Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Xia Yu and her two aunts were busy at the old house, while Liu Shi was also busy with her two nieces and sister-in-law.

Liu was in charge of flipping the fried dough in the two pans, Qiuyu tended the fire, and Chunyu rolled out the dough. Qinghe, following Xiayu's instructions, sat on a small stool and peeled garlic cloves. She peeled them slowly, but fairly cleanly.

When Liu entered, this was the scene before her. Seeing her daughter working so pitifully, she felt a pang of heartache. However, remembering the lessons her husband had taught her the night before, she dared not indulge her as before. Seeing the high stack of fried dough cakes beside Liu, the old lady felt a pang of regret. These were all made from white flour, something they usually couldn't bear to eat themselves, yet now they were being given to outsiders.

"That should be enough, right? It looks like quite a lot to me."

“Mother, Steward Ding brought a lot of people this time. There are more than a dozen oxcarts and about a dozen men to work. Each of these flatbreads weighs half a pound. If each person takes two flatbreads, that's about fifty flatbreads. How much is that?”

"You stubborn fool, couldn't you have mixed some cornmeal in it?"

"It needs to be mixed. We don't have enough wheat flour at home. Mom, could you help me mix some more flour? This isn't enough."

"I don't know what kind of hard-working life I have. Three daughters-in-law, and I, this old woman, still have to do all the work." Although Liu's words were unpleasant, she still rolled up her sleeves and went to wash her hands. She grabbed a large basin and started scooping out flour and water. Seeing that she had poured in far more cornmeal than wheat flour, Liu had to go over and quietly remind her.

"Mother, our family's watermelons depend entirely on the Shen family's purchase. We might have to rely on them again next year. Otherwise, how much money can we make selling them every day? What if we're too stingy today, and they get angry and refuse to buy our watermelons next year?"

Hearing Liu's words, the old lady, though heartbroken at the wasted flour, was also afraid of offending the person and losing their watermelons next year. So she scooped the cornmeal from the basin back into the flour bag and added more flour. The old lady's dough-kneading skills were excellent; in just a few strokes, the dough was ready, smooth, the basin clean, and her hands clean. Seeing the old lady's kneaded dough, Liu couldn't help but sigh, no wonder the old lady always looked down on the work her daughters-in-law did.

After kneading the dough, the old lady sent Liu to make flatbreads, where she stood by the pan, flipping them. Chunyu watched for a moment, then sent Qiuyu to peel garlic and scallions with her aunt, while she sat down to tend the fire. Liu was even faster at making flatbreads; she could cook three at a time in the large iron pan, flipping and moving them back and forth without a single black spot. Liu's rolling speed was barely matching hers.

When Xia Yu returned with the meat, the pancakes on their side were almost all baked. Xia Yu asked his eldest and third brothers to help his aunt carry the things, while he stayed behind to prepare a stew. He went to the storage room and took out some dried mushrooms, which they usually picked up in the mountains and dried and stored away the leftovers. He also took out several large white radishes from his spatial storage. Actually, adding some fried tofu to the stew would be best, but he hadn't heard of any tofu-making shops in the nearby villages, and the nearest one would have to be bought in town, which seemed too late now.

She lingered in the storeroom for a while, mainly thinking about what other vegetables could be added to the stew. After finishing rolling out the dough, Liu noticed her daughter hadn't come out yet, so she went to look for her.

"Xiaxia, all the pancakes are done. We can start cooking now."

"Mom, besides meat slices, mushrooms, white radish, and cabbage, what else can we put in the stew?" Xia Yu really couldn't think of anything, so she could only ask her mother for help.

"Actually, adding some fried tofu and bean sprouts would be nice, but I don't know if they're sold out yet?"

"We still need to go to town to buy it, but there's no time!" Xia Yu said, somewhat frustrated.

“There’s a tofu shop in our village, in the back village.”

"Huh? I don't remember ever selling tofu, and I don't remember ever eating it at home," Xia Yu said, somewhat puzzled.

Hearing her daughter say this, Liu's face suddenly flushed. Tofu cost six copper coins a pound, more expensive than wheat flour. She had never dared to buy it before, only buying a pound during the New Year. They ate so little, and her daughter, being what she was before, certainly wouldn't remember. Come to think of it, the changes in their family's diet only began after her daughter bumped her head; it hadn't been long, yet so much had changed. However, recently the family had been busy selling shrimp and watermelons to earn money and hadn't thought about buying tofu.

