Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

In one day, Xia Yu stir-fried a total of twenty jin (approximately 10 kg) of hot pot base, placing it in two large wooden basins. One was spicy, and the other was mildly spicy—two different flavors. She planned to take them both to try tomorrow.

After dinner, the family gathered around the charcoal brazier to warm themselves and chat. They talked about their plans for next year: in addition to raising shrimp and fish, they would also raise silkworms for silk reeling. Xia Yu wanted to buy some more wasteland so she could find someone to clear it out and plant watermelons and chili peppers.

“Dad, watermelon prices will definitely be cheaper next year. If the villagers want to grow them, we can sell them the watermelon seedlings we've cultivated. But we also need to make it clear that the price might not be as high as this year's. Those who want to grow them should buy the seedlings. Don't complain about us when the watermelons are harvested and the price is low. I think we should plant a few more acres of chili peppers next year. We can transport them to faraway places and also make them into chili sauce to sell.”

Xia Yu told his father about what he had been thinking about for a long time. After all, a lot of watermelons were sold this year, and many people would probably save the seeds to plant next year. Perhaps quite a few people would be able to grow them successfully.

Zhang Youtie thought for a while before nodding and saying, "What you said makes sense. I've talked to the village chief about this before. The reason we were able to sell it for fifty coins a pound this year is because this kind of thing has never been seen before, and scarcity makes it valuable. I think it would be good if we could sell it for twenty coins a pound next year."

Xia Yu didn't speak, but she wasn't optimistic about the price. If the Shen family still bought it, then it might be possible. If the Shen family stopped buying it, then it would have to rely on local consumption, and she couldn't foresee a price of twenty coins per catty.

After saying this, Zhang Youtie asked Changyun about his studies. Changyun earnestly told Zhang Youtie what he had learned, but unfortunately, Zhang Youtie couldn't understand any of the articles he read. Even Xia Yu, who had attended university in his previous life, didn't understand very well, though she was a little better than Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi. Changyun would be going to school again early the next morning. They only had one day off every ten days, and the whole family cherished their time together, talking until late at night before reluctantly going to bed.

The next day, Liu got up early, and Xia Yu followed suit when she heard the noise. Liu was steaming buns with pork and radish filling. Xia Yu used some leftover filling from her mother's bun-making, mixed it with flour, and fried it into meatballs, which Changyun would take away later. Zhang Youtie prepared 100 jin of charcoal, along with a newly bought clay stove, to be delivered to Changyun's dormitory. This way, they could boil water when they were in the dormitory.

After getting up, Changyun ate the freshly steamed meat buns and drank millet porridge that his mother had made, and thought to himself that even the lives of immortals couldn't be better than this. When it was time to leave, looking at the basket of charcoal, the clay stove, the packed meat buns and fried meatballs, and the jar of braised food that his aunt had brought yesterday, he felt that he wasn't going to school to study, but rather going to enjoy a life of luxury.

Zhang Youtie gave instructions to Uncle Ma, then drove the mule cart with Liu Shi and the two children to the old house to pick up Wang Shi, and they headed to town together. The temperature had been low these past few days, and although the road had been worn smooth by footsteps, it had become very slippery after freezing overnight. It took them twice as long to reach town.

First, the long-distance transport team arrived at the school. They watched as the children carried a large basket of charcoal into the dormitory, with Uncle Li at the gate turning a blind eye. The school dormitories were indeed cold, and charcoal wasn't included in the tuition fees. So every year, some wealthy families would bring charcoal for their children, and some dormitories would pool their money to buy it. Of course, there were also those less fortunate who simply endured the cold.

After settling Changyun in, Zhang Youtie drove Liu and Wang to the silver shop in a mule cart. He told them to take the oxcart from Lijiazhuang at the town entrance on their way back. Then, Zhang Youtie took his daughter to the blacksmith's shop to pick up the one hundred copper hot pots. However, when loading them onto the cart, they discovered that one mule cart couldn't possibly hold one hundred pots, not even stacked on top of each other. They managed to load fifty-five. They had no choice but to take those for now and come back the next day.

Before leaving, the blacksmith shop owner pulled Xia Yu aside and asked if they could make more of the pot to sell. He offered Xia Yu some money.

Xia Yu thought for a moment and said, "Let's talk about this again when I come tomorrow. I need to see how well it sold today." Actually, this pot isn't difficult to make, and once it's on the market, other blacksmiths will be able to make it soon. But she wants to earn this first batch of money first.

Xia Yu and her father drove a mule cart, and by the time they reached the county town, they were freezing to the bone. They had left the town at around nine in the morning, and it took them more than an hour to reach Zuixiaolou.

Xia Yu and his group entered through the back courtyard of Zuixiaolou, their mule cart going directly into the yard. By this time, the restaurant was already starting to serve customers. Manager Liu was quite surprised to hear that they had arrived at this hour, so he had someone keep watch ahead, and then they went to the back courtyard.

"Brother Zhang, what brings you here at this hour?" He then noticed a strangely shaped object in the man's hand and asked, "What is this?"

"This is hot pot, the best food for winter. Manager Liu, do you have mutton in your restaurant?" Xia Yu asked directly. She was already frozen and just wanted to eat a spicy hot pot to warm herself up.

"Yes, our restaurant naturally has mutton."

"Can I go to the kitchen? I need some vegetables," Xia Yu asked.

"Alright, go ahead, Master Zhao is inside," Manager Liu said to Xia Yu, pointing towards the kitchen.

Xia Yu went into the kitchen, greeted Chef Zhao who was cooking, and then started looking around to see what ingredients were suitable for hot pot.

Master Zhao didn't pay any attention to her. Everyone was familiar with each other, so he just focused on cooking his own dishes and let her figure things out on her own.