to fool her brother. Wasn't this situation similar to the 'personal shopping agent' in her previous life? When university was about to start, close friends would always contact each other and ask each other to bring back local specialties or snacks.

"Tell me if my guess was right or wrong?" Xia Yu asked with a smile.

"Yes, yes, absolutely right. They said that even though the food isn't cheap in the village, at least you can get a couple more spoonfuls of broth, which is perfect for cooking in an earthenware pot..."

Xia Yu looked at Chang Yun and could tell that he was very happy at school. Every time he came back and told his family about what happened at school, his face would light up. She liked her brother like this; this was the kind of vibrant young man she admired.

The family chatted until late before reluctantly going to bed. Although they had a charcoal brazier, Xia Yu still felt it wasn't safe to sleep with it lit at night. So, during the day, they burned charcoal for heating, but at night they still relied on their own body heat while covered with thick quilts.

Liu gave everyone a hot water bottle and placed it in their bedding beforehand, so the bedding was already warm and comfortable when they went to sleep.

She slept soundly through the night, and when she woke up the next morning, the weather was still gloomy. Aunt Ma had once again prepared porridge and flatbread and brought it over in advance. Lately, Aunt Ma had been doing this every day, cooking the porridge in advance, putting it in an earthenware pot, and bringing it along with staple foods—sometimes steamed buns, sometimes flatbread, and once even freshly steamed cabbage and pork dumplings. She would take them directly to the kitchen, boil a pot of water, and then return to the shrimp pond. When Liu and the others woke up, there was not only breakfast ready to eat in the kitchen, but also hot water available for washing.

So Liu no longer had to get up early to make breakfast, and Xia Yu couldn't help but sigh that it was indeed quite nice to be waited on.