Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After they poured the contents of the bucket into the wooden basin, Zhang Youtie and the others realized that it was a fishmonger, just as Xiaxia had said, selling the same kind of fish as them.

After the other party finished packing, Zhang Youtie went over and chatted with the man from that family. It turned out that they were fish farmers who would come to the county town every few days to sell their fish, mainly the most common grass carp and common carp. They had actually seen the large shrimp from Xia Yu's house as well; shrimp that big were rare and looked quite unusual. They had shrimp in their own fishpond, but none of them grew to that size.

"Brother, you raise shrimp really well! We have shrimp in our fishpond too, but I've never seen shrimp this big," the fishmonger said with great admiration, assuming Xia Yu's family's shrimp were farmed. Zhang Youtie, seeing the misunderstanding, didn't explain, only saying "Not at all," accompanied by a憨憨 (simple and honest) laugh and a head-scratching gesture. No one would believe her father was lying.

Xia Yu wanted to laugh every time she heard her father talking to others. She tried to hold it in, but finally couldn't help and burst out laughing. Sitting next to her, Liu Shi gave her a strange look, wondering what her daughter was laughing about. Xia Yu straightened her expression and whispered to her mother, "Mom, I've discovered that Dad is so funny. He's fooled so many people with his simple-minded appearance."

“You silly child, how can you talk to your father like that? Don’t look over there. Let your father have a good chat with him, so we can learn more.” As she spoke, Madam Liu gently patted her daughter on the back.

"I'll go ask how much the meat is over there, and see if it's more expensive than in our town. If it's cheaper, I'll buy some more."

"We haven't finished the food we bought last time, why do you need to buy more?" Mrs. Liu seemed reluctant to let Xia Yu go over.

"I call this spying, and besides, I can also try the meat in the county town to see if it tastes better than the meat in our town."

"You're getting more and more talkative, girl."

Xia Yu pulled her brother to the pork stall next door and asked the butcher, "Uncle, how much is the pork belly?"

"Sixteen coins," the pork stall owner replied with a smile.

"That's so expensive! It's two coins more expensive than where we live!"

"Hehe, that's possible. Prices in the county town are indeed higher. But there's nothing we can do about it. You're not allowed to slaughter your own pigs here. You have to go to a special slaughterhouse, and you have to pay to have your pigs slaughtered there. That's why it's expensive," the pork seller sighed, sounding like he was telling the truth.

"Oh, do we still need to do this?"

"That's right. I had no choice. My family is from this county. If I could live in a village down below and have a butcher slaughter my pig, I could sell it for a lower price."

"Okay, Uncle, once we sell our shrimp, I'll ask my mom to buy a pound of meat to make dumplings for us."

After saying that, Xia Yu pulled his brother back to their family's stall.

"Xiaxia, the meat he sells is two copper coins more expensive per pound than in our town. Are you really planning to have Mom go buy it later?"

No, I was just saying that.

Back with Liu, she told her mother what she had found out. Liu thought the butcher might be telling the truth, but she still planned to raise the price of her shrimp by two coins compared to the market price. After all, they had traveled such a long way and there was still the cost of renting a stall.

Zhang Youtie returned after chatting with the other person. "Mom, no one has arrived yet. I asked earlier, and it's different here than in town. People don't start arriving until early morning. You take the child to get something to eat first. I'll watch the stall here. Just bring me something when you come back."

"No need to go out to eat. I brought steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water, and some boiled salted eggs. Xiaxia's in the bundle on the oxcart. Go get them for me." She winked at her daughter as she spoke. Xia Yu suddenly remembered the steamed buns and eggs her mother had asked her to put away after breakfast yesterday. She had thought they were for the next meal so they wouldn't have to be reheated, but it turned out they were for today's outing.

Suddenly, Xia Yu seemed to have discovered a new use for the space. She could cook more food and store it all in the space; it wouldn't get cold or spoil, and she could take it out whenever she wanted to eat it. Being able to eat home-cooked meals while traveling was practically an essential travel gadget!

"Okay, I'll go get it now."

Walking to the oxcart, they saw a bulging blue and white floral bundle on it, its contents unknown. Xia Yu reached inside and pulled out a warm bowl of mixed noodles with each scoop, then several hard-boiled salted eggs. She collected them in a small basin she'd brought from home and placed them on the table. Each person had a water bag filled with water from their own well at home. The family sat on small rattan chairs, eating and drinking happily, much to the envy of the fishmonger next door, who exclaimed how thoughtful they were.

Zhang Youtie chuckled in his signature way and said, "Before, when I brought my kids out to sell shrimp, there was nowhere to sit, and the kids suffered a lot. Since then, I've always brought tables and chairs with me when I go out, so that both adults and children have a place to rest when they're tired. Besides, it's convenient to have an oxcart with us anyway."

"Brother, you're so thoughtful! I'll go back and buy a table and chairs to take with me; it'll be convenient to carry them when I go out."

