Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After hearing Xia Yu's explanation, everyone except Chang Yun showed expressions of envy. Shen Luo wanted to ask more questions, but Xia Yu knew that it was difficult to fabricate a convincing lie. Her previous statements were all made up, and if she continued, she would probably be exposed.

So instead of answering Shen Luo's question directly, she patted his little head and said...

"Come on, I'll treat you to something delicious. We'll go out to see the ice lanterns again tonight." These two sentences successfully diverted Shen Luo's attention.

Upon closer inspection, Xia Yu realized that there were quite a few Russians here, but they were all covered up tightly, making it difficult to tell whether they were locals or not without them speaking.

Because Xia Yu speaks Russian, the group strolled around the streets without any problems. When they encountered Russian vendors, Xia Yu was responsible for communicating with them and bargaining. So, throughout the morning, the group bought quite a bit of food, toys, and other necessities. It wasn't just Xia Yu and Shen Luo who bought things; even Gou Dan, Xiao Shitou, Daniu, and Shijiu, who were with them, bought quite a lot.

What surprised Xia Yu the most was a treasure trove of a general store run by Russians, where she saw sparkling diamonds.

"Beautiful lady, this is our country's treasure, the hardest gemstone." Seeing Xia Yu's interest in diamonds, the Russian shop owner quickly began to introduce them.

He must have been living here for quite some time. Although his accent is a bit strange, he can now communicate fluently with the locals.

"What kind of gemstone is this?" Xia Yu asked.

"This gemstone is called diamond. In our country, our king and nobles love to use it to make jewelry, including necklaces, rings, and even crowns." The shopkeeper tried hard to find the right words to tell Xia Yu how popular this gemstone was among the nobility in their country.

Shen Luo, who was not far from them, heard the shopkeeper's words and walked over with a short knife in her hand. She peeked into Xia Yu's hand.

"Isn't this just a glass marble?" Shen Luoxia said, looking at the small, transparent, pebble-like object in her hand.

Xia Yu's gaze, however, fell upon the short knife in his hand. Noticing Xia Yu's gaze, Shen Luo raised the knife closer to Xia Yu and said...

"Sister, look how beautiful it is!"

Xia Yu carefully placed the diamonds in her hand onto the tray before taking the short knife inlaid with various gemstones from Shen Luo's hand.

The scabbard and hilt were cast in gold and inlaid with colorful gemstones—red, green, yellow, and blue. At the very center of the scabbard was a large ruby, exuding an aura of wealth. Slowly drawing the blade, one could see that the short knife had a gold blade and a wooden lining inside the scabbard—a very rare design, suggesting it was intended for use as a food knife.

"Hmm, not bad." Xia Yu stroked the blade and praised it; she liked it very much.

"How much are these, boss?" Xia Yu asked.

"Beautiful lady, you have excellent taste. This is the best knife in my shop. Only five hundred taels of silver." The man first praised Xia Yu a couple of times before holding up five fingers in front of her.

"Too expensive, one hundred taels." Xia Yu began to bargain. Perhaps he had bargained too hard, because Shen Luo quietly tugged at Xia Yu's sleeve.

"Oh, no, no, no, that won't do." The man shook his head dramatically upon hearing Xia Yu's offer. Then, he held the knife up to Xia Yu's face again.

"Miss, look at these gems, they're all good, very good, and very expensive. Since you're so beautiful, I'll give you a beautiful price: four hundred taels. I won't make much profit." The shopkeeper tried his best to recommend them, though his words weren't exactly appropriate.

To everyone's surprise, Xia Yu shook her head and said, "Too expensive, make it less. Two hundred taels!"

"Miss, no, no, four hundred taels is already very cheap, it can't be any cheaper." As she spoke, she made a move to put the knife away.

Seeing his actions, Shen Luo became a little anxious. He loved this knife so much that he tugged at Xia Yu's sleeve and whispered, "Xia Yu..."

"elder sister"

Xia Yu turned her head and glared at Shen Luo, signaling him to shut up.

"Boss, three hundred taels a day. If that's not enough, we're leaving." She said, pulling Shen Luo towards the door. In her past life, she had spent countless hours haggling at wholesale markets; she was an expert in this area.

"Oh, such a beautiful lady, how could you be so cruel? Your heartlessness has broken my heart." She clutched her chest as she spoke. Her strange tone and exaggerated expression made Xia Yu and the other girls burst into laughter.

"Give me three knives like these," Xia Yu added.

"Oh, miss, you are the most charming girl I have ever seen." Upon hearing that Xia Yu had asked for three knives, the man's face showed an exaggeratedly happy expression.

After discussing the price of the dagger, Xia Yu asked about the price of the diamonds. The diamonds Xia Yu had just received were not small, and they were cut very evenly. With a little processing, they could be directly used for setting in jewelry.

"Miss, a single diamond costs eighty taels of silver."

Xia Yu was surprised by the price quoted by the Russian boss. Each one here was the size of her fingernail, or rather, the size of her little fingernail.

"Too expensive, I want more, less."

"How much does Miss want?" Having witnessed Xia Yu's generosity earlier, the Russian boss asked when he heard that Xia Yu wanted a lot.

"Fifty."

Her words caused Da Niu and Gou Dan beside her to gasp. In their eyes, these things were no different from glass marbles, and they couldn't understand why their young lady would spend thousands of taels of silver to buy them.

Changyun, who was looking at other items in the shop on the other side, was also attracted by the commotion. He and his sister had carried plenty of silver notes with them when they left, as their parents were worried they might be mistreated. Therefore, he didn't see anything wrong with her spending nine hundred taels of silver on three knives; his sister wasn't one to act recklessly. If she wanted to buy them, she must have had a reason.

"What's wrong? Do you not have enough silver notes?" Changyun leaned closer to his younger sister and asked in a low voice.

"No, bro, we're negotiating! But if the boss asks for too high a price, we definitely won't have enough money. Then we won't be able to buy it." Xia Yu said, glancing at the boss who was listening intently to their conversation.

“Beautiful girl, if you really want fifty, I’ll give you the best price, sixty taels of silver per one.”

"That's too expensive. I can only offer thirty taels." Xia Yu lowered his price even further. At that time, the price of diamonds was not as outrageous as it would be in later years, nor did they represent anything significant. Diamonds were simply a beautiful gemstone.

"Oh, my heart has been broken by this beautiful lady again!" The Russian boss began his exaggerated performance once more.

Seeing his reaction, Xia Yu muttered to himself, 'Well, I've overcharged again. I should have tried offering twenty taels.' Although he kept telling himself not to be influenced by the prices of the future, Xia Yu was clearly still swayed by the market conditions of that era and dared not lower the price.

In the end, Xia Yu acquired fifty diamonds, each the size of a little fingernail, for 1,500 taels of silver.