Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

It was another several days of overcast skies, with snow falling intermittently. For half a month since the beginning of winter, the sun hadn't peeked out. Zhang Youtie's deliveries of hot pot ingredients to the county town, which used to be every two or three days, had increased to every five days. The roads were too icy and difficult to travel on, and now each trip to the county town took most of the day.

Therefore, Xia Yu, her mother, and Aunt Ma worked overtime every day to prepare the hot pot broth. Initially, the mutton fat came from the fatty mutton cut by Zui Xiao Lou, and even the mutton fat from Zui Xiao Lou in the prefectural city was preserved and brought to Ming'an County by cargo ships. However, the consumption of hot pot broth was too high, and the mutton fat supply couldn't keep up. In the end, Xia Yu had to use lard instead. When the broth was prepared with lard, the whole family surprisingly felt that the lard tasted even better than the mutton fat. So, after communicating with Zui Xiao Lou, Xia Yu added a lard-based series of hot pot broths for customers to choose from.

Seeing that Zuixiaolou's consumption was increasing, Xia Yu had to consider asking for help. Even with her mother and Aunt Ma cooking two pots simultaneously, they still couldn't keep up with Zuixiaolou's demand. She even suspected that Zuixiaolou was reselling the hot pot base; otherwise, why would so many people be eating hot pot?

In fact, even if Zuixiaolou wanted to resell hot pot ingredients, they wouldn't have anything to sell. After tasting the hot pot, Madam Shen ordered all the Zuixiaolou restaurants in other cities, including the one in the capital, to serve the same dish. Therefore, the amount of hot pot base used increased dramatically for a time.

Seeing that the supply of hot pot base couldn't keep up, Zuixiaolou had started implementing reservations for meals: 20 tables per meal for county-level restaurants, 40 tables per meal for restaurants in the prefectural city, and 60 tables per meal for restaurants in the capital. Even so, Xia Yu still couldn't cook it all. Of course, Xia Yu didn't know any of this; she only knew that Manager Liu was asking for more and more portions. She was getting a headache from cooking hot pot base every day at the stove, but Manager Liu kept urging her on.

“Mom, we need to find someone to help us. My dad said that Manager Liu ordered 800 catties of the product and it will be delivered in five days. I think we can’t cook it all.”

"But who should I ask? I've been thinking about this for the past two days." Madam Liu went through all the people in her mind again, but still felt that none of them were quite right.

"Mother, what do you think of her?" Xia Yu pointed towards the pond.

"Her? You mean the crippled wife?"

“Yes, it’s her. She’s staying with us anyway, so she doesn’t have to travel back and forth anymore. Besides, didn’t you and Dad want to help them out? It’s snowing now, so they don’t have much income. They can help us cook hot pot ingredients, and we’ll pay them one coin per pound. They can earn at least forty or fifty coins a day.” Xia Yu explained her idea to Liu Shi.

“Yes, what a great candidate! How come I didn’t think of that!” Liu said happily after hearing Xia Yu’s analysis.

“I think it’s feasible, but I still need to ask her first question to see if she’s willing,” Liu said to Xia Yu after thinking for a moment.

Zhang the Cripple stayed at the clinic for over twenty days. When he returned home, he found the roof of his house had completely collapsed. Fortunately, the village chief had already moved all their food and belongings out. Zhang the Cripple's adoptive parents had originally wanted to take the food and belongings to their own home, saying they would help store them. But everyone in the village knew their intentions; if they let them take them, it would be like throwing good money after bad—gone forever. So, no matter how much Zhang the Cripple's adoptive mother threw a tantrum, the village chief wouldn't budge. He didn't take them to his own home either, but instead, in the presence of the villagers, temporarily stored them in an empty house near Zhang Youtie's pond.

While at the clinic, the cripple had told the village chief where he kept his money. So, when they were moving things, the village chief dug out the money bag, but no one present opened it. He took it directly to the clinic and gave it to the cripple. When his adoptive mother found out, she made a scene again, but no one paid her any attention. Her behavior only made her more despicable.

Perhaps because she hadn't gotten any food from the cripple's house, her adoptive mother disliked her adopted son even more. Her everyday conversations even implied a regret that Zhang the Cripple hadn't been killed. She wasn't the only one who understood this implication; the villagers increasingly felt that Old Man Zhang and his wife were cold-blooded and heartless, not to be trusted.

