Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Zhang Youtie went to deliver shrimp to the steward, which made the auntie who sold fish next door extremely envious. She kept praising Liu Shi for being so lucky, saying that her daughter was so young yet already helped the family attract business.

Looking embarrassed and worried, Liu said, "Sister-in-law, please stop praising her. I don't know who she took after, she's such a chatterbox, she loves to talk to everyone she meets. I worry about her every day. Other girls are usually quiet and gentle, but our girl talks so much, it's going to be a real headache in the future!"

The two chatted away, one sentence after another. Unexpectedly, the older woman was also a talkative person, and she and Liu Shi got along quite well. Zhang Youtie hadn't returned yet, and Liu Shi and the older woman were practically becoming sworn sisters. She also learned that the older woman's surname was Wu, and her husband's surname was Du. Liu Shi stopped calling her sister-in-law and started calling her "Big Sister Wu," while the older woman called her "Sister Liu."

As dawn broke, the market grew busier. Xia Yu and her family had arrived early and secured a good spot, quickly attracting a crowd to their stall. Zhang Youtie, who had gone out to deliver shrimp, hadn't returned yet. Liu Shi was in charge of weighing the shrimp, Xia Yu was calculating the bills and collecting money, and Changyun was responsible for providing suitable containers for the shrimp and collecting deposits. To save time, everyone opted for a flat deposit of ten coins regardless of size. The mother and daughters worked together well, busy but organized. The people in the county town were indeed better off; thirty-two coins per jin wasn't cheap, but most could afford it. Some felt it was too expensive and wanted Liu Shi to lower the price, but seeing how high the scale was when she weighed the shrimp, and how she would add an extra shrimp at the end—some buying more, others adding two—and seeing that the shrimp were quite large, each weighing over an ounce, each adding three or four coins, those people gave up on haggling.

Zhang Youtie saw a crowd gathered around his stall from afar. At first, he thought someone was about to cause trouble and hurriedly ran over. But when he got closer, he realized they were all buying shrimp. In the time he had been gone, the remaining dozen or so pounds of shrimp from the first bucket had already been sold out. The large bucket of shrimp was too heavy for Liu Shi and the others to move. It was Liu Shi's new acquaintance, Sister Wu, who asked her husband to help carry it over.

Seeing his wife struggling to weigh the fish, Zhang Youtie quickly stepped forward and took the scale from Liu Shi, telling her to sit down and rest for a while. Relieved to see him return, Liu Shi handed over the scale and sat down in the back chair, rubbing her aching arms. Meanwhile, Aunt Wu's family nearby was also busy, selecting fish, weighing them, and stringing them. However, seeing Liu Shi and her husband's activities, she couldn't resist making a few sarcastic remarks about Liu Shi, making her blush and her ears turn bright red.

After resting for a few minutes, Liu couldn't sit still any longer. After all, her own children were still busy, so how could she, as a mother, rest peacefully? Feeling that her arms weren't so sore anymore, she went over to help scoop out the shrimp. Scooping out shrimp and weighing them by herself was really slow.

People are naturally drawn to crowds; the more people gathered, the more curious others become—this principle remains unchanged. Amidst the hustle and bustle, Xia Yu noticed the manager who had initially bought their shrimp also went to Sister Wu's shop next door and bought thirty carp. Of course, the manager had also witnessed Xia Yu's booming business and couldn't help but secretly rejoice that he had bought early. If he had circled around first, he would have had to wait in line, and there might not have been enough stock left. It seemed he needed to change his habit of circling around before buying anything; at least he should act quickly when he saw something in high demand.

In fact, he should be grateful that he realized his problems at this time, which gave him the opportunity to make great contributions in front of his master and become his master's confidant. Of course, that's another story.