Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

They kept people gathered at the door for an hour before Manager Shen finally called out to the waiters standing there.

"Dongzi, go check how many watermelons are left on that stall?"

"Hey." Seeing that his boss had finally responded, Dongzi replied and ran off happily.

The crowd gathered at the entrance, seeing that the people inside Shen's shop had finally reacted, perked up again. The shopkeepers couldn't hold back any longer and sent men out. Was a fight about to break out? Many people speculated.

Dongzi squeezed through the narrow path cleared by the crowd, ran to the watermelon vendor's cart, glanced at it, and immediately returned to his shop.

"Manager Shen, I just checked, and that shop only has a dozen or so watermelons left."

Hearing Dongzi's words, Manager Shen nodded.

"Okay, we can begin." He then said to the shop assistants.

"Take the knife and come with me."

The shop assistants didn't understand why the manager was telling them to take knives and go out. Were they going to fight to the death? But they still obediently took the knives and followed Manager Shen out of the shop.

Seeing their impressive display, the people gathered in front of the shop retreated in terror. Watching the spectacle was fine, but risking their lives was not.

Ignoring their fear, Manager Shen strolled leisurely to the table in front of the door.

Then he gave orders to the men behind him in a very authoritative manner.

"Cut the melon"

"Yes," the waiters answered in unison. Manager Shen, looking at the people five steps away, clasped his hands politely and said...

"Ladies and gentlemen, these are watermelons specially grown by our Shen family. They taste quite different from the watermelons grown in the capital. You all just tasted what a watermelon that costs fifty coins a pound tastes like. Now, I'll cut a few melons in front of you all for you to try." As he spoke, the sound of knives swiftly and decisively cutting melons followed.

The rind is very brittle; almost as soon as you make a cut, the watermelon will split open with a "bang".

A sweet aroma began to waft through the air, and the onlookers couldn't help but gasp several times. Seeing the subtle movements occurring in the crowd, Manager Shen nodded with satisfaction.

Soon, several large watermelons were cut into small triangular pieces and neatly arranged on a white porcelain plate.

"Please, everyone." Manager Shen gestured for them to enter.

One by one, the people who had been gathered around picked up the watermelon from the plate and began to eat it.

"Hmm? This one's sweeter!" said a bystander.

"It's sweeter than the one I just bought. It's like drinking sugar water," said Passerby B.

"No, no, sugar water doesn't taste this sweet. This kind of sweetness is sweet but not cloying," said Passerby C.

"Yes, this gentleman is absolutely right. I don't usually eat sweets at home, but this watermelon really whets my appetite," another passerby chimed in after overhearing their conversation.

This was a common sight in the crowd, with people gathering in twos and threes to discuss the taste of the watermelon. Even the watermelon seller, when no one was looking, squeezed into the crowd and grabbed two slices to eat.

Seeing that the watermelon on the plate was empty, Manager Shen waved his hand at the group, and the remaining watermelons on the table were cut up.

Seeing that there was free watermelon, some women who were initially hesitant to watch approached to try some. A clever young waiter noticed that the women were having difficulty squeezing through the crowd, so he called to another person, and the two of them quickly filled two plates and brought them outside the crowd, offering them to the women separately.

The young shop assistant's behavior earned the Shen family's shop considerable favor among the women.

After this comparative publicity, everyone understood why Shen's watermelons were more expensive than those on the market; they were indeed better in taste and sweeter.

After tasting the watermelons offered by Manager Shen, people from the crowd gradually began buying watermelons from Shen's shop. Although they were thirty coins more expensive per pound, they were delicious. There were still quite a few wealthy people in the capital.

Over there, Li Dequan, who was by the Emperor's side, was quite efficient. Before Shen Jingheng had even left the palace, he was found by Huang Huaben, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department.

"Congratulations, Lord Shen. We have received His Majesty's decree that we are here to discuss some matters concerning watermelons with you." Huang Huaben's voice was high-pitched, and his face was covered with an obnoxious smile.

"Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Huang." Shen Jingheng spoke to Huang Huaben very politely.

"Lord Shen, you're too kind. We're all working for His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine; we're all on the same side. The watermelons our Imperial Household Department bought before didn't taste as good as the ones you sent last year, and the Imperial Concubine was very unhappy. Fortunately, the watermelons from your hometown arrived in time. The Imperial Concubine likes them, and our lives are better now, aren't they? We should also thank Lord Shen for helping our Imperial Household Department solve a huge problem."

"You're too kind, Eunuch Huang. We still have quite a few watermelons at our shop in the capital. I wonder if you're able to leave the palace tonight to return to your own residence? I'll have someone send some over."

"Lord Shen, you are too kind. It would be impolite of me to accept such a gift."

Then the two had a pleasant discussion about other things before parting ways.

The Emperor's decree quickly spread to the homes of officials of all ranks in the capital. Food personally approved by the Emperor for the palace must be exceptional. Coupled with the positive word-of-mouth from the man who tasted the watermelon that morning, the Shen family's shop saw a surge in customers buying watermelons right after lunch.

Seeing the throngs of people coming in, the young shopkeeper all thought Manager Shen's watermelon prices were too low. However, the price had already been agreed upon, and there was no going back.

That evening, two mule carts drove out from the backyard of Shenfu Shop. One cart went to Huang Huaben's house outside the palace, and the other went to Li Dequan's house, each carrying two hundred catties of watermelon.

When Huang Huaben saw the watermelons delivered to his door, although there weren't many, he was already grateful that Lord Shen had been so kind as to have two hundred jin of them when everyone else was scrambling to grab the watermelons from the Shen family.

Li Dequan, needless to say, never missed out on anything sent to the palace. Without any surprises, he accepted it politely and even gave the driver and the shop assistant who delivered the melons a tael of silver as a reward.

Zhangjia Village

The arrival of Manager Qin to collect watermelons was so sudden that people from other villages didn't know. A day later, news of the event spread throughout Zhangjia Village, and people kept coming to Zhang Youtie's house to ask if they could buy the watermelons they had grown.

Zhang Youtie didn't make promises lightly. He simply took out the register from when he sold the melon seedlings. He made it clear that he would accept seedlings from those who had bought them before, but wouldn't accept melons grown by those who kept them for themselves. If anyone tried to sell mixed seedlings, he would refuse to accept any melons produced by that person.

Over the past two days, Xia Yu's family bought melons from several vendors at the market. Some were from their own harvest last year, such as those from the pork vendor Long's family and the Shen family's family, while others were varieties Xia Yu didn't recognize. After comparing them with these other melons, they discovered that there were significant differences between the two types.

The melons grown by Xia Yu's family were all round and plump, regardless of size, and their rinds were a darker color. You couldn't tell the difference if you picked them up individually, but the difference was immediately apparent when they were placed together. Of course, Xia Yu's family didn't publicize this; they wanted to use the melon-buying experience to see which family was truly reliable and which was of questionable character.