When Zhang the Cripple returned from the clinic, the house had completely collapsed, leaving him nowhere to stay. He took his wife back to his parents' and brothers' house, hoping to stay for the winter and move out when the snow melted and the house was repaired in the spring. However, his parents and brothers didn't even offer him a meal, throwing away all the luggage they had brought from the clinic. They declared that they had already separated from the family, and there was no reason for a son who had moved out to go back and sponge off his parents.

Finally, the village chief had no choice but to discuss the matter with Zhang Youtie. Nowadays, every household has a large population, and no one has enough space in their houses. Only the few houses that Zhang Youtie built by the pond are still empty.

The couple had come up with the idea themselves, and they agreed without hesitation. Luckily, the cripple's belongings were still stored at Zhang Youtie's house, so they didn't have to move them.

As soon as they moved in, Zhang the Cripple took his money bag to repay Zhang Youtie's debt. He didn't know how much silver he had spent; the people at the clinic hadn't told him, but he knew it must be a lot. He thought he could repay as much as he could first.

They took the remaining 418 of the 500 coins Zhang Youtie had left at the clinic, plus 1,363 coins saved at home. Zhang Youtie, of course, wouldn't accept their money, saying there was no rush to pay him back. He wasn't in a hurry for the money either, and that they could pay him back slowly once their house was repaired.

The couple temporarily settled into the house by the pond. During this time, Zhang the Cripple and his wife shared a kitchen with Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma. Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma had also suffered hardships and had lived through difficult times. The two families got along quite well. After a while, Aunt Ma learned some of the Cripple's wife's sign language and could communicate in simple ways.

After the mother and daughter finished discussing, Liu went out to the fishpond. When Liu arrived, Aunt Ma was still cooking hot pot ingredients, and the lame man's wife was helping to stoke the fire. Uncle Ma was rinsing various seasonings with water, and Zhang the lame man, who was still unable to walk due to his broken leg, was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) recuperating.

Upon seeing Liu arrive, everyone stood up.

Aunt Ma asked respectfully, "Madam, it's so cold outside, did you come here for something?"

"Aunt Ma, I need to talk to Brother Gensheng and Sister-in-law Gensheng about something."

The lame woman put down the fire poker she was holding and gestured a few times towards Aunt Ma, who then laughed.

"I know, you should go quickly."

Upon hearing this, the lame woman bowed slightly to Liu, gesturing for her to enter. Liu smiled at Aunt Ma, then took the lame woman's hand and led her into their room.

The lame woman placed a small cushion on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and gestured for Liu to sit on it. Liu smiled and sat down on the cushion without hesitation.

"Brother Gensheng, Sister-in-law Gensheng, I've come here to ask for your help," Liu said softly to the two of them.

Upon hearing that Madam Liu wanted their help, the couple nodded vigorously without even asking what kind of help they could provide. Madam Liu smiled and said, "Don't rush to agree; this is no easy task."

Hearing Liu say this, Zhang the Cripple finally remembered that he wasn't mute and said, "Third brother's wife, just tell us what kind of help you need. We can do any kind of work!"

“Look, we need a lot of hot pot base right now, and the few of us can't make it all ourselves, so we'd like to ask you to help us cook it. We'll pay you one cent for every pound you cook.”

"No...no, we can't accept the money!" Zhang the Cripple immediately refused when he heard that Liu was going to pay them wages.

"Ah ah ah," the lame wife was also gesturing rapidly with her hands. Liu Shi didn't need to guess to know that she was also refusing to pay her wages.

"Brother Gensheng, don't be so quick to refuse. Let's keep things separate. You owe us money, of course, but we also need to pay the workers we hire. If you don't want the money, I'll have to find someone else." He then got up to leave.

Seeing Liu's reaction, the lame man's wife quickly reached out and grabbed her sleeve. Liu turned to look at her and saw her gesturing anxiously. Liu couldn't understand, so she looked at Zhang the lame man.

She said, "She's willing to do this job, but the pay doesn't need to be so high." Zhang the Cripple stood beside her, acting as her mouth double.

"This wage is what our family agreed upon; it's the same price no matter who we hire, as long as you do a good job, sister-in-law. I'll talk to Aunt Ma later and have her teach you," Liu said, looking at the lame woman.

"Mmm, mmm," the lame woman nodded heavily, making "mmm" sounds.