Rebirth and making money first

Zhang Jing was so exhausted that she decided to focus all her energy on keeping the baby safe and ignore everything else. She thought, since that fool likes to mess around, let him be. When he hits a wall, he'll understand the pain.

Soon after, her mother called to tell her that the house in her hometown was finished, but some parts were still missing the roof, so the handover date might not be too soon. Furthermore, due to the massive demolition and construction going on in her hometown, the roads were completely blocked and a mess, raising clouds of dust every time she went out. She was reluctant to go out and endure the dust, but fortunately, some of her older sisters often helped her with grocery shopping.

The mother then revealed to Zhang Jing that Zhang Xiaobing had returned to Beijing to look for opportunities and had rented a house in Hebei. However, he estimated that this job would not last long.

Zhang Jing suggested that he go back to his hometown and find something to do, since his family still had a shop. That way, if his mother encountered any problems in the future, she would have someone to discuss them with.

However, my mother said, "He's a man. How could he be willing to do it if I don't let him do it? Then he will definitely blame me for holding him back. Besides, he has a wife and children to support. I'm old now and don't want to get involved in his affairs anymore."

Zhang Jing told her mother that she was pregnant with twins.

"Really? Looks like it's inherited from you," the old lady remarked with relish, recounting the family genes passed down from childhood to adulthood. "Your third and fourth great-grandfathers were twins, but your fourth great-grandfather died in infancy. Your great-aunt also gave birth to more than ten pairs of twins, but sadly none survived! The whole family was waiting to see who would give birth to the next generation of twins, and we never imagined it would be you!"

"Mom, you have to come over to take care of me during the confinement period. When do you plan to come? I'll make arrangements early." Zhang Jing interrupted her mother's chatter and asked directly.

The old lady perked up when she heard that and said immediately, "Go! I will definitely go! I'll go a month in advance, usually twins go earlier. I need to arrange things at home first before going. Don't worry, I've agreed that I will take care of each of you three once during your confinement. It's absolutely fair, and no one can accuse me of being partial."

Zhang Jing couldn't help but laugh and teased, "You're so strong, who are you afraid of?"

The old lady replied seriously: "Of course, I don't want to be gossiped about. But then again, it's your turn this time, don't let me down. By the way, when your sister Zhang Zhi was in confinement last time, her husband gave me a gold ornament of a monkey holding a peach. When the time comes, you can't let that Hong Kong guy steal the limelight. You know what to do, right?" The old lady hinted to Zhang Jing meaningfully.

Zhang Jing was speechless and couldn't help but ask her mother, "The man's betrothal gift from me is a full 10 yuan. Do you want to go find your Hong Kong son-in-law and get some of Zhang Zhi's betrothal gift back?"

Hearing this, the old lady instantly calmed down: "I was just talking casually, don't talk about this useless stuff. What should I bring you this time? Let me know when you have decided, and I will go buy it."

Zhang Jing replied, "Besides wood ear mushrooms, mushrooms, and ginseng, Northeast China is also famous for its rice, Xiangqi sauce, hazelnuts, and pine nuts. You can decide for yourself. Don't bring too much, or you'll tire yourself out during the transfer!"

"Listen to what you are talking about. Why don't you tell me a few more things so that your mother can know what else you want!" Zhang Jing's mother said angrily.

Zhang Jing smiled helplessly, saying she had so many things she wanted to eat. She wanted peanut candy, honey-covered twisted dough sticks, kimchi, and candied haws. However, even if she mentioned these foods, her mother wouldn't be able to bring them to her. So, she had to choose foods that were easy to carry and store.

Zhang Jing suddenly remembered a golden ornament her mother once owned: a monkey holding a peach. It turned out to be a gift from her husband to her mother to express his gratitude for her hard work during her confinement.

However, in her previous life, when Zhang Jing asked her mother about the ornament, her mother had forgotten it. It was not until Zhang Jing brought it up again that her mother suddenly realized it and said it was stolen by her younger brother.

