Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Upon arriving home, Zhang Youtie didn't waste any time on legal matters. He immediately recounted his conversation with Steward Qin to everyone: they should be able to collect some, but the price would depend on news from the Shen family.

As the people inside were talking, they heard a commotion outside.

"Brother Zhang, are you home?" The voice of Steward Qin suddenly came from the courtyard.

"Oh? Manager Qin, what brings you here?" Zhang Youtie peeked out and saw it was Manager Qin. He thought to himself, "Could there be results so soon?"

"Brother Zhang, Madam asked me to select some more watermelons to take back with me."

"Alright, I'll have someone go and choose right now," Zhang Youtie said immediately upon hearing his words.

"No need to trouble you, Brother Zhang. I'd like to choose a few myself. Would that be convenient?"

Hearing his words, Zhang Youtie was only stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted and said with a smile, "There's nothing inconvenient about it, it's just that the sun is very strong, I'll get you a straw hat."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhang."

After receiving the hat from Uncle Ma, Manager Qin put it on and, led by Zhang Youtie, went to several families' watermelon fields.

Looking at the round watermelons, Manager Qin didn't choose the large ones, but instead specifically picked out the small ones, even those that were a bit crooked. Zhang Youtie, seeing his actions, roughly understood what he was going to do. He stood beside him and helped him pick out the smaller, but already ripe, watermelons.

They visited the fields of more than a dozen families, picking only one watermelon from each field, and also selected a few more from other people's vegetable gardens, totaling about thirty watermelons. After loading the watermelons onto the truck, Manager Qin was in a hurry to go back, but Zhang Youtie naturally refused, insisting that he eat lunch there before returning.

"Brother Zhang, there's no need for such formalities between us. My master is waiting at home right now. I'll definitely ask you for some good wine next time I come."

Hearing him say this, Zhang Youtie knew that he was really in a hurry to go back and report, so he let go of the reins and let him go.

"Third Brother, why did he only take the smallest one?" Zhang Qishan asked.

"He probably wants to see if all melons taste good!"

Inside the flower hall of the Shen residence

Madam Shen looked at the watermelons that had been opened in front of her and had the servants in the courtyard take some to try. After they finished those watermelons, she had a few more brought out, cut open, and then tasted them.

The conclusion was that the watermelons from Zhangjia Village were sweet, regardless of size. Watermelons were also grown in Shenfuzhuangzi, using seeds left over from last year's harvest. The watermelons did grow, but they weren't very large and weren't sweet enough.

Having reached this conclusion, Madam Shen was preoccupied with the price issue, so much so that she didn't even notice Mr. Shen entering the room.

Waving for the maids standing in the room to leave, Master Shen looked at his wife, whose brows were slightly furrowed, and asked in a gentle voice...

"Madam, what is troubling you?"

"You're back? You've been drinking again. I'll have the maid make you some hangover soup." Smelling the smell of alcohol on Master Shen, Mr. Shen turned around to call for someone, but when he turned back, he found that everyone had already left.

"No need, Madam. I didn't drink much today, just some tea will do. What's troubling you?" Master Shen poured himself a cup of tea and asked.

Madam Shen sighed.

"Isn't it all about the watermelons? Changyun's father brought some watermelons over today, and I tasted them. They're sweeter than the ones from our village. Now I'm worried about the price; I don't know how much to pay per pound."

"I heard him mention it before; it seems their family didn't plant watermelons on a large scale this year," Mr. Shen said, taking a sip of tea.

“They were grown by other families in their village. Steward Qin asked me about this before. Our family can buy their watermelons, but the price is troubling me. I don’t know how to offer it. Our Luo’er and Changyun are both under the Grand Tutor’s tutelage. Changyun usually treats Luo’er like an older brother and is very caring. I feel that offering too low a price is not good.”

To everyone's surprise, after hearing Madam Shen's words, Mr. Shen didn't offer any advice; instead, he burst into laughter. After a while, when the laughter subsided, he turned to Madam Shen, who was glaring at him angrily, and said...

“Madam, don’t you always say that friendship is friendship and business is business? Besides, this watermelon business isn’t just for one year. You should just give us whatever price you’re willing to pay. And this isn’t just Brother Zhang’s business; he’s just helping the villagers. Right now, watermelons are flooding the market, and for them, selling them as quickly as possible and preventing them from rotting in the fields is their most pressing need.”

His words were like a wake-up call for Madam Shen. Indeed, for the people of Zhangjia Village, the most important thing now was to sell the ripe watermelons as soon as possible, and the price they were offering was quite reasonable.

"Xiao Qiu, go and call Steward Qin to the flower hall. I have something to ask him to do." Having figured this out, Madam Shen called out to the outside and gave this instruction to the maid when she came in.

"Yes, Madam, I'll go right away." After saying that, she ignored the winks and jeers from the other maids standing under the eaves and went to find Steward Qin with a flushed face.

Soon, Steward Qin followed Xiao Qiu to the flower hall. When they arrived, Master Shen and Madam Shen were drinking tea at the table.

"Master, Madam, is there anything you need?"

"Manager Qin, tomorrow you go to Zhangjia Village and bring back the ripe watermelons there. Send them directly to the ship. Pick out three thousand catties of the best ones to send to the lords in the capital, and ten thousand catties to the shops in the capital. Take five thousand catties of the smaller ones and distribute them to various restaurants, where they can be cut into fruit platters and served to the guests who come to eat."

"Yes, Madam, but how should we set the price?"

"Fifteen coins per pound for those weighing over ten pounds, ten coins per pound for those weighing between seven and ten pounds, and eight coins per pound for those weighing under seven pounds," Madam Shen stated the prices she had set out for each pound.

After thinking for a moment, he instructed Steward Qin, "Tomorrow, bring out this much for now. If there are more ripe ones, you can decide whether to bring out more."

"Yes, Madam. Is there anything else you wish to instruct me to do?"

"That's all, go and prepare."

After bowing and saying "Yes," Steward Qin retreated out of the small flower hall. Tomorrow, they would be hauling 18,000 catties of watermelons, and he needed to plan how many oxcarts to take, how many people to take, and who would go with them. All of this needed to be prepared tonight.

In Zhangjia Village, Xia Yu had already washed up and returned to her room.

She slipped into the space; she hadn't been here in a long time, surrounded by too many people lately. Looking at the empty land within, she felt it was such a waste. But there was nothing to plant right now, and even if she did, there was nowhere to store it.

"Huh, why are there fewer flowers on the trees?" Xia Yu looked at the few trees in the space that were full of big flowers. When she glanced over them just now, she felt that there seemed to be far fewer flowers than before.

She leaned closer to the flowering tree and looked up. She noticed that the places where the flowers had bloomed seemed to have borne small green fruits, but the fruits were so small, about the size of Xia Yu's little fingertip. Just as she was looking up, another petal slowly drifted down and landed right in Xia Yu's open mouth.

Xia Yu was about to reach out and take the petals out when, unexpectedly, the flower turned into a liquid and slid down her throat into her stomach. She smacked her lips, but it didn't seem to have any taste.

After wandering around and finding nothing to do, Xia Yu carefully removed the cotton bolls she had planted in the space, one by one, from their husks, until she felt sleepy before leaving the space.