As the two were talking, someone arrived. The person looked at each stall one by one, without lingering in any one place for too long. Xia Yu noticed that he glanced at the fish stall and then looked in their direction. She immediately greeted him, "Uncle, would you like some fresh prawns? They're the first batch of prawns this year, and they're very plump." As she spoke, she picked one up from the basin and held it up to her hand, saying, "Look, it's longer than my hand!"

The man had originally planned to walk around first to see what he needed to buy before returning to make his purchase. However, Xia Yu's invitation stopped him from leaving immediately. He became interested in the large, wriggling shrimp in her hand. He had encountered shrimp vendors before, but they were always small shrimp; he hadn't seen such long shrimp before, the largest ones he'd seen caught by fishing boats at the beach. He hesitated for a moment before asking...

"Are these river shrimp?"

"Yes, Uncle, these are river shrimp. Look how fresh they are! Just remove the shrimp veins and cook them with some scallions and ginger; they're so sweet and delicious!" Xia Yu enthusiastically promoted his shrimp.

Hearing her say that, the man became interested: "How much per pound?"

"Thirty-two Characters"

"Hmm, this price is a bit high," the man said thoughtfully, stroking his mustache.

"Uncle, this price is a bit higher than those small river shrimp, but you can always catch some small river shrimp if you go to the river. Shrimp this big are not common."

"Can you make it cheaper? I need a lot."

"Uncle, please wait a moment. I'll call my father to talk to you." He then turned and called Zhang Youtie.

Actually, she didn't need to call him. Ever since that person stood at his stall, Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi, though still sitting at the table eating, had been completely focused on this place, and he had heard their conversation very clearly. Hearing his daughter call, he immediately stood up and quickly walked over.

Xia Yu told her father about the person's request at a normal volume, without deliberately raising or lowering it, just enough for all three of them to hear.

"Brother, how many kilograms do you need?"

"My family is hosting a banquet at home tonight, with an estimated 20 tables. That'll probably take at least 20 kilograms."

"Oh, it's you, Manager! My apologies! We have about eight shrimp per pound, which is just enough for one table of guests. However, I still suggest that you buy a few more pounds to have on hand, in case there aren't enough if more guests arrive. It's fine to have more dishes, but it won't look good if there aren't enough, don't you think? And I can guarantee that if we don't finish them today, these shrimp will be fine after being kept in the bucket for two or three days."

The man, noticing the awkward way the man addressed him, knew he was a country bumpkin who didn't understand such things, and didn't take it to heart. However, what the man said was true: too much food was fine, but too little would be a loss of face for his master, and he would not only fail to receive the reward after all his hard work, but might even be punished.

Having made up my mind, I said, "Then make the price cheaper, and I'll buy a few more pounds."

Zhang Youtie suddenly leaned closer to him and whispered, "Sir, if you want more than twenty catties, how about thirty coins per catty?"

"Okay! Pack me thirty jin. I didn't bring any basins or buckets with me in my carriage, how am I supposed to take this?"

"Well, sir, it's like this: you can take my bucket and use it. Just send a servant to return it when you get home. However, there is a ten-coin deposit required. The deposit will be refunded when the bucket is returned."

The man glanced at Xia Yu's bucket, thought for a moment, and said, "Alright, no problem. Just take it to the number three carriage spot outside the market, to Lord Qin's carriage. There's a servant waiting there." As he spoke, he handed over a dime.

Zhang Youtie took the silver coin, which was about an ounce, and said to Liu Shi, "Mother, give this steward a small string of change." Liu Shi took out a small string of copper coins from her sleeve, and Changyun took it from her mother and handed it to the man, saying, "Uncle, here is your change of one hundred copper coins. Please count it."

However, the person borrowed the money, only weighed it in their hand before putting it in their money bag, without checking the amount.

Zhang Youtie first weighed the wooden bucket and showed it to the man. Liu Shi also came to help, using a strainer to scoop the shrimp from the wooden basin, shaking them vigorously to drain the water before pouring them into the bucket. This was repeated several times until they had finally collected thirty jin of shrimp. Zhang Youtie again weighed the scale high, showing it to the man before ladling water into the bucket. While ladling water, Zhang Youtie said to the man, "Brother in charge, don't throw away the water in this bucket when you get home. Use it to raise the shrimp; they can live for several more days."

The man couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Zhang Youtie address him as "Manager Brother" again. However, based on their earlier discussion of weighing shrimp, he had a good impression of the couple, finding them both honest and intelligent. He figured he could give them a helping hand if they ever met again.

The man gave them the address again and left to continue browsing the market. Zhang Youtie carried a bucket to deliver the shrimp, but before leaving, he also took a small basin from home containing two more pounds of shrimp, specifically for the person in charge. If his family planned to dig ponds to raise and sell shrimp in the future, they would need to cultivate good relationships with these large-scale buyers first.

The steward, having bought everything, returned to the carriage only to learn that Zhang Youtie had given him two catties of shrimp. However, Zhang Youtie had told the servant that he had paid extra for the two catties, so apart from Zhang Youtie and the steward, no one else knew about the two catties of shrimp. Nevertheless, through this incident, the steward truly felt that Zhang Youtie was a clever and cautious person, and his impression of him improved even more.