Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

The group followed the young waiter for quite a while, and finally arrived at a narrow street.

The street was narrow, and it would be difficult for a carriage to turn around if it went in. The young waiter asked Uncle Hu to watch over the leather goods on the carriage, and then walked with them into the street.

The sun was high in the sky, but it still couldn't penetrate into the street. Unlike the bustling sunshine outside, this place was remarkably cool and quiet. The sweat from walking dried quickly in the breeze after entering this narrow alley. Looking at the moss-covered bluestone pavement under her feet, Xia Yu found it hard to believe that such a tranquil little street existed in the heart of the bustling capital.

Soon, the shop assistant stopped in front of a shop, peering into the dimly lit space. He gave Xia Yu and the others an apologetic smile.

"Young master, young lady, this is it," he said, calling out towards the inside.

"Is anyone there? Is Master Lou here?"

There was no answer. The young waiter, somewhat uneasy, glanced back at the people behind him. He then called out again into the room.

"Is Master Lou here? A customer has come to have clothes made."

Still, no one answered. Xia Yu looked at the dimly lit shop, and could hear faint snoring coming from inside. So she said to the shop assistant...

"Why don't we just go in? Is the tailor inside asleep?" With that, he stepped into the tailor shop first.

Once inside, after their eyes adjusted to the light, everyone could see the room clearly. A large wooden table was covered with a white cotton cloth, on which lay a large pair of scissors and a ruler. A row of fabrics lined the wall, neatly arranged, though the patterns were rather limited. Aside from the dim lighting, everything else in the shop seemed normal, and the items were neatly arranged. Following the sound of snoring, Nineteen found someone fast asleep in a recliner at the other end of the wooden table.

"Hey, Master, wake up! Someone's come in to have clothes made. Master, wake up!" Nineteen patted the sleeping person's shoulder, and only when he got closer did he smell a faint scent of alcohol. Drinking before lunchtime? Did this person start drinking at breakfast?

After being called several times, the person on the recliner groggily opened his eyes, still not quite recognizing the young face in front of him. However, he soon heard more voices. He sat up from the recliner and turned to look at the group, appearing somewhat bewildered.

"Master Lou, these young masters and ladies would like to have a few woolen clothes made. Can you make them?" The shop assistant saw that he was awake and hurriedly approached him to speak.

"Little Niu, it's you?" Master Lou finally realized what was happening and his mind cleared. He stood up from his chair and greeted Xia Yu and the others politely.

"What kind of clothes would you like to make? Where can I find the leather?"

"The fur is on the carriage at the crossroads. We need to make cloaks and capes for the trip north; they need to be warm. We also need to make knee pads, warm sleeves, and hoods," Xia Yu said.

"Okay, then bring the hides in first, I'll take a look," Master Lou said after hearing Xia Yu's words.

"Master Lou, this young lady has quite a lot of hides. Don't you have a wheelbarrow? Can I borrow it for a bit? I'll go and push the hides in." Upon hearing Master Lou's words, Xiao Niu quickly glanced at Xia Yu and the others' expressions, afraid that his words might displease them.

“You don’t know how to use a wheelbarrow either, so I’ll go with you.” He said, looking at Xia Yu and the others.

"My place is rather simple, please sit here for a while while I go and bring the leather in." After saying that, he pulled out several small chairs with backs from under the large wooden table and invited the group to sit down.

Xia Yu and Chang Yun weren't uncomfortable with his hospitality; they often sat on these small chairs at home. They touched them to make sure they weren't dusty, then sat down. Shen Luo also pulled up a chair and sat down; for him, these chairs were actually more comfortable than the taller ones.

Xia Yu pointed to the other chairs and said to the nineteen girls...

"You should all sit down and rest for a while."

After hearing Xia Yu's instructions, the group pulled up chairs and sat down.

Seeing their demeanor, Master Lou understood why Xiao Niu had introduced these people to him. They weren't short of money, and they didn't have the bad tempers and difficult-to-please attitudes of wealthy families.

Pushing the cart, Master Lou and his partner Xiao Niu went to transport the hides.

In less than fifteen minutes, they heard the voices of several people outside. It turned out that the wheelbarrow was too full, and Uncle Hu had come over with them.

After all the leathers were moved into the house and placed on the large wooden table, Master Lou carefully examined the materials for a long time, then sorted and put the various leathers away. This inspection took almost half an hour.

He turned to look at the group of people in the room, and finally looked at Xia Yu and asked.

Who needs to make clothes?

Xia Yu pointed them out to him one by one, and then said...

"There's another grandfather who couldn't come because he's going up north. I'd like to make him a fur coat as well. I'd also like to make him a set of knee pads and a warm hat. If there's anything else left, please make it for him."

"How tall is Grandpa? What's his build?" Master Lou asked after hearing Xia Yu's question.

Xia Yu wasn't sure about Li Taifu's height and weight either, so she had Chang Yun demonstrate for him. After seeing her demonstration, the tailor nodded to indicate that he understood, and finally asked...

Are you also members of the delegation?

"Yes."

"Okay, I understand. The fee is 1,500 taels. Pick up the goods in four days." The man calculated in his mind for a moment before speaking.

"..." Chang Yun, Shen Luo, Xia Yu and the others exchanged glances. Just as the waiter had said, the price was not cheap.

"Don't we need to take measurements?" Changyun asked.

"Of course we need to measure, but we need to agree on the price beforehand. Otherwise, we might measure everything and then lose money because of the price, leaving us with nothing to show for our efforts." His frank answer left the others speechless. "If you agree to the price, we'll continue negotiating. If you don't agree, please turn right and leave."

"Should we pay a partial deposit first, or the full amount?" Xia Yu asked.

The word "full payment" is just two stiff words.

Xia Yu took a deep breath, suppressing her displeasure, and finally understood what the young shop assistant meant by "bad temper." 'A truly capable person has a certain temperament,' Xia Yu silently comforted herself. Then, she pulled out several silver notes from her sleeve, counted out 1,500 taels of silver, and placed them on the table in front of Master Lou.

After carefully checking each banknote to ensure there were no problems, Master Lou folded them up again and put them in his pocket. Then he opened the back door of the shop, stood there, and called out...

"Old woman, we've got some customers. Come out and take their measurements."