Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

When the shopkeeper heard what Liu said, he gritted his teeth and said, "Ten coins a foot." Xia Yu, who was listening nearby, thought that the price was really not expensive. After all, it was fine cotton fabric, but now it was priced the same as coarse linen.

Upon hearing the shopkeeper's price, Madam Liu shook her head in disappointment: "It's still a bit expensive. Can you lower the price a little?"

“Sister-in-law, this is fine cotton cloth, now it’s the same price as coarse linen, and you still think it’s expensive! Although it’s a bit dirty, it’s still cotton cloth.” The shopkeeper was in a pain; he had already quoted the lowest price he could. He couldn’t help it. Over the years, he’d quoted this piece of worn-out fabric several times, from eighteen coins a foot to fifteen, then thirteen, and now ten. But every time, the customer thought it was too expensive. Although he told Liu that it was cloth from two years ago, he knew perfectly well that this piece of cloth had been in his possession for three years. Every year when he checked the inventory and accounts, seeing this piece of cloth gave him a headache.

Seeing the shopkeeper's toothache, Liu knew she had really hurt him. "Shopkeeper, I'll take all fifty feet of this property. I'll give you four hundred and sixty coins. How does that sound?"

"Sigh... alright, alright, sister-in-law, you're really good at bargaining. I'll definitely come to your shop more often in the future." Although he lost another forty coins, at least he sold it. It's not like he's not getting any money in his own hands. Besides, Liu bought quite a lot of fabric from their shop today. It's rare to see someone willing to spend several hundred coins on a bolt of scrap fabric. After all, everyone makes new clothes to wear out, and fine cotton that can't be worn out is worse than decent linen. That's why he hadn't been able to sell this bolt of fabric.

Just as they were paying, Zhang Youtie finally came over. When he saw the piece of cloth in front of Liu Shi, he felt an indescribable sadness. "Mother, if we're going to buy cloth, we should buy the good stuff. We don't want this kind."

Upon hearing Zhang Youtie's words, the shopkeeper's face instantly turned ashen, as if he were constipated. He hesitated, unsure whether to accept the money Liu Shi handed him, until she pushed the money on the counter forward a little further before he finally took it. Under Zhang Youtie's unpleasant gaze, he said dryly, "Brother, your wife is truly virtuous and knows how to manage a household."

Seeing Zhang Youtie's unpleasant expression, Liu said softly, "Don't cause trouble, I have my own uses. This piece is too heavy, you can carry it." After saying that, she folded the other fabrics she had bought and put them in Xia Yu's small basket, then carried them on her own back.

Once outside the fabric shop, Xia Yu couldn't hold back any longer. "Mom, what are you planning to do with all this dirty fabric?"

"Actually, I just wanted to buy some cheap scraps of fabric to make some linings for you, but when the shopkeeper brought out this bolt of fabric just now, I suddenly thought of something. Xiaxia, do you remember when we made black bean rice and soaked black beans last year?"

Hearing Liu say this, Xia Yu frowned and thought about the past. "Oh, Mother, are you talking about when we soaked black beans, I soaked my white handkerchief in it too?" After saying this, she saw Liu nod with a smile.

"That white handkerchief was stained black back then. Mother, do you want to re-dye this cloth? Is that right?" Xia Yu suddenly had a flash of inspiration and understood why Liu had bought this cloth.

Only after their conversation reached this point did the father and son standing nearby understand what was going on.

“Yes, that’s what Mother thinks. Our Xiaxia is so clever. But Mother doesn’t know if the color from the black beans can cover the previous color, but we can try. If it really doesn’t work, we can use this cloth to make undergarments or quilts. Anyway, the price is so cheap, it’s worth it no matter what we do with it.” After saying that, she glanced at Zhang Youtie: “You almost ruined my plans.”

"Hehe, I knew that, didn't I? I thought you were reluctant to buy good fabric." He then scratched his head.

Xia Yu watched his father's actions and was really afraid that he would scratch that patch of scalp bald.

