Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

The group strolled around the street until almost noon before heading to the oxcart shop, figuring that the pork vendor should be closing up shop by now.

Everyone carried their purchases. They bought one pound each of the supposedly must-buy white jade cake, crabapple cake, candied fruit, and dragon's beard candy from the most famous pastry shop in the county town. They also went to the tavern and bought five pounds of sake at sixty coins per pound, plus two watermelons—a total of six gifts. Ideally, they would have bought a piece of pork, but since the Long family was a butcher, Xia Yu suggested that two watermelons would suffice. Excluding the watermelons, the other five gifts cost nearly two taels of silver. Xia Yu once again lamented how expensive sugar was; any pastry involving sugar was pricey.

They retrieved the oxcart and put everything into a basket, including the two large watermelons Xia Yu had just taken out of her spatial storage. The writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone she had bought for Changyun had also been stored away in her spatial storage.

Zhang Youtie led a few people towards the east side of the city. After asking two passersby, they finally found Liushu Hutong, the home of Pork Dragon. The second house inside was his, but the hutong was too narrow for the oxcart to pass through. Zhang Youtie had no choice but to park the oxcart at the entrance of the hutong and go ahead to scout the way.

To everyone's surprise, just as Zhang Youtie reached for the iron ring at the second courtyard gate, the gate creaked open, and a man dressed in a gray short-sleeved shirt stepped out. It was none other than Pork Dragon, who had already packed up his stall at the market and gone home.

"Brother, I was wondering why you hadn't arrived yet. I was just about to go to the intersection to meet you, and here you are!" After saying that, he looked behind Zhang Youtie and asked with some doubt, "Where are your wife and children? Did they not come?"

"Brother, they're at the entrance of the alley. Ox carts can't get into this alley, so I came to check if I've found the right place."

"Look at my memory, I completely forgot about this." Pork Dragon slapped his big head.

"Let's go take a look," he said, striding forward. He arrived at the place where Zhang Youtie had parked his oxcart.

"Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry for the neglect. Look at my memory, I usually just push a wheelbarrow, I forgot that oxcarts can't go through this alley." Pork Dragon greeted Liu Shi.

"Brother, you're too kind," he said, then looked behind the pork dragon and smiled, "Sister-in-law, we've troubled you today."

Li, who was preparing food with her mother-in-law in the kitchen, heard the voices of Zhu Roulong and Zhang Youtie talking at the door and knew that guests had arrived. She came out without taking off her apron. Behind her were two boys, one about fifteen or sixteen years old and the other about the same age as Changyun. They should be Zhu Roulong's two sons.

"Sister-in-law, are these two children your nephews? You said the other day that you had two sons, but I didn't expect the eldest to be so big already?" Liu said to Li, holding one child in each hand.

"Aren't these my two debt collectors? The older one is called Xingzhou, and the younger one is called Xingche. They're getting more and more rude as they get older. Why don't they call me 'Auntie'?" Li told the two children to greet her.

"Auntie?" the two children called out at the same time.

"Oh... what a good child."

Then it was Liu who called her children to call Li "Your Majesty," followed by the younger generation paying their respects.

After exchanging greetings, Zhang Xingzhou, the eldest son of Pork Dragon, helped unload the oxcart and prepared to lead the ox into the yard. The cart was then tied to the large willow tree at the entrance of the alley. Li Shi carried the jug of wine that Zhang Youtie and the others had brought, while Zhang Xingzhou carried four kinds of pastries and candied fruits in one hand and led the ox in the other. The remaining two watermelons were carried by Pork Dragon and Zhang Youtie, one each.

Just then, the door of the first house suddenly opened, and a woman carrying a basket came out, seemingly preparing to go out to buy things. Seeing this group of people, all carrying gifts, she smiled and greeted Pork Dragon, "Pork Dragon, you have some wealthy relatives visiting today! Look at all this pastries and wine! Even when I go back to my parents' home for the New Year, I don't get this much! Tsk tsk!" Her face was full of envy.

"Haha, this is my brother and sister-in-law, and also my two nephews and nieces. I'm busy today, but I'll invite you over for a drink sometime when you have some free time."