"That ornament, I remember it." The mother frowned and recalled, "I think it was given to me by Zhang Zhi's husband. She had just given birth, and I went to take care of her during the confinement period. Her husband gave me this ornament to thank me for taking care of her during this period. What's wrong? Why are you asking this?"

Zhang Jing was delighted, thinking her memory was correct. But then, she thought of her past life and asked worriedly, "Mom, do you remember where you put that ornament?"

The mother said, "Of course I remember it clearly. It's only been a few years, and your mother hasn't developed Alzheimer's yet! But why are you asking this all of a sudden? Is there something important?"

Zhang Jing hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell her mother the truth. After all, this matter involved her mother's property and the future of their family. So, she whispered, "Mom, actually... I suspect that the ornament was stolen by my brother."

Upon hearing this, the mother's eyes widened. She clearly couldn't accept this fact. She asked in a trembling voice, "What did you say? Your brother stole my things? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could he do such a thing?"

Zhang Jing sighed helplessly and explained, "Mom, I know it's hard for you to believe. I've asked you many times about this ornament, but you always said it was in the box. Now open the box and take a look."

After hearing this, her mother immediately opened her box. It was not until she started cursing that Zhang Jing realized that the monkey holding the peach was still in the box.

"I remind you once again that you and Xiaobing are siblings, yet you always speak ill of your brother. I hope you will love each other and support each other even after I die. You must lead by example!"

Zhang Jing quickly apologized, saying she was wrong. She remembered that in her previous life, when her mother died, she and Zhang Xiaohao were sorting through her belongings. Her brother only pulled out a small peach figurine, the size of a fingernail, claiming it was from their mother's treasure chest. He insisted on not accepting it, telling Zhang Jing and her sister whoever bought it to keep it. Finally, he simply returned it to Zhang Zhi.

One year, gold prices soared, and Zhang Zhi urged Zhang Jing to sell her gold bars. Zhang Jing refused, telling her to sell her nail peaches instead. Zhang Zhi hesitantly explained that the peaches were not pure gold and would not sell for much. Zhang Jing then realized that Zhang Zhi's nail peaches were fake, used to deceive her mother. What a cycle! The fake goods ended up back in her hands.

Later, Zhang Jing was still puzzled. She clearly remembered it was a monkey holding a peach, and she had even seen it in her mother's personal trunk when she went home to visit her family. Why did Zhang Xiaobing insist it was a small peach the size of a fingernail?

A few years later, Zhang Jing met a wise person who enlightened her: "Zhang Jing was right. There really was a monkey holding a peach. It was just stolen and swapped by Zhang Zhi. Zhang Xiaobing never saw the ornament from the beginning to the end!" This was the only reasonable explanation. Zhang Xiaobing had taken the blame for Zhang Zhi's crime in vain.

Zhang Jing wanted to verify this, so she deliberately asked her mother, "Mom, isn't the monkey holding a peach that the Hong Kong people gave you still there? If not, go weigh it to see how many grams it weighs. I'll also give you a gold ornament of the same weight!"

My mother perked up immediately. She asked, "Are you serious? My monkey holding a peach is not light!"

Finally having her memories of her past life confirmed, Zhang Jing, while perfunctorily responding to her mother, secretly sighed at Zhang Zhi's audacity. She couldn't help but have a deeper understanding of Zhang Zhi's shamelessness, but she just couldn't understand why she treated her mother this way. She was her mother's biological daughter, after all! It's a common saying that a person has many different personalities.

Gao Wei finally got back to his old age and called Zhang Jing to tell her he was back. When talking about going to his future father-in-law's house, Gao Wei said:

"Sister Jing, I wanted to show off my honesty and loyalty. I didn't buy any milk powder, cereal, or fruit!"

"So what did you bring?" Zhang Jing asked.

"I got a big bag of rice and a big bucket of oil! I also picked up a piece of pork and a fish! I almost didn't get them." Gao Wei said with a smile.

Zhang Jing was speechless. Gao Wei hurriedly asked, "Sister Jing, can you help me analyze this? Can my case succeed?"