"We've been so busy lately that I completely forgot about it. Is it too late to buy it now?"

"It's not late, but Mom, what else do they sell besides tofu?" Xia Yu asked curiously.

"It's just firm tofu, soft tofu, thick tofu, and bean sprouts, nothing else," Mrs. Liu told her daughter, recalling what she had seen when she went to buy tofu before.

"Oh, right, they also sell salted stinky tofu. It smells stinky, and people who have tried it say it's delicious with steamed buns, but I've never bought any."

"Mom, why don't you go and buy three pounds of thick tofu and three pounds of bean sprouts?"

Hearing her daughter say this, Madam Liu glanced uneasy towards the kitchen. She genuinely didn't feel comfortable leaving her daughter and the old lady together. She thought for a moment...

"Why don't you have your older sister make the trip? She knows the way."

Liu called Chunyu over after she went out and told her what had happened. Chunyu naturally had no objections, but she was somewhat surprised when she saw the two strings of coins handed to her by her third aunt.

"Third Aunt, it's just a few pounds of tofu and bean sprouts, it shouldn't cost this many copper coins, right?"

"Go get two more jin of liquor for your third aunt, the best kind."

"Okay, then I'll take Qiuyu with me."

"Go ahead, but be careful on the road."

After arranging everything, when they returned to the kitchen, Liu had already divided all the cakes into two large baskets. Including the ones for Steward Ding and their own people, there were a total of eighty or ninety cakes, all covered with clean steaming cloths. However, Xia Yu's family had also used up all their wheat flour and corn flour.

"Hurry up and cook, I think it's almost time," Liu said to the group as they came in with the dishes.

When she learned that Chunyu and Qiuyu had been sent out to buy tofu, she said nothing, only urging Liu and Xiayu to hurry up. She then took Chunyu's place and sat in front of the stove to tend the fire.

Xia Yu cut the pork belly into thick slices, using up a full five pounds of meat. Liu Shi's teeth ached at the sight. She increasingly felt that Liu Shi was incapable of managing money or raising children; how could she possibly save any money with such a narrow mind? However, remembering what Liu Shi had said earlier, she dared not be frugal with food today, fearing she might anger their big customer and cause them to refuse to buy watermelons next year when they also grew them.

Once the pan is hot, first put the washed, thick slices of meat into the pan. Only when the oil comes out of the pan can you stir-fry them with a spatula. Then, add a handful of chopped scallions, ginger slices, and chili peppers to the pan and stir-fry them together.

Seeing the red thing Xia Yu took out, Liu was a little puzzled.

"What's that red thing you're holding? Is it for cooking too?"

"Grandma, this is a chili pepper. We bought it at a grocery store in the county town. I heard it's spicy like dogwood, but this one tastes even better."

Upon hearing her say this, Liu fell silent.

Once the meat slices in the pot had rendered their oil, Xia Yu added the white radish that Liu Shi had cut into chunks and stir-fried it with the meat. Then she added soy sauce for color and salt for seasoning.

At this moment, Wang and Li, along with their children, brought over the braised offal and broth. Xia Yu poured the broth from cooking the meat into the pot, then covered it and simmered it slowly.

Xia Yu sliced ​​the cooked pork belly into thin slices, seasoned it with garlic sauce to make garlic-flavored pork belly, and set it aside. Although it wasn't arranged in a neat plate, it was still a good deal. Wang Shi steamed the eggplants she had brought from the old house in the pot used for stewing, intending to make garlic-flavored eggplant later. Xia Yu also took a few cucumbers from the storeroom and made a cucumber salad. The last cold dish was fried peanuts.

Just as the peanuts were fried, Chunyu, who had gone to buy tofu, returned, without wasting any time. Li used the oil from frying the peanuts to fry the thick tofu.

The seven or eight women, young and old, worked together very quickly. By the time all the watermelons were loaded onto the cart, the meal was ready. Zhang Youtie and Manager Ding checked the accounts, and Manager Ding immediately paid Zhang Youtie the money for the watermelons with a banknote.

After finishing his work, Steward Ding was about to take his leave, but Zhang Youtie couldn't let him go so easily. He, along with Old Master Zhang and the village chief, tried their best to persuade him to stay. Steward Ding glanced at the sun overhead and readily agreed, intending to have his servant arrange for the men to escort the oxcart away. However, Zhang Youtie said that the driver and the workers could be fed, but they should not mind the simple fare from the villagers.