Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 67 Too Many

"Huh, you've already boiled water so early?"

"Yes."

Two voices suddenly rang out; they were from the Xie family's rice shop assistants.

They come to the water shop every day to check on the situation.

Lady Xie opened a water shop in Anyifang. Her master instructed the two of them to keep a close eye on things and report back to her if anything happened, no matter how small.

They mingled in the crowd, secretly listening to everyone's conversation, but were discovered by Zheng the next day and arrested.

Many people knew about Madam Xie's case, and even those who didn't know the details had overheard bits and pieces of it at the water shop in the past two days. Those who came to the water shop to fetch water and borrow charcoal were all poor people from the city, who already harbored resentment towards the practices of the wealthy. When they saw that the Xie family had sent a shop assistant to sneak over, wondering what kind of mischief he was up to, they immediately glared at him angrily.

The common people dared not confront the Xie family, but they were always wary of petty people. With the two shop assistants being watched like this, they dared not get too close and could only gesture at the water stall from the side. Unlike those idlers who dared to threaten people buying water, they spread some messages to passersby.

"It's all a scam. They make you pay a deposit, and then the shop closes down. What are you supposed to do then?"

"It's just buying water, why should it cost a whole string of cash?"

"I heard them say that the price will increase after three days of opening. How is that possible? Let's just wait and see, it will definitely still be one coin per bucket of water."

"The price has been cheap these past few days, so there aren't many people fetching water. If the price goes up again... won't we have to close down the shop? Who will come to buy from us then?"

In this way, the two men managed to stop a few people who came to pay the deposit. Of course, there were still some who couldn't be persuaded, but fortunately, there weren't many such people, and it wasn't a big deal.

This morning, my friend came to see the joke.

If Lady Xie's water shop in the Yang family were to close down today, the two of them would surely receive a reward from their master.

Of course, this is all on the premise that the water shop really does raise the price of hot water.

If the price doesn't go up, it might take some effort, since selling it for one coin a barrel is really a good deal, and even if you use straw at home, you can't burn that much.

They watched as the number of people coming to buy water increased day by day.

"How much is hot water today?" a shop assistant asked, voicing his most pressing question.

To everyone's surprise, Madam Zheng, who usually had a dark expression when she saw them, had an unusually calm look on her face: "You've been guarding here all day, how could you not know?"

"Our boss said long ago that the price of hot water would go up in three days."

The shop assistant stared at Zheng, waiting for her to quote a price, but Zheng turned around and instructed the woman who did odd jobs: "Make some space by the stove. The master said he'll be delivering some more items today."

The woman responded.

After looking around, Zheng remembered the two Xie shop assistants guarding the door: "Want to know how much it costs?"

The two men nodded.

Zheng asked, "Are you buying water?"

The man shook his head.

Zheng said, "If you're not buying water, why are you asking?"

The two men's faces froze instantly, but the other one reacted quickly and said, "Buy it, we'll buy a bucket."

"Where should we put it?" Zheng asked without looking up. "Bring the things here for you to put in. We need to settle the payment on the spot."

The shop assistant had no choice but to return to his own shop, get a wooden bucket, and properly fetch water.

Zheng said, "I'll sell it to you once it boils."

The waiter stared wide-eyed at the boiling water in the large pot: "Isn't it already cooked?"

"This is the first batch," the old woman who did odd jobs said with a smile, "it's already sold out. You'll have to wait for the second batch."

"It seems the second batch is sold out too, let's wait for the third batch!"

The waiter's face showed anger. The pot in the water shop was huge. If you measured it with the shop's buckets, it would take dozens of buckets. How could it be sold all at once?
They were clearly being deliberately tormented.

The shopkeeper didn't argue, just stood at the door with a cold smile, wanting to see who would buy water. Steam rose from the window, and dawn gradually broke.

Just then, two of Xie's apprentices heard voices. They turned around and saw several people coming this way. Two men were pushing a two-wheeled cart in front, and the men behind them were carrying a shoulder pole.

Not far behind them were several other people pushing carts and carrying loads on shoulder poles. They walked exceptionally fast, and by the time they reached them, sweat was beading on their foreheads.

The two men stared blankly at the group, their eyes following them as they entered the water shop.

Before they could go up and ask for information, Madam Zheng waved to them.

"Didn't you want to buy water? Here's a bucket for you."

The two shop assistants were taken aback, wondering what Zheng was up to. She had refused to give it to them earlier, but now she was agreeing. With several pairs of eyes watching them, they didn't want to cause trouble, so they stepped forward and handed the buckets of water to Zheng.

"Two coins a bucket."

As Zheng called out, the shop assistant handed over the two coins in his hand.

They finally learned the price, and the two men's faces immediately lit up with joy. Hot water prices had gone up, and this water shop would definitely have to go out of business.

But just as they were starting to smile, they noticed that the man who came to fetch water seemed even happier than they were.

The waiter was wondering what was going on when he heard the man say, "Help me fill up the water. Fill up all five buckets on the cart and these two carrying buckets."

The old woman who did odd jobs responded and hurried forward to scoop water.

Sister-in-law Dong entered the room, panting. They couldn't run as fast as some of the men, but they managed to catch up with the count.

Zheng smiled and said to Dong Sansao, "It's all freshly boiled water, so you have to be careful."

Sister-in-law Dong replied, "I've tried it a few times, and it can be pushed steadily."

As they were talking, several more people squeezed into the water stall, and Madam Zheng hurriedly went to greet them: "Don't rush, don't rush, it'll be ready soon."

The Dong family pushed the water away, and those who were still waiting for hot water looked on with envy.

The two Xie family employees followed the Dong family members out of the water shop, and then...

They rubbed their eyes, and in the blink of an eye, eight or nine people were lined up at the water shop, each carrying something to push or carry water, and more people were rushing over from a distance.

The two men dared not delay, so they dropped their buckets and followed the Dong family. They wanted to see what these people were up to.

The Dong family's cart and carrying loads entered Xing Le Fang in the west wing, and Dong San Sao took out a small copper gong from her bosom.

With a sharp "bang," Dong San immediately shouted, "Time to fetch water!"

A moment later, a door opened, and an old man with gray hair looked at Dong San with his hands behind his back: "Bring in two buckets of water."

Dong San immediately stepped forward in response.

"Look carefully, this is a bucket the same size as the water station. I'll scoop out two buckets for you and add water to your bowl."

As neighbors, the old man naturally knew the character of the Dong family. Seeing that Dong San had also filled their bowls with hot water, he smiled and said, "Don't forget tonight, there are still two buckets of water left."

"Don't worry," Dong San said, "You are the number one household in our neighborhood, so you can't be wrong."

After delivering water to this house, several more doors opened.

Some had pre-ordered, while others asked about the price directly. Sister-in-law Dong responded to each one, and soon the water on the cart was emptied. Dong Er and Dong San then pushed the cart back to the water shop.

The men were completely stunned. They finally understood what these people were doing: they were reselling hot water.

That's why some people rush to pay a deposit.

The two of them took off running back. The entrance to the water shop was bustling, as were the other shops. They watched as the heat spread out from the entrance of the water shop.

It seemed as if the entire Daming Prefecture had suddenly become filled with people selling hot water.

Oh no, this is really bad.

(End of this chapter)