Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Shi Hua pursed her lips at Shi Shu's retreating figure, then turned her attention back to choosing a gift.

Li Taifu's residence

When Xia Yu woke up, she learned from Chang Yun that Grand Tutor Li had already gone to the palace to see the Emperor.

"If you get bored at home, have Uncle Hu hitch up the carriage and take you out for a stroll," Grand Tutor Li said to Changyun before leaving the mansion.

Having received the message, Xia Yu got up, tidied herself up, and then, along with Changyun Shenluo, Da Niu, Shijiu, Gou Dan, and Xiao Shitou, rode in a carriage out of Li Taifu's residence.

Da Niu insisted on sitting with Uncle Hu, who was driving the carriage, just to watch the excitement.

On the carriage, the group disagreed on where to go first. Shen Luo wanted to take them to see a theater and acrobatic performances. Xia Yu, on the other hand, wanted to buy some things first, as they hadn't prepared enough winter clothes and other winter garments due to the short time they had come. Nineteen most wanted to buy some delicious food. However, her opinion could be disregarded; no one had as much of an appetite as her. They had just eaten breakfast when they left the manor, and now, apart from her, everyone else was full.

In the end, I listened to Xia Yu and went to buy things first. The reason was simple: the theater was closed in the morning.

"Sister Xiaxia, what do you want to buy?" Shen Luo felt that she knew more about Beijing than the others, so she offered to be their guide.

"I want to buy furs, do you know where I can buy them?" Xia Yu turned to ask him.

"Um, I don't know. There probably aren't any good hides this time of year, right?" Shen Luo touched her nose, feeling that she had exaggerated a bit before.

"Uncle Hu, do you know where in the capital we can buy furs? We'd like to have two cloaks made." Changyun knew that Shen Luo wasn't very familiar with the capital, so he leaned out to ask Uncle Hu, who was driving the carriage outside.

"Furs, ah, this old servant knows there used to be a shop on West Street that specialized in selling all kinds of furs, but I don't know if it's still there now. The last time I saw it was several years ago!" Uncle Hu thought back to when he passed by there before and seemed to have seen such a shop, but he had never been inside.

"In that case, Uncle Hu, please take us there to have a look," Changyun said politely to Uncle Hu.

"Young Master Changyun, you're too kind. This is what this old servant should do." Then, chanting a work song, he turned his horse around and rode off to another street.

As the number of pedestrians on the road gradually increased, the various hawking sounds became more and more noisy. Xia Yu felt that sitting in the carriage and strolling around was not very interesting, so she discussed with the others about getting off and walking, so that they could see something interesting.

"Uncle Hu, could we leave the carriage somewhere and then walk to buy things? We've never been to the capital before and would like to get off and walk around to experience the hustle and bustle of the city."

"Yes, you can leave the carriage at the caravan shop up ahead, miss. Or I could take you to the fur shop first and then come back to leave the carriage there. It's quite a distance from here."

"No need, Uncle Hu, let's get off here. I'm always running around in the mountains back home, a few steps won't tire me out. But Uncle Hu, we're not familiar with this area, so we'd be grateful if you could be our guide for the day." Xia Yu replied with a smile, not at all shy about the fact that she was a country girl who had just come from the mountains.

"Haha, then this old servant will have to take advantage of Miss's presence today and have a good stroll around the capital."

Uncle Hu drove the car to the shop where it was parked and asked a few people to get out of the car at the entrance.

"Young master, young lady, please wait here for me. I'll go in and store the carriage, and I'll be right back. Please wait for me." Uncle Hu instructed them, truly afraid that something might go wrong.

The group readily agreed, as they were all guests staying at the Li residence. The first rule for guests was not to cause trouble for their hosts.

Uncle Hu quickly came out of the shop, and Xia Yu saw that he was holding an exquisite ebony plaque with a number written on it. It seemed to be the same as the ones used to store oxcarts in their area.

Then, guided by Uncle Hu, the group headed toward the fur shop.

They weren't walking very fast. Along the way, there were many stalls selling things, such as food, trinkets, jewelry, and fabrics. Xia Yu even saw a flower stall where two girls of about fourteen or fifteen were picking out their favorite flowers.

Xia Yu was amazed; the capital was indeed different, and people's material living standards were much higher. Da Niu was even more captivated by the food. She had deliberately not eaten enough before leaving home, saving room for a delicious meal. She had thought she wouldn't get anything to eat until noon because her mistress had decided to buy furs first; she hadn't expected happiness to come so quickly.

So, whenever she saw a new kind of food, Da Niu would buy some. She was generous and never ate alone; she would share the food with everyone, even Uncle Hu.

Soon, the group, who were not hungry to begin with, were stuffed by Da Niu. When Da Niu bought some more shumai to share, almost everyone waved their hands in protest.

"You eat it yourself, my stomach is already full, I can't eat anymore."

So, Da Niu could only enjoy the food with a mix of happiness and loneliness.

Uncle Hu watched as Da Niu stuffed food into her mouth one bite after another, and he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. No wonder his wife had said last night how much this girl could eat. At the time, he hadn't believed her, thinking she was just exaggerating. Now, however, he wondered if the girl had even eaten her fill yesterday. She could eat way too much!

Actually, Da Niu didn't eat much yesterday. After all, she had been seasick for several days, and even though she felt better after disembarking, her appetite hadn't fully returned. Now, after a night's rest, she had regained her usual good spirits, and with good spirits came a good appetite.

The group walked and stopped frequently, and finally arrived at the fur shop that Uncle Hu had mentioned.

The waiter standing at the door saw this group of people coming and hurried out to greet them.

"Young master and young lady, what kind of clothes are you looking for? Our shop has all kinds of fine leathers. Several truckloads of goods just arrived yesterday. Would you like to take a look?"

As he spoke, he ushered the group inside.

They were shown and introduced to the leather samples displayed on the counter one by one. When they entered, there were quite a few people inside. Most of them were women, and although they weren't exactly wealthy, they were dressed neatly and respectably. Xia Yu was a little puzzled for a moment. Did people in the capital make heavy fur coats in the summer? Was it because leather was cheaper in the summer? An ancient version of off-season sales!

"Hey bro, your shop is doing really well. Do you all get your clothes made out of season?" Xia Yu didn't hide the fact that she had just arrived from out of town.

"So it turns out that Miss is from out of town and just arrived in Beijing! These are all family members of officials who are going to the border of Russia with the division. I heard that it gets cold early there and very cold. So, before they set off, everyone wanted to bring a couple more sweaters, just in case they couldn't stand it when they got there."