"That's great, you go ahead and get busy. If you need help, just call over the wall."

"Okay, thanks in advance, sister-in-law!" With that, the group passed each other.

The woman watched the group of people walk away, clicked her tongue twice, and then left with her basket.

Upon arriving at Pork Dragon's house, an elderly couple in their sixties were already waiting at the door. Seeing Zhang Youtie and his group arrive, they warmly welcomed them into the courtyard. After another round of greetings and pleasantries, which will not be detailed here, the old man led Pork Dragon to chat with Zhang Youtie in the main room, while their eldest son, Xingzhou, served tea and water to the elders.

Li's mother-in-law brought out some roasted sesame seeds and maltose for Changyun and Xiayu. Then she sat with Liu and chatted about everyday things. Xiayu sat obediently next to her mother, while Changyun and Xingche were already playing together, catching pebbles under the pomegranate tree in the yard. After welcoming them into the house, Li went to the kitchen to busy herself.

After exchanging a few words with the old lady, Liu was about to go to the kitchen to help, but the old lady couldn't let a guest work in the kitchen, so she hurriedly stood up to stop her.

"Auntie, we're family, no need to be so polite. I've never considered myself an outsider here, so please don't be so formal with me, it just makes us feel closer, right?" With that, she rolled up her sleeves and went to the kitchen. Hearing this, the old lady knew she was genuinely trying to help and wasn't pretending, so she didn't try to persuade her further and followed her to the kitchen. Seeing her mother go to help, Xia Yu went to play in the yard with Changyun and Xingchezhuazi.

"Sister-in-law, if there's anything else I can help you with, just let me know," Liu said to Li, the wife of Pork Dragon.

Li, who was busy with her back turned, turned around when she heard the sound and saw Liu.

"Oh dear, Mother, how could you let your sister-in-law work in the kitchen?" After saying that, she turned to Liu Shi and said, "It'll be ready soon, sister-in-law, why don't you go and rest in the main room for a while?"

"Sister-in-law, you're too kind. We're all family here, and besides, we can still chat, can't we?"

“Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony with you, sister-in-law. Sister-in-law, can you peel a clove of garlic for me? I need it later. Mother, can you come and help me cook?” Li Shi quickly assigned the tasks and continued dismantling the braised pig’s head in her hands.

Most of the dishes had been prepared before Liu and her family arrived, so all that was needed now was to chop and plate them, and mix the dressings for the cold dishes. Soon, eight cold dishes, four meat and four vegetable, were ready.

There were four meat dishes: braised pig's head, cold pig's ear salad, garlic-flavored pork belly, and pork skin jelly. There were also four vegetable dishes: spiced peanuts, spiced edamame, garlic-flavored eggplant, and chives with bean curd sheets. The portions were quite generous, and all were good accompaniments to drinks. It was truly remarkable that they could prepare such a meal in this season when vegetables were not yet widely available, which also showed how much the Long family valued Zhang Youtie, their newly recognized sworn brother.

"Sister-in-law, stop fussing, wash your hands and eat. I've already prepared the hot dishes, they're steaming in the big steamer. They can be served right away after they finish their drinks. Come on, let's all sit down and eat together."

The old lady also got up and called to the children playing under the tree outside: "Hurry up and wash your hands and eat. Come on, let's go to the main room to eat."

As she spoke, the old lady led Xia Yu to the wooden basin beside the well. Before Xia Yu could react, the old lady had already washed and dried her hands. Then she pulled Chang Yun over and quickly washed and dried his hands as well. Finally, she reached out and grabbed her grandson Xingche, doing the same thing, and quickly finished washing his hands.

Once everyone was seated, the men poured drinks and began to eat and chat. The women, sitting together, talked about everyday things: their children, the fields, and which shop had the best deals. In short, the meal was lively and harmonious, with no awkward silences.

It was also at the dinner table that Mrs. Li explained the origins of her two children's names. Actually, Xia Yu had been wondering about this earlier. Her eldest son, Zhang Xingzhou, had a very cultured name, so why was her second son named Xingche (meaning "driving car")?