Liu You's Water-Fresh Dumpling Shop had gone full wildfire.
For several straight days, the entire Gaojia Village lined up to "try the new thing," and business was booming so hard even the cookfire smoke looked smug.
But prosperity brought its own kind of trouble.
The coal he used to boil dumplings was from the same little handcart he'd dragged all the way from Heyang County, together with his pots and stove. And a handcart didn't haul much. Before long, the coal pile turned into a sad little crater.
Now he had to buy firewood from the local "woodcutters."
Everyone knew how that went: wood burned fast, coal burned steady. It wasn't even close. And that meant every bowl of dumplings cost more to make.
Liu You found himself missing Heyang's cheap coal.
After thinking it through, he slapped his thigh.
Forget it. I'll just go back and get some myself.
He'd come alone to Gaojia Village as a test run. His wife and kid were still back in that broken-down house in Heyang. The plan had been simple: if the village turned out to be a dud, he'd pack up the pots and go home. If it worked, he'd bring the family over.
Well—it didn't just work. Gaojia Village was a gold mine wrapped in civilization. So there was no reason to hesitate. He'd go home, fetch his wife and kid, and while he was at it—why not bring back a whole cartload of coal?
He locked the shop, packed light, and was halfway out the door when a spark went off in his head.
Wait. Am I stupid? If I'm already hauling stuff… why not haul the right stuff?
Grain here was dirt cheap—seven wen a jin. If he filled a few wagons and sold it in Heyang, he could make a killing. Then haul cheap coal back here and profit again.
A perfect loop.
He grinned. "Alright, genius plan unlocked."
He cashed in the day's profits for silver, then headed straight to the Village-Run Grain Bureau, spending half his earnings on enough grain to fill three ox-carts.
Next step—find carters.
Before the trade routes opened to Chengcheng County, Gaojia Village didn't even have professional carters. But now plenty of them hung around, hired by the village to haul relief grain all over—into the mountains, into prisons, wherever the Dao Xuan Tianzun's logistics pointed.
Liu You quickly hired three of them and was shaking on the deal when a group of men came marching over—and leading them was a middle-aged man with an aura that screamed "important."
He wasn't just hiring one or two carters either. He was hiring dozens.
Liu You blinked. "Uh… who's that big shot?"
One of the carters whispered back, "That's Shansier—our Third Steward. Man runs everything in Gaojia Village. Right under the Saintess herself."
Liu You nearly dropped his purse. That's basically the county magistrate here!
And then—of course—Shansier spotted him.
"Hey, aren't you the dumpling-shop owner from Heyang?" he said cheerfully, walking right up. "No shop today? What brings you out here?"
Liu You stiffened, bowing fast. "Replying to Third Steward—I'm heading back to Heyang to fetch my wife and child, so we can all settle in Gaojia Village together."
"Ah, bringing the family over. Very good, very filial." Shansier nodded, then tilted his head. "Hmm? But why'd you hire three grain wagons? That's a little… fang rui yuan zao, isn't it?"
Liu You blinked. What did he just call me? Some fancy four-word idiom that sounded like a geometry lesson. The man's face radiated cultured smugness, and for one brief, dangerous moment, Liu You wanted to punch it.
But the guy was a big deal, so he swallowed his pride and explained, "I just thought, Third Steward, since grain here is so cheap and Heyang's so expensive, I might as well sell some there. Then bring coal back here to burn."
Shansier's smile widened. "Not bad. Not bad at all. You're thinking exactly what I'm thinking. See? All these carts I hired? Doing the same run."
Liu You froze.
Oh no. I just stole the boss's business model.
If the steward decided to take offense, he'd be fertilizer by sunset.
But instead, Shansier chuckled. "Relax. Heyang's got eighty thousand mouths to feed. My wagons won't even dent the market. You get there ahead of me, you'll fetch a better price. That's what we call zhuó rén xiān biān—'the first whip strikes first profit.' Ha!"
Liu You stared blankly. "Uh… sure?"
He still didn't understand half of what the man was saying, but apparently it was good. He bowed again. "Thank you, Third Steward!"
Moments later, he and his three carters were on the road, hauling grain back to Heyang County.
The trip went smoothly. By the time he reached home, he was practically glowing with confidence. He knocked on the door.
It creaked open, and his wife peeked out, worry lines on her face. "A-You! You're finally back! You've been gone for days without a word. The child and I—"
Liu You grinned ear-to-ear. "Honey, Gaojia Village is heaven on earth! We're rich! Pack your things—I'm taking you and the boy there for good."
His wife frowned. "We're just small-time traders. What kind of 'rich' could you possibly—"
He turned and pointed proudly down the street.
Three ox-carts, loaded to the brim with flour sacks, gleamed in the sunlight.
Her jaw dropped. "These… all ours?"
"Every grain of it." Liu You puffed out his chest.
Now, Heyang County had been receiving food shipments from Gaojia Village for weeks—enough to feed the road crews rebuilding the region—but even so, supply was still tight, prices sky-high.
Three wagons of flour was a fortune.
The shock hit her like a hammer. "Oh heavens…" She wobbled and had to grab the doorframe.
Liu You rushed to steady her, already rubbing his hands with excitement. "Here's the plan: we sell all this flour, buy three wagonloads of coal, bring it back to Gaojia Village, and make dumplings till we drop! You handle customers, I'll cook—we'll be swimming in silver! From now on, I'm 'Rich as Oil,' and you—" he pointed dramatically "—you're 'Madam Rich as Oil!' Hahaha!"
His wife half-laughed, half-groaned. "That nickname sounds so vulgar! Like something a bumpkin would shout in the street."
Liu You grinned wider. "Exactly. We are nouveau riche. What's the point of pretending to be noble when we've just struck gold? That'd be the real joke."
She opened her mouth, then shut it again.
Trivia
1. "Fang Rui Yuan Zao" (方枘圆凿)
Literally means "a square peg in a round hole."
Originating from The Book of Han, it describes something mismatched — a person or plan completely unsuited to its environment.
When Shansier uses it here, he's showing off his "educated" tone — a village steward flexing his Confucian diction while speaking to a dumpling seller.
In short: bureaucratic elegance applied to common sense.
Translation: 'Bro, you're doing this wrong.'
2. "Zhuo Ren Xian Bian" (着人先鞭)
An idiom from the Han Dynasty's military records, meaning "to strike the whip before others do."
It praises swift initiative — being the first to act in a race or competition.
Over centuries, the saying shifted from battlefield tactics to business slang for getting a head start.
Shansier, of course, uses it to sound profound while basically telling Liu You, "Go sell it first, you'll make more."
Historical Irony:
Both idioms come from classical texts that once guided emperors and generals.
In Gaojia Village, they now help one man sell dumplings faster.
That's what civilization looks like — just with more carbs.