Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Zhang Youtie carried one bucket in each hand, while Liu Shi carried the other. Changyun and Xia Yu followed behind their parents, carrying other supplies for selling shrimp. They headed towards the spot where Liu Shi and her family had previously sold eggs. It was market day, and many people were selling their own produce, mostly vegetables and eggs, but some were also selling fresh mushrooms from the mountains. They finally found a spot, placing the other two buckets behind them and only one in front. Before opening the lid, Xia Yu first touched the bucket. As soon as the lid was opened, a large amount of lively shrimp huddled in the eight-tenths full bucket. While emptying the bucket, Xia Yu also dripped a few drops of water from her spatial well to ensure the shrimp remained alive.

"Wow, they're selling shrimp! I've never seen shrimp this big before!" A woman picking out vegetables nearby exclaimed in surprise as a few drops of water from a shrimp jumping out of a bucket splashed onto her hand.

"Sister, come and take a look! They're still fresh. Buy some to give the kids a change of pace," Liu called out to her.

The woman quickly picked out a bunch of greens, paid, and then went to their stall, looking curiously at the shrimp in the bucket.

“How much are these shrimps?”

"Thirty coins a catty," Liu announced the price everyone had agreed upon beforehand.

"Thirty coins? That's too expensive! How much does fatty pork cost? Besides, this thing doesn't have much meat because you have to remove the head." The woman was so excited when she heard Liu's price that she almost jumped up.

"Sister, we can buy pork all the time, but shrimp aren't available every day, don't you think? And look how big my shrimp are, they're as long as my palm!"

As she spoke, Liu took one out of the bucket and showed it to the woman. The shrimp, whose whiskers were being held, was still struggling in Liu's hand, trying to get back into the water.

The woman opposite looked at the fresh shrimp and a conflicted expression appeared on her face; she seemed unable to make up her mind.

"Sister, you can buy some for your children to try. After all, it's not something you can eat every day. My two children have never eaten such big shrimp before," Liu said, seeing that she was still hesitating.

"Then give me half a jin!" Perhaps it was Liu's words, "This is the first time my child has ever eaten prawns," that touched her, and she finally made up her mind to ask for half a jin.

Liu and her companions didn't bring their own scales, so they had to borrow one from the vegetable vendor next door. The vendor was a kind woman and readily lent them hers. When Liu weighed the shrimp for the woman, the scale showed a hefty half-pound. Seeing that Liu had given them the correct weight, the woman's initial reluctance lessened. The woman had a newly bought salt jar in her basket, and Xia Yu helped put the weighed shrimp in, then scooped some water from a bucket into it. Finally, she added two large shrimp from the bucket as a bonus for their first customer of the day. Seeing Xia Yu give her two extra shrimp, the woman's face lit up with satisfaction.

Because their stall was located in a somewhat secluded spot, many people didn't notice it. A few people did come by, but most didn't buy anything because the prices were too high. Half an hour passed before the woman finally made her one sale. Although the others didn't have to worry about the shrimp dying, waiting like this was still quite anxious. Xia Yu asked her father, "Dad, how many restaurants are there in our town? Do you know where they are?"

"There are two larger restaurants. Look in that direction," he said, pointing in a direction for Xia Yu. Xia Yu looked in the direction he pointed and saw a two-story building that was taller than the other buildings not far away.

"See that? That two-story building is the biggest restaurant in our town, I think it's called something like Good Luck Restaurant," Zhang Youtie said to Xia Yu.

"What about the other one?"

"The other one isn't a multi-story building, but it's a large house with a huge yard that you can't see from here; you have to cross two blocks to see it."

"Dad, Mom, we need to start promoting! We can't just sell like this without saying a word!"

"Xiaxia, will you shout like you did when you sold eggs last time?" Liu thought of her daughter's shouts when she sold eggs last time, and she felt a little hesitant to speak.

"We need to let people know that we sell prawns here. Watch me!"

"Big shrimp, big shrimp, fresh big shrimp! Come and see the big shrimp! There are big shrimp as long as an adult's palm!" Xia Yu shouted at the top of her lungs. And it's true, a little girl's clear, crisp voice suddenly appearing in the market is quite eye-catching. Those who weren't nearby, upon seeing where the sound was coming from, started walking towards this market.

"Brother, brother, shout with me! Shout loudly! Anyway, nobody knows us, so there's nothing to be shy about." Xia Yu called out to her brother as she shouted.

"Selling prawns! Fresh prawns!" The voice, barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, rang out from afar. He still felt a little shy.

"Hmm, not bad, bro, that's how you call me, louder!"

Perhaps it was his sister's encouragement that gave Changyun confidence. "Shrimp, who wants shrimp? We have fresh shrimp here." This time, his voice was much louder than before, and at least Xia Yu could clearly hear what her brother was saying.

"Yes, yes, that's right, bro. You did a great job. Speak louder." Xia Yu's timely affirmation boosted Chang Yun's confidence. He suddenly felt that shouting out his wares didn't seem so difficult after all; all he had to do was speak louder.

Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi didn't even need to use their services; the siblings' calls alone had already attracted a considerable crowd. Now, a dozen people were gathered around the wooden bucket, and Xia Yu even saw several well-dressed men squeezed into the throng. Liu Shi and Zhang Youtie were busy showing the customers the length and freshness of the shrimp in the bucket. The crowd marveled at their work; no one in their area raised shrimp, and the most common shrimp they saw were small river shrimp caught from the river. They had never seen shrimp this big before. After asking the price, some thought it was too expensive and left immediately, while others wanted to haggle and stood by, observing.

"Brother, give me two jin," one of the men in the crowd said. "But I didn't bring anything, how can I take it?"

We had already thought about this problem the night before. This morning, we brought several large bowls and basins from our kitchen with us and set a deposit price beforehand. Today, we'll choose the appropriate bowls or basins based on how much shrimp the customer buys. The deposit will be refunded when we return these items. They're all things we use regularly at home, so there's no chance of mistaken identity, thus preventing anyone from taking advantage of the situation and coming back to exchange our belongings for money.

"Brother, we have small basins here that you can use to hold shrimp, but you need to deposit a few coins. We'll refund the deposit when you return the basin. Is that alright?" Zhang Youtie said sincerely to the man who wanted to buy shrimp.

"Sure, sure, give me two pounds of shrimp. How much is the deposit?"

Xia Yu found a small basin of suitable size among the bowls and basins she had brought from home and handed it to her father. Her father took it and looked at it, then said to the man, "Brother, the deposit for this small basin is five coins, plus two catties of shrimp, so it's a total of sixty-five coins."

"Okay, weigh it for me. Don't forget to add some water to the basin, otherwise they'll all die when we get home and won't taste good."

Over there, Liu had already used a strainer to scoop out the shrimp and drain them until they stopped dripping before weighing them. The scale was quite high, and the man watching Liu's actions was very satisfied, thinking that the shrimp seller was quite honest. After weighing, they were put into a basin, and some water from the bucket was added. Finally, Zhang Youtie grabbed a handful of shrimp from the bucket as an extra. Xia Yu, watching from the side, could see clearly that although his father had grabbed a large handful, there were actually only three shrimp. The man handed the money to Zhang Youtie with satisfaction, saying he would be back to return the basin soon and told Zhang Youtie not to leave too early. Then he left contentedly.