Since they were going to use black beans to dye cloth, and they didn't have many left at home, they needed to buy some more. The group went to their usual grain store, and this time Liu bought another fifty jin of wheat flour, as their family usually ate more wheat-based foods. Although black beans are considered a coarse grain, they are less commonly grown, and the price was the same as wheat flour—five copper coins per jin. Liu bought five jin. After paying, the grain was again delivered to the oxcart inn by the store's staff. The pork in their spatial storage was finished. After leaving the grain store, Xia Yu and Chang Yun walked ahead towards the pork stall. Upon seeing the pork seller, Xia Yu sweetly greeted him as "Uncle."

The shop owner remembered them; after all, not many people wanted pig intestines. "Oh, you're here! What would you like to buy today?"

Xia Yu looked at the pork counter and saw that there were still quite a few spare ribs. Nowadays, people don't really like to eat spare ribs. They feel that they don't satisfy their cravings as much as big pieces of meat. Most of the people who buy them are from restaurants or people in town who have some money.

"Uncle, how much is this one with bones?" Xia Yu asked, pointing to the rack of spare ribs.

"This is pork ribs, twelve coins a pound."

Xia Yu turned to look at Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi, wanting to buy it but wanting to ask her parents' opinion first. Seeing her daughter's questioning look, Liu Shi gently said, "Buy it if you want to eat it." Zhang Youtie nodded in agreement. Chang Yun had some doubts, but since he couldn't cook and his sister's cooking was better, he had no objection to what she wanted to buy.

Seeing that her family all agreed, Xia Yu immediately bought the entire rack of spare ribs. The pork stall owner, seeing that she had bought so many, kindly advised, "Young lady, it's hot now. If you buy too many, they'll go bad if you can't finish them. You should buy a little less; two or three pieces will be enough for you."

After saying that, he turned to Zhang Youtie behind him and said, "Brother, it's good to love your child, but we can't waste it. It's hot now, and it won't taste good if we leave it until tomorrow."

He was telling the truth, but ever since their daughter acquired her spatial ability, Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi had never considered the possibility of food spoiling. Whatever they put into their daughter's precious spatial ability remained exactly the same when they took things out. Now, suddenly being brought up this issue by the pork vendor, they realized that their habit of buying so much meat at once was somewhat illogical.

"Ahem, well, it's like this, we're going to visit our child's uncle's family tomorrow, and it wouldn't look good if we didn't bring enough." Zhang Youtie had no choice but to make up a reason.

“Going to your maternal uncle’s house? We can’t skimp on that. Do we need anything else?” Hearing Zhang Youtie say this, the butcher agreed with him. Besides, going to his maternal uncle’s house at this time of year, which isn’t a holiday, meant that there was something important going on there. Buying so many things was also to help support his maternal uncle’s family.

Hearing his question, Xia Yu ordered another five jin of pork belly and a large piece of hind leg meat. The butcher was chopping meat in his hands, but he couldn't stop complaining in his mind. This time, his wife brought a lot of things back from her family's home. His family sells pork, but his wife only brings two jin of meat back every time she goes back. It seems this guy has it pretty tough.

After paying for the meat, Xia Yu asked for the pig intestines on the ground, and the butcher readily agreed, even generously giving them a pig stomach as a bonus. Xia Yu was grateful for the butcher's generosity, but she didn't understand why the butcher looked at her and her brother with such strange eyes, as if filled with pity. In fact, they were unaware that Liu Shi had been framed. Because of Zhang Youtie's fabricated excuse, the butcher had already conjured up a whole drama in his mind:

In impoverished farming families, the men toil to earn money, while the women only care about their own families. Any good things they own are taken back to their parents' home, while their own children are left to eat unwanted pig intestines. While feeling sympathy for Zhang Youtie and his ilk, one is also grateful that one's own wife knows how to care for the family.

Although Zhang Youtie and the others didn't understand why the pork stall owner felt sorry for them, Liu Shi, who was standing next to them, understood it somewhat. But what did other people's thoughts have to do with her? Because of the pork stall owner's misunderstanding, he gave her daughter an extra pig stomach. Wasn't that a good thing?