Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Zhang Youtie patted and examined the various items in the basket, then picked out five. They weighed them in pairs, with Xia Yu silently noting the weights. The last three weights added together, totaling seventy-seven jin. As Zhang Youtie announced the last number, Xia Yu immediately followed suit, also announcing the total: seventy-seven jin. Wang, the steward sitting nearby, was somewhat puzzled; how could a little girl from a farming family know how to count?

"Brother, seventy-seven catties is three thousand eight hundred and fifty coins in total. I'll just round it up to three thousand eight hundred coins for you." Zhang Youtie calculated the final amount.

"Okay, take it to the same place as last time. There's a servant waiting there." He took out a silver ingot from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Youtie. Zhang Youtie took it and saw that it was five taels. He handed it directly to his daughter, "Xiaxia, give your uncle change."

Xia Yu hugged her money box, took out the one tael of silver the butcher had given her, and two small strings of coins. She held them out to Manager Wang with her small hands, saying, "Uncle, here's your change: one tael of silver and two hundred coins. Please count it."

"Hmm, you're quite good at math, little girl. Have you studied it?" Manager Wang asked Xia Yu curiously as he took the money.

"My fourth uncle is a scholar. He used to teach me. When I went out with my mother to sell eggs, I always made mistakes in the calculations, so my fourth uncle taught me how to do the accounting." Xia Yu was making this up. She had been here for so long and had never spoken a word to her fourth uncle. But he was the only cultured person in the family. If she didn't use him as a pretext, who else could she use?

"Oh, your fourth uncle is a scholar?" Manager Wang became interested as soon as he heard Xia Yu's words. It was really rare to find a scholar in a farming family.

"Yes, he went to take the provincial examination, he'll be a Xiucai soon." Xia Yu's childish words made Steward Wang laugh heartily, but he couldn't help shaking his head. How could a Xiucai be called "Master"? That was just something ignorant people used to call him. He didn't really think Xia Yu's fourth uncle would amount to much; after all, some people spend their whole lives taking the exam and only get to the lowest level. But this farming family was still somewhat different from ordinary people. He mentally defined Zhang Youtie and his family in this way, gave Zhang Youtie a few more instructions, and then left.

How to deliver these 70-plus jin (35 kg) watermelons was a real problem for Zhang Youtie; the basket couldn't hold such heavy watermelons. Zhang Youtie considered taking an oxcart, but the market was crowded, and the oxcart wouldn't be able to move easily. Xia Yu looked around and saw a wheelbarrow behind the pork stall. It must have been used by the pork vendor that morning; it still had a lot of blood and oil stains on it, and looked quite dirty.

"Dad, I'll go ask that uncle if he can lend us some. If he can, we can put the felt cloth on the bottom and put it in a basket. That way it will look cleaner."

"That's the only way. I'll go borrow it. I can't let a little girl like you run around doing everything." After saying that, he went to borrow a carriage from Madam Liu.

Soon Zhang Youtie returned pushing the wheelbarrow. Liu Shi spread a felt cloth on the stained wheelbarrow, then carefully placed the five melons she had selected into the basket. The basket was too big, making it difficult to balance the wheelbarrow. Someone had to go with him to help Zhang Youtie hold the basket and the wheelbarrow.

After discussing it, the group decided that Changyun would carry the basket and go with his father to deliver the melons, while Liu and her daughter would stay behind to watch the stall.

After the father and son left, Xia Yu said to Liu Shi, "Mother, did you notice that Steward Wang's attitude towards us was a little different after he heard that my fourth uncle was a scholar?"

"Yes, scholars are respected. When Steward Wang first heard that your fourth uncle was a scholar, he was very interested in us, but when he heard you say that you will soon be a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the county level), his interest waned." Liu Shi had been standing to the side the whole time and had a clear view of Steward Wang's tone and expression.

"Mother, there's something I've been wanting to say for a while." Xia Yu hesitated, afraid that Liu Shi would reject her if she spoke.

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so hesitant?"

"Mother, let's send my brother to school." Xia Yu finally voiced her long-held plan. Afraid that Liu Shi would disagree, she hurriedly added, "Mother, my brother is just as smart as my fourth uncle, and he wants to learn and is willing to learn. We didn't have money before, but we will have money in the future. We can sell shrimp, we can sell watermelons, and we can grow anything we want. Now that we have money, let's send my brother to school!" Xia Yu wanted to say more, but Liu Shi's expression stopped her from speaking further.

“Xiaxia, your father and mother are sorry. These are things that your father and I should have been concerned about.” As she spoke, Liu’s eyes reddened. “I know that reading can make people understand things. Before, our family was poor, and the little money we had was used to support your fourth uncle. Before, your brother didn’t say anything, and I thought he just didn’t like to study. I didn’t expect that he…” As she spoke, she choked up and couldn’t continue. Xia Yu knew what she was about to say: she didn’t expect that a little boy like Changyun could see the hardship of his family, know how hard his parents worked, and suppress his desire to go to school, only staying at home to help his parents with chores.

Liu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes: "Tomorrow we'll go to town to register your brother. As long as he's willing to learn, our family will support him." Liu's words were like a reassuring pill to Xia Yu. As long as her mother agreed, her father would definitely not have any objections. However, she didn't expect that when she brought this up in front of her grandfather, the old man would object. But that's a story for later.

With the matter of Changyun starting school settled, Liu and her daughter worked even harder to sell the watermelons as quickly as possible. After all, starting school meant starting to burn money. Tuition, writing materials, books—all of these cost money. This is why it was so difficult for children from poor families to succeed in ancient times; they simply couldn't afford education.

However, what they didn't know was that after the shouting and tasting, quite a few people already knew that there was a fresh food called watermelon for sale at the market, priced at fifty coins per pound.

Passerby A: "Have you heard? Someone at the West City Market is selling a kind of fresh fruit called watermelon, which costs fifty coins a pound!"

Passerby B: "Hey, fifty coins a pound isn't too expensive. I've never heard of watermelons before. They're about the same price as peaches and apples. I might as well buy a pound or two to see what it's like."

Passerby A: "Do you know how many pounds a watermelon weighs?"

Passerby B: "How many pounds does a watermelon weigh? You mean a watermelon is much bigger than an apple, and weighs two or three pounds?"

Passerby A: "I heard that a watermelon can weigh more than ten kilograms."

Passerby B: "Doesn't a watermelon cost several hundred coins? That's so expensive!" The volume of voice rises here.

They spoke without thinking, but those listening nearby took it to heart. When they heard someone selling watermelons for fifty coins a pound, the man became uneasy. He closed his shop and hurried towards the West City Market, wanting to verify his suspicions.